Chapter 226: Outwitting the cunning magistrate of Yixing, mobilizing the Royal Guards to solve another major case
Zhu Gang looked at Hang Siding with a meaningful look. This incompetent official who had left his name in history never expected that the King of Jin was already planning to find an opportunity to take him down.

"I have heard that there is a police officer named Pan Fu in Liyang County who is very popular among the people. I intend to recommend him to the emperor to take up the post of magistrate of Chongde County.

I wonder how much Magistrate Hang knows about Pan Fu?"

Hang Siding replied without hesitation: “I have served in Yixing for a long time and do not know Pan Fu.

I'm afraid it's difficult to provide your Highness with any valuable reference opinions."

Zhu Gang smiled and waved his hand, saying, "It doesn't matter if you don't know him, I was just asking casually.

Speaking of which, I have been traveling all the way and have not yet had dinner.

I heard that the Gaogeng pork from Yixing is very famous. I wonder if I can have the pleasure of tasting it today?"

Hang Siding seemed a little absent-minded. Seeing Zhu Gang's unfriendly look, he quickly said, "Your Highness the Prince of Jin is obviously an expert. Gaogeng pig meat is not only colorful and fragrant, but also delicious and soft.

It is not only a popular drink, but also a good gift for friends and relatives.”

Zhu Jian's mouth corners slightly raised, "Very good!"

Then he turned to look at Lu Feng, "Go see how the kitchen is preparing. I'm hungry now."

After Lu Feng took the order and left, the room became quiet for a while.

Zhu Gang then asked casually, "County Magistrate Hang, I am new here and I am not familiar with Yixing.

I wonder if there are any other special foods or interesting places to visit besides pig meat here? "

Hang Siding was delighted, thinking that Zhu Gang really just wanted to learn about the customs and culture of Yixing.

So he quickly replied: "Your Highness, Yixing has many other delicious dishes, such as Fangzhuang mutton and Heqiao dried tofu.

In addition, Yixing's purple clay teapots are world-famous. If Your Highness is interested, you can go and enjoy them."

Zhu Gang nodded to show his satisfaction.

However, he was thinking in his mind how to further test Hang Siding in order to find evidence of his corruption and bribery.

But Hang Siding knew very well that once he revealed his true colors, there would probably be another prison van outside.

Therefore, he always maintained a cautious attitude and did not let Zhu Gang catch any handle on him from beginning to end.

“The county government is the most basic administrative institution in our Ming Dynasty. The quality of the county government is directly related to the safety of the Zhu family’s government.

According to regulations, the number of clerks in a county government is usually 38, who are assigned to the clerk room, household room, ritual room, criminal room, work room, military room and receipt and dispatch room.

Except for the Receiving and Dispatching Office, which is responsible for the receipt, dispatch and safekeeping of official documents and files, the other six offices in the county are completely in charge of the six ministries.

It can be said that the six county officials are the ultimate executors of the Ming Dynasty’s administration, and the quality of the county government is closely related to the six county officials.

I wonder if there are any vacancies for county officials in Yixing now?"

Hang Siding quickly explained: "Four county officials is just the maximum limit, in fact, most county officials are under the quota.

In the absence of a county magistrate or chief clerk, the duties of magistrate and clerk are divided among the prefects.

In addition, according to the imperial court's Lijia system, 110 households made up a Li.

If the registered households in a county are less than 20 li, the county magistrate and the chief clerk will be dismissed, leaving only the registrar to assist the magistrate.

Although Hang Siding's words sounded irrelevant, they also indirectly told Zhu Gang that the shortage of officials in the county government was a common phenomenon.

Moreover, the "empty seal case" will involve county officials who stamped official seals on blank documents, as well as competent departments at all levels.

All the senior officials of the Ministry of Revenue who failed to supervise effectively and passively cooperated were included in the list of suspects.

From the central government to the local governments, no matter if they were corrupt or honest officials, anyone who had anything to do with taxation was in trouble. All the officials in charge of seals were included in Zhu's "execution list".

The deputy officials and grassroots civil servants involved in the "empty seal case" were severely beaten with 100 sticks and then sent into exile.

After this purge, almost all the major local officials in the country were wiped out.

The problem is that this case was exposed by Zhu Gang himself, but the charges were made by Zhu Biao and his father.

But no one expected that there was already a serious shortage of officials in the Ming Dynasty.

If Zhu Gang had not come up with the transitional policy of "making meritorious contributions while serving a sentence", he would probably have no way to fill those vacancies now.

“According to Magistrate Hang, Yixing is even short of the six county clerks stipulated by the court.

This will probably have a very bad impact on the final implementation of the Ming Dynasty's administration.

It just so happened that I found some convicted officials from the "Empty Seal Case" who were willing to make amends for their crimes.

How about letting them stay in Yixing and work as county officials for a while?"

Hang Siding was just about to say some embarrassing excuse, but when he raised his eyes he saw Zhu Gang's cold eyes.

He quickly swallowed back the words that were about to come out of his mouth.

After hesitating for a long time, Hang Siding finally said, "I don't have any objections, but I'm worried that my future colleagues will not be willing to accept such a lowly job as a county clerk."

Zhu Gang smiled and waved his hand, saying, "I have already advised my father to change the clerks to those who are registered with the Ministry of Personnel, have salaries, and have a term of office.

In other words, after the term of office of a county clerk expires, he can be promoted to an official if he passes the examination of the Ministry of Personnel.

This is equivalent to giving those convicted officials a chance to start over, which is much better than being a prisoner forever."

Hang Siding was immediately surprised when he heard this. Now everyone in the world knows that the Prince of Jin is second only to the Crown Prince in terms of favor.

This time, he rushed to Quanzhou to carry out the emperor's order, and brought a total of 3,000 elite soldiers armed with firearms.

There were only 1120 soldiers in a thousand-household unit in the Ming Dynasty, which was equivalent to the military strength of nearly three thousand-household units.

Moreover, as early as June of the third year of Hongwu, Yixing Guard was changed into a garrison of a thousand households.

In addition, the county magistrate Hang Siding did not have the power to mobilize troops, so going against Zhu Gang would be tantamount to seeking death.

“It is not a pity that those corrupt officials should die. Your Highness is willing to give them a chance to start over. I believe no one will refuse.

Gaogeng pork meat needs to be cooked over a low fire with firewood for at least an hour and a half.

In order to avoid delaying His Royal Highness Prince Jin's dinner, I will make arrangements now."

Looking at Hang Siding's gradually receding back, Zhu Gang immediately ordered someone to bring Lu Feng back.

"Go ask the Jinyiwei commander of Changzhou Prefecture to mobilize 200 people to check if there are any people from Yixing who have come from Liyang County recently.

This person has a strong personality and often goes in and out of Hang Siding's mansion. Most importantly, he has a very wide network of contacts.

You must find out what this person looks like and his real name. If you find any signs that he has left Yixing, come back and tell me immediately."

Lu Feng keenly realized that there was another major case to be dealt with, and the expression on his face gradually became solemn.

"Your Highness, rest assured. As long as this person is still in Yixing, he will not be able to escape the eyes and ears of the Jinyiwei."

Zhu Gang warned: "This person is extremely dangerous. He has followers in Jianping County, Liyang County, Yixing County, Anji County, Changqing County, Gui'an County, Deqing County, and Chongde County who are willing to cover for him.

Therefore, once you find out where he is going, you must come back and report to me immediately."

(End of this chapter)