Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 607: The Rise of the Song Dynasty Supervisor

The Privy Council's Speedy Office captured the most critical group of people in the "fake guild case" - the group of Jin State secret spies who set up the fake guild.

This incident not only made Lin'an Prefecture feel ashamed, but also made the Imperial City Bureau feel ashamed.

Lin'an Prefecture investigated for such a long time, but in the end they only listed a bunch of "ironclad evidence" pointing directly to Yang Yuan as the real culprit behind the incident.

They had only one chance to arrest the founders of the "fake club", who were the most critical group of people in this case, but they escaped early.

When the Imperial City Bureau took over the case, it was during the Duzi Bridge prisoner hijacking incident. The imperial guards were patrolling the entire city, and they were unable to take advantage of this opportunity to catch these people.

In the end, it was the people from the Privy Council's Machine Room who brought them to justice.

Moreover, it was the Privy Council's Machine Speed ​​Office that found Yang Yuan's whereabouts and rescued him from the underground palace of Leifeng Tower, which made the Imperial City Bureau very embarrassed.

However, no matter how embarrassing it is, these prisoners will always ask for it. Are they just waiting for others to deliver it to them?
What a face!

"Vice Envoy Han, you continue to track down the people involved in the case and related clues. I will go to the Privy Council."

Mu En took the initiative to bring it up out of consideration.

He is about to retire from the Imperial City Bureau, so it would be better for him to make friends with Deputy Envoy Han.

Han Jiansong will continue to work in this position and there is a high probability that he will take over his position.

There is no need to let Han Jiansong show up in public for such an embarrassing matter.

On the Privy Council side, Yang Cunzhong received Mu En with a beaming smile.

Yang Cunzhong is different from Qin Hui who has always excluded and suppressed Jisufang.

Because Qin Hui's Speed ​​Room was not under his control, and as a dissident, he had to suppress it.

Yang Cunzhong didn't care whether the Jisufang had the power to bypass him and report directly to the emperor. In his opinion, the glory of the Jisufang was the glory of his Privy Council.

Therefore, while he recommended credit for Liu Shangqiu, Yuan Chengju, Guo Xuzhi and others, he personally met with Mu En and readily handed over a group of Jin spies.

The Imperial City Administration was greatly humiliated by these Jin people. After they were brought back to the Imperial City Administration, they naturally began to torture them immediately.

The person in charge of interrogating them was Wu Yichen from the Xiasan Command Post.

Since he had participated in the trial of the case before, it was natural for him to be in charge of this case.

Interrogation? Wait, let me torture him first.

Wu Yichen always felt that although his Imperial City Division did not have as advanced skinning technology as the Pi Pi Pi, its ability to torture prisoners was more professional than the Pi Pi Institute.

His Imperial City Division is not inferior to others.

……

After many days, Yang Yuan returned to the Censorate with his servant Liu Dazhuang.

Outside the ceremonial gate of the Censorate, the Left Censor-in-Chief Wang Chenkun led the way, followed by more than one hundred supervisory censors headed by Xiao Yiran, Lu Chengze, and Yu Zeping.

They were all dressed neatly and stood solemnly outside the ceremonial gate.

They welcomed the Right Censor-in-Chief Yang Yuan into the Censorate as if they were welcoming a triumphant general.

The three big men, Chief Censor Zhu Zhuo, Left Deputy Chief Censor Xiao Hongji, and Right Deputy Chief Censor Tan Qi, were all waiting in Zhu Zhuo's signing room. When Yang Yuan's name was called in, they invited him to take a seat and gave him some encouragement.

After some polite exchanges, Yang Yuan returned to his signing room, where the three censors, Xiao Yiran, Lu Chengze and Yu Zeping, had already been waiting there separately.

Today, they have clearly been branded with Yang Yuan's stamp and there is no need to hide it.

"Minister, after you were wrongfully imprisoned, the Chief Censor was furious and immediately retrieved all pending files. All the censors in my Censorate are responsible for one case each. These are all the cases under investigation."

Xiao Yiran put the suspicious cases he had sorted out on the list of Yang Yuan's cases.

Lu Chengze smiled and said, "After the charges against Liu Yiguan that he had fabricated against the Vice-President were overturned, the Regent was furious and ordered the three judicial departments to jointly try the case. Liu Yiguan is now detained in my Metropolitan Procuratorate. Does the Vice-President want to bring him to trial?"

A few days ago, Liu Yiguan was the presiding judge in court and Yang Yuan was a suspect, but now their roles have been reversed.

Yang Yuan asked, "Who in our company is currently investigating the Liu Yiguan case?"

Yu Zeping said: "Wang Qianxian is now in charge of this case."

Yang Yuan waved his hand and said, "Then let's not interfere. Wang Qianxian is meticulous and rigorous in handling cases. Besides, given my relationship with Liu Yiguan, it's not convenient for me to intervene."

He took a sip of tea and said, "Since the establishment of our Censorate, we have solved several major cases. This time, the Chief Censor's wrath has caused all kinds of problems. This is a good thing. It can make people lose their composure and unable to see our direction. However..."

Yang Yuan glanced at the three confidants and said, "You should understand why the so-called fake meeting case, the so-called frame-up by Liu Yiguan, and the rejection and vigilance of our Censorate by various government offices are all for."

“You may say that my Censorate has too much power and that supervising all officials is annoying, but my Censorate still has to abide by the laws and disciplines. The cases we investigate also have to go through the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice before they can be implemented. We are far less feared than the Imperial City Bureau, which is directly under the emperor.

But why are there people who are more wary and repulsive towards us than the Imperial City Bureau?"

Xiao Yiran, Lu Chengze and Yu Zeping certainly understood that the Censorate was reorganized on the basis of the Censorate.

Putting aside the superficial reasons that can be spoken of, there is only one real reason for its establishment:
The emperor needed a sharp knife to cut off the force that was sticking to his hands and feet like malt sugar and blocking his way in the process of implementing the new policy.

This is a battle of routes.

The emperor wanted to go left, but those who thought the right side was better pulled his wheels and forced him to go to the right.

At the same time, this is also a struggle for power.

Since ancient times, emperors have never been subject to such heavy constraints as the emperor of the Song Dynasty.

The idea of ​​governing the country together with the literati was first proposed in the Han Dynasty, but it only showed an attitude of respecting the literati.

It was not until the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song that it was truly brought to the fore. It was not until the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song that it was truly implemented. It was not until the reign of Emperor Shenzong of Song that it became a system that was respected by everyone from top to bottom.

But, whose world is it in the eyes of the literati? Is it the world of the common people?

During the reign of Emperor Shenzong of Song Dynasty, Wang Anshi saw many problems and intended to reform the country, but was opposed by many conservative ministers.

The then Prime Minister Wen Yanbo told Emperor Shenzong that the ancestral laws and regulations were still there and there was no need to change them, so as not to lose the support of the people.

Shenzong retorted: The reform may make some scholars and officials dissatisfied, but it is not inappropriate for the people.

Wen Yanbo said bluntly: Your Majesty, you share the world with the scholars and officials, not with the people!
Shenzong replied that not all scholars and officials were opposed to the reform, and there were still many who believed that the reform should be carried out.

This conversation was a grand dialogue between the emperor and his ministers in public, with no concealment at all.

From this conversation, we can see that during the reign of Emperor Shenzong, the principle of "sharing the world with the literati and officials" had already been accepted.

It can also be seen from the words of this prime minister that in their eyes, "sharing the world with the literati and officials" refers to their group of literati and officials. In other words, he, the prime minister, represents the group of literati and officials, and has nothing to do with the common people of the world.

When he said about shaking people's hearts, he was only referring to the hearts of the scholar-officials, and had nothing to do with the common people of the world.

Whether the reform is beneficial to the people is not important. What is important is whether the scholars are satisfied.

Some people wishfully believe that the scholar-officials fought for power with the emperor to represent them, but the scholar-officials did not consider him a "human being" at all.

In essence, it is just a power game between imperial power and literati, and a more concrete manifestation is the struggle between the power of the monarch and the power of the prime minister.

However, the young official Zhao Yuan was obviously a little impatient with such heavy constraints.

Abolishing the privileges enjoyed by the scholar-officials from a legal perspective, restoring the "Imperial Song Criminal System" and the Taizu system was a dangerous beginning for the group that protected the interests of the scholar-officials.

Of course, the only thing that has changed now is that scholars and officials who have committed crimes will no longer be given "extrajudicial grace".

But what next?
The purpose of establishing the Censorate of the Song Dynasty was to strengthen the imperial power, weaken the power of the prime minister, and weaken the power of the scholar-officials.

Eliminating the leniency that allows scholars and officials to be above the law when committing crimes is only the first step.

The second step is to carefully shorten the prime minister's term of office.

Next, the Censorate will obviously have to play a greater role.

In fact, all parties are very clear about this.

So, someone wanted to get rid of Yang Yuan. Did so many court officials really not know that the evidence was false?
Is it true that Mr. Shen has heard nothing about this major incident that has caused such a stir in the city?
They just pretended to be confused on purpose, hoping that some people would fight back, so that the Censorate would give up and then "live in harmony with the world" with them.

The ultimate goal is to make the emperor give up and honestly follow the example of the emperors since Renzong, and just share the world with them, instead of always thinking about being different.

However, they did not expect Zhu Zhuo to be so tough. This "scum of the literati" actually dared to go all out and fight back.

They also didn't expect that Yang Yuan had planned to put himself in danger.

So, I lose one piece now.

But for Yang Yuan, he believed that it was time to launch a counterattack with a clear goal.

Zhu Zhuo's all-out counterattack certainly showed the arrogance of the Censorate, but it was completely disorganized. Zhu may not have known that his actions looked impressive, but they could not really hurt his opponent.

No matter what his considerations were, Yang Yuan, the vanguard who had jumped out during the palace examination, would obviously continue to play the role of the vanguard.

After hearing what Yang Yuan said, Xiao Yiran, Lu Chengze, and Yu Zeping's faces suddenly turned red.

They are still young and don't care about the twists and turns and the trade-offs of advance and retreat. They are willing to fight.

It was for this reason that when Yang Yuan suggested to Zhao Yuan that he should appoint these "grassroots prosecutors", he should try to select young people who had just entered the officialdom.

Xiao Yiran pointed his finger at the list he had just handed to Yang Yuan: "Mr. Xian, I think we can start with this case."

Yang Yuan's gaze fell on the place Xiao Yiran pointed to: Qiu Shunquan, the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Personnel.

A sixth-rank official, an official of low rank but with great power.

Xiao Yiran said, "The Ministry of Personnel is the highest authority in the country. The appointment, examination, promotion, demotion, honors and transfer of officials all come from the Ministry of Personnel. I think that starting from the Ministry of Personnel will achieve twice the result with half the effort!"

Yang Yuan raised his eyebrows slightly. Now that the supervisory department was in hand, he could supervise and inspect each government office.

This will indeed give them a headache, but this alone is obviously not enough.

Not every official is guilty, and not every official who is guilty can be exposed.

But if the Organization Department and the Personnel Department are under control, will those officials who are dissatisfied and unwilling to accept the situation still not be convinced?

The Ministry of Personnel was responsible for selecting and appointing officials; assessing their political achievements and moral conduct; promoting, demoting and transferring officials; awarding honors and titles to officials; assessing their salaries; and even their leave of absence or retirement. This was a government office that could control everything about their official duties.

Yang Yuan carefully looked at the man's charges, because it was just a form and the description on it was very simple.

Yang Yuan asked, "Besides the fact that he is an official of the Ministry of Personnel, what else was the reason for you choosing this person?"

Even if he brought down one person, he could not shake the entire Ministry of Personnel, let alone control it, so he needed a more convincing reason.

Xiao Yiran smiled slightly and said, "The reason is that many of the things he did could not be accomplished by just being a Yuanwailang."

understood.

Yang Yuan hesitated for a moment, then raised his head and said in a deep voice: "You three, immediately hand over the cases you are currently in charge of. I will pass them on to others. From now on..."

Yang Yuan picked up the pen, drew a circle around Qiu Shunquan's name, and said, "The three of you, follow me and investigate this person!"

……

When Yang Yuan determined the target of the action, Direct Academicians Lu Zhuwei and Ye Quan were also writing memorials.

The title of "Guan Ge Bachelor" was used for some officials who had specific positions, and it was a kind of honorary title.

If he was just a scholar, he would be the emperor's attendant and advisor and could not directly interfere in court affairs.

But there is one advantage to this. If they want to express some opinions, they can do so as an academic study without worrying about any consequences. After all, this is not a formal impeachment.

Therefore, following Tang Situi's suggestion, Master Lu and Master Ye jumped out first to test the waters.

Now they can't take many measures against the Censorate and Yang Yuan. After all, it is the duty of the Censorate to monitor all officials, and they only investigate guilty officials, which you cannot blame them for.

Although the reason for Yang Yuan's biggest crime has not been made public to the government and the public, it has been certified by the Regent, Prime Minister and Privy Councilor, confirming his innocence.

At this point, officials above the six ministries had actually already guessed the general idea.

Well, the only thing they can do is to seize upon the basin of dirty water that Liu Yiguan threw at Yang Yuan.

Although there is currently no evidence to prove that Yang Yuan is guilty, all his actions from his mission to the Jin Kingdom to his return to the Song Dynasty did indeed bring huge benefits to the New Jin.

Moreover, as the exchanges between the Song Dynasty and the New Jin Dynasty became increasingly close, some of Yang Yuan's deeds in Liaodong and Shangjing areas began to spread to the Song Dynasty.

According to those legends, he was highly regarded by the top management of Xinjin.

So, is it possible that Yang Yuan was indeed bribed by Xin Jin?

Is there still such a possibility?

Therefore, before we are sure, we cannot accuse him without reason. However, in order to prevent problems before they occur, should we transfer him out of the important government office?

The two scholars began writing their memorial in such an "academic research" tone.

This is not the kind of low-level false accusation like "a stamp costs eight cents, and the Discipline Inspection Commission has to run around for half a year." That kind of accusation can only disgust people and make you feel annoyed.

Once they took the lead, other officials had reason to join the discussion.

With so many people discussing this, won’t the emperor feel uncomfortable?
Whenever Yang Yuan did anything, he was afraid of arousing suspicion from his superiors, so he had to be cautious.

It has real effects.

There are three types of memorials: court memorials, open memorials and secret memorials.

Only the emperor could see the secret memorial, while the open memorial had to be registered and submitted through the corresponding departments of the court.

Before the memorial reached the emperor, the various ministries that had handled it already knew its contents.

The court memorial is a memorial submitted during the court period, "if there is a memorial, submit it early; if there is no memorial, leave the court."

He presented the petition publicly at a court meeting, and explained its contents in front of all the civil and military officials in the court.

These two scholars chose this approach.

July 15th is in two days, which is the middle of the month. The Regent needs to hold a court meeting. They plan to fire at Yang Yuan during the meeting.

July 15th is also the Ghost Festival.

During the Ghost Festival, the gates of hell open, and you should only break down houses and walls, and do nothing else.

However, the two scholars thought that they were going to demolish Yang Yuan's house, and the timing was just right.

……

Yuye was escorted back to the "Moshanghua" embroidery workshop. When her mother Tan saw her return, she couldn't help but cry with joy.

She was just an ordinary traditional woman. What sin had she committed to marry a husband who liked fighting and killing? It would have been fine if she had joined the army and become a military general.

Later, he was transferred to the Skinning Office and became an official in Beijing. On the surface, his identity was the owner of an embroidery workshop, and he lived a peaceful life.

As a result, after going to the north, he became restless again and stayed there under an assumed name.

This is enough to make her worry, and it turns out that her daughter is also not worry-free. She has become an old maid and has not considered getting married. She has to go out to manage the business all day long.

As a result, she was first imprisoned and then kidnapped, which almost scared her to death.

Is it because our family doesn't have enough money to spend? You are a girl, what's the point of earning so much money?

Tan cried and cursed, and finally talked about getting married, having children, and living a good life.

Fei Yuye quickly begged for mercy: "Mom, I know I was wrong. I will go to Ganniang Li tomorrow and ask her to introduce me to a reliable man so that I can get married soon and have a grandson soon. Is that ok?"

When Tan heard this, her mood suddenly calmed down and she asked in surprise, "Really? The tomorrow you mentioned is the real tomorrow, right? July 14th of the first year of Longxing in the Great Song Dynasty?"

Fei Yuye didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said, "Yes, yes, it's tomorrow, July 14th."

Tan emphasized: "It was July 14th, the first year of Longxing in the Song Dynasty."

"Yes, yes, July 14th, the first year of Longxing in the Great Song Dynasty!"

Tan hiccuped and felt much better instantly: "That's good, that's good, my daughter is finally willing to settle down. In fact, there are several suitable families here..."

Fei Yuye said hurriedly: "My daughter said that she would ask Ganniang Li for help. I will not see anyone from my mother's side."

"Really? You are my flesh and blood. How can I cheat you?"

Tan said happily, "You can ask your godmother for help. Madam Li is such a person, the person she will help you find will definitely not be bad."

Fei Yuye's eyes flashed, and she said cunningly: "If godmother thinks it's good, mother won't object, right?"

Tan's daughter, who had cried so hard for so long, was finally willing to get married, so how could she dare to object?

Besides, with Mrs. Li’s status as a person, how could the man she chooses for her daughter be bad?

Tan smiled and said, "Of course, as long as it's introduced by Madam Li and you like the couple, mother won't object."

Fei Yuye bared her little white teeth at her mother and said guiltily, "My daughter will go to Qingchen Hall to take a bath first to wash off the bad luck on her body, and then she will accompany mother for dinner later."

After saying this, he ran away.

(End of this chapter)