"I issued a secret order and someone reported that you accepted bribes, indulged in illegal activities, and enriched your own pockets. Is this true?"
Zhou Zhen was very drunk at first, but now he was completely frightened out of his wits by these words. He immediately fell to the ground, sweating like rain.
He is also from Guanzhong and knows the laws of Qin. Qin is famous for its harsh punishments, not only for the people, but also for officials. A large number of laws are formulated for officials who commit crimes. If officials commit crimes, the punishment will be increased, and there is no room for forgiveness.
.
Therefore, when Xunzi entered the Qin Dynasty decades ago, he found that the officials of the Qin State governed the Qin Dynasty in a clear and transparent manner. The officials were all respectful and thrifty, they did not dare to take bribes, nor did they dare to neglect their duties, and they were extremely efficient in doing things.
In the law governing officials, corruption and bribery are particularly abhorred. Anyone who gives or takes a bribe of one copper coin will be tattooed, sentenced to facial tattoos and hard labor! This punishment not only affects the person himself, but also requires "three generations of imprisonment", that is,
His descendants within three generations are not allowed to be officials.
Zhou Zhen raised his head and looked at the fatal real-name report letter in Heifu's hand. Since he could afford the paper, or it was done by an official in Xiami County, there were no more than three people who knew about his affairs. As long as
Give Zhou Zhen some time and he will be able to track it down!
But at this time, Heifu's voice sounded again: "A secret order is issued. The order has its own words. Keep it and steal it. Those who are worth ten gold will abandon the market. The letter said that the bribe you have collected is more than this amount. What are you going to do?"
explain?"
"I'm a low official... I'm a low official."
While Zhou Zhen was thinking about his words, Heifu did something that shocked him!
But Hei Fu walked directly to the candle, put the letter on the flame, and let it burn completely!
"Sheriff, this..." Zhou Zhen didn't react.
Heifu laughed: "I see that there are many exaggerations in this letter and it is not credible. I am afraid that I want to deliberately disturb the officialdom of Jiaodong!"
Although he burned a blank letter to deceive Zhou Zhen, Heifu also understood that the three feet of ice did not freeze overnight. In fact, the corruption in Jiaodong officialdom began a few years ago...
After the surrender of Qi, the old men from Guanxi, who had been promoted through military service, came to Guandong and saw the colorful world of Linzi and Jimo, which opened a new door.
Because Jiaodong was far away from Guanzhong, the Qin officials sent there were scarce, so the Qin laws that restrained officials in the past were almost non-existent, and they could only rely on conscious self-discipline.
In the first one or two years, Zhou Zhen, as a veteran soldier, still adhered to his bottom line and refused all bribes of money, silk, and jewelry. But people always have weaknesses. He was lustful and drunk. This line of defense was quickly eliminated by Hao.
For a long time, the beauties sent by merchants were seduced by wine and meat, and the situation was getting deeper and deeper.
Slowly, this good warrior who once devoted himself to fighting and getting promoted has a new hobby: money. As long as he has money and silk, what will be the lack of the beauty Jiarou? He turns a blind eye to the private gossips popping up everywhere.
Eyes, and go along with it in exchange for material enjoyment.
Looking at the guy in front of him who felt like he had received amnesty after seeing a blank letter burned, Hei Fu sneered in his heart and couldn't help but think of a passage he heard in his previous life.
“There may be some Communists who have never been conquered by enemies with guns, and they are worthy of the title of heroes in front of these enemies; but they cannot withstand the attacks of people’s sugar-coated shells.
Lose the battle."
This sentence was the same in the Qin Dynasty.
Heifu had people secretly investigate in advance and found that Zhou Zhen was not the only one who was corrupt. In Jiaodong officialdom, there were almost no people who dared to claim to be innocent! Even the censor who was supposed to supervise the officials was not free of involvement!
If he looked further afield, he would find that corruption was rampant not just in Jiaodong County.
Take Peixian County as an example. The magistrate of Peixian County organized a housewarming banquet for his good friend Lu Gong and asked the organization director Xiao He to host it. The guests had to pay thousands of dollars to be seated. Isn't this corruption and power-seeking for personal gain? Xiao He and Cao Shen also felt this
Take it for granted.
Liu Ji, the head of the pavilion in Sishui, refused to pay for meat and wine. The lady who owned the wine shop finally gave him a discount for the wine coupons and let him eat for free. This may be Liu Ji using his personal charm to sleep with the women who own the wine shop, but it is not a sign of goodwill from the common people to the petty local officials.
, paying protection fees in disguise so as to seek asylum.
Exchanging power for money and beauty is an innate ability of almost every official.
To put it bluntly, since the unification of Qin, no one in the entire Guandong, from the county magistrate of Liubaishi to the chief of Dou Shi Pavilion, can strictly discipline himself and not accept a single bribe!
Except maybe one person, that is Xi...
As for others? Most of the Qin officials that Xunzi once saw, who were "all disrespectful and frugal, came from public service, returned to their families, and had no private affairs", had become corrupt.
This is an open secret throughout the empire. As long as the officials do not go too far, there is a tacit understanding that no one will expose it, because once it is exposed and the matter becomes serious and attracts the attention of the court, it will still be severely punished according to the law.
The emperor doesn't like having a bunch of lice underneath, sucking the money, food, flesh and blood that should have been handed over.
The Qin Law was created by Legalists to safeguard monarchy. Only one person had legal immunity, so in the Qin Dynasty, only one person was qualified for corruption, and that was the emperor!
Heifu thought for a long time and finally came to a conclusion: in the final analysis, Qin's corruption started from top to bottom. The emperor himself was extravagant and extravagant, building palaces and mausoleums wantonly, and filling the Guanzhong with beauties from the Six Kingdoms.
In my eyes, how could I not have any thoughts in my heart, and would I still foolishly discipline myself for the sake of the country?
The heart of one person is the heart of thousands of people. Qin's love is extravagant, and people also miss his family. How can he take all his money and use it like sand?
The upper beam is not straight and the lower beam is crooked. This is a systemic problem. Anti-corruption can cure the flies below, but who dares to fight the tiger at the top? If you ignore the root cause and try to treat the branches and leaves, you will end up with only a beginning but a tail end!
However, Heifu did not intend to let go of Zhou Zhen and the officials who were seriously corrupt in the county. He just hoped that they could give some more warm-up before their demise and help him catch a big fish.
So, Heifu started his nonsense, poured a glass of wine, and had a heart-to-heart talk with Zhou Jin, who was frightened after being frightened.
"There is no need to be anxious about issuing secret orders. You and I both understand that the law strictly prohibits greed and amassing money. It is too difficult to do so."
"We are officials in a foreign county, thousands of miles away from home. We only have less than half of the money and food we send back to the place. We also have to support some staff and disciples, but the salary we receive is the same as in Guanzhong. We often cannot make ends meet. This is really another problem.
Let the horse run, and let the horse not eat grass."
"Furthermore, Guandong is no different from Qin, where everyone is pursuing profit. The petty officials in those places are not willing to work diligently, and only willing to do things for small profits. Therefore, when senior officials collect money, sometimes it is not for money, but a kind of
Flexibility..."
He dipped his drink in the wine, wrote the word "official" in official script on the desk, and began to recite lines from a TV series he had watched in his previous life:
"How to write the word "official"? There are two mouths, the upper one must be fed first, and then the lower one can be fed. If you want to govern the people, don't you have to rely on officials, big and small? If you can't feed them, who will
Willing to do things for us!"
Zhou Zhen was stunned. Although he was corrupt, he felt guilty in his heart and was timid to disobey the law. However, the county magistrate took corruption as a matter of course! There are great principles one after another, and the feelings are also the same among our generation.
people?
Heifu became serious again: "I gave you a secret order. Do you know now why I don't track you down?"
Zhou Zhen shook his head honestly: "I don't know."
Heifu said: "You should also know that if this matter is investigated seriously, you will not be the only one who will be dismissed from office and lose his head. It may be all the officials in Xiami County, and even many senior officials in the county will be implicated!"
"
"At that time, half of Jiaodong's officials will be wiped out. How can I still govern the county? How will I cope with His Majesty's eastward tour that is about to begin soon?"
Speaking of this, Zhou Zhen finally realized it and thought to himself: "That's right. If we get to the bottom of it, Jiaodong will be in chaos. Without us, county officials, cultivation palaces, roads, gold mines, rent collection, and tax collection.
To urge the head of Guizhou to serve, who will do it for the county governor!?"
"People must learn to be flexible."
Heifu sighed: "I have been immersed in the officialdom for several years before I understood this truth. Not only should I not be too harsh on officials, but I should also be strict with wealthy families."
When Zhou Zhen heard this, he immediately felt that there was something in this statement.
Sure enough, Heifu Tuqiong saw this and suddenly asked: "I heard that you have a close relationship with the Yeyitian family?"
The Tian family in Yeyi was the benefactor who kept Zhou Xian full. Not only him, but also the magistrate of Yeyi County, Tian Gu, and the Tiandu brothers followed suit. After all, Yeyi was once a private town of the Tian family, with thousands of private armed forces.
And huge fame. It is no exaggeration to say that the Tian brothers can mobilize thousands of people to seize the city and rebel with just a shout of encouragement in the market!
This is the legacy left by Anping Jun Tiandan, which cannot be easily erased.
It was precisely because of the bribery of local officials that the private salt industry in the two places led by the Yeyitian family was so rampant.
At this point, Zhou Zhen did not dare to shirk the lies and admitted that he often interacted with Tian Du.
"That's very good. I have something I need you to help me with."
Zhou Zhen knew that his life was in the hands of the county guard, and whether he would kill or circumvent him all depended on a word, so he quickly said: "Just what the county guard orders."
Heifu said: "I would like to invite Tian Gu, the head of the Tian family in Yeyi, to meet in Pingdu."
Pingdu is a township in Yeyi, not far from Xiami. A big event happened there recently. Heifu ordered people to search for mineral deposits in the whole county. Although a gold mine was discovered in Qucheng, Huang County, it was located deep in the mountains and it was difficult to find it.
Mining.
Pingdu also found a mine. Although it was not as big as Qucheng's, the veins were shallow and easy to dig, so they planned to set up a "gold mining" in Pingdu.
Heifu said: "After all, Yeyi was once the territory of the Tian family. Regarding the mining in Pingdu, organizing manpower and other matters, we need the help of the Tian Gu brothers. We invited them to meet there to discuss the matter."
Zhou Zhen understood that this was probably what the county governor meant by "flexibility". Alas, it seemed that after half a year here, he finally discovered that he could not rule the place without relying on the local powerful families.
But Zhou Jin said weakly: "Tian Yu is a cautious person and never leaves Yeyi easily..."
Heifu sneered: "I am the county guard after all, why should I condescend to go to Yeyi to visit him? Choosing Pingdu instead of Jimo has already given Ashida a face! Come get the letter, I said, you write it!"
After asking Zhou Jin to write the letter, Heifu paced back and forth, feeling that this was not enough to gain Tian Gu's trust and that he could not be deceived, so he said:
"By the way, in the letter, please mention something to the Yeyitian family for me."
Hei Fu said sternly: "I have a nephew named Weiyang, who is sixteen years old. I heard that Tian Yu has a daughter, who is fourteen years old. I want to propose marriage to the Tian family on his behalf. I will accept the favor and marry her as my official wife. The two families will always be happy."