Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

On the day the trial ended, more than 20 people wanted to file a complaint, and Liu Shiren helped them all write complaints for free.

"How come there are no common people to sue my officials?" Zhu Ming looked slightly disappointed after reading the complaint.

Liu Shiren guessed: "Perhaps the first, second, and third-level officials in the state government can make enough money without creating unjust cases."

Zhu Ming couldn't help laughing: "That's definitely the case."

In Ju Ming's state government, the officials on the left and right were the chief officials, just like the officials in the county government.

There are also Zhike from the left and right, who is the head of all the officials and belongs to the same second-class officials as the Yamen.

Then there are the left and right officials, who are the third-class officials.

If the above guys collude secretly, they can isolate the state inside and outside the government office and turn the magistrate into a blind and deaf person. He can also act in secret and deliberately distort the government orders of Zhizhou.

Returning to the post office of Zhouya, Zheng Yuanyi waited for a long time. When she saw Ju Ming coming, she immediately asked the cook to cook.

"My lord, please send me Fan Zhun, the governor of the right capital, to ask for an audience."

"Let him in."

Ju Ming was hungry and had not yet eaten when the second-in-command of the state government officials quietly came to see him in the dark.

"The villain pays homage to the prefect!"

Not only did this guy kneel down and salute, he also called himself a "little man". Such a gesture is tantamount to complete submission, and he will do whatever Zhizhou says.

Ju Ming nodded with satisfaction: "Sit down and talk."

Fan Zhun stood up carefully, not daring to look at Zheng Yuanyi, with his butt hanging on the corner of the bench.

Ju Ming asked: "How many years have you been working as a Youdu Yaya?"

"It has been eight years since I reported to the prefect." Fan Zhun replied nervously.

"Eight years are overdue." Ju Ming said.

In order to prevent subordinate officials from controlling the government, senior officials in state offices have term limits. First-class officials can serve for a maximum of five years; second-class officials can serve for a maximum of six years; third-class officials can serve for a maximum of seven years.

However, in actual practice, positions are often held beyond the deadline.

Fan Zhun lowered his eyebrows and waited for Zhizhou's next words.

Ju Ming asked: "How many years have you been in Zuodu Yamen?"

Fan Zhun was overjoyed: "Seven years."

Ju Ming pretended to say: "How can you not abide by the rules and extend your appointment as an official? Let's do this. The Zuodu Yamen will temporarily leave the post, and I will recommend him to be an official. You will be transferred from the Right Duyamen to the Zuodiyamen. In this way , both of you can be promoted, and neither of you will be overdue as a high official."

"The prefect is wise!" Fan Zhun knelt down happily again.

He was indeed promoted, from second-in-command to first-in-command.

But the person in charge was directly slapped. Ju Ming said verbally that he would recommend him to be an official, but in fact he could have suppressed it and made him wait forever in his life.

Moreover, Ju Ming acted in accordance with the law without breaking the rules at all.

Ju Ming said: "There is an official named Guo Wenzhong. He is calm and experienced. He may be able to replace you as the right governor. What do you think?"

Fan Zhun understood that Ju Ming was planting his confidants and was here to contain him. But he didn't care, it was enough to be the top official in the state. He raised his hands and said: "The prefect has a sharp eye, and Guo Wenzhong is really suitable."

But Zhu Ming shook his head: "It's not me who has a sharp eye, but yours. If you recommend Guo Wenzhong, I will approve it after a thorough examination."

Fan Zhun quickly said: "It is indeed recommended by the villain."

Ju Ming asked again: "Is there any malfeasance or illegal behavior in knowing guests?"

Fan Zhun took the opportunity to borrow a knife to kill someone who had a personal grudge against him: "Zuo Zhike Mei Kan seems to be involved in corruption."

"Since it's just corruption and no violation of the law, let him continue to do what he did," Zhu Ming said. "Transfer You Zhike to the Tongjuan Hall. There is Wang Jia who is good at doing things, so let him take over as You Zhike."

What the hell?

Fan Zhun was stunned.

He originally planned to take away his enemy, but Ju Ming took away his confidant.

This sweet date was followed by a stick, which made Fan Zhun a little confused. He was afraid that he would not be careful anymore, so he quickly said: "The prefect arranged it well, I admire it very much."

Ju Ming said again: "Since you said he was embezzling, it's time to investigate and take action."

Want to hit your enemy again?

Fan Zhun didn't feel happy at all. He only felt his scalp numb. He shrank his neck and said, "It's all up to the prefect."

In the Song Dynasty, corruption and perversion of the law were separate.

For example, taking advantage of one's position to collect gray income, or even embezzling taxes, can only be regarded as corruption, and fines and bans are enough. A crime is really committed when the law is violated, such as helping bad guys seize property, accepting bribes and judging cases indiscriminately, etc.

It can be seen that the Song Dynasty court deliberately did this and allowed officials to engage in gray income. Because the "Song Xingtong" basically followed the Tang Code, and the corruption and abuse of the law in the Tang Code were counted together, but the Song Dynasty deliberately separated them when formulating the law.

If it’s not indulgence, what is it?

The next day, Fan Zhun swaggered into the office and said to the handyman who followed him: "Move my belongings over here."

Zuodu Yamen asked Cunzhuang in surprise: "What are you doing?"

Fan Zhun said proudly, "Congratulations to the governor. The prefect wants to recommend you to be an official. You may get an official position one day. Please get out of the way. From now on, this is my seat."

The chief official of the state government is of course qualified to be an official. He only needs to be recommended by the state and approved by his superiors.

But Xiang Cunzhuang didn't think that was a good thing. He was not related to Zhizhou, and he never expressed his submission. How could he be recommended to be an official?

"Please, this table belongs to me." Fan Zhun held a stack of official documents and gently placed them on Xiang Cunzhuang's desk.

At this time, an official document was sent from the official case: Jinzhou Zuodu escorted the Yamen to Cunzhuang, and he was appointed as an official after the deadline, so he should take up his post. Nian worked in his office for many years and made great contributions. The magistrate recommended him to be an official. He immediately resigned and returned home to wait for the approval of his superiors.

Xiang Cunzhuang felt that the sky was falling. He considered himself to be highly qualified and had many confidants in the state government. He did not relent quickly and wanted to compete with Zhizhou.

Who would have thought that he would be dismissed from his post for no apparent reason? Who the hell can he reason with?

Xiang Cunzhuang could only direct his anger at Fan Zhun: "You are so ungrateful. If I hadn't promoted you, would you have been a first-class official in the state government? I regard you as my confidant, but you stabbed me in the back!"

Fan Zhun smiled and said: "Xiang Duyao...oh, it's Brother Xiang. Brother Xiang can't say that. I went to see the prefect last night, but I just wanted to put in a good word for Brother Xiang. I said that Brother Xiang worked hard and made great achievements. Zuo Duyao I have been working for seven years, two years overdue, so I should find an official position. The prefect agreed deeply and strongly recommended Xiang Xiang to be an official. Brother Xiang should go home and wait for the good job. It is not easy for an official to be an official. Maybe you have to Just wait three to five years.”

"I'll kill you, bastard!" Xiang Cunzhuang was so angry that he picked up the inkstone and threw it out.

The distance was too close, Fan Zhun couldn't avoid it, and his forehead was hit so hard that blood flowed.

"Blood……"

Fan Zhun touched it, then covered his forehead and roared: "Drag this guy out!"

But over there with the government officials, Zuo Zhike Mei Kan, the leader of the officials, was being escorted by the criminal case officer to make a plan. He was found guilty of embezzlement and was not only spanked but also fined fifty pounds.

After finishing the beating, Mei Kan limped and was helped over by his subordinates. He gritted his teeth and said: "My son Fan Zhun, I have recorded the accusation you made against me!"

Fan Zhun, who had just bandaged his forehead, could only smile bitterly after hearing this, and most of his excitement for promotion disappeared in an instant.

That prefect is really capable of tormenting his subordinates. Whatever he does from now on, his enemies will be watching.

Guo Wenzhong and Wang Jia came to work happily.

The former became the second-in-command of the state government officials, and the latter became the second-in-command of the state government officials. For them, this is a huge jump.

And with the eunuch guarding them, even their top leaders had to give them some face.

Secretary-General Wu Mao stood far away and watched the farce the whole time.

This coward secretly sighed and admired Zhizhou's methods. Suddenly I felt that there was nothing to fear. Even the subordinates in Zhizhou were managed docilely, so what difficulties would there be in dealing with traitors?

It has been more than a year since Tongpan Li Daochong took office, but he has not yet straightened out the subordinate staff in Tongpan Hall. Those subordinate officials were obedient on the surface, but they obeyed and disobeyed in various ways, and at the same time, they benefited from the government orders issued by Tongpan.

"I have to learn more." Wu Mao muttered.

At the same time, Wu Mao also thought clearly.

Ju Ming's father and son are in good health, and Ju Ming has extraordinary means. Given time, he will surely ascend to the throne to become the Prime Minister. As long as he follows Ju Ming, even if he is demoted for a while, he will be able to ascend to heaven in the future.

What's more, if you follow Ju Ming, you can be a good official without violating morality.

It was only at this moment that Wu Maofang made up his mind, and he took the initiative to report on the work: "Prefect, the official affairs and criminal cases have been completed, and the removal and punishment of subordinate officials have been completed. May I ask the prefect if you have any other instructions?"

Ju Ming said: "You divide these complaints into two parts, send one to the State Court and one to the Judicial Court, and order them to hear the case as soon as possible. All cases must be cross-examined, and after the trial is completed, they will be handed over to me for review. "

"Yes!" Wu Mao took the complaint and went to write an official document.

Because of the Zeng family's case, many officials from the Si Li Yuan and the State Yuan were dealt with. The vacant positions were filled by subordinate officials recommended by Qian Chen, Wang Jia, Guo Wenzhong and others, which was regarded as a major change of blood in Jinzhou's judicial system.

Having controlled the state government and the judiciary, Ju Ming had basically controlled the local area and completely suppressed many officials.

Li Daochong, the general judge, was extremely uncomfortable. Ju Ming simply ignored the anonymous letter he sent. Nowadays, no one dares to report someone with their real name, because false accusations are punishable by jail time. Reporting the real case is equivalent to handing Ju Ming a knife.

What made him even more uncomfortable was what happened later. Ju Ming struck while the iron was hot and summoned the gentry and merchants from inside and outside the city.

The first is to encourage reclamation, the second is to discuss water conservancy, and the third is to encourage commerce.

After talking for a long time, Ju Ming found that there were many problems that the gentry and businessmen did not dare to express openly, so he asked them to write down various suggestions anonymously.

There are two main types of suggestions from the public: one is complaining that taxes are too heavy, and the other is complaining that the new law harms the people.

The taxes were too heavy. Ju Ming needed to study how to deal with the court and maintain the government. There was no regulation on how much taxes should be reduced.

However, the new law harms the people and can be stopped immediately.

Jinzhou Changping Division, headed by Tongpan concurrently, is an institution directly under the Changping Division of Jingnan Road. In addition to gold and iron mines, the way they make money is by squeezing businessmen through market transactions.

The government selected some wealthy businessmen who were able to repay and forced the Changping Division to provide money and lend them out.

Wang Anshi's Market Change Law was originally intended to curb commercial mergers and monopolies, crack down on large businessmen, and support small and medium-sized businessmen.

Now it has long since changed. The Chang Ping Division forced usury loans to small and medium-sized businessmen, forcing countless businessmen to go bankrupt over the decades. The merchants of Jinzhou are also in a miserable situation. They have been loaned out at usury for decades, resulting in the wealth of the richest man in Jinzhou only being more than 10,000 yuan.

Every year's business profits are basically used to repay government debts, and sometimes they even have to repay the debt.

Zhu Ming called Wu Mao: "Draft an official document and send it to all the merchants in the county, telling them not to pay attention to Jinzhou Changping Division. Changping Division's approach is distorting King Shu (Wang Anshi)'s new law, and I want to rectify King Shu's name!"

Not allowing people to dig for gold during busy farming hours has cut off one of Li Daochong's ways of making money.

Now, he has to cut off his second source of wealth!