Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 384: The Imperial Envoy was murdered? A dragnet investigation, and whoever is found will be executed!
Zhang Yongzhen clenched his cheeks, opened his eyes, and said nothing.

In the end, he just left the palace.

The wealthy people who were waiting outside the palace hurried forward and asked, "What did the King of Zhou say?"

"What else can I say? Now they are truly one family with Your Majesty!"

"We are really doomed now!"

As Zhang Yongzhen spoke, he suddenly shouted at the wealthy and powerful people in Kaifeng Prefecture present:

"Who among you has done something to harm the imperial envoy? Why are you so bold as to not admit it?!"

"The elders in my hometown have suffered, the future of their children has been affected, commercial transactions have been affected, and even every household has to pay more taxes. In the future, they will be treated differently by the emperor and father!"

After Zhang Yongzhen asked this question, some people remained silent while others began to defend themselves.

He didn't ask any more questions and went home with a frustrated look on his face.

Let’s talk.

Zhu Mu, who was around, did begin to take the initiative to restrain the clan members from taking advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble, and actually paid money and grain in advance to set up clan schools in accordance with the emperor's order.

Yan Song also waited for the arrival of the imperial commissioner who was responsible for investigating the murder of the imperial commissioner.

The imperial envoys in charge of investigating this case were Xu Tingyong, Langzhong of the Ministry of Justice (from Liling, Huguang, and a military member), Gao Ji, Chengdi of the Dali Temple (from Jiangdu, Yangzhou, and a military member), and Qian Rong, the Censor (from Wuxi, Changzhou, and a military member).

These people were ordered to cooperate with Yan Song in investigating the case.

Yan Song therefore summoned this person to the back hall of his Fuyuan and asked, "Do you have any specific ideas for investigating this case?"

The three of them looked at each other.

then.

Xu Tingyong said first: "The most difficult thing about this matter is that there is no clue to investigate. It is said that Xu Hanlin encountered bandits in Tongwaxiang, but it is really difficult to find out whether the bandits in Tongwaxiang are colluding with the gentry behind the scenes, and who these gentry are. "

"As Xu Bulang said, your majesty's purpose is definitely not just to deal with a few bandits. A few bandits can know the whereabouts of the former imperial envoy Xu Hanlin, and the number of guards around him, and even provide enough firearms and armor. It would be impossible without the help of the gentry and wealthy families in secret. So when your majesty wants us to investigate, he must also want us to find out the gentry and wealthy families behind it."

"But there are so many wealthy families in Kaifeng Prefecture. It will take a long time to investigate them one by one. Even if Your Majesty is not dissatisfied, the ministers below will be dissatisfied, especially those wealthy families in the court. They will definitely take the opportunity to impeach us for incompetence, saying that we have not been able to find the real culprit for so long, causing the court army to be stationed in Kaifeng, consuming more and more military rations, and because the trade routes have been blocked, the people's resentment has intensified."

Censor Qian Rong also followed suit.

Gao Ji, the deputy minister of the Dali Temple, took the initiative to ask Yan Song: "I wonder if the governor has any good advice."

"In our opinion, His Majesty asked us to investigate the murder of the imperial envoy. He did not really want us to find out the mastermind behind the murder of the imperial envoy, but to take this opportunity to let the gentry in Kaifeng Prefecture know to abide by the rules on behalf of the emperor! At the same time, let the imperial envoys dare to continue to work hard for the court. The latter is the most important purpose."

When Yan Song said this, he glanced at the three of them.

The three of them nodded thoughtfully.

then.

Yan Song then said, "So, instead of racking our brains to find the mastermind behind this, why not take this opportunity to clean up all the unruly gentry in Kaifeng Prefecture!"

“Whether we can find out who is behind this or not, we must eliminate all the disobedient gentry and wealthy families. Either the mastermind behind this will come forward and confess, or he will be punished for other things. After all, the gentry and wealthy families who dare to do this will not only be guilty of murdering the imperial envoy. Those who dare to offend their superiors will certainly dare to bully their inferiors!”

"What does Fuyuan mean?"

Gao Ji asked again. Yan Song looked at the three people and said, "We should learn from the emperor, mobilize the people, and encourage them to file complaints. We should not start with the case of the imperial envoy being killed, but with the cases where the people's land was invaded, their lives were taken, and they were blackmailed."

"The governor is very wise!"

The three of them hurriedly praised him.

Yan Song smiled and said, "This is nothing. It is all thanks to your majesty's wisdom that I, a humble man, have learned some wisdom from him!"

"So, next, we will put up a notice to encourage the people to come and file a complaint with us, in the name of investigating the traitors who framed the imperial envoy!"

"But most people are honest and lazy. If it's not their business, they are often unwilling to speak up. Even if it's their business, they often choose to endure it. In short, they are unwilling to even curse unless they have no place to live. First, they are afraid of retaliation, and second, they are too busy making a living to have the energy, so they are generally unwilling to file a complaint. After all, filing a complaint may not only be useless, but it may also result in greater losses."

"So, we have to take advantage!"

"So, anyone who comes to file a complaint, whether for himself or for others, and regardless of whether it is a false accusation after verification, will be rewarded with ten silver dollars. As for the matters involving corruption and fines, the silver confiscated will be divided into half of the spoils and fines, just like reporting traitors!"

When Yan Song said this, the three of them couldn't help but look at each other, and then they all took a breath of cold air.

They had to admit that the method devised by the governor in front of them was too cruel!

He completely understood the greed of human nature and took advantage of the weak points of the gentry and wealthy families!

Therefore, the three of them all expressed their agreement, and then they did the same thing together with Yan Song, but they kept praising Governor Yan Song to everyone for his wisdom and taught them how to investigate this kind of unsolved case!
to this end.

Henan Governor Yan Song and the three imperial envoys then posted notices encouraging people to file complaints for money, under the pretext of investigating the traitors who plotted to murder the imperial envoys.

Of course, most of the people are silent or have concerns.

But there are indeed people who are fearless and greedy by nature.

then.

Not long after Yan Song posted the notice, an enthusiastic citizen named Cao Mancang actively submitted a petition to Yan Song, saying that he wanted to sue the local gentry Zheng Qiong for swallowing up the whole family and spreading rumors to force the widow Tang of the small family Dong to death. He also asked the household clerk of Kaifeng Prefecture to transfer the Dong family's land to his own name.

Upon hearing this, Yan Song immediately dispatched troops to surround Kaifeng Prefecture's household affairs, the warehouse and the Zheng family. After investigation, it was discovered that the Zheng family had indeed encroached on Dong's land and confiscated all of Dong's property into their own home in the name of official confiscation. Before hanging herself, the widow Tang had also drafted a lawsuit against the Zheng family's servants for spreading rumors.

Yan Song used this as an excuse to determine that the Zheng family had forced a heroic woman to death, corrupted the court's customs, and seized the people's land, just like bandits, and were actually traitors. He convicted the gentleman Zheng Qiong of treason on the spot, along with the imperial envoy representing the three judicial departments, and had Zheng Qiong executed!

Zheng Qiong was so anxious that he wanted to shout and curse, but his mouth had been sewn up with needle and thread by Yan Song's order, so he could only make a buzzing sound and could not utter a word.

Snapped!
When the guillotine beheaded Zheng Qiong, people were outraged, and Cao Mancang also received the reward, which induced more people to come forward to report.

The crimes of many evil gentry and bullies were also brought to light one by one, including extortion, false accusations of others being thieves, collusion with bandits to rob, etc.

The serious ones were beheaded in the downtown area of ​​Kaifeng shortly after being caught.

In March of the sixth year of Jiajing alone, more than 300 wealthy and powerful people were beheaded.

The gentry and wealthy families in Kaifeng became even more worried.

Zhang Yongzhen, a former retired Hanlin, even brought a group of gentry and wealthy families to kneel before Yan Song's governor, kowtowed and begged, "Please show mercy! Don't encourage the unruly people to file complaints and bully the gentry and wealthy families!"

"Please ask the governor to show mercy! Do not encourage the unruly people to file complaints and bully the gentry and wealthy families!"

"Please ask the governor to show mercy! Do not encourage the unruly people to file complaints and bully the gentry and wealthy families!"

(End of this chapter)