Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 448: The Emperor's Mindset
After the Guanglu Temple, did they also clear out the Nancheng Bingmasi from top to bottom?
When Ah Liu had been fighting in Nancheng for a few days and obtained a general situation report, and discovered the deep darkness that shrouded the people of Nancheng, Zhang Shou also wanted to do the same. But the problem was that the reason why he suggested holding such a royal chef selection conference was because there were too many major and minor events happening in the court recently, so he wanted to divert attention, not to continue to cause trouble!
Sending a Fourth Master Wang to the Wanping County Office could be said to be because he himself was almost caught as a fugitive slave, so the principle of equal retaliation was adopted. But if the scope of the cleansing is expanded to include the South City Military Division... then wouldn't the previous diversion of attention be in vain? The old men in the court would surely suddenly realize that, oh, what chef selection competition, that was a hidden purpose!
He was definitely looking for trouble with the Nancheng Bingmasi!
Therefore, Zhang Shou not only used the metaphor of boiling a frog in warm water to persuade Zhu Ying to calm down, but also told the young lady another thing - needless to say, Hua Qi said that Zhu Tingfang would come back to take charge of the South City Military Department and promote the military commander to the fourth rank. Sure enough, when he reluctantly said that Hua Qi had framed him for the promotion, Zhu Ying immediately frowned.
"Uncle Hua, how could you do this! Ah Shou, you are right. The South City Army should not move immediately. I will go to the palace and tell the emperor! Well, if it is too late, I will live directly with Concubine Yu in Yonghe Palace. You don't have to worry about me!"
Seeing that Zhu Ying was leaving in a hurry, Zhang Shou felt a little guilty. He couldn't help but hold Zhu Ying's hand tightly and said with a smile: "Don't worry, I will definitely not hide my shopping and eating from you again. Wait until August 15th, the Mid-Autumn Festival, our birthdays, and then go there together to join in the fun!"
"Okay!" Zhu Ying smiled happily, and then she looked at the two people's tightly clasped hands, and she whispered, "I wanted to discuss Xie Wanquan's matter with you. That fat guy Lu Sanlang actually treated me like a gossip. If it weren't for your face, I wouldn't bother to pay attention to him. This matter has already been resolved. But it doesn't matter anyway, I'll talk to you later!"
"Then let's talk about it when you are free!" Zhang Shou originally used this matter to embarrass Lu Wan, there was no need to be in such a hurry - he was still a bachelor, and he was not so leisurely to take care of Xie Wanquan's lifelong affairs!
After notifying Zhu Hong and others and sending Zhu Ying to the gate, Zhang Shou saw her jump on the horseback, and her gorgeous figure in a red dress gradually disappeared from sight amidst the crowd. Only then did he gently rub his brows, and then counted the days left on August 15th with his fingers. Even though he could calculate it easily, this ritualistic calculation made him sigh.
Well, there are still four days... and this seems to be the fifth Mid-Autumn Festival he has spent in this world. Counting the first three, only Mrs. Wu and Aunt Liu were busy making mooncakes, it was a bit lonely on the Mid-Autumn Festival and birthday. Since meeting Zhu Ying, let alone that birthday, he seemed to spend every day lively and exciting. Compared with the slow pace of living in the countryside, it really passed very quickly.
Zhu Ying came out of Zhang Garden and hurried into the palace without going back to Duke Zhao's Mansion. To some people who were keeping an eye on Zhang Shou all the time, this was a sign of another big storm. For example, Grand Secretary Kong believed that Zhang Shou was the best at making trouble and even asserted to his disciples and friends that after the Guanglu Temple, the next one to be purged would most likely be the Nancheng Bingmasi.
As for the successors... as long as the emperor is willing, there are plenty of people available in the Ruiqi Battalion. What's more, Zhang Shou used to have so many students from noble families in Banshan Hall who were not valued at home before. Maybe he can seek benefits for the students?
Just like in the past few days, many students of Jiuzhang Hall were buried in the mountain of account books in Guanglu Temple!
However, the next morning, the emperor seemed to be unaware of the case in the south city. Not to mention asking about it, he didn't even give a hint. Magistrate Shen of Wanping County, who happened to be attending the court, felt like his heart was hanging in the middle, neither up nor down. Just when the court meeting was almost over, he finally heard the emperor's voice.
"By the way, Wanping County Magistrate Shen Qing, please stay for a moment. I have something to tell you."
A large number of censors who had not been able to play a role in the matter of deposing the empress had just been holding back for a long time at the court meeting, but had not waited for the emperor or anyone else to talk about what happened in Nancheng yesterday. Now that the emperor had finally spoken, he only kept Magistrate Shen. Immediately, a young and impatient censor could not help but speak up: "Your Majesty, I heard that yesterday at the Xinglong Tea House in Nancheng..."
Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by the emperor's rapid-fire words.
"I heard that the case of Xinglong Tea House has been transferred to Wanping County Court. You are a dignified censor, and you have countless things to inquire about. Why are you suddenly paying attention to such a case with solid evidence and the people of Nancheng are outraged? If you want to inquire about it, go to Wanping County Court and ask Shen Qing directly. Don't waste time !"
The emperor actually said "waste of time" directly. Not only was the censor who thought he was an iron-willed man dumbfounded, but even those who had heard the news last night and believed that Zhang Shou was going to cause trouble, so they invited his fiancée Zhu Ying to the palace to lobby the emperor for the decision, were also greatly surprised. Why did the emperor have such an attitude?
"As officials appointed by the court, you all claim to be busy and hardworking, but how come you are all so idle? Zhang Shou asked someone to pass on his report. He thought it was just a coincidence that he ran into a few flower-hunting gangs who were eager to see the prey, so he took advantage of it to get rid of them. Who knew that he would catch a series of people, one of whom is a bully in South City. He needs to be tried as soon as possible to give the victim justice."
"Why, from the tone of your voice, I think there is still room for further investigation in this case, so you want to advise me to eradicate all evil?"
When the emperor said this, his face was full of seriousness, and his solemn tone made the censor frightened.
How could he advise the emperor to eradicate all evil... He wanted to advise the emperor with great sorrow not to launch more large-scale purges, which would lead to unrest in the capital. Who knew that he would be outmaneuvered in the end!
In desperation, he could only bite the bullet and say: "That's not what I meant. What I meant was that since this is a sudden case, we should deal with it on its own merits and not make a big fuss about it, so as to avoid..."
"When Zhang Shou asked someone to report back, he said that it was just some wicked people who committed many evil things, and they should be investigated and dealt with strictly. What do you mean by dealing with the matter at hand and not punishing others?" The emperor raised his eyebrows, and then his voice became extremely stern. "Did anyone say that they would punish others by taking advantage of this incident? Who should be punished? Or did you hear rumors that someone was colluding with these wicked people, huh?"
At this moment, I don't know how many people looked at the unfortunate censor with sympathy - even the Grand Secretary Kong. Of course, there were countless people who were lucky, after all, this censor used a painful lesson to protect others from the thunder!
But who could have thought that Zhang Shou actually planned to stop there, and the emperor didn't seem to have any intention of implicating others?
The deep quagmire of Nancheng, even if the big guys don't pay attention to it on weekdays, once they pay attention, how can they hide it? It's like pulling out a carrot and bringing out mud, rotten to the core. The Nancheng Bingmasi is even more rotten like a pool of mud, much more serious than the Guanglu Temple. How could the emperor, who always dislikes playing it safe, endure it?
Even though the ministers were puzzled and suspicious, under the emperor's sharp questioning, no one stood up and followed the unlucky censor's footsteps. So the unlucky man could only take responsibility for his own actions, take off his hat and kowtow, and dare not say anything more. Although the emperor did not continue to question him, everyone knew that this censor who failed to harden his bones had ruined both his fame and fortune.
Seeing the court officials leaving the court one after another, County Magistrate Shen, who had just been named by the emperor to stay, suddenly felt anxious.
Although the emperor seemed to have said that he would not implicate others, the case was sent to his Wanping County Court, and all the prisoners were put in the Wanping County Court's jail. All the victims were here. How could he not be under great pressure when Shuntian Prefecture Court had always taken the blame for major events in the past? At this moment, everyone had left, and he did not dare to wipe the sweat from his forehead. He could only lower his head and ask, "I wonder what the emperor wants to ask you?"
"Don't worry, I won't hold you back to ask about the progress of such a solid case."
The emperor looked at the throne that was not supported on all sides and wanted to yawn lazily, but he finally held back because of his years of imperial education. He then said earnestly, "The two counties of Daxing and Wanping divided the capital into two because the capital is too big and too important. It is to make you focus on it, not just to divide power. Otherwise, there would not be county magistrates in the whole world. Only the capital county is of the sixth rank. Do you understand?"
County Magistrate Shen was a little stunned. What did the emperor mean by this ? Why did he suddenly raise his rank? When he heard the emperor's next words, he was stunned as if he had been hit on the head by gold.
"Although Jing County has a sixth-rank rank, which is higher than other seventh-rank county magistrates, it is lower than those fifth-rank prefects in the local areas. Therefore, when Emperor Taizu was in power, he once rejected all objections and set the positions of Imperial College Doctors at a relatively high rank to show that the country supports scholars. Similarly, the important position of Jing County Magistrate was also fifth-rank."
Magistrate Shen was not a capable person in his prime with good qualifications who was envied by many of his colleagues. He was already in his early forties when he passed the imperial examination and had spent eight years working his way up to this position. He also had the unfavorable title of "Disciple of Lord Jiang". So, when faced with the pie in the sky, his reaction seemed slow and confused.
He didn't even know how to respond to the emperor's words, and it took him a while to finally answer: "Emperor Taizu has a far-sighted vision, and I have always admired him."
He regretted the moment he said it. Isn't this nonsense? How many people in the world don't respect Emperor Taizu?
The emperor, however, did not seem to care about Magistrate Shen's nonsense. He smiled and said calmly, "So, in the near future, I will restore the old system of Emperor Taizu and re-establish the magistrates of Wanping and Daxing as the fifth rank. Oh, not only the capital, but also Nanjing. The magistrates of Shangyuan and Jiangning will all be the fifth rank."
County Magistrate Shen felt his whole body trembling. In the officialdom, the fifth rank is a hurdle, and the third rank is another hurdle, especially for officials in Beijing than local officials. It is even difficult for local officials of the fifth rank to be appointed in the sequence of officials in Beijing at the same level when they return to the court. For example, even a sixth-rank county magistrate like him would find it equally difficult to be promoted to the fifth rank in the future.
Many times, he could only go out to serve as a deputy guard or patrol officer, and then look around to see if there was a suitable opportunity.
And now, with just one word from the emperor, he could be promoted to the fifth rank out of thin air! Where could he find such a good thing?
Even though the emperor did not promote him alone, County Magistrate Shen still felt a sense of gratitude, and immediately bowed and said, "I thank the emperor for his trust. From now on, I will fulfill my duties and work diligently to ensure the peace and stability of the capital, so that the scoundrels will have difficulty in running rampant! In the previous case, I will definitely judge impartially, just like Wang Dayin of Shuntian Prefecture did before!"
You just need to take Wang Datou as a role model!
The emperor breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, if I hadn't offered such a condition, would you have expressed such an attitude? But he kept Magistrate Shen not just for this condition, otherwise he would have kept Magistrate Daxing as well. So, the emperor coughed lightly, and when Magistrate Shen raised his head, he stretched out his finger and hooked his finger at him.
This action was originally a bit frivolous, but County Magistrate Shen was just thanking the emperor for his kindness, so he took a few steps forward without thinking. As a result, the emperor took the opportunity to grab the old and ugly Wanping County Magistrate.
"Shen Qing."
The emperor seemed not to notice that even the hairs on the back of Magistrate Shen's hand had stood up. His whole body trembled violently, and he said with a smile: "The position of Magistrate of Changlu County in Cangzhou has been vacant for a long time. Before that, the position of Magistrate of Cangzhou had always been intermittent. I hope to divide Hejian East into Cangzhou Prefecture, that is, Cangzhou will be established as a prefecture, and Changlu will continue to be a county."
Seeing that County Magistrate Shen was looking at him blankly, he smiled and said, "I heard that Shen Qing organized a poetry club in his spare time, and he is the leader of the club? You are all disciples of Jiang Qing, who has retired. After Jiang Qing left, you must be a little disheartened, right?"
At this moment, County Magistrate Shen was so shocked that his back went cold. He hurriedly broke free from the emperor's hand and fell to the ground, wanting to apologize but not knowing how to say it. The emperor not only did not take it as an offense, but directly helped him up, and his tone was even kinder than before.
"That senior brother of yours, yes, is the guy who is so bold that he once quarreled with Jiang Qing, the master. I heard that he has some insights on military strategy, maritime affairs, and agriculture and commerce, but he complains all day long and says that he is about to mold in the Ministry of Industry. Tell him to write me a proposal on maritime affairs and agriculture and commerce in Cangzhou. If it is well written, he can be the governor of Cangzhou."
County Magistrate Shen was shocked that the emperor knew about his senior brother's complaints, but when he heard the second half, not only did his cold sweat turn into surprise, but he even felt a bit of indescribable envy. But when the emperor finished speaking, his envy turned into excitement.
"You are just Jiang Qing's disciples, but there is no need to regard yourselves as Jiang's personal servants. I employ people equally, and I only promote people based on their talents and assign positions according to their abilities!"
