Supervising the censor, inspecting local areas on behalf of the emperor, his official position is small but his power is great.
The so-called making decisions on small things and reporting on big things is the power of the censor. As for what is a small matter and what is a big matter, there is no accurate standard. If the censor is in a good mood, big things will become trivial. If he is in a bad mood, you can even sneeze. It's a big deal.
No one wants to offend the censor, they are a group of wasps that are not easy to mess with.
Seeing that the censor was coming fiercely, Zhao Qian could not stop him, so he had to invite him into the second hall and inform the county magistrate Luo Shao.
Luo Shao did not stop him, and while arranging for the household to move all the account books, he asked Dian Shi Yang Liang to inform Gu Zhengchen quickly, and then stood waiting in the second hall with his hands down.
Han Yike found the county treasury grain account among a pile of account books, flipped through a few pages, and frowned. When he turned to the last page, he couldn't help but take a deep breath and looked at Luo Shao: "Jurong There is less than a hundred stones of grain left in Dongcang?"
Luo Shao nodded slightly: "That's right."
Han Yike looked at the detailed accounts and said with a serious face: "It is rare for the county treasury to be in such a shortfall! With only such a small amount of food left, how can we provide it to the students and the almshouses? Once corvee labor is requisitioned, how will we feed the people? Besides, Don’t county officials also receive their salaries?”
Luo Shao laughed and said: "Han Yushi doesn't know that the salaries of Jurong County government officials are all paid in silver coins, and the same is true for the students. The remaining one hundred shi of grain is for the elderly in the nursing home. Yes, if not, the county treasury should be empty at this time. As for the collection of corvee, there is no need to consider who will collect corvee from the summer harvest to the autumn harvest in the short term. "
Han Yike slapped the table: "Salary distribution should be based on food. How could Jurong break the rules?"
Facing the angry Han Yike, Luo Shao sat down directly and said with disdain: "This matter was decided by the county magistrate, and we can only follow it. If Han Yushi really thinks it is inappropriate, he can wait for the county to do so." Come back and ask questions."
Han Yike squinted his eyes and said nothing. He took out the accounts of Xichang Pingcang and looked through them carefully. They were all normal. The grain reserves were stable at 10,000 to 12,000 dan. In March and April, sudden purchases were made. There was a large amount of grain. In May, the accounts showed that Changpingcang had 20,000 shi of grain in reserve.
For Jurong County, which has more than 10,000 households, the reserve of 20,000 stone grains is appropriate. In the event of famine, these grains can support the people for one or two months, buying time to transition from the disaster and wait for the court to rescue grains.
But when he turned to the accounts for June, Han Yike stood up suddenly, pointed at the accounts with some fear, and shouted: "This, this, what the hell is going on? Twenty thousand stone grains were returned in May, why did June Directly turned into a thousand shi of food? Who did this accounting, and such a big mistake was not discovered? "
Just as Luo Shao was about to explain, he heard movement outside the door. He turned around and saw Gu Zhengchen returning in Confucian robes. He quickly stepped forward and saluted: "Your Majesty, this is Han Yike, Yushi Han of the imperial court."
Gu Zhengchen looked at Han Yike. This guy was an iron-clad man and an extremely honest person. He dared to directly impeach the three of them for "sinister crimes" in front of Zhu Yuanzhang, Hu Weiyong, Chen Ning, and Tu Jie. He seems to be loyal, but he is treacherous and frank, he seems to be upright, he relies on his merits and favors from his parents, he has negative intentions, he is promoted to the top, and he is good at exerting power and fortune."
This guy can do anything, but Hu Weiyong and others can't do anything to him.
Without him, this person is strong without desires, has no weaknesses, and has no flaws.
Although he made some mistakes later, Lao Zhu still understood people and let him go.
This guy had a long life and lived until Zhu Yunqi ascended the throne, but unfortunately, he died before being transferred back to Jinling and did not become Zhu Yunqi's help.
However, judging from Zhu Yunwen's favor with Fang Xiaoru, Huang Zicheng and others, Han Yike's return probably won't be of much use...
Han Yike is thin, probably less than thirty years old, very elegant, but has a pair of small eyes, showing shrewdness and sharpness.
Gu Zhengchen had a smile on his lips. This girl was "Wei Zheng" during the founding of the Ming Dynasty. He cupped his hands and said, "Yushi Han, I have long admired your name."
Han Yike almost didn't come up in one breath.
You have been admiring me for a long time. I have only been the censor for a few months. Where did you come from?
Han Yike looked at Gu Zhengchen, who was much younger than him. He could be said to be a strange person.
The strange thing here is his rise!
After Han Yike entered the censorship station, he heard a lot about Gu Zhengchen, especially the two censors Yan Dui and Liang Lai who had their teeth knocked out by Gu Zhengchen. Many censors were aggrieved.
Although Yan Duan and Liang Lai were not good people, they belonged to the Yushitai after all. Pulling out their teeth was like slapping the entire Yushitai in the face. Not many censors had a good impression of Gu Zhengchen.
Han Yike was the same, thinking that this person was cruel, ruthless and vulgar.
But with the investigation of Gu Zhengchen, Han Yike found that it was not the case, whether it was Gu Zhengchen's remarks of "ruling the country by eating", his courage and wisdom when he faced Fei Ju, the Marquis of Pingliang, or his dedication to the court. The "alcohol", "tactical backpack", "body training", etc. all show that this person is extremely extraordinary.
This man was awarded the title of Quanzhou County Prince. He also led a small number of sergeants at the mouth of the Yangtze River to wipe out hundreds of pirates and save the court's face. Those who questioned and ridiculed Gu Zhengchen for being unfairly awarded the title gradually shut up.
He has evil deeds, such as beating the censor.
Because of his good deeds, Shangyuan County was already mourning, but there were no cries of injustice and injustice in Jurong County.
The most incomprehensible thing is that this person was also closely related to Mu Ying, Prince Zhu Biao of the East Palace, and Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty. This was rare among the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty.
For example, Hu Weiyong has a good relationship with Lao Zhu, but his relationship with Zhu Biao is not very close. For example, Song Lian seems to have a good relationship with Zhu Biao and Zhu Yuanzhang, but has no relationship with Mu Ying.
This method of making friends is astonishing.
Is he an incorruptible official, relying on his ability to rise to power, or is he relying on flattery and being lawless under the protection of imperial power?
Han Yi didn't know, but wanted to know.
So, come to Jurong!
Han Yike looked deeply at Gu Zhengchen, left his seat and walked out, cupping his hands and saying, "Han has met the man from Quanzhou County."
Gu Zhengchen stepped forward, lowered his hand and said, "What Quanzhou County man? This is the county government, and only Gu County Magistrate. Luo County Magistrate, please change the tea."
Luo Shao quickly agreed.
Han Yi saw Gu Zhengchen sitting aside, and he was not polite. He sat directly on the main seat, took out the Dongcang account book, and asked: "Gu Zhixian, this time I visited Yingtian and came to Jurong, naturally We cannot live up to His Majesty's great trust. If there are any irregularities or discrepancies in accounts, Han should inquire about them one by one. I apologize for any inconvenience."
Gu Zhengchen smiled: "It's good to be direct."
Han Yike sat upright and asked solemnly: "The grain stored in Dongcang's accounts is less than a hundred shi. I asked the county magistrate and he said that the county government's salary and other expenses are all paid in silver, is that right?"
"Indeed."
Gu Zhengchen admitted.
Han Yike frowned: "According to the rules of the imperial court, officials' salaries are all paid in grain. Why are they converted into silver coins when they arrive in Jurong? County Magistrate, this is against the rules."
Gu Zhengchen picked up the tea bowl and asked calmly: "So, Yushi Han believes that every month, officials either personally or send their families to the east warehouse, bring sacks or carts, weigh them, and then take away the grain. Convenience, or the convenience of directly issuing money?”
Han Yike had been a priest before, so he naturally knew that the process of receiving salary was a bit troublesome.
"Rules are rules. If you do it for convenience, wouldn't it be a violation of the rules? Since the court has not explicitly changed it, it should act in accordance with the rules. Is it the behavior of a minister to violate such rules?"
Han Yike had a straight face.
Gu Zhengchen held the tea lid and gently touched the tea bowl: "What you value is rules, what I value is simplicity. Distributing money can save a lot of trouble, the accounts will be clearer, and there is no need for everyone in Dongcang There is no need for officials to carry the grain home when the grain is poured out every month. Did you know that weighing the salary every month is also a burden? Since it is easy to distribute money, it will not harm the court above and it will not harm the officials below, so why not ?”
"The imperial court knows how to adapt. For example, the basis for the two taxes is grain, but it will also pay for money, cloth and other items when needed. I am in the county government and there is nothing wrong with distributing the salary to the county government. Bar?"
Han Yike looked at the quibbling Gu Zhengchen, shook his head and said, "You broke the rules."
When Gu Zhengchen saw that Han Yike was a little paranoid, he couldn't help but get a headache. This paranoid temper was really difficult to deal with, so he had to say: "I understand the rules, but there are exceptions in Jurong. Unlike other counties, Your Majesty knows and gives permission. "
There was no choice but to move Lao Zhu out.
Han Yi could see that it was the emperor's permission, so he couldn't ask any more questions, so he had to take out the account books of Changpingcang: "The county magistrate should know how important Changpingcang is."
Gu Zhengchen understood that Changpingcang was the county government's magic weapon for local disaster relief and stabilizing prices.
Han Yike said with a cold face: "In this account book, Changping warehouse stored 20,000 shi of grain in May, but in June, it suddenly became 1,000 shi, a total of 19,000 shi of grain missing. There is such a flaw in the accounts , but the county magistrate didn't care, how to do it? Shouldn't the people from the household be arrested and asked how the accounts were kept?"
Gu Zhengchen smiled: "Han Yushi, there is no problem with the accounts of Changpingcang. There was a lot of grain in May, but now the grain has disappeared, leaving only a thousand dan in the account, and no one in the household." Wrong, what are you arresting them for?"
"What, missing?"
Han Yike was shocked.
Nearly 20,000 stone grains, enough to feed 10,000 households for one or two months, disappeared just because they were gone?
“Where did the food go?”
Han Yike asked.
Gu Zhengchen lowered his head, looked at the tea soup, and said softly: "I was sold."
"Sold, sold?"
Han Yike's voice became sharp.
Be bold!
It’s simply lawless!
This is food from Changpingcang, food for disaster preparedness!
How can you be so bold as to sell the grain in Changpingcang?
Han Yike looked a little ugly. He stood up and said sternly: "Gu Zhixian, do you know that this is nearly 20,000 stones of grain, and you dare to sell it? Where do you put the safety of the people of Jurong! Everyone says You are an honest official, but I think you are a bold and corrupt official!"
