In late autumn, the lotus flowers in the moat have withered, and most of the lotus stems are bare on the water. Occasionally, some half-broken lotus leaves are still hanging on the stems, shivering as the autumn wind blows.
At the city gate, people were coming in and out, and merchants were hurrying to carry cages and loads. The soldiers guarding the city gate were too windy and had already hid under the city gate, lazily basking in the slanting sunlight, out of reach of the wind.
There is a touch of dim sunshine in the place, and it still feels a little warm.
By the moat, there was a woman washing clothes. A smooth clear stone was thrust into the water, and the wooden pestle was beating the clothes. Although it was not winter yet, the water in the river was very cold, and her hands were already red from the cold.
Occasionally, a silver carp will be frightened by the sound of beating clothes and jump out of the water, splashing a few waves. The fish here are very big, because the lotus roots, fish and shrimp in the moat are not allowed to be hunted, so the river around the city is
It has become a paradise for fish and shrimp. As long as they do not cross the border and swim elsewhere, they can basically enjoy their old age. However, in the past few months, the Yellow River burst its banks and the area was also flooded. The lotus was so severely damaged, not just by the autumn frost.
The effect is also the result of flooding.
"Boom! Boom!"
With the sound of gongs, the government officials holding "Quiet" and "Avoid" signs on the street came over. The people who were entering the city quickly stepped aside. The woman who was beating her clothes by the river put her hand on an awning and looked towards the city gate. Seeing this posture,
Then I knew that the magistrate was back.
The surname of the county magistrate of Kaocheng is Shi, and his name is Shi Xiaohan. He was a Jinshi in the 27th year of Hongwu and has been the magistrate of Kaocheng for seven years. This person cannot be said to be very capable. After taking office, Kaocheng did not see much change, but
It has not become worse. This person is still honest as an official. He can only be said to be a conservative official, and his reputation among the people is not bad.
At this time, Shi Xiaohan was sitting in the sedan with his head slightly locked, still thinking about the magistrate's summons.
Kaocheng County is under the rule of Guide Prefecture, and the Prefect of Guide is Sun Guanghe. The prefect of Shi is not good at flattery, and has a very weak relationship with this prefect Sun, and has little contact with him. However, the prefect Sun suddenly summoned him two days ago.
, Shizhi County did not dare to neglect, and after arranging the county affairs, he hurried to Guide Mansion. Magistrate Sun entertained him warmly and invited him to a banquet. During the banquet, he also said that he was an honest and capable official and should have been promoted or moved to another position long ago.
A better county government. It was only because of the four-year crisis that affected the officials' examinations that he was allowed to sit in the Kaocheng post for seven years. The prefect planned to recommend him and at least transfer him to a rich man.
county.
If Magistrate Sun really does it, it will be really easy to do it, because Magistrate Sun's in-law Zhou Wenze is a doctor in the Ministry of Civil Service Examination Department. Although the official is not a big one, his real power is not small. He is recognized by the imperial court as one of the four major officials.
The worst ones are the Literary Selection Department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Examination and Merit Examination Department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Military Selection Department of the Ministry of War, and the Arsenal Department of the Ministry of War. The energy of the chief officials of these four yamen is truly astonishing.
However, Shi Zhixian was not a confidant of Sun Zhifu. How could such a great thing happen to him for no reason? At that time, Shi Zhixian felt that something was fishy. As expected, yesterday, the Henan Provincial Supervisor accompanied the Henan Procuratorate.
The visiting envoy summoned him and Magistrate Sun. The summons did not ask about political achievements or integrity. They only asked about the floods in the Yellow River two months ago. Magistrate Shi had an idea.
Floods in the Yellow River are partly natural disasters and partly man-made disasters. They are said to be natural disasters because when there is too much rain, the water in the Yellow River is indeed too ferocious. In the past four years, the Southern and Northern armies have been fighting fiercely, and the imperial court has not taken any measures to manage the river.
What time? It is said to be a man-made disaster. This time the Yellow River overflowed. In fact, the flood was not particularly severe compared to previous years. With the money allocated by the imperial court every year for river control, it could be dealt with by recruiting laborers to make repairs.
However, the money allocated by the Ministry of Revenue every year for river control passed through the hands of Magistrate Sun, and only 30% of the 10% was left in Kaocheng County. Shi Xiaohan had a clear conscience, and this money was worth a penny.
There was no greed, all was spent on river management, but such a small amount of money was obviously not enough. As a result, the dams were not repaired for several years, and finally something happened this year.
As soon as the flood broke out, he wrote a letter asking for tax exemptions and relief for the victims. In fact, the Yongle New Dynasty had just come into power and was still taking over the official affairs of the Jianwen Dynasty. Many old things were broken. If the Guide Government reported the truth, it would only say
If a flood occurs and the autumn harvest is affected, and if a request is made for tax reduction or exemption to provide relief to the victims, the court will most likely regard it as a natural disaster and directly approve it. It may not even think of checking whether the river management is doing its best.
But……
The magistrate of Shixian County secretly sighed. The magistrate was too greedy. He just got a lot of benefits in the past few years. Now the people have suffered a disaster. As a parent and an official, he is generous to the court anyway. Why can't he take advantage of it?
What about actually reporting taxes, reducing taxes, and reducing the burden on the people? Being an official for one term cannot benefit one party, and you shouldn't do things that make things worse for the people, right?
However, Sun Guanghe has been the prefect of Guide for many years, and he already has the capital to be promoted based on his seniority. If there are stains on this exam, it will be difficult to apply for promotion, so... for the sake of the glory of his political achievements,
This flood was concealed and not reported, so many people's fields were destroyed and they were forced to pay grain. If they couldn't pay, they had no choice but to leave their homes and become beggars.
This year's flood did not cause too serious losses, but it was because of Magistrate Sun's selfish interests that the damage of the flood doubled. Although Shi Zhixian was dissatisfied with this, he did not dare to do so in front of Magistrate Sun.
He said that he did not take the promise made to him by Magistrate Sun very seriously. Although he did not dare to call himself a good official who benefited one party, he did not want to form a party with a corrupt official like Magistrate Sun. What he was afraid of was that Magistrate Sun
If there is someone in the court who cannot be overthrown by the Metropolitan Inspectorate, or only overthrows Magistrate Sun, then he, a seventh-rank official, will not be able to do anything in the future.
However, when the imperial envoy from Henan Province and the special visiting envoy from Jingli came to investigate the case, they wanted to directly question Magistrate Sun, then summoned him, and still asked him in front of Magistrate Sun. This was clearly to explain the case to Magistrate Sun.
How could he have the courage to expose it? He had no choice but to say a lot of things that were against his will. But looking back, he felt uneasy in his heart. Originally, the matter had nothing to do with him, but now he was forcibly dragged into the whirlpool by Magistrate Sun. Once
If the court really investigates the case seriously, he will not be implicated. Wouldn't it be extremely unjust?
Shi Zhixian thought about it, struggling in his heart. He wanted to report it, but was worried about being suppressed. If he didn't report it, he was worried about being implicated. Seeing that he entered the city gate, Shi Zhixian let out a long sigh and said: "That's it, everyone is back.
,Why are you thinking so much! Just muddle along..."
"The County Lord is back!"
The ceremonial guard was walking when someone suddenly blocked the way. Shi Zhixian opened the sedan curtain and saw that it was Mr. Wang from Shenghua Academy. This man was not only knowledgeable and talented, but also a well-known local gentry in Kaocheng. Among the students he taught, there were no
He has passed many civil servants and scholars, and his son is now the imperial envoy. Shizhi County did not dare to trust such a person. If he wanted to govern the place, he needed the support of such a powerful local figure. Shizhi County hurriedly issued a decree
He stood up in the sedan chair, smiled and said, "Master Wang, please come."
Old Master Wang smiled and said: "Your Majesty, the County Lord, has come back just in time. I have a friend who has traveled here from the capital. I am about to host a banquet in honor of him. There is only one elegant guest missing. It would be better to meet by chance. Lord County Lord, let's go
Come sit in my house."
Shi Zhixian said quickly: "No, no, Master Wang, I just came back from Guide Mansion..."
Mrs. Wang was not willing to listen to him. She waved her hand to the ceremonial guard and said, "You can go back to the county government office yourself. The county magistrate will go to my house to have a drink. I will escort the county magistrate back home later."
Mr. Wang is a local rich man, and the leader of the three squads of government officials is his nephew. How dare he disobey him? After hearing the shout, he led the honor guard back to the county government office. The county magistrate Shi was full of worries and had no intention of eating.
But Old Master Wang was in high spirits and pulled him away. Shi Zhixian had no choice but to follow him back with a wry smile.
Old Master Wang took him back to his home and told his family, "Please quickly invite my friend from the capital to come out and see the county magistrate."
Magistrate Shi smiled bitterly and said: "Old Master Wang, I really have no intention of drinking today."
Old Master Wang smiled mysteriously: "Lord County Lord, did I really meet you by chance today? Haha, I am waiting for you to come back. This friend from Beijing, there are only benefits for you to meet me.
Old age will not harm you."
When County Magistrate Shi heard this, he immediately became alert: "Do I know this friend that Old Master Wang mentioned?"
"From today on, don't you recognize me?"
Following the voice, a thin man in his forties with a tall forehead, thin face, and fair complexion walked into the living room, with sharp eyes on him, like an eagle.
Magistrate Shi asked in surprise: "Who are you?"
The man smiled slightly and said, "I'm here to save your life!"
Shi County Magistrate shrank his eyes and said in a deep voice: "How do you say this?"
The man said calmly: "I arrived at Kaocheng and conducted an open and covert investigation. I found out that you, Master Shi, have been an honest official, so I wanted to give you a hand. Shi County Magistrate, Kaocheng was flooded, and the disaster report was sent to the court, but the court has not yet seen it.
Reply, people are displaced and complaining, why can't you send a letter to ask questions? Do you think you have fulfilled your responsibility by reporting it to the police? You are deceiving yourself and others!"
"My officer? You are..."
Old Master Wang said solemnly: "This is Mr. Chen Yingchen, the Imperial Envoy of the Zuodu Procuratorate!"
County Magistrate Shi exclaimed "Ah", and Chen Ying said loudly: "This year the water is not strong, why is Kaocheng alone in trouble? A memorial to report the disaster was sent to the capital, but there was no reply. The gentry in Kaocheng asked again and again, have you ever
I have repeatedly sent messages to consult the Guide Mansion, how did Sun Guanghe respond, how to suppress it, personal evidence, physical evidence, and official correspondence. I have already arrived, why are you still unwilling to hand it over?"
"this……"
Chen Ying said sternly: "Shi Xiaohan, you are the pastor of Kaocheng, but you want to stay out of it. Isn't it just wishful thinking? Either you are colluding with that magistrate Sun and colluding with others. Let's see if I can punish you! Or, you can
Expose it boldly, I will make the decision for you! Sun Guanghe is currently in Guide Mansion with the envoys sent by me to monitor the entanglement with the envoys. This is your only chance to escape the crime, so don’t make a mistake!"
After hearing this, County Magistrate Shi turned pale as paper...
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At the same time, in the capital, Xinyisi.
Wu Youdao, the deputy imperial envoy of the capital, and his people were looking through the registration book carefully. Suddenly, they came across a memorial from Kaocheng County Magistrate Shi Xiaohan reporting the disaster. Wu Youdao's eyes lit up. He looked carefully and saw that this memorial had been received by the letter post office.
The next day, it was forwarded to the General Affairs Department, which had a signature signed by the General Affairs Department. Wu Youdao smiled slightly, closed the registration book, stuffed it into his sleeve, and smiled at the manager of the Post Office Department: "This registration book, I will give it to you first."
I took it away and will return it to you Xinyi after the matter is settled."
In the Department of General Affairs, Huang Zhen, the imperial envoy, led several people to check the search catalog one by one uploaded and issued by the official letter for registration. Zhang Antai was like an ant on a hot pot. Although he pretended to be calm on his face, he felt as if boiling water had been poured on him, and he was anxious.
He had to panic. But he had no choice but to pretend that he had accidentally lost or omitted to report it, or it could be said that he was careless and tampered with the handover book. He would not dare to do so.
Besides, it was useless for him to change it. The Post Office had the acceptance signature of their General Affairs Department, so he could not reach out to the Post Office. However, no one was willing to offend him until he had evidence. After all, the General Affairs Department also
Not being a yamen to be trifled with, that old cunning Wu Youdao went to the Post Office, leaving the General Affairs Department to Huang Yushi.
He had already signaled several times, both overtly and covertly, but this bastard named Huang didn't know whether he was pretending to be stupid or because he really didn't understand. He was completely unmoved by the benefits promised to him. Whose power did this old bastard rely on?
, dare not to take him seriously?
"Yang Xu?"
Zhang Antai suddenly thought of Yang Xu's invitation. The Metropolitan Procuratorate invited three people in total, Chen Ying, Wu Youdao, and Huang Zhen. Chen Ying was the Imperial Envoy of Zuo Du, and Wu Youdao was the Deputy Imperial Envoy. These two people could be ignored, but the Du Inspector
There are also thirteen imperial envoys in the courtyard and imperial envoys in Beijing. There are no less than a hundred ordinary envoys in total. Yang Xu invited Huang Zhen alone... Is he Yang Xu's person?
After figuring this out, Zhang Antai immediately gave up. No matter how much he tried to win over him, how beneficial would it be to have Huang Zhen as his assistant? Zhang Antai stamped his feet, turned around and walked out.
Huang Zhen held a handover directory, raised his eyelids slightly, glanced at his back and smiled coldly, then fixed his eyes on a record of a certain year, month, and day in the file. Huang Zhen had already found what he was looking for, and deliberately placed it on the file.
This torturous slowness is just trying to test Zhang Antai's patience, and Zhang Antai really can't hold his breath anymore.
Watching Zhang Antai go out, Huang Zhencai said slowly and calmly: "Here, the person receiving the memorial from Kaocheng County Magistrate is Su Xiaopu, the governor of general affairs. Where is this person? Ask him to come and ask about the whereabouts of this memorial!"
Wang Lesi, manager of the General Affairs Department, quickly replied: "Oh, Su Xiaopu...my mother is seriously ill and has taken leave of absence and returned home?"
Huang Zhen smiled slightly and asked, "Oh? When did you leave?"
"Uh...unfortunately, I just took leave yesterday!"
Huang Zhen said in a strange way: "Yesterday? Haha, how can you say it's unlucky? What a coincidence, what a coincidence!"
Wang Jingcheng was reluctant to speak, so Huang Zhen asked again: "Where is this Su Xiaopu's hometown?"
Wang Xingcheng hurriedly said: "Yunnan Chuxiong Mansion!"
"Tsk tsk tsk tsk, it's really far enough."
Huang Zhen clicked his tongue repeatedly, stood up, and said with a smile to his people: "Let's go to the Ministry of Personnel to find out whether Su Xiaopu's hometown is Chuxiong Mansion in Yunnan!"
Wang Xianjun was shocked and said quickly: "Oh, Governor Su's hometown is Fenghua County, Ningbo Prefecture, but...I heard from Governor Su that he has now moved to Chuxiong, Yunnan."
Huang Zhen nodded and said slowly: "You haven't moved out of our Ming Dynasty, have you?"
Wang Chengcheng laughed dryly and said: "Huang Yushi was joking, of course... he didn't move out of our Ming Dynasty."
Huang Zhen nodded and said: "Sure, as long as we haven't left the realm of Ming Dynasty, we don't have to worry about not being able to find him!"
He rolled up the handover book, carried it behind his back, and swung his butt out like a proud duck...
Zhou Wenze, the examination doctor of the Ministry of Civil Service, said angrily: "Sir Zhang, why are you so restless? Yang Xu has made it clear that he is trying to frighten the mountain. Why do you still come to see me at this time?"
Zhang Antai said angrily: "What if I don't come to you? I suppressed this memorial for your in-laws just for your sake. Originally, it was a matter of a third-class county when the new dynasty was first established.
Everything is so complicated that I didn’t expect Datian to hear about it. But... Yang Xu just let him know about it. Now that it has been found on my head, how can I not be anxious? "
Zhou Wenze paused and said: "Confused! You are confused! Hasn't that Su Xiaopu been solved? The clue has been cut off here. Yang Xu is so capable, but he can't find your head! Just do it
If you bite Wang Xiaopu to death, what can he do to you, Duke Fu?"
Zhang Antai sneered and said: "My Lord Zhou, you put it lightly, I am doing things for you, otherwise... it would be really difficult for him, Yang Xu, to catch me. Yes, Su Xiaopu's line is broken
Okay, but what about Kaocheng? That mad dog Chen Ying is a master who doesn't let go of anyone he bites. If he has the evidence of your good in-law, are you afraid that he won't be able to follow the clues and find you out? You
If Mr. Zhou enters Jin Yiwei's prison, I don't believe that your mouth is stronger than Jin Yiwei's torture tools. At that time, can you not recruit me out? Once this line is exposed, can I still speak clearly about the memorial?
"
Zhou Wenze said flatly: "Don't worry, my in-laws have been running Guide Mansion for many years. Chen Ying sent an unfamiliar envoy to find a way out of the place. Can he find a way? We have to rely on the envoy of Henan Province. This Henan Province
The imperial envoy has been fed by my in-laws for a long time. If he doesn't do anything now, when will he do it? As long as he is with him, the people sent by Chen Ying will not be able to do anything!"
Zhang Antai insisted: "Don't be afraid of 10,000, just be afraid of what might happen. If something happens, it's too late to say anything. In my opinion, you'd better talk to that guy and ask him to think of a solution!"
Zhou Wenze hesitated for a moment, then sighed and said, "Okay, you go back first, I'll go see him in a moment!"
In the palace of Duke Fu, Xiao Sixun was riding a wooden horse enthusiastically in the flower hall. Yang Xu crossed his legs and held a cup of tea. Standing next to him was Zuo Dan. After listening to his narration, Xia Xun smiled: "The Department of Civil Service Examination
?This thing is getting more and more interesting, stare at him, the goblin...is about to show up!"
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p: Two updates are 9,000, which is better than three updates? Please give me a recommendation vote!
