Guazhou is a lower state with few small towns, even less than a county in Guanzhong.
In today's Tang Dynasty system, most of the officials in the governor's office are hired by the prefect using the funds of the office.
Zhang Mian was not from a wealthy family, nor was he like the children of those wealthy families who could use his salary to subsidize the public affairs of the governor's office.
Therefore, before Li Yan came, there was no legal officer in the Guazhou Governor's Office, and all cases were handed over to Zhang Xian for personal trial.
Fortunately, Guazhou has a small population and there are far fewer lawsuits than in Guanzhong, so Zhang Xian has always been able to cope with it.
After King Jianning and the players arrived, Zhang Xian obviously felt much more relaxed.
One of the tooth soldiers under King Jianning was named Zhou Hao. This guy was proficient in criminal law and was soon appointed by Zhang Xian as the legal director of Guazhou Governor's Office.
Zhou Hao is a law graduate student in the real world. Relying on his "deep" understanding of "Tang Law", Zhou Hao quickly became the Qingtian Grand Master of Guazhou City.
"Fa Si Zhou, the bandits in Dashuixia have confessed their guilt. This is their confession." The official handed Zhou Hao the signed confession.
After catching the bandits, Zhou Hao immediately ordered the officials to imprison them separately, and then Zhou Hao began to interrogate them one by one.
When encountering inconsistent testimonies, Zhou Hao would be cross-examined again, and he soon caught the doubtful points in the confessions of several leaders, and determined all the crimes of this gang of bandits.
After two days of intense interrogation, these bandits have now been fully interrogated.
Including the second and third bosses, there are seven out of a total of thirty-one bandits who have been convicted of murder.
The private cast iron money was made by the third master, while Qian Fan was made by a fugitive craftsman.
Of these thirty-one bandits, the second and third masters were identified as the chief culprits. The other ten were more deeply involved and were to be beheaded according to Tang law.
The remaining nineteen bandits, whose crimes were not serious enough to die, were also listed by Zhou Hao and their punishments were also written on the verdict.
Next is the case of the big food merchant.
The official said to Zhou Hao: "This third-in-command, who has been a soldier for generations, is also literate. We found an account book for privately selling iron money in the village, which records their transactions with the food merchants."
"We have asked the third master to correct him. Arhan is the big food businessman who traded with them to buy fake money."
Zhou Hao nodded. This technique of interrogating the criminal alone and then finding loopholes in the criminal's confession, and then using psychological warfare to break them, is a basic technique in modern interrogation science.
But in the Tang Dynasty, where torture was still used to extract confessions, Zhou Hao's interrogation skills could be said to be at their peak.
The prisoners he tried were not careful criminals, so every time Zhou Hao could finish the trial within a few days and make a convincing verdict.
The governor Zhang Xian also relied on Zhou Hao even more, and now everyone in the Fa Cao department also respected Zhou Hao.
These two cases have formed a chain of evidence, and the testimonies of all parties can be matched.
In the face of such conclusive evidence, the food businessman Arhan slumped to the ground, and then tremblingly signed the confession document.
At this point, the case of the big food merchant has come to an end.
Zhou Hao personally drafted the verdict, then handed it to the department official and said: "Please read it, the Governor. This case involves beheading. Please submit it to King Jianning."
According to Tang law, cases in all local and state capitals need to be submitted to the court for review before execution.
The legal department here is Dali Temple, and if it involves crimes such as rebellion, the emperor must personally deal with it.
But now the Lingwu court is just an empty frame, and the Dali Temple has no officials.
The new emperor also issued an edict not long ago. Cases in the state capitals were handed over to the prefects of each state for self-determination. Cases in the military governors and towns were handed over to the Jiedushi, and there was no need to submit them to Dali Temple for review.
It is said that this edict was strongly opposed by the Secretary and Supervisor Li Mi, but it was still promulgated and implemented under the advice of Prime Minister Fang Guan.
Li Yan, the king of Jianning, was the county king who founded Jianya. According to the system of the Tang Dynasty, he was the highest official in Guazhou.
However, the official did not see the Grand Administrator at the Governor's Mansion. After asking the staff around Zhang Mian, it turned out that Zhang Mian had hurriedly went to pay a visit to King Jianning.
Zhang Mian hurriedly asked to see King Jianning, and Li Yan received him in the study.
Zhang Xian bowed to Li Yan and then said: "I heard that His Highness wants to ask Mao Mao to read?"
"That's why King Gu found that there were many discrepancies and inconsistencies in the land tax in Guazhou, and the local field register had not been updated for a long time, so he prepared to clear the land and conduct a thorough inspection."
Zhang Mian kowtowed again and said with red eyes: "Your Highness, you must not do this!"
Li Yan looked at Zhang Mian in confusion. He didn't understand why Zhang Mian objected to his request for Maoming Yue.
Through this period of getting along with each other, Li Yan also understood that this prefect Zhang was a good official.
In addition to his love of literature, Prefect Zhang was not keen on making money, and he was also quite generous towards the people.
The people of Guazhou did not think Zhang Xian was a capable official, but they all thought he was a tolerant and good man.
Zhang Xian took the lead in opposing Da Suo Mao Yue, which Li Yan did not expect.
Zhang Xian continued: "Although Guazhou is a lower state, there are many cases of powerful and wealthy officials, officials and gentry occupying land and annexing people's fields. I understand His Highness's determination to seek revenge."
"But has your Highness ever thought that Dasuo Maungyue also needs people to do it?"
"Nowadays, there are three big families in Guazhou City: An, Yang, and Wu. Their children are all over the governor's office and county-level yamen, and the chiefs and security chiefs in the township are also served by these wealthy households."
"His Royal Highness is asking for more information. Naturally, he cannot do without these officials who can write and calculate. If they check themselves, will they be able to find out any problems? I'm afraid if it weren't for these guys, they would harm the people even more!"
Zhang Xian's gray beard trembled slightly. When he took up the post in Chang'an, he also had high-spirited thoughts and wanted to rectify the local government.
But after years of severe beatings from reality, and his nature being relatively weak, he finally let it go.
Of course Zhang Xian knew that Da Suo Mao Yue was a good thing, but it also depends on who is doing it.
If Emperor Taizong were to ask for help, how could these powerful men dare to deceive the superiors and deceive the subordinates? They would only scramble to make up for the rent they had escaped.
But the emperor also engaged in a large-scale investigation, but in the end it was nothing. The court was vigorous, but the people below were in a mess.
On the contrary, the number of wealthy households to be inspected was reduced, and more rents were passed on to ordinary people.
No matter how good the policy is, it still needs people to implement it!
Zhang Xian understands this, so his biggest policy in Guazhou is not to mess around.
He hurriedly came over to admonish Li Yan because he was afraid that the young and energetic King Jianning would be so ambitious that he would end up suffering for the people.
Seeing Zhang Xian like this, Li Yan felt a little moved in his heart.
However, Li Yan is full of confidence. If others can't do it, he can definitely do it!