Han official!

Chapter 158: Progress of Buying a Title to Atone for Sins

On the highway of Chang'an, dozens of mounted officials on Hexi horses were escorting a large number of prisoners to the Neishi Prison. These prisoners had fetters on their feet, their hands tied behind their backs with hemp ropes, and their faces were full of sorrow.

Amidst the scolding of the thief catcher and the whipping of the iron ruler, he obediently headed towards Chang'an.

When they encountered merchants' ox carts along the way, they all tried to avoid them as much as possible and hurriedly pulled the carts to the side, for fear of being contaminated by bad luck.

The road from Huaili County to Chang'an happened to pass through a village called Xingze Township.

Zhao Yu and Zhang Tang were in Xingze Township with many bandit hunters. Many villagers took small boats and hid in Xingze to avoid labor service. The number of people reached hundreds, including some who were building the forest garden.

The Nei Shi Mansion was alarmed, and the Right Nei Shi Zhao Yu and the Commandant Zhang Tang personally dispatched a large number of bandit catchers to capture the villagers.

The name of Xingze Township comes from the fact that there is a Xingze in the township. It is a large lake where water chestnuts grow. Whenever the water chestnuts are ripe, the villagers will take a boat to the lake, pick the water chestnuts, and take them to the small market in the township to sell them.

The residents of Xingze Township are good at swimming. The surface of the water in Xingze is complex, and it is difficult for the residents to be discovered by hiding in the vegetation of the water in their boats.

Zhao Yu and the villagers who fled the army were in a stalemate for many days, but he was unable to do anything about them.

"hateful!"

Zhao Yu was unscrupulous in his actions and even wanted to burn down the Xingze Lake with his own hands. Unfortunately, it was a lake, not a forest, so setting fire to it was of no use at all.

His face was filled with anger. "If they were hiding in the mountains, let alone hundreds of people, even if there were tens of thousands, I would burn these rioters to death with my own hands. I would show absolutely no mercy."

The thieves on the bank of Xingze knew that this statement was true. With Zhao Yu's nature of stopping killing with killing, he was capable of doing such a brutal act of burning tens of thousands of people to death.

There seemed to be someone behind the resident who was escaping from military service, giving him instructions.

Knowing that Zhao Yu had the guts to set fire and kill hundreds of people, the villagers did not hide in the nearby mountains and forests, but instead hid in a large swamp.

No more burning.

Facing Xingze, Zhao Yu could only stand on the shore and stare blankly.

"Zhao Yu!"

Sang Hongyang rode a light and fast carriage and hurried to the bank of the Xingze Lake. The ruts of the carriage crushed a field of cattails.

He jumped off the carriage, wearing a dark robe with crimson edges, his face filled with anxiety. "What's going on? Can we catch the villagers who have evaded the labor today? We can't delay any longer. If we continue to delay and affect the construction of the forest garden, you and I will be punished by the emperor. You just took office as the Right Secretary of the Interior, and you can't make any mistakes in conscripting labor."

Zhao Yu blushed.

For a moment, I didn't know how to respond to Sang Hongyang's question.

The desertion of labor service in Xingze Township has caused a chain reaction. The villagers of the 27 counties under the Right Internal Affairs Bureau are all watching this situation, and the collection of labor service in each county has begun to slow down.

If Zhao Yu cannot solve the problem of deserters in Xingze Township.

There will be more deserters in the twenty-seven counties of the Right Internal History.

By then, Zhao Yu would inevitably be reprimanded, or even exiled.

In the Western Han Dynasty, officials who failed the assessment were punished by reprimand, exile, demotion, and punishment.

Reprimand is a form of public criticism and will affect subsequent promotion.

Demotion means a heavier punishment and a downgrade in position. The official's rank remains unchanged, but he will be transferred from an important position to a less powerful government office.

Demotion is a further increase in punishment, lowering the official's rank from a county governor with a salary of two thousand stones to a county magistrate with a salary of a thousand stones or even hundreds of stones.

Punishment is the most severe punishment. Direct sentencing can include life imprisonment in the city or even beheading.

Zhao Yu's face turned extremely ugly when he thought that he might be exiled.

What made him even more frustrated was...

Zhao Yu had no way to deal with the villagers who fled from the military service.

"Zhao Nei Shi, you're in a good mood, are you out hunting today?"

Next to Xingze, there appeared another carriage with red painted wheels, which was used by the prefect. Kneeling inside the carriage was none other than a high-ranking official with a salary of two thousand stones.

It was Shangqiu Cheng, the former Chang'an Cheng, who is now the Zuo Nei Shi.

Since Shangqiu Cheng got close to the Dou family, the in-laws, he was promoted very quickly. In the second month after Zhao Yu became the Right Internal History, he became the Left Internal History.

Zhao Yu's expression was filled with contempt. He didn't take Shangqiu Cheng seriously and his eyes fell on the other person in the car.

Two people were kneeling on the red-painted carriage, one was Shangqiu Cheng, the left historian, and the other was Di Shan, a doctor.

Di Shan's second brother, Di Guangwu, was the most prestigious and powerful man in Xingze Township.

Hundreds of villagers fled into Xingze. If Di Guangwu said that he did not participate, it would be like he regarded Zhao Yu as a fool.

Shangqiu Cheng was ignored, and his fat face was filled with anger. He flicked the sleeves of his silk and black clothes.

He said coldly, "You are good at managing the prison, but you are not good at governing the people. When the civil servants' examination is held in three years, and I win the first place in the palace, then the position of Right Internal History will belong to me, and you will be demoted."

Officials in the Western Han Dynasty were required to submit reports once a year, be evaluated every three years, and undergo a major examination every nine years.

Officials who fail the assessment will be demoted.

Although both were internal historians, the right was more respected in the Western Han Dynasty, and the power of the right internal historian was higher than that of the left internal historian.

There is a huge gap just in the counties, roads and towns under its jurisdiction.

The Right Secretary of the Interior was in charge of 27 counties including Chang'an County, Huaili County, and Lantian County.

The Left Internal Secretary was in charge of twenty counties, including Liyang County, Gaoling County, and Xiayang County.

At the same level, different positions will result in different amounts of power.

Zhao Yu frowned, still ignoring Shangqiu Cheng and not taking his threat seriously.

The taxes paid by the twenty-seven counties of the Right Internal Affairs Secretary were certainly higher than those paid by the twenty counties of the Left Internal Affairs Secretary.

"hehe."

Shangqiu Cheng seemed to have read Zhao Yu's mind and sneered, "You, a cruel official, have brought disaster to the capital. You have murdered many powerful people, incurring their wrath and seeking to remove you from your position as Right Internal Affairs Secretary. These powerful people secretly support me and have contributed large sums of money to the triennial examinations. Although I have jurisdiction over fewer counties, I have collected four million more in taxes than you."

The counties under the jurisdiction of the Right Internal Affairs Secretary were the same as those under the Left Internal Affairs Secretary. The tax collected by Zhao Yu was four million coins less than that of Shangqiu Cheng.

It's understandable.

It just so happens that the Right Internal Secretary has seven more counties than the Left Internal Secretary.

The tax money was short by four million yuan.

When the examination is held every three years, Zhao Yu will be demoted, demoted, or even punished.

Zhao Yu's face turned ashen.

But there was nothing he could do about Shangqiu Cheng.

The powerful people in the Chang'an area made up for the tax gap in the seven counties and had an additional four million coins.

It seems that Zhao Yu's successive exterminations of powerful families have caused great resentment among the powerful.

Zhao Yu felt unwilling.

Could it be that the position of Right Secretary of the Interior really has to be handed over to someone else?

"Fu Jun."

At this time, a Hexi horse appeared near Xingze, followed by dozens of cavalrymen and a large number of prisoners wearing foot irons.

Guo Jie wiped the sweat from his forehead and said happily, "Finally, we found the Lord of the Mansion. This time, we confiscated the property of the powerful and the wealthy, and the total amount was 4.5 million coins."

4. Four and a half million coins?!
When this number was spoken, everyone present was stunned.

In the past, the confiscated property of the powerful was no more than two or three million coins.

Today, it has reached an astonishing 4 million yuan.

The smile on Shangqiu Cheng's face froze. It would be boring to stay any longer, so he could only take the red-painted carriage and leave Xingze.

"good!"

Zhao Yu was delighted and said, "You have performed a great service this time. I have made it worthwhile to appoint you as a Senior Accountant. I will definitely reward you handsomely."

Guo Jie bowed and said, "This is my job as a minor official. I should confiscate the property of the Yao family in the Northern Dao to punish them for concealing the Five Counts and evading taxes."

Concealing the Five Counts. It turns out that this was not lynching, and everything was in accordance with Han law.

Zhang Tang smiled.

As long as it did not violate the Han law, no matter how many people Guo Jie arrested, Zhang Tang would help him withstand the questioning of the Chief Justice.

"color!"

Sang Hongyang looked at the large number of prisoners, his face beaming. "With the many prisoners you've brought, we'll more than make up for the deserters in Xingze Township. I won't bother the Right Internal Affairs officials with their duties here. I'll be leaving now, taking these prisoners with me. Don't worry, I'll send someone to deliver the land deeds later."

"However, there is one thing I need to explain to you in advance. I have used up all my favors and can no longer privately give away land. In the future, any land I give you will need to be exchanged for prisoners as a reward."

Sang Hongyang relied on his personal relationship with the prefect of the border county.

He secretly gave Guo Jie thousands of acres of land.

No more private gifts.

Otherwise, he would be using his power to embezzle the imperial court's land.

Sang Hongyang changed his method. The forest garden needed a large number of prisoners, and Guo Jie sent prisoners to help him build the forest garden, and they should be rewarded with land and houses.

Guo Jie laughed and said, "I understand that even a small official like me knows that even a small official like me who secretly gives away thousands of acres of land is already a big favor. If he continues to do so, the prefect's official title will be in jeopardy. As long as I can exchange the land for the prisoners, I am satisfied."

There are two main types of land deeds he obtained. One was obtained by capturing powerful clan members and using them as prisoners.

Another method was to use confiscated money and silk to exchange for a large number of land deeds.

No matter how much money is confiscated, it is public funds after all.

Guo Jie took out hundreds of thousands of dollars and distributed them to his brothers, with Zhao Yu's tacit approval. It also made it easier to keep accounts so that the people above him could not find out.

If it exceeds 500,000 yuan, it is considered embezzlement of public funds and no one can cover it up.

Guo Jie did make a contribution after all.

Zhao Yu and Zhang Tang were rare examples of people who were rewarded for their meritorious service.

Not only will he not lose money, but he will also earn Guo Jie more land.

"slow!"

Zhao Yu stopped Sang Hongyang as he turned to leave and said coldly, "Minister Sang, please wait a moment. Wait until I catch the villagers who are escaping from the Xingze Lake, and then take the prisoners away."

The villagers who caught Xingze?
Sang Hongyang became interested and knelt in the carriage, wanting to know how Zhao Yu forced the residents of Xingze to come out.

"Yin Qi, Wang Wenshu!"

Zhao Yu pulled out the record book of Xingze Township, which clearly recorded the names of the villagers who had escaped from the military service. "Go and capture the three generations of relatives who are in good standing in Pingshan Township and bring them to the bank of Xingze. Then go to the nearby township government office and get a batch of ring-handled swords."

Yin Qi and Wang Wenshu understood the meaning of this sentence, looked excited, and immediately did what Zhao Yu said.

A group of Yao clan members knelt on the bank of Xingze, including relatives within three generations, numbering hundreds.

Hundreds of thief hunters holding ring-handled swords stood behind the Yao clan members, looking like they were ready to carry out executions.

He was actually beheaded right on the bank of Xingze and displayed to the public!

The fugitive lay on the boat, parted the water chestnuts, looked towards the shore, and felt uneasy.

"Anyone who doesn't come out."

Zhao Yu said with a gloomy face: "The entire clan, like the Yao clan in the North Road, will be beheaded on the spot."

"Kill the first twenty people!"

Following Zhao Yu's order, the thief catcher raised the ring-handled knife in his hand and struck down.

"puff!"

"puff!"

"puff!"

Twenty members of the Yao family in Beidao were beheaded on the spot, and blood splattered into the Xingze, dyeing the water surface red. One headless corpse after another was pushed into the Xingze and eaten by fish and shrimp.

Death without a burial place!

The heart of the deserter couldn't help but tremble.

"The second group of twenty people, kill them!"

"puff!"

"puff!"

"puff!"

As Zhao Yu gave the order, one by one the members of the Yao family in Beidao were killed, and the blood dyed the banks of Xingze red, and a large area of clear water turned blood red.

Until hundreds of people were killed.

Finally, the villagers who were trying to escape conscription were scared away.

They fled to Xingze with their families, bringing their wives, children and parents with them, but many of their clansmen were still outside.

"Don't kill me, come out, little man."

"I only ask the Lord to give me a way out, and I am willing to come out."

"I know I was wrong."

Hundreds of villagers, dragging their families with them, rowed out of Xingze and went ashore trembling with fear, but were soon captured by the bandits who swarmed over them.

Zhao Yu looked at the hundreds of lives lost and could only say something lightly.

"Kill them all."

He was so cruel that even Guo Jie couldn't help but be shocked.

He is worthy of being called the cruel official in the biography of cruel officials.

Sang Hongyang felt a little bit reluctant. Hundreds of villagers were all good laborers building the forest garden. He opened his mouth but ultimately did not say anything to stop them.

No killing today will deter the mob in the village.

Someone will desert the army again tomorrow.

"Don't forget to bring a group of executioners to make up for the prisoners who were pushed to the shore and beheaded."

Sang Hongyang was unwilling to suffer any loss, so he asked for a group of executioners: "I will send the land deeds and certificates to the official temple of the Right Secretary of the Interior later. If there are any prisoners who violate the Han law in the future, don't forget to send them to the Linyuan. In addition."

He said sternly, "You can't deliberately implicate the common people. It's fine to arrest the clansmen, maternal clans, or wife's clans of the powerful, but you can't implicate the common people."

Guo Jie said solemnly, "Don't worry, Minister Sang. The minor officials will only arrest the powerful and the common people who have truly violated the Han laws. They will not set up large prisons and implicate innocent people."

Sang Hongyang nodded slightly and took away the remaining more than a thousand prisoners.

Not long after Guo Jie returned to the accountant's seat, Sang Hongyang sent a minor official to deliver a reward of one thousand acres of land.

Zhao Yu and Zhang Tang also sent people to deliver a thousand acres of land as rewards.

Guo Jie obtained another 3,000 acres of land.

The farmland in Jinchenglu reached 10,000 acres.

It can support two hundred households and hundreds of people.

"this is for you."

Guo Jie took out a scroll of wooden tablets and handed it to Su Jian. "A hundred thousand coins have been sent to your home. Give this letter to Commander Zhang Tang to buy a title and atone for your sin."

Although Zhang Tang was a captain in charge of military affairs, he was also in charge of the criminal justice department of the Right Secretary of the Interior.

Four and a half million coins can buy a title and atone for nine sins.

Guo Jie's progress in buying a title to atone for his sins increased significantly, reaching 46%.

(End of this chapter)