The three divisions of the Ming Dynasty were divided into three divisions: the Department of Administrative Affairs and History, which all commanded the Department of History, and the Department of Punishment and Inspection.
The chief envoy is in charge of "civil affairs", the inspector general is in charge of "criminal affairs", and the general commander is in charge of "military affairs of a province".
According to the rank of the inspector, he is a third-grade official. His main tasks are to inspect various provinces, assess the administration of officials, and be in charge of criminal law matters within a province, which is equivalent to the provincial public, procuratorate, and judicial organs in later generations. It evolved from Tiidian prison in the Song Dynasty.
After the middle of the Ming Dynasty, they began to become subordinate officials of governors, subordinate to the governors and governors of various provinces.
"Jiancha" is equivalent to the ancient "Chen Zhen", so the Jiancha envoy is also called "Zhentai".
This fat man can meet a third-grade official, and he can't be satisfied with just money. Without the help of people behind him and gold in his hands, he can't find the way. ,
Hangzhou Prefecture, Wenzhou Prefecture, Jiaxing Prefecture, Jinhua Prefecture, Quzhou Prefecture, Yanzhou Prefecture, Huzhou Prefecture, Shaoxing Prefecture, Chuzhou Prefecture, Taizhou Prefecture, and Ningbo Prefecture are under the Zhejiang Chengxuan Government Envoy Department, and because of their proximity to Yingtian Prefecture , most of the authority must be handed over to the Yingtian Mansion's government office.
Now Xu Youzhen has made great achievements in the new tax system in Suzhou, and the Zhejiang Provincial Government attaches great importance to it. At this time, Ying Ning Tiancheng, who has the background of Yingtian Prefecture official in Ningbo Prefecture, has problems. Thousands of people went to the prefect's Yamen make trouble.
The prefect Gao Bingyi couldn't hold back anymore, so he told the Zhejiang Governor Li Songbai about the incident. When Li Songbai learned about it, his first thought was not to use his own power to solve the matter, but to take it into custody. You can make any fuss afterward. At this critical moment when the imperial court is implementing the new tax system, there must be no thunder, otherwise Xu Youzhen and even your majesty will think that he is specifically causing trouble for them.
This was something that would affect his official career and even his head. How could Li Songbai not act cautiously? He immediately discussed with the inspector and put him in charge of this incident.
In fact, Li Songbai and even Gao Bingyi, the prefect of Ningbo Prefecture, were not involved in this incident, but they had no choice but to follow the general trend and go with the flow.
The inspector's name was Wang Renzhong. He was a Jinshi in the sixth year of Zhengtong's reign, ranked third grade, and was also a fat man.
In the back hall of the government office, Wang Renzhong was drinking wine and eating tofu, humming: "Pickled pickles and tofu, the emperor is not as good as me."
There are only pickles, tofu and a bottle of wine on the table.
Times have changed, and Wang Renzhong, who passed the imperial examination for the first time, once had the highest ideal of serving as an official and benefiting the country.
But after so many years of ups and downs in officialdom, he gradually changed.
At the age of fifty, he was promoted to the rank of Inspector. Although he looked like a high-ranking official, he knew in his heart that if a local official like himself did not make new breakthroughs during his tenure, he would not be able to do anything in the current political environment. Those who may enter the center, since there is no possibility of advancement, just make some money for future generations.
Someone gave me a pillow when I was sleepy. Something happened to Ying Ning Tiancheng.
In fact, he knew in his heart that the money had nothing to do with Xu Youzhen, but after he took over, in order to suppress this matter, and of course the most important thing was to make money, he directly gave the idea to the people behind Ying Ning Tiancheng, and This matter was pushed to Xu Youzhen.
Ying Tianfu's fish was not big enough, so he threw out a bigger fish.
At the same time, Wang Renzhong used his power to cause a lot of inconvenience to the people who were seeking survival. He did not provide food or drink, and often sent people to drive these people away.
In fact, in the past, Ying Ning Tiancheng was really forced to do nothing. Ever since Wang Renzhong started to intervene, the situation has been reversed.
Gathering a crowd to cause trouble is a violation of state law. Traveling outside the country is a violation of state law. If someone dares to resist, they will be arrested. If they refuse to obey, they will not be released.
He had never put so much effort or thought into the legal construction of the Ming Dynasty.
This time Wang Renzong collected a bribe worth one hundred thousand taels, a house in Suzhou City, a shop in Nanjing City, and money in Ningbo City.
Of course, Wang Renzhong is not a person, he is just a microcosm of the current Ming Dynasty officialdom.
It has been seventy or eighty years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty by Emperor Hongwu Gao. Things in the officialdom are no different from those in the previous dynasties, and they are no different from those in later generations.
Here, the fat man Wang Renzhong was drinking. When he was feeling very unhappy, the yamen servant came to report that an old friend was here.
After Wang Renzhong heard this, he let the visitors in.
The visitor was none other than the fat shopkeeper who left Mr. Zhou's place.
"Hey, shopkeeper Shen is here. Come on, sit down and have a drink with me."
Although the fat shopkeeper Shen was in a hurry, he knew that he couldn't be in a hurry, otherwise he would give Wang Renzhong a reason to ask for an exorbitant price.
He sat down and poured himself a glass of wine.
"Your Excellency, the Inspector, you are so elegant. You are already drunk at noon."
Wang Renzhong picked up the wine glass: "Your affairs are almost handled by me, and the official duties are not too busy. Isn't this just a mouthful? Alas, I have read the books of sages for half my life. As I grow old, I only have this one hobby. Okay, I'm not bragging to you. If I don't like drinking, the worst I can do is be an official of the Liubu Hall in Nanjing. If I am willing to move around, I'm afraid the capital will also go there." After saying this, Wang Renzhong drank it all in one gulp, and then Put the glass down.
"Yes, sir, the magistrate of Ningbo Prefecture, the Tongzhi Lord, and the Tongjian Lord, all did not follow the methods of the Inspector. Alas, the imperial court did not reuse you, but they chose talents unfairly. Your Majesty also did not understand. Chaoqiuhao." Shopkeeper Shen said quickly, but Wang Renzhong said whatever he liked.
"Alas, what you said is wrong. Your Majesty is a young emperor. Although he has taken charge of the government, it has only happened in the past two years. I am a great talent. I am not reused by the court. I cannot blame you. If you want to blame me, blame the officials. Ministry, it’s just Yu Qian’s fault. Your Majesty is still good. None of the things that have been done to benefit the country and the people in recent years have not been supported by our Majesty. I heard that your mother even built a shrine for our Emperor in his home. , offering incense every day.”
"Master Wang, what you are saying is not to offend the villain. How can the villain build a shrine for His Majesty in his home?"
Wang Renzhong pointed at Shopkeeper Shen, and said with a chuckle: "You, you, don't I know? Many wealthy families in Yingtian, Zhejiang have set up this shrine. Don't worry, the people will not complain. , Officials do not investigate, this has been the principle since ancient times, as long as nothing happens, no one will investigate. "
After listening to Wang Renzhong's words, the shopkeeper smiled awkwardly.
"Tell me, come here this time, do you want me to help you with something? Just say it directly, don't beat around the bush, your master and I are not people who like to beat around the bush, tell us, we will do it, at this price we will Just discuss it afterward. I don’t ask for more, and you won’t give it to me if I ask for more..."
"Your Majesty the Inspector, you are joking, you are joking. Two hard forks came to the store today. I want the Inspector to put them both in prison."
"For this kind of matter, you go directly to the prefect and pass the judge. I have already said hello to you. Can't you just let them handle it? Do you need me to personally come forward?"
"I'm afraid the magistrate and magistrates don't dare to take care of this."
"What do you mean? In the Ming Dynasty, there are things that officials cannot control. Isn't it normal to make trouble and disrupt the normal operation of shops? If you arrest them and calm them down for a few days, isn't it too normal?"
"They may be from the government. This time they involve large households in various states in the south of the Yangtze River. I am afraid that some large households have good relations with the local government. It is not surprising that they persuaded the local government to send people to investigate. If he is really from the government, how easy is it to catch the prefect?"
"Impossible. This matter has been personally investigated by the Chief Secretary, Ying Ning Tiancheng of Ningbo City. Which state official dares to ask, but in Zhejiang, only Xu Youzhen has the courage and the right to ask. , but this official Huang Ni has been stuffed into his crotch, how could he care about the life and death of these people for the sake of his own future?" Wang Renzhong said with a sneer, as if he saw Xu Youzhen clearly.
In fact, when Xu Youzhen came to Ningbo, Wang Renzhong still wanted to run up to him and look familiar. Anyway, he had some money in his hands and see if he could become Xu Youzhen's disciple. Before he retired, he could also go to the Sixth Department of Yingtian Mansion. Become a court official.
Biquge
