Chapter 386: Be careful not to catch fire

Chen Xie told the truth, last year's summer tax and autumn tax, Chen Xie asked Qian Zhuang to pay for him. did not collect money and grain from the provinces, not because of Chen Xie's kindness, but because of the rhythm of digging pits and burying people. If the officials in Shandong are all more responsible officials, this is not digging a pit and burying people, but sincerely doing good for the people below. It can even be said that as long as these officials are not so greedy, this pit will not work. The question is, who are these officials?

Since the beginning of spring this year, grain prices have been rising. Grain merchants from all over Shandong have been selling grain to Jingshi, Henan and other places. Especially in Dongchang and Yanzhou, the two places are more convenient to buy and sell grain by relying on the canal. The grain merchant earned a lot of money, and the grain in his hand was almost sold, and he began to think of other ideas. For example, the grain in the government treasury colludes with officials to buy it at a low price, and when the drought situation becomes more severe, sell it at a high price to maximize profits.

So, who are the people who do these things? Are they all businessmen? It would be a big mistake to think so, if the merchant was a simple businessman in the Ming Dynasty, there would have been no bones left to be gnawed by others. For example, the maritime trade of the Ming Dynasty flourished, and trade with Europe and the United States flowed into large quantities of silver every year. So, who are the people who trade at sea?

Before answering this question, let's look at another question, who were the people who opposed the opening of the sea the most fiercely in the Ming Dynasty? Why do these people oppose the ban on opening the sea? Comparing the first two questions, and looking at the fact that the Chongzhen Dynasty was so financially troubled, but it was not until the last few years that a partial sea ban was opened, it is not difficult to see who is the vested interest in the sea ban.

In the Ming Dynasty. The collusion between bureaucrats and merchant groups is completely the norm, and many officials' families run business, even giant businessmen. It is not difficult to understand why the Jin merchants could rise so quickly in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. It is not difficult to understand why after the fall of Jingshi to Li Zicheng, the gentry in Jiangnan still live a luxurious life, and Songjiang Mansion is still carnival step by step.

As long as it is human society, corruption will exist, and it is nothing more than a change in form and a difference in how much. Some officials are corrupt, but they are willing to do things. Some officials are corrupt. But they don't do things well. The Ming Dynasty can be said to be unofficial and not greedy, just a lot. And what about the officials in Shandong? Well, Shandong can be said to be the hardest hit area.

Before this meeting, Chen Xie's intelligence agency. Officials from the provinces, states and counties have been mastered. Collusion with gentlemen and businessmen. Evidence of grain reselling. But Chen Xie will not bring out this evidence, and he will not even expose the deception they prepared for the governor's inspection. Only in this way can this pit be called a pit. to bury many, many people.

After an hour-long meeting, everything that should be said was said first, and the text was posted. After the meeting, a group of officials dispersed, some left in groups, some left separately. I didn't take the content of this meeting seriously anyway. In their opinion, the only unlucky one was Shangguan Xun, who was forced by Chen Xie to complete the so-called identity card issuance within a month. It seems that Chen Zhongcheng is bent on embarrassing Shangguan Xun and finding him some work. This time it's polite, I don't know if the Shangguan Prefect will be more miserable next time.

Zhang Bingwen is quite satisfied with Chen Xie's arrangement. He only needs to be in charge of one Jinan Mansion, and Chen Xie has all the other mansions, which shows that he respects the Yamen of the Political Secretary and takes care of him at work. In this case, it is natural to work hard to repay the favor. After returning home, Zhang Bingwen ordered to convene a meeting of his subordinates to make arrangements for drought-fighting work.

Zhang Bingwen is still a competent official, and he can see that Chen Xie's deployments will play a huge role. Once there is a real drought, the identity card system can control the situation in the city in a short period of time. This thing has long been available in Denglai and the two prefectures, and the overall effect is said to be very good. The situation in Jinan Prefecture is stable, and the provincial capital city is not chaotic, which is the foundation of a qiē. Food reserves, prevention of possible disaster victims, and continuous relief will ensure that there will be no major chaos. It is true that all provinces can do prevention in accordance with this requirement, and it is impossible for Shandong to be chaotic. In Zhang Bingwen's view, this meeting was held in a very timely manner, and the measures were effective and effective. Chen Xie's ability to govern is worthy of recognition. Prevention is definitely better than dealing with things when they come.

Chen Xie set off early the next morning, and his entourage was two masters, a team of guards and two hundred cavalry. The first stop is your Qingzhou Mansion, and when you arrive in Qingzhou, ask the prefect about the drought situation and check the reserves of the granary. It's not bad, Qingzhou Mansion seems to be really preparing to do these things, according to Chen Xie's intelligence, half of the grain he saw no longer belongs to the government treasury. Chen Xie knew it, and after a quick look, he continued to inspect the prefectures of Qingzhou Prefecture, and the counties along the way also went to have a look, and the focus was naturally to inspect the granary. The so-called food in your hand is not panicked, Chen Xie's move could not be more correct.

Everywhere he went, Chen Xie would inspect the granary and ask someone to write down an account. How much grain is stored in Qingzhou Prefecture, and then carefully check the fire prevention work, so as not to have problems. Before leaving Qingzhou Mansion, Chen Xiepi asked the prefect Zhang with a smile: "The fire prevention preparation of the Xianguan granary is sufficient, and the Qingzhou granary will not catch fire, right?" ”

Zhang's heart skipped a beat, and he said continuously: "Do your best, do your best." Chen Xie said lightly: "Something happened in the granary, be careful of your head." Ben Xian holds the sword of Shang Fang, even if you are a minister, you can cut first and then play. ”

Qingzhou was followed by Yizhou (now Linyi) in Yanzhou, where the prefect of Yanzhou and local state officials greeted him. The arrival of the officialdom in the Ming Dynasty, no one has ever been deliberately sloppy, Hai Rui is not a freak, this product is a clean official, but in some specific circumstances, the danger of a clean official is greater than that of a corrupt official. Objectively speaking, there is no dispute that the clean officials are worthy of recognition.

When he arrived in Teng County, Chen Xie deliberately stayed for one more day, which made Teng County uneasy, thinking that Master Chen had discovered something. In fact, Master Chen just remembered that more than three hundred years later, there was a battle in this small county town, which was also to defend against foreign invasion, and three hundred years later, a general was killed here. So in the near future, what about after the Qing army enters the customs? Hehe, Shandong almost surrendered without a fight, the resistance was minimal, and the Qing army could be said to be at its fingertips. Local officials, holding the table in their hands, are like crucian carp crossing the river.

Probably for this reason, Chen Xie carefully inspected the granary of Teng County, and when he left, he said to Xie Mou, the magistrate: "Teng County is well prepared, and the work is effective." Well, don't catch fire in the granary. ”

The next stop is Yanzhou, which can be described as an important town in Shandong Province, and Jining Prefecture under its rule is on the edge of the canal. In Yanzhou, there are two places that have to go, the first place is the palace of King Lu, Chen Xie sent someone to deliver the post, but King Lu replied, "A province is afraid to come to the door, and I dare not accept it." It is said that Chen Xie should be three times in a row, and then King Lu twisted and accepted Chen Xie's arrival, which is called an unspoken rule. As a result, Chen Xie only sent a post, and after being rejected, he didn't mention it. What's worse is that this product also sent a greeting post to the Kong family in Qufu. The Kong family also followed the rules and excused themselves. Then, Chen Xie didn't go anywhere.

Such a stunned official, Daming is really the only one of the scorpions! In the midst of the secret ridicule of the entire Shandong officialdom, Chen Xie went to Jining, and after the inspection, he went north along the canal to Dongchang Mansion. When boarding the ship, when Chen Xie was still looking for no one else, he secretly said to the prefect of Yanzhou: "The preparation is good, be careful of the fire in the granary." ”

Leaving Yanzhou Mansion, Chen Xie soon learned that King Lu had killed a chamberlain because of his anger. This, in principle, is King Lu's family affair, even if it is managed, it is also a matter of the Zongren Mansion. The head of the Kong family jumped to his feet and scolded for an hour. It is said that this guy is uneducated and has not read any books. Relying on the ancestors to eat the goods, don't ask too much of him. However, there is a talent in the Kong family, who is currently in the cabinet, Kong Zhenyun, a scholar of Dongge University! After scolding a few words and not losing a pound of meat, Chen Xie continued to go north with peace of mind. This time when he went north, Chen Xie's speed slowed down a lot, and he inspected the hundreds of households in various places along the river, stopping everywhere he went, going down to see the actual situation of the hundred households, and leaving silently after watching it, and not saying that he was looking for trouble with some unlucky guy.

Along the way, the focus is on drought control and prevention of drought response, that is, grain reserves, local security, and so on. There are a lot of things and they are also very complicated, and Chen Zhongcheng works tirelessly. After inspecting Dongchang Mansion, Chen Xie carefully wrote a long memo and reported it to the Beijing Division. And make a table of the amount of grain and the amount of silver in the accounts of the provinces, prefectures, and counties to which he went. and entrusted a certain head of the East Factory to report to the heart of the king, and the two taxes in summer and autumn in Shandong were all Chen Xie's private accounts, and let the money village pay in advance. I am worried about the drought in early spring in Shandong and the problems that may arise.

This fold and form arrived in the Beijing Division, and after entering the Hubu Shangshu Waiting, this guy was like a hot potato after reading it, and immediately threw it into the cabinet for others to see. Why was it thrown out so quickly? Because Hou Yi sees that there is a problem? No, what Hou Xi saw was the role of Chen Xie's bookkeeping method and form, once other officials saw it, they would naturally write a letter asking for it to be promoted nationwide, and this matter could be regarded as offending the civil officials of the world to death. This kind of thing is accounting, you can do it at a glance, what else do you do? Chen Xie's account book method from modern times was a talisman in the Ming Dynasty. Insiders look at the doorway, laymen look at the excitement, other members don't understand this, but they don't take it seriously, after reading it, they said that Chen Xie is very good, and he is always diligent.

Then, these things went into the celebrant and went to Cao Huachun's hands. After reading it, this guy was also very happy. Immediately found the emperor and said: "Chen Sihua patrols Shandong, which can be described as doing his best. In January, I traveled all over the three provinces of Shandong. To prevent the possible consequences of drought in advance, this means that everything should be foreseen, and if it is not prepared, it should be abolished, and it should be promoted throughout the country. (To be continued......)