Chapter 56 Section 56 Confrontation Court

Twenty days later, the edict was sent to the governor's office in Hubei.Zeng Guofan, Guan Wen, Tao Shu and others did not dare to delay, they hurriedly got on the sedan chair with the oracle in hand, and went straight to the governor's office to announce the decree to Niu Jian.Niu Jian knelt down to accept the order. Zeng Guofan declared: "The cabinet issued an edict: According to Zeng Guofan and official documents, Niu Jian, Governor of Huguang, Zhejiang Province, has ignored political affairs since he took office, and devoted himself to Buddhist affairs every day, resulting in the neglect of Huguang political affairs. It's really hateful and annoying! Immediate dismissal, handed over to the Ministry of Officials for discussion, once the truth is found out, then punished, and will never be lenient! The governor of Huguang is missing, and according to Zeng Guofan and the official document, Tao, the governor of Hubei, will be temporarily appointed. Shu Acting. Qin here."

Sure enough, Niu Jian had to be punished by "returning to the Beijing Ministry of Communications for discussion". The superintendent's seal script left behind was temporarily taken care of by Tao Shu as requested by Zeng Guofan and the official document. The next day Niu Jian left Wuchang with Maitreya Buddha and his family members. Tao Shu sent a team of soldiers to escort him as usual.Looking at Niu Jian's back, the scheming official cursed softly: "Mu Tang is a disaster for the country and the people!" Zeng Guofan heard the truth, and couldn't help shaking his whole body. He told himself in his heart: "For acquaintances who are in power, I can't easily go against him, and I can't get too close to him. If you go against him or get too close to him, you will easily get angry, so keep him at a respectful distance." , is the best choice.”

On the day Tao Shu took over the seal script, he sent a letter to Yang Fang, the admiral of Hunan Province, stating that Yang Fang would send troops to protect him as soon as Zeng Guofan and Guanwen arrived in Changsha, Hunan, and obey Master Zeng and the officials at any time; If there is the slightest difference, only the admiral should ask. At this time, the officials from Hunan Governor's Yamen arrived to receive the imperial envoy, but it was Hunan Xuezheng He Changlu who was accompanied by a veteran Taoist.When He saw Zeng Guofan and Guan Wen, he hurriedly took a step forward and knelt down to ask Sheng'an, and then exchanged pleasantries.

The two of them walked into the superintendent's signing room, and Zeng Guofan gave He Changlu the gift of a younger generation. This He Changlu is also a celebrity in the academic world, he has been struggling in Beijing, and after seeing that he was sixty, he released Hunan Xuezheng.Zeng Guofan learned cursive script from him, so there are teachers and students. After a short rest, Zeng Guofan and Guan Wen boarded the yellow woolen sedan chair brought by He Xuezheng and set off for Hunan; local officials picked them up along the way, which was impeccable. Not far from Changsha, I saw Yang Fang, the admiral of Hunan, riding a tall horse, leading a team of green battalion soldiers, waiting outside the city.

As soon as the sedan chairs of Zeng Guofan and Guanwen landed, they fired three cannons first, and then Yang Fang got off the saddle and knelt down on the ground. After paying respects to Sheng An, he also called "the pick-up is late", which is all self-effacing words. Entering the gate of Changsha, I saw Yutai, the governor of Hunan, the chief envoy of Hunan from a distance, with the officials of Changsha City, such as the cloth, the two divisions, the roads, prefectures, and counties, waiting impatiently by the gate. When he saw the shadow of the imperial envoy's sedan chair, he fell to his knees with a huff.

That night, after receiving the wind and wine, Zeng Guofan, Guan Wen and others stayed in the admiral's yamen.Admiral Yang Fang has not only known Guan Wen for a long time, but also has a close relationship with him.Yang Fang knew that Guan Wen was unwilling to be lonely, so after drinking that night, she arranged for two actors to wait on Guan Wen's bedroom list.Zeng Guofan took a break early and just didn't know. The next day, Yang Fang gave up the lobby to the imperial envoy, and she was willing to move to the custody room to do business.According to the intention of Zeng Guofan and the official document, he sent people to the Yamen of the procuratorate to borrow several kinds of torture instruments, and prepared a temporary cell.After seeing that everything was cleared up, a notice was posted on the gate of the admiral's mansion, and the case was started.The first person Zeng Guofan summoned was naturally Zhang Ye.

At noon on the eighth day, Zhang also entered the admiral's mansion.As soon as they arrived at the lobby, they first respectfully greeted Sheng An to the Wang Ming flag, and then greeted the hard work of the imperial envoy.After finishing all this, Zhang Ye presented his resume with both hands, saying: "Please take a look at it, both adults." As usual, Zeng Guofan asked the guards to move the seat to let Zhang Ye sit down, then put the resume aside, handed Wanmin over casually, and said: "Please Zhang Mingfu to see if it is true. It is not a slander, right? " Zhang Ye read the Wanmin booklet carefully, and suddenly sneered, "These unscrupulous people are really hateful! It's true that the magistrate invited the masters of Futai to go to the Xiangxiang county government to drink, but that happened the night before. .If poison is poisoned in Xiaguan's wine, how can I not have an attack at that time, but will have an attack the next day? It's really ridiculous! Besides, I am an official in the same province as Mr. Liu, and we have no grudges. Mingchao."

Zeng Guofan said coldly: "It is natural to investigate. I have sent someone to the magistrate's yamen to perform an autopsy on Liu Huangtang. I believe the results will be available tomorrow. Let me ask Mr. Zhang something. Wanminzhe has listed more than a dozen items from Mr. Mingfu. The crime, the first one, states that the master of the government has to buy a number of young girls from Xiangxiang every month, is this true?" Zhang Ye said: "Returning to my lord, this is the truth. Now there are more than a dozen girls in my room. Is this also a violation of the law?"

Zeng Guofan laughed and said, "Buying poor women, especially in times of catastrophe, is something well-meaning people do. How can we talk about breaking the law? However, what I want to ask is that you have bought so many women. And I have never taken it as a concubine, so where did I send it to?" Zhang Ye laughed loudly and said, "The superior asked the question knowingly. Did the superior ever know that the lower official would buy more than a dozen little girls every month, and this was also his tolerance?" "Tolerance?" Guan Wen couldn't help being curious, "Which Tolerance is it?"

Zhang Ye said: "Returning to my lord, what I'm serving is the tolerance of the governor." Then he took out a piece of paper from his sleeve, handed it up, and said, "This is what my lord has done this year. Please read the details, both adults." Zeng Guofan secretly said: "This one also seems to be prepared." Following Zhang Ye's words, he said: "Dare to ask Zhang Mingfu, why does Yu Zhongcheng buy so many women every month?" Zhang Ye got up and replied: "If you answer the words of your lord, this lower official will not know." Zeng Guofan was about to speak, when he suddenly saw the garrison item of the admiral's mansion who was sent to Xiangxiang come in hurriedly, put a token on the case and said: "My lord, I will take people in Xiangxiang according to the instructions of the two lords." All towns and villages in the townships and counties put up grievance signs, and a total of thirty-two people came to appeal for grievances. There was another one who followed even though he had no grievances. These people are all waiting outside the admiral's mansion, please show me Down."

Guan Wen glanced at Zeng Guofan, and said excitedly: "All of them, please come to court." "Wait!" Zeng Guofan waved his hand and asked, "Who is the one who has no grievances?" Xiang Shoubei hastily lowered his voice and said: "My lord, it's your father from the Heyetang mansion. Your father was very happy when he learned that your lord came to Hunan on business. He wanted to see you, so I used a sedan chair to bring the old man here." The official document didn't wait for Xiang Shou to finish speaking, so he rushed to Xiang Shou and said: "Send Lord Zeng's old father-in-law to the bedroom to rest first, and let someone take good care of him. There must be no difference. Go down." But Zeng Guofan said: "Pass down the words of the envoy. During the imperial envoy's handling of the case, all relatives and friends of the family will avoid it. Xiang Shoubei, after you go down, send the envoy's father back to the lotus leaf pond immediately. Go and come back quickly. There must be no mistakes." !" The official said anxiously: "My lord, why do you..." Zeng Guofan waved at Xiang Shoubei with a cold face and said, "Go down." Xiang Shoubei agreed with a "huh" and then left in a disgruntled manner, which was very boring. Zhang Ye stood up at this time and said: "If you have nothing to ask, my lord, I will leave first." Zeng Guofan sneered and said: "Zhang Mingfu, you already know that I have placed a grievance card in Xiangxiang, and more than 30 people have come to the admiral's mansion. Zhang Mingfu and I will listen to what they have Let’s be wronged. Zhang Mingfu is wronged for a while, and sit back, the official and his lord will have a trial of the case. Call the wronged person to go to court!" More than 30 people have already complained that they have been wronged, and they all fell to their knees. Zeng Guofan and Guanwen looked at each other, straightened their clothes, looked at the Wang Ming flag on the desk, and suddenly slapped the gavel and said: "There is no evil greater than the good of destroying people, and nothing greater than the injustice of white people." I and my lord were sent by the emperor to investigate cases in Hunan. I hope you have something to say and don't just talk nonsense. I will decide with him if I have a wrong, and I can spare him if I make trouble, but the king will spare him. He can't! Please tell me one by one." After speaking, he glanced at the copywriter sitting next to him, and said in a low voice, "Please record carefully, so as not to omit anything." The first person to complain was a man over half a century old, surnamed Mao, and everyone in the village called him Mr. Mao.Mrs. Mao owned 30 acres of land and hired a long-term worker, so her life was decent.Because of the severe drought this spring, the wheat generally did not grow well. In autumn, locusts appeared all over the mountains and plains overnight, eating up the 30 acres of wheat until there was not even straw left.Mao Taigong reported the cessation of production to Zhu Dianshi of the county government early.Unexpectedly, in autumn, the land protection still has to collect the land and silver, and Mr. Mao naturally refuses to comply.The dibao went to the county government that day, and the next day, two people who appeared to be on business came to lock up Mr. Mao and take him away. There was no excuse at all.When he arrived at the county government office, he was sent to the prison without any reason, and was locked up for a whole night.It wasn't until dawn that someone came to mention it, and it wasn't for arraignment, but to let him go.On the way, Grandpa Mao wondered, why did he let him go without interrogation or interrogation? Stepping into the house, I saw the old woman crying, and was about to ask, but the old woman smashed a silver dollar like crazy, and cursed at the same time: "I'm not dead, you can't bear the lawsuit, so why sell your daughter!" When Grandpa Mao heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and asked again and again: "How did I ever sell my daughter? Is there any evidence?" The old woman threw a piece of paper in her arms: "This is not it!" Mr. Mao took it and took a look. There was also his own handprint.This anger was serious, so he didn't even sit down, and went straight to the Dibao.The dibao has collected the land and Dingyin has not yet come back.Grandpa Mao went to the county seat again, but there was no sign of his daughter; the drum was beating to call for injustice, and the county magistrate was sitting in the lobby, but he was beaten up and sentenced to vexatious crimes. Zeng Guofan looked at Zhang Ye, and saw that Zhang was also listening to Mao Taigong's speech calmly, so he asked: "Mao Taigong, I want to ask you, do you know who bought your daughter? Did the land insurance ever participate?" Mao Taigong said: "The old woman was patronizing and scolding me at the time, but she didn't see the face of the person who came. The Dibao didn't participate." The official asked anxiously: "But the tolerance?" Mr. Mao shook his head and said, "I never remember." Zeng Guofan asked again: "How old is your daughter?" Grandpa Mao cried, "Thirteen years old." Zeng Guofan said: "You present the contract." Mr. Mao presented a piece of crumpled yellow mounting paper with both hands. Zeng Guofan looked at the contract carefully, not only stating that he was worth one silver dollar, but also a bright red finger print. Zeng Guofan asked Taigong Mao to press a handprint and submit it in court, and it turned out to be exactly the same! Zeng Guofan pondered for a while, and suddenly asked Mr. Mao: "Mr. Mao, I carefully read your pleadings and the contract of prostitution. This is clearly a case of human trafficking. As long as you catch the traffickers, you will naturally find your daughter. This is not wronged. Mr. Mao, you go down." As soon as Zeng Guofan's words fell, the whole hall was stunned. However, Grandpa Mao raised his voice and said: "Master Imperial Envoy, the Tolerance locked up my old Mao and left, and I was sent to the prison for a night without asking..." Zeng Guofan didn't allow Grandpa Mao to finish speaking, he slapped the gavel suddenly, and shouted: "Grandpa Mao, you must not roar in court!" After a pause, he lowered his head and whispered something to Guan Wen, then suddenly narrowed his triangular eyes, and said to Zhang Ye: "Zhang Mingfu, can you hear what Grandpa Mao said?" Zhang stood up without any haste, bowed deeply to the hall and said, "Listen, my lords. Grandpa Mao said that he was locked up by the tolerance lock and imprisoned without paying the land, and was sent back without going to court. This kind of thing will definitely not happen in Xiangxiang County. My lords, don't listen to the one-sided words of that troublesome Mr. Mao." The official document suddenly asked: "Zhang Ming Mansion, after listening for a long time, I heard a question. Last year, there was a catastrophe in Hunan, and the Fuyuan reported that there was no harvest. According to Mao Taigong, Xiangxiang not only still collects the land, but also pays the grain. What's going on? Is there no disaster in Xiangxiang, or even a false report from the Fuyuan?" As soon as the words of the official text fell, the whole hall was stunned.Zeng Guofan couldn't help admiring in his heart: "You are worthy of being a Hubu doctor, and the three words are inseparable from the profession!" But Zhang Ye said calmly: "Return to your lord's words. When the official took over the seal eight years ago, Xiangxiang County had already owed the government servants 136,000 taels of salary. , for the purpose of blocking old debts. All these, the lower officials have reported to the Fuyuan." Zeng Guofan and Guanwen were all taken aback.The official asked: "What about the land that Xiangxiang County collected in the past?" Zhang also replied: "Go back to your lord. Your lord asks the subordinate, and the subordinate asks where to go?" Zeng Guofan said: "Ask your predecessor! You wouldn't just accept the seal in a daze, would you?" Zhang Ye said: "Return to your lord's words. The predecessor of the lower official died in the office, how do you ask the lower official to ask about it!" Guanwen thought for a while, and said: "I remember now. Are you talking about Hu Chuanxiang who embezzled the county government treasury and committed suicide in fear of crime?" Zhang Ye said: "My lord is really good at remembering. What do you ask the lower officials to do when the Hu criminals left this mess? We can only think of ways from the grain and land." Zeng Guofan suddenly interrupted Zhang Ye's words and asked: "Zhang Mingfu, there is something I don't know about this mission, and I need to ask you for advice. According to what you said, you are making up for the lack of Hu. When you received the seal, think about that. Prisoner Hu has been dead for a long time, but the nursing home should..." The official document did not wait for Zeng Guofan to finish speaking, so he whispered: "My lord, let's not ask about what happened seven or eight years ago. I remember that I was still in Shengjing, and the emperor seemed to order Hong Shilang from the Ministry of Justice to come to Hunan. In the end, it seems that Mu Zhongtang came here again. There are dozens of people outside, so let's not miss our business!" Zeng Guofan smiled and said in a low voice, "Thanks for reminding me in time, sir. Let's continue." The official document raised the volume and said: "Zhang Mingfu, you stand back. When I ask you, I will pass it on to you. The next one will go to court." Grandpa Mao raised his voice in the hall and said loudly: "My lord, my old Mao was only imprisoned in the county prison for one night, and my daughter was bought for no reason. How can you always say that this is not wronged? If not The magistrate of the county harmed me, so how could there be my handprint on the deed of sale? It wasn’t pressed while I was asleep, so what? I went to the lobby to ask for someone, but he not only refused to give it, but beat me up! Master, I was wronged, you can't just let me go down without giving me the decision!" Zeng Guofan nodded, looked at Zhang Ye suddenly and said, "Zhang Mingfu, can you hear what Grandpa Mao just said?" Zhang Ye stood up and cupped his hands at the hall: "Return to what your lord said. Mr. Mao's daughter was sold by himself, but he broke into the county hall indiscriminately and took care of the officials and important people! He even said nonsense that the officials locked him up for nothing. One night. This is simply nonsense! My lord is a person who has been in the officialdom for a long time. Have you ever experienced what Grandpa Mao said? My lord, if you don’t blow out such nonsense people, you let the next official, the county magistrate How else should it be?" Zeng Guofan didn't say anything, he waved his hand to the guards and said, "Take Mr. Mao aside first. Next."