GBP Chapter 138 Those are the gold and silver mines of our Great Ming Dynasty!
Chapter 138 Those are the gold and silver mines of our Great Ming Dynasty!
After Magistrate Yang Shaofeng greeted him at the gate of the county government office, Prefect Wu Zude of Yanzhou dismounted and looked Magistrate Yang up and down before smiling and saying, "Magistrate Yang is indeed a handsome man."
Magistrate Yang was a little confused about Wu Zude's intentions. Hearing this, he could only laugh awkwardly twice before leading Wu Zude to the main hall of the county government.
After the two men sat down separately, Wu Zude immediately put on a stern face and said in a deep voice, "I have come here to question you and demand an explanation. Moreover, I will submit a memorial to impeach you, Magistrate Yang."
Initially respectful, then arrogant?
Based on their identities and addresses, it seems inappropriate to use this word to describe Wu Zude's change in attitude.
Face changing?
That's about right.
The old man started by praising himself, then said he was there to interrogate him and even threatened to impeach him.
But no matter how hard Magistrate Yang thought about it, he couldn't figure out where he had offended Wu Zude.
Besides, this old guy never used to care about Ningyang County, but now that Ningyang County has been upgraded to a directly administered county of the Central Secretariat, even if he wanted to, he seems to have no reason to care anymore.
Just as Magistrate Yang was pondering this, Wu Zude continued, "Magistrate Yang, do you still remember Chen Er? The one who was whipped by you, then beaten with a rod by me, and finally hanged himself outside the Ministry of Justice."
Yang Shaofeng was puzzled, and could only honestly reply, "Of course I remember, could it be..."
Wu Zude shook his head slightly and said, "Since I can punish him, it means he deserves it. Even if he hangs himself outside the Ministry of Justice, or even if he beats the grievance drum, I will still punish him."
"but!"
Wu Zude suddenly looked at Magistrate Yang with a worried expression and said, "You people from Ningyang County went to the territory of Yanzhou Prefecture and frantically flooded the fields of the Chen clan with water just before winter. As a result, the wheat seedlings planted by the Chen clan were either flooded or froze to death after the ground froze in winter. Shouldn't you give me an explanation for this?"
After hearing the whole story, Magistrate Yang was dumbfounded.
Destroying another family's wheat seedlings is an irreconcilable feud!
No wonder Prefect Wu suddenly came to Ningyang County. All that talk about questioning, demanding an explanation, and submitting a memorial to impeach him was nonsense. It turns out that Wu Zude didn't trust anyone else to take his place and came here personally to discuss countermeasures!
Seeing Magistrate Yang's stunned expression, Prefect Wu Zude sighed again and said, "Don't worry, Chen Er's clansmen have been placed under guard by my men. They won't cause any trouble for a while. However, I can't keep them locked up for too long, so I still need to give them the proper explanation."
Magistrate Yang pondered for a moment, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty. Suddenly, he chuckled and said, "The two brothers, Chen Da and Chen Er, served as soldiers for the Tartars. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they deserved to die. As for their clansmen... Xu Erni from Ningyang County married Chen Da, but after Chen Da left, she was subjected to all sorts of harassment by his clansmen. Chen Er even tried to force himself on his sister-in-law. Their behavior was no different from that of beasts. It's not impossible that someone might destroy the Chen family's wheat fields out of righteous indignation."
However, Prefect Wu Zude waved his hand and said, "Stop arguing with me about these useless things—to put it bluntly, I know exactly what happened, and you, Magistrate Yang, know it even better."
"I am here today to discuss a strategy with you, since we are both officials in the same court. If you have any evidence or leverage, send someone to the Yanzhou Prefectural Government Office as soon as possible to file a complaint and resolve the matter before the Chen clan members can react."
“If you really have no evidence or leverage, or if the Chen clan beats to the punch in your Ningyang County, then I can only handle this as a matter of official business, and at most I will send the case to you.”
Seeing that Magistrate Yang was still looking bewildered, Wu Zude bluntly said, "Don't be surprised, because you have whipped Chen Er, and I have beaten Chen Er with a board. If you are unlucky, I will naturally not get away with it either."
Yang Shaofeng, the county magistrate, then realized what was going on.
After pondering for a moment, Magistrate Yang bowed to Wu Zude and said, "In that case, I will send someone to Yanzhou Prefecture to file a complaint. I implore Your Excellency to uphold justice for the people of Ningyang County!"
After Wu Zude nodded in agreement, Yang Shaofeng looked up at the sky again and said, "It's getting late. Why don't you have a simple meal at the county government office, Your Excellency? It just so happens that Wang Sheren from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices is also here."
Upon hearing about the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and the Prince's Attendant, Wu Zude, who had initially intended to refuse, immediately changed his mind and replied, "Very well."
Then, Yang Shaofeng, the county magistrate, witnessed firsthand what it meant to be exposed as a corrupt officialdom.
Wu Zude, the prefect who could still maintain a certain air of authority in front of himself, behaved extremely obediently when facing Wang Qiong, a ninth-rank interpreter, addressing him as "Wang Sheren" repeatedly, showing utmost intimacy.
Wang Qiong, who had been very friendly in front of him, was extremely aloof when facing Wu Zude, the fourth-rank prefect. No matter how Wu Zude acted, he remained indifferent.
Tsk tsk, officialdom is really interesting!
After a tasteless banquet, Wu Zude took his leave and repeatedly urged Magistrate Yang, "Magistrate Yang, you must remember to send someone to Yanzhou Prefecture as soon as possible to file a complaint."
Yang Shaofeng nodded in agreement once again. After Wu Zude mounted his horse and left, Yang Shaofeng, with a dark face, instructed Limping Wu: "Brother Limping Wu, please have someone call Liu Thirty-Two and his bastards here. Damn it, they watered someone's wheat seedlings to death. Are they planning to fight to the death?"
Limpy Wu nodded and immediately turned to leave. Wang Qiong, who had been mostly silent, suddenly spoke up, saying, "Brother Yang, there's no need to worry. Even if no one from Ningyang County goes to Yanzhou Prefecture to file a complaint, he will still make clear arrangements for the Chen clan."
Yang Shaofeng was slightly taken aback, but Wang Qiong smiled and said, "As the saying goes, if you have powder, you have to put it on your face. Since coming to Ningyang County can show goodwill to Brother Yang, why shouldn't Prefect Wu do the same?"
After saying that, Wang Qiong pulled Yang Shaofeng back to sit at the banquet table and said with a smile again, "Well, shall we continue talking about that gold and silver mine?"
Yang Shaofeng hummed in agreement, pondering how to solve the problems of Liu Thirty-Two and the others, while whispering, "I once heard a rumor that Kublai Khan's attack on Japan had nothing to do with the Koreans, but was mainly due to Japan's gold and silver mines."
"However, due to the Koreans' shoddy workmanship and the rough seas, Kublai Khan had to abandon his campaign against Japan."
"According to what I've heard, Japan's gold and silver mines are probably still not exhausted, and may even continue to be mined for decades to come..."
Wang Qiong gasped in shock and whispered, "Can it be mined for decades more? Damn it, how come such a good gold and silver mine has to be located on Japanese soil?"
Yang Shaofeng glanced at Wang Qiong with great dissatisfaction and said, "Those are our Great Ming's gold and silver mines! To be honest, it is those Japanese devils who are standing on our Great Ming's land, mining our Great Ming's gold and silver mines. It's simply too much!"