Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 19 Censor
It is already mid-November, the weather is getting colder, and it snows from time to time.

Zhang and his son still could not return home and had to stay in the city. Except for the fact that many people actively grew herbs in the beginning, as time went by, fewer and fewer people came to grow herbs.

In the county government office, the magistrate Song Qing initially had extremely high expectations for this matter and sent people to inquire about the situation every day. Unfortunately, he soon forgot about it. For him, this was just a political speculation and he was happy if it succeeded, and he was also happy if it failed. Until one day, the legal advisor Li Weishao ran into the study and told him the news that the inspector was about to arrive.

"It is Chen Yu, the inspector of Guizhou Province... It is said that he heard the news that the local area was making a big fuss about preventing and controlling the plague, so he rushed here without stopping. This Chen Yushi is decisive and I am afraid he will be difficult to deal with. If he is not careful... he may even lose his position."

Li Weishao was a little nervous.

The censors who inspected local areas in the Ming Dynasty were called Supervisory Censors, who were divided into internal and external censors. The thirteen Supervisory Censors were located in each provincial government, with a total of 110 people, and were affiliated with the Censorate.

Although his official position was only the seventh rank, his powers were very great. In official terms, he "toured the country on behalf of the emperor." He was in charge of the imperial examinations in the northern and southern capitals, inspected the capital camp, supervised the provincial examinations, the metropolitan examinations and the military examinations, inspected the Guanglu Temple, the warehouses, the inner treasury, the imperial city, and the five cities of the capital, and took turns to beat the drum.

When they were outside, they were inspectors of local areas, divided into two divisions, each of which was in charge of the affairs of its own division, and also of the departments in Beijing, Nanjing, the Dusi Wei Suo, the royal palace, the Five Cities, special institutions such as the Salt Bureau, the Tusi, and the affairs of the prefectures and counties in the north and south.

The affairs of the northern and southern Zhili regions were under the direct jurisdiction of the imperial court and were not included in the thirteen prefectures.

The three prefectures of Shuntian, Yongping and Guangping in Northern Zhili belonged to Yunnan Province; the two prefectures of Baoding and Zhending belonged to Guangxi Province; the two prefectures of Hejian, Shunde and Bao'an Prefecture belonged to Guizhou Province; Daming Prefecture belonged to Henan Province; and Yanqing Prefecture was under the jurisdiction of Guangdong Province.

Because the Inspector-General had heavy responsibilities and could only be a Jinshi, he was required to "report major events to the emperor and make immediate decisions on minor matters", which gave him great power and made local officials who were also Jinshi extremely fearful.

Of course, if the inspector commits a crime, his crime will be three levels more severe, which is also to fully ensure the intensity of supervision.

Song Qing said: "I have heard about the style of this Censor Chen. I heard that he acted very decisively during his tenure. Both local officials and wealthy people were in awe of him. Why would he... come to us?"

Li Weishao said: "Maybe it happened that he happened to be on duty near the capital... County Magistrate Song, what do you think..."

"Hurry, find a way to welcome them and make sure to entertain them well." Song Qing looked nervous.

Li Weishao asked: "Should we stop Mr. Zhang's treatment first? There has been no effect so far, and this time Censor Chen came with murderous intent, I'm afraid..."

"What are you afraid of? My original intention is to benefit the local people. How can I have the slightest selfish motive? As the saying goes, a man of integrity fears no slander... If the inspector is coming, just receive him. Even if he is nominally an official from the capital, I am just a county magistrate. After all, I am of the same rank as him. Why should I be afraid?"

Song Qing said this, but his heart was filled with worries. He regretted that he had to support Zhang Luan in developing some medicine for epidemic prevention. Now he was shooting himself in the foot.

……

……

However, one day, Chen Yan arrived in Xingji County accompanied by a servant and coachman, and two Jinyiwei.

In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, inspectors were mostly accompanied by the Embroidered Uniform Guard when they were on duty. The rank and number of accompanying personnel were determined by the size of the matter. Generally, the Embroidered Uniform Guard were just military households. In the absence of any personal gain, they could only live on the rice salary issued by the court, which was often in arrears or discounted. Only when they were on field duty would they have a chance to make some money, and they had to hand over part of it to their superiors.

The ordinary Jinyiwei were not issued distinctive uniforms and looked no different from ordinary peddlers. Even an imperial official like Chen Yun looked like an ordinary person wherever he went.

However, the magistrate Song Qing was very good at identifying and entertaining these imperial envoys. He personally greeted them at his inn in the city and prepared some gifts.

Chen Yan didn't waste any time. After meeting with Li Weishao, he directly summoned Song Qing for questioning.

"I rushed here from Hejian Prefecture overnight. I heard that in order to prevent the epidemic, you in Xingji actually believed the rumors in the market and planted unknown substances in people's bodies to prevent disease. I wonder if this is true?" Chen Yan said in a cold tone.

Song Qing sat there, claiming to be on the same level as Chen Yu, but he didn't even dare to breathe, and hesitantly said, "This is what happened."

"boom!"

Chen Yun slammed the table in anger and said, "Do you know how many people have died from diseases that were prevented by smallpox? What kind of new tricks can make a local official like you believe them? If something goes wrong and an epidemic spreads throughout your area, how many people will lose their lives because of your so-called kindness?"

"This this……"

Song Qing was unable to explain for a moment.

A Jinyiwei at the side suggested: "Sir, why don't you arrest the demon right away and put him in jail for torture."

"Absolutely not!" Li Weishao, who had been standing behind Song Qing and had been listening for a while, hurriedly dissuaded him, "He is a student master, and he is well-known in the local area."

"Student?"

Chen Yun frowned when he heard this.

In his impression, students who passed the exam had social status and were only one step away from the aristocratic class. Who would be so ignorant as to do such mysterious things?

Li Weishao finally realized the value of his employment and explained for Song Qing: "This Mr. Zhang is from a famous family. His cousin is the governor of Liaodong, Zhang, who once served as the chief censor. He is different from ordinary people in the market."

"You mean... he is Zhang Zhongcheng's... younger brother?"

Chen Yan was indeed a little more apprehensive. The aristocratic class was like this, with a complex relationship that officials had to consider seriously.

"Yes Yes."

Li Weishao said, "Moreover, this Mr. Zhang has two sisters, one married to Shen Jingli of the Imperial Bank, and the other to Xu Xueshi, the president of Nanjing Hanyuan. They are really extraordinary people."

Chen Yun took a breath of cold air.

What an amazing background.

He could investigate an ordinary citizen immediately, but when he heard that the other party had a strong background, he would naturally consider the case carefully.

The Jinyiwei standing by asked in confusion, "Since he is a student with a bright future, why would he do something so unreasonable? Does he really have medical skills passed down from his family?"

This time it was Song Qing's turn to explain. With Li Weishao's words, he calmed down a lot. "That's true. At least that's what he said. Without evidence, who would dare to believe it? He cured people and achieved results. I saw it with my own eyes. That's why we launched the local epidemic prevention plan."

Chen Yun glanced at the Jinyiwei standing beside him. It was obvious that they had already discussed countermeasures on the way here and were ready to conduct a serious investigation as soon as they arrived.

But now the plan is completely disrupted.

Chen Yun paused and asked, "Where is he now? Send him to see me."

Jinyiwei said: "I will go and get him right away."

"No, no, no."

Li Weishao continued, "This Mr. Zhang is still in the Yagu Temple... You officials may not know that the Yagu Temple is where the locals put patients suffering from smallpox and epidemics. He is treating the patients inside and has not come out for many days."

"what?"

Chen Yan frowned, with a hint of disbelief on his face.

Even the Jinyiwei standing by couldn't help but ask, "You mean, he dares to diagnose patients surrounded by people infected with smallpox?"

"Yes."

Li Weishao said, "This Mr. Zhang is not just talking big. When he first started treating people, he would go to the houses of wealthy people where the patients were sick and stayed there for more than half a month. As a result, since he went in, no patients have been carried out of the house. He even cured people who had smallpox and had rashes... It's truly miraculous."

"That's really..."

Chen Yan suddenly thought of something and turned angry. "Using the smallpox method to treat the disease, there will indeed be such a situation. Can he guarantee that other people will be like the people in this mansion?"

Seeing Chen Yan's expression change again, Song Qing quickly asked Li Weishao: "What's the situation at Yagu Temple in recent days?"

Li Weishao said, "In the past few days, there are indeed fewer patients there. Even if there are deaths, they were already ill or are about to get sick. According to Master Zhang's personal teachings, as long as the medicine is administered within a few days of contact with the patient, it can be guaranteed that the patient will not get sick again. At least... so far... it seems to be true."

Chen Yun was originally filled with anger. With his hot temper, he wanted to solve the case right away, but he had to hold it back at this moment. He stood up and said, "I will go meet this person right away."

"Absolutely not!"

Li Weishao said this, winking at Song Qing repeatedly.

Song Qing continued, "Censor Chen has been traveling a long way. How can he not take a break when he first arrives? Besides, the area of ​​Yagu Temple is full of patients infected with the plague. Why don't you wait a few days until the epidemic there subsides a little, then call this person over and interrogate him in detail?"

The Jinyiwei next to him also advised: "Sir, it seems that this is indeed the right thing to do. This matter should be considered carefully."

Chen Yun looked unhappy.

Obviously, he also felt that the Jinyiwei followers were afraid of Zhang Luan's identity. This was also a common problem among military households, that is, they bully the weak and fear the strong.

Chen Yun asked, "Why does this person act so unnaturally?"

Song Qing stepped forward and answered in a low voice: "It is said that the family has fallen into poverty... After the local Minister Chen retired, the Zhang family's financial situation has been greatly reduced, but he still has some... connections in the court. This time he wants to take this opportunity to be recommended by the local government as a student."

"So, he still has a purpose... If he continues to do whatever he wants, I will not let him off easily." Chen Yun said this with gritted teeth, but his attitude had softened, leaving some room for maneuver.

Song Qing smiled and said, "Censor Chen has come from afar, I will ask someone to prepare... Xingji is a small place, but it is close to the canal, and there are many merchants coming and going, so it is always busy. It just so happens that there are many things to do locally, and I need Censor Chen's guidance."

We are not asking you to wait here, but are pretending to discuss official business with you.

In this way, you will not be blamed by the court for doing nothing and just sitting there doing idle things.

(End of this chapter)