The reason why Ma Shiying and the officials chose to take a lenient approach to the matter in Dingyuan County was because compared to the other nine counties, the situation in Dingyuan County was pretty good.
At least the number of acres is consistent, the ratio of dry fields to paddy fields is not too outrageous, and there is no fraud in the mulberry fields.
As for the matter of accepting money from landlords and gentry, in the eyes of Ma Shiying and other officials, this is not a big deal at all. If His Majesty had not taken it seriously, the twelve civil servants would have received demerits at most.
In addition, Wu Hong was a new scholar and did not accept bribes. Ma Shiying and Liubu had to sell him a favor, so they chose to pick it up high and put it down gently.
There is no way, after all, once the emperor and his courtiers, as the first batch of new scholars in the Shenwu Dynasty, no one who is the disciple of the emperor knows His Majesty's attitude towards these new scholars.
If the punishment is excessive, will it arouse His Majesty's attention or displeasure?
Therefore, in the view of Ma Shiying and the officials of the Sixth Ministry, this kind of punishment is undoubtedly the most appropriate.
However, not all magistrates were new scholars of the Shenwu Dynasty. Compared to Wu Hong, who cared more about his own future and reputation, the other nine magistrates were not so aware, or were used to it.
Almost all of the nine magistrates collected a large amount of money, and the field underreporting was also serious. Not only did the amounts not match, but even the mulberry fields dared to commit fraud.
In particular, two of the county magistrates actually instigated civil servants to extort money from the gentry and landlords, openly and covertly, and took the opportunity to make a fortune.
Ma Shiying had no worries about these Jinshi scholars from the Chongzhen Dynasty. In order to deter other states and counties, he chose to deal with them strictly.
Seven of the magistrates and counties were all dismissed for serious dereliction of duty, and the responsible officials were transferred to the Ministry of Punishment for trial. All subordinate officials were dismissed, and minor officials were given demerits.
Two other county magistrates who made a lot of money were directly handed over to the Ministry of Punishment for trial for corruption, bribery and exploitation of the local area. All civil servants were also dismissed from their posts and handed over to the Ministry of Punishment. Even petty officials were all dismissed and returned to their hometowns.
At the same time, the results of the punishment were notified to the states and counties in southern Zhili, and they were re-reported within half a month. They also made it clear once again that they would be verified one by one and no chances should be left to chance.
As the official documents of punishment were sent to various states and counties, the officials in various states and counties were really shocked and no longer dared to take any chances. Now that the cabinet had given the opportunity, they all reorganized and submitted the reports.
Even greedy civil servants understand that if they engage in malpractice for personal gain at this time, they will definitely commit crimes against the odds and will not end well.
"Mr. Ge, there are two female officials outside who claim to be propaganda supervisors. They hold the Queen Mother's decree and ask to see Mr. Ge."
"Propaganda Supervisor?"
Ma Shiying was stunned, who is this propaganda supervisor? Why hasn't he heard of it?
However, after thinking about it for a moment, I guessed that since it was called Propaganda Supervisor and it had the Queen Mother's decree, it must be a yamen of the inner court.
"Bring it in." Ma Shiying waved his hand. With the Queen Mother's decree, he couldn't put on airs even if he wanted to.
What's more, he is also a little curious about the functions of the Propaganda Supervisor.
It was Dong Xiaowan and Li Xiangjun who came. Although they were dressed in court ladies' and men's clothes, Ma Shiying recognized the two women at a glance.
Apparently he had been around the Qinhuai River a lot in the past, and at the same time he also somewhat understood the function of the Propaganda Supervisor.
"The lower-level publicity supervisor, Dong Wan, the left supervisor, and the right supervisor, Li Jun, have met Mr. Mage."
After the two girls were brought in, they both hurriedly saluted, and their previous stage names were also changed.
"Haha, you two girls don't need to be polite, please sit down!"
Ma Shiying smiled and waved her hands.
"Thank you Mr. Ge." Both women sat down without being humble or overbearing.
"These two are actually the left and right supervisors. Who is the director of the Propaganda Supervisor?"
I am the second assistant to the cabinet, the future head of the civil service, and the minister of the Ming Dynasty's resurgence. Not to mention a newly established propaganda supervisor, even if it is the East and West Second Factory, the factory supervisor has to come in person when something happens, right?
But this propaganda supervisor is so good that he only appoints two supervisors. The director of the palm print is really too arrogant.
If the director of the Propaganda Supervision Bureau was like the general manager of the Royal Bank, he would not believe it even if the princess and the prince beat him to death.
"I hope Mr. Ma Ge will forgive me. My Propaganda Supervisory Committee has been established not long ago, and His Majesty has not officially appointed the Director of Palm Printing. In the entire yamen, only my sister Xiangjun and I have the highest positions and the highest grades."
Dong Xiaowan naturally understood what Ma Shiying meant and quickly explained.
"I see, then what business do you two have?"
Sure enough, after hearing what she said, Ma Shiying's expression softened a little, and then she asked.
"So that Mr. Ge will know that the main function of my Propaganda Supervisor is to publicize the court's decrees and the real-time progress of the New Deal to the world, and to publicize some of the existing problems, so that officials, gentry and people in other provinces can learn lessons in the future."
Li Xiangjun slowly explained.
Of course, she did not mention the most important aspect of promoting His Majesty's benevolence to the people.
"Well, I see, then I wonder if you two are coming today?"
Ma Shiying nodded, wondering if it was just the same thing as the previous two times. It was just a different identity.
However, we have to admit the role of propaganda supervisor.
"Mr. Mage, our prison has just received an imperial edict from His Majesty to organize a Ming Dynasty royal residence newspaper, which will be published every seven days. In addition to military and commercial content, the current content is mainly about the New Deal.
Our supervisor believes that this cabinet inspection of ten counties can serve as a good warning, so I want to publish the detailed process and the officials involved, as well as the punishments of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Justice, in the Dibao, and then send them to other provinces.
Let me tell you, I hope Mr. Ge can get all ministries to support my supervision..."
Dong Xiaowan expressed her intention. In fact, it is not just the verification incident that needs to be published in full. Since the implementation of the New Deal, officials from all over the country have been defrauded by their superiors. The gentry and landlords from all over the country tried to bribe the officials to cheat. In the end, they stole the chicken but failed to lose the rice, etc.
Wait, you have to pick a typical example and publish it in the Di newspaper.
In this way, when other provinces implement the New Deal in the future, Jiangnan's lessons will be in front of them, and the officials and landlords in each province will not be deceived by their evil intentions, and the implementation of the New Deal will also be easier.
Ma Shiying frowned after hearing this. Obviously, he didn't want to publicize these dirty things and make them known to the whole world, so that the cabinet, household, and staff would lose their face.
But the two of them had the Queen Mother's edict in their hands, and they had obviously received His Majesty's decree. They had no choice but to ask: "I wonder if the imperial newspaper of yours, which promotes the prison, is limited to official circulation, or is it circulated among scholars?"
"The Imperial Palace Newspaper is intended for everyone and all classes in the Ming Dynasty, even ordinary people who are illiterate. Our supervisor will send gentlemen to every village and town to explain it one by one."
Li Xiangjun smiled slightly, as if he didn't know what Ma Shiying was thinking.
After hearing this, Ma Shiying gasped and his face became serious. He immediately understood that he had far underestimated the role of the propaganda supervisor and the methods of today's emperor.
This propaganda prison was clearly set up by the emperor to compete for public opinion with the world's literati and gentry class.
It is conceivable that in the future, if this propaganda supervisor can really convey the emperor's will to everyone in the Ming Dynasty, it will be a terrible thing.
In order to check and balance the monarchy, the most important means used by literati in the past dynasties is public opinion. If even this point is lost, then the monarchy will completely lose its checks and balances in the future.
Ma Shiying felt a chill running down his spine when he thought that in the future, black people could be called white by the emperor, and loyal officials could also be called traitors by the emperor.
"Mr. Mac, Your Majesty has granted the Propaganda Supervisor the right to know all official matters. In other words, except for some personal private matters, the Propaganda Supervisor has the right to know all major and minor matters. If the officials involved refuse to cooperate, they will be punished.
Dongchang punishment."
Seeing that Ma Shiying was hesitant, the two women looked at each other and explained the rights of the propaganda prison.
"It turned out to be His Majesty's decree. All officials in the six ministries of the Cabinet and yamen at all levels will naturally abide by it. I will issue a notice in the name of the cabinet to announce the functions and powers of the Propaganda Supervisor, and strictly order all yamen at all levels and all officials to cooperate.
.”
Ma Shiying finally sighed and could only speak slowly.
He knew that His Majesty was saving face for him. If the cabinet did not actively cooperate, I am afraid that Your Majesty would directly issue an edict to inform the world.
"Then thank you Ma Ge Lao, and I will take my leave!"
The two women also breathed a sigh of relief, then stood up to say goodbye.
With this announcement from the cabinet, it will be more convenient and easier for propaganda supervisors to go to places to collect information in the future.
This cabinet announcement naturally caused a huge response and sensation, especially among officials and scholars.
Similarly, the Propaganda Supervision Bureau was completely exposed to the world, and almost all literati knew what kind of department it was.
Apparently, His Majesty and the Imperial Concubine have enjoyed the benefits of letting those famous prostitutes promote their reputation to the people. Not only do they want to expand their efforts, but they also want to do this for a long time, so they have set up a special inner court department to take charge of this.
Almost all literati cursed Ma Shiying in their hearts for being a traitor and a scum among scholars.
In everyone's opinion, in the face of the emperor's behavior that will cause harm for thousands of years, Ma Shiying, the second-in-command, should risk his life to directly remonstrate, in order to safeguard the overall interests of scholars.
Originally, there were not many checks and balances in our day, and the imperial power had far surpassed that of Emperor Wu of the Han and Tang Dynasties, Taizong, and was close to that of Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty.
If even public opinion is in the hands of the emperor in the future, then he will really destroy the clan of anyone he wants to destroy, and confiscate the family of anyone he wants. The imperial power is so great that even the First Emperor may be willing to surrender.
Because no matter how famous you are, no matter how great a scholar you are, the emperor can still use the Propaganda Bureau to ruin your reputation first, and then punish you before the law. In the end, you will not only confiscate your family and exterminate your family, but also make your reputation infamy last forever.
Almost all the literati and gentry felt the oppression and panic from the imperial power as never before, and they lost any sense of security.
Compared with the officials and gentry who pay the same grain and only pay a ten cent tax to the emperor every year, the literati and gentry care more about the power of public opinion because this is their only means to check and balance the imperial power now.
However, no matter how angry or dissatisfied they were, everyone did not dare to directly target the emperor and imperial power. Instead, they targeted Ma Shiying and a group of eunuchs who were working for the emperor.
So in the following days, the entire Jiangnan launched a vigorous campaign against the eunuchs.
Ma Shiying was naturally the first to bear the brunt. Kneeling statues of Ma Shiying were erected at the entrances of countless academies, clubs, and even family schools, and students who entered and exited had to spit on them.
Some scholars with outstanding literary talents also began to compile a biography of Ma Shiying, portraying Ma Shiying as the most cunning and shameless scholar in history, and published it in large quantities and distributed it for free.
At the same time, a list of traitorous officials was produced, ranking Ma Shiying together with Qin Hui, Yang Guozhong, Zhao Gao and other ancient traitors, and they also ranked at the top of the list.
None of the six ministers were included in the list one after another, and many of their biographies were also compiled, recording all the scandalous and evil deeds.
The Five Tigers and Ten Biao from the eunuch period were also brought out again, but they were changed to six ministers as six tigers, and the twelve ministers as twelve biao.
"Ma Shiying, a treacherous minister of the ages, a shameless beast, how can he have the face to survive in the world?"
"Ma Shiying, the unfilial grandson of the Ma family, and our ancestors were so angry that they jumped out of the coffin..."
Outside Ma Shiying's mansion, a group of children cursed and threw rotten eggs, cow dung and other dirty things in front of the gate. After the servants rushed out, the children dispersed and continued to curse and throw away in another place.
Or batch after batch.
The residences of other senior officials in various ministries also enjoy this kind of treatment.
The soldiers of the Five Cities Military and Horse Division had no choice but to strengthen patrols, drive away the children who caused trouble, and take strict precautions.
Even so, Ma Shiying was so angry that he vomited three liters of blood and became ill.
Although the six ministers did not fall ill, they were all mentally and physically exhausted and planned to resign and return home.
As a result, the government affairs of the six cabinet ministries came to a complete standstill.
Zhang Yan was also caught off guard. Facing all the literati in Jiangnan, she slandered Ma Shiying and the Six Ministers with such fierce and shameless methods that she didn't know how to respond.