Chang'an, early morning.

In the political affairs hall of the Han Dynasty's Legal Affairs Bureau, Wei Duan, the official who participated in the legal affairs and suppressed political affairs, sat in the straight hall with an irritable look on his face, frequently looking out the door of the straight hall.

It was obviously still very early, and the sky was not yet completely bright.

Yesterday I heard that Zuo Fengyi and Supervisor Zhiyin found that someone was neglecting disaster relief and doing things in a muddle-headed manner, and then reported the situation directly to the Husband's Palace. When Wei Duan inquired about it, he couldn't sit still. He arrived at the Senlu Courtyard early today and looked at Zuo

Looking to the right, I finally waited until the door of the Husband's Government Hall was opened and I started to work. After sitting for a while, I couldn't hold myself back anymore, so I stood up and went straight to the Husband's office.

Xun You was on duty at the political hall today. When he saw Wei Duan coming suddenly, he already made some guesses in his mind, so he deliberately ignored them. But after all, he was on duty today, so he asked, "What can I do if I come to the room with you?"

"This..." Wei Duan looked around, then moved closer and whispered, "I heard about Zheng County...I don't know, my lord..."

Although the magistrate of Zheng County is not surnamed Wei, he has a good relationship with Wei Duan. Apart from some shady marriages between relatives, he is usually somewhat filial. At least after Wei Duan became the doctor who participated in the law and suppressed the government, he

I brought gifts for people of all ages.

After hearing this, Xun You's face suddenly darkened, "The political affairs hall is the most important state matter, how can it be trivialized by hearsay?"

"But please allow me to make it easier for you..." When Wei Duan heard this, his face showed a bit of embarrassment, and he bowed his hands again and begged.

Xun You already waved his sleeves and said, "Let's go! If the Lord asks, I will naturally call you. If there is nothing important, don't come and chat!"

Wei Duan was uneasy and felt a little bad in his heart, but he felt that it should not involve him. At worst, it would be like cutting off Xue Lan's tail. It would just be cut off again, so he looked at Xun You and ignored him.

He wanted to speak several times, but finally left the political hall feeling slightly flustered.

Before he could walk out of the political hall, he bumped into Pang Tong striding in with his belly puffed out. Pang Tong raised his eyes and saw Wei Duan, his face suddenly darkened: "Where do you want to go?"

"A humble position...I'm..." When Wei Duan saw Pang Tong, he was like a mouse seeing a cat. He didn't dare to express his anger. It's not that Pang Tong's official authority is more important than Xun You, but because Wei Duan knew that Pang Tong was here.

The weight of the hussar's position is greater, so naturally I don't dare to deal with it casually, "I heard from Zheng County..."

Before Wei Duan finished speaking, Pang Tong snorted coldly: "Before the appointment, you didn't know the answer in the hall, and after the incident, you made false statements in the temporary post? The important responsibilities of the country and the power of the people are like child's play! The Lord is a humble gentleman, but how stupid is it?"

People are trying to bully them! Now that the law of participation is here, but the law of corruption has been finalized?"

Wei Duan lowered his head and rolled his eyes, "This will take some time..."

Pang Tong's tone became even worse: "The main responsibility has not yet been fulfilled, and there is still time for others to talk about? Shenlu is so leisurely! The Lord will also come to the hall, so Shenlu might as well stay here for the time being, and how about drinking tea together?"

Wei Duan waved his hands repeatedly and said: "I just happened to pass by the Government Affairs Hall. I was thinking of the two princes, so I came to greet An'er. How dare I disturb the lord... This, I will return immediately... Farewell, farewell..." After that, he waved his hands repeatedly.

, he did not dare to stay any longer and left the government affairs hall in a hurry.

Pang Tong snorted coldly, then rolled up his sleeves and walked forward proudly.

It's not that Pang Tong deliberately acted in such a domineering manner, but because he had to do things, naturally he couldn't be a good gentleman all the time. Especially at the Xijing Shangshutai at the moment.

Since the beginning of this post, the Shangshutai has been a place used by the emperor to restrain the prime minister. It has a low position but a heavy weight. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, in order to further strengthen the monarchy, political affairs were not assigned to two offices, namely the prime minister's office and the imperial censor's office. Therefore, he ordered

The Shangshutai was in charge of documents, read memorials, and conveyed the emperor's orders, so his status became increasingly important.

During the period of Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, in view of the dictatorship of powerful ministers in the late Western Han Dynasty, he also deliberately weakened the power of the prime minister. Although Taiwei, Situ, and Sikong were again ranked as high as the three princes, almost equal to the position of prime minister, the actual power gradually moved to the chancellery.

Among them, Daxing expanded the staff of Shangshutai, and eventually formed a huge organization with complex organization, which also became the central nervous system of the government, also known as Zhongtai.

Who wouldn’t be jealous of such a position?

Being in the whirlpool, although his position is not as good as the Third Duke, he has more authority than the Third Duke. It is not a position that people want to hold. No matter whether he is in office or in the opposition, everyone is watching. If you have strong qualifications, you don't have to worry.

After all, in the Han Dynasty, reputation had some effect.

But Pang Tong, of course, does not have much qualifications. He is not very young, and he did not follow the official path step by step. Therefore, as the Lord of the Secretariat, he will definitely attract dissatisfaction and criticism from some people.

These dissatisfactions and criticisms are what Pang Tong needs. Because Pang Tong knows that the reputation of General Fei Qian must be innocent, noble, and benevolent. Then there will be pure innocence, nobility, and benevolence in politics.

Virtue?

Where did those dark, despicable, and cruel things go, and who did them?

Therefore, Pang Tong will handle those things that are difficult for Fei Qian to handle, and Pang Tong will kill those who are difficult for Fei Qian to kill. This is Pang Tong’s awakening, and it is also Pang Tong’s burden. Who wants to be pointed at behind someone’s back every day? Scolding? Who doesn’t know that doing more is worse than doing less?

What should be done should still be done. Pang Tong didn't care what other officials thought of him, because he knew that these things were his responsibilities and what he had to do from the day he followed Fei Qian.

Entering the government affairs hall, Xun You raised his eyes and looked at Pang Tong. He didn't stop holding his hands, but just nodded as a courtesy.

Pang Tong also nodded slightly in return, then sat down on the other side, waved his hand to drive out all the people in the hall, and then said: "My lord worked hard to quell the disaster, but there was another man-made disaster! All this, my lord's kindness has been greatly reduced."

, where to put it?』

Xun You finished approving the text on hand, then put down his pen, smiled bitterly, and said: "The magistrate of Zheng County first compensated the deceased, and then blamed the boss and punished the minor official for his negligence. The minor official committed suicide that night."

In prison...it was clean and smooth..."

Pang Tong sneered and said: "These dirty little officials are mostly scapegoats! If we investigate deeply, there must be embezzlement and misappropriation!"

This kind of trick is very common in officialdom. Knowing that the superiors are going to investigate, they all arrange a scapegoat. If nothing is found, they will naturally be happy, and the scapegoat will be kept for the time being until next time.

If any problems are found, they will all be blamed on the scapegoat...

Anyway, a dead person will not defend himself, and the investigation will not be able to continue. When the limelight passes, he will naturally be a good guy making money again.

"How long will it take for the land of three auxiliaries to be stable for the common people, to deceive China and Taiwan? Such vicious and corrupt people are born!" Pang Tong still said angrily, "If we are greedy for food today, will we be able to use it for the military in the future?"

?!』

Xun You sighed and said: "What we are discussing today is just an old illness. It is not a day's cold, nor a day's work..." Xun You naturally knew these things, and he also couldn't stand corruption.

, but he felt that if the magistrate of Zheng County was dealt with, who would be responsible for the disaster relief work? So Xun You felt that it should be maintained for now, at least until Zheng County has finished this matter.

The opinions of Xun You and Pang Tong in the political hall were not very unified, but in the backyard of the Hussar General's Mansion, it was a different scene.

"The reason why officials neglect the central government and do things rashly is because they take official duties lightly, do not pay enough, and are unwilling to accept favors. This is the root cause..." Fei Qian said slowly, "This is a malpractice of officials, and it is definitely not Zheng's fault."

There is only one person in the county."

Although it was a pity, after Fei Qian heard what happened in Zheng County, he did not feel great indignation because of it. He even lost the sadness he felt when he was under Luoyang City. Instead, he considered class and struggle.

When Huang Yueying heard Fei Qian's words, she felt quite a sense of agreement. She herself felt that even if she dealt with Zheng County, it would not have much effect, because how many years had the Xiqiang been fighting? The big man had beaten him off in these years.

Are there still few official positions? But year after year, there are still so many corrupt officials, and corruption is still so rampant, and it does not necessarily decrease at all. After dealing with Zheng County, it may be restrained for a while, but it will only be for a while...

"Master Kong said, a gentleman should pay attention to three things, but how can he do it?" Fei Qian laughed and said, "There are changes in the Spring and Autumn, the sun and the moon. Although etiquette is permanent, it is difficult to adjust it to the right time. In the early days of the Han Dynasty, there were few customizations, but when things happened, they increased

, making rituals and laws at will has become cumbersome and difficult to introduce. Although someone has the intention to change it, the world's secular people can't help but talk nonsense, so they use the law. This is all expected, and it is time to do it..."

"As expected?" Huang Yueying looked at Fei Qian, "Husband, you had expected this?"

Fei Qian nodded.

There is nothing new under the sun.

What it means to learn from history is because history is like a spiraling spring. Sometimes when you look at it, you will find that there seems to be a shadow reflected below and above.

Laws formulated by class are themselves a very serious and solemn manifestation of political form. How can they be full of loopholes and be dealt with casually, or even turn a blind eye and interpret them arbitrarily?

But the problem is that the feudal dynasty is so confused.

Just like a certain dictatorship system, it does not depend on the name on it, but on the composition of those who specifically represent the dictatorship. The big landlord class occupies the main position, which is the dictatorship of the landlord class. Even if it is called a classical panchao palace

The joint system is actually the dictatorship of the landlord class. If it is said that big capitalists and big entrepreneurs occupy the majority of the representative seats, then...

So, if there is a problem in Zheng County, does it mean that all the officials under Fei Qian's rule also have problems?

Not necessarily.

But what happened in Zheng County revealed a historic issue that spans ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad.

In fact, before the final form of corrupt officials appears, there is an intermediate transitional state, which is the so-called lazy and lazy government. It is not necessarily clear whether the lazy and lazy officials are corrupt officials, but the lazy and lazy government cannot be determined.

It is indeed a common form, and the various consequences it causes are not necessarily much better than those of corrupt officials.

The most fundamental reason for lazy administration is that we don’t want to take responsibility, and interests are secondary.

Just like the so-called "closed management" carried out by various universities after the epidemic in later generations, it seems inappropriate to say that all of them have beneficial relationships with vendors and restaurants within the universities. Maybe some of them are like this or

Such a relationship of interest, but to say that they all have it would be to overturn the whole ship.

Therefore, it is more because the Shangshutai has not issued a clear decree, so in order to avoid taking responsibility, local officials would naturally choose to be lazy and lazy in government. As for the convenience of the people, are there any difficulties? Compared with the crown of advancement on their heads,

Which one is more important is obvious at a glance.

Officials are also human beings, so it is natural to have the tendency to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages in human nature. So when encountering problems like Zheng County, the people try to argue with the officials with facts. Is it useful?

Niu Sixia screamed for injustice, did anyone listen?

When will it be useful and will someone listen to it?

After a life was taken, and the life was exposed...

If Supervisor Zhiyin didn't go there at that time, or if he went but didn't look, or if he looked and didn't ask, or if he asked but didn't take it seriously, if any of the links were not in place, then Niu Sixia would be silent

Niu Sixia died behind a bush. Even his relatives at home may just think that Niu Sixia has committed something, and may beat drums to complain, but most of them remain unknown.

Therefore, based on this incident, it is said that the magistrate of Zheng County must be corrupt, but it is not necessarily true. From a practical point of view, the Niu Sixia incident can only show that he was lazy and lazy in government. According to the laws of the Han Dynasty, Zheng County Magistrate

Since the order did not commit the crime of "weiguan", there is no such thing as relying on power, and there is no "only rebellion" or retaliation for personal grudges. Naturally, it cannot be regarded as "weiguo", "weihuo" or "weilai", so

According to the laws of the Han Dynasty, is the magistrate of Zheng County guilty?

In the Han Dynasty, incompetent officials were dismissed from their posts at most.

So, is this a problem for the magistrate of Zheng County alone?
To be continued...