Chapter 4919: Exposing a Major Case
The clouds are low and the snow is falling.
At dusk, the sky and the earth are already dark, and the entire city of Chang'an is shrouded in wind and snow, with lights on and smoke from thousands of houses.
When Ma Zhou and Liu Xiangdao arrived at the Wannian County Yamen, the Jingzhao Mansion Yamen and patrolmen had already surrounded the entire Yamen. When they learned that Li Anqi had ordered people with knives to close the doors before restraining all the officials within the Yamen, Ma Zhou praised : "This is a sincere official!"
Liu Xiangdao stroked his beard and admired it: "Li Anqi comes from a famous family and is a son of Confucianism. He is not only knowledgeable but also sharp-minded. He is not a pedantic person. He is worthy of being a disciple of my famous religion."
Civil servants have a strong sense of identity. They study hard when they are young, look for famous teachers, are recommended to become officials, and rise and fall in officialdom. It is almost the same route.
Ma Zhou nodded: "Let's go in and have a look."
"Many people are having a hard time this year."
"Then it depends on how your imperial censor's office conducts the review. If the censor's office feels that the pressure is too great, will I ask Dali Temple and the Ministry of Punishment to also participate?"
Liu Xiangdao suddenly became solemn and made a serious face: "The remarks made by the servant are a great insult to me and the entire Yushitai! Don't worry, no matter who is involved, we will definitely get to the bottom of it!"
Ma Zhou was noncommittal: "I hope so."
While chatting, they entered the county government office together.
……
Li Anqi greeted him at the door and saluted: "I've met the two Shangguan."
Ma Zhou waved his hand: "No need to be polite, how is the case?"
"Please come in, you two, and I will give you a detailed report."
Ma Zhou turned sideways slightly and asked Liu Xiangdao to go first. He was Jing Zhaoyin, and this was his territory, and Liu Xiangdao was a guest from outside.
Liu Xiangdao was not polite, nodded and went ahead, entering the government office.
After they sat down separately, Li Anqi reported the details of the case in a clear and articulate manner. At the end, he said with shame: "Although I have just taken up my post, I have never noticed that this group of people has used their own hands to embezzle government funds. If it hadn't been for the continuous collapse of dangerous houses and dangerous houses by heavy snow in recent days, There are even more people who have been killed, and I am afraid that they will still be confused by these people, both internally and externally. They have colluded and used their hands to embezzle public funds, one by one, one by one for many years. The amount of corruption within the county government alone is more than 100,000 yuan, which is shocking! In addition, there must be people who rely on the county government to accept bribes and even extortion. I hope the Yushitai will investigate the illegal things!"
"How can we blame you for the chronic diseases of this generation of people who have been corrupting officials, neglecting their duties, and manipulating lawsuits for many years? On the contrary, just after taking office, they used such courage to solve long-standing major cases. They have made great achievements and have no faults. They should be regarded as a role model for officials. I will thank you in front of His Majesty later.”
"Thank you, Fu Yin!"
Ma Zhou then looked at Liu Xiang and said: "Chang'an and Wannian counties are located in the capital, and the officials in the counties all have backgrounds. Once the investigation continues, they will be involved in a wide range of things, and there will be pressure from all parties. If the imperial censor is wise enough to protect himself, he can The case will be transferred to the Ministry of Punishment or Dali Temple.”
"Ha!"
Liu Xiangdao laughed angrily: "This method of provoking generals is really clumsy. Are you looking down on people? Don't worry, you don't have to wait for those people to come forward. As long as they are related to the case, no matter who they are, the Yushitai will investigate Come on!”
"Here!"
Supervisory censor Li Shouyue quickly stepped forward and bowed to accept the order.
"Take all the officials of the county government into custody separately, sort out the account books, and start interrogating each official overnight to dig out all their corruption, malfeasance, manipulation of lawsuits and other illegal activities over the years. No matter who is involved, they must not hide it!"
"Here!"
Li Shouyue respectfully agreed and was very excited. He turned around and went out, assigned tasks to the accompanying Yushitai officials, and immediately began the interrogation.
The more moths and rats are dug out, the greater the credit will naturally be. This is not only his ideal, but also his qualifications for continuous promotion.
In the house, Li Anqi poured tea and water for the two Shangguan officials and asked carefully: "These county officials have complex backgrounds and strong backers. They have collected money from their benefactors and misjudged the law for many years. If the interrogation here is spread, Those people are worried about being implicated and may take risks. Do they need to inform the Jinwu Guards to impose martial law on Chang'an City to prevent accidents? "
Liu Xiangdao approved and said to Ma Zhou: "Once the result of the interrogation comes out, the house will be searched and people will be arrested. The impact will be great. Chaos may occur in Chang'an City. It is the New Year and I am full of joy. If there is chaos, it will definitely disturb His Majesty and even... The whole city is in panic, and it is indeed necessary for the left and right Jinwu Guards to implement martial law.”
Ma Zhou thought for a moment, nodded slightly, and ordered his followers: "Take my name and assassination to the Duke of Yue's Mansion, inform him of the matter in detail, and ask him to dispatch Jinwu Guards to inspect the whole city, and cooperate with Jingzhao Mansion and Yushitai Arrest people.”
"Here."
He left in a hurry.
His Majesty's order to confer the title of Lieutenant Fang Jun has been passed, and the edict will be published at home and abroad after the sacrifice to heaven, but the mission of restraining the Jinwu Guards has begun to be fulfilled.
Liu Xiangdao took a sip of tea, his eyes clear and slightly excited: "This may not be a big case, but it must have wide implications and far-reaching influence. It may be able to clean up the dirt in Chang'an's officialdom and restore peace to the people."
The so-called "prefect who ruins the family and the county magistrate who destroys the family" has been around for a long time. Compared with the powerful officials in the temple, only the seventh and eighth grade county magistrates are the ones who can most directly affect the lives of the people. .
Even in the city of Chang'an, there is an insurmountable gap between the common people and the higher-ups. This is a class barrier. If officials at the county magistrate level control litigation and isolate superiors and subordinates, the common people will still be wantonly exploited and maliciously bullied.
Ma Zhou looked calm: "Government has always been a top priority. Human nature is greedy, and those who are corrupt and bend the law can never be stopped. We can only rely on us to pluck these black sheep out of the empire one by one, so that the government can be incorruptible and the government can ensure the integrity of the government." fluent.”
Throughout the ages, the downfall of a dynasty often begins with official corruption. When these moths attach themselves to the body of the empire and suck flesh and blood unscrupulously, they will eventually become too heavy to come back, causing the people to live in dire straits, the world to be at war, and then the empire to fall.
The New Deal is important, but the root of everything lies in the administration of officials.
Without a clean and honest bureaucracy, no matter how powerful the army is, no matter how good the harvest is, no matter how strong the city is, it will all be nothing.
Liu Xiangdao nodded happily: "This is our important responsibility!"
Therefore, in the creation of any prosperous era, there will always be some like-minded officials who work hand in hand and move forward bravely. They work hard and are not afraid of difficulties to clean up the administration and benefit one party. On the contrary, when internal and external collusion, manipulation, and corruption become common, the entire bureaucracy will be thousands of times. How can the country survive if it is riddled with holes and rotten to the bitter end?
Even if there is the best New Policy strategy in the history, but there is no clean bureaucracy to implement it, it will be nothing more than chicken feathers in the end.
……
The wind and snow were raging, and the night was falling. One by one, lanterns were lit and hung under the eaves of the corridor, swaying slightly in the wind. Snowflakes fell like flying feathers in the orange light of the lanterns.
Li Shouyue pushed the door open from outside, shook the snowflakes off his body, entered the house, and presented a confession with both hands.
"County Prime Minister Duan Yuanliang, Chief Registrar Du Xi, Dian Shi Wei Silian and others confessed to the embezzlement of official funds. More than 100,000 yuan accumulated from the Ministry of Household Affairs, private collection, official donations and other channels were used to repair and rebuild dangerous houses. Most of the money and silk have been misappropriated by these people, and there is not much left. This leads to the failure to repair the houses in Wannian County in time this winter, so that many houses collapsed and people died of the cold. "
"In addition, there were more than 20 cases of manipulating lawsuits and accepting bribes, involving hundreds of thousands of dollars. Thirteen people were sentenced to execution, more than 30 people were exiled to the frontier, and more than 20 households had their property confiscated..." < br>
At this point, Li Shouyue raised his head and glanced at the three superiors in front of him, swallowed, and continued: "...According to the oral confession, Duan, Du, Wei and others were mostly instigated by others to frame unjust cases and embezzle family property. Waiting for illegal things.”
As the central supervisory authority, the Yushitai has a wide range of powers, including supervising the judicial activities of Dali Temple and the Ministry of Punishment. It is also responsible for impeaching officials, redressing unjust cases, and accepting lawsuits. It has a group of experienced interrogators, and its case trial efficiency is no less than that of Dali Temple and the Ministry of Punishment. Moreover, since it is already the highest inspection agency, it is inevitable to act arbitrarily and its interrogation methods are even more unscrupulous. Duan Yuanliang, Du Xi and others are basically the same Can’t live...
Liu Xiangdao's face was livid, he slapped the case and said angrily: "Lawless! Wannian County has the sky under its feet and the capital city. These people actually hide the truth from their superiors and bully their subordinates, collude with each other, and make the area under their jurisdiction a mess! Such a small official in the district ignores the law and is greedy and rampant. , there must be someone behind him, can he interrogate who is the main messenger?”
Li Shouyue was a little nervous and a little excited: "It's all based on the oral confession!"
Liu Xiangdao lowered his head to look, and Ma Zhou also came over: "...Guang Luxun Wei Cheng, Honglu Shaoqing Du Jingtong, Xi Guogong Li Xiaoxie... Haha, the big family members and clan members are all here, and these are the only ones. Only in this important land of Gyeonggi can we cover the sky with one hand!”
Li Shouyue took two steps forward and whispered: "There is one more thing. The lower official did not ask anyone to record the confession. Since this matter is important, I would like to ask a few higher officials to explain it."
Ma Zhou raised his eyebrows: "Say!"
"According to Duan Yuanliang, his brother-in-law, the Duke of Xi, once asked him to seize a brick factory in the west of the city, send his master's family to Hanhai, embezzle the brick factory, and then use the fired green bricks as inferior ones for the construction of Zhaoling. , very profitable..."
The cold wind blew outside the window, and several people inside the house were stunned.
"... Zhaoling?!"
Ma Zhou's eyes were red, his face was bloodshot, and veins were bulging on his forehead: "How dare they do anything in Zhaoling?"
Liu Xiangdao was also stunned, shocked and angry: "How dare they...?"
Li Shouyue grimaced: "I dare not tell a single lie. This is Duan Yuanliang's personal confession under severe punishment!"
Ma Zhou was furious but did not lose his mind. He immediately realized something was wrong: "Duan Yuanliang is crazy. Even if he did such a thing, how dare he tell anyone about it?"
"Zhaoling" is the mausoleum of Emperor Taizong and Empress Wende. With the prestige of these two people, whoever dares to tamper with the mausoleum will be punished with words and writings, and his body will be left intact! Not to mention Li Xiaoxie, a mere Duke of Xi, even if his grandfather and Emperor Taizu's biological son, Prince Li Yi, did this, the whole family would still have to give him poisonous wine and white silk, and go underground to apologize to Emperor Taizong and Queen Wende!
Liu Xiangdao also reacted and immediately said: "This matter is strange, please handle it with caution!"
While they were talking, officials from outside came in and announced: "The Duke of Yue has arrived!"
Ma Zhou and Liu Xiangdao looked at each other, stood up together, and came to greet them outside the door. They saw Fang Jun striding into the Yamen surrounded by soldiers. On the left and right were Cheng Wuting and Sun Renshi, each with a helmet on his head and a sword on his waist. , murderous. (End of chapter)