Chapter 20: Beating the Drum and Proclaiming Injustice
Zhang Jin, the steward of the Zhang family, was startled. He quickly went to find incense and put it under the tip of Zhang Taigong's nose. Zhang Taigong took a deep breath and the aroma hit his brain before he regained his consciousness. However, he was replaced by anger.
Grandpa Knocked the ground with his crutch and said fiercely: "Who, who is so bold, dares to ride on the head of my Zhang family?"
Menzi was so frightened that he dared not speak out. Zhang Jin, the steward, comforted him and said, "Don't be afraid. Tell everything you know."
The disciple then said, "It's Xuchang, the team leader from the county, and his son."
"It's them again!" Zhang Taigong was completely furious. In the past, only the Zhang family had bullied others, and no one had ever bullied them in Qiantang. The father and son named Xu, the Zhang family, had to deal with it.
Who would have thought that they would actually come to my door?
"What are you still doing? Come on, come on, gather the men and smash up their yizhuang immediately. As for the father and son named Xu, beat them to death! They are just two cheap servants.
, if I really want to be sued, I will naturally find a way to deal with it."
Taigong Zhang was confident when he said this. The Zhang family was rich and the head of the wealthy gentry. They represented the interests of the entire Qiantang gentry. Now that someone was bullying him, if he didn't fight back severely, where would he put his face?
The disciples still didn't move. Zhang Jin, the steward, felt that things were going too far, but the grandpa was so angry that he did not dare to speak.
"What? Are you going to rebel? Go quickly."
The disciple said: "I'm afraid that there are not enough manpower in the house, unless we invite the tenants of various villages to take action. Many people gathered outside the Yizhuang and applauded the Xu family father and son, and...even the prince and his father-in-law were sent away.
There is a plaque saying that the Xu family father and son are 'virtuous, kind and helpful to the world'."
Hearing this, Mr. Zhang took a deep breath.
If you look at it this way, the relationship between Wang Gonggong and the Xu family father and son is really profound.
It's just that he just said it, and now he wants to take back his face and it's hard to deal with it. Zhang Taigong just snorted coldly.
Zhang Jin took the opportunity and said: "Master, in fact, there is no need to go to such trouble to deal with the father and son. A few days ago, the county magistrate has been trying to get the gentry to donate money to rebuild the county school, but the master has never agreed, and the gentry in the county
Everyone is watching the master. Now the county magistrate is asking for help from the master. Why don’t the master take this opportunity to go to the county government office and ask the parents in the county to make the decision impartially? "
Zhang Taigong took it for granted that he was a local tycoon, and the county government would definitely favor his side. Besides, the Xu family and his son opened the Yizhuang to their own door, which was also the case with the Zhang family.
After making up his mind, Zhang Taigong said in a deep voice: "Prepare the sedan chair."
A sedan came out of the Zhang family in a very low-key manner. Mr. Zhang, who was sitting in the sedan, saw the crowd of people watching from three floors outside the front door. He could clearly hear the sorrow and joy, and felt unspeakable boredom. He left the sedan.
With his back against the sedan curtain, he leaned on the cushions at the back, calmed down, and sneered in his heart: "Let's see how long these clowns can be arrogant?" Then he closed his eyes and pretended to be taking a nap, but in his heart,
But he couldn't recover for a long time.
A lowly servant actually wanted to step on the Zhang family's head. Now even if the Zhang family could beat them to death, I'm afraid it wouldn't look good on their faces. He was even a little upset in his heart. If he had known this, he should have dealt with the father and son as soon as possible.
After all, people are still too cautious.
The sedan landed at the county government office after burning a stick of incense.
Today is not a day for petitions. If you want to file a complaint, you can't just hand it over if you want. Yamen have rules about when you can come and when you can't.
Obviously, it was not a coincidence for Mr. Zhang today, but when the Zhang family complained, there was no need to stick to etiquette. Mr. Zhang got down from the sedan chair, glanced at the county government office with a zodiac sign, and just said coldly to the people with his lips, speaking slowly.
Swallowed: "Bang the drum."
Beating drums to report grievances is not a trivial matter. The Ming Dynasty has long stipulated that unless there is a shocking injustice case or a life-threatening lawsuit, idlers are not allowed to beat drums to report grievances, otherwise they will have to get beaten up.
But since Zhang Taigong had spoken, he was naturally not polite when following others. He walked up to the grievance drum in front of the Yamen without hesitation and started beating it.
The county government was shocked.
The magistrate of Qiantang County's surname is Su Dan. Magistrate Su has only been in office for a short time, and today is not the day to resolve the case, so he was drinking tea in the flower hall of the back office to recuperate when he suddenly heard the sound of drums, and his face suddenly turned pale.
Come down.
It should be noted that whenever someone beats the drum, it means that there is a huge injustice. Officials naturally do not want any shocking injustice cases under their rule. Otherwise, wouldn’t it just prove that they have made some mistakes in their usual teachings? So no matter whether the case is solved or not,
This can be regarded as a stain. The laws of the Ming Dynasty are very harsh on beating drums to voice grievances, and ordinary people do not dare to make mistakes. Su County Magistrate has been in office for more than five months, and there has never been any incident of beating drums to voice grievances. Unexpectedly, it happened today.
Although his face was not good-looking, he could not neglect it. He quickly straightened his clothes and ordered people to go to the hall.
Waves of mighty sounds were heard, and two columns of officers held water and fire sticks. First, they gave people a warning, while Magistrate Su County, who was standing high under the mirror and hung a plaque, was also calm and stunned: "Bring people up to speak.
"
I originally thought that the target of this complaint would be a foolish village woman, but unexpectedly, the person who came in suddenly was Grandpa Zhang, who was wearing a round-neck silk satin coat. Zhang Taigong came in with his staff standing on his staff, and saluted Magistrate Su with a trembling voice.
Li said: "The people under the rule, Zhang Zheng, have met their parents."
Magistrate Su took a closer look, but he did not recognize Taigong Zhang. However, Master Huang who was standing aside recognized him and quickly reminded him softly. Magistrate Su suddenly woke up, forced a smile, and said gently to Taigong Zhang: "
It turns out to be Zhang Weng. I have heard of Zhang Weng’s name for a long time in this county, so come and give Zhang Weng a seat.”
This is the difference between the common people and the gentry. Although they are both people under the rule, the gentry has the right to sit down and speak. Not to mention that the Zhang family has a great business and plays an important role in Qiantang County. The county magistrate wants to govern and wants to govern himself.
If nothing happens, you must rely on this kind of person.
Even the emperor declared to the outside world that he would rule the world together with the scholar-bureaucrats. This scholar-bureaucrat may not only refer to officials, but also to powerful gentry like Zhang Taigong.
Grand Duke Zhang just nodded lightly, bowed slightly to greet Magistrate Su, and then sat down.
Magistrate Su County was actually dissatisfied with Taigong Zhang. How could you, a gentleman, have any grievances against Taigong Zhang? He came to play drums, which was a bit embarrassing for him. However, he couldn't care about it at this time and said with a smile: "Weng Zhang."
Beating drums to complain, but I don’t know who to accuse or what to do?”
Zhang Taigong said seductively: "I am suing Xu Chang, the leader of the county's official team, and his son Xu Qian. These two people have no respect for the king's laws and regulations, and they usually run rampant in the countryside and prey on the people. A few days ago, my son and that man
Xu Qian had some conflicts. Unexpectedly, Xu Qian used fists and kicks, beating the child with bruises all over his body and almost killing him. Today, he saw that I can bully him, so he played mournful music at the door of Zhang's house and placed the coffin of the dead man.
But they couldn't, so they came here to sue me, and asked my parents to make the decision for me, and to bring justice to me and the kind people of Qiantang."
Zhang Taigong wanted to sue anyway, so he simply told the serious story.
Magistrate Su's eyes flashed and he showed no emotion. In fact, he could not see that this kind of thing might not be as bad as what Zhang Taigong said. After all, how could a person from an ordinary family like Zhang Taigong dare to provoke him? If he had to tell who was the
Bad guy, the possibility of this family being bad guy is higher.
However, Mrs. Zhang openly said that if she had any suspicion, it would be a loss of face for the Zhang family. She wanted to live in peace in her position, and the Zhang family must not offend her.
There was also Master Huang who was standing aside to listen to the verdict. When he heard that the people Zhang Taigong wanted to sue were the Xu family and his son, he immediately remembered that the Xu family and his son had invited him to dinner a few days ago. However, after eating, Master Huang was
Although he may not have the intention to add insult to injury, it is absolutely impossible for him to speak for the Xu family and his son. Mr. Huang even thought darkly in his heart: "This father and son are really not good people. They deserve what they deserve today."
Bad luck."
Magistrate Su was furious. Of course, he was just pretending to show his anger to Taigong Zhang. He slapped the gavel in his hand and shouted loudly: "This is unreasonable. There are such a pair of madmen in the county."
, Do they think that this county is actually a lawless place? If anyone comes, they will immediately arrest the Xu family father and son, and there will be no mistakes."
After saying that, he threw away the detention sign, and a shift leader on duty quickly picked it up and left quickly.