Yesterday's incident was naturally concluded amidst Huang Bodang's hoarse sophistry. Zhu Ling did not care about the fact that he killed Liu Zhan. Instead, when Liu Zhan's family asked the government office, he ordered his servants to say that he had an affair with someone else.
After a dispute, he was beaten to death by a group of people. Liu Zhan's family members who came to inquire had to leave in anger.
But then he asked Zu Xiangyang to arrest corrupt officials, and he fulfilled this promise very well. Just when Zhu Ling was taking a rest, he had already arrested more people than the number of Jinyi guards he brought. This not only made everyone in Cangzhou
The senior officials were horrified, and even Wang Jiayan and his party were dissatisfied with him.
When he eagerly wanted to report to His Majesty, Wang Jiayan took him aside. Especially when he saw the large number of people he had captured, he was even more anxious and said: "Judge Zu has really fulfilled his promise to Your Majesty.
Ah, you arrested all these people?"
"Replying to your lord, those people are all corrupt officials in Cangzhou. Your Majesty ordered me to arrest these people and hand them over to the villain, fifty guards. Therefore, the villain does not dare to deceive, and must do his best."
Hearing Master Shangshu ask him, Zu Xiangyang looked very excited, clasped his fists and said. In his eyes, His Majesty did not lead the emperor to kill him out of order, but instead relied heavily on him and trusted him. This great importance gave him a small mansion.
The magistrate was naturally grateful and wished he could die of exhaustion.
When he led the royal guards and broke into the houses of corrupt officials, the pride and anger that arose spontaneously spread all over his body. It was a feeling that he could not get at all before.
Hearing this, Wang Jiayan also chuckled. He naturally knew what his ancestor Xiangyang was thinking. He had been bullied by others for a long time, and his majesty personally redressed his injustice and even gave him some power. He must be very grateful to your majesty. But here
At such a juncture, he would naturally overlook one thing, which was His Majesty's real intention in asking him to do this.
Zu Xiangyang in front of him didn't understand at all. He wished he could arrest all the corrupt officials in the world to show his loyalty. But can they really catch all the corrupt officials? Even though Cangzhou is not a big city, corrupt officials account for 70% of them.
Is it really necessary to arrest all corrupt officials? Is this approach feasible?
"I want to ask you, what should you do after catching the corrupt officials?"
Hearing Wang Jiayan's words, Zu Xiangyang was startled for a moment. He hesitated for a moment and replied: "Of course it is a world of upright officials. Let our Ming Dynasty develop well and become a prosperous age."
"Then let me ask you, do you know if there were any corrupt officials in the prosperous Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty?"
"Of course there is." Zu Xiangyang still couldn't understand what Wang Jiayan meant, but he answered whatever he asked.
"The definition of a prosperous age is not that it is a prosperous age without corrupt officials, right?" Wang Jiayan said with a smile, his tone was very kind, and Zu Xiangyang was confused.
"Exactly."
"I ask you again, do you think it is possible to eliminate all corrupt officials in this world? Or, is there a period of time since ancient times when there were no corrupt officials?"
"The villain feels that it is difficult to eliminate corrupt officials." At this point, Zu Xiangyang also fell into deep thought. Mr. Wang has asked so many questions today, so naturally he has deep meaning.
"Since it is difficult to get rid of them all, we have to get rid of them. In the time of Taizu, the government was extremely strict and the killings were extremely vicious. But what is the result? There are still a large number of corrupt officials every year, and they emerge one after another. Even Taizu used the most cruel torture to kill people.
, it has also been difficult to curb the rampant corruption of corrupt officials, not only because of the lack of salary, but also because of human nature."
When Wang Jiayan said this, there was already a tired look in his eyes.
"Human nature is enough to make a good official become a corrupt official. But a corrupt official will never be a good official again. You have to remember that if you want to arrest all the corrupt officials in the world, you will not be able to catch them all. On the contrary, you will be arrested because of
People make it impossible for local governments to implement policies, which will inevitably lead to greater problems."
Hearing this, Zu Xiangyang knew that something was wrong with his approach, and he quickly bowed and asked, "Please show me a clear path."
Seeing that Zu Xiangyang had reflected, Wang Jiayan was also very satisfied, so he said to him: "Corrupt officials must be arrested, but not all. Let some people go, let go some who are not very corrupt, as long as they are ordered to hand over the stolen money.
However, the names of these people and how much they have been greedy must be recorded. You may not arrest them for the time being, but Your Majesty cannot know them."
"The villain has learned a lesson."
After the conversation between the two men ended, Jin Yiwei also recorded all the contents of the conversation and immediately handed it over to Wang Guoxing. After dinner, he would report it to His Majesty.
After a casual glance, Zhu Ling was no longer interested. Wang Jiayan knew the overall situation, and there were some things that he didn't need to say in detail. It didn't mean that he didn't trust Wang Jiayan. He just didn't like and wasn't used to what happened to others.
It feels like everyone is being kept in the dark. Therefore, no matter who it is, Jin Yiwei will investigate without a doubt.
What he is most concerned about now is how much money he can get in Cangzhou. Although Cangzhou is not big and its economy is average. But after all, it is next to a waterway, so he will not be short of money. When he saw the Cangzhou account book handed over by Wang Guoxing
, but was greatly disappointed. The annual expenses were only a mere 100,000 taels.
He instantly lost interest in being a dignified state, with so little money in his account. With eight thousand Guan Ning troops and a group of palace people, the daily expenses were astronomical. Zhu Ling did not want to accept the tribute food from the states and counties on the way.
, I felt that these were obtained by plundering the people's fat and the people's wealth, but when I knew that there was not much food left in the army, I could only turn a blind eye and accept it.
But later, he still punished those officials, big and small, who accepted food privately. Sometimes Zhu Lingpo even felt that he was a bit of a virgin. But having received education in the new era, he was very sympathetic to the ancient people, and conflicts were natural.
Money is more important than anything. Even when he took a nap, money was flying away in his dreams. That feeling really made him angry and anxious.
Wang Chengen, who was waiting on the side, saw his master suddenly waving to the sky in his sleep, and his breathing became more and more rapid. He hurriedly prepared a cup of tea, and sent someone to gently wave a fan beside him, trying to make Zhu Ling feel better while sleeping.
.
However, this also woke up Zhu Ling. He stood up and sat there, panting heavily and feeling quite irritable. Wang Chengen beside him quickly handed over some cool tea.
"Your Majesty, have a drink and take it easy. Maybe you just had a dream?"
He took the tea, took a sip and then handed it back. His eyes still stayed on a certain place and he said, "Yes, I dreamed that a lot of money flew away. I wanted to catch it but couldn't."
"Maybe this is a good sign."
"Why?" Zhu Ling raised his eyes, obviously looking forward to it.
"Since the money flew away from Your Majesty, it means there is money around you. But maybe the money flew away because something happened, which means we are not short of money or people who can use the money."
After listening to Wang Chengen's explanation, Zhu Ling also knew that it meant some flattery, so he just smiled and said nothing. After a while, he changed into casual clothes and took a shower. He called Wang Guoxing to his side and asked him about Huang Bodang and Huang Bodang.
That thing about Zu Xiangyang.
"As far as I know, Huang Bodang is recuperating at home, and the ancestor Xiangyang brought some small flags and arrested people today. Later, after Wang Shangshu's persuasion, some people were released. After that, he wrote a list and gave it to me."
With that said, Wang Guoxing handed over the list in his hand and faced Zhu Ling.
Zhu Ling signaled to take it, and Wang Chengen immediately took it and handed it to him. He scanned the content on it at will, including names, positions, places of origin, family members, etc. It was very detailed. At the same time, he also outlined those people who were released but were monitored; those who were
When he was sent to prison, there were records.
"It seems that Zu Xiangyang is very motivated. It's better to reward him with an official position. I also want to see what he can do." Zhu Ling chuckled and handed the list back.
After receiving the list, Wang Chengen also smiled and said: "This Zu Xiangyang feels a little eager for quick success. If Wang Shangshu hadn't persuaded him, I'm afraid he would have made a mistake."
"It is inevitable to make mistakes. It is not easy for a local judge to have such a heart."
At this time, a flagman from outside hurriedly came in, said something in Wang Guoxing's ear, and then immediately withdrew. There was also some subtle change in Wang Guoxing's expression, and he immediately stepped forward and reported: