The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

Ouyang Xiu followed suit and listened sincerely to the hearts of the people. The petition meeting turned into a complaint meeting. ):Reading novels

Ouyang Xiu was also secretly startled, there were fifty or sixty case files handed over to him, he thought it was a lot, but in fact it was just a drop in the bucket of the crimes committed by Feng Jingyao and the criminals, most of the people were timid and fearful, and most of the time As long as it didn't cause their own family to be destroyed, they wouldn't go all out to fight for their lives, and they would hold back and say nothing after eating their thoughts; since today they started, they simply said all of them.

Ouyang Xiu ordered the clerks around him to walk through the square and register the cases one by one. After collecting them together, there were a total of 240 six cases, a thick stack of paper.

Ouyang Xiu's face was extremely ugly, he shook the stack of papers and looked at Song Xiang and said, "Master Song, you are the presiding judge of the case, how could there be so many missing facts?"

Song Xiang blushed and said: "The lower officials have already issued a notice to ask the people to come to the Yamen to file complaints. Who knows... who knows that they didn't come?"

Ouyang Xiudao: "As a supervisor, I'm not good at understanding people's sentiments. It's no wonder that the people didn't take the initiative to confess; those people have committed so many evils in Yangzhou City, with dozens of murders and hundreds of minor cases. If you go to the people for a while , how can you not know the anger of the people in Yangzhou City? Obviously, you have been a muddleheaded magistrate for the past three years, and you don’t know what you have done?"

Song Xiang wished he could find a hole in the ground to get down. Although he refused to face it, he had to admit that his handling of affairs was mediocre, and he was not good enough to be in charge. He had managed so many cases, but he knew nothing about it.

"The lower official is so ashamed, and now the lower official will go to the court to ask for his resignation to die in old age. The lower official does not trust the superior." Song Xiang wished he could cry a lot.

"This is not the time for you to pick your pick. We will talk about your matter later. Now you need to investigate these cases immediately. I will report to the court to calm the pain of the people in Yangzhou and the anger of the elders in Yangzhou. I request that these moths be brought to the ground. Make a decisive decision, at noon tomorrow, you must verify and attach all these cases."

"Your Majesty obeys." Song Xiang's back felt chilly. It seemed that by noon tomorrow, he might not have time to go to the toilet and drink water. More than 200 missing cases needed to be investigated, although they were all minor case, but it was enough for him.

Ouyang Xiu ignored Song Xiang, turned his head and said loudly to the people on the field: "Fathers and elders, these scumbags came out of Yangzhou Prefecture and brought you a lot of pain. It is really the fault of the court's lax investigation. I would like to express my apologies to all my parents and fellow villagers.”

Ouyang Xiutuan bowed their hands, and the common people said one after another: "This imperial envoy is quite human, and he seems to be able to make decisions for the common people."

Ouyang Xiudao: "After the suffering, everyone still has to live and earn a living. The parents at home still need to be supported, and the children still need to be brought up. So please don't remember these unhappy things forever. The people live and work in peace and contentment. Expected; in order to allow everyone to live in peace of mind, I have decided to report your wishes to the emperor, and ask the emperor to allow me to execute these scumbags who have harmed everyone in Yangzhou mansion, what do you think?"

The common people applauded loudly, the crowd was enthusiastic, and some people applauded spontaneously.

Ouyang Xiu signaled everyone to be quiet, and said with a smile: "Very well, I will order someone to write a petition for you, and then ask you to press your fingerprints. These are to be submitted to the emperor, and you should wash off the mud on your hands." Some, press your fingerprints more clearly, maybe one of your names will be seen by the emperor, and the emperor will remember it."

The common people laughed, Ouyang Xiu no longer hesitated, and ordered the writers around him to write down the petition in the tone of the people of Yangzhou, and read it in public. Considering that many people can't even know their own names, the small officials wrote their names for them. Press the bright red handprint on the name to complete it.

It lasted until dark and got the joint names of nearly ten thousand people. Ouyang Xiu heaved a sigh of relief. He thought that the people would be afraid of things like fingerprinting, but he didn't expect them to be so enthusiastic. It seems that he really hates those people Be ruthless; Ouyang Xiu also understood in his heart that after this incident, he gained a lot of points in the hearts of the people of Yangzhou; he suddenly remembered a sentence the emperor once said to him: the people are like kittens and puppies, you treat them well. They are also naturally obedient to you; if you annoy them, it is easy for them to walk around you, and if one is not good, they will bark and bark their teeth and attack you. Inevitably, he was bitten and bruised all over his body.

That night, Ouyang Xiu invited Su Jin, wrote a memorial in front of him, and wrote nearly ten thousand words eloquently, reporting all the affairs of Yangzhou officials, and emphatically exaggerating Su Jin's contributions and the anger of the people of Yangzhou; Attached with the memorial are the case files of dozens of major cases, as well as a lot of evidence and statements. Finally, he earnestly asked the emperor for approval and then issued a decree, allowing him to execute the death penalty on the spot in Yangzhou, so that the people can live in peace. good year.

After finishing the work, Ouyang Xiu put the memorial in a cowhide bag and handed it to Su Jindao: "Tomorrow at noon, it will be sent to the stable together with a batch of case files compiled by the prefect of Song Dynasty. I can leave this memorial to you for safekeeping, so you can rest assured , I won’t do anything in it.”

Su Jin understood that Ouyang Xiu had made up his mind, and if he tried to be on guard at this moment, he would really be considered a villain. Su Jin knelt down on the ground, and respectfully gave three big gifts to Ouyang Xiu, saying: "My lord Ouyang's life-saving grace is something I will never forget. Because my lord is reckless, I feel really uneasy when I involve my lord in it. If my lord is worried, it's too late to repent now; there's no point in taking this huge responsibility for my lord. "

Ouyang Xiu helped him up and said: "You are not wrong, I have thought about it carefully, if I were in that situation that day, I would have made the same choice as you; today I witnessed the tragic experience of the people in Yangzhou, This official is also really shocked, Yangzhou is governed by officials, Yushitai is also to blame, always improperly inspected and inspected, this is the reason for today's disaster, this official should share the responsibility with you."

Su Jindao: "The administration of officials is not a one-day achievement, only the top and bottom can do their best, and adults don't need to blame themselves; the lower officials dare not take this memorial, and the lower officials have to go back and report the summary of Yangzhou's grain affairs to the third party." Lord Si, but there is one thing I need to ask you to tell me, do you want to inform Lord Sansi about the military rations?"

Ouyang Xiu smiled and said, "What do you think?"

Su Jin said: "It's not good to conceal him, and it's even worse to tell him. What I mean by the next official is not to tell him first, and then find an opportunity to tell him after the matter subsides."

Ouyang Xiu said: "Are you afraid that after Master Sansi finds out, he will be responsible for nothing?"

Su Jin replied honestly: "Those who don't know are not guilty. If Lord Sansi knows and ignores it, wouldn't he be dragged into the water by me like an adult? I want to wait until all the dust settles, and then slowly reveal it to him. When the time comes, the danger will bear more."

Ouyang Xiu smiled slightly, and served tea to see off the guests; the two of them knew each other that it was the time for the phase competition. Never tell him anything, and Yan Shu will not blame him.

At noon the next day, three people and six riders galloped out of Yangzhou City and went straight to Bianliang City in the northwest. There was only half a month before the New Year, and the time was very tight, so Ouyang Xiu strictly ordered them to arrive at the stables within three days and report the memorial. Empty horses are also used for exchange on the road, and there are also official horses at several post stations on the road for exchange. If all goes well, they will be able to arrive at the stables in two days and two nights.

After the messenger set off, Su Jin kept his promise and handed over the confessions of Chen Laogen and other officials to Ouyang Xiu, and at the same time began to search for Long Zhen, who had been missing for a long time.

For several days in a row, I dug three feet in the city, but I didn't see the slightest clue of Long Zhen. Long Zhen seemed to have evaporated half of the world, without a trace.

The interrogation of Shen Dezhang didn't yield anything either, Shen Dezhang just admitted that he ordered his criminal officials to serve Long Zhen carefully, and didn't restrict his freedom too much. As for why Long Zhen suddenly left that night, Shen Dezhang didn't know.

Su Jin then interrogated several yamen servants who had been guarding Long Zhen. The yamen servants said that in the evening of that day, Long Zhen rewarded each of them with a large sum of money and sent them to the kiln to have fun, and they can come back tomorrow to serve them. It wasn't the first time, Mr. Shen, who was responsible for the punishment, also ordered him not to guard him so strictly, so they all dispersed without knowing where Long Zhen went.

Su Jin was both depressed and worried, where could the dragon really go? The city of Yangzhou is so tightly controlled, can he fly with wings?