Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

"My brother-in-law is not such a person, no, I have not committed any crime at all!" Zheng Zhen wanted to defend his brother-in-law for the first time, and then quickly reacted.

Magistrate Cheng had already made up his mind to side with the Zeng family, and reproached him righteously: "Official Yan, your land was personally surveyed by the surveyor just appointed by the capital. The evidence of concealing the land is conclusive. How can you say there is no such thing?" Where’s the sin?”

"So, your Ji'an government office is responsible for this measurement?" Yin Zhi turned his attention to Magistrate Cheng and asked very seriously.

Magistrate Cheng knew this and had no way to quibble, and he raised his head without intending to quibble: "Exactly!"

"Governor Cheng, all I have to do is report what happened here to the emperor, and the emperor will definitely chop off your head!" Yin Zhi snorted coldly, then pointed at Magistrate Cheng with two fingers and said loudly.

Huh?

As soon as these words came out, everyone present was stunned, but they didn't understand why Yin Zhi said such puzzling words, but Yin Zhi said something very similar.

Although Zheng Zheng knew that his brother-in-law wanted to save him, when he heard this argument, he turned to look at his brother-in-law in confusion.

"Zeng Shangshu, don't be alarmist here! The evidence for Zhen Zhen's hiding of his land has been conclusive. This time, he will be included in the list of unruly people. This is to punish the treacherous gentry for the court. Not only will he not be punished, but he may also be able to win the emperor's favor. Award!" Zeng Bufan found out that the other party had become old and confused, and immediately said disapprovingly.

Magistrate Cheng was shocked just now, but now he regained his composure and said: "Zeng Juren is right! This time I handled the matter in accordance with the law. What's wrong? If we really have to deal with it, it will be a reward from the emperor!"

"What a bunch of idiots! They are still daydreaming here when they are about to die!" Yin Zhi did not give any face, and directly pointed at the three people and commented.

you……

Zeng Juren's face turned red. He was already half-footed in the coffin, but no one had ever dared to describe himself as an idiot.

Although Gouzhi County wanted not to offend anyone, when he saw Yin Zhi's attitude, a flash of anger flashed in his eyes, and he stood more firmly on Zeng Juren's side.

Magistrate Cheng tried hard to swallow the bad breath, and said with a smile on his face: "I have heard that Yin Shangshu devoted himself to studying in the Hanlin Academy and has the talent to govern the country and stabilize the country. It is a pity that we are not able to realize our ambitions due to bad luck! What if we really have something? If you’ve done something wrong, please teach me!”

Although he spoke with great respect, his eyes clearly showed a kind of disdain.

No matter how famous Yin Zhi is, he is just a retired official who has never been reused, and he has become a traitor to the civil service group.

With his current status and shrewdness, if he reaches the other party's age, he may not be able to sit in the position of six ministers, and he may even become a wise minister in the history books.

"If these two sentences from you were not fair, I would really be too lazy to waste words!" Yin Zhi thought that he was indeed "unappreciated", so he raised a serious question: "In the first year of Hongzhi, the imperial court edited Diaomin is registered, but except for Huguang, how many people are registered in the country?"

Magistrate Cheng didn’t know what kind of medicine Yin Zhi was selling in his gourd, but hearing the other party’s tone seemed to have something hidden, he gently shook his head in cooperation: “Although there is no specific data, except for Huguang, there are indeed not many people on the list nationwide! "

As if he had seen through everything, Zeng Juren said with great disdain: "Yin Shangshu, the past was before, and the present is now. Now that the measurement of Huguang has ended, the next step is to clear the whole country, and the list of unruly people will naturally be available to the whole country!"

"The next step is to clear the country's abbot. There is nothing wrong with that, but what you are doing now is too hasty. If the court is really eager to clear the abbot, how can it spend several years waiting for Huguang to be cleared? What is ridiculous is that you are actually trying to use the government this time. Using a public weapon in name only for personal use is such a waste of life!" A flash of wisdom flashed through Yin Zhi's eyes, and he looked at the three of them with disdain.

Magistrate Cheng felt panicked for no reason, but Zeng Juren said unmoved: "We have seriously concealed the land. Now it has been verified that we have been listed as a traitor to the people. What's wrong with this?"

"There are two mistakes! One is the misunderstanding of the Diaomin Register. The original intention of the Diaomin Register is to intimidate. The emperor's request for Huguang is that the lighter punishment can be a rice fine, rather than becoming a weapon for local officials to attack dissidents. What you are doing is A living negative teaching material; secondly, you do not distinguish between old and new. The place where Zheng Zhen is hiding is the land just purchased at the end of last year. It was measured and deeded by the county government office. The primary person responsible is actually the county government!" Yin Zhi raised two sticks. fingers, but looked towards Gouzhi County Road with a smile.

Gouzhixian pointed to the bridge of his nose and said incredulously: "This county?"

"When this dynasty launched the list of unruly people, an official document was issued: All land transactions will be re-measured by the county government. Magistrates in various places must not be scornful, otherwise they will be severely punished!" The corners of Yin Zhi's mouth rose slightly, and then he looked at Gou Magistrate County. It's a real hit.

His serious eyes looked very blank, but he suddenly felt that his brother-in-law was indeed very powerful, and it seemed that he could really exonerate himself, and even shoot the three clowns in front of him to death.

Zeng Juren frowned, turned to look at Gouzhi County and asked, "Is this the case?"

"Zeng Juren, this county only came to Taihe last year to serve as the county magistrate. Before that, he served as the county magistrate in Shicheng County!" Gou Zhixian showed an expression that was uglier than crying, but he said leisurely.

Seeing that Zeng Juren could not get the answer from Gouzhi County, he turned around and looked at Magistrate Cheng who was standing aside.

"I used to serve as Jiangxi Provincial Commissioner. I was mainly responsible for criminal investigation matters and had nothing to do with civil affairs!" Magistrate Cheng knew what Zeng Juren meant, but he shook his head gently.

In today's Ming Dynasty officialdom, everyone pays more attention to their own jobs, and the most important job is actually to maintain a network of relationships.

As for the government orders devolved by the imperial court, especially those that have nothing to do with themselves, they will not pay attention at all, and even if they have heard of them, they will quickly forget them.

This moment also completely exposed the nature of the opportunistic politicians in Cheng Zhifu and Gou Zhi County. There was no retired official who was more qualified.

Zeng Bufan did not get an answer from Cheng Zhifu and Gou Zhixian, but he said disdainfully: "Neither Cheng Zhifu nor Gou Zhixian heard about it. You are a retired person at home, how do you know the latest government decree? You don't want to blackmail people here anymore. , clearly just want to exonerate his wife and brother, so he made up the clauses randomly!"

"I can testify to this matter!" At this moment, a voice suddenly sounded outside.

Everyone turned to look over, and the person who came turned out to be Qin Minyue, the envoy of Jiangxi Zuobu.

Qin Minyue was originally the right-hand chief envoy, but he was instrumental in reporting the case of Li Ang, the former governor of Jiangxi, withholding the pay of the new army soldiers in southern Jiangxi. Therefore, he became the left-hand chief envoy of Jiangxi.

this……

Zeng Bufan had met Qin Minyue several times, and he suddenly felt like he had been slapped in the face. It turned out that what Yin Zhi just said was true.

ah?

When Magistrate Cheng saw Qin Minyue appearing here, especially when he recently heard that Tai Minyue would soon be promoted, he was slightly surprised at first, and then hurriedly came forward to greet him: "I'm here to pay my respects to Mr. Nitai!"

Although the Ming Dynasty did not stipulate that lower-level officials should kneel to greet their superiors, due to the increasing involution of the Ming Dynasty's official circles, it is now acquiesced that officials who are three levels behind should kneel to greet their superiors.

At the local level, many county officials will also kneel down to the seventh-grade patrol officers of the same rank. As a result, the moral integrity of local officials has become lower and lower, and there is even no bottom line.

When Gouzhi County saw Qin Minyue, he plopped down on the ground, looking like a pug.

"Although Yin Shangshu is far away from the court, he still cares about the government's decrees and cares about the people of the world. I admire him very much!" Qin Minzheng saluted solemnly, looking like he was impressed by Yin Zhi.

Yin Zhi had nothing to do with Qin Minzheng, so he wasn't sure whether Qin Minzheng was trying to please him or just acting on every occasion, so he just returned the gift with a smile.

Although he has retired and returned to his hometown, and there is no hope of coming back, he has indeed been paying attention to the Ming Dynasty and is shocked by the current prosperity of the Ming Dynasty.

Yin Zhi knew that he was encountering three stupid people, so he looked at them sharply and said: "The Governor of Huguang was ordered to clear up Huguang, but you can see that he only married one family? Not to mention that the county was at fault this time. Yamen, you and three other people have specially selected and measured the land that was just purchased under the name of Yan Yan, and used this as a basis to label the Yan family as unruly people and fill it in the unruly people's register. I will write to the court today to explain the whole matter and impeach you three. I believe that the imperial court will never allow the law to become a tool for revenge against the three of you, and you will definitely pay for your evil deeds today!"

Magistrate Cheng and Magistrate Gou suddenly panicked and realized that they had indeed made a big mistake. If Yin Zhi brought the matter to light, the three of them might become negative examples for the imperial court's implementation of unruly people's registration.

Zeng Juren also realized that the incident was out of control, but he suddenly grasped at straws and said: "Yin Zhi, you can't forget that you are retired now and no longer the Minister of War, but I have someone in the capital! "

Magistrate Cheng and Magistrate Gou secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The struggle in officialdom was actually a matter of personal connections, and no one had the upper hand. Now, no matter how eloquent Yin Zhi is and how rigorous his logic is, he is still just a retired official who is not favored by the civil service group.

cough……

It was at this moment that a cough suddenly sounded.

Qin Minyue had already walked to the court, looked down at the three people below, then took out a copy of the imperial decree and solemnly said: "The imperial decree has arrived!"

ah? Imperial decree?

When they heard that the imperial edict was coming, everyone knew why Qin Minyue came, and Gouzhi County was so frightened that he immediately ordered people to prepare incense tables to welcome the imperial edict.

The entire county government officials had already been alerted, and now that they heard the emperor promulgated the imperial edict, they were also in a hurry to arrange everything.

When Magistrate Cheng saw the imperial edict in Qin Minzheng's hand, he seemed to have thought of something and looked at Yin Zhi in horror.

Yin Zhi frowned slightly and looked up at Qin Minyue in confusion.

Even he himself did not dare to guess the imperial edict on himself, after all, the idea was too incredible. Not to mention that he has no interaction with the current emperor, and the current emperor has a lot of imperial disciples, so no matter what, it will never be his turn.

No...impossible!

A terrible thought also arose in Zeng Juren's mind, but when he thought that the consequences would be unbearable for his family, he shook his head violently and dismissed this ridiculous thought.

After Qin Minyue glanced at the people present, his eyes finally fell on Yin Zhi, and he looked very gentle and said: "Yin Shangshu, please come forward to receive the order!"

ah? Is this really Yin Zhi’s imperial edict?

When Magistrate Cheng learned that the imperial edict was really for Yin Zhi, a chill surged up from the bottom of his feet.

Not to mention the possibility of Yin Zhi's comeback, even if it is just an imperial edict of condolences, he is still a minister in the emperor's heart. Once Yin Zhi reveals things here to the higher authorities, even if there are people in the Zeng family in the court, they will already be in trouble.

It's just that he didn't understand. Didn't Yin Zhi and the emperor not have much interaction?

"Yin Shangshu, this villain is short-sighted, please have mercy on me!" Gou Zhixian was already panicking at this moment, but he knelt down and directly begged for mercy regardless of his face.

Yin Zhi did not rescue the dog official. He calmed down his emotions first, and then stepped forward to prepare for the imperial edict.

Although it has always been said that thunder, rain and dew are all gifts from the king, everyone hopes to welcome the rain and dew, eager to get the favor of the man in the Forbidden City.

Yin Zhi was extremely nervous at this moment, and he was also extremely eager to put into practice what he had learned throughout his life: "Your Majesty, Yin Zhi, respectfully greets you!"

"Holy Holy Gong!" Qin Minyue unfolded the imperial edict and recited it aloud in a serious voice: "The emperor is destined to be transported by heaven, and Zhi said: When husbands, monarchs and ministers meet, they have been in trouble since ancient times. Throwing a stone into water will only happen once a thousand years. Throwing a stone from water will have no impact. Time does not exist. He can open up the way of justice and apply it to the world. He devotes his heart and soul internally and his thighs and limbs externally... He wrote the edict of Xi to be promoted to the Grand Scholar of Wuying Palace."

Because the grievance drum had just been solemnly played, and Qin Minyue's honor guard was quite large, many people flocked to the county government office, and now many people had climbed up the wall to listen.

Although the formal vocabulary was difficult to understand, the final official position was understandable. The emperor was going to summon Yin Zhi, who had retired from old age and returned to his hometown, into the cabinet.

From a retired official to a cabinet minister, this step is really too big, and another prime minister was born in Taihe County.

There is still rain and dew here, but it is clear that the sky is full of wealth and wealth. Yin Zhi thanked him with tears in his eyes: "Your Majesty, Yin Zhi, takes this order to express my gratitude!"

It’s over!

When Magistrate Cheng learned that Yin Zhi had returned to the cabinet, he immediately fell to the ground.

If there was any luck just now, then Yin Zhi would turn into a dragon in one fell swoop and become a high-ranking Prime Minister, how could he still enjoy his good fruits?

Not to mention whether he can survive this disaster this time, even if he does cross this hurdle, his career will already look bleak.

"How...how did you come back? And you also joined the cabinet to pay homage to the prime minister?"

Zeng Juren always thought that he could fight with the opponent based on his family's strength, but it was not until this moment that he realized that he had provoked a fierce dragon, muttering to himself in disbelief.

Qin Minyue restrained himself just now because of the imperial edict. At this moment, he delivered the imperial edict with great respect: "Mr. Yin Ge, please keep your imperial edict!"

Yin directly passed the heavy imperial edict, and suddenly felt dizzy and dreamy.

Although he didn't understand why the emperor suddenly called him into the cabinet, he knew that Qin Minyue in front of him would not know the answer, so he silently looked at the imperial edict giving him a second spring.

Destiny is indeed a wonderful thing!

Originally, I thought that the new emperor would be controlled by Xu Pu and his gang before he chose to leave. As a result, Xu Pu and his gang were liquidated by the new emperor, and he, an unknown person, suddenly gained the emperor's important position.

"Brother-in-law, you have really been summoned back to the capital by the emperor. I...I am not dreaming! Oops..." Yan Yan pinched his fat face in disbelief, and finally realized that everything in front of him was not a dream.

Yin Zhi also slowly came back to his senses, looked at Qin Minyue who was showing his favor to him, smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Qin, for coming here this time!"

"Mr. Yin Ge, this is all a matter for lower officials!" Qin Minyue was naturally full of flattery, and then solemnly reported: "I would like to report to Mr. Yin Ge, the chief envoy received the official documents from the court and said that there are many things in the court today. I ask Mr. Ge to come to Beijing immediately after receiving the order!"

"Today, I have great ambitions and want to benefit all the people, so I can't wait any longer! After I became my mother, I will immediately set off for Beijing without any delay!" Yin Zhi said solemnly when he learned that there was still this official document.

After decades of sharpening his sword, he stayed silently in his hometown for more than three years. Now he also wants to return to the capital, and he wants to properly assist the rare wise king in governing this empire and making it extremely rich and powerful.

"Your Majesty, I would like to send you off to Mr. Ge!" Qin Minyue said respectfully when she saw Yin Zhi was about to leave.

"The common people pay their respects to Mr. Yin Ge. I hope Mr. Yin Ge has a safe journey!" The people surrounding the outside also knew everything and immediately knelt down and worshiped Yin Zhi who came out.

Yin Zhi looked at the people kneeling in front of the yamen and responded seriously: "I have been summoned by the emperor, and I will come back today. I have been at home for more than three years, and I know the suffering of the people. I dare not forget my hometown and elders when I return to the court. People come first!”

The next day, Yin Zhi said goodbye to his mother and did not pass through Taihe County. Instead, he headed north along the post road. He also decided to join the wave of Chinese development initiated by Emperor Hongzhi.