The spring breeze is blowing, and the mood of spring is full.
After personally hosting the mud cow hunting activity, Zheng Sen was so tired that he didn't want to move. He just lay down on the bed and didn't want to get up.
At this time, a follower on the side suddenly came over: "Sir, there is someone coming from Mr. Fu..."
"See you, see you!"
Zheng Sen shook his head directly and said firmly: "That is to say, this is the responsibility of the general judge. As a county magistrate, I can only review and have no right to interfere."
"Young Master, you are the Lord of the Mansion after all..."
"What about Fu Jun?" Zheng Sen stood up, showing a row of white teeth, and said coldly:
"Calling Yi Yifu Lord respectfully is giving him face. If he still doesn't know what is right and tries to interfere in our county's lawsuit, I will directly beat him up and impeach him——"
This time, it was just a personal follower, but his face was worried, and he could only choose to obey his master's arrogant behavior.
Zheng Sen watched him leave and breathed a sigh of relief.
After the two-year term of observing government, in the summer of Shaowu's third year, he was awarded the post of county magistrate by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and more importantly, he was still in Beizhili.
This kind of ability to fill in any gaps is a privilege that only they, who are Jinshi of the Hanlin Academy, have, and are commonly known as the Tiger Class.
And it almost jumped every two or three years. Even if the emperor deliberately suppressed him, he would be able to directly enter the central government in less than twenty years, and the six ministers and ministers would surely be able to make up for it.
"What's this called?"
Sighing, Zheng Sen shook his head.
He had already expected that being a people-friendly official would be difficult, but who knew it would be so difficult.
He needed to complete the political reforms of the imperial court and the requirements of the provincial government. He also had to control the people, especially the gentry. The officials regarded it as a test for him.
It's simple to say and impartial, but extremely difficult to do.
As early as in Huguang, the current emperor, the former King of Yu, reformed the official system in the shogunate and added the post of general judge.
That is, from the seventh rank, they are responsible for local judicial trials, and all large and small cases and litigations are handled by the general judge.
As the county magistrate, he only has the final authority to review and cannot specifically interfere with its affairs. After all, his superior is the provincial inspector, who is at the same level as the chief envoy.
However, due to the national conditions, if the county magistrate wants to interfere in the case, he will naturally have various methods, such as calling the case back for retrial, or instructing the Yamen not to cooperate, blocking the budget, etc., which is enough to make it difficult for the general judge to pass the case.
"A mere brother-in-law dares to interfere in the county's lawsuit. If this spreads out, will I, the county magistrate, still do it?"
Zheng Sen can see things clearly.
It concerns the prince's relatives, and he is happy to watch the excitement outside the door, but once he gets involved, it will make the mud fall off his crotch and he will not be able to escape.
Moreover, it was also a huge blow to his dignity as the county magistrate.
"Tell Li Tongpan that everything must be dealt with impartially. This county will never let a bad person go. We will sentence him as he should -"
Zheng Sen said righteously.
He has people above him and has a bright future, so he will naturally not be afraid of the power of the prefect.
"Yes!" The attendant could only agree.
When he came to the study, he saw a letter sent from Jinghai County, Hejian:
Brother Omu kisses...
"Huang Taichong actually thought of writing to me. It's rare——"
When Zheng Sen saw that it was Huang Zongxi's letter, he immediately chuckled a few times and opened it to read.
The content was quite routine. After a few greetings, I started to complain.
The first was the re-editing of the Yellow Book. There were not enough government officials in Jinghai County. It took half a year to sort out 30% of the entire county, but it was already stuck and it was difficult to make progress.
More importantly, with the launch of the New Deal, various measures such as general adjudication, commercial taxation, etc. had many conflicts with the local gentry, making it difficult for the county government to implement them.
Finally, there was an exclamation: "It is difficult to be an official who is close to the people, and it is also difficult to be an unfaithful official..."
Commercial taxes involved the vital interests of the local gentry, and the establishment of general judgments gradually infringed on the conservative local judicial power system.
To put it bluntly, village rules and township covenants are the ropes that bind farmers, and lynchings are common.
Even the death penalty, in the eyes of those conservative villagers, is what they deserve, and the county government must not interfere or allow it to interfere.
This makes it difficult for the power of the county government to reach the villages and towns.
Zheng Sen has been working hard on this.
Appoint and remove a large number of district chiefs and guardians, promote enlightenment, and emphasize the importance of local private school teachers.
The effect is good, but if you want to use it like an arm in the county, it is extremely difficult.
His greatest contribution was to allow Tongpan to have specific judicial power over the entire county, thus establishing the prestige of the yamen.
"Your Majesty, the government requires us to send candidates who are rushing to take the exam to Baoding for collection..."
"Has spring arrived?" Zheng Sen was stunned, then smiled and said: "Okay, okay, I understand."
For these candidates rushing to take the exam, the county government not only sent special personnel to escort them, but also paid for their travel expenses. It can be said that they were extremely attentive.
Because those who hold positions of authority have great power in the local area, and in a sense, their right to speak is no less than that of the county magistrate.
Whether it is Liting or Sanlao in the Qin and Han Dynasties or Lijia today, they are all local natives.
It's just that he was a powerful man in the past, but now he is a gentry.
Many people boasted that Qin and Han had strong local control and could directly control the people.
But in fact, the medicine is not changed. If the grassroots organization is really so strong, how could there be land annexation? How did the powerful family become so powerful?
The Lijia system is no different from the Liting Sanlao in the Qin and Han Dynasties. No matter how good the system is, the people who serve are local gentry.
For example, Xiang Yu was a wanted criminal and had been on the run for ten years in Jiangdong. Qin Ting could not catch him at all, so how could he have strong control?
In a sense, the control of local areas in the Ming and Qing Dynasties went to a higher level. The ability to destroy families and prefects, and wipe out families and prefects is not just talk.
"Your Excellency, the case has been heard and here is the file."
The general judge was very sensible and personally sent this case about the prefect's brother-in-law.
Li Cheng was born as a scholar. He obtained the official position in the provincial examination last year and served as the general magistrate of the county.
From being dull and ignorant at the beginning, to being able to master it now in just half a year shows that officialdom has a strong influence on shaping people.
Zheng Sen smiled and said: "Why bother Tongpan to deliver it in person..."
The case was not complicated. The brother of the concubine of the prefect was jealous and injured a businessman. He also refused to give up and directly plundered his family property.
The nature of this situation is so bad that an exile cannot be avoided, which is why the prefect came to plead for mercy.
"good!"
Zheng Sen browsed through it and praised: "For this kind of person, thirty years old is still light. He is just exiled to Guizhou. I'm afraid it won't work. There will be a war there, and no one will care about him then."
"Let him be sentenced to go to Qiongzhou, where he can live peacefully and stay with the Yao people -"
Hearing this suggestion, Li Cheng smiled: "The county magistrate is very considerate."
"Don't worry, this county is responsible for its own affairs, how can we allow the superiors to interfere?" Zheng Sen was very satisfied with his cooperation and said solemnly.