Raising chickens and pigs and digging for wild vegetables, the county magistrate's promotion wa

Chapter 1042 Yang the Madman! You dare say you never made a single penny?

Yang Shaofeng thought that Guo Huai might have developed a problem where he wouldn't confess unless he got beaten up.

As a skilled doctor who was extremely adept at treating this condition, Yang Shaofeng immediately instructed Chang Xiaojiu, "Take this idiot away and let him recall what happened that day."

Chang Xiaojiu bowed in agreement, then grabbed one corner of the shackles and, ignoring Guo Huai's struggles, dragged Guo Huai out of the hall.

After Guo Huai was dragged back again, he spilled the beans like beans from a bamboo tube: "Old Liu from the county town, Second Master Xu from Xu Family Village..."

“These people originally had no grudge against Zhang Liuliu. They were afraid that Zhang Liuliu would arrest the criminal official and take him to the capital to file a complaint, which would implicate them. That’s why they intercepted and killed Zhang Liuliu and his men.”

"The criminal officials and their account books were all hidden in the west wing of the courtyard behind the Fuxing Restaurant in the south of the city. There was an empty brick under the table near the window, inside which was a small wooden box."

"..."

After experiencing the Jinyiwei's great memory restoration technique, Guo Huai confessed quite thoroughly.

Clerks and yamen runners in the county government, gentry in Xinghua County whose relatives were officials, and even the assistant prefect of Gaoyou Prefecture, the chief clerk of the Ministry of Personnel in the capital, and the senior officials, supervisors and ambassadors of the Ministry of Revenue.

Looking at the statement in his hand, Yang Shaofeng couldn't help but sigh. He looked at Guo Huai and asked, "Guo Huai, how much money do you think you need to make ends meet?"

Guo Huai spat angrily and said, "The Prince Consort is the Duke of Yingguo, the Prefect of Dengzhou, the Magistrate of Ningyang, and the Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies. He receives more than one salary, so naturally he is not short of money."

"But a convicted official has to support his elderly parents, his wife and children, and he also has to deal with relatives who come to him for help from time to time. How can the salary of a mere seventh-rank official be enough?"

"If officials are like this, how much better can officials in other places be?"

"Including the county magistrate, registrar, clerk, yamen runners, and scribes in this county government office."

"Why doesn't Your Highness ask if they have enough money?"

Guo Huai barely raised his head and said with a sarcastic tone, "If you arrest every official in the world, there will certainly be innocent people. But if you arrest every other official, there will inevitably be those who slip through the net."

"This guilty official dares to ask Your Highness, can you say that officials in the capital are not corrupt or greedy?"

"Do you dare to arrest all the officials?"

"Can you catch them all?"

Yang Shaofeng had a completely bewildered look on his face.

Guo Huai, that idiot, actually tried to reason with me?

The problem is that you're spouting nonsense!

Yang Shaofeng was so angry that he laughed, but Zhu Biao spoke first: "Come on, tell me which official in the capital has been corrupt and embezzled. As long as you can provide some unsubstantiated evidence, see if I dare to arrest him!"

Guo Huai barely raised his head, and sneered, "Your Highness, this humble subject is asking whether the Imperial Son-in-Law dares to arrest him."

Yang Shaofeng sneered in return, "Then tell me your name, and see if I dare to arrest you!"

Guo Huai snorted coldly and said, "Ma Sandao! Does the Imperial Son-in-Law dare to arrest him?"

"Who?" Yang Shaofeng picked at his ear and sneered, "Idiot! Long before His Highness and I left the capital, Ma Sandao had already been imprisoned by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Judging by the days, it should be about seven days since his death!"

Guo Huai was immediately shocked, but Yang Shaofeng stood up and walked in front of Guo Huai, sneering, "Let me let you know, Magistrate Guo, that Ma Sandao embezzled more than two thousand strings of cash. Considering his past merits, Ma Sandao is sentenced to beheading and his entire family is exiled."

"how about you?"

"Guo Huai, what merit did you have back then?"

"The money you've embezzled is probably more than ten Ma Sandaos could have embezzled, isn't it?"

Guo Huai remained silent for a long while before struggling to ask, "And what about you!"

"Yang the Madman!"

"You dare say you didn't make a single penny when you were in Ningyang County?"

"Do you dare say you never made a single penny at the Dengzhou border market?"

"Can you honestly say you've never accepted anything from anyone?"

"You stinky salted duck, do you think I don't know you have a pair of lotus root silk cloud-walking shoes at home? You think you can buy those with money?"

"..."

As Guo Huai finished speaking, the entire hall of Xinghua County fell into a deathly silence.

It wasn't until quite a while later that a burst of laughter erupted.

"Who embezzled?"

"Brother-in-law?"

What was this idiot thinking? He actually tried to bite my brother-in-law?

Seeing Guo Huai gradually descending into madness, Zhu Biao simply shook his head slightly: "Even if you changed your name, I would still have some doubts, but you insist that my brother-in-law is corrupt!"

"How brainless do you have to be to say such nonsense?"

Zhu Biao stood up and walked to Guo Huai, saying, "Guo Huai, let me put this to you—if you can govern Xinghua County to be as prosperous as Ningyang County, even if you are corrupt, I can still spare your life."

"But it's a pity."

"The people of Xinghua County would love to have you bound and taken to the capital to lodge a complaint with the emperor!"

"So, you still dare to question my brother-in-law?"

Zhu Biao sighed softly again and instructed Chang Xiaojiu, "Take this idiot away."

After Guo Huai was dragged away again, the atmosphere in the hall immediately became even more cheerful.

Lan Yu laughed twice and said, "This idiot, he could have said that Mr. Shanchang and Liu Bowen were corrupt."

Li Wenzhong, however, said with a hint of schadenfreude, "Actually, it's not his fault. After all, this idiot doesn't know how the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Censorate actually operate now."

Among the many duties of the Censorate, one was to specifically monitor whether officials were corrupt.

The "Four No's and Two Directs" method is particularly unpredictable—Liu Bowen decides which prefecture or county's accounts to check by rolling dice on the Great Ming Kunyu Map. Before the dice are rolled, even Liu Bowen doesn't know which prefecture or county he will check next.

Apart from Ningyang County and Dengzhou Prefecture.

The account books of Ningyang County, Dengzhou Prefecture, Dengzhou Market, and Dengzhou University are a must-check item every year.

As for the Embroidered Uniform Guard, it was even more complicated.

The basic framework of the Embroidered Uniform Guard consisted of fourteen thousand-household offices, the Garrison Command, and the Records Office. The Records Office was responsible for the movement of personnel within the Embroidered Uniform Guard and also handled the receipt and dispatch of official documents and the drafting of regulations. The fourteen thousand-household offices directly corresponded to the fourteen Provincial Administration Commissions, including Zhili Province.

The Fourteen Thousand Household Offices and the Bureau of Records were directly managed by Xia Yu, the head of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

As for the Zhenfu Division, which was in charge of Yang Shaofeng, it was divided into the Southern Zhenfu Division and the Northern Zhenfu Division. The Northern Zhenfu Division was specifically responsible for cases designated by Emperor Zhu and Heizhima Tangyuan, directly bypassing the Three Judicial Offices.

The Southern Garrison Command was essentially the disciplinary supervisory office of the entire Embroidered Uniform Guard. The Southern Garrison Command was mainly under the direct jurisdiction of Emperor Zhu and Heizhima Tangyuan. Even if there were any secret reports, they would only be copied to Yang Shaofeng, the Garrison Commander.

Simply put, Yang Shaofeng can guide the work of the Southern Garrison, but he cannot directly interfere with the Southern Garrison.

Zhu Biao even suspected that his brother-in-law had deliberately made things so complicated for the Embroidered Uniform Guard and transferred the direct control of the Southern Garrison to the Eastern Palace in order to make things difficult for him, his brother-in-law.

So, you're saying my brother-in-law is greedy?

Just as my cousin said, it's more plausible to pin the blame on Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen than to say that my brother-in-law embezzled and took it!

Thinking of this, Zhu Biao couldn't help but shake his head again, then turned to look at Yang Shaofeng: "Brother-in-law, who should we interrogate next?"