I served as an admonisher in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 229 The monarch and his ministers quarreled! Su Liang vs Zhao Zhen

About a quarter of an hour later.

The convoy of Fan Zhongyan and others arrived at Gezhai Village.

Li Zhengge Daya was tied to a big willow tree at the end of the village.

More than a dozen villagers were lying or sitting on the ground groaning, and there were many onlookers not far away.

Some of the villagers were holding pigs, sheep, cows, and donkeys in their hands, and had bags of grain at their feet.

Without Ge Daya's command, they didn't know what to do.

The county magistrate Wu Nan and the county prime minister Xu Dayou were dumbfounded as soon as they stepped off the carriage.

They thought everything was arranged, but they never imagined that this scene was in front of them.

Ge Daya spotted Wu Nan and Xu Dayou at a glance.

He thought that reinforcements had arrived, so he shouted at the top of his lungs: "Wu County Magistrate, Xu County Magistrate, save me quickly, there is a group of trail-cutters in the village!"

Wu Nan and Xu Dayou did not recognize Su Liang, Wang Anshi and Sima Guang under the willow tree.

But looking at the temperament of the three people and the stance of the entourage around them, it was clear that this group of people could never be thieves.

Wu Nan and Xu Dayou looked at each other and ignored Ge Daya.

And this time.

Su Liang and the others walked towards Fan Zhongyan and others.

Fan Zhongyan was the first to say: "Jingming, look at this scene, we no longer need to patrol the village!"

Su Liang nodded and handed the booklet in his hand to Fan Zhongyan.

"Jingming? Behead the censor Su Jingming?" When Wu Nan and Xu Dayou heard the name, they instantly knew Su Liang's identity.

Immediately, they also guessed the identities of Wang Anshi and Sima Guang.

Here are all the officials from the Reform Department.

At the moment, these few people are enough to represent half of the imperial court.

Wu Nan and Xu Dayou kept wiping sweat, and their legs could not help but tremble.

……

After Fan Zhongyan read the pamphlet, he handed it to Wang Yaochen.

He looked around and then looked at Wu Nan.

"Solving the problems of the people in Gezhai Village means solving the problems of the people in Gezhai Village. Magistrate Wu really knows how to be an official!"

"We use fraud to deceive our superiors. When will we, the Song Dynasty, be rich and powerful with rats like you?" Fan Zhongyan couldn't help but raise his voice and cursed.

Wu Nan bent down and cupped his hands, and argued: "Xiang Fan, I...I admit my mistake. But the countryside is not as good as Fangguo. This has always happened. We...we will re-compile the fifth-class book."

"Xiang Fan, give us ten days, no... five days, and we will definitely give you an accurate fifth-class book." County Prime Minister Xu Dayou also said.

At this moment, the two still did not realize the seriousness of the matter.

Wang Yaochen, the Third Chief of Staff, shook his head and said: "You have no chance. You two are maliciously sabotaging the entire Song Dynasty's reform and should be dismissed on the spot!"

"Sabotage the entire Song Dynasty's reform? Dismissal on the spot?"

The two of them suddenly panicked.

"Prime Minister Fan and Prime Minister Ji, no... we can't be dismissed from our posts! It's not just my county that commits fraud, all the counties and towns in Song Dynasty are... like this!"

"If the official is punished, the official requires that the fifth-class books of the four counties in Kaifeng be checked first. The official does not dare to say that Dongming County has done the best, but he dares to say that it is definitely not the worst." Wu Nan argued. road.

Hear this.

Fan Zhongyan ignored him and turned to look at Wang Anshi aside.

"Jiefu, I have ordered someone to notify Kaifeng Mansion. They will arrive soon. All Dongming County officials will be taken to Kaifeng Mansion. In the past few days, you have been in charge of the overall situation in Dongming County to prevent chaos. Later, I will report it to the officials."

"I obey my order!" Wang Anshi handed over his hand.

"In addition, take good care of Ge Shitou's family, don't let them be bullied, and don't let them be bullied in the future!"

"I understand." Wang Anshi nodded.

There are no impervious walls in the world.

Ge Shitou left Gezhai Village for two days, and then returned with Su Liang and others. Some villagers could guess that it was Ge Shitou who filed the complaint.

If they don't protect Kudzu Shitou, their family will definitely be targeted and may even be destroyed.

Immediately, Su Liang left two boxes of snacks for Ge Shitou.

Then he, Fan Zhongyan, Liang Shi, and Sima Guang took the lead in leaving Gezhai Village and headed back to Bianjing.

This incident was enough to shake the foundation of the reform.

Fan Zhongyan, Su Liang and other officials of the Reform Department must report it to the officials quickly and then discuss solutions.

They returned immediately and arrived home late at night, and then wrote the memorial, which could be submitted to the Imperial Palace early tomorrow morning.

Wang Yaochen, the third envoy, did not accompany him.

He planned to sort out the fifth-class books of Gezhai Village today, and the relevant officials from the Third Division were already on their way.

……

on the carriage.

Fan Zhongyan, Su Liang, Liang Shi, and Sima Guang sat opposite each other without speaking for a long time.

at this time.

Fan Zhongyan said: "This is not an isolated case. I'm afraid it is the same in all counties and towns in Song Dynasty. What can be done to stop this evil custom?"

Liang Shi thought for a moment: "Mr. Fan, this matter started in Dongming County and should end in Dongming County. The situation should not be expanded. If we investigate strictly throughout the Song Dynasty, I am afraid that more than half of the county and town officials in the Song Dynasty will be severely punished. !”

"I suggest that after the case is concluded, the case report should be sent to various state capitals to shock the local officials and they will be alert!"

Sima Guang shook his head. "This...this punishment is too light. It will not hurt those low-level officials who seek personal gain and harm the people. They will still take chances. No matter how the government expands supervision, it is impossible to supervise the villages and towns. I suggest, Examine all four counties in Kaifeng Prefecture and impose severe punishments, so that the local officials can restrain themselves!"

"Inappropriate, inappropriate! Kaifeng Prefecture is the top state capital in the world. If all four counties under its jurisdiction have this kind of problem, it will be very serious. If local officials see it, it may also serve as counter-propaganda. Effect. They think that Kaifeng Prefecture is like this, and they can do this. If they are caught, they are unlucky, but if they are not caught, they will have the opportunity to rise to the top. Many local officials are willing to take this risk." Liang Shi said with a frown. .

The difficulty in this matter is that deception has become a shortcut for promotion in the official career of low-level local officials.

They rely on the law to avoid blaming others.

The imperial court cannot reach out to every village.

Relying on the fact that villages and towns have their own system, the people dare not speak out at all, so they dare to be so arrogant.

The lower-level officialdom is like a pit of stinky water, and it is difficult for anyone to emerge from the silt and remain unstained.

To cure the problem, the entire pit must be drained out.

But now, these stinking water are indispensable to maintain the survival and operation of the people at the bottom. If they are drained out at once, the bottom of the Song Dynasty will be in complete chaos.

"Jingming, what do you think?" Fan Zhongyan asked.

Su Liang thought for a while and said: "I think if the reform is successful, this matter must be cured. If we want to cure it, we must make this matter so big that it can poke a big hole in the sky of the Song Dynasty. But poke a hole. Finally, I haven’t figured out how to make up for it.”

……

At night, at midnight.

More than ten officials from the Third Division completed the fifth-class books of [-] households in Gezhai Village.

Among them, [-] households were wrong.

This made Wang Yaochen feel even more ashamed.

You should know that all the information verified by the Third Division comes from low-level officials.

If there is no thorough investigation, not to mention that the new law is difficult to implement, there will be major hidden dangers in future land taxation.

Immediately, Wang Yaochen returned to Bianjing overnight.

……

The next morning, in front of Chui Gong Hall.

Before Zhao Zhen arrived, Fan Zhongyan, Liang Shi, Su Liang, and Sima Guang were waiting in front of the door.

Soon.

Zhao Zhen went to the palace, and the four of them entered the palace and presented the joint memorial.

After reading it, Zhao Zhen frowned.

Unexpectedly, the lower-level officials in the countryside actually messed with the exemption law and even dared to change the fifth-class books.

The solution suggested in the memorial is——

"The county magistrate and county magistrate of Dongming County were publicly tried in front of Xuande Gate, and they were sentenced to beheading for violating the Song Dynasty's political reform. The case was then announced to the world, warning the lower-level officials in the world, and giving them three months to rectify. Three months later , if you still deceive the superiors and hide the information from the subordinates, and undermine the reform of the entire Song Dynasty, you will be severely punished!"

This solution was thought up by Su Liang last night.

At first, Fan Zhongyan, Liang Shi, and Sima Guang did not agree.

They felt that the punishment was too harsh and that the Dongming County Magistrate and County Magistrate would not be punished until death.

Those who disrupted the Song Dynasty's political reform would at most be punished with dismissal from office for the crime of disrupting the official affairs of the court.

If he were to be killed, the punishment would be too severe and would violate the "Song Xingtong".

However, Su Liang believed that "special cases should be handled with special laws". It was a kind act of the court to kill two people instead of investigating the low-level officials in the world, and to allow self-examination in March.

Fan Zhongyan and the others had no better strategy, so they agreed first.

But they felt that the official designation would not agree.

After Zhao Zhen saw this solution, he looked at Su Liang and said, "Jing Ming, is this solution your idea?"

Zhao Zhen knew all the ministers well.

This plan was bold and reckless. The only person who could write it out at that time, besides Su Liang, was Wang Anshi.

"Reporting to the official family, yes." Su Liang cupped his hands and said.

"Public trial in front of Xuande Gate? There has never been such a precedent in our court. In addition, the Dongming County magistrate and county magistrate made mistakes, at most they were dismissed from office and beheaded, which is a bit too severe!"

"Officials, if we don't kill these two people, it will not be enough to wake up the officials in the world. If the officials in the world are not alert, how will the reform be implemented throughout the Song Dynasty? If they are all like Gezhai Village, the exemption law is a method of rebellion that forces the people at the bottom to rebel. ah!"

Su Liang was a little excited.

He devoted a lot to the reform throughout the Song Dynasty and did not want to lose all his achievements due to the bad atmosphere of the lower-level officialdom.

"The reform is not a violation of the law. These two people have not committed the crime of beheading. If I execute them, all officials will not agree. All officials in the world will definitely protest. If you really do this, wouldn't it be a tribute to the Song Dynasty? The sky has poked a hole, who can fix it when the time comes, and how?”

"Officials, this is an emergency. Only beheading can police the world. If we don't kill these two people, I suggest that all the lower-level officials of the Song Dynasty be investigated!"

"Check them all? Who will check and how long it will take to find out? Have you considered it?"

"As long as the reform can be carried out smoothly throughout the Song Dynasty, I am willing to go!" Su Liang enlarged his voice, and his spit almost hit Zhao Zhen's face.

"enough!"

Zhao Zhen suddenly stood up and looked at the small yellow door aside.

"Quickly summon the princes of the two mansions, and also summon Bachelor Bao and Bachelor Ouyang to discuss this matter!"

On the side, Sima Guang licked his lips nervously.

At that time, there were probably not more than one person who could argue so loudly with the officials.

Fan Zhongyan and Liang Shi didn't react much.

They know that the more they quarrel over state affairs, the better they can understand each other.

This is also the reason why officials have always been very fond of Su Liang: he is dedicated to serving the public, he does not hesitate to sacrifice his life, and he has no selfish thoughts in his heart.

(End of this chapter)