Before the execution, the onlookers were still whispering and discussing privately. After dozens of people's heads fell to the ground, there was a dead silence outside the government office. Most of the people had the same expression, staring in shock and dumbfounded.
Most of the villagers had seen government officials punishing prisoners, but they had never seen so many people killed at one time, and all of them were officials. Even though the villagers didn't understand the criminal law, they also knew that a third-grade border official couldn't just kill someone at will. But the fact was right in front of them. The head of the governor of Jeju was already missing.
More than one of the villagers who were watching were frightened. Changsheng's blood was rising and his heartbeat was racing. Although these officials were all innocent according to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, what they did today had completely confirmed his reputation as a cruel official.
In front of everyone, Chang Sheng could not show the complexity and entanglement of his emotions. He spoke in a cold voice and recounted the crimes of the killed officials. Then he gave a stern order that all levels of government in prefectures, prefectures and counties must enforce the law impartially and uphold justice for the people. If If the people dissatisfied with the judgment of the state government, they can go directly to the Yushitai to redress their grievances and file a complaint, and no one is allowed to stop them from doing harm.
After all, the Yushitai is the government agency that handles major and important cases. In order to prevent the villagers from running to Chang'an because of trivial matters, Changsheng opened the door to convenience while also setting strict restrictions. If you go through the Yushitai After conducting personal trials, it was found that there was nothing wrong with the cases heard by the officials at all levels, and those who went to the censor's stage to redress their grievances were all sent to the army.
Until Chang Sheng and others mounted their horses and returned, the onlookers did not cheer. They just gave way in fear and watched Chang Sheng and others ride away.
Datou also noticed that Changsheng was in a heavy mood. When he left Jeju City, he followed him on horseback. "Sir, the villagers have never seen such a bloody scene. They were frightened. Maybe they were worried that they would be punished for cheering. The Chen family was retaliating, so I didn’t speak out. When I come back to my senses, I will definitely applaud."
Chang Sheng frowned slightly and did not answer.
Yu Yi also knew that Changsheng was under a lot of psychological pressure at this time, and answered from the side, "Master Fu is right. Although you are doing the Rakshasa thing of killing people, what you want is that if I don't go to hell, who will go to hell?" The heart of a Bodhisattva is to keep the officialdom clean and upright, and not to gain a false reputation. At present, vassal towns are divided and wars are raging. The people's hearts are inherently unstable, and the corruption of officials will make the people lose confidence in the court. For these rotten national foundations, , the officials who are bad to the country must be killed to serve as a warning to others, to restore the dignity of the imperial court, and to reunite the hearts and minds of the people."
"Yes, yes," Datou echoed repeatedly, "If it were a peaceful and prosperous time, we could take a long-term approach to rectify the officialdom and slowly correct the deviations. However, the current political situation is unstable and the imperial court is about to send troops to fight against rebellion. If we want to rectify the officialdom as soon as possible and ensure that the imperial decrees are passed, the only way is Use thunderous means and shock with severe punishment."
After all, Changsheng was young. Even though he knew that what he was doing was right, he still felt a little heavy. Hearing the comfort of the two, the gloom in his heart dissipated a lot. What they said all came to his heart. He would rather bear the burden of cruel officials. Even though the government is infamy, corrupt officials must be eliminated as soon as possible to stabilize the people's hearts.
After regaining his composure, he began to reflect on himself, not on what he had done before, but on the entanglement and instability of his mood. If the people had applauded when he beheaded these officials, he would not be in such a bad mood. , this shows that his mentality is still immature. An official who sincerely serves the country and the people should not worry that the people will misunderstand him, nor should he expect everyone to understand his difficulties and helplessness.
My level is still low, and subconsciously I still hope to be recognized and thanked by the world. To put it bluntly, I still hope that the people will appreciate it. This is actually wrong. What is the difference between that and repaying kindness.
If there is anything to say, it will be long, but if there is nothing to say, it will be short. Everyone set off at noon. Without the burden of Zhang Wang's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, the group of people galloped northwest and returned to Chang'an in the evening of the next day.
After returning to the Yushitai, he found that Shi Xuanming was not there again. When he asked the accountant, he found that Shi Xuanming had withdrawn another two thousand taels of silver today, and he went to Anxiang Tower again.
Although Changsheng was dissatisfied, he did not go to Anxiang Tower to find out what was going on. He left for a few days. The Yushitai and the Ministry of Revenue had a large backlog of official affairs, which he needed to deal with immediately.
The first thing to deal with was the Jeju matter. Although Yushitai supervised hundreds of officials, there were clear regulations on the performance of their duties. He went to Jeju and killed dozens of officials from top to bottom. This was a serious violation of the regulations for handling cases. The common people were the imperial court. The common people and officials are also officials of the imperial court. After killing so many officials, they must tell the imperial court.
Immediately after Changsheng came back, he wrote a note to the emperor. The note did not explain why he violated the rules and killed so many officials. He simply stated the facts of the case, and then asked the court to punish him for handling the case in violation of regulations.
After writing the book, he immediately sent someone to the palace overnight. What he had done in Jeju must have been reported back to Chang'an by now. Not everyone in the court, civil and military, was afraid of him. There were also many who only had eyes for the law. Veteran ministers and officials, there will definitely be someone participating in the court tomorrow morning. They must let the emperor know about this and figure out how to deal with it in advance.
Although Changsheng had accepted the excuse to plead guilty, he was also worried that the emperor would really punish him under pressure. It was not that he was afraid of being demoted, but that once the emperor issued an order to blame him, even if it was just a simple criticism, he would be hurt by Jeju. The killer will also lose its deterrent effect to a large extent. At that time, other local officials will be lucky enough to think that he has been reprimanded and criticized by the emperor for his reckless behavior and will not do similar things in the future.
Only when the emperor does not punish them will local officials be afraid. They worry that if they bend the law for personal gain and become corrupt, something similar to the Jeju officials may happen to them. Only when local officials are in danger can they be impartial. By enforcing the law and being diligent and caring for the people, we can regain the hearts of the people in the shortest possible time.
After sending the notes, Changsheng began to look through the official documents piled up on his desk. Most of these official documents were sent back by the supervisory censors who had previously been sent to various places. They talked about the problems discovered during the inspections in various places. Some were just simple reports, and some were requests for specific instructions. How should things be handled? He needs to give a reply to this kind of official document.
It took Chang Sheng two hours to process this pile of official documents. The imperial court was nearing the end of its formation of a new army. Almost three hundred thousand new troops had been recruited. It wouldn't be long before they would send out troops to fight against rebellion and suppress bandits. The next step was to spend money. There are more places, and what he did in Jeju before was also considered to strengthen the prestige of the inspection envoys sent by the Yushitai to various places. Only by making local officials have awe of the Yushitai and acting as a supervisory censor can the inspectors do a better job. Whether it is the performance of their duties, the subsequent house raids, or local officials taking the initiative to spend money to eliminate disasters, they can all proceed smoothly.
As the same saying goes, no official of the ninth rank or above can truly be absolutely upright and honest. If the court wants to investigate whoever it is, it will ensure that they will not be wronged unjustly. However, the court also has its own difficulties. All officials There are problems, and we cannot investigate all the officials. Otherwise, who will be in charge of the local area and handle official affairs. This situation is like a big hall. Most of the masonry and tiles have problems. If the problematic masonry and tiles are removed, All the tiles were torn down and the main hall collapsed.
At the second watch, Changsheng rushed to the Ministry of Revenue alone. The Ministry of Revenue was in charge of people's livelihood and finance, and received a large number of official documents from all over the country every day. Some documents could be processed by the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, while others had to be decided by him, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, personally.
When dealing with the official affairs of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Chang has one head and two big heads. Almost all of them need money. Money needs to be used everywhere, but the treasury is already empty. Where can he get money? In order to rectify the officialdom, he has already made himself into a mess. He is a cruel official that everyone hates. In order to raise money for disaster relief and military supplies, he must not turn himself into a bandit who robs homes and homes.
Time passed quickly when dealing with official duties, and it was almost the fourth watch before he knew it. Changsheng left the Household Department in a hurry, returned to the censor's desk, changed into his official uniform, and went to court. He had to be present at the court in person this morning because many officials would participate in the impeachment performance against him. , he had to appear in the court to make everyone scrupulous, and at the same time, he could relieve some pressure on the emperor. Although what he did in Jeju was really helpless, it was ultimately a violation of regulations. If the emperor was dedicated to protecting it, I am afraid that You will be besieged and questioned by the officials.
On the way to the palace, Changsheng's mood was very complicated. He not only hoped that the emperor could understand his good intentions and support him with all his strength, but also hoped that the emperor would punish him severely and remove him from office. He was the official he should be. I was so tired. Although it was extremely difficult when I rushed to Gezao Mountain alone, it was not as stressful as it was now.
He misses those days a little bit...
