Chapter 1077 1072 [Telegram to invite the king’s flag]
Because of paying taxes and serving in the military, the Baojia captains often met in private and had their own small circle.
These people are most familiar with the bottom level, and they know very well what is going on in every corner of the country.
As one case after another was revealed, the Chief Minister of Zuo, Yang Xun, who was sitting next to him as a jury member, looked calm and tense at first, but soon a look of shock flashed across his face.
During the Song Dynasty, people with the Yang surname registered in Sichuan accounted for about one-quarter of the Yang surnames in the country.
Yang Shu came from the Yang family in Meishan.
He originally belonged to the direct lineage of Gao Jingshan. After Gao Jingshan died of illness, he turned to Zhang Gen and was promoted.
As Zhang Gen retired and returned home, this faction gradually evolved into the Jiangxi faction. Yang Shurong could not join the inner circle, so he moved closer to Li Hanzhang.
In twenty-three years, Yang Xun was steadily promoted from a former Song Dynasty official to the left governor of Huainan Province. He naturally had outstanding political achievements, otherwise it would be difficult for Li Hanzhang to promote him; and he was very honest and never committed corruption. Every time he was involved in corruption, he was
He can avoid any case.
As his official position became higher and higher, Yang Chen remained sober and did not get carried away.
Under the leadership of Yang Shu, Huainan Province has no major problems. The population is increasing, taxes are increasing, industry and commerce are becoming more and more prosperous, and the overall living standards of the people are also improving.
This is a qualified bureaucrat.
But he stood too high and had a panoramic view of the mountains. He could only see the outline of the mountains, but could not see the flowers, plants and trees in the mountains.
Yang Xu knew that there was a problem with the Li family in Chuzhou, and he sent messages several times to ask Li Xiaojian to take it easy and stop messing around. He felt that the Li family in Chuzhou had been scholarly for generations, and there was also a clan member as the prime minister, so no matter how things were done, there was a bottom line.
It will cause something as big as breaking the sky.
For example, what Tao Ding'an said at the beginning was nothing but trivial matters in Yang Shu's eyes.
It wasn't until Tao Ding'an revealed a case that Yang Chen finally understood that it was difficult to end the case.
"There is a Shahe Society in Chuzhou. It was originally a group of trackers who formed a society to help each other. Later, a tracker named Yao Guangzu became the leader of the society. The Shahe Society soon changed its appearance and controlled the canal from Baoying to Huaiyin. The coolies along the coast
, boatmen, trackers, all must pay money to join the union, otherwise they will not find work."
"At first, they just bullied the market. After being supported by 'nobles', they started to engage in the business of intercepting merchant ships. They did not dare to intercept official ships and tanker ships. They did not dare to intercept merchant ships with strong backgrounds. They dared to intercept other passing ships."
"They never intercept the wrong ship every time. They know which ships can be messed with and which ships must not be messed with. If the intercepted ship does not pay, it will be unlucky. Two years ago, a merchant ship caught fire, and the government found out that it was
The boatman knocked over the oil lamp and set it on fire, but the crew members who jumped into the river to escape said they saw the villain. This matter has been spread throughout Chuzhou for a long time, and I don’t know whether it is true or not..."
"I also know some boatmen and trackers. According to them, the Shahe Society also helps smuggle Huai salt..."
Guo Xiong, the commander of the capital, finally couldn't bear it anymore and shouted angrily: "That's nonsense! I personally sit in the provincial capital to strictly investigate smuggling. How dare the Shahe Society transport smuggled salt under my nose? Is it possible that the officials at Mokou Chaoguan also do the same?
Help with smuggling?"
Zhao Dun, a political officer in Huainan Province who is in charge of commercial taxation, said quickly: "I don't know anything else. It is impossible for Mokou Chaoguan to help smuggling. If the censor doesn't believe it, he can investigate it at any time."
Tao Ding'an has completely given up: "It is true that it has nothing to do with the banknotes. The trackers and coolies who joined the Shahe Society will take the illicit salt home in batches before the smuggling ship passes the banknotes, and bypass the banknotes from the wild at night.
, reloading the ship in Shawan Village, Shahe Township. The villagers there know about this, and sometimes they even hire villagers to help load the ship in order to rush for time."
"Xiaomin's home is in Yanhe Village, Mokou Township, and next door is Shawan Village, Shahe Township. Xiaomin's wife was also married from there. One night, Xiaomin was visiting relatives and staying at his father-in-law's house. He saw those people with his own eyes.
Loading ships by the river."
Yan Tao asked: "The price of Huainan salt is cheap, so it is definitely impossible to sell it locally. They put so much effort into smuggling it, do you know where it was sold to in the end? To put it another way, did the smuggling ship go to the north or the west?"
"Going to the west," Tao Ding'an said.
"That is to sell it to Henan or the two capitals." Yan Tao, as the censor, was shocked by this.
In order to ensure the coordinated development of various salt-producing areas, salt produced cannot be sold casually.
Henan Province, Luoyang and Kaifeng are the sales areas of Lu Yan.
These guys smuggled salt and transported it to Henan, which violated the court's salt monopoly system.
As long as officials at all levels in Huainan Province do not involve themselves, they will turn a blind eye even if they know about it. This is because this is conducive to the economic development of Huainan and even benefits many merchants and people in Huainan. As for Shandong, of course, it is Shandong that suffers.
Salt merchants and salt workers.
Yang Xun, the chief envoy from the left, had a calm expression at the moment, but his heart was in a state of turmoil.
He thought Li Xiaojian was just intercepting merchant ships to collect tolls, but he never expected that those guys were so audacious that they dared to kill people, smuggle goods, and smuggle salt!
Yang Shu doesn't pay too much attention to money and thinks that as long as it is enough, it will be enough.
He still can't figure it out. Why did Li Xiaojian, who made so much money from the canal, take the risk and collect exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes? The impact of collecting exemption money is too bad, involving too many people, and if you don't pay attention, big troubles will occur, and the money gained
Might as well smuggle a few more shiploads of salt.
The returns are low and the risks are high. Li Xiaojian is not short of that little money, so why does he insist on reaching out?
In Yang Chen's opinion, this kind of behavior is like a rich man with a fortune who insists on grabbing the leftover food from a beggar, and the beggar still has a knife in his hand.
Again, Yang Xun climbed too high and has already broken away from the grassroots level.
Li Xiaojian is not a person, but represents a group.
Li Xiaojian himself may not like the money, but the officials who are colluding with him are greedy. This man eats both black and white, and he can't stop even if he wants to. Although he is full, the people below him are still hungry.
I'm hungry!
Just like killing people and stealing goods, Li Xiaojian strictly prohibited it.
But a certain merchant was too disrespectful and offended the boss of the Shahe Club. The Shahe Club was so angry that he burned the boat and robbed it. What could Li Xiaojian do about this? He would just call people over and scold him afterwards, and then use his connections to help the Shahe Club.
To be fair, after all, he still relies on the Shahe Society to smuggle salt.
This illegal collection of exemption money was not initiated by Li Xiaojian himself. It was the subordinate officials at the prefecture and county levels who were causing trouble.
After Nie Wen sent people to post notices, Li Xiaojian ordered not to mess around, and officials at the prefecture and county levels also severely reprimanded them. However, those subordinate officials who were "poor", crazy, and daring did not listen to the instructions from above at all, and even forced big households to do so.
Send the money to Li Xiaojian's home.
Li Xiaojian kept the door closed, and many wealthy households were frightened even more. They knelt down outside the side door of Li's house and howled.
He has too many dogs, and they can't keep them on leashes. They always go out and bite people.
Of course he was not unjust, because the arrogance of these dogs was developed because he often let them out to bite people.
In the past, countless people were bitten and killed, but they were not punished as they should be. So those dogs had the illusion that no matter how much they bite, their owners will protect them. Their owners are omnipotent, and there is nothing that cannot be dealt with!
Yan Tao turned to look at Yang Chen.
Yang Chen closed her eyes and began to think about how to get out.
He is a truly incorruptible official, and he has strict restraint on his family. He is not afraid of being investigated by the imperial censor at all. But the provincial capital and provincial government are in such a bad state. As the left-wing governor, he is responsible for negligence, and he will probably be investigated at least.
Demoted two levels or more.
The corners of Zhang Su's mouth turned up slightly, and then he said seriously: "Inspector Yan, I still have some people available, and General Li can also help handle the case. As for the officials at the prefecture and county levels, I'm afraid they have to evade them."
OK, the prosecutor needs to recuse himself from this case."
Yan Tao raised his hand towards Li Jiang and said, "General Li, please lend me a thousand troops."
Li Jiang said: "You need an official document from the Ministry of War, or a flag of the king's order."
Yan Tao said: "I will immediately send a telegram to the Inspectorate, and the Inspectorate will report to His Majesty."
"Then I'll wait." Li Jiang said.
Li Jiang has been transferred to Huainan for only half a year, and he has little involvement here.
He is Li Bao's man.
And that Guo Xiong is Zhang Guangdao's man.
Watching Yan Tao and Li Jiang go to the telegraph office, Huang Shilian and Guo Xiong felt their eyes darken. They were finished. They were involved in the case too deeply. They were also involved in smuggling salt, and they also helped Li Xiaojian settle the criminal case.
A bunch of officials were waiting at the Chief Secretary.
About three hours later, Yan Tao returned to the Chief Secretary: "We did not invite the Ministry of War to transfer orders, but we did invite Wang Mingqi. General Li has gone to mobilize troops to assist in the investigation. In addition, the Third Law Department will not come to Huainan to investigate.
However, we have seconded officials from the Procuratorate of Shandong and Nanjing. The case is quite large and complex, and may take several months to investigate. There is a deputy prosecutor in Nanjing who will temporarily take over the duties of the Procuratorate in Huainan."
Huang Shilian almost fainted and was dismissed from his post pending investigation.
Yan Tao also said: "Yang Shu, the chief envoy from the left, will immediately return to Beijing to face the Holy Spirit. Zhang Su, the envoy from the right, will temporarily take over the duties of the left chief and must not delay the immigration. If any county officials are involved in the case and are investigated, Zhang Su
It has the right to temporarily appoint corresponding officials to ensure the smooth progress of the immigration work."
"Crack!"
There was a sound, and everyone turned to look.
However, Feng Liang, deputy envoy and academic officer, saw Yan Tao coming back and stood up to greet him. When he sat back down, he was empty. In panic, he grabbed the armrest of the chair and overturned the chair with him to the ground.
Yan Tao frowned and said, "Deputy Ambassador Feng is in charge of academic affairs in Huainan. Could it be that there is something wrong with the imperial examination here?"
"Nothing happened, nothing happened in the imperial examination." Feng Liang quickly denied.
Yan Tao said: "If something happens, it's better to turn yourself in and get a lighter punishment. If we really get to the bottom of it, it won't be good for anyone."
Feng Liang said with a sad face: "Then...then I surrender. There is no malpractice in the imperial examination. Those who are self-financed students in the official school pay an extra sum of money. Also, the examination for promotion from outside to inside.
There is also a little bit of a problem.”
Yan Tao smiled and said: "It's just a trivial matter, not to mention that you have surrendered. As long as the amount is not large, you can at most be dismissed from office, refunded the stolen goods, fined, and imprisoned. Deputy Ambassador Feng has not taken much bribes, right?"
"Not much, not much..." Feng Liang was really about to cry. He was actually very timid.