Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 278 4.74 Massacre the local gentry and seize the people’s property

Volume Four

4.74 Massacred local gentry and tried to seize people’s property

A few days later, in front of the main entrance of Daming Palace, the Zhou Dynasty held a routine "meeting of five major dynasties".

"If something happens, come early, if nothing happens, leave the court!" The first is a meaningless scene, which is basically a New Year's greeting between hello and me. Modern netizens all know a famous saying, "The more people in a meeting, the less important it is." "It's useless", this statement is equally applicable in feudal society; after finishing the matter, Dai Quan's dead eunuch voice sounded, which was regarded as a notification to enter the "speech procedure", such as——

"Starting to play Your Majesty, I have impeached the new Wuchang Mansion Daye Defender Qianhu Zhou Yang, who is cruel by nature, vulgar and greedy. He killed the local gentry within half a year after taking office, and seized the people's property. It is said that he also meddled in local business. What you have done to 'compete with the people' is outrageous, please order your arrest immediately to reassure people!" As soon as Dai Quan's words fell to the ground, a not-so-young imperial envoy jumped out.

“Such tragic events have also been heard by humble ministers and I second my opinion!”

"My minister agrees!"

"Although I haven't heard about it before, I am still furious when I hear it today. I second the proposal!"

Seeing more than a dozen censors and even Hanlin popping up one after another in front of them, the melon-eaters who didn't know the truth all looked surprised. The general even began to worry. If what the first censor said was true, then it was really true. It's hard to say what the result will be, but they didn't notice that the group of Wu Xun standing in the front all lowered their heads, each with strange expressions.

"Your Majesty, Zhou Qianhu is far away in northern Hunan. I cannot defend myself at this moment." Seeing that the stage has been set up, Wei Guang, the censor of Zuodu of the Inspectorate, came out to "go through the procedures." "Under such circumstances, because the generals involved are involved, According to the law, you should ask the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office of the Five Armies to find out if there is any misunderstanding."

"Niu Aiqing, I wonder if Zhou Qianhu has any report on this matter?" The people below couldn't see the expression of Wu Xun at the front. I still have the impression, "It stands to reason that he alone can't kill a big local family. If it's true, he must have used the troops of the Thousand Households. Will the Ministry of War report it?"

"Your Majesty, no!" Niu Jizong responded solemnly, "According to regulations, the mobilization of troops at the thousand-household level is already on a large scale. It must be reported to the Ministry of War before dispatching troops, or troops can be dispatched in case of emergency. Reporting at the side, or making a report after the fact, there are none of the above situations at present.”

This time, not only the group of censors Hanlin who jumped out to impeach were happy, but others also looked forward strangely. It stands to reason that the military generals were impeached, and the Ministry of War or other military generals who went to court could not speak for them even if they did not help. Adding insult to injury?Even many caring people have realized that something is wrong at this time.

"Niu Aiqing, is there any special case?" Emperor Yonghe kindly helped smooth things over.

"Your Majesty, there are no exceptions for the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office of the Five Armies." Niu Jizong replied without hesitation, "However, those who guard the Qianhu Station and the Baihu Station are stationed in various places, and generally also shoulder the responsibility of appeasement of the local government. If they are the resident officials, Applying for assistance, Zhou Qianhu can send troops according to the situation; if such a situation occurs, the local government will report it according to the law, and the departments involved will report to the Ministry of War."

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of War has not received such a report." Liu Fang, the left minister, threw a stone into the well again, "However, I heard from Quan Zi that Zhou Qianhu did assist the local encirclement and suppression after he took office. A local gentry with a lot of bad records, but this matter was already a month ago, why did it only get reported today?"

a month ago?Now everyone realized that there was something fishy going on!
In the feudal era, communication methods were poor, but no matter how poor they were, there was a time limit. For example, a major event like this that required the troops of thousands of households could reach the capital in a month, especially if it only required local reporting and no reply. Next, half a month at most, the reporting process should be completed anyway. If it hasn't happened yet, then it can only be because someone wants to take the opportunity to cause trouble!
"My dear friends, have you received any reports from Daye County in the past month?" Emperor Yonghe's expression had turned cold, and he looked at the civil servants in a serious tone and asked.

"Back to Your Majesty, at the end of last month, He Cheng, the magistrate of Daye County, reported that the local Ye family, a large family, had liaised with bandits, colluded with subordinates, and committed heinous crimes." With everyone's "expected" eyes, Liang Bo, the Minister of Punishment, Seriously, "After receiving the complaints from the people, County Magistrate He personally led people to encircle and suppress them.

It's just that the Ye family is so powerful that it even has the title of "Daye's first family" in the local area. In order to prevent the thieves from escaping, the magistrate He specially organized all the people in the county government to round up them; The clan stubbornly resisted, and Magistrate He finally got rid of this local sore after a hard fight. "

This report.
Almost all the officials present showed speechless expressions. Even if they were pure "empty barrels" who had never served in a local area, they knew how powerful the local aristocratic families and wealthy families were. , can we destroy the largest local family?This doesn’t even count how many people in the yamen are collecting the Ye family’s money overtly or covertly!
"Master Liang, there is no mention of the troops sent by Daye Qianhu?" Chen Ruiwen asked kindly and "admitted his mistake" by the way, "How can the county magistrate be so capable? Such talents cannot be trained in the army so that they can prepare for the future." If you reuse it, then the Ministry of War has really failed in its duty!"

"Hahaha——" All the generals couldn't help laughing. Even Emperor Yonghe, who always had a cold face, couldn't help but turn up the corners of his mouth.

"Master Liang, according to the laws of the imperial court, such major cases should need to be reviewed, right?" The other generals didn't understand, but not everyone understood. Qiu Qiu, the commander of the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division, was already standing in the middle of the row of generals. Liang Chulie asked, "Also, since the Ye family is a local wealthy family, they must have a lot of wealth. There should be a procedure for this kind of case, which is to 'recover the stolen money and turn it over to the national treasury.' Is there any explanation?"

silver?Everyone's expressions lit up and they all looked at Wen Fu, the Minister of Revenue. Now everyone understood what the problem was. As for the group of imperial censors Hanlin who came forward to impeach at the beginning, no one cared about them at this time. Fortunately, they They have the authority to "tell things based on rumors", and the Zhou Dynasty is also known as "people who do not sin with words", otherwise they will suffer. "Commander Qiu is right. Daye County has escorted 22 taels of Kuping silver to the Ministry of Household Affairs a few days ago." Even if Wen Fu was cursing in his heart, he could only go out and reply at this time.

22 taels?Everyone in the audience had twitching expressions. Does Daye’s first family only have such a small amount of property?Who are you scolding?However, even though everyone knew there was a problem, there was still a tacit understanding not to ask any more questions on such matters.

"The Ministry of Punishment has also completed the review, and there are no problems with the handling of the case." Liang Bo, Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment, continued, "In fact, County Magistrate He did not continue the investigation, and the Ministry of Punishment has reprimanded him. According to the evidence of the Ye family's crimes reported in the local area, he was just dismissed. Execution is too merciful, it is only reasonable that the three clans should be exterminated."

This is equivalent to giving the Ye family's coffin board - well, they didn't have a coffin, they all dug a big hole and buried them together afterwards - completely nailing the nails, and it is also equivalent to completely overruling those censors just now. Hanlin's impeachment and Liang Bo's performance in the Ye family case are worthy of his status as Minister of the Ministry of Punishment.

"Liang Aiqing is interested!" Emperor Yonghe nodded with satisfaction, then looked at Wei Guang, the censor of Zuodu of the Inspectorate, and said, "The censor has the power to report, but he must distinguish it well. He can't just follow the wind, but at least he must do it. Be clear about things and avoid wasting time!”

"Wei Chen is guilty!" Wei Guang knelt on the ground with a pop, large drops of sweat sliding down his forehead, completely unable to adapt to the current harsh winter climate.

"Your Majesty, Wei Chen, eh, Quanzi also heard that just a few days ago, Zhou Qianhu was requested by the local government to send troops to help quell a mining disturbance in the local mine. There was a lot of praise in his words." Not to mention Wei Guang, who was kneeling on the ground and was ignored. This time, even Emperor Yonghe didn't say, "My dear, please get up." Fortunately, there were still a dozen or so imperial censors and Hanlin who were still standing in the middle together. ", Chen Ruiwen took the opportunity to throw another nail.

"Mr. Chen knows a lot!" Liu Lun, the Minister of Rites, added with a sullen expression, "This Zhou Qianhu has a wide range of contacts and has friendships with all the princes."

"Quan Zi became friends with Zhou Qianhu when he was in Beijing, and we still exchange letters with him. Why, Liu Shangshu still doesn't allow young people to make friends?" Chen Ruiwen smiled sarcastically, "By the way, I almost forgot, Liu Shangshu The Master's son usually plays by himself, and apart from raising a few henchmen, he doesn't seem to have any friendships."

"Hmph, vulgar martial artist, I don't have the same knowledge as you!" Liu Lun said with a cold face and retreated back to the queue, leaving Chen Ruiwen with a sarcastic look.

"Niu Aiqing?" Emperor Yonghe's expression turned cold, and he guessed the next question, "Is there any report from the Ministry of War?"

"Your Majesty, no!" Niu Jizong replied without hesitation, "Maybe it hasn't been delivered yet. The mine chaos is usually quite big, and it must not be something that a county government can calm down."

"Liu Aiqing, the Inspector's Office and the Imperial Academy are the places to support scholars in the country. They will be released for great use in the future. They can't be addicted to poetry and poetry every day. You should learn the trivial government affairs in the yamen one day sooner. It's better!" Emperor Yonghe looked at Liu Lun, the Minister of Rites, with a cold expression and said.

Liu Lun, the Minister of Rites, was given the title of "Wenhuadian University Scholar" as usual. He was one of the five great ministers in the imperial court and was also known as "Tian Wenzong". He was in charge of the Supervisory Yuan and Hanlin Academy. Wei Guang, the censor of Zuodu of the Supervisory Yuan, was Liu Lun's confidant. , always calls himself "student" in front of him.

The reason why there are only five pavilion elders among the six ministers is because the ministers of the civil affairs department have too much power and are known as "Heavenly Officials". Although they also have the title of "Wenyuange Bachelor", there has always been a saying that "Heavenly Officials do not enter the cabinet" The rule; moreover, the number of pavilions is taken as an odd number, also to prevent the problem of "two parties opposing each other".

"I'm guilty!" Liu Lun's face darkened, and he hurriedly bowed and saluted. With his status, he no longer had to kneel on most occasions. In small court meetings, he even needed to be "granted a seat". As the saying goes, "Be polite to all officials." "The cabinet minister is also a minister, and he has reached the peak of being a minister.

"Now that we have the news, the Ministry of War should ask clearly in time. The Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Household Affairs should also check the place in time to avoid such misunderstandings from happening again." Emperor Yonghe's expression was cold, he glanced at the civil servants and spoke, and then looked at Liang Bo, the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment, said, "If Liang Aiqing receives such a 'big case' again, he should not just look at the case report, but also understand the specific situation."

"I obey the decree!" Liang Bo replied seriously.

Seeing that no officials spoke at the scene, Emperor Yonghe frowned and rubbed the bridge of his nose, then turned to look at Dai Quan who was standing under the imperial steps.

"Retreat—"

(End of this chapter)