"My lord, Xue Jizu, the commander of the Ganzhou Guard."
"My lord, Zhang Shan, the magistrate of Fuzhou."
“See King Wu Qiansui”
Two officials, one civil and one military, strode in and knelt in front of Zhu Yunxi.
Xue Jizu, the commander of the Ganzhou Guards, was a typical warrior, with a rough face and a sinewy face. He was born in the family of the late Yongguo Gong Xue Xian and was Xue Xian's grandnephew.
Xue Xian died twenty years ago. He was also a fierce general of the Ming Dynasty during his lifetime. He once belonged to Zhu Wenzheng's tent. He faced Chen Youliang's hundreds of thousands of troops and defended Jiujiang for three months. He was a ruthless man who would be admired by Chang Yuchun. .
Zhu Yunxi's eyes swept across him and landed on Zhang Shan, the prefect of Fuzhou.
If this is not a prefect, but an old farmer, some people will believe it. Zhang Shan's beard and hair are half black and half white. He is in his early fifties, and his face is covered with wrinkles. His back is a bit stooped and his figure is very thin. He was not wearing an official uniform, just a piece of coarse cloth with frayed cuffs and splashed with mud and water.
Moreover, it seems that due to lack of sleep, Zhang Shan's eyes were bloodshot, and the joints on his hands and nails were covered with black sand.
"Did you just come up from the river embankment?" Zhang Shan's appearance made Zhu Yunxi feel more favorable towards him and he asked.
Zhang Shan cupped his hands and said, "On the day the Fuhe River burst its embankment, I organized the people to build the river embankment at the breach.
It's just that there are too few people in my hands, so the gap that is a hundred feet wide can only be blocked by less than thirty feet. "As he said this, he kowtowed again, "I am guilty. Your Highness, please punish me for my incompetence. "
"As a government official, all the people under your control are at your disposal. How come there are not enough manpower? Even if there are not enough manpower, you can still select young people from the victims.
You can recognize yourself and know that you are incompetent! "Zhu Yunxi snorted coldly.
Zhang Shan had a sad smile on his face. He first looked at the worried Chief Secretary of Jiangxi Province, then kowtowed heavily again and said,
"The disaster in Fuzhou is like this. I have the responsibility, and I will never shirk it. How should I punish my sin? Please make your decision, and I will not argue. However, I have something to say before I die."
In fact, Zhu Yunxi knew clearly that there must be a hidden secret. If Zhang Shan was really not an official who cared about the life and death of the people, he would not have organized people to build river embankments. Not to mention personally risking one's life and doing these dirty and thankless jobs.
"Tell me!" Zhu Yunxi said, "Why did the disaster in Fuzhou become like this? Magistrate Zhang, let me explain it to you!"
Zhang Shan raised his head and said in a deep voice, "I was transferred to Fuzhou Magistrate in April, but I have no say in the big and small matters in Fuzhou.
Fuzhou's co-president Li Tai and general judge Zhang Wenyi were both from local wealthy families. The yamen and the counties were run like iron by them and they did not obey my orders. "
"After the disaster occurred, I asked them to raise food, but they said that the treasury was empty. I asked them to recruit civilian men, but they said that the people are exhausted now. Moreover, the people in the countryside are panicked and cannot mobilize manpower."
"When the food and official silver provided by the imperial court were delivered, they took the document from Yuan Fansi and said that it was their duty to provide relief to the victims and control the grain depot.
The yamen is full of their people, so I can't get involved. "
"You're talking nonsense!" Yuan Wenqing was furious, as if his tail had been stepped on, "As a prefect, you can't command subordinates, and you still want to shirk your responsibility?"
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"Shut up!" Zhu Yunxi scolded, "Did I ask you to speak?"
Yuan Wenqing was suddenly stunned and looked horrified.
"You are so incompetent that you let the people below take advantage of you!"
This is the disadvantage of local people being local officials. It is easy to sideline foreign officials. If outside officials join in with them, everyone will be happy. If outside officials are not strong enough and are not from their side, prefects like Zhang Shan are examples.
But poor people must be hateful. The fact that Zhang Shan, a prefect, has reached this point is also a problem of his own ability. No one else can blame him.
"How many civilians were on the breached embankment?" Zhu Yunxi thought for a while and continued to ask.
"The two thousand people are all people recruited by me personally in the city." Zhang Shan said,
"At that time, I promised these people that each of them would be paid six cents per day, and each person would have one dou of rice after the work was completed.
But I haven’t come up with this money or food yet. "
"If someone has money, how long will it take to close the gap?" Zhu Yunxi asked.
"I dare not say how long it will take, but I can promise that Fuhe will never be breached again!" Zhang Shan said and smiled again,
"I know that I am guilty and cannot escape the law of the country. I have already settled my funeral affairs with my family. Please allow me to do some good deeds for the people of Fuzhou by using my body to deal with the crime."
Zhu Yunxi turned his head, looked at Yuan Wenqing, and said with a sneer, "You see, although Zhang Shan is incompetent, at least he has responsibility in his heart and dares to admit it! And you... are a bunch of villains."
"My lord..." Yuan Wenqing said anxiously, "My lord will supervise the matter in person right away..."
"It's too late!" Zhu Yunxi turned away from looking at him, "I gave you a chance! But you wasted it!"
With that said, Zhu Yunxi said to He Guangyi, "Where are the Jin Yiwei?"
"I'm here!"
"Arrest Li Tai and Zhang Wenyi immediately, find out their dirty deeds, and seal up the family property!"
"OK"
"As for Governor Yuan." Zhu Yunxi sneered twice, "It is a state-owned and national law. A province's vassals cannot be killed at will. How can we still have the emperor's holy judgment in the end?"
"Your Highness!" Yuan Wenqing was horrified and shouted, "I have been wronged. I really just made an oversight. Your Highness gave me a chance. I am related by marriage to the Chang family, and my niece married into the Chang family."
"Take it away!" Zhu Yunxi said angrily, "You are still having a relationship at this time!"
"Your Highness!"
Yuan Wenqing was still shouting, but he was dragged out by several Jinyi guards.
The Chang family is Zhu Yunxi's mother clan. As a noble relative of the Ming Dynasty, the Chang family's relationship with the court is also complicated. Many of the children in the family are married to high officials in the court.
That's how in-laws are, they support and care for each other. But if your relatives are good people, good things will happen. If your relatives are assholes, you will inevitably get into trouble.
After Yuan Wenqing was pulled out, Zhu Yunxi looked at Ganzhou Guard Commander Xue Jizu, "How many troops did you bring?"
Xue Jizu grinned and said, "Back to Your Highness, I have brought with me 1,500 people, all of whom are the elite of the Ganzhou Guards. The 20,000 rioters on Wufeng Mountain are not enough to watch."
Your Highness can let go and kill! "
"No, Your Highness!" Behind Zhu Yunxi, Tie Xuan, who had been following silently, suddenly said,
"It is understandable that the victims of the disaster gathered together. I thought that I could not distinguish between good and bad and kill them all."
He said with an excited look on his face, "If we can do something about it, the people will not go against the government. Please have mercy on the people, please give priority to them."
"That's the truth, that's what I mean!" Zhu Yunxi said to Xue Jizu, "Now start stationing your troops in Fuzhou to maintain the relief order, and then send people to Wufeng Mountain to appease the victims."
"Okay!" Xue Jizu responded loudly.
Jin Yiwei acted quickly to arrest people. Li Tai, Zhang Guangyi and Fuzhou officials involved in the disaster relief, totaling more than 30 people, were all brought to justice in less than half a day.
These people were biting each other and shirking their responsibilities. They were full of ugliness in front of the Jin Yiwei who was reviewing the case.
A provincial vassal was under guard, and so many officials were imprisoned. Fuzhou was trembling with fear. Zhang Shan accepted the crime and made meritorious service. He quickly selected people who were willing to work in exchange for food among the victims and rushed to the river embankment to step up construction.
At the same time, in the city, the officials were afraid of annoying the imperial envoy King Wu, so they tried their best. Various measures were taken simultaneously, and the victims were quickly stabilized, and the living environment and distribution of food rations were also greatly improved.
The autumn rain in Fuzhou also stopped overnight after Zhu Yunxi arrived.
Three days later, the second batch of military rations from Wuchang was delivered. While people inside and outside the city were rejoicing, news suddenly came.
King Wu wants to kill someone!
Twenty-seven people including Li Tai, the former Fuzhou magistrate, Zhang Wenyi, the general judge, and officials from the grain depot treasurer, will be executed at noon in front of all the people because they have enriched themselves and ignored the people's livelihood.