Transmigrated into a minor official in a county government, with children at home waiting for rice t

Seeing Zhang Sanlang nod, Lu Qiucheng became more talkative. "The keys are kept by a designated person. Anyone who needs to access them must come in person to retrieve them, register them, and return them immediately."

"A single ledger must be kept meticulously, recording the date, time, person in charge, reason for access, and time of return—nothing can be omitted. If a case file is missing from the cabinet, it can be determined on the same day who handled it."

Upon hearing this, Zhou An's gaze swept between Zhang Sanlang and Lu Qiucheng.

Zhang Sanlang nodded slightly.

His gaze shifted from Lu Qiucheng's face to the blank sheets of mulberry paper on the table. "Brother Lu is right. I'll write this down."

Zhou An responded and added another line to the paper.

Xu Zheng took half a step forward. "Uncle Zhang, there's one more thing. All the stolen goods and fines handled by the Criminal Investigation Department are managed by its own people. Outsiders have no idea how much was fined in which case or how the stolen goods were disposed of."

"I handled this once about two weeks ago. After the confiscated money was put into the treasury, the amount recorded in the treasury did not match the amount reported by the criminal investigation department. I mentioned it to Fang Qianxing, and he said that this was not my business."

Zhang Sanlang frowned upon hearing this. He understood what Xu Zheng meant; Fang Zhong'an probably hadn't been entirely clean during his time acting as the head of the criminal investigation department.

This is standard practice.

If it were a county magistrate like Shen Jue, Zhang Sanlang wouldn't want to meddle in other people's business.

But after spending time together, he had long since discovered that Li Hang was a man of keen insight. In front of him, Fang Zhong'an's little tricks were as clear as the lines on the palm of one's hand, and he knew them without even asking.

This county magistrate wants to reform the six departments through his hands. If he doesn't achieve anything, his position as assistant in charge of the criminal affairs department will soon be gone. He might even lose the position of clerk in the household affairs department that has already been promised to him.

Although Zhang Sanlang and Fang Zhong'an weren't particularly close, they had served as clerks in the same office for ten years. If Zhang Sanlang hadn't been exempted from his post, it would have been difficult for him to make the necessary changes.

Zhang Sanlang sighed inwardly, "Old Fang, I'm sorry, brother. If I don't use some methods to bring you down, Magistrate Li might want your head one day, as a warning to others!"

The main room was quiet for a moment.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Zhang Sanlang quickly regained his composure. "The confiscated stolen goods will no longer be under the jurisdiction of the prison. The prison will only be responsible for registering and cataloging them, including the quantity, type, and source, in duplicate."

"One copy is kept on file by the Criminal Division, and another is sent to the Household Revenue Division for verification. The money and goods actually deposited into the treasury are counted by personnel from the Household Revenue Division and deposited into the county treasury under their supervision. Personnel from the Criminal Division are not allowed to handle them."

After Zhou An finished writing down the line of text, he looked up at Zhang Sanlang and then at the paper on the table.

There were already seven or eight entries written on the paper, some of the ink still reflecting the light. "Uncle Zhang, what about the convicts? The prison also manages the men's and women's prisons, as well as the conscripted laborers in this county. Should we write that in as well?"

Zhang Sanlang nodded and smiled at him approvingly, "You've finally put your mind to it, not bad. The matter of the convicts involves two things. First, registering them. Second, assigning them work."

"After each prisoner was sentenced, his name, crime, sentence, physical condition, and skills were recorded. Blacksmiths, carpenters, bricklayers, each were assigned to their respective categories."

"For repairing city walls, dredging ditches, repairing official roads, and cultivating official fields, everyone's labor, how long they worked, and how well they did it were all recorded in a register. When the workshops needed workers, they had to check the register; they couldn't just pull anyone out."

"As for the county jail, it's only for temporary detention and certain special prisoners, so don't move it for now. But criminals are still human... Hmm, Zhou An, just write down what I said verbatim."

"The prison cells were old and dilapidated, with crumbling walls and leaky eaves. The prisoners lived together in a haphazard manner, and the stench was persistent. Every summer and autumn, epidemics broke out frequently, with three or four out of ten prisoners falling ill. This not only depleted the county granary's food supplies but also damaged manpower. Moreover, most of the prisoners were conscripted laborers, and when they fell ill, they could not perform their duties effectively."

"Thirty strings of cash should be allocated to repair the prison cells, pave the floor with straw, and open windows for ventilation. Also, provide water tanks, sickrooms, straw mats, and other items. Jailers are not allowed to use torture, and sick prisoners should be placed in a separate location, with a physician inspecting them every ten days."

"In this way, the cost is minimal, the prisoners can be saved, and the epidemic can be prevented..."

Zhou An finished writing as instructed. After reading it through, he looked up at Zhang Sanlang and asked, "Uncle Zhang, if that case involves tenants from several villages, how should it be registered?"

Zhang Sanlang looked at Xu Zheng and slightly raised his chin.

Xu Zheng thought for a moment, "One case, one file. No matter how many people are involved, only one case file number will be set. All the confessions, testimonies, and physical evidence of those involved will be put into this one file. We will not divide the files by person or by village."

Huangfu Ce replied, "Enter the cases by year number. The fifth year of Taiping Xingguo is numbered five. Also, categorize the cases by type: theft, fighting, household and marriage. Once the numbers are clearly assigned, we can find cases from ten or twenty years ago."

Zhou An wrote down the words, blew on the ink on the paper, and handed it to Zhang Sanlang with both hands. "Uncle Zhang, please take a look and add anything you missed."

Zhang Sanlang took the paper and spread it out on the table. "Take a look, everyone. If anyone thinks any clause is inappropriate, please point it out."

Xu Zhengxian picked it up and looked at it. "What if the person in charge is delayed due to some reason? Shouldn't we add a clause that if the delay is due to illness or other reasons, a leave slip signed by the clerk must be attached to the case file, otherwise it will be considered a delay?"

Seeing Zhang Sanlang nod, Zhou An quickly took a pen and added a line of small characters on the side.

Xu Fang also came over for a look. His eyes were quicker than his brother's; he scanned it once and then looked away. "Uncle Zhang, who is in charge of the copies of the case files handled by the criminal investigation department? If the originals have been tampered with, how do we verify them?"

Zhang Sanlang thought for a moment, "The copy will be kept in the clerk's office, and the original will be kept in the criminal office. They will be compared every half month, and signed as proof. If they don't match, they will be recorded in the verification book that day and reported to me for investigation."

Huangfu Ce squatted by the threshold, not coming over to look. "Third Master, in addition to recording the skills and work done, the register of convicts should also record who is in charge."

"We can't let the prison bullies have the final say. We need to keep a clear record of who is in charge of which section, how many people they manage, and the progress of the work at the prison. Otherwise, even if the work on the register is finished, the people will still be forced to work beyond their allotted time."

Zhang Sanlang glanced at Huangfu Ce and nodded.

Having spent time in a prison camp, he naturally had a deep understanding of the situation, and his advice was very reliable.

Zhou An added this one as well.

Lu Qiucheng stood up again. "There's one more thing. If the medical examination and investigation records are still written in the old coroner's style, with vague descriptions of the medical examination entries, and they can't even clearly state where the fatal wound is, then the subsequent interrogation will be nothing but a lie."

Zhang Sanlang nodded in satisfaction. "The injury examination report will be attached to the beginning of the case file. If the coroner's writing is unclear, it will be returned for rewriting. If it's still unclear after three attempts, we'll replace him."

After saying this, Zhang Sanlang shifted his gaze from Lu Qiucheng's face to the paper on the table.

Zhou An had already added Lu Qiucheng's suggestion at the end.

Zhang Sanlang reached out and picked up the paper, reading it through from beginning to end. "I'll refine and polish it a bit more, and then this memorial will be complete. I'll go see Magistrate Li first thing tomorrow morning."

Zhou An stood up and stretched. "Uncle Zhang, if we submit this report, will the torture chamber proceed accordingly?"

Zhang Sanlang smiled and said, "Of course. Although the formal appointment still requires a reply from the prefectural government, Magistrate Li has already approved it by hand, ordering me to take over the criminal affairs office tomorrow."

"More importantly, Magistrate Li said to my face that even if the prefectural government did not approve the recommendation, he could let me take over the position of clerk and act as the head of the Household and Criminal departments for a long time."

"Gentlemen, Magistrate Li is different from others. He doesn't judge people by their background, but by their ability and willingness to get things done. If he dares to give up this position, I dare to accept it."

"Ultimately, he's not afraid of his subordinates being capable; he's only afraid of them not doing their jobs. With a superior like that, if I don't get the criminal investigation department sorted out properly, I'll be letting him down..."

Before Zhang Sanlang could finish speaking, he suddenly noticed a fawning smile on Zhou An's face and shook his head helplessly.

A slightly shy female voice came from inside, "Uncle Zhang, the food and wine are ready..."