pdf-ebookys Chapter 306 Collusion between officials and bandits
Chapter 306 Collusion between officials and bandits
"The imperial court sent troops to suppress the bandits, but they failed repeatedly. One of the reasons is that the mountain strongholds are easy to defend but difficult to attack. Another reason is that the bandits are well-informed and respond promptly."
"Then the question is, where does the information about the bandits come from? And what kind of person has the ability to quickly obtain such information and pass it on quickly?"
Ping An fell into deep thought and quickly gave his answer: "You mean, Fufeng Village has been able to survive until now because someone from the government tipped them off? That can't be right, aren't they the parents of the people?"
The more Ping An spoke, the more unsure he felt, and his voice became smaller and smaller. He always felt that this guess was unreliable.
When Lin Chuyi heard the first sentence, she was still secretly sighing that Ping An was not too stupid. When she heard the second sentence, Lin Chuyi frowned and turned to look at Ping An with complicated eyes.
She must have stayed in the sea for too long, which made her brain confused, otherwise how could she have created a simple child like Ping An with such a unique way of thinking.
Lin Chuyi complained in her heart, but she still had to explain. She raised her left index finger and shook it in front of Ping An.
"You think too simply. There are many ways to get into officialdom. This is a feudal society, and it is also a society of personal relationships. If you want to move up, you need not only political achievements but also connections."
"There are two main types of relationships. The first is nepotism. If a relative of yours holds an important position in the court, as long as there are no major mistakes during his tenure, his chances of promotion after his term is over will be much greater than that of other officials of the same period. If that person's high-ranking relative is willing to mediate, the promotion will basically be a done deal."
"But such people are only a minority after all. Most people take the second path, which is money. If they are not very capable and do not have any connections, they can only use money to pave the way for themselves. They spend money to bribe their superiors in order to get their recommendations during the evaluation and get a promotion."
"Most low-level officials entered the government through imperial examinations. Before that, most of them came from humble backgrounds. After becoming officials, the salaries they received from the court were not much. So where did they get the money to bribe their superiors?"
"Some people would make up excuses in the name of the court, collect various exorbitant taxes, and put the money into their own pockets. Some people would pass off inferior products as good ones, doing shoddy work, but using the money of fine work to settle the bill, and then pocket the difference. Some people would hold banquets under various names, entertain guests, and openly accept expensive gifts from merchants in their jurisdiction."
"There are so many ways to make money, there's nothing they can't do unless you think of it."
Ping An looked expressionless, but actually his heart was in turmoil. As Lin Chuyi spoke, a lot of information appeared in his mind, which described the criminal deeds of various corrupt officials throughout history. After digesting this information, he felt that his cognition was completely overturned.
"Money makes the world go round. This is no joke. If you give money and things don't get done, it must be because you didn't give enough money."
"Of course, not all officials are like this. If they were, then the country would be on the verge of collapse. From the officials I have come into contact with so far, the management of officials in Da Chu is still good. Although there are corrupt officials, once they are discovered, they will definitely be dealt with severely."
"This is my first time in Mingzhou, and I don't know much about the officials in Mingzhou. Personally, I certainly hope that the officialdom in Mingzhou is clean and honest, and no one colludes with the bandits in Fufeng Village, so that we can save a lot of effort."
"But we should be prepared for the worst. If there are officials colluding with the bandits, we will arrest the people and send them to the officials, but they will release them by making an accident right after we arrest them. They will pretend to change their identities and territory and continue to do evil. Then, wouldn't our efforts be in vain?"
Ping An nodded repeatedly after hearing that. After digesting the information, he could completely understand Lin Chuyi's thoughts and deeply agreed with what Lin Chuyi said.
"You're right. Who should we start with first?" Ping An asked.
Lin Chuyi answered without hesitation: "Of course it is the governor of Mingzhou. He is the most important official in this area. If there is a problem with him, everything we do will be in vain. Let's go find him first and investigate from him down step by step."
"it is good."
Lin Chuyi and Ping An are both action-oriented people, so they started to act after the discussion.
With the help of various talismans and their own lightness skills, the two of them completed the investigation of Mingzhou prefect Shen Nian that night.
Lin Chuyi discovered that Shen Nian came from a good family, but he had no ambition. Luck played a big role in his becoming the prefect of Mingzhou. Apart from his love of drinking, he had no major problems.
Knowing that there was no problem with the prefect of Mingzhou, Lin Chuyi felt relieved. They turned to visit important figures in Mingzhou officialdom such as the Tongpan and Zhubu.
Lin Chuyi used the mantra to find out a lot of illegal incidents from these people, but none of them had anything to do with Fufeng Village.
Lin Chuyi followed the principle of "since everything has happened, everything has happened" and recorded all these things in a book and asked them to put their fingerprints on them.
After collecting the evidence and erasing all traces, the two men left the government office.
That night, the two stayed in an inn in the city.
The next morning, as soon as Lin Chuyi opened the door, she saw Ping An standing at the door of her room with a smile. Lin Chuyi smiled back at him.
Ping An handed Lin Chuyi a bag of buns wrapped in oil paper. Lin Chuyi took it and walked downstairs while eating.
After breakfast, the two naturally continued what they had not finished yesterday. It only took them two days to complete the screening of all target persons, and finally confirmed that the official who colluded with the bandits was Li Weimin, the county magistrate of Mingkang County.
Lin Chuyi also learned from Li Weimin that the bandits in Fufeng Village were colluding not only with Li Weimin, the county magistrate, but also with the previous county magistrate of Mingkang County, Zhang Da, and the previous county magistrate, Liu Sheng.
The main reason why Li Weimin was willing to tip off the people of Fufeng Village, besides the generous reward given by Fufeng Village, was because the people of Fufeng Village had evidence of collusion between Zhang Da and Liu Sheng and Fufeng Village.
Zhang Da and Liu Sheng have now become the second-in-command of the Ministry of Personnel, and one of them has become a local official. If he does not board this pirate ship, even if his life is not in danger, as long as the other party reveals this to the two of them, he will never be able to get promoted in the future.
But if he got on board the pirate ship, it would be equivalent to standing on the same front with Zhang Da and Liu Sheng, and having a common secret, they would become their own people. With these two relationships, he would not have to worry about promotion after completing his term.
After compromising once, Li Weimin tasted the sweetness and went further and further down the path of a corrupt official.