"The fun has just begun, let's take our time!"
Looking at the leaving common people, gentry and wealthy businessmen, Zhou Tingru murmured to himself with a sneer on his lips.
The emperor is in Suzhou City and there is a large army. This is where the confidence lies.
After the crowd dispersed, Zhou Tingru waved and a young man came over.
But I saw that this young man was seven feet tall, with a handsome appearance, a light sword hanging on his waist, and walking like the wind. This man was the newly recruited military officer Cheng Zhangkuang under the Yamen of the Prefecture. He had strong martial arts skills and was well-read in classics, history and military books.
"Zhang Kuang, three things. First, notify the accounting clerks to continue checking the account books of each house to find out the problems. Tell them that if they find a problem, they will be rewarded with a hundred taels of silver. The upper limit will depend on their ability. Got it!
Second, arrange for people to patrol the city to maintain order. Those who dare to cause trouble will be beaten first and then arrested.
Especially those who touch bags and dare to do so in the market, the hand of the one who steals will be broken;
Third, take some people around inside and outside the city and spread the word that the government is going to set up workshops to put more pressure on those wealthy businessmen! "
"Don't worry, sir, my subordinates will take care of it!"
"Go!"
After making these arrangements, Zhou Tingru slowly entered the magistrate's yamen. Before he finished his cup of tea, the guards informed Governor Yingtian, the Minister of the Ministry of War and the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel of Nanjing that they were coming.
"I have met three adults!"
"Don't be so polite, Yusheng!"
Liang Yu, the Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, waved his hand: "Yusheng, I just learned about the past. Your countermeasures just now are really good. It is really a good method!"
"Indeed, kill three birds with one stone!"
"You have a city to manage, you have to arrest bandits in the city, and you have to patrol the city and the canal. Do you have enough soldiers from the governor's office or from the guard station to help!"
…
Faced with the courtesy of the three people and Sun Youzhi's sudden change of attitude, Zhou Tingru's thoughts changed sharply.
If something goes wrong, there must be a demon, showing courtesy for nothing, committing adultery or stealing. The only possibility is that the three of them guessed the court's intention or knew that the emperor was in Suzhou.
"Are you thinking of showing off now? It's too late!"
Zhou Tingru snorted coldly in his heart, and said with a normal expression: "Thank you very much, Liang Shangshu, for your kindness. There are indeed not enough soldiers in the magistrate's yamen, but don't we have the Yanshan Guards?
There are more than 10,000 Yanshan Guards in Suzhou, which is enough, so they won’t cause any trouble to Liang Shangshu! "
The atmosphere instantly became awkward. I didn't expect Zhou Tingru to respond so directly.
Seeing the embarrassment at the scene, Yingtian Governor Sun Youzhi immediately smoothed things over and said, "Prefect Zhou, you, the co-prefect and general judge of the prefect's yamen, have all been dismissed.
If you have arrangements, I can transfer a few people from the governor's office to help you, and I will obey your arrangements at any time! "
"The governor is joking. How dare I call you? The new recruits from the magistrate's office are quite good. They are still busy for the time being!"
…
The atmosphere was awkward again, but Zhou Tingru did not give them a good look and continued: "Three adults, you have also seen that Suzhou City is in chaos.
Your Majesty still has a lot of things to do. If you don't do well, your Majesty will kill you, so I won't accompany you three anymore. Please do as you please! "
After finishing speaking, he cupped his hands and headed towards the inner hall.
With his back to the three of them, Zhou Tingru shook his head slightly.
One governor and two ministers, they had to be treated with caution no matter what they did.
But now that it has been reactivated, it is better to deal with this kind of matter in Suzhou. He also wants to understand that only by becoming a lonely minister and being absolutely loyal to the emperor will he be worry-free for the rest of his life.
Otherwise, since he offended so many officials, gentry and wealthy businessmen in Suzhou, even if he was mixed into six ministers, these people could easily punish him.
"Damn it, if you want to punish me, I will punish you to death first!"
Zhou Tingru said harshly, then changed into a Yanshan Guard uniform, mixed with a group of Yanshan Guards, left the prefect's Yamen, and entered the mansion where Chongzhen was.
No one doubts this place, because this is the place where Zhong Zigui, the former prefect of Wenxiang Cult and former prefect, is imprisoned.
In the garden, Chongzhen was lying on a deck chair, holding a book and reading it slowly
"I see your Majesty!"
"Get up!"
Chongzhen, who was sitting on the recliner, took away the book covering his face, picked up the tea and took a sip: "Nanjing Minister of War, are they looking for you?"
"yes!"
Zhou Tingru's heart was slightly frightened. This happened two quarters of an hour ago, and the emperor already knew about it. It can be seen that everything is under the control of the emperor.
Chongzhen ignored his thoughts and said calmly: "The handling has been good these two days, I am very satisfied!"
"It's all His Majesty's teachings!"
"The credit that is yours is yours, and no one can erase it!"
Chongzhen waved his hand: "What are you going to do next?"
"Your Majesty, suppressing businessmen is not the essence of rectifying Jiangnan, but using the gentry and wealthy merchants of Jiangnan to rectify the officialdom of Jiangnan.
I believe that even the Jin Yiwei will be hard-pressed to find out the illegal activities of all officials in a short time. But this matter can only be done vigorously and resolutely. We don’t have time to waste here.
In the past two days, I have been suppressing the wealthy businessmen. If they refuse to give in, they will no longer have to hang out in Suzhou Prefecture, but this is enough.
When the ministers send people to send all the evidence of their children's crimes against the laws of the Ming Dynasty to their homes, and if they don't come to me before noon tomorrow, the minister will send people to capture all the children and kill them according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty.
If they come to ask me to be more lenient, I think that as long as they hand over their collusion with Jiangnan officials and bribery, etc., I will be lenient or my crime will be reduced to three levels.
The witnesses and confessions are all there. We ransacked the official's house to find physical evidence. The chain of evidence is basically complete. When the time comes, there will be a public trial, where the gentry and wealthy businessmen will testify, and then we will chop down what should be cut and kill what should be killed!
In this way, the officials have been cleaned up. These gentry and wealthy businessmen have a criminal record for betraying officials. In the future, when officials want to commit corruption, they will have to think about the consequences of being betrayed by wealthy businessmen and gentry.
Although it can't be completely eliminated, at least it can't be done openly.
Without the protection of these officials, these wealthy businessmen can easily be killed even if they have money. In this way, they kill two birds with one stone. "
“Now that you have an idea, let’s go and do it!”
"I obey the decree!"
Zhou Tingru responded, hesitated, and whispered: "Your Majesty, although the method is good, it has great disadvantages. Once it is done, at least 80% of the officials in Suzhou Prefecture and Jiangnan will be beheaded and dismissed.
With such a big vacancy, even the officials to be replaced may not be able to fill it, and trouble will easily occur by then! "
"I have my own solution to this matter. Just concentrate on your work. If something happens, I will support you. Just go ahead and do it!"
"I understand!"
Zhou Tingru was only slightly shocked, then bowed and left.
An hour later, countless wealthy businessmen and gentry in Suzhou City received a letter from the prefect's Yamen. The content of the letter frightened them.
