Start with the humble bridegroom

Chapter 340

The ransacking of an official's home is a major event, and whenever a Shangguan decides to raid a subordinate's residence, there are no more than the following three situations.

One: It involves treason.In this case, there is no need to ask for instructions, and the county magistrate can immediately check it immediately.Of course, the responsibility afterwards is also fully borne by the person who issued the order.

Second: The evidence of official crimes is convincing. With the joint signature of the Provincial Highway Observation Envoy and Supervisory Envoy, the mansion of officials under the sixth grade can be searched.

Third: Dali Temple and the Ministry of Punishment jointly signed, the cabinet uses the seal, and the official residences of officials of any rank are within the scope of its search.

Another most unusual situation is that Zongzheng Temple searched the residence of the Emperor Shang.

The imperial merchants are half-royal servants, and the local government has no right to ask about the transactions and items they handle.Therefore, in addition to adjudicating the affairs of the royal family, Zongzheng Temple also has the adjudication of the royal family slaves within its purview.It's just that the officials of Zongzheng Temple seldom go to the local area to do business, so the emperors and merchants in all places live very well.

The doctor of Zongzheng Temple naturally has the power to seize the tributes handled by the imperial merchants and correct the behavior of the royal servants.The vacancy that Fang Chaoli exhausted his mind to find for Fang Laosan in the imperial business turned out to be Zhang Zhe's weak point.This is also the reason why the Fang family has only been up for a few years and the brothers have not separated.

After one hundred palace guards and one hundred Xiushan County soldiers rushed into Fang Mansion, Xu Qian and Han Danian took down Fang Lao San and Fang Lao No. 21 regardless of the date and time, and then looked at all the people in the Mansion.

The murderer who attacked and killed Yue Tang that night was in the backyard of Fang's family. Seeing that the situation was not going well, these people covered their faces and were about to rush out and escape.

The county soldier was led by Cao Lingwen. He followed Zhang Zhe's suggestion and borrowed seven or eight fishing nets from the wharf before he came.Fishing nets were scattered all over the sky, and eight strong family members of the Fang family were captured. The county soldiers then found two family members of the Fang family who were recuperating in the backyard.

Cao Lingwen was accompanied by an old official from the county torture chamber. The old official only walked around the backyard a few times before pointing to a place that was clearly newly dug and asked someone to dig it up.

In less than a moment, the county soldiers all let out an exclamation.

There are two corpses buried here, a man and a woman. Someone from the county government came forward to see that they were Li Gao who betrayed the master and Cai Wenniang who died tragically beside Yue Tang.

"Scrutinize the entire mansion," Cao Lingwen was sure, and took out Zhang Zhe's other warrant from his sleeve, "Fang's family is involved in the murder of officials and treason. I will send you a constitutional warrant to search everything in Fang's mansion immediately!"

The guards of the palace and the county soldiers were as if they had been beaten to death, and immediately let go of their hands and feet.It is a once-in-a-decade chance to make a fortune by inspecting a big family like the Fang family. If you are lucky today, you will have a very prosperous life in the next few years.

Cao Lingwen brought three or four clerks and directly took over Fang Chaoli's study. It took only half a stick of incense. A stack of land deeds, forged official certificates, and seven or eight ledgers were found from the secret compartment under Fang Chaoli's bed. come out.

"The big thing is settled!"

After Fang Chaoli "beaten" the lower official Wei Po, he fainted from blood and fell into a coma for two hours in one breath.It was getting dark, and this person woke up slowly.In fact, apart from Wei Po's fist, the few injections and a bowl of calming medicine given to him by the old medical officer in Xiushan County are also very "exquisite".

Du Bian once wanted to splash water on Fang Chaoli's face. He turned around a few times in private, but he couldn't find even a drop of water in the yard where Fang Chaoli was placed.

Moreover, Zhang Zhe just let him take a look at Fang Chaoli and kicked him out.

The officials of Zhaoyang County were left in the Xiushan County Office, and not even a messenger was allowed to leave the county seat.During this period, some people naturally made noises, but Zhang Zhe said, "There is no peace in the county, and there are people who killed officials at large. Can you let everyone go on the road at night? Wait a minute, and when the guards of the palace come back, I will let them see you off." .”

After saying this, regardless of other people's reactions, Zhang Zhe went straight back to his mansion in the county.Yue Zhao and Xu Niangzi picked him up at the gate, and after dinner, Cao Lingwen sent a pile of land deeds and ledgers from the county seat on a flying horse.

Zhang Zhe didn't look at those things, he just asked people to move the things into the county government office, and then passed by the officials.

Little Zhao Ping came back and said: "When we were moving things inside, the officials in the lobby were half-slimmed, and some wanted to make trouble, but were stopped by the yamen servants."

"Ask people to call out the officials who don't have names on the accounts, and let them go back to the yamen, and the rest will be held in front of the mourning hall to keep vigil for brother-in-law. Just arrest those who make trouble. It is not a crime to be greedy for land and hide soil, but it is a crime of risk. Official credentials and blasphemy of the emperor's favor are the crimes of ransacking their homes and destroying their families, and no one can save them."

Little Zhao Ping bowed and retreated, and Wei Po came to the mansion to ask to see him.

"Your Majesty, I would like to thank Shang Xian for his kindness in rescuing me!"

"We are all acquaintances, but I am too lazy to help you," Zhang Zhe chuckled, but his tone was casual, "You do something tonight, take my handbook, bring twenty county soldiers and a group of yamen servants, Go to Xiushan Wharf and take a boat to Jiangling immediately, and lock up the fourth son of the Fang family!"

"Decree!" Wei Po smiled, took the handshake, clasped his fists, and rushed away.

There was a lot of wind at night, only the survivor Chen had a fire plate in front of the mourning hall, and the rest of the officials detained here were terribly cold, but under the panic, no one dared to speak out.

Those who dare to speak out have already been sent directly to the county jail, and went to be with bugs and mice.

Just now, the book boy who knew the adults came back and said "pretending to be an official, blaspheming the emperor's favor", and they gave the nature of their use of the emperor's favor to embezzle and pervert the law. This is a proper crime of ransacking the family.

Du Bian and a few others got up from the ground as if they were flying, and knelt down in front of Yue Tan's spirit with a plop, kowtowing their heads desperately.

"Brother Yue, Brother Yue, you have a spirit in the sky. You should know that your facts have nothing to do with a certain person~. A certain person was forced by Fang Chaoli. Brother Yue, please manifest your spirit~!"

Mrs. Chen sneered until she shed tears, but the widow's etiquette was not messed up at all. He returned the salute to these "kowtowers" indifferently, and then burned the paper money on his own.

It happened that Geng Liang and Gao Deshu walked out from the backyard with someone else, and it was Fang Chaoli who was yelling at him.When passing by the mourning hall, Chen finally couldn't help laughing sadly.

"Good and evil will be rewarded in the end~! Master Fang, your deceased husband is watching you behind him, why don't you look back?" Chen Yushuang was talking about the spiritual seat behind Fang Chaoli, but Fang Chaoli heard another meaning.

It happened that the cold wind swept into the hall, bringing with it bursts of white flags, one of which was placed on Fang Chaoli's shoulders.

Fang Chaoli's eyes widened, he smacked his mouth a few times, and then fainted from fright.

Outside the county yamen, the officials who had been released from the yamen did not leave immediately, just in time to see Fang Chaoli dragged away like a dead dog.

Among the five county magistrates, only the Lianyang magistrate was detained, and the other four were released.

The magistrate of Feng'an County took the lead in sighing, and suggested to the other four: "Everyone, it's already dark today, and it's too late to go back to the county. Zhou wants to visit Lord Tongzhi overnight, what do you think?"

"Master Zhang is fierce," Linlan County Prime Minister Wang Xiu also smiled wryly, "We took down the Fang family and most of the officials within half a day after taking office. Ji had no choice but to go overnight, so that no one would say that we were also secretly doing something wrong."

Zuoli County Prime Minister Wan Maochun and Lanjiang County Prime Minister Xu Tingyou nodded in agreement.

The four of them walked all the way to Zhang's mansion without taking a sedan chair.

For more than 20 officials who came to the door overnight, Zhang Zhe met them one by one with a pleasant face.

For example, several county magistrates, he asked about the geography, acres, population, customs, culture and education of each county one by one, only finance and inventory were not mentioned.

All the county magistrates know the elegant meaning after hearing the sound, and know that this is a convenience given to them by the magistrate. If there are deficiencies or omissions in the county, they can take advantage of this opportunity of liquidation of the whole county to blame those who are destined to die.

Zhang Zhe is indeed doing a semi-public favor.He is not the kind of official with a green head, who insists on rectifying the whole county so that it is clean and terrified all day long.His purpose is to allow everyone to take the opportunity to let go of their burdens and start over together.

At this moment, the accounts of the fiscal and tax warehouses in all counties have been balanced by the opportunity, and it is much more convenient for him, Zhang Zhe, to do things by himself.

The last official Zhang Zhe met was Wu Limu from Tuiguan Yamen, a junior official of the ninth rank, who was nearly fifty years old.And pushing the official Yamen up and down, he was the only one who was saved.

Probably because he is a local, and it is the Wu family who also proposed to the Gu family, and his family style has always been upright.This person used to work in the Tongpan Mansion, but because he was in the way of the Fang family's affairs, he was transferred by Fang Chaoli to his own yamen to rectify it day by day.

Although this person is only Cong Jiupin, the lowest rank among officials, Zhang Zhe wants to use him again.Not long after the two chatted, Zhang Zhe discovered that Wu Huai had been transferred to Tuiguan Yamen and would not come for a year, so he had memorized Dazheng's laws almost backwards.

"The constitution of a county, I am entrusted to Mr. Wu for the time being, please do your best!"

Wu Huai didn't refuse, and immediately agreed.Although he was nearly fifty years old, he was not reconciled to resigning from rank nine, so he would not let go of such an opportunity.

The meeting with the officials did not come to an end until late at night (after eleven o'clock in the evening).

Many officials who were severely intimidated by Zhang Zhe, through this conversation, also gathered their minds and saw Zhang Xinzhi's soft side.Especially in this turmoil, those who have plans for the official positions that will be vacated are extremely active and hardworking in front of Zhang Zhe.

This group of people, plus those who were ordered by Zhang Zhe to take the opportunity to settle the accounts, have already marked the Fang family and the party as mortal in their hearts.If the members of the party are not dead, it is their turn to be uneasy or unable to go any further.

"Brother, you have good means!" Xue Xiong, who was sitting opposite Zhang Zhe, praised him sincerely, "Brother, I thought your means were just these, but now the whole county wishes Fang Chaoli to die today, so it can be seen that my brother's means It's really high!"

This is Jinxiu Building in the county, and it is the second day.Xue Xiong invited Zhang Zhe to meet here in private, which can be regarded as a clean-up for Zhang Zhe.

Xue Ying was also on the side laughing: "These days the officials in the yamen are crazy, and they can finish the trial of a year's cases in one day. Those cases that are unclear and hinder face just go to Fang's house. Talking about the same party, the sufferer took money stolen from various families in private. Both the sufferer and the defendant came out with a smile, which is really funny!"

Like Xue Xiong, Zhang Zhe did not wear official robes, but a Confucian shirt.

"It's rare that General Xue doesn't blame Xinzhi for his nonsense. The younger brother is already overwhelmed with gratitude."

Yesterday, Cao Lingwen brought people into the county city very smoothly, and even saw the head belonging to Bai Jing hanging on the city gate.Xue Xiong's silent support made his actions in the county extremely smooth.

"Why do you say those polite words?" Xue Xiong rolled his eyes at Zhang Zhe, "People in the army only talk about the most practical things. You kid saved my battalion and taught someone to cheat Chen Shanyao. That is my brother. If I Helping them cheat you, the brothers in the army dare to drown me with spit! There is only one thing, what do you mean by changing your station to Xiushan? You slap the old brother in the face!"

"Hahahaha, Brother Xue, don't be surprised," Zhang Zhe let out a long laugh on purpose, "Firstly, the chief officer of Xiushan passed away, and all the dragons in the county have no leader. I don't know when the new chief officer will take office? Second, there is a pier in Xiushan , it’s also close to Jiangbei, my elder brother knows that my grandfather lived in Jiangling when he was young; in the past three years, I haven’t lived in the mansion bestowed by Xiushan for a few days, so I took the opportunity to stay in Xiushan.”

Zhang Zhe knew that on this matter, Xue Xiong was actually pretending to be polite. Without his own acquaintance in the county, Xue Xiong could repair the city defense without any scruples.If Zhang Zhe went to the county town, it would involve a case where the houses of residents near the city wall were demolished by sergeants, and the two of them would be able to tear their faces in half.

Thousands of hot-blooded young men gathered together, and friction with local residents was bound to be inevitable.However, Zhang Zhe is from modern times, and he actually supports Zhaoyang to continue military control and strengthen the city defense.

This kind of thinking is difficult to be accepted by the civil service community, and it is quite taboo for the head of a civil service to be in harmony with Qin Se, the chief of the garrison.

Both of them chuckled, and tacitly turned the matter over.

After drinking for three rounds, Xue Xiong and Zhang Zhe talked about something they both cared about: Wu Guo's 400 million "reparations"!
"It is said to be 400 million guan, but it is actually an article like a bag!" Xue Xiong pointed to the south of the city and sneered, "Eleven of the imperial merchants of Wu State came, and the earliest arrived a few years ago. This time the Wu State's The 400 yuan indemnity was paid by servants of the eleven Zhao families. I have read all the official papers of the Wu Kingdom, hehe, all of them are newly printed, and they also have the words "Zhaoyang Special" printed on them. "

"The implication is that these official tickets can only be used to buy goods from these eleven companies this time. After leaving the south gate of Zhaoyang, no one in Wu will recognize it! Can labor and capital get used to him? They are all stopped outside the city and left to dry." Leave him alone!"

Zhang Zhe also frowned when he heard the words. He thought that the pricing power of purchasing materials from Wu Guohuang's merchants was also on Wu Guo's side.If Wu Guohuang's merchants were asking prices all over the sky, the 400 million yuan would be a gimmick!

"Brother, do you know what price this screwdriver is talking about?"

"If I don't know, how can I stop them on purpose?" Xue Xiong threw the wine cup, his mouth full of hatred, "These Wu Guohuang merchants have very few goods, and they are all very common things. Dare to ask the price to the sky from the beginning. Do you know that the market price of a bag of one hundred catties of high-quality rice is only as high as usual, but people say that the Lord of the Wu Kingdom personally went to the field to help the plow, and the price is fifty guan! How much do you want? how many!"

Hearing this, Zhang Zhe laughed out of anger.

"Old brother, don't worry, my younger brother is good at negotiating prices! Otherwise, His Majesty wouldn't have sent me here. You will let them enter the city tomorrow, and we will see what my younger brother can do."

(End of this chapter)