In late June of the 20th year of Jiajing, a major case broke out in Long'an Mansion of Sichuan Province. Dong Zhikun, the superintendent of the Wuji Academy, was taken into custody by the Xizhenwu Palace. Also detained were several of Dong Zhikun's relatives, businessmen with close ties, and the accountant of the Wuji Academy.
There are a total of thirteen people including the party leader.
After nearly a month of interrogation at Xizhenwu Palace, it was finally confirmed that Dong Zhikun's case involved embezzlement of hospital property, shortfall in profits, forced buying and selling, and accepting heavy bribes, causing losses to Wuji Hospital of nearly 30,000 taels of silver, including
, Dong Zhikun himself made a profit of more than 16,700 taels.
On July 3, Dong Zhikun hanged himself in the custody room of the Fangtang Hall of Xizhenwu Palace. The case was transferred to Long'an Mansion for further trial and closure. The persons involved were sentenced to beheading and exiled for three thousand miles. All the property of the relevant persons was confiscated, half of which was stolen.
Jiaoxi Zhenwu Palace half fills the deficit of Wujiyuan.
Jiang Zhiheng was executed, but his family was taken to Junshan by Zhao Ran and resettled to avoid displacement. This was the condition for Jiang Zhiheng's promise to appear in court to prove his case. Zhao Ran kept his promise and took care of the thirteen members of the Jiang family.
As for Dong Zhikun's collusion with thieves and bandits to cause harm to Junshan, he was interrogated in detail at the West Zhenwu Palace. It was found that there was no solid evidence and he was deemed a false accusation. According to the Ming Dynasty law, the staff was eighty-year-old and he was banished to the army for three years.
Afterwards, Guan Er found Jin Jiu. He had many puzzles and needed answers from Jin Jiu, a descendant of the Xingming family.
"Master, the trial of this case is really strange. I can't understand it no matter how hard I think about it."
Jin Jiu smiled and asked, "What don't you understand?"
"It was clearly Dong Zhikun who colluded with the Three Chou of Qionglai to harm the people of Junshan. Why was he convicted of corruption?"
"Except for Feng Tang, is there any other personal or physical evidence of Dong Zhikun's collusion with the Qionglai San Chou?"
"This... has never happened before... but we all know that this matter is true. If we interrogate it properly, Dong Zhikun will definitely make him spit!"
"Brother Guan, this matter is not true. You must remember that this is a false accusation. No matter whether it is Xizhenwu Palace or Long'an Mansion, the result of the trial is a false accusation!"
"How could it be a false accusation?" Guan Er was anxious and said: "Jiang Zhiheng already said that he spent two thousand silver to ask Qionglai San Chou to take action..."
"There is no evidence! And Jiang Zhiheng has never said this. Brother Guan, you must remember that Jiang Zhiheng has never said this!"
"This..." Guan Er looked at Jin Jiu who spoke firmly in confusion, and asked: "Then how did the three ugly men of Qionglai die? Isn't this murder and silence?"
Jin Jiu smiled: "The three ugly men of Qionglai have done many evil things. Enemies come to seek revenge. This is normal and has nothing to do with this case!"
Guan Er was not angry and said: "Because of the three ugly men of Qionglai, several of our Junshan people died. Shouldn't we avenge this?"
Jin Jiu asked: "Brother Guan, how do you want to take revenge?"
Guan Er said categorically: "Dong Zhikun must be killed, and Jiang Zhiheng will follow soon!"
Jin Jiudao: "Dong Zhikun and Jiang Zhiheng have been executed, and their revenge has been avenged."
"Dong Zhikun hanged himself...and how could a person like him hang himself?"
"Hanging yourself is also a way to die!"
"Anyway...I don't know why..."
"This case is very clear, very clear. Feng Tang was a false accusation. Dong Zhikun and others did not collude with the Qionglai Three Chou. Their case was about corruption. It is as simple as that."
Jin Jiu answered Guan Er's question, but he also had questions of his own: Since he only wanted to punish Dong Zhikun and others for corruption cases, why did he let Feng Tang go to Xizhenwu Palace to make an appearance?
Zhao Ran valued his family as the actual executor of the sermon at Junshan Temple. After thinking about it, he decided to tell him part of the truth.
"It is true that the three ugly men in Qionglai were not killed by Dong Zhikun and Jiang Zhiheng. Don't ask any more about the details behind them. To be honest, I haven't fully understood it. The corruption case was Dong Zhikun's crime, but if it didn't arise from the Feng Tang incident, Dong Zhikun's corruption case
I don’t know if the accusation of cheating can be denied.”
"I understand. Miao Zhu, is this just a warning?"
"Yes, it's just a corruption case. If some people want to protect Dong Zhikun, there are many tricks they can do here. If we want to convict Dong Zhikun, we must throw out the three ugly things in Qionglai and hand over Feng Tang.
, this is an exchange. So Dong Zhikun died sooner than we thought."
Jin Jiu asked: "Can Feng Tang... still live?"
Zhao Ran knew the answer in his heart, but couldn't explain it clearly. He just shook his head: "I don't know either. It depends on the meaning above. It also depends on his destiny..."
Jin Jiu sighed: "It's a pity that such a big case..."
Zhao Ran said: "There is no pity. The process of struggle is often accompanied by compromise. As long as the result meets our expectations, that is enough."
With the explosion of Dong Zhikun's case, the current position vacancies in Wuji Court are serious. Xizhenwu Palace issued a special message requesting Wuji Court to fill up the Taoist positions as soon as possible, and the candidates should be selected from within this court.
After receiving the official document, Wujiyuan immediately convened the three capitals to discuss the nominations for several important Taoist positions. For this purpose, Zhao Ran made a special trip back to Wuji Mountain.
The participants in the three capital discussions include Xiang Weiyuan and Sandu, as well as the inspector, Gao Gong and Zhi Ke. The former has the power to make decisions, while the latter three deacons can only observe and accept inquiries.
When Liu Zhiguang rushed to the Sanqing Hall, the three people were already there. Zhu Doujiao was the oldest and sat in the middle. Zhao Ran and Yuan Duchu were sitting on the left and right, and Chen Zhizhong, a famous guest, stood next to him.
Because Zhao Ran holds the dual positions of Du Guan and Zhi Ke, there are only these five people in the three capital meetings today.
Zhao Ran coughed lightly and said: "Everyone is here, let's start the discussion. As you all know, Xizhenwu Palace has issued a document. We need to nominate several positions currently vacant in Wuji Academy and report to Xizhenwu.
Palace. First of all, the prison. Do you have any suggestions?"
Liu Zhiguang was the first to say: "I think the position of supervisor is none other than Zhao Duguan. Over the years, Zhao Duguan has been a layman of Huo Gong in our Wuji Yuan. He has served as Jingzhu, Fangzhu, and Temple Celebrant.
At present, with the respect of Du Guan and being a knowledgeable guest, both his experience and talents are obvious to all. If Zhao Du Guan is the supervisor of the hospital, everyone in the Wuji courtyard will be convinced."
Chen Zhizhong also said hurriedly: "Guan Zhao has always maintained his prestige and has kept Junshan Temple in good order. After taking over the supervision of the hospital in the future, my colleagues in Wuji Academy will surely usher in greater prosperity under the leadership of Du Guan Zhao."
Zhao Ran smiled and said: "I appreciate your kindness, but I am indeed not a suitable candidate for the prison."
Both Liu Zhiguang and Chen Zhizhong were shocked and said: "Where did Du Guan Zhao come from? If Du Guan Zhao is not qualified to hold the post of Supervisor, who can take it?"
Zhao Ran waved his hand: "Everyone, listen to me. In addition to being the governor of Wujiyuan, I also have an identity. I am a Taoist walker of Huayun Pavilion. To be a Taoist walker, you have to go out frequently to slay demons and subjugate demons.
Deter lawlessness. There are many trivial matters in the Prison and the heavy workload will greatly distract my energy, and I don’t have that much time to deal with it. Therefore, it is not suitable for me to serve as the Prison. I am not deliberately avoiding suspicion, but this is the truth.
"
"This..." Liu Zhiguang and Chen Zhizhong looked at each other, not knowing what to say.
Only to hear Zhao Ran continue: "My opinion is submitted to the three capitals for discussion and to nominate Senior Brother Liu Zhiguang as the public candidate for the Supervisory Academy. What do you think?"
Liu Zhiguang couldn't believe his ears, a burst of ecstasy surged in his heart, and he was stunned.