Chapter 890: Check the evidence and seize the opportunity
Chapter 890: Verify the evidence and seize the opportunity
"Sir, this is the confession recorded by everyone! The matter is basically the same as what was said before! A total of 2,426 people were killed! This incident started with several government officials beating villagers to death.
!Then, after several villagers who were the instigators were arrested, they threatened to sue.
Furthermore, I threatened the magistrate to wait until your arrival and then file a complaint against the imperial envoy!"
For such a major event as the imperial envoy's inspection, the prefectures and counties where he inspected need to post notices in advance to inform the people! Therefore, at least some literate people know the news that the imperial envoy is coming.
And this incident really hit the magistrate's pain point.
Therefore, under the instruction of the magistrate, the small official in charge of the prison asked the jailer to severely punish these villagers who were arrested! As a result, several people died! When the incident spread, the county government ignored human lives, and the disasters
As a result, everyone could not get enough to eat, so the government forced the people to rebel, leading to the current situation.
"Uncle, these are part of the county's account books! During the two years that the magistrate was in Lianshui County, he embezzled as much as 280,000 taels of silver! However, a few days ago, one hundred thousand taels of silver were taken out and sent to the magistrate's office.
, the name says it is used for disaster relief..."
Shen Tang nodded, this matter has basically been clarified so far! And the most important thing is to smoothly settle down all the people who were forced to rebel, and most of the affairs of Xingyuan Mansion are over.
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"Can you find out what happened to the common people, does it have anything to do with the magistrate of Xingyuan Prefecture?"
Pi Sheng shook his head slightly, "Judging from the current confession, this incident was completely caused by an accident! At least at the beginning, it had no direct relationship with the prefect.
However, when things happened, especially the first civil uprising, the power of the county was not enough to suppress the people. Therefore, Lianshui County asked Xingyuan Prefecture to send troops to quell the rebellion. This dispatch of troops must be approved by the prefect.
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Therefore, the main responsibility in the early stage basically lies with the magistrate. Not only did the magistrate not punish the magistrate immediately, but he helped the tyrants commit crimes and caused the death of thousands of people. At the same time, he helped the magistrate conceal these crimes. Therefore, he also
It cannot be separated..."
Shen Tang closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "Pi Sheng, I want you to go to Lin'an in person! Immediately report this matter to the Holy One in person! Make a copy of all the evidence here and send the originals back.
You go prepare immediately, bring a few more brothers, change horses along the way, take my imperial envoy token, and go directly to the palace to meet the Holy Spirit!"
"The general will obey your orders!"
Pi Sheng responded loudly! He was extremely grateful for Shen Tang's attention to him. This was a face-to-face saint. With his status, he usually did not have such qualifications.
"The general is scheduled to bring the news to Lin'an within five days!"
Pi Sheng gritted his teeth and said.
It is more than three thousand miles from Xingyuan Mansion to Lin'an. Normally, it would probably take a month.
However, it can be faster if you rush it!
In ancient times, the transmission of messages mainly relied on inns. Generally speaking, there would be an inn twenty or thirty miles away! These inns allowed people to rest and the people delivering important messages to change horses, etc.
In addition to ordinary messages, urgent messages will be marked with "immediate delivery" on the official letter! Then, according to the urgency of the matter, choose the delivery speed.
Some travel three hundred miles, four hundred miles, and six hundred miles a day, and the fastest can reach about eight hundred miles. This is the so-called eight hundred mile express! Although the horses in these stations are not thousand-mile horses.
, However, at this time, the knight did not care about the life or death of the horse, and rushed on as hard as he could. In addition, horses were frequently changed, so the speed was not slow.
I think back then, during the Anshi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty, An Lushan raised troops in Fanyang. Tang Xuanzong, who was three thousand miles away, knew the news within six days, and the speed of the news reached five to six hundred people a day. inside.
It is enough to see that the speed of ancient message transmission was not slow as long as it was needed.
Pi Sheng went to prepare, while Shen Tang sat down and began to write a memorial to Zhao Shen!
The reason why Shen Tang asked Pi Sheng to rush back to Lin'an was to seize the opportunity! Once the situation here is reported, Zhao Shen will naturally be furious. At that time, whether it is the death of the magistrate or what he will do next, he can Reasoning can also eliminate some hidden dangers first.
Not long after, Pi Sheng was ready to return, and Shen Tang's memorial had been written! Then, Pi Sheng took twenty guards with him, and one man and three horses quickly disappeared into the dark night.
Early the next morning, Shen Tang walked out of the county government office!
"Chang Shun, bring a team of people and follow me to check the disaster situation in Lianshui County! Let others guard the county government!"
The man behind Shen Tang, named Chang Shun, was Pi Sheng's deputy. When Pi Sheng went to Lin'an, Chang Shun became the leader of these guards and stayed with Shen Tang.
"As you command!"
Chang Shun went to arrange manpower, and Fan Anhe, who learned the news, also hurried to the Yamen gate.
The county government offices were all occupied by Shen Tang's manpower, so Fan Anhe could only find a courtyard next to the county government offices to stay temporarily!
"Sir, do you want to inspect the disaster situation?"
Fan Anhe asked carefully.
Seeing Shen Tang nodding, he hurriedly said, "Then I will go with you, sir!"
When Chang Shun arranged the people, Fan Anhe and his two followers could only grit their teeth and get on the horse! Shen Tang, the imperial envoy, rode a horse, so how could he, the prefect, ride in a sedan?
After finding a reasonably well-behaved clerk from the county government to lead the way, Shen Tang and his party left the county seat and walked towards the nearby villages and rivers.
To the east of Lianshui County, the Lianshui River flows through.
This river is not that big, but because of this, the previous work of water control and dam construction in Lianshui County was basically ignored.
Although a sum of money is spent on building dams every year, all the money is spent, but these dams have never been repaired!
In the eyes of these local officials, nothing happened for many years anyway, so why spend all this money?
Coupled with the suddenness of the flood, the local area did not immediately start to provide relief to the people and repair the embankments after the flood occurred. This caused the entire Lianshui County to be severely affected by the disaster.
Many villages live along the water, and they are the first to bear the brunt of this flood! The dams and river banks are directly washed away, and the villages on both sides of the river directly become a vast ocean!
Although Lianshui County had started emergency disaster relief according to Fan Anhe's order before Shen Tang arrived, what could be done in just two or three days?
Therefore, when Shen Tang and his party came to the edge of the river, they saw that it was still a mess!
Now that the water has passed, only a small river is left flowing slowly! The banks on both sides of the entire river have been washed away, and there are ruins on both sides of the river soaked in the mud!