Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

"This doctor in charge of the newspaper was appointed by the emperor and the cabinet, and like the censors of the Censorate, he was not promoted or demoted by the Ministry of Personnel."

Zhang Yuangan understood completely: this organization was highly valued by the emperor, and even the Ministry of Personnel did not have the authority to appoint the head of the newspaper.

Zhao Yuan then said, "You recommend two officials, and I will arrange a few more for you. Set up the Bureau of Imperial Gazettes as soon as possible."

"The name is 'Da Ming Yue Bao' (Great Bright Moon Newspaper), and the theme of the first issue is anti-corruption."

Zhang Yuangan asked, "His Majesty said that ordinary people can also read the official gazette, so how can they obtain it?"

Zhao Yuan said, "Officials at all levels shall receive them free of charge in the same manner as before."

"When sending them to the various levels of government offices, you can send out more and leave some for the local post stations."

"The booksellers would buy them at the post station and then resell them to the people."

"The post station can sell them themselves, and 20% of the money from newspaper sales can be kept at the post station as a subsidy."

Zhang Yuangan silently kept it in mind.

He wasn't sure how large the print run should be, so he decided to play it safe for the time being.

That is, in addition to the original distribution to officials, one hundred more copies will be issued to each county.

Not many people see this thing; issuing 100 copies per county should be enough.

If sales are good, you can gradually increase the quantity.

Let the local post stations apply for increased issuance volume themselves; the more they sell, the more the post stations earn.

After inquiring about some details, Zhang Yuangan bowed and took his leave.

Zhao Yuan chose Zhang Yuangan to run the newspaper because his writing style was a good fit.

Upright and righteous, positive and compassionate.

Historically, Zhang Yuangan was hailed as a pioneer of the bold and unrestrained school of poetry in the Southern Song Dynasty.

His poems, which were worthy of Su Dongpo and inspired Xin Qiji, make him a pivotal figure in the Song Dynasty.

This man had served as an advisor to Li Gang. After Yue Fei was unjustly killed, he also angered Qin Hui, resulting in his property being confiscated, him being imprisoned, and his official position being stripped. From then on, he wandered the world.

Zhang Yuangan in this time and space did not experience so many painful encounters, so his poetic style did not turn towards tragic, heroic, and unrestrained.

But it's still very positive!

Li Bangyan is no good. If he were to run the official newspaper, he would probably cause political problems every now and then.

Chapter 3930 Second Visit to the Palace

What was Li Bangyan doing at this moment?

He was drinking tea at the Dali Temple, clearly a repeat offender.

"There has been absolutely no crime committed at Lanruo Academy,"

Li Bangyan said with a mournful face,

"Ever since I was stripped of my official rank, I have been studying the Great Ming Code diligently."

"I will resolutely refrain from doing anything that violates the Great Ming Code, and my family and employees will not be allowed to do it either."

"Some corrupt officials do indeed enjoy drinking at Lanruo Courtyard."

"But they also drink at other restaurants. We can't just shut down all the restaurants in Luoyang, can we?"

Wei Liangchen said, "Several corrupt officials bought their 'Bodhisattva Barbarian' ornaments from you and then resold them."

Li Bangyan quickly retorted, "Imperial Censor Wei, you can't just say things like that."

“I never do human trafficking; those bodhisattvas are all my employees.”

"Some of them are public employees of Lanruo Temple. According to the law, their employment contracts can only be transferred to other trading companies. I have not transferred any of these Bodhisattva Man's contracts."

"The rest of the Bodhisattvas were servants I hired in my household. They would sing songs while cleaning and sweeping."

“When I resell servant contracts, I always abide by the Ming Dynasty law.”

"We never force them to renew their contracts. When the contract expires, they are free to leave."

Wei Liangchen was in a bad mood. During his interrogation of Li Bangyan, he discovered that the old man was well-versed in the "Great Ming Code".

They really couldn't find a single illegal act!

Even anti-prostitution campaigns couldn't stop it; the top-tier Bodhisattva Man not only lived alone in a courtyard,

They even terminated their long-term contract with Li Bangyan and signed a short-term cooperation contract instead—essentially making Li Bangyan their agent.

Ordinary pleasure seekers rarely get close to the top-tier Bodhisattvas, and those qualified to stay overnight all claim to be in a romantic relationship.

At most, you could say they're immoral and having extramarital affairs.

Ordinary Bodhisattvas do not actually sell themselves in Lanruo Courtyard; they discuss with their customers where to go after get off work.

If we want to investigate Li Bangyan and shut down his Lanruo Courtyard, we can only violate the "Great Ming Code" to impose a sentence, or use tricks to frame him and arrange several crimes!

Why did Wei Liangchen want to target Li Bangyan?

Because the testimonies of many corrupt officials in Beijing show that they often chose to conduct their power-for-money transactions at Li Bangyan's Lanruo Courtyard.

Wei Liangchen said, "This case is complicated, you will need to stay at Dali Temple for a few more days."

Li Bangyan pleaded, "The Dali Temple prison is cold and damp. I am in poor health and I fear I will fall ill and die here."

Wei Liangchen was too lazy to say more and ordered his men to throw Li Bangyan into jail.

Li Bangyan was genuinely afraid; he was indeed old, and the conditions in the prison were poor.

Even if the jailers don't deliberately mess with him, staying there for an extended period of time can easily make him sick.

It's highly likely they'll actually die from the illness inside!

Those who make money through shady means shouldn't complain that the government also uses crooked methods.

……

In autumn, the drought in the north finally improved, and several autumn rains soaked the long-parched land.

The sweet rain fell, and the whole world rejoiced.

This is the worst drought Zhao Yuan has experienced since his transmigration, with some prefectures even suffering a complete crop failure!

As a result, some regions were implicated in corruption cases, and the emperor specifically ordered that no arrests be made for the time being, allowing local officials to redeem themselves through disaster relief.

If disaster relief efforts are effective, and the stolen goods are returned and fines are levied afterward, a lighter punishment can be obtained.

Chapter 3931 Revising Political Achievements

Of course, it's possible to arrest people and then reassign officials, but firstly, it takes time for new officials to take office, and secondly, changes in officials can affect the efficiency of disaster relief.

In late autumn, the disaster was completely quelled, and the first batch of convicted officials were sentenced.

Despite his efforts to return the embezzled funds, Min Zishun was ultimately sentenced to death because his crimes were too serious.

While managing the national treasury and granaries, this man colluded with local officials and civil servants to embezzle a large amount of disaster relief funds and grain during several consecutive years of severe drought in the Northwest.

Disaster relief funds and supplies!

army!

Min Zishun touched two things he shouldn't have.

The military mainly dealt with the issue of the canal transport troops, who were responsible for transportation on certain sections of the route.

One commander of the grain transport army and four other commanders of the grain transport army were all arrested and sentenced to death.

In comparison, Min Zishun's affairs in the Ministry of Personnel were nothing.

Out of consideration for their past friendship, Zhao Yuan intervened and changed the execution to hanging, leaving Min Zishun with a complete body.

"Kill! Kill! Kill..."

At the execution ground, countless people screamed in despair.

They had already heard that the criminals executed today were primarily guilty of embezzling disaster relief grain.

Those queuing to be executed included not only officials but also businessmen.

The merchant was responsible for selling the stolen goods.

They not only sold stolen goods, but also helped exchange rice and wheat for cheaper corn, sorghum, and other commodities.

After all, the imperial court is very strict in its investigations, so they can't really cause a famine. Even when people are embezzling, they still have to transport enough grain to the government.

Min Zishun knelt on the execution platform, listening to the shouts rising and falling, and looking at the indignant people in the distance. He was in a daze, as if he were having a dream.

I've been dreaming for the past few years, and now I've finally woken up from that dream.

In fact, Min Zishun didn't take much of the disaster relief funds and supplies that were embezzled, and he wasn't even aware of it at first.

He initially promoted his relatives and friends in violation of regulations while serving as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, in an attempt to cultivate his own loyalists.

Moreover, he was a bit too hasty. Some people didn't have enough qualifications and achievements, and they would have met the standards in three to five years, but he still promoted them anyway.

To achieve their goals, they even colluded with the Director of the Performance Evaluation Office to secretly alter the performance records of those officials.

The embezzlement of disaster relief funds and grain was started by one of Qian Chen's confidants, who was also Wen Huanzhang's unofficial disciple.

At that time, Qian Chen had already become a cabinet minister, and his confidant had been transferred to the granary. The two basically had no work-related interaction, and only visited each other during holidays.

Min Zishun was transferred to the warehouse as its head, becoming Qian Chen's trusted superior.

When Min Zishun realized something was wrong, he discovered that his nephew had been involved.

His cousin was one of a group of Min clan members who joined Zhao Yuan's forces and became officials after Zhao Yuan conquered Sichuan.

With the deliberate promotion of Min Zishun, he has become a councilor in Shanxi Province in charge of civil affairs.

Qian Chen's confidant was in the national treasury warehouse, Min Zishun's cousin was in Shanxi, and in between was a transport commander from Daming Village.

Three people conspired to embezzle disaster relief funds and supplies!

If Min Zishun had reported it immediately after discovering it, even if he brought up the old issues of the Ministry of Personnel, Zhao Yuan would certainly not have punished him severely.

At most, he would be demoted two or three ranks, and he would no longer be allowed to hold any position in the Ministry of Personnel.

But Min Zishun was overthinking things at the time.

He was afraid of being demoted, wanted to protect his nephew, and was also afraid of offending Qian Chen and Zhang Guangdao.

Because the other two accomplices were Qian Chen's men and Zhang Guangdao's men.

Chapter 3932 Ruined by His Wife

So Min Zishun chose to turn a blind eye and quietly ordered them to stop.

He thought those guys would stop while they were ahead, but instead they expanded the scope of their corruption even further.

The scandal quickly spread from Shanxi to Shaanxi, and more and more officials were implicated.

Moreover, in order to silence Min Zishun, those corrupt officials secretly targeted his wife and children.

Min Zishun's wife and children all accepted lavish gifts from corrupt officials!

When Min Zishun realized that the situation was beyond repair, he simply gave up and hoped that the court would not find out.

Anyway, the amount of relief grain directly withheld is not much; the main thing is to replace refined grains with coarse grains, so the disaster victims won't actually starve to death.

"Min Zishun, while serving as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, colluded with the officials of the Performance Evaluation Department and the Selection Department to falsify the performance records of officials and promote them in violation of regulations..."

"While serving as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in charge of granaries, he colluded with civil and military officials to embezzle disaster relief funds and grain... According to the law, he should be executed..."

"Because you actively returned the stolen goods, your sentence was commuted to hanging, and you were allowed to leave with a complete body... Do you accept your punishment?"

Faced with the executioner's questioning, Min Zishun answered with difficulty, "I confess my guilt."

"Identity verified, and the prisoner confesses. Execute!"

In ancient China, hanging was generally used on members of the imperial family and nobility.

Although the process is far more painful than beheading, at least one can leave with a whole body and gain final dignity.

If prisoners were given the choice, most would prefer to be left with their bodies intact.