Chapter 30 4. An assassin came late at night at the Governor's Yamen

A few days ago, Guo Xunbu, who escorted Yan Jingming to the capital, returned to Taiyuan and brought a letter from Yan Shangshu to Zhang Zhidong.The letter said that when he visited the Empress Dowager, he had already selected the most serious disadvantages he had seen with his own eyes when he lived in Shanxi for many years.The Empress Dowager listened attentively to the play, and said that Zhang Zhidong had done the fact that Shanxi had not yet recovered from the disaster, and the Ministry of Household Affairs had to take care of Shanxi. Zhang Zhidong was very excited when he read this. The words "doing the truth" are undoubtedly a reward for what I have done in Shanxi for a year.This is a great support for the impeachment of Baogeng and Wang Ding'an, as well as the complete elimination of the three decades of evils in Shanxi officialdom.He read on with great joy.

Next, Yan Jingming told Zhang Zhidong to make full use of the empress dowager's "care from the household department" to make a fuss, and to make a fuss about several major problems in Shanxi that have been unresolved for many years. Wait for the report to be reported quickly, and I, the Minister of the Ministry of household affairs, will do my best to handle it. That's a really good thing!There are too many things like tribute transporting Jintie in Shanxi.Shanxi is originally a barren province, and money has always been in short supply. To increase these burdens for no reason will lead to greater resentment from the people and make the people even poorer.Now, Yan Jingming, as Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, is willing to come forward to solve these big problems in Shanxi, isn't it a godsend opportunity!Zhang Zhidong once again realized the ancient motto "There are people in the imperial court who are good at being officials", and he thought to himself that the efforts he had made to Yan Jingming in the past few months were not in vain.

Zhang Zhidong arranged for Sang Zhiping and Yang Rui to handle the matter.After the two of them searched, interviewed and sorted out, a total of 17 bad policies that had to be apportioned to the people due to insufficient public funds were listed.The seventeen items are: iron, Lu silk, agricultural mulberry silk, raw silk, report paper, rough paper, Beijing allowance, examination room funds, year-old scientific examination shed fee, Ministry of War department meals, printed red meals, autumn A total of about 300,000 taels of silver will be required for examination fees, standard books and meals, fees for the three prisons in the county, soil and salt, scientific examination funds for each prefecture and prefecture, and account fees.

Zhang Zhidong was taken aback after reading the list.As soon as I came to Shanxi, I heard that various apportionments were serious, but I didn't expect that there were so many apportioned items, the number was so large, and most of them were unreasonable.The seventeen apportionments are spread out one by one, which is tantamount to putting a deadly rope around the already exhausted necks of the people.At the end of the malpractice list, an old farmer in Lingqiu was quoted: "Our common people are like a cabbage, and a apportionment by the government is like peeling off a vegetable leaf. After a year, all the leaves are peeled off, and the only thing left is to die." Zhang After reading this sentence, Zhidong felt extremely sad.

Since ancient times, the imperial court has set up officials and yamen, for what purpose?Isn't it just to let the common people live and work in peace and contentment, and live in peace and security!However, due to the large number of institutions, redundant personnel, and corruption, the people's sweat and blood are almost drained.Instead of benefiting the common people, the government offices bring disasters to the common people.From this point of view, wouldn't these government offices be better off!What is even more worrisome is that the imperial court took the lead first and passed the burden on to the provinces.How can we accuse the prefectures and counties of Baojia too much?

Zhang Zhidong scrutinized these items in detail, and he paid special attention to the Beijing allowance, which was an allowance for low-level officials in the capital. Zhang Zhidong had been a small Beijing official for many years, and knew very well that the salary of a small Beijing official was too low.Although the official salaries of local officials are also very low, the year-end maintenance fee is quite high, which is enough to make up for the daily losses, while the maintenance fee for small Beijing officials in various ministries is very small.There are still people paying tribute to the six ministries that hold real power, while the Hanlin Academy and Guozijian, which are known as Qingshui Yamen, have almost no extra income.Zhang Zhidong really didn't understand how this salary system was formulated in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China.Many people in the small Beijing officials also have power, and the small Beijing officials also need to be respectable. When the dignity cannot be maintained, they will naturally use the power in their hands to seek their own self-interest, thus breaking the country's laws and regulations.Didn't the court set up such a salary system intentionally to drive officials to Liangshan?

The imperial court did not begin to give subsidies to Xiaojing officials until recent years.It is right to distribute subsidies, but they have to be paid out of the national treasury, and cannot be apportioned by the provinces, and the burden should be passed on to the provinces. Although Zhang Zhidong was dissatisfied with the court's approach, he knew that the "withdrawal of Beijing's salary and allowance" could not be mentioned, as mentioning it would offend all the small officials in the capital.If the officials of the small Beijing gang up and attack them, it is very likely that this matter will not be able to be done.As a result, only one apportionment cannot be avoided.You can't lose the big because of the small.Some are matters in Shanxi Province, such as the year-old scientific research shed fee, which should not be transferred to the imperial court.Zhang Zhidong eliminated some projects for this.The remaining major items such as iron, silk, silk, and paper add up to more than 200,000 taels of silver.If these apportionments can be dispensed with, the big problem will be solved.

Zhang Zhidong picked up a pen and wrote a few words on the papers submitted by Sang Zhiping and Yang Rui, asking them to make separate plans for iron, silk, silk, and paper, which belong to the apportionment of the province and will be resolved one by one in the future. . After writing this commentary, the night is already very deep.He left the desk and took a few steps slowly to exercise his muscles.At this time, Yang Shenxiu pushed the door and came in. "It's already the second watch, and you haven't slept yet?" "Didn't you sleep too?" Zhang Zhidong was tired of writing, and was looking for someone to chat with. "Sit down for a while. I just received a basket of Tieguanyin from my brother-in-law from Fujian. Do you want to drink it?"

Yang Shenxiu was bold by nature and liked to drink tea. He hurriedly said, "Tieguanyin in Fujian is a famous tea in the world. Since it was sent from Lufantai, it must be the best of Tieguanyin. My lord has such good tea, how can I not drink it?" ?” Zhang Zhidong's brother-in-law Lu Chuanlin was transferred to the Sichuan feudal governor three months ago. When he left Fujian, he specially sent a basket of new tea to his brother-in-law.Two years ago, when Zhang Zhidong was just a bachelor's student, Lu Chuanlin was already a Fujian governor.In the past two years, Zhang Zhidong's auspicious star shines brightly, his official career is prosperous, he has made several great leaps, and now his official position has surpassed that of his brother-in-law.Lu Chuanlin is capable and stable, and has always had good official luck. Now he is only forty-seven years old, and he has already become a feudal official, so he can be regarded as a lucky person.Uncle Lang has a close relationship and often exchanges letters.

As soon as Yang Shenxiu sat down, Dagen came in with a pot of boiling water.No matter how late it is, as long as Zhang Zhidong has not gone to bed, Dagen will not go to bed. This has been a habit for more than ten years.After arriving in Taiyuan, Dagen knew that his fourth uncle was the head of a province and he had no wife to take care of him, so he more consciously took on all matters of taking care of his fourth uncle.After Chunlan came, like her husband, she had to wait for Zhang Zhidong to sleep every night before resting, so that she could take care of her at any time. Dagen made two cups of tea.Passed a cup to Fourth Uncle, and Yang Shenxiu a cup, and then went out with the teapot.

Yang Shenxiu said with a smile: "People in Fujian have a special procedure for drinking Tieguanyin, instead of brewing it in a big bowl like this." Zhang Zhidong said: "I know that. But the procedure is too cumbersome. It's a way to pass the time thought up by people with nothing to do. I can't stand the trouble." Yang Shenxiu took a sip and said, "This tea tastes good, and it is truly worthy of being a famous tea in the world. If it is brewed by Fujian people, it may be even better." "You are a man who pushes every inch." Zhang Zhidong smiled, and took a sip, "Just drink like this, I am already very content." Yang Shenxiu said: "I was chatting at Uncle Yang's just now. When I went out, I saw that the candlelight was still burning in your place. I remembered something and wanted to report it to you. I wonder if you have time tonight?" "What's the matter, tell me!" Zhang Zhidong sat down at the desk again, and tidied up the papers spread all over the table. "That year, when I helped the county government to transcribe the county's land, mu, money and grain accounts, I discovered a problem." "What's the problem?" Zhang Zhidong looked at Yang Shenxiu with piercing eyes. "The number of acres of land in Wenxi County does not match the actual situation." Yang Shenxiu said slowly while drinking tea, "First of all, I saw that the number of acres of land in our Qingshibao is 68,000 mu. This number is wrong. Our Qingshi There are actually 74,000 mu of land in the castle. This was measured by my father himself when he was the chief security officer. I asked a few friends later, and the number of acres of land where they are located is also more than the county government’s records.” "Why did such a thing happen?" Zhang Zhidong put down the note in his hand, frowning and asked. "I've thought about this too. Why is there a difference of six thousand acres?" Yang Shenxiu paused for a moment and said, "I figured it out later. It turns out that the field acres in Wenxi County were measured in the 22nd year of Daoguang's reign. It has been exactly 40 years. During these 40 years, a lot of wasteland has been opened up, and these newly opened wastelands have not been counted. This is one. The second is that the measurement was not accurate. Many big families paid less land tax. , bribed the surveyors, and concealed the acres of land. This is something that has happened in all dynasties, and it is not surprising. This is the case in Wenxi County, and the other counties are similar. Adding up the whole province, this number is not small, and it has greatly affected the Fan. treasury income." "En." Zhang Zhidong nodded lightly, "You are right, it seems that we have to measure the acres of land again." "My lord's idea is great." Yang Shenxiu became very excited, "I haven't measured it for forty years, and it is very necessary to measure it again. This is first to find out our family background in Shanxi and see how much land we have. I I think, as the Futai of the three Jin Dynasties, this figure must be accurate. Secondly, Shanxi is poor, and the tax mainly depends on the tax per mu of land, and the tax from the extra mu of land is a considerable income." "Okay!" Zhang Zhidong cheered up, "Yicun, what you said is a bright and righteous way to increase taxes." "Thank you for your reward, my lord." "Do you have any good method of measuring land?" Zhang Zhidong, who was just a magistrate, had no experience in this field. "Yes!" Yang Shenxiu said with confidence, "Every time I see the scales on the fish, I think, no wonder the fish can protect themselves. It turns out that the scales are next to each other, and there is no place exposed. Animals have no way of harming it." Zhang Zhidong looked at the Juren who had just passed his thirties with great interest, and thought to himself: Everyone has seen the scales on fish, but no one has gained any inspiration from fish scales. What will this young man do? What about inspiration? "I often think that if I become a Bailihou one day, I must imitate fish scales and figure out the land of the whole county one by one." "How to imitate the Fa?" Zhang Zhidong found this very interesting. "That's right." Yang Shenxiu said calmly, "I zoomed in on the map of the county under my jurisdiction, and put the name of each village on it. Then, with the village as the unit, draw It is like a fish scale. One village is next to another village, this is the principle that one fish scale is next to another fish scale, and there is no gap in the middle. The measuring personnel are uniformly dispatched by the county government to cooperate with all villages. I don’t know anyone in the measured village. If anyone has relatives or friends with people in this village, avoid them, just like avoiding them in the examination room. In this way, you can’t hide the land from any big family.” "You have a way!" Zhang Zhidong praised. "Each county has recreated a village-based field register to report to the province." "This booklet is called the Fish Scale Book. The inventor is Wenxi Yangyi Village." Zhang Zhidong couldn't help laughing out loud. "Yang is so honored!" Yang Shenxiu also laughed. Yang Shenxiu had left for quite a while, but Zhang Zhidong was still in a state of excitement: all poppy seedlings had been pulled out, opium smoking had been completely banned, treasury money checks had achieved initial results, and the eradication of several large-scale malpractices in Shanxi had also received the attention of the court. Yang Shenxiu's fish scale book idea is also very good, and it can be handled accordingly.It has been more than a year since I came to Shanxi. Although there are still many unsatisfactory things, it seems that several major events are going well.As the first minister of the border, he can have such achievements, and he can also talk about his life.Zhang Zhidong thought, there is not much difficulty in being a local official. There are two keys to support the court and someone to support the feet.With these two items, the local officials can be magnificent.There was a cock crowing in the distance, and it was estimated that it would be midnight, so he quickly blew out the candles and went to bed. Zhang Zhidong's body has never been very strong, but his energy is particularly strong.After arriving in Shanxi, I realized that all kinds of government affairs were inexhaustible. I didn't eat, sleep, or rest for twelve hours a day, and there were endless official affairs.Shanxi's officialdom is tired and lazy, and he needs to set an example by his diligence in the king's affairs, so he set a rule for himself: get up at 2:00 a.m. every day, read official documents at the beginning of the day, start seeing guests at the beginning of the morning, don't rest at noon, and don't rest in the afternoon. Continue to work and go to bed at the beginning of the day.I sleep less than three hours a day, but fortunately, I eat and sleep well, and I can handle the complexities of the day with ease.Zhang Zhidong's extraordinary energy made all the staff around him admire and feel inferior. At some point, he was suddenly awakened by the sound of metal clashing outside the window.He got out of bed in a hurry, and when he opened the window to look, he saw two black shadows fighting desperately under the gray moonlight.Zhang Zhidong, who had no strength to restrain the chicken, was stunned. After he regained his composure, he saw clearly that the one wielding the iron chain was Da Gen, but who was Da Gen fighting with?A thief, or an assassin?Dagen is good at martial arts. An iron chain is waving up and down, left and right, like a boa constrictor wrapped around him, making it impossible for the opponent to attack.The opponent is also a strong man, slashing back and forth with a knife, the cold light is shining, like the long fangs of a devil, fierce and terrifying, advancing towards Dagen step by step.Seeing that Dagen couldn't win for a while, Zhang Zhidong didn't care about the governor's dignity, and shouted out the window: "Come here, there are thieves!" The man with the knife suddenly heard the cry, his mind was distracted, and his hands were in disarray. Taking advantage of this moment, Da Gen swung the iron chain and hit the man on the right hand. With a "bang", the knife fell on the green brick floor, and the man ran towards the courtyard wall, trying to escape by jumping over the wall.At this time, Yang Rui, Yang Shenxiu and others who lived next door to the signing room were walking out with sticks.Dagen yelled: "Stop the thief, don't let him jump over the wall!" The man was a little flustered when he saw a few more people coming, and when he was about to change direction to escape, Dagen had already caught up, and with a flick of the chain, he hit the man's head. On the lap, the man immediately fell to the ground.Yang Rui and others caught up and captured the man together. At this time, the entire governor's yamen was in a commotion, and the flower hall that usually received guests was brightly lit.Zhang Zhidong sat on the grand teacher's chair in the middle, staring angrily at the criminal who was kidnapped by Wu Huada.The man was dressed in a black night suit, about forty years old, with a full beard and thick face. Although he tried his best to pretend to be calm, he couldn't hide the horror in his eyes.Da Gen pressed the thief's shoulders hard, and the man knelt down with a "plop". Zhang Zhidong stared at two big eyes, his thick and short eyebrows were locked into two black clusters, his huge nose blocked the candlelight from the right, making his face on the left dark and gloomy.Yang Rui peeked at Zhang Zhidong, his always kind and amiable mentor, but tonight he was so majestic and majestic, he couldn't help feeling a little fear in his heart.Zhang Zhidong slapped the armrest of the grand teacher's chair vigorously, and shouted loudly: "Who are you, what are you doing here at the governor's office late at night with your sword drawn?" The man glanced at Zhang Zhidong, lowered his head, bit his lips tightly and did not speak. Zhang Zhidong was very angry and asked again loudly: "What's your name and what do you do?" The man still didn't speak. Dagen said in a huff: "Hit him with a hundred sticks, and see if he talks!" After all, he picked up the stick in Yang Rui's hand and was about to beat him down, but Zhang Zhidong stopped him.Zhang Zhidong suppressed his anger, and lowered his voice slightly: "Do you know that, drawing a knife and breaking into the governor's office in the middle of the night, he committed the capital crime of beheading for public display?" The man raised his head, his eyes showed a trace of sadness, his mouth moved twice, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't make a sound, and lowered his head again. Sang Zhiping, who rushed over upon hearing the news, saw all this in his eyes, and said to Zhang Zhidong, "This man does not seem to be an ordinary thief. Why don't he try him for the time being and detain him first, and we will talk about it tomorrow." Zhang Zhidong also saw that things were quite strange, agreed with Sang Zhiping's opinion, handed over the thief to Yang Rui's custody, and ordered everyone not to disclose what happened tonight, and then ordered the lights to be extinguished, and everyone went to rest as usual. In the early morning of the next day, Zhang Zhidong came to the signing room to review the official documents.At the top of the pile of official documents more than one foot high was a letter, which read: Governor Zhang Daren kissed on the shoulder.Zhang Zhidong opened it smoothly and took out the letter paper. "Ning Dao'an, the teacher of Lu'an Mansion, would like to report to Zhang Futai." As soon as he read this sentence, Zhang Zhidong was so angry that he couldn't stand it any longer. Relying on the power of the church, there are no prefectural and county parents in the eyes, and it is unreasonable to write letters to the governor at every turn!This wind must not last long.He picked up his pen and wrote on it: "Throw back the original letter. Since this religious person lives in Lu'an Mansion, he can report to the Changzhi County Yamen if he has any problems." In a fit of anger, Yang Rui walked in in a flustered expression, knelt down on his knees, and said in a crying voice, "The thief from last night died suddenly. The student is not being supervised strictly, please punish him by the teacher." "What!" Zhang Zhidong suddenly stood up, furious. "The thief is dead, how did he die?" Yang Rui was frightened by Zhang Zhidong's expression, he was stunned for a while, and then he said tremblingly: "Last night, under the order of the teacher, I took the thief into a small room where the broken coal was piled up, and watched him. After a while, the thief closed his eyes and fell asleep. The student was very tired. Seeing him sleeping, he thought nothing happened, so he went back to his room and went to bed. When he woke up early in the morning and rushed to the miscellaneous room, he found that he was dead, so he rushed to the room. Come report." The thief came to the governor's yamen late at night and didn't know exactly what he was going to do. Maybe there was a complicated background behind it. He was about to be interrogated. How could he be allowed to die in such an unexplained way?This Yang Shuqiao is really young and ignorant!He gave Yang Rui a hard look, passed by angrily, and knocked the student to the ground with his arm.Without turning his head, he went straight to the miscellaneous room.Yang Rui got up, ignoring the pain in his head from being bumped by the floor tiles, and trotted along behind the teacher. There were already crowds of people inside and outside the miscellaneous house. Seeing the governor coming, he hurriedly made way for him.When Zhang Zhidong came to the corpse of the criminal, Sang Zhiping was examining it carefully.The dead man curled up his hands and feet, his face was black and blue, his lips were black and purple, and there were coagulated blood stains around his nostrils and mouth corners.Sang Zhiping tugged Zhang Zhidong's sleeve and said, "Let's talk in the signing room!" Zhang Zhidong nodded.When the two came to the signing room, Sang Zhiping closed the doors and windows and said quietly, "This is a strange thing." Zhang Zhidong said with a tense face: "The doors and windows of the miscellaneous house are tightly closed. It seems that this person was not killed by others, but committed suicide." "Judging from the scene, this person died from eating the arsenic he carried with him." "In this way, this person has prepared a dead end for himself in advance." Zhang Zhidong rubbed his thin chin, thinking hard, "Why did he come to the yamen?" "I don't think this is a thief who steals, but has some other purpose." Sang Zhiping analyzed slowly, "Maybe he is here to steal some important official documents, or to inquire about some secret matter, or even It may be an assassin. If it is an assassin, he will not be directed at others, and he may be directed at you." Zhang Zhidong stared at Sang Zhiping and said, "It's not an ordinary thief. It seems certain. If he was a thief, he would never hide poison on his body in advance, and he would never seek death on his own without a trial. If it is about stealing official documents, what official documents do I have here that are worth risking their lives to steal? If it is about killing my assassin, then who do I have a grudge against?" "Aren't there fewer people who are against you?" Sang Zhiping said with a smile, "How many people have lost their money by destroying poppies? How many people have been rolled to the ground by your fasting of opium, and their addiction to cigarettes is unbearable? You check the treasury, How many people's privacy will be discovered?" Sang Zhiping's words made Zhang Zhidong's back feel cold: "So, this person is an assassin who came to kill me." "Seven out of ten it's possible." After thinking about what happened from last night to this morning, Sang Zhiping's mind has gradually become clearer. "According to Dagen, this man is good at martial arts, and has a lot of sword skills. He is a figure in the martial arts. It seems that he may not necessarily have a grudge against you, but was hired by someone with a lot of money, and he has an appointment. If he fails, he will die. In short, I will never leave anyone alive. I have been in the Jianghu. The Jianghu talks about loyalty, and the emphasis is on promises. There are many such people." Zhang Zhidong nodded and said, "Your analysis makes sense, but you have to find some clues to solve the case. Do you have any ideas?" Sang Zhiping thought for a while and came up with a solution.Zhang Zhidong nodded in approval.