Meishan Su family, Su Yun is the most virtuous

Chapter 188 Undercurrent is surging!

In fact, Li Qingchen hoped that Su Yun, the judge, would stay in his courtyard and not cause trouble.

I have just arrived at the Southern Court to take up my post. This is the time when a new official should make some achievements. But now I have such a young magistrate to monitor me. This job is not easy.

Now that Su Yun is willing to stay alone and doesn't come from the hall, it's as if there is no such person in the Southern Yamen. This is actually a good thing.

But Li Qingchen couldn't really let Su Yun go his own way. What if the emperor suddenly remembered what Su Yun had done in the Southern Court?

When he was summoned for questioning, it was found that the fellow stayed in his Tongpan Hall every day. Not only could he not supervise the prefect, he couldn't even observe the government affairs.

This has been completely hollowed out!

When the time comes, I will go and explain to the emperor that Su Yun stays in his yard every day, does nothing, and doesn't interact with others. Do you think the emperor will believe it?
Seeing Li Qingchen asking, his trusted subordinate said, "President Su stays in the Tongpan Hall every day. He even has his meals taken back by others. He comes to work on time every day and leaves as soon as he gets off work. He doesn't stay for a moment.

As for what he was doing in the Tongpan Hall, we don't know, and it's not easy for us to go in and spy."

Li Qingchen frowned. What's wrong with Su Yun? Although the Tongpan's main job is to observe government affairs, it does not mean he only observes government affairs. In order to let the young Jinshi get started with government affairs as soon as possible, just observing is not enough.

Of course, it was not entirely for the purpose of cultivating Jinshi, the imperial court also had its own considerations.

The prefect and the assistant prefect jointly managed the state affairs and their powers were generally equivalent. However, in order to more effectively supervise and restrict the prefect and collect local money and grain from the central government, the prefect generally did not sign on matters of money and grain.

The imperial court designated the Tongpan to be in charge of money and grain affairs, and imposed a mandatory requirement: When the Tongpans of various states and the financial officials took office, they had to personally review the official property listed in the accounts and were not allowed to simply rely on the documents approved by the chief clerk.

What this means is that when a Tongpan is newly appointed, he must personally take inventory of all assets in the warehouse and cannot just follow what the prefect or the clerks say. If he fails to do this, it will be a dereliction of duty for both the Tongpan and the prefect.

In addition, the Tongpan was also responsible for other tax accounts.

For example, the money collected by the field office, the money and other items in the warehouses, the gold, silver, and silk that were delivered, etc., all had to be filed in a list through the Tongpan Hall. Every six months, the number of deliveries and the names of the people in charge were recorded and the actual seals were submitted to the Shangshu Province.

In other words, all the warehouse affairs and account books of various tax revenues of Kaifeng Prefecture had to be reported to the Ministry of Revenue of the Shangshu Province through the Tongpan.

The Tongpan Hall was directly or indirectly in charge of various accounts, some of which were reported to the central government through the Supervisory Inspector, while others went directly to the Shangshu Province.

However, Kaifeng Prefecture has never had the position of Tongpan, so these things are usually handled by the judge.

Although Su Yun's absence from work did not constitute a delay, if someone with ulterior motives said something sinister, it would be difficult for Li Qingchen to explain.

Li Qingchen pondered for a moment and said, "Please ask the judges of the left and right halls to come forward."

After a while, the Left Hall Judge Du Wuwang and the Right Hall Judge He Ruining arrived together.

The three of them greeted each other and then sat down.

Du Wuwang smiled and said, "Prefect Li, you asked the two of us to come here together, but is there something you want to discuss?"

He Ruining also looked at Li Qingchen with concern.

Li Qingchen nodded and said, "Have you met the new Tongpan of our Southern Court?"

Du Wuwang and He Ruining both looked a little strange, and shook their heads and said, "I haven't seen it yet."

Li Qingchen sighed and said, "I haven't seen him either. I heard that he comes to report for duty every day, but he just stays in the Tongpan Hall. It's strange."

He Ruining smiled and said, "He doesn't like to interact with people. I have seen such people before. They are solitary and don't like to talk to people. It's not surprising."

Li Qingchen nodded and said, "Have you sent the documents that need to be signed by the left and right halls to the Tongpan Hall?"

Du Wuwang and He Ruining looked at each other, then Du Wuwang shook his head and said, "No, I haven't received any notice, nor have I met the judge. The document is confidential, so I dare not send it carelessly."

He Ruining said: "It is the same here."

Li Qingchen nodded and said, "Okay, I understand. You should send it next time. If you don't even send the documents to the Tongpan appointed by the court, it means that you are just a figurehead. Who knows, they may have already sued you."

The two of them suddenly looked a little panicked.

There is nothing wrong with other things, but the Tongpan represents the face of the court. This is a political issue which can be big or small. If it is stepped on, it may lead to the dismissal of the person from office.

Du Wuwang said quickly, "Okay, I will go back today and deliver the documents that need to be signed by the magistrate. But whether he signs or not is not something we can control."

Li Qingchen nodded and said, "Also, I will ask someone to invite him to the hall tomorrow to discuss matters. He has been here for a few days and has not met anyone. This is too unreasonable."

Du Wuwang and He Ruining both nodded.

They were naturally not happy about Su Yun's arrival, otherwise, as subordinates, they should have taken the initiative to ask to see Su Yun. Li Qingchen did not go to see Su Yun for so many days because although he was under Su Yun's control, he was actually the top leader of Kaifeng Prefecture and there was no reason for him to take the initiative to see Su Yun.

But every one of these judges, prosecutors, etc. should have taken the initiative to pay a visit to Su Yun, but none of them went.

This is very telling.

In fact, this situation would not generally occur in other prefectures and counties. In ordinary prefectures and counties, the Tongpan is the real second-in-command. Who dares to neglect it?
But in Kaifeng Prefecture, the position of Tongpan has basically never been set up. Under the prefect, there are the managers of the left and right halls. It has been like this for more than a hundred years. Now that a Tongpan has suddenly appeared, they are a little at a loss and it is normal that they don't know how to deal with this Tongpan.

Especially Du Wuwang and He Ruining, who were originally the second and third in command of Kaifeng Prefecture.

And generally speaking, the prefects were high up in the hierarchy and would usually leave after one or two years, but for them it can be said that the prefects come and go, but the left and right halls remain permanent.

Although the prefect has higher authority than the two of them, they are actually the ones in charge. Now a Tongpan suddenly appears, and according to regulations, the Tongpan is in charge of financial power... then the financial power in their hands may be taken away!

The wages of avarice is death.

The Left and Right Offices controlled the financial power and lived a very comfortable life. But now a nobody suddenly appeared and wanted to take away their financial power. Everyone would be unhappy.

That's why the situation was treated so coldly.

Now that Li Qingchen reminded them, they could no longer pretend not to know.

After leaving the prefect's hall, Du Wuwang said, "Come sit with me. I have a few ounces of new tea. It tastes pretty good."

He Ruining glanced at Du Wuwang, laughed, and said, "No, I don't dare drink your tea."

Du Wuwang shook his head and said, "Old He, normally we fight because our interests conflict, but now someone wants to take away our interests, are you willing to give them up?"

He Ruining snorted and said, "He is the judge, and these are all within his scope of responsibility. Under the emperor's feet, I am still doing these things. Am I asking for my life?"

Du Wuwang laughed and said, "This is not like you, Old He. You played all the previous prefects around, especially the last one, Hu Zongyu. Haha, I guess he must be relieved to be sent to a remote place this time."

He Ruining looked pleased, but his words were very modest. He said, "The superiors take care of the big things, and we take care of the small things. It's better to keep out of the way. If you insist on using the east wind to disturb the spring water, then don't blame us for causing trouble."

Du Wuwang nodded and said, "Yes, we are all poor people who do hard labor. These old men don't sympathize with our hard work and insist on interfering in these matters. Then don't blame the poor people for having sharp teeth.

They'd better keep their share and not wallow in the mire. Otherwise, if they lose face, don't blame us for not giving them face.

Lao He, the prefect has no power over the money and grain, so they dare not interfere openly. They can only use covert means. As long as we cut off their hands, they will be obedient.

But it is natural for the Tongpan to be in charge of the money and grain. Under the imperial power, no one dares to move. If you are willing to give up the good things, then I can do nothing about it.

Lao He, tell me the truth, will you give in or not? "

He Ruining's eyes flickered as he asked, "What if I give in? What if I don't?"

Du Wuwang said: "If you give in, then I can only give in honestly, otherwise our accounts will not match, and when they check, I will be beheaded.

If you don't want to give in, then we can cooperate with each other. If the accounts are correct, then even if the emperor comes, he won't be able to do anything to us."

He Ruining pondered for a while and said, "Let's first take a look at what kind of person this Tongpan is. I heard that he is wise and brave, and is also a master of poetry and classics. I'm afraid he won't be easy to fool."

Du Wuwang laughed loudly and said, "He is just a scholar. What does he know about worldly affairs? No matter how much he has read, how can he understand accounts? Most of these scholars are just old pedants who are stuck in the past. Why should we be afraid of him?"

He Ruining did not give in, and said, "No matter what, we will know tomorrow."

Du Wuwang was helpless, knowing that He Ruining was a shrewd and calculating person who would not act until he saw the rabbit. If he was not sure, he would never act rashly.

Du Wuwang nodded and whispered, "No matter what, please don't mess up my previous accounts. If you mess up my accounts, we will both perish together."

He Ruining nodded and said, "Old Du, you have to be careful too. You have a bad temper... Hehe, the previous accounts were not watertight. When the time comes, we will compare the two. If there is a problem, I will not cover it for you."

Du Wuwang smiled and said, "Looking up the old accounts is not something that an ordinary person can do. I'm just a scholar. If he can really find any problems, I'll have to offer my head to him."

He Ruining snorted inwardly, thinking that although this man's name was Wuwang, he was actually very arrogant. If he didn't change, he would die a violent death one day.

The Song Dynasty did not kill scholars and officials, but those scholars would not show mercy when it came to killing corrupt officials like them who came from mixed backgrounds.

On the second day, Kaifeng prefect Li Qingchen, left hall judge Du Wuwang, right hall judge He Ruining, left hall prosecutor Yin Hai'an, right hall prosecutor Chai Yi, recorder Deng Qi and others gathered in the hall to discuss matters.

(End of this chapter)