Riding and cutting the imperial pirates of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 552 You are forcing me

Jiujiang, Shouchun.

It was the end of October in the first year of Jian'an, and it started to rain early in the morning. The rain was not heavy, and it fell between the sky and the earth, spreading like a veil, adding a touch of coldness to the whole city. .

Just like Wang Zheng's mood at this moment.

Inside the old palace of King Chu.

Wang Zheng sat alone in the study, under the window lattice, while listening to the dripping water from the eaves, he carefully flipped through the ensemble sent by Xiapi, turning the pages in silence.

The room was quiet and warm.The atmosphere seems to be very peaceful, but if the maidservants kneeling on the side raised their heads, they would be surprised to find that
In the eyes of the world, Wang Zhoumu, who could already be evaluated as "quite a city", now frowned, his expression kept changing, showing a rare gaffe.

There are two secret reports on the case table, one is the news from Zhang Zhao in Xiapi, that Lu Qiling will leave for Shouchun in a few days.

Needless to say, just this sentence is enough to make Wang Zheng clear that Guo Jia's plan has obviously failed.

This made Wang Zheng a little surprised, a little surprised, and even a little disappointed, but it was far from making him lose his composure.

The key is another secret report.

Secret security from the newly formed Governor's Division.

The arrogance of the aristocratic families in Xuzhou is far beyond his understanding, far beyond his imagination, and the most serious of them is Pengcheng, which is ruled by Xu Fang!

Although Wu Sheng is the current head of the governor's department, he is in a high position, so it is naturally inconvenient to do such a secret search in person. After taking people back to Xuzhou, he arranged for people to go to Xiapi, Langya, Pengcheng, Donghai and Xinfu in batches. Guangling to investigate.

As a result, countless problems broke out on Pengcheng's side first.

Not only are there plundering of land, extravagance and corruption, and hiding the population, there are even some officials of the gentry who dare to obey the law and violate the law, buying and selling grain, cattle and other items sent by the Xuzhou government privately. Instead, it was sold at a low price to the family behind it.

Mi Li, who had just joined the governor's department, wrote a few lines in the secret memorial:

"The waterway that the villain traveled all the way, returned to Pengcheng via Peiguo, and the first stop was Guangcheng County. Before entering the city, he visited in plainclothes first. He entered the teahouse and wine shop, pretended to be a merchant, and chatted with the people. When growing grain and farming cattle, the common people all said, "It's a trivial matter." The villain was surprised by his words, but asked, "It's a trivial matter to plow and harvest by mistake. I don't know what else can be called big?"

"The common people are bold, but they say: 'You are a foreigner, you should not know, have you ever heard about Wang Zhoumu's going to Jiangdong to suppress the rebellion? Passed.” The people said again: “I went to Xuzhou to help Yangzhou to quell the chaos. Naturally, the number of soldiers in the territory has decreased.

"The villain was shocked immediately, and asked: 'Even if the county magistrate deliberately defected to Cao Cao, it must be a secret matter. How did you wait for the common people to know?"

"The common people said: 'Hey, if you want to hide it from me, no one will know about it, but the county lord thinks that Guangcheng is his own backyard, and he is firmly in control, so he didn't cover it carefully. For example, in Yanzhou at that time Messenger was sent here, I Pengcheng people and Yanzhou thieves have a sworn feud, someone recognized it at that time, this is a captain who was slaughtering Pengcheng that day, and guessing secretly, probably saw through the truth. "

"Is the county monarch so rampant?" The villain still refused to believe it, and asked again and again to find out the details. It turned out that Chen Fu, the county magistrate of Guangcheng, was also from the Chen family of Xiapi, and he was the county magistrate of Guangcheng since Tao Qian's time. , it has been nearly ten years, and it has been established in the county for many years, and the Xiapi Chen family is behind it, so it has always been arrogant and has always been lawless. "

"When my lord first got Pengcheng, this person was obedient, and he restrained himself for a while. When General Xu was in charge of Pengcheng, because he was quite lenient to the local nobles, this person reverted to his old ways."

After explaining the ins and outs of the matter clearly, Mi Li wrote later: "This matter is only a rumor so far, because it is of great importance, I dare not play it early, and there are not many people in Pengcheng, so it is difficult to investigate carefully. It will take some time to find out what happened, the villain should try his best to investigate carefully, and when he has evidence, he will report to the state pastor to know."

"If there is no such thing, it is false, how to convict the common people, I will ask the state shepherd to show me."

Putting down the secret report, Wang Zheng's heart was fluctuating, and his expression became more and more gloomy.

Although Mi Li didn't say it clearly, he could already hear the implication.

Why is the governor's department in Pengcheng "not too manpower"?
Because this is under Xu Fang's rule, Wu Sheng doesn't think there will be any problems here, so Pengcheng arranges the least manpower, and the newly attached Guangling and Xuzhou's Guzhi Donghai arrange the most manpower.

But can Wu Sheng be blamed?

No, because not only Wu Sheng, but also Wang Zheng never thought that there would be any problems in Pengcheng managed by Xu Fang.

He has always been calm and moderate in his work, and he is a general who can take on great responsibilities. This has formed a consensus within the Tian Army.

So why is it a problem?

Mi Li's letter has actually explained the real reason, magnanimity!
Being too lenient to the gentry and being too courteous to the gentry, but not knowing that if they just show kindness to these carnivores and don't demonstrate, they will be breeding tigers!
Xu Fang is one of the rare talents in the Heavenly Army who has a certain level of culture at the beginning of the uprising, which is also the fundamental reason for his rapid growth, but on the other hand, it also makes him regard himself as a Confucian scholar or a noble class Bar?

In fact, some clues have been revealed at the beginning.

Wang Zheng sighed, and turned his gaze to the secret report again, his eyes flickering sharply.

陈复
Is it Chen again?

And what the hell is Xiapi Chen?
Heh, compared to "conspiring to vote for Cao", what kind of stealing and plundering, private granting and receiving are indeed insignificant.

It is not uncommon for local officials and local wealthy families to collude with each other, and feel embarrassed. Otherwise, why have all dynasties stipulated that local people cannot be local officials?It is precisely this that is guarded against.

In the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was even more difficult to guard against. On the one hand, with the bureaucratic promotion system of the Eastern Han Dynasty, many officials themselves were members of aristocratic families. And a county, a state, and even the whole world.

In the peaceful era, when you are an official in a different place, there will often be collusion between power and money, not to mention today's troubled times where wars are raging and wars continue.

Especially for emerging forces like Wang Zheng, the past two years have been exaggerated to the point where poor soldiers have dethroned the military, and they are fighting for ten months out of twelve months a year. Focus on the rear, don't have time to think about the rear, and no one else has time to take care of it. After all, all the energy and energy are spent on fighting.

Even if the high-level members of the Heavenly Army stationed in the local area, such as Xu Fang, even if they are aware of some clues, due to various considerations, they may often turn a blind eye to certain corruption incidents that violate laws and regulations. Only one eye, just pretend not to see.

In fact, Wang Zheng can also understand that if it is really just corruption, it will be fine. After all, when the water is clear, there will be no fish. But like Chen Fu, the magistrate of Guangcheng County, he will not only regard the land of officials as a forbidden place, but also regard the place as his own. It is absolutely intolerable to flatter the tyrannical at the top and the tyrannical at the bottom, and to collude with foreign enemies and plot wrongdoing.

The point is, is this Chen Fu's idea alone?
In the era of the Han Dynasty, the connection between individuals and families is far closer than that of later generations. If the Chen family of Xiapi was loyal to his king's government, would Chen Fu dare to be this watchdog?
Xiapi Chen's
If we only talk about the city of Xiapi, the Mi family's limelight seems to have faintly overshadowed the Chen family, but as the real top family in Xuzhou, the influence of the Chen family in the whole of Xiapi, and even the whole of Xuzhou, is far from that just now. The Mi family, which was not long after the merchants transferred to Shilin, could reach it.

How many Chen family members are officials in Xuzhou now?How many people have already mastered the authority of a county?

That day, Chen Dengzhao's butler turned out to be a spy from Jizhou. Was it really a coincidence, or was it intentional?

Did the whole Chen family have secretly linked up with Cao Aman?
The more Wang Zheng thought about it, the more frightened he became. What followed immediately after the fright was anger as fierce as flames and killing intent as sharp as ice!
You are forcing me!
"Come on!"

He jumped up against the table, and an almost roaring voice came out of the palace: "Order Guo Jia and Mi Heng to enter the palace immediately!"

He called Wang Xiong again, and shouted sharply: "You immediately take this general's order, go to Xiapi quickly, and order Zhang Zhao to send people to Chen Yu and Chen Deng. No, everyone in the Chen family will be under strict supervision by this general. Tell Wu Sheng again, and immediately arrange for people to go to Guangcheng to support Mi Li, and must thoroughly investigate the "Chen Fu case!"

"Anyone involved in this case, regardless of their rank or background, will be captured immediately and await disposal!" He said and handed the military order just written to Wang Xiong.

"promise!"

Wang Xiong didn't dare to be negligent, he hastily bowed to accept the military order, glanced up hastily, and saw the extremely dazzling words such as "cut in half", "copy the family" and "clan punish". Tremble.

What did the Chen family in Xiapi do to offend the general so much?
Although he didn't know why Wang Zheng was so furious all of a sudden, but Wang Xiong already felt that there might be a bloody storm in Xuzhou, so he didn't dare to say more, and stepped back on tiptoe.

After walking a few steps, Wang Zheng called him back again, pondered for a moment, and said: "The Chen family in Xiapi is a century-old family, and it has taken root in Xuzhou for a long time. If you go to Xuzhou and enter the city in low service, Zhang Zhao should also be careful. Don't leak the news, and second, don't cause too much turmoil, if there are any mistakes."

"The end will understand."

He has been with Wang Zheng for a long time, and Wang Xiong naturally knows the temperament of this Tiangong general.

Wang Zheng is a very nostalgic person, but there are not many people who can make him feel "nostalgic". At least Wang Xiong knows that he and Zhang Zhao should not be among them.

So what will be the consequences of "if there are any mistakes", needless to say.

After Guo Jia and Mi Heng rushed into the palace, Wang Zheng passed the secret report to the two of them to watch, and then asked, "What do you two think about this matter?"

Mi Heng took the lead in expressing his opinion: "The Chen family intends to surrender to the enemy, and it must not be tolerated! The lord should use thunderous means!"

Wang Zheng nodded and looked at Guo Jia again.

"Still undecided."

Guo Jia pondered for a while, then slowly said: "One is that Chen Fu surrendered to Cao, and the truth is not yet discerned at this time, and the other is that the matter is serious, whether it is Chen Fu's personal actions, or the will of the entire Chen family. Careful investigation is required before a decision is made.”

As he said that, he looked up at Wang Zheng, and said seriously: "However, speaking of Liu Bei's defeat that day, on the one hand, our army was so sharp that it was difficult to match. , leading to the formation of elbow and armpits, it can be seen that this generation is quite repetitive, and we really need to be careful."

"Ah."

After this time, Wang Zheng's mood calmed down a lot, and he couldn't see any obvious joy or anger on the surface, he just nodded and said: "Of course I won't kill a good person by mistake, but I just don't talk about surrendering to the enemy, Chen Fu is corrupt. It is inevitable."

"There are not a few of these prominent families who are officials in the territory. Corruption such as Chen Fu is not alone. It is difficult to "prevent future generations" with severe punishments alone. Is there a radical cure?"

"In troubled times, rituals and music are destroyed, and everyone seeks benefits."

Unlike Mi Heng who was lost in thought, Guo Jia seemed to have been prepared, and said without thinking: "If you want to cure the disease, there are two possible strategies."

This is the so-called talent of Wang Zuo, right?
Wang Zheng looked at Guo Jia with admiration and said that ghosts are placed in the workplace of later generations, and they can become the top subordinates after all.

A truly outstanding talent can not only advise the boss, but sometimes even find problems early. When the boss just wakes up, he already has a plan.

"What good strategy does Feng Xiao have, I will listen with all my ears."

"Firstly, it depends on the amount of corruption. In general, the family is punished twice to pay back the national treasury. In serious cases, the family is directly ransacked."

"Secondly, if there is corruption, there is no need to kill. If it is "to imitate others", you need to figure out the mentality of this generation first."

Guo Jia was calm and unrestrained, talking eloquently: "My lord, please think about it, what is the most important thing for a member of a noble family?"

"Naturally, the family is the most important thing."

Guo Jia nodded and said with a smile: "That's right, what is the family behind it most important, and what is it most worried about losing?"

"Words of thousands of families, those who live in the world for a long time, are the family."

Wang Zheng thought about it for a while, then said in a deep voice: "Compared with property, land, and even power, for these noble families, the real foundation is actually their reputation and family reputation, which is what they are most worried about losing. thing!"

"My lord sees thousands of miles away." Guo Jia said happily: "This is the second strategy of the minister. Rather than killing him, it is better to humiliate him!"

"Instead of killing it, why not humiliate it?"

Wang Zheng muttered to himself, chewing silently, his eyes sparkling, and Mi Heng who was at the side asked in surprise: "It's better to kill than to humiliate, what's the explanation for this statement?"

"Brother Zhengping, although corruption is harmful to the foundation of the country, after the two emperors Jingheng and Ling, it has become a custom in this world. It can be said that practitioners are accustomed to it, and observers are accustomed to it. Even if I, Xuzhou, define it as a felony and impose severe punishment, it may not be necessary. It can scare Xiaoxiao, not to mention killing him at once is too easy."

Guo Jiadao: "According to Jia's plan, how about setting up a separate household register, which records the names of the children and clan members of corrupt officials. Anyone whose name is included in this register will be taxed more heavily and will not be allowed to become an official. They are like lowly households. One person breaks the law and implicates the whole family, one person is corrupt and leaves a disaster for the descendants, from noble to lowly, which will remain unchanged for a lifetime, to be despised by neighbors every day, and abused by relatives and friends at night, would it not be happier than being the leader of a swordsman?"

"More than that, if the violation of discipline is too serious, if you commit a traitor, not only yourself, but also your family will be included in the crime book, and your children will be included in the lowly household. You can even ask the comedians of Tianjiying to compile a book and spread it everywhere, so that everyone can be praised. Waiting for the thief, this generation's family will be famous all over the world!"

Hearing this, Mi Heng immediately turned pale, and couldn't help but look up at Wang Zheng, who was also suddenly moved.

The two looked at each other, and they saw the horror in the other's heart by coincidence.

More than famous all over the world?

I'm afraid it will be infamous for thousands of years, right?

(End of this chapter)