Chapter 221: Zheng Keyuan's luck turns and he escapes from the prisoner's dilemma; Wang Chengji is promoted to Jining prefect for his meritorious service in disaster relief

After hearing what Zhu Gang said, Zheng Keyuan's face instantly turned pale as paper, and a layer of fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

The request from Prince Jin was like a bolt from the blue to him, because it meant pushing his brother into a dead end.

However, faced with the current predicament, Zheng Keyuan had no other choice.

If you don't agree, not only will you and your family suffer a devastating disaster, but the entire family may also be in dire straits.

After a long silence, Zheng Keyuan finally gritted his teeth and nodded with difficulty to show his agreement.

"I will definitely live up to the trust of His Royal Highness Prince Jin!"

At this moment, Zhu Gang's posture was as straight as a pine tree, and his face was dignified with a barely perceptible gentleness.

His eyes were as bright as stars, flashing with wisdom and determination.

Those deep eyes seemed to be able to see through everything.

Zhu Gang standing there at this moment gives people the feeling of a towering mountain.

It exudes an aura of majesty that cannot be ignored, and makes people feel awe.

“I heard that Mr. Zheng had been busy with official duties, and only after Mrs. Zheng received a letter saying she was seriously ill was I able to go home to visit her.

However, the family was too poor and had no money to treat Mrs. Zheng's illness.

Even after Mrs. Zheng died, you had no money to bury her.

The five sons begged to sell themselves to bury their mother, and in the end it was colleagues and relatives who were deeply moved who raised money, and Mr. Zheng was able to arrange the funeral for his wife. "

Zheng Keyuan nodded and said, "Although I was promoted to the position of Assistant Censor of the Huguang Provincial Surveillance Commissioner by Your Majesty because of the Zhu Huan Corruption Case, my family has suffered because I have always been honest and upright.

Now that the guilty minister is deeply imprisoned, I am afraid that my son will never have the chance to serve the Ming Dynasty again in this lifetime."

Since the Tang Dynasty, although the children of prisoners could take the imperial examinations, it did not mean that they could all become officials in the court.

Thereafter, the laws regarding collective punishment in the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties were basically based on the Tang laws.

It’s just that due to different circumstances, there are differences in the severity, leniency and strictness of the punishment.

In short, most of the families of these prisoners would be executed by the court, or directly confiscated and reduced to slavery.

In this situation, even staying alive is a luxury, how can they expect to bring honor to their family?

After learning about Zheng Keyuan's real demands, Zhu Gang immediately thought of the "Da Ming Commercial Bookstore Essay Contest" that was being prepared.

"I remember that Mr. Zheng was a Jinshi in the fourth year of Hongwu, so he must have a profound literary foundation.

This time, I was ordered by the Emperor to go to Quanzhou. One of my main tasks was to select talents for the Ming Commercial Book Bureau through an essay competition.

I have always heard that Mr. Zheng is an upright and honest official, and he is meticulous in his work.

Right now, Daming Commercial Bookstore is in need of people, and I would like you to temporarily take over the position of chief examiner for the essay contest. The required personnel can be selected from the prisoners. "

Zheng Keyuan bowed with his hands clasped, his waist bent almost to 90 degrees.

He bowed his head and thanked the king, saying, "Thanks to your kindness, Prince Jin. I will do my best to live up to your trust."

At this time, Zheng Keyuan's voice was low and firm, and his tone revealed his gratitude and loyalty to Zhu Gang.

Zhu Gang nodded slightly and nodded with satisfaction.

He went on to say: “This event is of great importance and is related to the selection of talents by the imperial court.

Fairness and justice must be ensured, and there must be no favoritism or fraud.

Anyone who violates this rule will be severely punished.”

Zhu Gang's eyes were sharp and his tone was stern while he spoke, which made Zheng Keyuan feel a chill.

Zheng Keyuan came back to his senses with a serious expression and clasped his hands together.

He responded respectfully, "I understand. Your Highness, please rest assured. I will strictly follow the rules to ensure the fairness of the competition.

If anyone violates the rules, I will punish them severely."

Zhu Gang stood up and walked to Zheng Keyuan, patting him gently on the shoulder to show his trust and encouragement.

"Well, I believe in your ability.

After the essay contest is over, I will report your achievements to my father, and you will certainly receive a reward from Lord Zheng."

Zheng Keyuan bowed again to express his gratitude, his eyes filled with tears of excitement.

"Thank you, His Highness King Jin!"

Seeing that Zheng Keyuan, who was previously guilty, suddenly had a good turn of events because of Zhu Gang's appreciation, Fang Keqin almost fainted on the spot.

"Your Highness, I am a guilty subject..."

Unexpectedly, before he could finish his words, Shang Hao and Lu Feng, who were responsible for secretly investigating the reputation of Lishui County Magistrate Wang Chengji among the people, walked in under the leadership of Feng Cheng.

"Your Highness, I have come to report."

"I am Lu Feng, here to report."

Looking at the two exhausted people, Zhu Gang turned to Feng Cheng and said, "Take Lord Zheng and Mr. Fang down to rest, and find a doctor to check their health."

When only Shang Hao and Lu Feng were left around, Zhu Gang said slowly, "Sir Shang, you must have gained something from your in-depth investigation among the people. Why not tell me about it?"

Shang Hao, dressed in merchant clothes, said with a smile: "According to the investigation, during Wang Chengji's tenure, he treated famine, developed production, established education, and focused on construction.

Because of his outstanding achievements, he was recommended by the governor and the provincial governor as the "first good official."

Zhu Gang said with a hint of disappointment: "The recommendations of the governor and the inspector can only be used as a reference. I want to know the specific situation.

For example, Wang Chengji's process of treating famine and some of the measures he took. "

Seeing this, Lu Feng took over the conversation and said, "In the early years of Hongwu, Lishui suffered severe natural disasters.

When Wang Congshan took office as the magistrate of Lishui, fathers and sons in the county were eating each other, and corpses were everywhere on the road.

As soon as he took office, he went deep into the countryside to inspect the disaster situation. After returning to the county, he immediately ordered the opening of granaries to provide relief to the victims.

Moved by Wang Chengji's righteous act, wealthy families in Lishui County also donated their stored grain to disaster relief, saving tens of thousands of victims who were on the verge of death.

In addition, Wang Chengji also mobilized wealthy families to hire people to bury the bodies of the victims everywhere, and organized doctors to rescue the patients.

In the fourth year of Hongwu, Wang Chengji applied for exemption of tax on land abandoned due to disasters, thus relieving the burden on the victims.

In the fifth year of Hongwu, he initiated the construction of Xiansi Warehouse and the repair of the reserve warehouse.

At the same time, Wang Chengji established community granaries in Chongxian, Taicun, Honglan and other places to provide supplies to relieve the poor.

Thanks to his unremitting efforts, the disaster in Lishui County was finally brought under control, and the people’s production and life were greatly restored.”

Zhu Gang didn't expect that Wang Chengji, who seemed to like flattery, actually had such an unknown side.

"Ever since Fang Keqin was implicated in the 'Empty Seal Case', the post of Jining prefect has been vacant.

Since Wang Chengji has the talent to follow the good path, I will ask the emperor to promote him to temporarily take over the post of prefect of Jining."

The prefects in the Ming Dynasty were divided into three levels: upper, middle and lower.

The prefect of a superior prefecture was a third-rank official, the prefect of a middle prefecture was a fourth-rank official, and the prefect of a lower prefecture was a fourth-rank official.

Even if calculated according to the rank of prefect of a lower prefecture, the promotion from a seventh-rank county magistrate to a fourth-rank prefect was an exceptional promotion for Wang Chengji.

Most importantly, the prefects of the Ming Dynasty were already high-ranking officials in terms of rank.

After the term of office expires, in addition to being able to retire and return home, or be transferred to other places to continue serving as a prefect, there is even the opportunity to be transferred to the central government to serve as a Beijing official.

(End of this chapter)