I

Zhao Han personally cultivated and encouraged farmers, and also simplified the etiquette, which is an epitome of the tradition and innovation of the new dynasty.

It can be summed up in eight words: respect tradition, be pragmatic and innovative.

Innovation is always difficult. It was so difficult that Xiaohong divorced her husband. Both of them were working as officials, and they usually spent less time together than each other. They finally returned to their hometowns for the holidays, and they were filled with gossip everywhere.

Her husband could not withstand the pressure of public opinion and took the initiative to divorce. Xiaohong immediately went to the government to go through the formalities.

Xiaohong knew her husband's difficulties, why did he just eat soft rice and get promoted quickly through his wife's relationship, but his wife cuckolded him in another place. Not to mention ancient men, many modern men would be crushed by psychological pressure.

It is definitely sad. Besides divorce, the only solution is to resign.

But Xiaohong doesn't want to resign because she is very professional.

After the Spring Festival, Xiaohong returned to Quzhou Fucheng. She imitated Zhao Han in everything. She set up a mailbox at the entrance of the government office and would open and read the letters regularly every month.

I read a letter this time, and the content was very simple: there were tricks in the bidding for the construction of Quzhou official residences, corners were cut on the Xixi embankment in Fucheng, and the builders of the two projects were the same trading company.

Anonymous letter, unknown who wrote it.

Xiaohong immediately called the colleague in charge of the relevant work and asked him to first investigate whether the river embankment was cut corners. I got a reply a few days later and found no corners-cutting.

Xiaohong was still uneasy, so she sent her cronies to check the bidding documents for the construction of official residences. It turned out that everything was in line with normal procedures.

Therefore, Xiaohong did not ask about the matter again, thinking that the content of the report was false.

Two months later, Xiaohong received a long letter reporting a large number of officials. The whistleblower also said that the integrity and judicial departments of Quzhou Prefecture and Xi'an County have been corrupted by the Zheng family.

There is even more detailed content. It is said that the protective umbrella of the Zheng family is Zheng Tongfu, a doctor in the Ministry of Industry and Maintenance Department.

This is a lucrative position. Although the official rank is not high, he is actually responsible for government projects across the country.

On March 3rd, I went on an outing.

Xiaohong disguised herself as a noble lady and took her maid out for an outing in the city. Although she was well-known, she always wore official uniforms, and no one recognized her when she suddenly dressed up as a lady.

Arriving at a river embankment outside the city, Xiaohong saw an old flower seller squatting under a willow tree.

As soon as she walked over, the old man stood up quickly and asked with a smile on his face: "Madam, do you want to buy apricot flowers? The apricot flowers are very good. I just picked them this morning and can keep them for several days. It's time for an outing." Bring flowers, madam, look over there, the young ladies and gentlemen all bought their apricot flowers from me."

Xiaohong paid for an apricot blossom and sighed casually: "The river embankment is really well built, and the scenery is even more beautiful during the outing."

"Hehe, it's a good repair." There seemed to be a sense of ridicule in the old man's smile.

Xiaohong asked: "Is there anything you didn't cultivate well?"

The old man shook his head repeatedly: "Good repair."

Xiaohong didn't ask any more questions. Instead, after returning home, she sent a confidant to find out.

The boy inquired for a few days and came back and said: "Master, the river embankment is really built with jerry-rigged materials. Some sections are often washed away by floods. The government's requirement is to use Sanhe soil as the foundation. When the river embankment was built last year, cement was used. Water and then compact the soil. Also, the trading company that built the river embankment deducted wages from the workers and has not paid them back until now."

The cement at this time was of relatively poor quality due to furnace temperature issues and could not be used for water conservancy construction.

As for the Sanhe soil used to build water conservancy, although the raw materials are not expensive, the process is quite complicated, time-consuming, labor-intensive and expensive. It is better to use cement to save trouble.

"What's the reputation of the Zheng family?" Xiaohong asked again.

"It's hard to say," the boy replied.

Xiaohong asked in confusion: "What does it mean to be difficult to say?"

The boy explained in detail: "The Zheng family built bridges and paved roads in the countryside, especially at the junction of Xi'an (the prefecture of Quzhou) and Longyou. Those villages and towns praised the Zheng family very much. But the people in other places hated the Zheng family deeply. Zheng The family receives goods in the countryside and keeps prices very low. For projects contracted by the Zheng family, wages are often withheld, saying that they will pay the price first and wait until next time to settle the payment. The Zheng family also has a branch that occupies two vegetable markets in Fucheng. People who sell vegetables must buy from the Zheng family."

Xiaohong frowned: "The Xi'an government doesn't care?"

The young man replied: "The Zheng family did not come forward on their own, but gathered some idle men and beat them if they did not listen to the Zheng family's words. The government also took care of it, and they all punished them for gathering in crowds. Each time they were beaten with fifty big sticks. The common people suffered. He was beaten up and fined by the government, and over time he stopped reporting to the government.”

Xiaohong knew that the Zheng family was a well-known wealthy family in Quzhou.

Zheng Tongfu defected to Zhao Han very early and participated in the Zhejiang Scholars Uprising. Because of his outstanding ability and outstanding achievements, he was quickly promoted to be a doctor in the Ministry of Industry.

Zheng Tongfu even received a commendation from the emperor, saying that he could do as much as ten people by himself.

Of course, the Zheng family's real fortune comes from business.

Since the Longyou merchant gang could not compete with Hui merchants, Western merchants, and Ganxi merchants, they took the route of surrounding the city from the countryside. Moreover, the business footprint extends as far as the southwest and northwest, and all the money earned is hard-earned money.

Nowadays, the society is stable and the official administration is clear, which is very suitable for the development of Longyou merchant gang, so many Longyou merchants have become rich.

The Zheng family is one of them. I heard that when the Datong Army conquered Guizhou, they made great contributions by helping to purchase and transport grain.

Does such a business family need to withhold wages and occupy the vegetable market?

But there must be a problem, and in Quzhou officialdom, the situation of those officials is very serious!

Xiaohong sent a letter to Nanjing, and Zhao Han's reply was: hand it over to the Capital Procuratorate for thorough investigation.

The Metropolitan Procuratorate is the former Department of Integrity, the Bai Wuchang in "Black and White Wuchang".

A total of twelve people came, all dressed in civilian clothes, and quietly visited the people for more than half a month.

Finally, they encountered a situation outside the vegetable market.

"You are not allowed to sell vegetables here!" The two patrol policemen said fiercely. They also had urban management duties.

The old farmer said aggrievedly: "Master Jun, if you don't sell it here, where do you want the little one to sell it?"

The patrol officer said: "There are stalls in the vegetable market."

"The stalls in the vegetable market have to pay taxes. How can the vegetables grown at home be worth it?" the old farmer begged. "The small ones farm outside the city, and they can only sell vegetables to the Zheng family. The prices are shockingly low. The small ones only If you can go into the city by yourself, just sell some side dishes, please do me a favor, Lord Military, and spare me this time."

The patrolman began to open the stall, kicked the old farmer to the ground, and took away the whole load of vegetables.

The old farmer cried loudly, and passers-by on the street pointed.

Dai Wenmeng stood aside and watched, muttering: "It's very evil here in Quzhou."

Mei Zhuyou said: "The law enforcement yamen, the judicial yamen, the clean government yamen, and the industrial and commercial yamen all have problems. The farmers' associations in the villages and towns outside the city may also have problems. I heard from Magistrate Huang (Xiaohong) that she asked the magistrate to investigate the river embankment. , the river embankment cut corners but did not pay for it, this colleague must have colluded with the Zheng family."

Dai Wenmeng concluded: "The officialdom of Quzhou Prefecture is rotten! The inspection team of the Metropolitan Procuratorate came here three years ago, and everything was fine at the time. If it is not that our inspection officials were derelict in their duties, then it is Quzhou's fault in these two In three years, officialdom has plummeted!"

Mei Zhuyou was actually a little excited: "I'm afraid, we will catch a big fish this time!"

Twelve "Bai Wuchang" investigate in pairs and go to the inn every three days to exchange information.

Dai Wenmeng and Mei Zhuyou followed the crying old farmer out of the city. They didn't dare to act rashly, fearing to alert the enemy, so they didn't knock on the old farmer's door until midnight.

"Dong dong dong!"

After knocking for a long time, no one opened the door, and there was a sound of crying and howling in the house.

The old farmer and his family thought it was the Zheng family who sent people to take revenge on them for selling vegetables in the city without permission.

Probably because he felt that he could not escape, the door finally opened. The old farmer and his whole family knelt down and said, "Master Zheng, please have mercy on me. Master Zheng, please have mercy on me. Little Lard has deceived his heart. He shouldn't sell vegetables. From now on, all the vegetables at home will be sold." To the Zheng family..."

"Go in and talk." Dai Wenmeng said.

The whole family was frightened, crying, and trembling as they invited them into the house.

Seeing that the old farmer was about to kneel down again, Dai Wenmeng took out his badge of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, revealed his identity and said: "Old man, we are not the thieves of the Zheng family, we are the honest officials of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. The emperor knew that the Zheng family was doing evil, so he specially sent us Come check..."

"The emperor also knows?"

Before the old farmer could finish speaking, he pulled the whole family to kneel down and said: "The emperor is a good emperor, but all officials are bad. Please, you two officials, let the common people make the decision!"

"Silence!"

Mei Zhuyou threatened: "Stop shouting, and you are not allowed to go out and tell us. We are undercover investigation. If the news is leaked before arresting the Zheng family, all of you will lose your heads!"

The family was so frightened that they trembled and said repeatedly: "If you don't talk nonsense, you won't go out and talk nonsense."

Mei Zhuyou took out a pen and paper to record, and Dai Wenmeng began to ask questions.

Dai Wenmeng asked: "Does the whole village's vegetables have to be sold to the Zheng family?"

"Not just the whole village," the old farmer said, "vegetables in the whole town have to be sold to the Zheng family. If it weren't for the Datong Bank to collect grain, I'm afraid the food can only be sold to the Zheng family. In the villages and towns around Quzhou City, the Zheng family has I’m not even afraid of the prefect, I’m just afraid of the officials of Datong Bank.”

Dai Wenmeng asked: "There is no farmers' association in your village? Doesn't the farmers' association help farmers?"

The old farmer said: "There is a farmers' association. The president's surname is Zheng, and the village chief's surname is also Zheng. The mayor is from outside, but he is not surnamed Zheng, but he works with someone surnamed Zheng. The mayor is also greedy and occupies the land with the Zheng family. On a barren mountain, they burn lime and cement and sell them for money. The only young people in the town they dare not mess with are the peasants and soldiers. Except for the peasants and soldiers, they will beat anyone who disobeys."

"How many towns are like this?" Dai Wenmeng asked.

The old farmer replied: "As far as the common people know, there are three towns."

He asked some more questions and asked the old farmer to press his fingerprints.

The next day, Dai Wenmeng and Mei Zhuyou returned to the city inn to exchange investigation information with other anti-corruption officials.

A member of the Integrity Office named Cao Benshu said: "Lao Liang and I got inaccurate news. The younger brother of Zheng Tongfu, a doctor in the Ministry of Industry, married the niece of Mr. Li Ge. If the news is true, Quzhou's officialdom is in bad shape. So fast, most likely it has something to do with Mr. Li Ge. Mr. Li Ge may not know about it, but the Zheng family will inevitably use his name to do evil."

Everyone looked at each other in shock. The case actually involved Li Banghua.

"How about we present the case to His Majesty first and see what His Majesty plans to do?" said an honest official.

Mei Zhuyou said sternly: "Your Majesty is troubled by everything, what do you want us officials to do? Brother Cao and Brother Liang, go verify the information and see if it is related to Mr. Li Ge. Others, stay in Quzhou and continue to investigate the case. Forget it. Since Mr. Li Ge is involved, this case cannot be ignored. From the government office to the county government and then to the villages and towns, there are probably hundreds of officials involved!"