White-robed Minister

Chapter 122-0120 [There are many things that happen to the magistrate who was a sub-prefect]

"Han Da, invite Judge Zhou over," Xu Lai called out.

"!"

Han Da was specifically assigned to Xu Lai as a messenger, and his usual duties included running errands, relaying messages, and doing some miscellaneous tasks.

Zhou Shenzhi had been guarding the next room. Yesterday, Xu Lai summoned him and sent the accounts of the embassy treasury back, ordering the relevant government departments to rebuild them immediately.

He had never seen Xu Lai go through so much trouble. While the handover between officials was generally acceptable, Xu Lai actually went through each and every document meticulously.

"Xu, the judge, I wonder where things have gone wrong again?" Zhou Shenzhi asked.

Xu Lai pointed to several documents on the desk: "The military supplies depot grain and fodder approval document from last November, although the paper and ink are the same as the other documents in the same batch, the signature and handwriting are slightly different from what Zhao, the military advisor in charge of household affairs, usually writes."

Zhou Shenzhi looked down and his head immediately started buzzing.

This is a case of someone forging signatures and embezzling funds and supplies from the military treasury, and Zhou Shenzhi actually signed and approved it.

Zhou Shenzhi couldn't remember what he was doing at the time.

He quickly said to Xu, "Please wait a moment, Judge Xu. I will call Judge Zhang and Judge Wang here. I will also send someone to the Revenue Department to invite Military Advisor Zhao."

The officials under the Judgment Hall consisted of a group of clerks, judges, and adjudicators.

For example, the second-ranked scholar in this new imperial examination was initially appointed as a military commissioner, under the jurisdiction of the judge's office of a certain prefecture.

Before long, Magistrate Zhang Jingwen and Judge Wang Ke were summoned.

Zhou Shenzhi quickly explained the situation and then instructed Wang Ke: "Judge Wang, you were in charge of returning the documents to the archives. If these approvals were added later, there must be traces in the archives' registers. Go and check the archives' registers immediately to see if the date of entry and the person in charge of the Jia Yin document match the other documents in the same batch."

"yes!"

Wang Ke dared not delay and immediately led his men to investigate.

Just then, Zhao Qian, the military advisor, was invited to the judgment hall, completely bewildered.

The Sihu Canjun belonged to the six departments of the prefectural government, and his direct superior was the Silu Canjun—called Silu Canjun in the capital prefecture and Lushi Canjun in the state army.

Although they are not under the jurisdiction of the judge, they have regular correspondence with the judge's office.

Zhou Shenzhi handed over the official document: "Zhao Sihu, did you sign this?"

Zhao Qian's eyes widened in shock upon seeing the signature, and he felt as if he'd been hit on the forehead with a hammer: "This—this is definitely not my signature!"

"Think carefully," Zhou Shenzhi asked, "Last November, were you absent from the yamen for a period of time? And who had access to your signature and seal?"

"Last November, last November—"

Zhao Qian suddenly recalled: "That's right, in early November last year, I was ordered by Prefect Lü to go to Ningling County to check the land tax. I was away from the yamen for a full six days! The person in charge of keeping the seal box at that time was Liu Fang, the registrar of the Household Department."

Xu Lai said expressionlessly, "Everyone, please go back first. All documents related to the military supplies depot's entry, weighing, and retrieval processes from last November must be sent to the signing hall for comparison within three days. Forging documents and fraudulently claiming official goods are punishable by death!"

Everyone readily agreed.

After leaving the house, Zhou Shenzhi, his face dark, said to Zhang Jingwen, "Judge Zhang, immediately detain Liu Fang, the Registrar of the Household Department. He definitely has accomplices!"

The judicial officers of the six departments of the prefecture were responsible for deliberating on laws and adjudicating sentences. They were equivalent to the prosecutors and judges.

The judges under Xu Lai were responsible for presiding over trials and tribunals, leading the investigation and interrogation of cases. They were essentially the interrogating party.

Judge Zhang Jingwen bowed and accepted the order. He returned to his office, gathered a few subordinates, and accompanied Zhao Qian to the Ministry of Revenue.

"Take it down!"

At Zhang Jingwen's command, his subordinates rushed forward and pinned down Liu Fang, the registrar of the Household Department.

Liu Fang was stunned for a moment, then her whole body went limp, and she cried out in terror, "Spare me! Spare me—"

All the officials in the Household Department were stunned, and the news quickly spread throughout the six departments of the government.

Military Advisor Li Shiyuan rushed over in a panic: "What happened?"

Zhao Qian leaned close to his ear and whispered the story.

Li Shiyuan's expression changed drastically, because such a big matter was beyond the capacity of a mere registrar of the Household Department; there must have been other officials secretly cooperating with him.

The clerk in charge of the military supplies depot must also have had problems.

The magistrate, who had the final authority to review and approve the documents, was either the mastermind behind it or a derelict in his management.

The possibility of it being related to the prefect is actually lower, because if the prefect wanted to embezzle public funds, there would be no need for him to resort to so many petty tricks.

It can be preliminarily determined that he was a sub-prefect.

It's that same magistrate again!

Prefect Lü Jujian, who was about to complete the handover, was furious upon hearing the news.

The problem with Huiyiku was not the responsibility of Lü Jujian, because it was a department directly under the jurisdiction of the Tongpan.

However, if there is a problem with the military supplies depot, he should at least bear the responsibility for negligence.

"Feng Zirong!"

Lu Jujian gritted his teeth and personally led his men to rush towards the magistrate's office.

Gong Dingchen sighed.

The result of his discussion with Wang Yirou was to downplay the incident, find a few underlings to take the blame, and try to recover the losses from the middleman.

If something happens at Yiku, then of course you can do that.

But the military supplies depot is different!

At this very moment, inside the back residence of the magistrate's office, Feng Zirong was discussing countermeasures with his advisors.

But then a commotion was heard. It turned out that the outgoing prefect had personally led his men to the back residence of the magistrate's office.

"Lord Lü—"

Feng Zirong only had time to shout once before Lü Jujian rushed in front of him, grabbing his collar: "Are you out of your mind? Tampering with the exchange treasury wasn't enough, you even went after the military supplies treasury! Are you trying to get me demoted?"

Feng Zirong was actually confused.

The number of documents in the signing chamber was countless. How could Xu Lai possibly spot problems with the signatures on several documents in such a short time?

Xu Lai isn't a god, so of course he couldn't tell.

But there's something wrong with the military supplies vault's accounts.

Xu Lai first discovered discrepancies in the accounts by comparing the tables, and then followed the clues to find the relevant documents.

Regarding the matter of returning to Yiku, Xu Lai could first consult with Lü Jujian and Gong Dingchen, allowing them to secretly manipulate the situation and minimize the impact.

But the nature of military supply depots is different!

Even someone as arrogant as Shi Xun wouldn't dare touch the Guangzhou military supplies depot. If he had dared to make a move then, Yu Jing would have skinned him alive.

The military treasury was initially responsible for storing the state's money and goods to supply the state and its troops with clothing, food, and rewards. It gradually developed into the state's main treasury, and even the salaries of officials were drawn from the military treasury.

Even surplus local taxes were to be stored in the military treasury.

Officials could all benefit from the surplus funds. Even Lü Jujian, among others, received a share of the surplus (gray income), which had become an unspoken rule in the Song Dynasty's officialdom.

However, there must be a limit to the distribution of surplus, because local governments need money after all, and surplus is an important part of maintaining local finances.

Not content with the surplus he received as a prefectural judge, Feng Zirong forged documents to further exploit the surplus.

Gong Dingchen, with his hands tucked into his sleeves, slowly walked into the back courtyard of the prefectural office, and said with great distress, "You are only in your forties, a dignified second-class Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination), and—thanks to your husband's recommendation, you have already been promoted to prefectural magistrate of Yingtian Prefecture. Why would you do something to ruin your future?"

Feng Zirong hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

What else could he say?

Is this just standard procedure, and if Xu Lai hadn't messed things up, he would have been fine?

Feng Zirong came from a poor, third-class family in the countryside. Before passing the imperial examination, he owned only a little over a hundred mu of land, similar to Yu Shanyuan's family situation. He was a typical "poor scholar".

Even in the Dragon and Tiger List of the second year of Jiayou, Feng Zirong's ranking was extremely high.

However, he only served as an official for one year before returning to his hometown to observe the mourning period, which delayed his career by three years.

His initial gratitude money and the money he collected were all loans. After the mourning period ended and he returned to the capital to await the emperor's return, he had to run around to get more loans to send money, leaving him with a mountain of debt.

Up until then, Feng Zirong had not yet done anything reckless; he only made some illicit income after being transferred to another post.

Because of Feng Zirong's outstanding political achievements and his status as a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the second year of the Jiayou era, he was quickly noticed by Ouyang Xiu, who took the initiative to recommend him to serve as the Tongpan (assistant prefect) of Yingtian Prefecture.

Feng Zirong's future looked bright, and soon he had people of the same age seeking marriage alliances, hoping to become in-laws and help each other.

Since the other party was not only his classmate but also came from a prominent official family, Feng Zirong immediately agreed to the marriage.

But a daughter's marriage should not be too shabby, especially if she marries into a family like that.

The first sum of money Feng Zirong embezzled was actually to raise money for his daughter's dowry.

Such practices were common in the Northern Song Dynasty, especially in the mid-to-late period, when extravagant weddings even spread to the lower classes.

Take Su Zhe as an example. When he married off his youngest daughter in his later years, he sold his land to raise 9400 guan as her dowry.

There was also Ye Mengde, who sold his land to raise money for his sister's dowry.

For the sake of prestige and to ensure their daughters' well-being in their husbands' families, officials and wealthy families would often give dowries of several thousand or even tens of thousands of strings of cash!

After marrying off his daughter, Feng Zirong couldn't stop himself from embezzling money too quickly.

In the blink of an eye, he had repaid all the loans he had taken out for gratitude, pre-sale funds, and bribes for securing an official position. Then he kept sending silver home to build a luxurious mansion and buy land.

He's already flush with cash, yet he's become even more greedy, accumulating more and more wealth.

Upon receiving the news, Wang Yirou proactively approached Lü Jujian and Gong Dingchen, saying, "This matter needs to be suppressed. Make him return the money and settle the accounts as soon as possible."

"How do you suppress something like this?" Gong Dingchen asked.

Wang Yirou said, "I don't care whether this person lives or dies; I just want to strangle him myself. But he was recommended by Prime Minister Ouyang, and Prime Minister Ouyang has a lifelong reputation for integrity. We absolutely cannot let this kind of person ruin it."

"I agree with doing this," Lü Jujian echoed, not wanting to bear the blame for negligence.

Gong Dingchen thought for a moment and said, "You guys handle it. I don't know anything. The handover isn't even finished yet, so I'm not the prefect of Yingtian for the time being."

Wang Yirou continued, "Wait for that Feng—"

"Feng Zirong," Lü Jujian said.

"Yes, Feng Zirong," Wang Yirou said, "After Feng Zirong returns the embezzled funds and settles the accounts, make him claim that his elderly mother is seriously ill and that he requests to return to his hometown to care for her. Never employ him again; such a scoundrel should never think of becoming an official again!"

Gong Dingchen strolled away, not hearing anything.

This is the same operation as when Shi Xun was punished; both were done to protect the reputation of the recommender.

Xu Lai ignored this and continued to investigate the mess left by his predecessor, as he had to ensure that he could take over cleanly.

However, his subordinates and colleagues changed their opinion of him.

Even the six subordinate government offices knew that a formidable figure had arrived at the signing hall, and that he had already defeated the prefect before even officially taking office.

"Judge Xu, Judge Zhou has already vacated the back of the signing hall," Zhang Kongmu said, bowing, his attitude becoming cautious.

Xu Lai smiled and asked, "Didn't we say we should let him continue living here? It's not convenient for his whole family to move, it's more suitable for me to sleep alone in the official residence."

Zhang Kongmu said, "Zhou Qianpan said it would be better if he moved out earlier, and Xu Qianpan should move into the official residence as soon as possible."

Zhang Kongmu thought to himself: Judge Zhou was almost scared to death by you. How could he sleep soundly in the back room of the signing hall?

Xu Lai continued checking the documents, saying without looking up, "Then move them."

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