The Jagged Cavalry of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 177 Chapter 177
"Isn't it?" Zhang Yan looked at Chen Qun with cold eyes, and squeezed out these words from between his teeth.

Chen Qun frowned, thought for a while, and then slowly said: "In the final analysis, the responsibility lies with me. It's only my fault that I didn't tell the lord the matter first, it's all my fault... It's no wonder that the lord Misunderstand……"

Hearing what Chen Qun said, Zhang Yan asked, "Why? Could it be that there is something else hidden in this?"

Chen Qun said: "There is no secret, these are indeed gifts from officials from various places!"

"You finally admitted that you took bribes!" Zhang Yan snorted, "I never thought that you would be such an insatiable person, but I still trust you so much!"

Hearing Zhang Yan's sarcasm, Chen Qun just laughed it off, cupped his hands and said, "My lord, please listen to me to the end. I did this for ulterior motives."

"There are ulterior motives? It's your ulterior motives, right?" Zhang Yan said coldly.

Chen Qun hastily explained: "My lord, these gifts are indeed sent by officials from various places. Among these gifts, there are many valuable things. I, Xuzhou, have been fighting endlessly this year, which directly consumed the money left by Tao Shijun. Under such circumstances, these gift-giving officials can still come up with so many precious things, which shows that they usually plunder the people's money. Self-government is in charge of Xuzhou Since then, Tao Qian’s old ministries have been collected together. Bao Buqi has some black sheep. The reason why I accept these gifts is to take this opportunity to see clearly who is the black sheep, find them out, and then My lord, please decide!"

After listening to Chen Qun's explanation, Zhang Yan seemed to feel that Chen Qun had been wronged, and asked again: "Are you really telling the truth?"

"Every sentence is true. If my subordinates have the slightest falsehood, I will teach the heavens to strike five thunderbolts, and I will die without a place to die. I ordered the housekeeper to seal all the gifts sent by the officials of the counties and counties. Who gave what? How much is given away is recorded one by one. First, you can take this opportunity to find some gift givers, and then secretly send people to investigate. If the gift givers are found to have committed crimes, they will be brought to justice immediately , so that the ugly and bad habits in Xuzhou can be swept away, and Xuzhou can be restored to a place of peace. Second, these gifts can be rushed into the treasury and used as our army's reserve. While killing corrupt officials, we will also Confiscate the family property and confiscate it. In addition, the power of the prefect to hire subordinates must be taken back. Regardless of the size of the official position, the appointment and dismissal must be approved by the lord, and the seal and ribbon, as well as the appointment document. Otherwise, the prefect has too much power , is also extremely detrimental to future development." Chen Qun said impassionedly.

After listening to Chen Qun's words, Zhang Yan realized that what he saw with his own eyes was not necessarily true.He felt that he had wronged Chen Qun a little bit, and hurriedly apologized: "Changwen, I wronged you just now, please forgive me..."

"What did the lord say? It's only my fault. I didn't make it clear to the lord in advance."

"Anyway, no matter who is at fault, this misunderstanding is finally solved. You can boldly let go of this matter, but you must report to me the latest progress every day."

"Here!"

"By the way, did you mention just now that the prefect has the right to hire his own staff?" Zhang Yan suddenly asked again.

Chen Qun said: "The current prefects have too much power. They can not only hire staff and appoint officials, but also recruit and train troops. It is for this reason that some prefects are often tougher than state shepherds. The most typical example is It should belong to Gongsun Zan, the prefect of Youbeiping, and Liu Yu, the shepherd of Youzhou. Gongsun Zan is just a prefect, and his power is not as great as Liu Yu. If he does not have the power to recruit troops by himself, how can he defeat Liu Yu? Therefore, the command of the army must not be If it falls into the hands of the prefects in various places, otherwise, once the prefects become big, they are likely to bite back and eventually make our army fall short. Zhang Miao, who rebelled against Cao Cao, is the most typical example! There are so many lessons learned from the past, and the subordinates hope the Lord It can be used as a warning. The words of this subordinate are just nonsense, if the master listens to it, he will listen to it, if he does not listen to it, then he will treat his subordinate as pure fart."

Zhang Yan was undoubtedly touched by the new question raised by Chen Qun. Chen Qun hoped to firmly control the army in his own hands. Local officials can only have the power to handle government affairs, but not to dispatch troops. power.Simply put, it is the separation of government and military.

Zhang Yan also thought about this issue a lot. The prefect's power is indeed a bit strong, but it is not that simple to take back all the power at once.If you act too hastily, it may be self-defeating.

The idea of ​​separating the military from the government is good, but at this stage, it doesn't work.Because many of the prefects he appointed are generals who can lead troops in battle. If their command of the army is cut off, who will command the army to resist when the enemy attacks?
After all, with the continuous expansion of his account, there are fewer and fewer talents available.

However, in Zhang Yan's view, the eunuch's right to hire his own staff can still be withdrawn, and at the same time, the eunuch's judicial power can also be withdrawn. Whether the prisoner is executed or sentenced, the case must be transferred to Zhang Yan. Zhang Yan sent someone to personally try and investigate the authenticity of the case.

For this reason, Zhang Yan also specially set up Dali Temple, and Zhang Zhao was appointed as the minister of Dali Temple, specializing in the management and trial of various cases.

In addition, Zhang Yan also set up a Metropolitan Procuratorate, with Chen Qun as the capital censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, as a special administrative department specialized in reporting, impeaching, and supervising officials. All ring the bell.

Zhang Yan let Chen Qun do it, and reported the latest situation every day. Zhang Yan received one document after another to give gifts, but he saw that the document had exhausted the words of praise for Chen Qun, and also mentioned that he wanted Chen Qun to "" help" them.

Among the many uniform documents, only one document caught Zhang Yan's attention. This document did not praise Chen Qun, but scolded Chen Qun angrily.

In the letter, the author speaks earnestly and quotes from the scriptures. The full text is nearly thousands of words, and there is not a single dirty word, but after reading it, people feel angry.

Zhang Yan thought, probably Chen Qun hadn't read these documents at all, otherwise, he would have been pissed to death by this scolding letter.

It is rare to see such a literary talent and such an ability to scold.Zhang Yan's eyes inadvertently looked towards the final inscription, but he saw that Liangmao, a native of Changyi, Shanyang County, was written on the inscription.

Who is Liang Mao?Zhang Yan didn't have many memories in his mind, because what he could remember were only those people who were more famous in the Three Kingdoms. As for this person, it seemed that there was also a record in the history books, but he didn't pay much attention to it.

However, a person who can write such an article must also be a talented person, and when everyone else is praising Chen Qun, he is the only one who is cursing Chen Qun, which is undoubtedly a different species.

For this reason, Zhang Yan specially wrote a letter, asking Yanzhou Mu Baoxun to arrest Liang Mao and send him to Pengcheng. Whether it's a mule or a horse, Zhang Yan wants to pull him out!

A few days later, Bao Xun sent someone to escort Liang Mao to Pengcheng, and Zhang Yan asked Liang Mao to be brought into the hall for interrogation himself.

Liang Mao was pushed into the hall, Zhang Yan looked at it carefully, but seeing Liang Mao's handsome appearance, young and unrestrained, with a rebellious air on his body, he lifted up a document in his hand and asked: "You wrote this letter?"

Liang Mao looked at the letter in Zhang Yan's hand, and said loudly, "I wrote it!"

"You are so brave. How dare you write this letter to slander the imperial court officials? And frame it? Can you plead guilty?"

"I wrote the letter, but I don't admit the crime! Everything I wrote is true. The incident of Chen Qun accepting bribes does exist. Why didn't your lord go check it out and arrest me, who told the truth?" Get up?" Facing Zhang Yan's tiger prestige, Liang Mao retorted vigorously without any sign of fear.

Zhang Yan asked: "I want to know why you wrote this letter. Don't you know that Chen Qun is the prefect of Pengcheng, the right-hand man of my mansion? Could it be that when you wrote this letter, you didn't expect What will be the consequences for me?"

Liang Mao laughed and said: "My purpose is very simple. I am extremely unhappy with Chen Qun's acceptance of bribes. What kind of law am I breaking if I write to scold him? Besides, I have already made mental preparations. If Chen Qun After seeing this letter, they will definitely send someone to arrest me, at worst, I will die!"

"Could it be that you're not afraid of Chen Qun's power, and you haven't considered what harm it will do to your family if you do this?" Zhang Yan asked again.

"I'm not even afraid of death, so what are you afraid of? Besides, my parents died since I was a child, and I have no brothers or sisters. I'm the only one in my family. I have nothing to worry about!"

When Zhang Yan asked this point, he stopped asking further questions. Although Liang Mao was talented, he was also rebellious, and he had no fear of death. If such a person could be used by him, put him in a suitable In terms of position, it must be able to exert its huge effect.

"Untie!" Zhang Yan waved his hands at the two yamen servants and ordered loudly.

The two yamen servants loosened Liang Mao, who was tied up in a big way. Instead of thanking him, Liang Mao moved his hands and feet and asked directly, "Excuse me, what do you want to do with me, my lord?"

"I plan to hire you as my subordinate to do things for me!" Zhang Yan said.

"What did you say?" Liangmao knew from the moment he was arrested that he was not far from death, but he never expected that his life would take a 180-degree turn, "You want to hire me as a vassal?" Liao? You're not kidding, are you?"

Zhang Yan nodded, and said: "A gentleman can't catch a horse! Besides, do I look like I'm joking with you?"

Liang Mao was a little confused, so he asked, "What about Chen Qun accepting bribes?"

Zhang Yandao: "Everything Chen Qun did was at my behest, so how can he say he took bribes? By the way, I haven't asked you yet. You are not an official. How did you know about Chen Qun taking bribes?"

(End of this chapter)