Qing Yao

Chapter 290 An Honest Official Who's Worse Than a Ghost

The governor was the head of the local officials.

The county magistrate is the foundation of the local officials.

If the disaster victims turn into rioters, the county magistrate will have the responsibility to defend the territory.

How can we defend our territory without money and provisions?

Logically, Dingyuan County was not wrong; its actions were entirely in line with the interests of the imperial court.

Because cities were the foundation of the Qing Dynasty's rule.

No matter how bad the trouble is in the countryside, as long as the city is not lost, at most it is just rampant thievery. For local officials, it is just a matter of "failing to apprehend thieves". At best, they will be demoted; at worst, they will be dismissed from office.

It won't kill you.

But if a city is lost, no matter how many reasons or explanations a local official may have, or how good their past achievements may be, it is a crime punishable by death.

The two powers harm each other, whichever is less.

Abandon the countryside, defend the city!
It must be said that Dingyuan County is rigid and dogmatic in its approach to things, constantly spouting sages and classics, appearing like complete bookworms. However, they are very clear about the division of responsibilities, and their actions are simply in line with the "bottom line".

This "bottom line" completely enraged Zhao An, who immediately rebuked him: "You scoundrel! Do you know that protecting the city is the least important aspect of defending the land, while ensuring the safety of the people is the primary responsibility of defending the land! Without the people, what use is a county magistrate like you who only knows how to pray to Heaven!"

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, the magistrate of Dingyuan County retorted, "Your Excellency said that it was wrong for me to beg Heaven for rain to save the people, but doesn't that mean that the Emperor was also wrong?"

Ok?
Zhao An was stunned. What the hell did this have to do with the old man?

As a result, the people of Dingyuan County pointed out that since the old patriarch ascended the throne, he had repeatedly built high platforms, donned white robes, and purified himself to pray to Heaven for rain. He also issued several edicts instructing local officials to learn from him, attributing the disasters to their own lack of virtue, feeling ashamed, and at the same time, to apologize to Heaven more often, so that Heaven would take pity on the people's hardships.

Therefore, the people of Dingyuan County responded to the old man's call, regarded the old man as their role model, listened to the old man's words in everything, and learned from the old man's example in everything.

What's wrong with such a loyal subject?

By denying the advanced deeds of seeking divine intervention and asking for rain in Dingyuan County, are you also questioning the wisdom of the old man?

A county magistrate can take it just like that. Old sir, can you really take it?

This made Zhao An wonder if the county magistrate, who looked like a bookworm, was pretending to be weak while actually being strong, or if he was deliberately feigning madness.

Regardless of which one it is, it's all about exonerating oneself; the goal is to absolve oneself of incompetence.

To absolve themselves of the fact that they were powerless to provide disaster relief and left the victims to fend for themselves.

This kind of official must be removed.

During the great disaster, Zhao An did not believe that Dingyuan County was without problems.

Suddenly, he looked at a relief camp worker in the crowd and said coldly, "You said earlier that you sold four women for eight taels of silver, gave five taels to the county magistrate, and kept three taels for yourself. Is that true?"

"what?"

The staff member had been singled out by the provincial governor and had no choice but to step forward and reluctantly admit that it was indeed the case.

Zhao An nodded: "I ask you, since the disaster relief camp was established, how much silver have you all given to the county magistrate?" "Replying to Your Excellency,"

The staff member hesitated for a long time, but could not withstand the pressure of Zhao Anguan’s official power, and said that the front and rear camps had given the county magistrate more than three thousand taels.

In other words, this disaster relief camp sold more than two thousand people.

Realizing something, the magistrate of Dingyuan County hurriedly said, "If Your Excellency wishes to impeach me for this, I have nothing to say and am willing to accept the court's punishment and return to my hometown to farm and study for a living. However, I believe that having these disaster-stricken women and children bought is their only way to survive. If they are not bought, they will most likely be slaughtered. Therefore, although I know that this matter is against human ethics, it is a helpless act."

Zhao An waved his hand, indicating that the magistrate did not need to say more, and only asked, "Is it true that the camp gave you more than three thousand taels of silver?"

Dingyuan County seemed to have been prepared, and immediately admitted: "This humble official did receive more than three thousand taels of silver, but I have not touched a single coin of this silver. It is all kept in the treasury. If you do not believe me, Your Excellency, you can ask the head of the household office."

"Where are the houses in Dingyuan County?"

Zhao An immediately inquired with the Dingyuan County Household Department, and it turned out to be true. The more than three thousand taels of silver were stored in the treasury along with the disaster relief funds allocated from above, and not a single tael of silver went into the county magistrate's private pocket.

Baili Yunlong and others privately inquired with several staff members of the Dingyuan County government and learned that Magistrate Chen was not only incorruptible but also had a strong sense of moral purity.

The local gentry and wealthy households voluntarily offered to donate grain to relieve the disaster victims, but Magistrate Chen insisted on the principle of "not taking a single penny" and forbade the wealthy households from donating grain. His refusal to open the granaries was not only because he feared trouble from tampering with the official granaries, but also because he worried that unclear accounts would damage his reputation as an honest official.

In general, Dingyuan County is an extremely stubborn and rigid person, but he is not a corrupt official. In some ways, he is even more extreme than Zhao An, the corrupt official.

For example, they could turn the backyard of the government office into a small vegetable garden, growing and harvesting their own produce.

There's really no way to take down Dingyuan County under the pretext of corruption.

Although Zhao An was the second most powerful person in Anhui, he was in charge of civil affairs and finance, and did not have the power to directly execute county-level officials. Doing so would be a serious violation of the law.

The direct punishment measures that the provincial governors would take against local officials were either delaying the payment of their salaries and deducting office expenses, or giving them a poor evaluation in the year-end assessment, making it impossible for them to be promoted.

Apart from that, the only recourse was to submit a memorial impeaching the official, with the court making the final decision.

However, this impeachment requires the governor's signature to be effective. In other words, all Zhao An can do now is to stop paying Dingyuan County's salary and directly set his performance evaluation as inferior, but he cannot immediately remove him from office, let alone bring this utterly incompetent county magistrate to justice on the spot.

Judging from the attitude of Dingyuan County, they probably want to just leave. No matter what mistakes they made at work, they can always quit.

Given the current situation in Anhui, local officials are probably all eager to pack their bags and leave.

The scene was somewhat quiet. The staff from Dingyuan County watched, the disaster victims watched, and the merchants who came to buy "goods" also watched.

The young women and children who had just been "rescued" from the carriage stared blankly at this scene.

After letting out a sigh of relief, Zhao An spoke, staring coldly at the seemingly fearless Dingyuan County Magistrate: "You think you can atone for your sins by not being this magistrate? Let me tell you, I will not only strip you of your official hat, but also take your head to console the people who died because of your incompetence. Otherwise, how can I be worthy of this yellow jacket I wear! How can I be worthy of the Emperor's high expectations!"

"My lord, you want to kill me?!"

Dingyuan County was shocked. "Your Excellency has no right to kill me! According to the laws of the Qing Dynasty, even if I have committed an unforgivable crime punishable by death, my life or death should be decided by the relevant authorities, reviewed by the Ministry of Justice, and decided by the Emperor! If Your Excellency disregards the law and kills me, I'm afraid your official career is over."

"If I don't kill you, you muddle-headed official, I might as well quit!"

Before he could finish speaking, Zhao An drew the sword from Baili Yunlong's waist and plunged it into the chest of the Dingyuan magistrate, his expression extremely ferocious: "What use is an honest official like you, who is worse than a ghost!"

(End of this chapter)