Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1716 If you can't help me with my business, why should I give you gifts?

"Dad, then why did you say there aren't many people like Zhang Zhiwen?"

Seeing Jing Ren's puzzled expression, Ye Mingsheng said with some regret:

"Although Zhang Zhiwen is obsessed with Q-power and blinded by greed, he is indeed a capable person!"

"He was clearly prepared before he came, and he had a plan in mind. He knew what I cared about and what I wanted him to do, so he came prepared!"

"And the ideas he prepared were all good; they were all feasible, not the kind of fanciful and obviously impossible ideas!"

Upon hearing this, Jingren sensed something, blinked, and asked his father:

"Father, so you're having Zhang Zhiwen clean up the mess because you want to give him a chance to reform?"

Seeing that his son, who was usually not very perceptive about politics, had actually seen through his thoughts, Ye Mingsheng was somewhat surprised, then nodded and said:

"That's right!"

"Zhang Zhiwen's idea is not unique to him. Eight out of ten provincial governors, prefects, and county magistrates think the same way. It can be said that this is a common idea. Those who truly consider the people's livelihood rather than the government are a very small minority! They can even be called outliers in the political arena!"

"Father, how many Party members in our Great Qian Dynasty truly care about the people?"

Ye Mingsheng pondered this question for a moment before slowly saying:
"Chu Zhiyi, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Youyan, counts as one, and Xuan Yifeng, the Left Censor-in-Chief, counts as half!"

Seeing that his father had only said one and a half sentences and then stopped talking, Jingren was somewhat surprised and said:
"Father, is there only one and a half among the thousands of Party members in the imperial court?"

"There should be more than one and a half, but among the Party members I've met, only one and a half truly prioritize people's livelihood..."

"Aren't Minister Cui and Mr. Gu among them?"

"Cui Shao always put the interests of the Cui family first, then the interests of the court, and then the people's livelihood. For him, it was enough that the people could have enough to eat and provide the court with money and grain on time!"

"As for whether the people eat well or dress well, whether they eat sorghum rice or brown rice, whether they wear new clothes or patched clothes, he doesn't care!"

"As for Gu Sansi, he may have once put people's livelihood first, but now he has become the very thing he once despised!"

After saying this, Ye Mingsheng also sighed. He once thought that under his guidance, Gu Sansi could walk the same path as him, but now it seems that this was just wishful thinking on his part. Although Master Gu still had a conscience, his ideas were still bound by the limitations of the times.

If I hadn't insisted on supporting him as the leader of the reformists so that he couldn't turn back, he probably would have already shed the reformist label by now.

Just as Ye Mingsheng was sighing, Jing Ren also looked very surprised. In his impression, both Cui Shao and Gu Sansi were good people who served the country and its people. He never expected that these two people would be seen this way by his father. Thinking of this, he asked again with some reluctance:

"Father, what about the censors of the Censorate? Mr. Gu told me that many of them are very honest and upright, and many of them are not afraid of the powerful and often speak up for ordinary people..."

Ye Mingsheng smiled slightly upon hearing this:

"Gu Sansi is right. The censors of the Censorate and the scholars of the Hanlin Academy are basically the most honest group in the court. In contrast, the county magistrates, prefects, and provincial governors in the local areas are almost all corrupt!"

"Jingren, do you know why this is happening?"

"Because the emperor is far away, county magistrates, prefects, and provincial governors wield considerable power?"

“Jingren, you’re right. A major characteristic of the organizational structure of the Central Plains dynasties since ancient times is the system of one person in charge. This organizational structure gives the one person a lot of power. If the merchants in your jurisdiction want to do anything, they must get your approval and consent. Otherwise, you can have countless ways to make them lose everything and their families!”

"I don't think the reason why the scholars of the Hanlin Academy and the censors of the Censorate are honest and upright is necessarily because their moral standards are higher than those of the county magistrates, prefects, and provincial governors!"

"You need to understand that if you want to receive gifts, you first need someone to give you gifts. How can you receive gifts if no one gives them to you?"

"The censors of the Censorate only supervise the government, not carry out any political actions. Not to mention the scholars of the Hanlin Academy, who are mainly responsible for compiling books and have almost no practical work. Those merchants are very pragmatic and shrewd. As far as they are concerned, if the money in your hands can't help them do things, why should they give you gifts?"

"Remember, businessmen always expect something in return when they give gifts. They want to earn back whatever they invest in you in the future. They would never do a deal that loses them money!"

Upon hearing this, Jingren suddenly realized and said:
"Father, I understand what you mean!"

"The reason why those upright officials are honest is not because they have high moral standards, but because they don't have any real power?"

"It's not that there's absolutely no real money involved, but rather that the real money is extremely limited. That's why those merchants are unwilling to give gifts to the corrupt officials! If you give gifts to the county magistrate, prefect, or provincial governor, they can easily sign a document, approve a note, or make a call, and you might earn back several times the amount of money!"

"But if you give a gift to Qingliu, it will be very difficult for you to get it back for a long time!"

"Furthermore, most people in the world are greedy for money, wealth, and sex, but there are also some people who are not interested in money, sex, or beauty. What they want is fame and reputation. They dream of being remembered in history and praised by future generations. This is why the idiom 'seeking fame and reputation' exists!"

"Many of these upright officials in the Censorate and the Hanlin Academy are just seeking fame and fortune. What they crave is not gold, silver, or beauty, but reputation. Such people may seem honest, but in reality, they are no less harmful than corrupt officials. In fact, they are even more stubborn and obstinate than corrupt officials, and they are very prone to getting stuck on trivial matters!"

Jing Ren nodded silently, then suddenly looked up at Ye Mingsheng and asked:

"Father, is there a way to completely change all of this and make these people put the people's livelihood first?"

Hearing his son's somewhat naive question, Ye Mingsheng patted his head and said:
"From a human nature perspective, this is impossible!"

"why?"

"Because human nature is selfish, everyone naturally puts their own interests first. Who would put the interests of others before their own for no reason?"

"However, if we take some measures, we can make these people pay more attention to the lives of ordinary people!" Upon hearing this, Jingren became interested and immediately asked:
"Dad, what's the method?"

"Do you remember what I taught you? Q-force is only responsible to its source. So if his Q-force doesn't come from you, why would he care more about you? If his Q-force comes from you, he'll naturally care more about your life..."

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Yijing Prefecture
In the jail cell, Yang Tao, one of the chief constables of Yijing, was respectfully reporting to Bai Changjiu, the prefect of Yijing.

"Sir, over the past two days we've mobilized over two thousand constables and officers for a large-scale manhunt around West 17th Hutong in the West District. We've searched every house, but we haven't found any trace of the assassin!"

"However, in the western suburbs outside Yijing City, a constable and two constables were killed while on night patrol. The killer's actions were very professional and swift. I went to investigate the scene. Although the methods of the two murders were different, based on some details at the scene, I think the killer is very likely the same person!"

Hearing Yang Tao say this, Bai Changjiu couldn't help but interrupt him:

"What do you want to tell me? Are you trying to tell me that the assassin has escaped outside the city?"

If anyone else had interrupted him so rudely, Yang Tao, as the Chief Constable of Yijing, would have certainly taught them a lesson, making them understand the price of offending him. But now, facing his superior, Bai Changjiu, Yang Tao felt no anger, only trepidation and unease…

Although reluctant to admit it, facing Bai Changjiu's gaze at this moment, all Yang Tao could do was lower his head and say:

"This humble servant is incompetent; please punish me, Your Excellency!"

Upon hearing this answer, Bai Changjiu grabbed the files on the table without saying a word and threw them at Yang Tao.

Although it would have been easy for Yang Tao, with his martial arts skills, to dodge the flying documents, he simply let them hit him without flinching.

At the same time, Yang Tao also heard Bai Changjiu's angry scolding.

"Useless! You're all useless! What use are you to the government!"

Yang Tao was furious upon hearing this, but on the surface he pretended to be ashamed and lowered his head.

Seeing Yang Tao's head bowed and silence, Bai Changjiu's anger flared even more, but as the prefect of Yijing, he maintained a sliver of reason and wasn't completely swayed by his emotions. Just then, Yang Tao seemed to have thought of something and immediately spoke:
"Sir, although we haven't caught the killer, we have discovered the identity of the deceased!"

Who died?

"According to our investigation, the deceased was Zhao Dahai, the second manager of Wanfu Bank!"

Upon hearing this, Bai Changjiu's expression turned serious.

"Are you sure the dead person was the second manager of Wanfu Bank?"

"My lord, Wanfu Bank is very important in Jiangnan. Those large merchants often need to borrow money from Wanfu Bank, so they are very familiar with Wanfu Bank. This Zhao Dahai is also a well-known figure in the Jiangnan business community!"

“Today I have summoned five merchants from Jiangnan to the government office to verify the identity of Zhao Dahai. Although Zhao Dahai’s appearance has changed somewhat, they are all certain that the person killed that day was Zhao Dahai!”

Upon hearing this, Bai Changjiu fell silent. After the incident that day, he presented the matter to the cabinet, which then decided to report it to His Majesty.

However, as far as he knew, although the decision had been made, there were actually some other voices in the cabinet. These people felt that it was too frivolous and arbitrary to conclude that Wanfu Bank had a deficit of one million taels of silver based on just a fragment of a letter. Therefore, they felt that the truth of the matter should be verified before reporting it to His Majesty.

However, Cui Shao ultimately considered that the amount of money owed was too large and the impact of the matter was extremely serious. Therefore, if the matter was true and they failed to report the news to Ye Mingsheng in time, no one could bear the responsibility. So, Cui Shao decided to hand over the incomplete letter to Ye Mingsheng for handling.

If it can now be confirmed that the deceased who was preparing to deliver this letter to the Left Censor-in-Chief Xuan Yifeng was Zhao Dahai, the second manager of Wanfu Bank, then it means that this letter still has a high degree of credibility!

Thinking of this, Bai Changjiu also pressed for an answer:

"Zhao Dahai, did he come to Yijing just to report Sun Wenheng?"

"My lord, how Zhao Dahai arrived in Yijing and when he arrived are still under investigation. However, I've learned from the merchants from Jiangnan that Zhao Dahai and Sun Wenheng had some unpleasantness in the past. Sun Wenheng is very domineering and forceful at Wanfu Bank, and he even dealt with Zhao Dahai..."

"You dealt with Zhao Dahai?"

"Well, to be specific, Sun Wenheng is the head manager and Zhao Dahai is the second manager. Sun Wenheng would pick fights with Zhao Dahai at work, so it's possible that Zhao Dahai held a grudge after being punished and came to Yijing to report Sun Wenheng!"

"So, you're saying Sun Wenheng was the one who sent the assassin to kill Zhao Dahai?"

Faced with Bai Changjiu's question, Yang Tao, as the chief constable, pondered for a moment and said very cautiously:

"My lord, Sun Wenheng cannot be ruled out as a suspect, but there is currently no conclusive evidence pointing to him!"

Bai Changjiu thought for a moment after hearing this and said:
"I remember that Sun Wenheng not only owns Wanfu Bank, but also has other businesses in Yijing?"

“Your Excellency is right. This Sun Wenheng originally ran a business called Dashengchang. Later, in order to avoid the taboo of His Majesty’s name, Dashengchang was changed to Dadechang. After Sun Wenheng became the general manager of Wanfu Bank, he handed over Dadechang to his son to manage!”

"Da Dechang has developed very rapidly in Yijing in recent years. It has bought shops in many places in Yijing. At present, Da Dechang has a total of 15 shops in Yijing, including a shop on Houde Street!"

Upon hearing this, Bai Changjiu couldn't help but sneer:

"It seems Sun Wenheng has made quite a fortune; he has more shops in Yijing than the Bai family does!"

Yang Tao, standing to the side, was at a loss for words and could only stand silently waiting for Bai Changjiu's next question.

Bai Changjiu quickly continued to ask:
"Does the Joint Operations Department know about Zhao Dahai's matter?"