Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4919: Uncovering a Major Case
The clouds are low and the snow is falling.

At dusk, the sky and the earth were already dark, and the entire Chang'an city was shrouded in wind and snow, with lights twinkling and smoke rising from thousands of homes.

When Ma Zhou and Liu Xiangdao arrived at the Wannian County Office, the Jingzhao Prefecture's yamen runners and patrol officers had already surrounded the entire office. Upon learning that Li Anqi had ordered his men to close the gates with knives, Ma Zhou then confined all the officials inside the office. He praised him, "He is a truly capable official!"

Liu Xiangdao stroked his beard and admired him: "Li Anqi is from a famous family and a Confucian disciple. He is not only knowledgeable but also has sharp means and is not a pedantic person. He is worthy of being a disciple of my famous education."

Civil servants have a strong sense of identity. They study hard at a young age, seek out famous teachers, get recommended into officialdom, and rise and fall in the officialdom. They all follow almost the same path.

Ma Zhou nodded: "Let's go in and take a look."

"Many people have a hard time this year."

"That depends on how your Censorate reviews it. If the Censor feels the pressure is too great, I will ask the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice to get involved as well?"

Liu Xiangdao suddenly became solemn and frowned: "What the Minister said is a great insult to me and the entire Censorate! Don't worry, no matter who is involved, we will definitely investigate it thoroughly!"

Ma Zhou did not comment: "I hope so."

While talking, they entered the county government office together.

……

Li Anqi was waiting at the door, bowing and saying, "Greetings, two superiors."

Ma Zhou waved his hand: "No need to be polite, how is the case going?"

"Please come in, I will report to you in detail."

Ma Zhou slightly turned sideways and asked Liu Xiangdao to go first. He was the Jingzhao Yin and this was his territory, but Liu Xiangdao was a guest outsider.

Liu Xiangdao didn't hesitate to nod and walked ahead into the yamen.

After they sat down, Li Anqi spoke clearly and reported the case in detail. At the end, he said with shame: "Although I have just taken office, I have not been able to detect that this group of people have been corrupt and embezzled public funds. If it were not for the recent collapse of dangerous and dangerous houses by heavy snow, and the deaths of civilians, I am afraid I would still be confused by this group of people. These people colluded with each other inside and outside, and embezzled public funds for many years. One by one, one by one, the corruption in the county government alone is more than 100,000 strings of cash, which is shocking! In addition, there must be illegal activities such as accepting bribes and even extortion by relying on the county government. I hope the Censorate will investigate it in detail!"

"These people have been corrupt and abused their power for years, and have manipulated lawsuits. How can they blame you? On the contrary, you have just taken office and solved a long-standing major case with such courage. You have made contributions without any faults. You should be a role model for officials. I will recommend you to His Majesty later."

"Thank you, Prefect!"

Ma Zhou then looked at Liu Xiang and said, "Chang'an and Wannian counties are located in the capital area. The officials in the counties all have backgrounds. Once the investigation is carried out, it will inevitably implicate a wide range of people and bring pressure from all sides. If the Imperial Censor is wise enough to protect himself, he can transfer this case to the Ministry of Justice or the Dali Temple."

"Ah!"

Liu Xiangdao laughed in anger, "This method of provoking is really poor. Is the Minister looking down on me? Don't worry, there is no need to wait for those people to intercede. As long as they are related to this case, no matter who they are, the Censorate will investigate thoroughly! Come here!"

"exist!"

Censor Li Shouyue hurried forward and bowed to receive the order.

"All officials in the county office should be detained separately, their account books should be sorted out, and every official should be interrogated overnight to uncover all their corruption, dereliction of duty, manipulation of lawsuits and other illegal activities over the years. No matter who is involved, nothing should be concealed!"

"Here!"

Li Shouyue responded respectfully, very excited, turned around and went out to assign tasks to the officials from the Censorate who accompanied him, and started the interrogation immediately.

The more termites and rats he digs out, the greater his merit will naturally be. This is not only his ideal, but also the qualification for continuous promotion.

Inside the house, Li Anqi poured tea for the two superiors and asked carefully, "These county officials have complicated backgrounds and strong backers. They have been collecting money and making wrongful judgments for their benefactors for many years. If the interrogation here spreads, those people will worry about being implicated and may take risks. Do we need to inform the left and right Jinwu Guards to impose martial law in Chang'an City to prevent accidents?"

Liu Xiangdao agreed and said to Ma Zhou: "Once the interrogation results in a conclusion, the houses will be searched and people will be arrested. This will have a huge impact and may even lead to chaos in Chang'an. Now is the end of the year and everyone is celebrating. If chaos occurs, it will surely disturb Your Majesty and even cause panic in the whole city. It is necessary for the Left and Right Jinwu Guards to impose martial law."

Ma Zhou thought about it, nodded slightly, and ordered his attendant: "Take my business card to the Duke of Yue's mansion, inform him of the matter in detail, and ask him to send out the Jinwu Guards to patrol the entire city, and cooperate with the Jingzhao Prefecture and the Censorate to arrest the man."

"Here."

The entourage left in a hurry.

Your Majesty's decree to appoint Fang Jun as Grand Marshal has been approved, and the edict will be announced to the whole country after the heaven sacrifice, but the mission to control the left and right Jinwu Guards has already begun.

Liu Xiangdao took a sip of tea, his eyes clear and slightly excited: "This may not be a big case, but it must involve a wide range of people and have far-reaching impacts. It may be able to clean up the filth in Chang'an officialdom and give the people a bright and clear world."

The saying "a prefect who ruins a family and a county magistrate who wipes out an entire clan" has been around for a long time. Compared to the high-ranking officials who hold great power in the temple, only the county magistrate of the seventh or eighth rank is the one who can most directly influence the lives of the people.

Even in the city of Chang'an, there was an unbridgeable gap between the common people and the upper echelons; this was a class barrier. If officials at the county magistrate level controlled litigation and isolated the upper and lower levels, the common people would still be exploited and bullied at will.

Ma Zhou's face was calm: "Governance has always been the top priority. Human nature is greedy, and corrupt officials can never be eradicated. We can only rely on us to remove these bad apples from the body of the empire one by one, so that the administration is clean and the government orders are smooth."

Throughout history, the decline of dynasties often began with corrupt officials. When these parasites cling to the body of the empire and suck its flesh and blood unscrupulously, the situation will eventually become irreversible, leading to the people's miserable lives, war across the country, and subsequent collapse of the empire.

The new policy is certainly important, but the root of everything lies in the administration of officials.

Without a clean and honest bureaucratic system, the most powerful army, the most prosperous year, and the most solid city will all be nothing but bubbles.

Liu Xiangdao nodded happily: "This is our important task!"

Therefore, in the creation of any prosperous era, there will always be some like-minded officials who work hand in hand and move forward courageously. They are brave and devoted, and do not fear difficulties. They rectify the administration of officials and benefit the people. On the contrary, when there is collusion between internal and external forces, manipulation of the upper and lower levels, and corruption is rampant, the entire bureaucratic system is riddled with holes and decayed to the core, how can the country not perish?
Even if you have the best new policy strategy in history, without an honest bureaucratic system to implement it, it will ultimately be a mess.

……

The wind and snow were raging, the night was falling, and lanterns were lit and hung under the eaves, swaying slightly in the wind. Snowflakes fell in the orange light of the lanterns like flying feathers and jade.

Li Shouyue pushed the door open from outside, shook off the snow on his body, entered the house, and handed over a confession with both hands.

"The county magistrate Duan Yuanliang, the chief clerk Du Xi, the registrar Wei Silian and others confessed to embezzling the government treasury. Most of the more than 100,000 strings of money allocated by the Ministry of Revenue, private collections, and donations from officials for repairing and rebuilding dilapidated houses had been embezzled by these people, leaving little behind. This is why the houses in Wannian County could not be repaired in time this winter, causing many houses to collapse and people to freeze to death."

"In addition, there were more than 20 cases of manipulating lawsuits and accepting bribes, involving hundreds of thousands of strings of cash. Thirteen people were sentenced to death, more than 30 people were exiled to the frontier, and more than 20 households had their property confiscated..."

At this point, Li Shouyue looked up at the three superiors in front of him, swallowed his saliva, and continued: "...According to the confessions, Duan, Du, Wei and others were mostly instructed by others to frame wrongful cases, embezzle family property and other illegal activities."

As the central supervisory agency, the Censorate has a wide range of powers, including supervising the judicial activities of the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice, and is also responsible for impeaching officials, redressing unjust cases, and accepting lawsuits. It has a group of experienced interrogators, and its efficiency in trying cases is not much inferior to that of the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice. Moreover, since it is already the highest inspection agency, it is inevitable that it acts arbitrarily, and the means of interrogation are even more unscrupulous. Duan Yuanliang, Du Xi and others can't stand it at all...

Liu Xiangdao's face turned pale, and he slammed the table in anger: "Lawlessness! Wannian County is the capital of the country, and these people are actually deceiving their superiors and bullying their subordinates, colluding with each other, and making the area a mess! A petty official is so disregarding the law and being corrupt, there must be someone behind him supporting him. Can you interrogate who the mastermind is?"

Li Shouyue was a little nervous and excited: "It's all in the confession!"

Liu Xiangdao lowered his head to look, and Ma Zhou also came over: "...Guanglu Xun Wei Cheng, Honglu Shaoqing Du Jingtong, Xun Guogong Li Xiaoxie... Haha, aristocratic families, royal family members, all of them, and only these people can cover the sky with one hand in this important place in the capital!"

Li Shouyue took two steps forward and whispered, "There is one more thing. I have not asked anyone to record my confession. This is a serious matter. I would like to ask the superiors for instructions."

Ma Zhou raised his eyebrows and said, "Speak!"

"According to Duan Yuanliang, his brother-in-law Duke Xun once asked him to frame a brick factory in the west of the city, exile the owner of the factory to the vast sea, embezzle the factory, and then use the inferior blue bricks for the construction of Zhaoling Mausoleum, making a lot of money..."

The cold wind was howling outside the window, and the people in the room were stunned.

“…Zhaoling?!”

Ma Zhou's eyes turned red, his face was flushed, and veins on his forehead were throbbing: "How dare they tamper with Zhaoling?"

Liu Xiangdao was also confused, shocked and angry: "How dare they?"

Li Shouyue said with a bitter face: "I dare not tell a single lie. This is Duan Yuanliang's confession under torture!"

Ma Zhou was furious but did not lose his mind. He immediately realized that something was wrong: "Is Duan Yuanliang crazy? Even if he did such a thing, how dare he tell others about it?"

"Zhaoling" is the mausoleum of Emperor Taizong and Empress Wende. With the prestige of these two, anyone who dares to tamper with the mausoleum will be condemned and killed! Not to mention a mere Duke of Xun Li Xiaoxie, even if his grandfather, Emperor Taizu's own son, Prince of Xun Li Yi, did this, his whole family would be given poisoned wine and white silk, and go to the underworld to apologize to Emperor Taizong and Empress Wende!
Liu Xiangdao also reacted and said immediately: "This matter is strange, we must handle it with caution!"

As they were talking, an official from outside came in and reported: "The Duke of Yue has arrived!"

Ma Zhou and Liu Xiangdao looked at each other, stood up together, and went to the door to greet them. They saw Fang Jun striding into the yamen surrounded by his personal soldiers. On his left and right were Cheng Wuting and Sun Renshi, all of them wearing helmets and armor, holding swords on their waists, and looking murderous.

(End of this chapter)