The prince is more stable

Chapter 892 Starting from Chenzhou
To be fair, among all the dynasties in Chinese history, the central imperial power of the Song Dynasty was relatively centralized, especially in terms of control over military power, which was extremely strict.

The official system of the Song Dynasty was more complex than that of other dynasties. Its greatest advantage was that, as early as the beginning of the dynasty, the court divided the power of central and local officials into very small parts.

The official system in other dynasties was a vertical structure, starting from the emperor, then the prime minister or cabinet, then the six ministries and nine ministers, and finally the local government.

The Song Dynasty was different. Starting from the position of prime minister, a decentralized structure was formed, such as the Council of State Affairs, the Privy Council, and the Three Departments. Next came the Six Ministries and the Censorate.

As for local officials, in addition to county magistrates, prefects, and governors, there were various departments and commissioners.

Such as the Transport Commissioner, the Judicial Commissioner, the Supervisor, etc.

In short, if a local official disobeyed the imperial court and slammed his fist on the table, declaring that he was going to rebel, the only people who would dare to agree to his demands would likely be his subordinates, such as the prefectural judge and the magistrate.

But other transport commissioners, judicial commissioners, and supervisors would immediately grab a knife and chop up this corrupt official, then send the minced meat to the court to claim credit.

The central and local official system of the Song Dynasty was roughly structured like this.

Whether it's the central government or local governments, no one except the emperor has the power to control everything and do whatever they want. No matter who looks around, the court will always arrange other officials to check their power.

This was the case before, but now that Zhao Xiaoqian has ascended the throne, he has separated the supervisory power, and the central court has formed a "three prefectures and three offices" structure. The division of power is more detailed, and there are more constraints on officials.

When the Censorate was first established, even their office was still under construction. This newly established department was a taboo subject for the court officials in Bianjing.

However, for local officials, due to the lag in information dissemination and the possibility of errors in transmission, there are not many people who are truly afraid of its existence from the bottom of their hearts.

In the minds of most local officials, the so-called "Supervisory Office" actually had similar functions to the Censorate, possessing the same power to supervise all officials. It was also immersed in the filthy waters of the Song Dynasty's officialdom, and sooner or later, like all the Song Dynasty government offices and officials, it would be stained black.

In the past, when the Censorate inspected local officials, the subordinates responded in the same way. Now that the Censorate officials have come down, the response will be the same.

It all comes down to how much they ask for, how much money they want, and how much they themselves have to pay.

What is the crux of the problem?
It's about "settling things," about spending money to avoid trouble, getting through this ordeal, and continuing to sit in that position, only to recoup the money and benefits paid out by taking double the money from the people.

Therefore, at this moment, some officials in the Chenzhou government office were on tenterhooks, while others were indifferent.

The hustle and bustle, the coming and going of profit, they've made a huge mess, so just pay them off.

Prefect Zeng Shuli, however, was somewhat worried. As the top official of Chenzhou, he had more information from his powerful backers in Bianjing than others.

Judging from the message sent by the bigwigs in Bianjing, this Censorate is probably not so easy to deal with; it is different from the Censorate.

"In any case, let's balance the accounts first, so that the Censorate can't find any fault. Also, tell the county magistrates, gentry, clansmen and merchants to keep their mouths shut recently. If any commoners try to cause trouble, it doesn't matter if they are beaten or killed. In short, we can't disturb the Censorate officials."

Zeng Shuli's voice was low and deep. At this moment, he had a vague sense of foreboding. His right eyelid was twitching violently, and his heart felt heavy as if a thousand-pound boulder was pressing down on it. He couldn't even breathe properly when he fell asleep in the middle of the night.

The officials present all nodded in agreement.

The officials gathered in this room today are all corrupt, and of course, they've made a lot of money.

This crisis is a crisis for everyone. No matter how much we scheme and fight in the past, we must work together to overcome this difficult time. Otherwise, if we continue to fight amongst ourselves, the enemy will wipe us out.

Just as Zeng Shuli was about to give a few more instructions, he suddenly heard a knock on the door.

The knocking at the door late at night was absolutely terrifying, especially since everyone inside had done something wrong. The moment the unexpected knocking sounded, an official inside screamed in fright.

Zeng Shuli was also startled, but as the chief official of Chenzhou, he had to save face no matter how scared he was. So Zeng Shuli asked in a deep voice, "Who is it?"

Outside, a constable said with some panic, "Reporting to the Prefect, according to reports from our subordinates, officials from the Censorate have entered Chenzhou territory, but they did not come to the city. Instead, they turned south and headed towards Gongjing Village in Shangshui County, which is under their jurisdiction."

Everyone in the room was startled and looked at each other with pale faces. Then all eyes were focused on Zeng Shuli.

Zeng Shuli's eyelids twitched incessantly, and the ominous premonition in his heart grew stronger and stronger.

Gongjing Village is about 40 li away from Chenzhou City, neither too far nor too close.

But the actions of the Ombudsman officials were truly terrifying.

Upon arriving in Chenzhou, they found none of these officials and instead went straight to Gongjing Village without any apparent reason. What was the reason for this?
"Gongjing Village?" Zeng Shuli looked around blankly, his tone anxious: "Who is the magistrate of Shangshui County? What has happened in the area recently, or has some troublemaker gone overboard and filed a complaint? Tell me quickly!"

No one answered; clearly, the person who could answer him wasn't in the room.

Zeng Shuli finally lost his composure, stood up in a panic, and stomped his foot: "You're all useless! Disaster is coming, and you know nothing about it. You deserve to die!"

Without regard for the late hour, Zeng Shuli immediately opened the door and strode toward the main hall of the government office, shouting as he went, "Men, prepare the horses immediately, we're going to Gongjing Village!"

…………

In Gongjing Village, a village under the jurisdiction of Chenzhou, Han Zhongyan, the Inspector General, stood with his hands behind his back, coldly observing the scene before him.

Behind Han Zhongyan stood Lü Huiqing and Li Qingchen, one on each side.

It's truly astonishing that the three bigwigs of the Censorate have gathered in this inconspicuous village under the jurisdiction of Chenzhou today.

Realizing the importance of the case and after being indirectly reprimanded by the officials, Han Zhongyan and his two companions, after much agonizing reflection, decided to personally leave the capital and travel to Chenzhou to handle the case.

In the first case since the establishment of the Control Yuan, the three have taken a more proactive approach.

Behind the three big shots stood a dense circle of people, all of whom were subordinates of the Imperial City Guard. Among them was Zhen Qing, who was in charge of official business.

Including Zhen Qing, four big shots have gathered outside this village called Gongjing Village today, each of them a figure who can shake the imperial court.

"The Censorate received some complaints from ordinary people who bypassed the proper channels. Among them were many farmers from Gongjing Village who were suing the local county magistrate and Zeng Shuli, the prefect of Chenzhou, and other officials," Zhen Qing said slowly.

The first stop chosen by Han Zhongyan and his entourage after leaving the capital was certainly not without reason.

Han Zhongyan looked up at the sky.

After a long and arduous journey through the night, their horses sprained their ankles and injured themselves from traveling in the dark, but they finally arrived at Gongjing Village.

The sky was gradually brightening, and a pale white hue appeared in the east.

Han Zhongyan looked tired, but his eyes were still bright as he surveyed the village in the dim light.

Gongjing Village has a long history. Legend has it that as early as the Tang Dynasty, there was a well here with sweet and refreshing water that was said to have some kind of medicinal effect. As a result, the well became famous, and even the emperor in Chang'an heard about it.

Just as lychees were sent from Lingnan to Yang Guifei, the wells here were also packed up and sent to Chang'an by the government. Over time, the place was renamed "Gongjing Village".

Gongjing Village, which was once quite famous, now appears rather desolate.

The village has only about twenty households and a little over a hundred acres of land, which is considered quite prosperous.

But what Han Zhongyan saw at that moment was a desolate and bleak landscape.

Of the twenty or so farmhouses located outside the fields, at least most were dilapidated. It was already daylight, but no one in the village came out to work.

Half of the farmland near the farmers' homes is now abandoned and overgrown with weeds.

It is now close to the Mid-Autumn Festival, the harvest season, but half of the farmland is barren, and the village population is obviously very small.

Han Zhongyan knew at a glance that this village was doomed.

Turning to look at Zhen Qing of the Imperial City Guard, Han Zhongyan pointed to the desolate fields in the distance and said, "Is the Imperial City Guard aware of this desolate and dilapidated scene?"

Zhen Qing blushed. These words were a bit hurtful. The Imperial City Guard hadn't really investigated this area. They had only found evidence of officials' crimes. At least they hadn't had time to investigate the situation in the countryside.

This is why the Emperor was furious when Zhen Qing presented the list of twelve corrupt officials.

It turns out that the officials knew very well that what the Imperial City Guard had found were only superficial things; the real root of the problem lay among the common people, in the suffering masses.

No wonder the emperor was so dissatisfied with that list, because he knew that even if all twelve corrupt officials were executed, it would not solve the problem at all, and the suffering of the people would not change.

“Such good farmland, all harvested in the fall, yet half of it lies barren. This is very abnormal,” Han Zhongyan sighed. “Farmers are never lazy, but the land in this village is lying fallow. There are only two reasons…”

"Firstly, the government exploits farmers with exorbitant taxes and levies, leaving them with no way to make a living no matter how hard they work. They might as well leave the village and become refugees with their families."

"Secondly, local officials colluded with landlords and used all sorts of means to seize farmers' land at low prices. Farmers had no land to cultivate, while landlords had too much land under their names to take care of, so half of the land was left to lie fallow."

Han Zhongyan sighed, “No matter what the reason, simply questioning a few officials won’t solve the problem. If the Imperial City Guard wants to investigate, they can only start with the landlords in the village and follow the clues all the way up. That’s probably the official’s intention.”

Zhen Qing now fully understood and nodded, saying, "I have already sent the Imperial City Guard to investigate the villagers. We should have results soon."

Han Zhongyan said slowly, "This is just a village, and Chenzhou is just one of the prefectures in the capital region. I believe the same problem exists in other places as well."

"If the imperial court has no oversight, local officials will only cover up the truth and fabricate all sorts of falsehoods. The imperial court and officials will know nothing and believe that the people are living in peace and prosperity. No one will believe that they are already struggling to survive."

Han Zhongyan narrowed his eyes slightly, then suddenly smiled, a cold smile.

"The government established the Inspectorate to clean up official corruption, so let's start from Chenzhou."

“The local officials have committed such a terrible crime, and now they deserve their retribution.”

(End of this chapter)