Pang Yu swept around the lobby. This was the grassroots government of the Ming Dynasty.
In the Ming Dynasty, the county government was the grassroots government. There were 1,138 counties in the country. Although there were large counties and small counties, the affairs at the grassroots level were quite complicated.
When Zhu Yuanzhang founded the Ming Dynasty, he was reluctant to spend money. There were only a few people with establishments in each county. Later, when he couldn't handle it, he slowly increased the number of people.
Even at the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were only three or five officials in the county, with the county magistrate being the number one.
Then there are Zuo Erguan, the number of which is uncertain. Generally, there are county magistrates and chief registrars. The specific number depends on the size of the county. Tongcheng is a small and medium-sized county in Forty-seven Li. There is not even a chief registrar. Zuo Erguan only has one county magistrate.
Zuoerguan has a separate government office, which is equipped with a certain number of officials, officials and masters.
In addition, there is Dianshi. In the early Ming Dynasty, Dianshi served as an auxiliary to the county magistrate. Later, his status became lower and lower, and finally he became responsible for catching thieves. He was a low-ranking miscellaneous official. In name, he was still the head of the officials, commonly known as the chief official.
It also has its own government office.
All kinds of people came down, officials, miscellaneous workers, delivery rooms, pavilion rooms, six rooms, three shifts, grooms, grooms, yin and yang, medical officers, gates, prisons, patrols, paving, ferrymen,
Inspection, vegetarian, palace sweeper, drummer, watchman, waiter, edict, etc.
Pang Yu can't count the various job titles on both hands.
Counting all the miscellaneous things in a county, there are only one or two hundred people who cannot run it. Including helpers and the like, working with the county government often costs hundreds of people, and even thousands in large counties in the Susong area.
There are more than 200 people working in the county government in Tongcheng. Some handymen such as vegetarians and sweepers cannot go to the lobby, but there are still hundreds or dozens of people down there, crowded up and down the lobby. It looks densely packed.
The drum sounded, and everyone stood solemnly. Tang Chengfa also arranged his clothes and stood in the lobby. The top one on the left is Dian Shi, the team member, then the six-room secretary, the Jiage-ku secretary, the Chengfa-room secretary, Yin and Yang, etc.
The middle-level cadres at the department level were standing in the hall one after another.
The deputy positions in each room are often called Dianli, which is the same as Dianshi, but the level is two levels different. They are equivalent to the deputy section level and stand under the hall near the platform.
Pang Yu and other ordinary civil servants stood at the back of the hall. There were many government servants around who were hunched over and disheveled. Pang Yu couldn't help but shake his head. He didn't look like a civil servant in the Ming Dynasty.
Pang Yu was slightly taller than the others. He raised his head and saw the county magistrate entering the hall and standing on the magistrate's seat. The middle-level officials bowed together, but no one knelt down.
The county magistrate held Dian Shi's hand in front of his chest, without any return gesture from others, and then sat in his official position.
This county magistrate is only a temporary director. He usually stands at the bottom. Under normal circumstances, he cannot be transferred to the county magistrate in the local area. It happened that Tongcheng Gu magistrate resigned and the new magistrate did not come. The acting magistrate Yang Fangqian was originally the magistrate of Susong County.
Song Yidazi had not yet finished handing over matters, so he had to let the county magistrate take charge of Tongcheng's daily affairs.
At this time, the county magistrate rarely sat down in the county magistrate's seat. He dilly-dallyed for a long time, and then said with satisfaction, "Ascend to the Morning Hall."
Tang Chengfa shouted loudly, "Yin and Yang tell the time!"
The Yin and Yang officer took a step forward, said "Today's morning meeting at 2:00 am," and then retreated.
Tang Chengfa said again, "Zao Zhuang will report quickly to each city gate, each gate of the government office, and all the markets in Guanxiang."
A yamen servant came out from behind and said: "The North Arch Gate is closed on time and opened on time. The North Arch Gate is on night duty. There is one person on the fast shift and two on the strong shift, one watchman on North Street, one watchman on Qingfeng City, and one watchman on Qijia Street. There was no fire last night.
Night robbers, weird things, etc.”
The second person stood up again and said, "Dongzuo Gate is on night duty, and there are three people in the strong squad..." Several high-ranking Zaoli stepped forward one after another and reported the situation of the six city gates and each gate of the government office. The content was exactly the same.
Chengfa's room was responsible for collecting information. Tang Chengfa came up and said: "Today, there should be 216 people in each room and each class, but there are actually 186 people. Among the less than 30 people, there are three people in Fengxi's family.
Three people were injured and injured, and two were Ding You. Nineteen people from each house were sent to the countryside to collect money and food, but one person did not return. One person was sent to patrol the ferry port, and two people did not return from their patrol in the direction of Anqing."
The county magistrate said with a solemn expression, "What are you going to cook for this morning?"
Tang Chengfa paused for a moment and then said, "Your Majesty, the most urgent matters in the Yamen are money, food, and lawsuits. After Gu Zhixian was promoted, there were thirty-one lawsuits in total. Three files were sent to the Yamen Office the day before yesterday.
, In terms of money and food, there is still a lot of arrears due to the spring tax, and there are some unscrupulous households who need to take care of it as soon as possible, but I still need to ask your Excellency to show you what should be done first."
As soon as Pang Yu heard this, Li Lao and Jiao Guozhao told the truth yesterday that Gu Zhixian left and refused to release the complaint. He had accumulated more than thirty cases, with a maximum of nine cases in court every ten days. He would go to the Chengfa Office to press it.
, shopkeeper Zhou really couldn’t get out for two or three months.
At this time, the county magistrate slightly raised his eyes and looked at Tang Chengfa and asked, "Can there be a list of the thirty-one lawsuits?"
"Already listed in the acceptance room."
"Take it to me."
Tang Chengfa was stunned again. He never expected that the county magistrate would actually say such a thing. He quickly went back to Chengfa's room to get the booklet. Zaoli and others behind him made a buzzing sound and started talking in low voices. Chengfa generally
When the court arranges for the release of the complaint, the file will be submitted to the court officer in advance. The court officer will first understand the case so that he can be confident.
However, the priority of queuing up and reporting cases is under the control of the Chengfa Office. The county magistrate will not interfere with how the cases are arranged. At most, they only confirm the number. But looking at the behavior of the county magistrate, he does not buy into the Chengfa Office. When he received the file
He didn't raise any objection. It wasn't until he arrived in the lobby that he suddenly became angry, which was obviously intentional.
Tang Chengfa returned quickly, looking a little bad. He stepped forward and gave the book to the county magistrate. The county magistrate took the book and read it slowly without asking him questions. Tang Chengfa was right next to the case. If he wanted to leave, the county magistrate didn't say anything.
What if you want to ask him something? If you want to stay, his position is not here, and it will be very embarrassing under the gaze of everyone.
At this time, Jiao Guozhao came over and whispered: "In the past, when Gu Zhixian was here, Tang Chengfa only listened to Gu Zhixian, the county magistrate, and Dianshi had disliked him for a long time."
Pang Yu had been well criticized by Tang Chengfa in the morning. Seeing that Tang Chengfa was defeated, Pang Yu was very happy. He had a good impression of the county magistrate and had a new understanding of the pressure of people at the official level.
The county magistrate just took a booklet and made Tang Chengfa lose face greatly.
"It's better to be an official."
Pang Yu sighed in his heart, but then he regretted it. If he had known that Tang Chengfa would be criticized today, he wouldn't have had to give him so much money.
The county magistrate looked at this for a while, then raised his head and asked Tang Chengfa: "Which one does Chengfa think comes first, money and food, or litigation?"
Tang Chengfa felt that something was not good. The county magistrate seemed to be well prepared. However, Tang Chengfa had some tricks up his sleeve regarding today's announcement. After thinking about it, he decided not to reveal his arrangements. As long as there was no decision, there would be no target.
, so he replied: "I am a stupid official, but I will obey the orders of my lord."
The county magistrate let out a haha, turned around and looked at the officials of each room standing in the hall and said, "Who will tell me which room is responsible for arranging the morning meeting?
Household?
From the torture chamber?
Or is it from the barracks?"
When he asked a question, the officials below shook their heads. Of course, they could only shake their heads.
The county magistrate turned to the clerk of the cabinet library again, "Otherwise, it's just a matter of setting up the cabinet library?"
The official in charge of the library smiled and shook his head in embarrassment.
The county magistrate glanced at the people in the hall and continued: "Each room has its own duties, so you should do it well. The hall official is already here. You don't know what will be done in the hall today. Everything is waiting for the superior's instructions. What do you want?
use."
This was a slap in the face from Minghuo Zhanzhan. Tang Chengfa couldn't help but look livid, and he didn't dare to answer the county magistrate's words. The county magistrate serves as the second sergeant official to act as the county affairs official. Tongcheng only has one second sergeant official, not even a chief clerk. Now Tongcheng has the largest county magistrate.
Therefore, in addition to giving some face to Dian Shi, who was barely considered a member of the team, the county magistrate could punish everyone else at will.
Tang Chengfa did not buy into Zuo Erguan's account before. Firstly, he relied on the momentum of the county magistrate. Secondly, he was very sure that Zuo Erguan was unlikely to be promoted to the top position in the county. He never expected that there would be a vacancy in the county magistrate.
When the county magistrate saw that Tang Chengfa was silent, he chased after him and said, "What does the official in Chengfa's house have to say?
If I choose to file a lawsuit, the plaintiff and defendant must come to court, and all witnesses and material evidence must be prepared. In addition, local elders must come to the court to witness; if I choose to compare money and food, township covenants, village elders, and local records
Are the books, flower households, etc. all waiting outside the hall?"
When Tang Chengfa saw this, he understood that he couldn't do anything good if he didn't say anything. Moreover, he had only prepared a complaint today, and no one from the money and food department came. If the county magistrate really chose money and food, he would not be able to pay the debt. Tang Chengfa wiped his forehead.
With sweat dripping from his eyes, he gritted his teeth and said, "I would like to ask your lord to settle the lawsuit first. Regarding the three files submitted, the relevant people are already waiting outside the ceremony gate."
The county magistrate stared at Tang Chengfa and asked: "Since Chengfa has confirmed that these three lawsuits will be released today, has the date been announced on the eight-character wall?
Are the plaintiff and defendant’s witnesses present?”
Tang Chengfa saw that the county magistrate was confident, and he knew something was wrong, but he didn't know what went wrong. Even if he had some tricks to assign the number of complaints, there were currently thirty cases in the backlog, and it was impossible for the county magistrate to call all the people involved in the cases to check.
order.
Tang Chengfa was very panicked when he was questioned by the superior in court. The announcement of the announcement was indeed based on what the county magistrate said. The date was scheduled and an announcement was made on the eight-character wall to notify relevant parties to come to court to await trial.
But Tang Chengfa did not do this before, so that he could adjust the order of the announcement at any time and gain benefits from it. This is a loophole, but it is just a lack of procedures and is not a serious problem.
Tang Chengfa thought about it nervously, and it seemed that there was no particularly big mistake. Even if there was no announcement, the county magistrate could not punish him severely for this reason. After he was confident, he replied: "It is true that those three things are all ready."
together."
The county magistrate nodded and suddenly turned to Dian Shi, "When Mr. Yang, the acting magistrate of the county, came, he had given an explicit order that all non-murder cases and urgent lawsuits could not be brought to court until the new magistrate took office. Mr. Xu, is this true?"
Xu Dianshi had been watching the excitement, but he didn't expect the county magistrate to suddenly ask him. He glanced at Tang Chengfa and said, "It is true."
As soon as these words came out, the situation took a turn for the worse. Tang Chengfa was stunned. These words were like a bolt from the blue to him. It was a serious crime to disobey the official's order.
"Yesterday was clearly..."
Tang Chengfa was halfway through speaking eagerly, but he was speechless and couldn't continue. Yesterday, a clerk from the county magistrate's office came to inform him that he could publish the complaint today. Now it seems that he has dug a hole for himself.
Poor Tang Chengfa, at first he thought it was an excuse to file a lawsuit, but in fact, even the lawsuit itself was a trap.
Tang Chengfa had no idea that Magistrate Yang had said not to release the accusation. In fact, Magistrate Yang had privately ordered the county magistrate.
Because litigation is profitable, it is an unspoken rule to leave the lawsuit to the successor, which is one of the benefits to the successor, so as to smoothly hand over many other things that are difficult to explain, so of course Yang Zhixian does not want to do this kind of thing
It will be said in public.
At that time, only the county magistrate and Dian Shi were present. The county magistrate acted as an agent for county affairs. Xu Dianshi was not in his position and would not take the initiative to go to the host to give instructions.
Therefore, as long as the county magistrate does not tell Chengfa Fang, it is impossible for Tang Chengfa to get the information.
However, Tang Chengfa had never experienced the handover of county magistrate. Yesterday, he received a verbal notice from the magistrate. The county magistrate took advantage of the opportunity and convicted him of blatantly disobeying the official order.
But the acting magistrate did say this. Tang Chengfa wanted to complain to the county magistrate but didn't know what to say. Even if he went all out and went beyond the level to complain to the Anqing government office, the matter would involve the acting magistrate and the unspoken rules of officialdom. Tang Chengfa was
Those who will never win will be severely punished by the Anqing Prefecture.
But now in public, the county magistrate has made it clear that he wants to deal with him. Even if he tells the story about the Zaoli coming yesterday to announce the announcement, it is without evidence. The county magistrate can deny it outright, and at the same time, put a hat on him for being a slanderer.
.
In other words, no matter how Tang Chengfa responded to the pit dug by the county magistrate, he would fall into it today. The only one to blame was himself for not asking Zaoli for the documents.
The county magistrate watched the prey fall into the trap, but still looked as usual and said: "The official of Chengfa House ignored the official's order. Neglect of duty is unforgivable. We should punish him to set an example. If someone comes, I will give you twenty sticks!"
"
The county magistrate, who was in power, gave an order, and several Zaoli came up and captured Tang Chengfa smoothly. These Zaoli were all from the County Magistrate's Office. They were not afraid of Chengfa's revenge, and they usually had quarrels with Tang Chengfa.
Without any mercy, he took off Tang Chengfa's pants in front of everyone, took the water and fire stick and hit him on his buttocks.
After being spanked twice, Tang Chengfa began to cry out sharply, and the sound of the stick hitting his flesh continued until after twenty spankings were completed, Tang Chengfa lay on the ground like mud, with his buttocks covered in blood and flesh.
Except for Tang Chengfa's breathing, one could hear the needle drop in the hall, while the officials and government officials below the hall were as silent as cicadas.
The early Ming Dynasty paid attention to the checks and balances of power. The power of the county magistrate was limited. Even the officials could not be appointed or removed. However, the evaluation and punishment of the officials were all in the magistrate. After the middle Ming Dynasty, the power of the magistrate was improved. In addition to being polite to Zuo Erguan, some magistrates even dared to read history books.
Rod responsibility.
Not to mention the low status of the yamen servants. The magistrate's punishment for criminals can only reach the maximum. However, the Ming Dynasty was very strict with officials and subordinates. The punishment imposed by the magistrate on his subordinates does not fall under the law. It is only an internal process, so he can be punished casually.
In the Ming Dynasty, many government officials were beaten to death by court officials. From this perspective, the status of government officials was not as good as that of criminals.
"Tang Chengfa is finished. The county magistrate will stay in Tongcheng for three more years. Now that we have broken up with him, the new county magistrate will not offend the second official for Tang Chengfa."
Jiao Guozhao shook his head as he spoke, his face full of gloating.
"Is Tang Chengfa finished?"
Pang Yu couldn't help but feel a little sad for the money in the morning, "If I had known I would deliver it later, I haven't taken care of the money for ten minutes."
Pang Yu didn't know much about the Ming Dynasty yamen, but Tang Chengfa was embarrassed in public this time, and his prestige in the yamen had definitely plummeted. Without strong support in the future, it would be difficult to stand up in Tongcheng.
I heard the proud voice of the county magistrate in the hall, "Take him away and let his family members take him back. He will self-examine at home for ten days."
The county magistrate was very powerful and used his authority to the maximum extent. Unfortunately, the county magistrate did not have the power to directly appoint and remove officials, otherwise Tang Chengfa would definitely not be guaranteed his position.
The county magistrate didn't even look at Tang Chengfa who was on the ground, so he let three servants go down to the hall and let Tang Cheng pass through the crowd with his shiny buttocks.
Tang Chengfa was beaten until his whole body was paralyzed, his consciousness was blurred, and he was too soft to bear any force. When he walked past Pang Yu, Zaoli's hand on the left slipped and Tang Chengfa almost fell to the ground.
Jiao Guozhao felt his eyes blurred. Pang Yu had already rushed over there, helping the Zaoli lift Tang Chengfa, and said, "Brother, be careful, I'll help you."
The Zaoli let go and said, "Come on, silly Pang Er."
Pang Yu was not angry, and nodded and bowed his head in agreement.
Because the officials had special housing in the Yamen, they only had to leave Tang Chengfa outside the Yimen and wait for his family to come pick him up.
Taking advantage of the time when the trees behind the bridge blocked the view of everyone in the lobby, Pang Yu quietly looked around and saw that the other two people were not paying attention. He stretched out a hand to where Tang Chengfa had just put the money. Tang Chengfa, who was unconscious, was unaware of it.
After a while, Pang Yu returned to the lobby. Jiao Guozhao whispered to Pang Yu: "Then Tang Chengfa has never done any good things. When did he treat us well? Why are you so kind to lift him up? He deserves to be beaten to death."
"
Pang Yu touched the money in his arms and said honestly, "Brother, I'm not telling you to be more kind. I've told you that I have to be a good person in this life."
Jiao Guozhao thought that Pang Yu was getting stupid again, so he couldn't help but sigh and shake his head.
After Tang Chengfa was carried away, the atmosphere in the hall was still very solemn. The county magistrate sat silently in the hall, and no one knew what he would do next.
Finally, the county magistrate spoke coldly again, "The torture chamber!"
The executioner's whole body trembled, and he came out tremblingly and replied: "Young man, I'm here."
The county magistrate casually picked up a prepared receipt and said, "Xie Kunshu, the prisoner of the prison, where did Wang Shan go?"
"This, this..." the prison clerk was sweating profusely and stammered, "Go, I went to Qingjing Township to compare... money and food."
The county magistrate raised the receipt in his hand and said, "The money and grain will be returned to the household's house. If you go to the countryside to recover the money and grain from the household, it will be written and submitted by the official sitting in the hall. It will be handed over to the household's house to issue a ticket, and the landlord will sign and seal it before the household can be transferred to the house."
When the Zaoli were sent and the households were short of manpower, three additional shifts were assigned. Now there are still more Zaoli in each household. I don’t know which flower house is so troublesome that it requires the Zaoli to go to the labor camp, or even..." The county magistrate will leave a palm with his hand.
Shan patted the table, "Even the cards were issued by the execution room! Just now I said that the execution room should do what it should do. The execution room has outstanding talents and has done everything that shouldn't be done."
The executioner's body jumped, and he knelt on the ground. He gasped and said, "I don't know, you don't know."
Even Pang Yu felt a little nervous at this time. He never expected to encounter such a fierce scene on his first day at work. The county magistrate had already prepared for revenge. He was really well prepared. I wonder if old Pang Yu had
Having offended him, if those two fools really had a grudge against the county magistrate, they would now have to suffer for others. Wouldn't it be a huge injustice?
With this thought in his mind, he suddenly heard Jiao Guozha's breathing next to him. Pang Yu glanced sideways and saw that Jiao Guozha's face was pale and he seemed to be very scared. Ever since Pang Yu saw this sworn brother, he
I have only seen this person roaring and running rampant, but I have never seen anything like this.
Pang Yu didn't ask him. The affairs of the fast class on weekdays were more involved with the execution room. Going to the countryside to compare money and food was a risky matter. He had heard Jiao Guozhao mention that he could buy cards from the execution room.
You can definitely make money by going to the countryside, so it is reasonable for Jiao Guozhao to be afraid now.
I heard the county magistrate in the hall shout, "You have the seal of your torture chamber. How dare you, the official who holds the seal, say you don't know."
Since you are so capable in the torture chamber, you might as well demolish the other five chambers and leave only one chamber in the torture chamber."
"Little man, little man, little man knows, it was the calligrapher who did it without telling the little man."
"Which writers point it out!"
The prison chief pointed at the two of them, and the county magistrate shook his head, "That's not right."
The officials knew that the county magistrate wanted to avenge his personal revenge, so he had to beat up the officials' henchmen, and let the prison officials identify themselves. In the end, all the officials betrayed their relatives and separated. However, if they didn't find a scapegoat, Tang Chengfa was a ready example, and the prison officials did not have the courage to accept it.
That twenty boards.
He had no choice but to find another calligrapher who was closer to him. After the county magistrate agreed, several officials dragged the man directly to the court, regardless of his pleas.
The county magistrate added: "There is more."
The prison clerk had no choice but to identify two more people. The county magistrate felt that this was not enough and insisted on killing all the confidants of the prison clerk.
The prison clerk also took the risk and clicked another one with trembling fingers. The county magistrate seemed not sure whether this person was a confidant of the clerk, so he hesitated before nodding.
"Pull up Jiang Guoyong, the prison clerk."
People from three county magistrates came to pull people, but this time it didn't go so smoothly. The crowd in the hall kept ouching. Pang Yu looked over and saw a tall and thin Zaoli beating his captors, even though they were slapped randomly.
The beating was random, but the victory was due to his ferocious style, which knocked the first person who caught him to his knees.
While beating Jiang Guoyong, he shouted: "I didn't write this, sir, the county magistrate, I am wronged..." So two more people from the county magistrate's office came over, and several people swarmed up and threw Jiang Guoyong to the ground and punched him.
He was kicked and kicked for a while before he was dragged up.
Jiang Guoyong was thin but had a strong temper. He had been beaten badly just now. He was dragged to the court and was still shouting angrily, "Master County Magistrate, this villain is wronged. The execution cards were all written by Zhang Changyu himself."
, he wanted to devour the labor money of the calligrapher and the soap clerk, saying that the labor money would be exchanged for one card ticket a year, and the villain had reported him when he refused. This is revenge..." As soon as these words came out, the whole hall suddenly burst into laughter.