"Are you...Xu Ning?" Chen Qing recognized the old man in front of him.
Just as the old man was about to bow and salute, Chen Qing quickly supported him and said, "I am just an ordinary rich man now."
Only then did Xu Ning realize that Chen Qing was paying a private visit incognito. He quickly smiled and said, "Then I won't bother you!"
"It's okay, Coach Xu, please take a seat!"
Before Chen Qing could say anything, Yu Ying immediately sat down next to her husband and gave up her seat.
The sound of Coach Xu made Xu Ning seem to have returned to those years. He nodded and said with a smile: "Then I will be disrespectful!"
Xu Ning sat down and ordered one of his men to have all the followers outside the town retreat outside the town so as not to disturb the people.
Chen Qing introduced Yu Ying to Xu Ning with a smile, "This is my concubine!"
Xu Ning had also heard that Chen Qing's concubines were twin sisters, and he estimated that this was one of them. He quickly leaned over to say hello.
At this time, two bartenders brought food and drinks, and Chen Qing added a few more dishes. He poured a full glass of wine for Xu Ning and said with a smile: "Thank you, Coach Xu, for giving me the arrow. Let's drink this!"
Chen Qing was able to catch a glimpse of superior archery skills thanks to Xu Ning. Chen Qing has always been sincerely grateful to him. He invited Xu Ning to serve as an official in Jingzhao several times. Because Xu Ning was disabled, he politely declined. This time to clean up Fengxiang's officialdom.
, Xu Ning was the only county magistrate who refused to go along with Luo Wenqing, so Chen Qing forcibly appointed him as the general magistrate of Fengxiang Mansion regardless of whether he wanted to or not.
Xu Ning quickly raised his glass with one hand and said: "It has been seven years, and I never imagined that the general would be able to reach this day. Cheers to the general for going further!"
The two of them drank it all in one go. Yu Ying wanted to pour wine for them. Xu Ning was so frightened that she waved her hands quickly, "I don't dare to take it. The general and I each have a pot of wine and pour it ourselves. Madam, please leave me alone!"
Chen Qing nodded and said with a smile: "Then just pour it yourself and drink it. It's better to be casual."
Yu Ying poured a glass of wine for her husband, and Xu Ning poured a glass of wine for herself. He smiled and asked, "Will the general go to Linyou County to visit this time?"
Chen Qing sighed slightly and said: "In Linyou County, five hundred men followed me on the expedition, but now there are less than thirty left. I am ashamed of the elders of Linyou County and dare not go see them!"
"There will always be sacrifices in wars. As long as we can drive the Tatars off Shaanxi Road, it will be all worth it. My father and fellow villagers hope that you will go back and have a look, but you promised."
Chen Qing nodded, "I'll go take a look."
The two drank another glass of wine, and Chen Qingxiao asked, "Where is Coach Xu going?"
"Go to Xi County to handle a case."
"What case?"
"Someone reported that the former county magistrate had embezzled 8,000 kilograms of official grain. The magistrate cried to me in prison. He admitted that he had occupied an extra 300 acres of land, but he definitely did not embezzle official grain. I also felt something was fishy, so I wanted to check it out on the spot.
"
"Do you know this magistrate?"
Xu Ning nodded, "He was originally a county lieutenant in Linyou County. He followed me for several years. Later, he was promoted to the magistrate of Yi County by the Jin people. It may be possible for this person to say that he is greedy for a small gain, but if he is greedy for eight thousand shi of food, he
But I don’t have the guts.”
"But you don't completely believe it, right?"
"General, this happened during the period of Jin Kingdom's control. Now the law can no longer convict him, but I just don't want him to bear this reputation, so I want to go to Xi County to have a look. It is not easy to embezzle eight thousand shi of grain. I need a warehouse.
, transportation, distribution, and many links, if the reported situation is also found to be unsubstantiated, then we cannot insist that he embezzled official food."
It turned out that this was during the reign of the Jin Kingdom, and Chen Qing was no longer interested. He smiled slightly and said: "During the Jin Kingdom, it was probably even more difficult to embezzle official food!"
"That's the problem. The Jurchens themselves have an account. How can they hide the fact that they embezzled 8,000 shi of grain from the Jurchens? The most they can do is earn some scraps through losses. He only served as the magistrate of Xi County for one year under the Jurchens.
, can one earn 8,000 shi of food from losses? It’s obviously unrealistic!”
"Is the Inspectorate also investigating this case?
"We are also investigating. Wang Danian, deputy director of the Third Supervision Bureau, personally led a team to Yi County."
Chen Qing smiled slightly, "Since Wang Danian went to Xi County, you don't have to go again. Wang Danian has always been fair and strict in dealing with things, so you don't have to worry!"
"I understand, then I won't interfere with the case."
.........
Xu Ning returned to Fengxiang County with his men. Chen Qing bought a lot of food and wine and asked his soldiers to take them on board. Then he took Yu Ying out of the restaurant, walked around the town again, and returned to the ship.
The fleet continued westward and rested for the night after arriving in Guo County. Early the next morning, they headed north along a canal dug by Jinbing. This canal connected Fengxiang County and the Wei River. It was more than 40 miles long and actually connected several irrigation canals.
rise, and then widen to form.
Outside Fengxiang County, Zhang Miao led officials to welcome Chen Qing. Chen Qing also met Xu Ning. He returned to Fengxiang yesterday. Yu Ying did not get off the boat. Chen Qing would also live on the boat at night, not giving the officials
Add to the trouble.
Fengxiang County is the second largest city in Guanzhong. For a long time, it was the home base of Wanyan Wushu's attacks on Sichuan and Shaanxi. It was basically not damaged by the war. It looked very prosperous and lively, and the people on the street were dressed and looked good.
The group of people came to the government office, which is now the temporary government office of the Supervision Department. In the inner hall, Zhang Miao reported to Chen Qing the latest progress of the investigation.
"The land liquidation has been completed, and all the occupied land involved by them or their families has been confiscated. However, during the investigation process, we found that many Luo Wenqing gangs have serious corruption, which makes it difficult for us to control the scale of handling the case. Please
The prince gives instructions."
Chen Qing glanced at everyone and said slowly: "I have considered this issue on the road. I think if the scale is too strict, many pseudo-Qi officials will not dare to work for us in the future, and the gain will outweigh the loss, so I suggest dividing it into three
Handle the case in stages.
In the first stage, during the occupation by the Jin soldiers, there is no need to pursue the gains from corruption and bribery during this period. But the tolerance I am talking about is limited to taking advantage of one's position for corruption, and involves evil deeds, such as plundering, seizing their fields, houses, shops, etc.
, this kind of evil behavior involving the common people must be strictly investigated and cannot be tolerated.
The second stage refers to the blank period, when the Jin soldiers escape, but we have not taken over yet. I estimate that many officials will use this period to gain benefits. In fact, once the Jin soldiers escape, all the official warehouse property should belong to us.
spoils of war, so all the embezzled property at this stage must be recovered. Officials do not need to bear responsibility, but they must be dismissed.
The third stage refers to after we took over. During this period, corruption and bribery will be dealt with in accordance with the laws of the Song Dynasty. Property will be confiscated and criminal liability will be investigated. The entire family will be exiled to Jishi County.
Zhang Miao smiled and said: "Thank you to the county king for giving us a measure, especially the punishment method. Exile to Jishi County is good."
After a pause, Zhang Miao continued: "But in the actual handling of the case, we will encounter a problem, that is, the second stage, the crime during the blank period. The corrupt officials will definitely not admit that the crime was committed during the blank period, but it must have been committed during the Jin Bing occupation.
period, especially when the account books are generally burned, it is still difficult to convict based on witness evidence alone. What I mean by humble position is whether you set a limit. I don’t care whether it is a blank period or a Jinbing occupation period. If you exceed this limit, I will
It will be confiscated."
Chen Qing nodded, "Then let's use one thousand guan as the boundary. If the source of the property can be explained, we will let it go. If we can't explain the source of the property, we will let it go. If it is less than 1,000 guan, we will let it go. If it is above 1,000 guan, we will confiscate it."
Jiang Kuangyuan, the new prefect of Fengxiang, said: "Actually, there are still problems here! For example, he took the embezzled money to Chengdu and bought a shop in the name of his wife and children, and we couldn't find it."
Chen Qing said calmly: "This is why all dynasties have attached great importance to virtue. Rulers all know that using the system to restrain corrupt officials will not be effective. The key is to cultivate one's own virtue. We set a quota of one thousand guan."
It is more of a kind of forgiveness, allowing the little corrupt officials to put down their worries. In fact, under the severe oppression of Jin Bing, even if they want to be greedy for money, they have no financial resources. They may use some loophole to steal hundreds of dollars. As long as they do not exceed the limit, they will
I also felt at ease.
In short, in this Fengxiang incident, we are not here to investigate corruption criminals. Although I want to severely crack down on Luo Wenqing’s gang, I never want to put everyone in danger, everyone understands!”
Zhang Miao nodded, "I understand. This tracing of property is limited to Fengxiang and Luo Wenqing's gang."
Chen Qing secretly praised Zhang Miao for understanding his intentions thoroughly. Officials from all over the country were willing to surrender to him and rely on him because he could protect their vital interests. If he had to investigate corruption criminals all day long, who in the world would support him?
"Supervisor Zhang is right. That's what he means. The investigation is limited to Luo Wenqing's gang. Pursuing corruption is not a purpose, but a deterrent. If you dare to collude with the enemy and fight against Jingzhao, you will lose everything."
