Fenghou

Since this land inspection touched the vital interests of the Fengxiang faction, the group of officials headed by Luo Wenqing had the heart to fight against Jingzhao, which gave Golden Fox an opportunity. He began to consider training an army of more than a thousand people in Fengxiang. At the critical moment, we should cooperate with the outside world to seize Guanzhong.

"There are enemies!"

Suddenly a loud cry in the yard awakened the golden fox from his sleep. Then he heard the sound of fighting in the yard. The golden fox panicked and struggled to get up. He was too fat to get up.

As soon as he sat up, several sharp war knives were placed around his neck.

"If you move, I'll kill you!"

The golden fox suddenly lowered his head to bite the ring on his hand, but someone grabbed his hand and forcibly wiped away his poison ring.

Immediately afterwards, the soldiers rushed forward, knocked him down to the ground and tied his hands behind his back, only to hear the soldiers of the Song Army yell, "The golden fox has been caught! The golden fox has been caught!"

The golden fox suddenly lost all thoughts, Zhang Chitong must have been arrested and confessed himself.

Zhang Chitong is a well-known Taoist priest and has quite connections with the officials, so making him as his liaison with Luo Wenqing very concealed is the most suitable candidate.

But he didn't expect this hidden candidate to be caught by Song Jun.

Chapter 742 The Small Town

When Wang Hao heard that he had caught the golden fox, he jumped up for joy. This opponent who had tortured him for nearly two years unexpectedly got his whereabouts from a Taoist priest.

At the beginning of the year, the county king promoted him to rule, and he was ashamed to accept it. Now that the golden fox was caught, he finally felt proud.

Wang Hao immediately interrogated the captured spies overnight, and continued to expand the scope of the search. At four o'clock, the inner guard captured the intelligence strategist Li Wenzhu and seven spies in an inn.

All 35 spies were arrested. Before dawn, Wang Hao personally led the army and escorted all the spies including Jin Huhu back to Jingzhao.

At the same time when Neiwei finally cracked the Jin Kingdom's intelligence network, the Supervision Department led by Zhang Miao launched a stormy rectification operation in Fengxiang Mansion. While the mansion was surrounded by soldiers, he committed suicide by taking poison.

Immediately, a total of 23 officials from eight counties under Fengxiang Mansion, including Fuya, Fengxiang, Fufeng, Baoji, Guo County, Mei County, Qishan, Purun, and Linyou, were dismissed and questioned, including 14 officials and nine civil servants. people, and their property was also seized.

Not only were the officials dismissed for questioning, but the supervisory department started a second land inspection based on the previous land inspection, confiscating all the land occupied by these officials and their relatives.

According to Chen Qing's order, the prefect Wang Zi was dismissed for negligence, Jiang Kuangyuan was appointed as the prefect of Fengxiang by the First Office of the Supervision Department, Xu Ning, the magistrate of Linyou County, was promoted to the general judge of Fengxiang prefecture, and the magistrates of other counties were appointed as the prefect of Fengxiang. The counties on Xihe Road were transferred.

On the seventh day after the storm of bureaucracy, Chen Qing also came to Fengxiang mansion by boat under the escort of three thousand cavalry. The Wanyan Wushu army that entered Hanzhong was forced to withdraw.

This time Chen Qing inspected Fengxiang mansion, and also came to inspect the situation of Fengxiang's officialdom after the rectification.

It was already March in Yangchun, warblers were flying and grasses were growing on both sides of the Weihe River, green everywhere, full of vitality everywhere, and the air was full of warmth.

Pieces of wheat fields grow lush and green, and there are villages in the distance. At noon, the villages are full of smoke from cooking.

This time he was accompanied by Yu Ying on the inspection tour. Yu Ying was gentle and gentle, and could take care of Chen Qing's life along the way.

Now that Chen Qing is on tour, he will try to take a boat as much as possible, not because he wants to enjoy it, but because it is very convenient for him to handle official business on the road.

At this moment, Yu Ying brought a cup of tea and put it on the table, and sat quietly at the side again. Chen Qing glanced at her, and asked with a smile, "Are you tired of sitting on the boat and want to go for a walk?"

Yu Ying was a little embarrassed and said: "Just now I heard that there is a town ahead that is famous for producing a kind of wine, so I want to buy a pot for the officials and buy some side dishes to go with the wine."

Chen Qing glanced out the window and asked with a smile, "Where is this?"

"It was Mei County just now. It seems that after crossing the inclined water, it entered the territory of Guo County."

Chen Qing thought for a while, then suddenly smiled and said, "I know where the famous town you mentioned is, Yangping Town, right?"

"That's the name!"

"The Bizhu pulp sake from Chensi Restaurant in Yangping Town is good. Of course, it's only a little bit better than Zhuojiu, but you can go shopping."

When Yu Ying heard that her husband was willing to accompany her to go shopping in the town, her heart was filled with joy, and she hurriedly said, "I'll get the veil!"

The fleet docked slowly outside Yangping Town. Not far away was the bustling wharf of Yangping Town. The soldiers all went to rest in the nearby woods. Chen Qing, escorted by more than a dozen personal soldiers, took Yu Ying on board shore.

Of course, inspections must go to the field to understand the sufferings of the people, not just sit in the government office and listen to the reports of officials. Sometimes you can go to small towns and villages to get a better understanding of the real situation.

Yu Ying was wearing a green shirt, a long white silk skirt, and a bamboo hat with a light gauze covering her face. She was tall and slender, quite charming. Long Jian, he is tall, and Yu Ying, who is next to the guardian, is a tall woman with an extraordinary masculinity, walking in the small town is very eye-catching.

Yesterday there was a big market in Yangping Town, and people from all over the world came to the market. Today, there were a little fewer people, but it was still very lively. They just took a mat and spread it on the ground, and it was filled with various agricultural products, among which fish and shrimp were the most. There was a fishy smell in the air.

Yu Ying walked to a small stall selling copper jewelry, and excitedly selected all kinds of jewelry, which made Chen Qing a little dumbfounded. Among the four women, which one of them had several sets of gold jewelry, especially the treasures she brought back from the Xixia Palace, Each piece is priceless, and Yu Ying has twelve pieces!

What should he say about being interested in these cheap copper jewelry?

The old lady who sold the jewelry wanted to say hello, but when she saw the emerald gold hairpin on Yu Ying's hair and the white jade bracelet on her wrist, she didn't dare to make a sound. The fineness of the white jade bracelet made her amazed When she bought the goods, the shopkeeper's wife boasted that her jade bracelet was worth dozens of pennies, but compared with the white jade bracelet of the little lady in front of her, it was like seeing a phoenix.

"Officer, I want to buy some, okay?" Yu Ying turned around and asked Chen Qing happily.

Chen Qing smiled slightly: "If you want to buy it, buy it!"

"Okay! I'll pick a few more and give them some at home."

Yu Ying went to pick out the jewelry, Chen Qing asked the aunt who sold the jewelry, "How much can I earn a month for setting up a stall!"

"My things are cheap, and I can't earn a few dollars. It would be good if I can earn a few dozen pennies a day."

"Business should be better during the festival!"

"Just count on too much."

"How much is the price of rice here?" Chen Qing asked again.

"I'm not sure! Our family grows our own food and doesn't buy it outside."

Next to it was a stall selling all kinds of agricultural tools. The owner of the stall was about 50 to [-] years old. He sat on a small stool, hugged his knees, and said with a smile: "The official is from Jingzhao! Let me tell you, we are a small place. , Wheat is twenty cents a bucket, bought directly from the farmers’ homes, salt is the same, forty cents a catty, and cloth is also bought from the farmers for coarse cloth woven by themselves, which is very cheap. Food is not a problem now, but if you want to eat better, We have to ask for money, but we are short of money!"

"How much does the elder brother earn from setting up a stall in a month?"

"It's not enough to just sell farm tools. We also need to repair farm tools for others. We can earn about three pennies a month, which is enough to support our family. As long as we don't fight wars, we are very satisfied."

At this moment, a few farmers came over with farm tools for repairs, and Chen Qing didn't bother. Yu Ying also picked out ten pieces of copper jewelry, and gave the aunt a silver ingot, which was worth five taels. She waved her hand, "No need to look for it!"

The aunt was so happy that she came out and kowtowed to thank, this is a living Bodhisattva descending to earth!

Chen Qing smiled without saying a word, knowing that there must be a reason for Yu Ying, he turned the corner, and Yu Ying gave the copper jewelry to a group of young ladies.

Yu Ying was a little embarrassed and said to Chen Qing in a low voice: "The aunt who sells jewelry looks a lot like my grandma, so I just want to help her."

"It's okay, you can go have a drink with me, the most famous Chensi Restaurant is right in front."

Yu Ying took her husband's arm and happily walked to the big restaurant ahead...

The guards had already booked a table by the window one step ahead, Chen Qing and Yu Ying sat down, Chen Qing smiled to the dozen of guards around him: "You don't have to be so close to the enemy, you go find a place to sit down and eat. "

The guards had no choice but to find a long table by the wall and sit down, watching the surrounding situation vigilantly.

The bartender ran forward and said with a smile: "The officials are lucky today. The shop received a lot of game and mountain delicacies yesterday, including all the dishes on the list."

Knowing that the Yu sisters like to eat venison, Chen Qing said, "Here are three catties of charcoal-grilled venison, a steamed Weihe perch, a pot of stewed pheasant, and a plate of several mountain delicacies. Your most famous green bamboo paste Two jugs of sake."

"Okay! Three catties of charcoal-grilled venison, one steamed perch, one pot of stewed pheasant, one plate of each of the five delicacies, and two jugs of wine!"

Seeing that the dishes her husband ordered were all her favorites, Yu Ying felt very sweet in her heart, so she wished she could sit side by side with her husband.

At this moment, several personal soldiers rushed up like a gust of wind, stopped an old man who was walking towards Chen Qing, and angrily shouted: "Stay away!"

The tall old man smiled and said: "It seems that I have not misunderstood the person, General Chen, do you still know me?"

Chen Qing saw that he was full of white hair, mighty appearance, vaguely familiar, and suddenly found that he only had one hand, and suddenly remembered, "You are..."

Chapter 743 Scale

"You are...Xu Ning?" Chen Qing recognized the old man in front of him.

Just as the old man was about to bow and salute, Chen Qing quickly supported him, "I'm just an ordinary rich man now."

It was only then that Xu Ning realized that Chen Qing was visiting privately on Weibo, and he quickly smiled and said, "Then I won't bother you!"

"It's okay, Coach Xu, please sit down!"

Before Chen Qing could speak, Yu Ying immediately sat next to her husband knowingly and gave up her seat.

Xu Ning seemed to have returned to the old days with the sound of Coach Xu. He nodded and smiled and said, "Then I will be disrespectful!"

Xu Ning sat down and ordered one of his subordinates to retreat outside the town so as not to disturb the people.

Chen Qing smiled and introduced Yu Ying to Xu Ning, "This is my concubine!"

Xu Ning had also heard that Chen Qing's concubine was a pair of twin sisters, and probably this was one of them, so he hurriedly bowed to say hello.

At this time, two bartenders brought food and wine, and Chen Qing added a few more dishes. He filled a glass of wine for Xu Ning and said with a smile, "Thank you, Coach Xu, for giving us arrows back then. We made this glass!"

It was also thanks to Xu Ning that Chen Qing was able to get a glimpse of the best archery skills. Chen Qing has always been sincerely grateful to him. He invited Xu Ning to be an official in Jingzhao several times. Because Xu Ning was disabled, he politely declined. This time to clean up Fengxiang's officialdom However, Xu Ning was the only county magistrate who refused to join forces with Luo Wenqing. Regardless of whether he wanted to or not, Chen Qing forcibly appointed him as the general judge of Fengxiang Mansion.

Xu Ning hastily raised his glass with one hand and said, "It's been seven years, and I never thought that the general would be able to make it this far. Let's go further for the general. Cheers!"

The two drank it all in one gulp, and Yu Ying wanted to pour wine for them, Xu Ning waved her hand in fright, "I dare not, the general and I each have a jug of wine, and drink by ourselves, madam, leave me alone!"

Chen Qing nodded and said with a smile: "Then pour yourself a drink, it's better to be casual."

Yu Ying filled a glass of wine for her husband, Xu Ning poured wine for herself, and he asked with a smile, "Is the general going to visit Linyou County this time?"

Chen Qing sighed slightly: "In Linyou County, five hundred sons followed me to fight, and now there are less than 30 people left. I am ashamed of the elders of Linyou County, and dare not go to see them!"

"There will always be sacrifices in war. As long as the Tartars can be expelled from Shaanxi Road, all this is worth it. The fathers and villagers hope that you will go back and have a look. You have promised."

Chen Qing nodded, "I'll take a look."

The two drank another glass of wine, and Chen Qingxiao asked, "Where is Coach Xu going?"

"Go to Mei County to handle a case."

"What case?"

"Someone reported that the former county magistrate embezzled [-] shi of official grain. The magistrate cried to me in prison. He admitted that he took up [-] acres of land, but he absolutely did not embezzle official grain. "

"Do you know this magistrate?"

Xu Ning nodded, "He was originally a county magistrate of Linyou County. He followed me for several years, and was later promoted to magistrate of Mei County by the Jinren. This person said that it might be possible for him to be greedy for a little bit of cheap food, but he was greedy for eight thousand shi of grain. But I don’t have the guts.”

"But you can't quite believe it either, can you?"

"General, the incident happened during the period of Jin Kingdom's control. Now the law can no longer convict him, but I just don't want him to bear this reputation, so I'm going to Mei County to see. It's not easy to embezzle eight thousand shi of grain. You need a warehouse , transportation, distribution, and many links, if the reported situation is also found to be unsubstantiated, then we cannot insist that he embezzled official food."

It turned out that it happened during the reign of the Kingdom of Jin, and Chen Qing was not very interested. He smiled slightly and said, "During the period of the Kingdom of Jin, it would be even more difficult to embezzle official food!"

"That's the problem. The Jurchens themselves have a record of embezzling eight thousand shi of grain. How could they hide it from the Jurchens? At most, they rely on loss to make a little leftovers. He has only been the magistrate of Mei County under the Jurchens for one year. , can earn [-] shi of grain by loss? It is obviously unrealistic!"

"Is the Supervision Department also investigating this case?"

"It's also under investigation. Wang Danian, deputy director of the Third Supervision Office, personally led the team to Mei County."

Chen Qing smiled slightly, "Since Wang Danian has gone to Mei County, then you don't have to go again. Wang Danian has always been fair and strict in dealing with things, so you don't have to worry!"

"I understand, then I won't interfere with the case."

……

Xu Ning returned to Fengxiang County with his men, Chen Qing bought a lot of food and wine, and asked his soldiers to bring them aboard, then he took Yu Ying out of the restaurant, walked around the town again, and returned to the big ship.

The fleet continued westward and rested overnight after arriving in Guo County. Early the next morning, they dug a canal along Jinbing to the north. This canal connected Fengxiang County and Weishui River. rise up and then widen to form.

Outside Fengxiang County, Zhang Miao led the officials to welcome Chen Qing. Chen Qing also saw Xu Ning. He returned to Fengxiang yesterday. Yu Ying did not disembark. add to the trouble.

Fengxiang County is the second largest city in Guanzhong. For a long time, it was the base of Wanyan Wushu to attack Sichuan and Shaanxi. It was basically not damaged by the war. It looked very prosperous and lively, and the clothes and looks of the people on the street were also good.

A group of people came to the government office, which is now the temporary official office of the Supervision Department. In the inner hall, Zhang Miao reported the latest progress of the investigation to Chen Qing.

"The land liquidation has ended, and all the land encroachment involved by them or their families has been confiscated. However, during the investigation process, we found that many Luo Wenqing gangs have committed serious corruption, which makes it difficult for us to control the scale of the case. Please The king of the county shows."

Chen Qing glanced at everyone, and said slowly: "I have considered this issue on the way. I think that if the scale is too strict, many puppet Qi officials will not dare to work for us in the future, and the gain will not be worth the loss. So I suggest dividing it into three stage to handle the case."

In the first stage, during the Jinbing occupation period, the corruption and bribery gains during this period should not be investigated, but the tolerance I am talking about is limited to the use of positions for bribery, and involves evil deeds, such as stealing and usurping, occupying their fields, houses and shops, etc. , This kind of evil behavior involving the common people must be strictly investigated and cannot be tolerated.

The second stage refers to the blank period. Jin Bing escaped, but we have not taken over yet. I guess many officials will use this period of time to reap benefits. In fact, once Jin Bing escapes, all the property in the official warehouse should be ours. Therefore, all the property embezzled at this stage must be recovered. Officials may not be held responsible, but they must be dismissed.

The third stage refers to after we took over. During this period, corruption and bribery will be dealt with according to the laws of the Song Dynasty. Both property and property must be confiscated, and criminal responsibility must also be investigated. The whole family will be exiled to Jishi County.

Zhang Miao said with a smile: "Thanks to the king of the county for giving us a measure, especially the punishment method, exile to Jishi County is good."

After a pause, Zhang Miao said again: "But in the actual handling of the case, there will be a problem, that is the second stage, the crime during the blank period, the corrupt officials will definitely not admit that it is a crime during the blank period, and it must be during the Jinbing occupation. period, especially in the case of widespread burning of account books, it is still difficult to convict based on witnesses alone. The humble position means whether to set a quota, I don’t care if you are in the blank period or the golden soldier occupation period, I will not exceed this quota. To confiscate."

Chen Qing nodded, "Then use one thousand guan as the limit. If you can explain the source of property, let it go. If you can't explain the source of property, let it go below [-] guan, and confiscate it if it is more than [-] guan."

Jiang Kuangyuan, the new prefect of Fengxiang, said: "Actually, there are still problems here! For example, he took the embezzled money to Chengdu and bought a store under his wife's and children's names, but we couldn't find out."

Chen Qing said indifferently: "This is why all dynasties have valued virtue so much. The rulers all know that using the system to restrain corrupt officials will not be effective. The key is to cultivate one's own virtue. We set a quota of one thousand It is more a kind of forgiveness, so that the petty corrupt officials can let go of their worries. In fact, under the severe oppression of the golden soldiers, even if they want to be greedy for money, they will have no financial resources. I also feel at ease.

In a word, in this Fengxiang incident, everyone is not here to investigate the corrupt criminals. Although I want to crack down on Luo Wenqing's gang, I definitely don't want to put everyone in danger. Everyone understands! "

Zhang Miao nodded, "I understand, this property investigation is only limited to Feng Xiang, and only to Luo Wenqing's gang."