People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 195 The moonlight is beautiful, look at it more ([-]-in-[-])

The atmosphere in Taihe Building was very depressing.

Everyone lowered their heads, not even daring to take a breath.

Zhao Jun arrested Sun Miao for dereliction of duty and dereliction of duty, which made many officials present feel on pins and needles, with cold sweat pouring down their backs.

Because it's not just Sun Miao, this phenomenon is actually too common in official circles.

Even if officials are not corrupt, they are often lazy and lazy in their administration.

So much so that in history, Bao Zheng once wrote: "Today, the counties and counties are vast, and there are many officials, but the spoils and filth are spread, and there is no day without them."

This means that corruption among officials occurs every day.

From here we can see how serious the problems of official corruption, embezzlement, malfeasance and so on are.

If we talk about dereliction of duty, no one here will be able to escape.

So now that they saw Zhao Jun acting in earnest, everyone present was trembling with fear, fearing that Sun Miao would learn from his mistakes and become their master.

But fortunately, Zhao Jun only took Sun Miao and did not use the knife on the other officials present.

With the mediation of Zhang Xia and others, the banquet continued and the atmosphere slowly returned to normal.Everyone exchanged glasses, drank a few glasses of wine, and started to use chopsticks.

It's just that everyone is eating the food like chewing wax.Even his laughter became a bit forced.

Zhao Jun saw this, but didn't say much. He had normal conversations with Li Jianzhi, Zhang Xia and others, and did not continue to worry about the issue of cracking down on malfeasance and dereliction of duty.

At first glance, he used this reason as an excuse to arrest Sun Miao.

Secondly, to put it bluntly, Zhao Jun is not actually doing anything like a large-scale crackdown on corruption.

His current main task and direction is still to conduct grassroots research to see what shortcomings there are and the current lives of the people, so as to prepare for specific policies for future reforms.

no way.

There were so many corrupt officials in the Song Dynasty that it was impossible to catch them all.

According to the memorials submitted by Fan Zhongyan, Bao Zheng, Wang Anshi and others, it is said that among the more than 4 officials in the Song Dynasty, [-], [-] are corrupt officials and may have been unjustly accused, but [-], [-], [-] are definitely not wrong. .

Moreover, in addition to the group of officials, there was another group in the grassroots governance of the Song Dynasty that was even larger and more prone to corruption—the official group.

Officials are at a high level, and local government affairs cannot be handled in an all-round way, so they must rely on many officials.

However, the source of income of these officials is not stable and they need some gray income. Therefore, they often use the power of officials to deceive superiors and subordinates, ask for bribes from both ends, and eat the plaintiff and the defendant. There are many records in the history of the Song Dynasty where officials asked for bribes.

Therefore, if the official group is added to the group of hundreds of thousands of officials, then Zhao Jun will not have to do anything else in his life. Arresting people all day long will not only make the officialdom panic, but also make it impossible to carry out the great cause of reform.

Therefore, Zhao Jun's current situation is to inspect the Song Dynasty to first understand, record, and analyze the situation at the grassroots level, focusing on the great cause of reform.Those corrupt officials should be dealt with easily when they see them.

If you don't see it, or if no one comes to complain, then it's natural to ignore it, and let professionals like Bao Zheng clean up corruption in the future.

So as Zhao Jun did not continue to fight, the banquet ended in a slightly embarrassing way.

The officials followed Zhao Jun all the way to the Hangzhou magistrate's office. After Zhao Jun's army took over the entire government office and settled in it, they fled as if they had received an amnesty.

Looking at the backs of the officials leaving in panic, Zhao Jun smiled, and then went to the government prison to meet the Hangzhou magistrate who had become a prisoner.

Inside the prison, it was dark.

In the compartment where prisoners were interrogated, there was a faint light from oil lamps and candles, illuminating the entire room.

Zhao Jun was sitting behind the trial table. Jiang Dalang and Huang Sanlang were already escorting Sun Miao over.

At this moment, Sun Mian had calmed down. Although he had taken off his official hat, his hair was disheveled and he looked slightly embarrassed, the expression on his face was calm and composed.

"Prefect Sun is able to keep his composure. He is already in prison, and yet he can still be so graceful."

Zhao Jun smiled and joked: "Do you think I will let you go?"

Sun Mian wore shackles on his hands and said with a smile: "I thought so, but it's a pity that I know it will be difficult for me to do this."

"For the prefect to have such self-awareness, you must be admitting his guilt?"

Zhao Jun smiled and said: "In that case, tell me everything you have done over the years to avoid wasting everyone's time."

Sun Mian shook his head and said: "These are all things that don't happen. I admit that although I am not a good official, I am still diligent. It is all framed by scoundrels, so why should I plead guilty?"

"You're still so stubborn when you're about to die?"

Zhao Jun frowned and said: "Don't think that you can get away with it just because you destroyed the official files of two counties and the state government. It's not difficult to find evidence. If you didn't do it cleanly, the people under you are even less clean. The worst is I know. The court will reopen the case file and interrogate it again."

Sun Mian's expression suddenly changed, and then he gritted his teeth and said: "As long as the magistrate pleases me, Mr. Sun behaves upright and sits upright. No matter how much slander is given, it can't change the fact that Mr. Sun is an official with integrity and a breeze on his sleeves."

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha."

Zhao Jun laughed and said: "What a person who is full of righteousness and has a breeze on both sleeves. I think you won't give up until you reach the Yellow River, and you won't shed tears until you see the coffin."

After saying that, he stood up and said, "Okay, I will reopen the case and give you a convincing answer."

Seeing that he was about to leave, Sun Mian hurriedly said: "Zhiyuan, do you really want to be so strict and completely disregard the way of being an official?"

The way to be an official?

Zhao Jun glanced at him and said: "My way of being an official is to make decisions for the people. I hope that in a few days, you will still be as tough-talking as you are now, and take it with you."

"Yes."

Jiang Dalang and Huang Sanlang sent Sun Miao away. Sun Miao took a deep look at Zhao Jun and was put back in the cell.

Zhao Jun's face was as dark as water. After leaving the government prison, he asked Li Jianzhi to come over.

He ordered Li Jianzhi to issue an official notice overnight, stating that all the files of the previous cases judged by Sun Mian, the magistrate of Hangzhou, had been lost and that all related cases would be re-tried.

Those with knowledge and those involved in the case can appeal.

Li Jianzhi received the order and quickly went back to arrange for officials to copy the official documents and post them on bulletin boards all over the city before early the next morning.

Soon the next day, the entire city of Hangzhou was boiling.

Because it was only now that the people of Hangzhou knew that Sun Miao had been arrested and Zhao Jun came to Hangzhou, the news spread quickly.

A large number of people related to the Sun Miao case rushed to the Penal and Prison Department Office, and a long queue formed outside the office door.

By mid-morning, many local Hangzhou citizens were sitting on the street drinking tea and chatting as usual at the tea stalls outside Baoanmen Nei Street and the Prison Department Office Gate.

Seeing the long queue outside the Yamen office, some people wondered: "What's wrong? Is the Xiantai Yamen so busy today?"

"You don't know yet, but Governor Sun has been arrested, and the Prison Department is re-triing the case he sentenced."

"What? Sun Taishou was arrested? I didn't expect that after going to work in the morning and taking a short rest at noon, such a big thing would happen in Hangzhou?"

"Your news is too late. This happened last night."

"That's great. The person Grand Administrator Sun is dealing with is not a person. He should have been arrested a long time ago. It was the order from Li Xiantai. I have already said that it is rare for the newly appointed Li Xiantai to be impartial and strict."

Before the man finished speaking, he was interrupted by someone else: "It's not Li Xiantai, it's the Supreme Court."

"Zhiyuan? Could it be?"

"Yes, it's Zhao Zhiyuan."

"This is great, Zhao Zhiyuan is coming to our Hangzhou."

"Yes, I have long heard that Zhao Zhiyuan is a rare blue sky. When he comes to Hangzhou, all the corrupt officials in Hangzhou will be caught."

"That's natural. I've said it a long time ago. It's rare for Zhao Zhiyuan to be impartial and strict."

The people were talking a lot, and some people were excited and praised Zhao Jun eloquently.

The reason is that the news from the Song Dynasty did not lag behind.

At least there's no lag along the Grand Canal.

As the second largest commercial city in the Song Dynasty after Kaifeng Prefecture in Bianliang, Hangzhou had a very high commercial status.

Because Hangzhou’s business contacts not only connect Bianliang and the entire Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Huainan and Shandong, but also the two coastal areas of Fujian Road and Guangdong Road.

In the Song Dynasty, Quanzhou on Fujian Road, Panyu, Chaoyang and other places on Guangdong Road were all areas with extremely developed foreign trade.

Arab merchants from Central Asia transported the goods to these places, where they were bought by local merchants, who then transported them by sea to Hangzhou, and finally from Hangzhou to the rest of the country.

Therefore, not only was the modern Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai free shipping in later generations, but even in ancient times, the Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai areas were also an important hub for the Song Dynasty in participating in international trade. It can be said to be the starting point of the Song Dynasty's foreign trade and inland trade.

In this case, communication between Bianliang and Hangzhou was very frequent.Businessmen traveling between the two places will transmit messages between the two to achieve the purpose of exchanging what they have.

For example, the reason why Meng Chengqi knew about movable type printing was that the Meng family had business contacts with Hangzhou. After Bi Sheng invented the invention in Hangzhou, it naturally spread to Bianliang.

Therefore, what Zhao Jun did in Bianliang last year, and even the fact that he set off south this year and exposed his identity in Bozhou, had already spread to Hangzhou.

The people of Hangzhou are all looking forward to his arrival, hoping that he can give the local dark officialdom a little shock.

Now that he is finally here, people all over the city naturally rejoice and applaud.

So in the midst of this joy throughout the city, countless people who had been oppressed, humiliated, and framed by the government rushed to the Penal and Prison Department Office to report to the government.

People came not only from Qiantang and Renhe counties, but also from Xiaoshan County in Yuezhou on the other side of the Qiantang River.

After all, Sun Mian was not only king in Hangzhou, but also had some involvement in Xiaoshan next door. For example, Xiaoshan silk merchant Zheng Min was sentenced to exile in Fujian and confiscated all his family property on the grounds of tax evasion.

The result was that overnight, people outside the Prison Department's Yamen came to ask for the overturn of the case.And it's not just matters related to the Sun Miao case, but also other cases.

The local government in the Song Dynasty was very dark and rampant in corruption. Sun Miao was just one of them, and there were many more officials and staff who were still involved.

Now that Zhao Jun is here, the people naturally place their hopes on him, so as long as they feel they have been wronged, even if it has nothing to do with Sun Miao's case, they have to file a complaint with the Prison Department.

This will undoubtedly increase the pressure and workload of the Prison Department. For this reason, Li Jianzhi found Zhao Jun with a sad face on the third day.Zhao Jun gave instructions to deal with Sun Miao's case first, record the other cases first, and then deal with them slowly later.As for the problem of shortage of manpower, we will first borrow the manpower from the transfer office.

Because the government officials in the state capital and Qiantang and Renhe counties were the main targets of complaints from the people, it was obviously impossible to let them try their own cases, so naturally they could only be seconded.

And in order to motivate the officials who were reviewing the case, they worked overtime during this period, and everyone took a part of the inventory funds of Jiangzhe Road as overtime pay.

Anyway, after dealing with a bunch of corrupt officials such as Sun Miao and ransacking their homes, they would probably come back tenfold or a hundredfold, so there was no need to be stingy.

As a result, under this incentive measure, officials became extremely efficient.

In just over ten days, several unjust, false and wrong cases that Sun Miao had been sentenced to were found out.

The breakthrough lies in the side inquiry.

The police officers found a large amount of stolen goods at his residence.

Coupled with the fact that there were testimonials, and there were both witnesses and physical evidence, the evidence was conclusive, and the bad things Bian Xun had done were already irrefutable.

Zhao Jun sent Huang Sanlang to interrogate him. Through the great memory recovery technique and the promise that he would be spared from death as long as he confessed the matter and revealed the mastermind through questioning, he could avoid death by making meritorious service. He said it all.

Under Bian Xun's testimony, the Prison Department quickly found other evidence against Sun Miao.Including stolen goods, letters, testimonies, etc., Sun Miao's close men also confessed everything.

In this case, even if Sun Miao denied everything, it would be of no use.

But Zhao Jun frowned when he looked at the testimonies of Sun Mian's close men.On May 12, [-] days after he was sent to prison, Sun Miao came to the cell again.

It was at night, Sun Mian was being held in solitary confinement in the cell, and was monitored by six guards 24 hours a day. There were also guards patrolling outside the cell. It could be said that his custody was extremely thorough, and he was not given any chance to escape.

Only a soft ray of moonlight peeked in through the small window in the cell, shining on the bed covered with straw and cotton mattresses, scattering like silver across the earth.

Sun Mian stood by the window with his hands behind his hands, raising his head and looking up at the night sky.

The window was very high, taller than him, so he couldn't see the scenery outside the window, and could only barely see the moon.

After Zhao Jun walked in, he said in a deep voice: "The prefect is leisurely and elegant, and he can also look at the moon."

When Sun Mian heard what he said, he turned around and said calmly: "It's just a way for officials to have fun in their misery and have fun when they are bored."

"Enjoyment in suffering?"

Zhao Jun laughed: "Why, are you in this prison more miserable than the people you tortured? They were separated from their wives and families by you. Some of them were simply killed by you, and those who survived, I have been in fear, suffering, pain, and torture all my life. Compared with them, I don’t think the prefect is suffering so much."

"haha, really?"

Sun Mian smiled and said, "What are their identities, and what am I?"

"Why, are you born nobler than them?"

Zhao Jun was so angry that he took the official documents from Jiang Dalang next to him, threw them into the cell, threw them on Sun Mian, and angrily shouted: "Look at all the good things you have done, how can you have the face to claim to be upright and have a breeze on your sleeves? "

Sun Miao didn't feel angry after being hit. He just sat on the bed leisurely and said softly: "This is the first time for Zhiyuan to be an official. After all, he is too young to be an official for the first time. It's a pity. You became an official at such a young age, but you have achieved a position that is lower than one person and higher than ten thousand people. I really don’t know how you did it."

"What, you want to teach me the way to be an official that you haven't finished talking about last time?"

Zhao Jun slowly calmed down his anger and said with interest: "Why don't we come and listen to what Grand Administrator Sun has to say about how to serve as an official?"

"It's not a high opinion."

Sun Mian said openly and honestly: "When I was young, I was as passionate as Zhiyuan is now. But officialdom and being a human being are sometimes contradictory. When you are high up, your situation will naturally be different, and your eyes will also be full of enthusiasm. There will be no more people below."

"People change, especially officials. Yes, I am a corrupt official. But so what? After reaching my position, no matter what the world is like, natural disasters or man-made disasters, I will still enjoy peace and prosperity, and live in extreme luxury."

"Not to mention the officialdom, it is just a pool of muddy water. This is the way the world is. If you are not evil, how can you climb up? How dare those people let you climb up?"

"So in this officialdom, there are no people as stubborn as you, Zhiyuan. Even if you have a righteous heart at the beginning and have been in the officialdom for a long time, most people will eventually become like me. Do you think everyone is like this? Was it all my fault?"

"The lower official doesn't think so. Before the magistrate tried me, he must have seen my past political achievements. I must have been excellent in governing the place. But it doesn't matter if my political performance is outstanding. Should I be promoted or not."

"As a result, the lower official later learned to be smart. He knew how to manage his superiors and spoke eloquently. Slowly, the lower official rose up step by step, reaching where he is today."

"I have harmed many people, ruined their families for money. So what? I used the money I got from them to bribe officials, and I was promoted along the way. I governed many places, saved many people, and sacrificed many people. Personally, it benefits more people, I don’t think this is a bad thing.”

"Furthermore, the Zhiyuan is honest and honest, and hates evil as much as enemies. But now all the officials in the Song Dynasty are like this. The Zhiyuan may be able to make the sky bright and clear in this turbid world, and make the dark officialdom clear up, but how can it be impossible? What about ten years from now? It’s still like this.”

"Being an official is just to get promoted and make a fortune. Maybe you have good intentions at first, but who can live without the worldly connections? Once you enter the officialdom and have power in your hands, your family, relatives, friends, and siblings will naturally surround you. around."

"Over time, officialdom will still change back to its original state."

"It's not long since I became an official in the Zhiyuan. When I work for a long time in the future, I will naturally understand the difficulties of the lower officials."

"So in the opinion of the lower official, it is better for the Zhiyuan to let such an officialdom exist from the beginning. Everyone carries the sedan chair, and the Zhiyuan can turn a blind eye, and the officials will not have to live so tiredly, and they will be grateful. The magistrate’s great kindness.”

"In the future, if the Governor wants to do something big to benefit the people, officials from all over the world will naturally thank the Governor for his kindness and support it. Isn't this a good thing for the country and the people?"

At the end of the sentence, Sun Miao actually made an impassioned speech, as if he was righteous, and his confident appearance was jaw-dropping.

Now Sun Miao admits that he is a corrupt official and is no longer as harsh as last time.

Because he also understood that since Zhao Jun came here this time, he had naturally found irrefutable evidence of his crime.

In the face of irrefutable evidence, there is actually nothing to quibble about. Instead, he has fallen behind, so he might as well admit it openly and sell his way of being an official.

Even if he thinks it's impossible, what if it succeeds?Maybe there is a glimmer of hope.

"What a bunch of fallacies and heresies from corrupt officials."

Zhao Jun couldn't help but praise: "With a talent like you, you may become prime minister in the future."

With such eloquence, if he became a peacemaker in the Southern Song Dynasty, Qin Hui would probably have to call him brother.

Sun Mian said seriously: "I'm just stating some facts."

"Some of what you said is right."

Zhao Jun said: "Even if I clear up corrupt officials in the world now, within 20 years, this officialdom will still be what it was before."

Sun Mian said with a smile: "If that's the case, why should the Imperial Academy bother so much?"

"Because I have to live up to my conscience."

Zhao Jun pointed at himself and said solemnly: "If all the officials in the world are like you, how can the people survive? There are so many people in the Song Dynasty, but you only harmed dozens or hundreds. But there are so many officials in the Song Dynasty, everyone Dozens and hundreds of people were harmed. If you add them all together, how big a number would that be?"

He said with firm eyes: "So what I can do is to at least ensure that when I am in charge of power, the people of the world will have a way to survive and the officials of the world will do their part. As for a hundred years later, it will naturally be a hundred years later. People will solve it.”

"It seems that the heart of Zhiyuan is as strong as iron. Even if the road ahead is bumpy, we must move forward with difficulty."

Sun Miao mocked.

Although it is probably impossible to convince Zhao Jun, it is inevitable that he feels a little disappointed.

I'm afraid I'm dead this time.

"Okay, stop peddling your lies."

Zhao Jun said in a deep voice: "Bian Xun has already explained that Yang Riyan sent his brother to deliver the letter, but you just replied to others. Your closest men and women have not left Hangzhou. It is not you who committed the murder and silence. There are still people behind your back." If there is someone else, please tell me."

"Since I am certain to die, why bother talking?"

Sun Miao sneered and said: "Zhiyuan has great magical powers, why not guess it yourself?"

Zhao Jun looked at him deeply.

The murder of the county magistrate on Jiangxi Road was not caused by Sun Miao, unless he was delivering the letter to a group of desperadoes.

Then this group of desperadoes were superb in their methods, doing things neatly and disposing of people easily.

But does Sun Miao really have the ability to recruit such a group of capable talents?
Zhao Jun didn't believe it.

So he felt that there was someone behind Sun Miao.

The original Huainan West Road transfer made it impossible for Huang Wei, and Huang Wei was transferred to Hebei Road.

Unless the person Sun Miao sent to deliver the letter could fly, the time would not match.

Then we can only target senior officials on Huainan Road and Liangzhe Road.

Perhaps it was Sun Miao's father-in-law, Bian Su, the envoy of Fujian Road Transfer.

This man once commanded the army as a civilian, and was also a minister of the Ministry of War. It is possible that he had a team of elite soldiers under his command.

However, Bian Su had never been an official on Huainan Road before, so he probably had not been involved in the Huainan corruption case.

Is it necessary for him to risk offending Zhao Jun and help him kill someone for Sun Miao?

This is a question.

But no matter what, since Sun Miao didn't speak, he could only find other ways.

Zhao Jun said calmly: "If you don't say it, someone will naturally say it in the future."

With that said, he turned his head and prepared to leave.

After walking a few steps, he suddenly stopped again, looked back at Sun Miao's cell, and said with a sudden smile: "Prefect Sun, the moonlight is beautiful tonight. Look more, maybe you won't be able to see it in a few days."

Then he left without stopping.

He won't wait too long to kill corrupt officials.

　After the computer crashed, I struggled to code again for more than three hours.I was really desperate at that moment, but there was nothing I could do. I definitely couldn't finish it before 12 o'clock, so I had to stay up late and continue.

　　Some people say it's an excuse. In such a broken mood, I really don't want to comment.

　　In addition, it is a pity that the dialogue between the protagonist and Sun Miao was not presented well. The dialogue before the collapse was carefully thought out and took a day to write, and it was relatively profound and meaningful.But I really can’t remember it when I rewrote it, and the meaning I want to express is so different from before, I’m very dissatisfied.But after working on it for a long time, it was still not as good as before. There was really nothing I could do.I'm really, really, really devastated when I encounter this kind of thing, ugh.This chapter is to make up for yesterday, and there will be more today. The broken computer has been with me for five years. It has many problems, such as lagging, slow startup, and sometimes freezing. It really is time to replace it.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)