Boom!
Boom, boom, boom!
The drum of grievance was beaten loudly, and many people gathered around after hearing it.
When you were the magistrate, you were so anxious that you were sweating. Sir, can you please let go of complaining? The door is open. I am right next to you. If you have something to say or something to say, why are you just bullying me? , it is also very unfair.
Boom!
When Gu Zhengchen was tired of beating, he put down the gavel and shouted: "When the drum of injustice is heard, human life is a matter of great importance. Please ask the county magistrate to raise the case!"
For ordinary matters, you need to submit the petition first and then review it the next day.
But when it comes to human life, the county government dare not delay, and cannot delay. Even if someone beats the drum in the middle of the night, they have to get up and go to the hall.
Before Ruji could even bother to say a word to Gu Zhengchen, Ma Zhong, the ambassador of the Hebo Office, had already roared: "Your Majesty, it's me, I'm Ma Zhong. These unscrupulous people refused to pay the fishing fee. , dare to beat the officials, it is simply lawless, it is like a rebellion, if you don’t kill them, how can you uphold the law of the country and uphold the dignity of the court!”..??m
Before you could speak, the county magistrate Feng Yuanli scolded you: "Shut up!"
Ma Zhong was shocked and didn't understand why one of his own people would kill his own people.
When Lin Zhuo and other people in Shuangxikou saw this scene, especially when Shi Ruji nodded and bowed to Gu Zhengchen, they seemed to be in awe, and their original panic gradually faded away.
"Ascending to the Hall!"
When you saw that Gu Zhengchen refused to give in, you had no choice but to order the court to be raised.
Two teams of government officials pounded the ground with fire sticks and shouted "mighty". Suddenly, the hall became serious.
Gu Zhengchen did not let the Shuangxikou people who followed him go to the hall, but asked Xiao Cheng and Lin Zhuo to escort Ma Zhong and others to the hall.
Shi Ruji picked up the gavel and saw Gu Zhengchen's cold face. He put it down carefully and asked, "Who is in the hall? Who is suing? Why are you beating the drum?"
Gu Zhengchen took a step forward and raised his hand: "I'm Zhang San, and I'm suing the Ambassador of Hebo."
Ma Zhong was stunned. When did he become the defendant?
Shi Ruji glanced at Ma Zhong, then looked at Gu Zhengchen, coughed, and said softly: "Zhang Qianhu, the ambassador of the Hebo Institute is also an official of the imperial court. He has always done things safely and has never had any problems. Look..."
"Qianhu?!"
Lin Zhuo looked at Gu Zhengchen in surprise.
Ma Zhong also felt bad, as if he had kicked an iron plate.
Qianhu, this is a military commander. Damn it, he is so elegant and so young, how can he be a military commander? But thinking about half of his face and half of his teeth, he is indeed ruthless and his violence is terrifying.
Gu Zhengchen waved his hand and said sternly: "There are quite a few problems among the imperial officials. There are not a hundred, maybe thirty, corrupt officials skinned and beheaded by the imperial court every year. Could it be that the county magistrate thinks that His Majesty has wronged them? I see it on weekdays. If there is no problem, it could be that I was deceived by others, or that I was accomplices to cover up, don’t you think so, Shi Zhixian?”
Shi Ruji broke out in a cold sweat. If he tried to excuse someone, he would be dragged into the water. He had no choice but to laugh twice in agreement, and then asked: "I wonder what crime Zhang Qianhu wants to accuse Ambassador Ma of?"
Gu Zhengchen pointed to Ma Zhong: "First, he beat the officer and hit me in the face."
Shi Ruji, Feng Yuanli and a group of government officials looked at Ma Zhong and couldn't help but admire the courage of this guy. He dared to attack, but he still slapped him in the face. However, Qianhu's face seems to be intact, and half of Ma Zhong's face has been swollen. Who hit whom...
Ma Zhong immediately cried out: "I didn't hit him, no, and I didn't even know he was Qianhu..."
Gu Zhengchen snorted coldly: "You hit me, no matter how weak you were. Your hand hit me in the face. Everyone who followed you saw it, and the people in Shuangxikou can also testify. Why, do you need witnesses?"
Ma Zhong felt aggrieved. He just slapped you on the face. Does this count as a beating?
Seeing that Ma Zhong could not refute, Shi Ruji knew that he was usually arrogant and beat people frequently, so he probably really took action. He said helplessly: "Beating an officer should be severely punished. But he didn't know Zhang Qianhu's identity at the time, so he thought They are ordinary people who refuse to pay fishing fees. Although the methods are a bit extreme, they are still running errands for the imperial court, so there is no guilt at all, right?"
Ma Zhong nodded repeatedly.
Yes, my method was inappropriate, but it was definitely not a crime.
Don't you see that there are soldering irons in Suzhou Prefecture? In order to force the people to pay taxes, they would directly burn people with the soldering iron. Those who were sentenced to death and forced to pay taxes would hit them a few times at most without touching the soldering iron.
The emperor also knew that Chen Ning was tortured and there was no punishment. Even now, he is still sitting on the censor's desk, and his own revelations cannot be brought to the table.
Gu Zhengchen also knew that this accusation was a bit far-fetched, so he did not get entangled in it and said: "Since Shi Zhixian said so, let's drop the matter. But we still need Shi Zhixian to tell us whether the people in Shuangxikou are fishermen or farmers? "
Shi Ruji's heart sank, and he didn't know how to explain it. He looked at the county magistrate and the chief registrar, and they both had no idea.
It is said that Shuangxikou is a farmer, so going to Ma Zhong to collect fishing lessons is just a pretext to rob people of their wealth.
It is said that Shuangxikou is a fisherman, but the county government still charges them two taxes every year.
Gu Zhengchen said sternly: "The imperial tax system clearly stipulates that if you are a farmer, you pay two taxes. If you are a fisherman, you pay a fishing tax. If you are a kitchen household, you pay a salt tax. No matter what people in the world do for a living, they all have corresponding tax items. I have never I’ve heard that farmers need to bear the fishing tax and kitchen households need to bear the two taxes. Is Shizhi County wrong about this, or is Ambassador Ma wrong?”
Shi Ruji was sweating on his forehead and said quickly: "Ma Zhong, what is going on? Shuangxikou is a farmer, why did you go there to collect fishing lessons? You are so audacious and bully the people. If you don't tell the truth, you will not be spared." !”
Ma Zhong quickly shouted: "Your Majesty, there have been a lot of fish caught in Shuangxikou in recent years. Naturally, the river bank needs to collect fishing lessons."
Lin Zhuo immediately stood up and refuted: "Nonsense, there are no fish in Shuangxikou, where can we catch fish? County Lord, a few years ago, the dragon sucked water and passed by, and fish fell from the sky. The river bank took this opportunity and had to go to Shuangxikou." People pay for fishing lessons, but over the years, we have been in dire straits, and we don’t have any money to spend on fishing lessons.”
Ma Zhong defended: "When we went to Shuangxikou, the people there did catch a lot of fish, and they were big fish. The village was between two streams, and the officials thought there must be fish here, so they imposed a fishing tax. The place where the river is located I sent people there several times and found fish in the river, so I went there again and again.”
Shi Ruji looked at Gu Zhengchen: "Since there are fish there, is it reasonable to impose fishing lessons?"
Gu Zhengchen looked at Shi Ruji and asked seriously: "Shizhi County has determined that Shuangxikou should collect fishing lessons. That means that the people in Shuangxikou are fishermen, right?"
At that time, you were at a loss for words.
This is a trap. As long as you admit that the Hebo Station has levied fishing taxes on all people in Shuangxi Kou, it means that you must admit that these people are fishermen, not farmers. Then you can levy agricultural taxes on the people in Shuangxi Kou in the future. There is no basis for it.
"Are they fishermen or farmers? Does the county magistrate know nothing about what the people under the rule do for a living?"
Gu Zhengchen asked.
Shi Ruji had a headache and said quickly: "There must be some misunderstanding. Shuangxikou is a farmer. It was only because of a dragon sucking water that the river bank mistakenly thought it was a fisherman, and what happened today..."
Gu Zhengchen stared at Shi Ruji: "According to the words of the county magistrate, there are hundreds of households in Shuangxikou, and they pay in silver coins every year. It is really wrong to impose fishing lessons, isn't it?"
Shi Ruji had no choice but to nod: "This is how it should be."
Gu Zhengchen said solemnly: "Since it is a wrong move, can the fishing tax on Shuangxikou be cancelled?"
Shi Ruji looked towards Ma Zhong.
When Ma Zhong saw you, you didn't dare to provoke the other party. He was quite afraid of his words, so he lowered his head and said: "Since it is a misunderstanding, it is reasonable to cancel it."
Shi Ruji nodded slightly and said to Gu Zhengchen: "Now that the matter has been made clear, I will issue a document to inform the people of Shuangxikou that the fishing class will be cancelled."
Lin Zhuo was overjoyed and quickly thanked him.
Gu Zhengchen glanced at Lin Zhuo and frowned.
The pressure should not have been on you in the first place. It is normal to cancel at this time. Why are you so grateful?
Shi Ruji was afraid that things might change, so he quickly ordered the scribe to write the document, and after using the seal, handed it to Gu Zhengchen: "Is everything okay now?"
Gu Zhengchen glanced at it for a few times, nodded slightly, and looked at Ma Zhong: "If you let me know that someone from the Hebo Station is going to Shuangxikou to collect fishing lessons, I will make a final report to Your Majesty."
Ma Zhong slapped his face, feeling a little hurt, but still lowered his head and admitted his mistake: "It was the boy who was wrong."
Gu Zhengchen put away the document and looked at Shi Ruji: "Since the government issued the document and admitted that the river bank mistakenly collected fishing lessons from the people of Shuangxikou, then all the extra fishing lessons should be returned to Shuangxi the people of the mouth.”
Shi Ruji was stunned, and Ma Zhong was also shocked.
Can the money taken by the court be returned?
What a joke!
When the imperial court asks for money, it has always been about asking for money.
Pay back the money?
Don't even think about it!
Even if you received it by mistake, don’t even think about going back.
After all, all the money has been lost. Who will fill the hole if you want?
Shi Ruji looked at Gu Zhengchen in disbelief: "There is a reason for wrong collection. If it is returned, where is the majesty of the Yamen?"
Gu Zhengchen said solemnly: "The yamen can't just care about majesty, and don't even care about right and wrong! The emperor makes no mistakes, and everyone like us may make mistakes. Since we have made mistakes and admitted them, why do we have to make them again and again? The laws of the Ming Dynasty There are many regulations in it that all say that compensation must be paid to the victims! If Hebo is in the wrong, why can't we compensate?"
Shi Ruji was very embarrassed. Looking at Gu Zhengchen's aggressive eyes, he knew that if he dared to say no, he would probably say something like "write to your Majesty" again.
Your sister, when did the people in the Imperial Guard's Mansion get so busy, and you're not the censor, so it's your turn to talk about local affairs?
Thinking of Tang Xian's instructions, nothing should happen to Hui'an County and everything must be calm during this period.
Shi Ruji gritted his teeth and shouted unwillingly: "Compensate! As much as the river bank collects, we will return it!"
"There are also coupons and salt, which need to be calculated at a discount based on the market price. Any overcharge will be returned to them!"
"Give!"
Shi Ruji was so anxious to calm down the situation that he didn't care much about it.
Gu Zhengchen looked deeply at Shi Ruji: "I will keep an eye on Shuangxikou and Hui'an County. If I find that I have not refunded the full amount, I will come here again. But by then, Shi Zhi County may not be able to sit down." From this chair, with the gavel in hand, spoke.”
