The iron coupon of the elixir given by the emperor has another name among the people, the gold medal for immunity from death!
"Bing, I've made the decision." Chang Sen said loudly, "Because of this case, I must find out!"
As he said that, he grinned and sneered, "If you, the Chief Secretary of Huguang, are asked to investigate on your own, wouldn't it mean that you can always check with your left hand and your right hand, and you will never be able to find out clearly?"
"Since I want to investigate, let's get to the bottom of it! The iron certificate of the alchemy book given by Emperor Taizu Gao is here. If anything happens, I will bear it. Anyway, with this thing, I can't die!"
"You can't die!"
Yan's face looked ashen and he thought to himself, "But the Chief Secretary of Huguang doesn't know how many people will die!"
Chang Sen mobilized troops into the city, making it clear that he wanted to make things worse.
If we draw this fire from the Wuchang Prefecture to the entire Huguang Chief Secretary, how many people will be killed at that time?
The entire Huguang Province is bound to be in a bloody storm, and who can stay out of it?
Thinking of this, Yan Zheng closed his eyes in pain and walked down the hall in despair.
"Sir, be careful!"
But he staggered violently, and if it weren't for the sharp eyesight and quick hands of the Yamen servant next to him, he might have fallen down on the spot.
"I still have half a year... I still have half a year before I retire and return to my hometown. Half a year... I have gone from the seventh-level county magistrate to the third-level inspector for forty years... forty years
A dream is all in vain!”
~~
"Master, this Yan is a well-known good old man!"
Among the crowd in the hall, He Guangyi whispered to Zhu Yunxi, "In his forty years of official career, I have never heard of him having a romantic relationship with anyone. They all say that he..."
"What did you say?" Zhu Yunxi asked coldly.
"Cowardly!"
"Hmph!" Zhu Yunxi snorted coldly, "I'm afraid it's not because I'm timid, but because I'm used to pretending to be confused! Pretending to be confused is even more annoying than being really confused!"
Suddenly, bang!
Zhu Yunxi was startled by a sudden scream.
I saw Chang Sen standing in the hall, shouting, "Come on, capture the Wuchang magistrate and bring it to me for questioning!"
"Ha!" Zhu Yunxi smiled bitterly, "Is he addicted to checking?"
~~
After half a cup of tea, Zhang Qian, the frightened prefect of Wuchang, was brought to the lobby of the Inspection Bureau.
As soon as he entered the door, his eyes suddenly narrowed.
Because he saw his brother-in-law Bai Buyi curled up on the ground, twitching like...maggots in the toilet.
"Are you Zhang Qian, the prefect of Wuchang?" Chang Sen asked loudly in the hall.
"Your Majesty, Zhang Qian, I have met Chang Hou!" Zhang Qian, who was somewhat courageous and able to stand still, said with a salute.
As soon as he finished speaking, Chang Sen's personal soldier Chang Dabiao stepped forward with a waist knife.
"Stop, what are you doing?" Chang Sen asked.
Chang Dabiao was startled, "Master Hou, isn't the old rule to knock off one leg first?"
"Go, go, go, go!" Chang Sen laughed and scolded, "I am a serious official from the third rank, how can I say that if I break my legs, I will break my legs!"
The prefects of prefectures usually hold the fourth or fifth rank official position.
Wuchang is both the capital of Huguang and an important port in the world, so Zhang Qian, the prefect of Wuchang, has a higher official position.
If nothing unexpected happens to him, he will continue to follow his official career. If he is lucky, within ten years, he will first be promoted to the position of Chasi, and then he will be the chief minister of a province and the official of the frontier.
"Here, give him the file!" Chang Sen pursed his lips.
In the hall, the documents recording the prisoners' confessions were handed over to Zhang Qian with both hands in hand.
Zhang Qian's hands were shaking a little, but he still tried to maintain his appearance. But after taking it, he couldn't stand it no matter how he looked at it.
"He!" Chang Sen pointed at Qian Dayong of the Shipping Department and said, "Is what he said the truth?"
He originally thought that Zhang Qian would deny it and refuse to admit it.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Qian put down the file, lowered his head and smiled, "Hui Lord, every word is true!" He raised his head and said, "Not only is every word true, but what I have done is far more than that!"
"You are a bachelor!" Chang Sen said, stroking his beard.
Not only was he surprised, but Zhu Yunxi in the audience was also very surprised.
At this moment, Zhang Qian sighed, and then looked around the crowd, seeming to be searching for something.
"Xiaoguan has known for a long time that the day when the Dongchuang incident will happen!" Zhang Qian said with a bitter smile, "So, when Chang Hou's people arrested Xiaguan's brother-in-law, Xiaguan clearly had the opportunity to disguise himself and leave the city, but he was still willing to wait for death!"
"Knowing that this day would come, you still do this?" Chang Sen said angrily.
"It's not that the lower officials are greedy for money, but..." Zhang Qian smiled self-deprecatingly, "You have to use money everywhere in life!" As he said that, he pointed at Qian Dayong and sneered, "You are making a confession.
It says that I am coercing and tempting you to make you all listen to me!"
At this point, he laughed again, "But aren't you quite happy when you divide the money?"
As he said that, his eyes suddenly changed, "I also heard that you haven't touched your money in the past few years, and you plan to use it to show your filial piety, be active, and strive to find a wealthy place and become a county magistrate, right?"
"No, no, no...!" Qian Dayong shook his head hurriedly.
"You put all the blame on me, and I don't blame you, but it's time to make things clear!" Zhang Qian said again, "The ships of your shipping department were leased to merchants to traffic goods, but the bulk of them went directly into the ships.
From the Secretary, what I get every month is just for your filial piety, right?"
Before Qian Dayong could speak, Zhang Qian looked at Chang Sen, "I made them do bad things, but more importantly, they respected me and asked me to protect them from doing even worse things!"
"There is also the Engineering and Construction Department. The lower officials have intervened, but whether it is building river embankments, roads, drainage, etc., the people who do the specific work are all found by the Engineering and Construction Department themselves...the boss is also their own
have eaten!"
"And the Xu family's case!"
Hearing this, Xu Pingan, who was kneeling, looked at Zhang Qian angrily, his eyes like knives.
"Don't blame me. I told them at the beginning that when a person dies, they should be given money, and more money should be given to suppress the matter!" Zhang Qian said with a smile, "It's because the people below are confused, they are afraid that things will get bigger.
, and then threatened you to the point of demolishing your house and destroying your household registration documents... All day long, people stare at Heyan'er Street, the family members of those who died at home!"
Speaking of this, Zhang Qian sighed, "When I really find out, the anger in your hearts can no longer be solved with money, right? You still want to go to Beijing to complain? Then I will have to acquiesce in the behavior of the people below.
I can't treat you well and let you really complain, right?"
"Dog officer!" Xu Ping'an gritted his teeth and cursed.
"Dog official!" Zhang Qian sneered, "under my rule, there were indeed dozens of major cases involving human lives. But in recent years, Wuchang has become more and more prosperous, with taxation ranking among the top three in the Ming Dynasty, and business travelers traveling from south to north.
!”
"The merchant ships waiting to dock on the Yangtze River have to be numbered...not to mention how much tax revenue has been added to the court. Just the merchants looking for someone to unload the goods, food, clothing, housing, transportation, and even the wandering warbler... Haha, it all makes the Wuchang Prefecture
Will the poor people benefit from it?"
"I am greedy, but I have also given the poor people of Wuchang Prefecture more jobs! Otherwise, how could you make so much money out of your dirty outer city?"
"Ask yourselves, even if you are selling hot dry noodles with only one load, is your business better than before?"
The only voice in the hall, Zhang Qian's, slowly sounded.
Zhu Yunxi in the crowd always felt that his words were meant for him.
~
"Oh, so you still have gong?" Chang Sen sneered.
"Don't dare!" Zhang Qian continued to laugh, "Wrong is wrong! If a lower-level official is corrupt, he is corrupt! But a lower-level official is not a greedy person. If a lower-level official is not corrupt, the people below him will also be greedy. If a lower-level official is not corrupt, then those above him will also be greedy.
Even those who want money will ask for money!"
"So, Xia Guan is corrupt! Not only is Xia Guan himself corrupt, but the officials in Wuchang Mansion also have extra income in addition to their annual salary. Xia Guan takes them along with him to become corrupt!"
"If they have a way to make money, I will not stop them and turn a blind eye! As long as...as long as they are within the scope of my control, as long as they don't cause trouble to everyone in the world!"
"In this way, they can wholeheartedly help Xia Guan and govern Wuchang well!"
To be continued...