Chapter 236 Traitors in Chaotic Times (12) How to Become a Super Strategist...
Gao Chengfeng unfolded the imperial edict and read aloud: "Imperial Edict, by the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: I have heard that the foundation of good governance lies in the clear promotion and demotion of officials to rectify the system. Fang Dahong, the magistrate of Guan County, is responsible for the well-being of the people and should diligently care for their needs. However, since assuming office, he has neglected his duties, causing widespread resentment among the people in his jurisdiction. He has failed the trust placed in him by the court and deserves severe punishment! The position of Assistant Magistrate of Lingnan Circuit has been vacant for two years. He is hereby ordered to assume office immediately without delay. Lingnan is remote and isolated; he should reflect on his mistakes and fulfill his duties diligently. This is the imperial decree!"
After the imperial edict was read aloud, Gao Chengfeng handed it over, his gaze sweeping over the officials kneeling on the ground. His voice was unreadable: "Your Excellency, do you have any objections?"
Fang Dahong received the imperial edict with trembling hands, his face growing paler with each reading. When his gaze fell on the words "Severe punishment to be imposed" and "County Commandant of Lingnan Circuit," everything suddenly went black.
The new emperor had barely ascended the throne when he demoted him to the position of county lieutenant in a remote area! Even lower than a county magistrate! And that was Lingnan Circuit! Not only was it far from the center of power, but the salary of a county lieutenant was certainly not good! He would likely have little chance of being reinstated by the new emperor in the future!
It's over! It's all over!
Fang Dahong gripped the imperial edict tightly in his hand, his knuckles turning white, and his lips trembling uncontrollably. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but suddenly a metallic taste rose in his throat, and he vomited a mouthful of blood.
"My lord! My lord! What's wrong with you?" the clerk exclaimed, struggling to step forward and support Fang Dahong, but was pushed away by him.
"How could this happen? How could this happen?! It can't be, it can't be, it can't be..."
Gao Chengfeng smiled indifferently, "Lord Fang, don't you know what you've done in Shiguan County this year? The new emperor is merciful, sparing your life and even sending you to an official post outside the capital. That's already a great favor."
Fang Dahong slumped to the ground, muttering repeatedly, "No, it can't be! It's not like that..."
Gao Chengfeng ignored him and turned to the pale-faced clerk, asking, "Where is the magistrate who came to take over?"
"What?!" The clerk's face turned even paler, and he exclaimed in shock, "General, the new magistrate has already arrived in Shiguan County?"
“Indeed.” Gao Chengfeng’s expression turned serious, and he said coldly, “Your Excellency has come in a small entourage, incognito, and it has been almost half a month since then.”
"But...but we have never seen the new magistrate! We don't know his name or where he is now!" the clerk asked anxiously.
"The gentleman's name is Song Ce, he is about twenty years old, handsome, and humble. He should have arrived in Shiguan County long ago." Gao Chengfeng's gaze swept over everyone and landed directly on the clerk's face: "Please inform the county government to immediately search for Lord Song."
"Song... Song Ce?! It's him! It's actually him!!" The clerk's legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground.
Not only him, but also Fang Datong and all the yamen runners in the county suddenly understood why Song Ce dared to be so arrogant in Shiguan County. It turned out that he was actually the newly appointed magistrate who was on an incognito visit! How ridiculous that they had even been plotting with Magistrate Fang to torment this man, they were simply courting death!
"It seems that the advisor knows where Lord Song is now?" Gao Chengfeng asked calmly.
"Reporting to General Song, Song Ce... no, Lord Song is currently... currently a guest in the county jail... no, no! He's on patrol, on patrol..."
"Oh?" Gao Chengfeng snorted coldly. "Please lead the way, sir. I wish to see Lord Song in person."
"Yes! Yes! I'll go right away! I'll go right away!"
The clerk scrambled to his feet and cautiously led Gao Chengfeng toward the prison, oblivious to the near tripping over roadblocks along the way. Meanwhile, Constable Wang and the short constable stood behind them, their faces ashen with fear.
The two of them simultaneously recalled how they had made things difficult for Song Ce a few days ago, and their legs couldn't help but tremble. They wished they could just find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
Inside the prison cell.
Hearing the sound of hurried footsteps in the distance, Hu Zi raised his head warily and whispered to Song Ce, who was resting with his eyes closed not far away, "Young Master, Young Master! Wake up quickly, it sounds like someone is coming outside."
The old man next door also perked up his ears upon hearing this, a hint of unease flashing in his eyes: "I heard it too! It sounds like quite a few people are coming!"
Song Ce smiled slightly and patted Hu Zi's shoulder reassuringly. Judging by the days, the people Wei Shaosu sent should have arrived by now.
Soon, the prison door was pushed open with a creak by two flustered yamen runners, and the next second, the clerk, bowing, rushed in first.
Upon seeing Song Ce, who still sat upright in the cell, his legs went weak and he knelt down: "Lord Song! Lord Song! Lord Song!! This humble official, this humble official deserves to die! This humble official was blind and did not recognize your greatness, offending you, I deserve to die ten thousand times!"
Upon seeing the scene in the prison cell, Gao Chengfeng, who was following closely behind, instantly hardened his expression. He subconsciously pressed his hand on the sword at his waist, stepped forward, and said in a deep voice, "Lord Song, I, Gao Chengfeng, am late in delivering the order, and I apologize for causing you such an injustice."
"What? Lord Song? Young master, you, you..." Tiger opened his mouth wide and subconsciously used a respectful title.
Song Ce patted his head, slowly stood up, casually brushed the grass clippings off his robe, and smiled gently: "General Gao, there's no need for such formalities. I'd also like to see just how many wicked and evil people are imprisoned in the prison of Shiguan County."
Upon hearing this, Wang, the head constable, and the other constables following behind him knelt down with a thud, their foreheads hitting the ground heavily: "Lord Song, spare us! We were blinded by greed and dared to be disrespectful to you, sir! Please, please punish us, sir!"
Song Ce's gaze slowly swept over the kneeling men begging for mercy, finally landing on the head clerk: "Clerk Huang, may I ask why this young man has been imprisoned here?"
Huang Jiewei's heart skipped a beat, and he stammered, "Reporting to Lord Song, this boy is a grain thief. He stole grain from Master Li's house when no one was looking, so he was locked up here."
"What about the so-called 'remnant silver'? And what about the lake silver, firewood silver, fire silver, mountain silver, and other such tax silvers? How do you explain them?" Song Ce asked.
"This...this...this subordinate truly does not know..."
"Since you don't know, then Master Huang, why don't you tell me why this old man was imprisoned?"
Huang Jiewei wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and stammered, "This old man was detained by Lord Fang because he was unable to pay his taxes."
"Oh? Imprisonment for being unable to pay taxes?" Song Ce's voice suddenly turned cold. "May I ask, Master Huang, which article of the Dali Law stipulates that a county magistrate can forcibly collect taxes when the people suffer from natural disasters?"
Huang Jiewei trembled, unable to utter a word.
Hearing this from the side, Gao Chengfeng was furious and sneered, "This is outrageous! How dare you disregard the laws of the Great Li Dynasty! What is your punishment?"
Song Ce waved his hand, signaling him to calm down. "General Gao, please settle these wronged people in the guest quarters of the yamen first. Starting tomorrow, I will hold a public hearing to hear their cases! I want the people of Shiguan County to know that the Dali Dynasty established an official here with the intention of protecting the people. But now that the people have been wronged, I will do my best to give them justice!"
"Rest assured, sir, I will take care of it immediately."
Seeing that even a dignified third-rank Imperial Guard General was so polite to Song Ce, Huang Jiewei trembled even more violently.
Who exactly is this person?
Looking at the trembling crowd kneeling on the ground, Song Ce said calmly, "Everyone, please get up."
"This subordinate dares not, dares not..."
Upon seeing this, Gao Chengfeng was furious and shouted, "The lord has told you to get up, why aren't you up yet! What kind of behavior is this?"
"Yes, yes, yes..."
Looking at the huddled, trembling crowd, Song Ce calmly ordered, "Immediately go and move all the tax records and criminal files of Shiguan County for the past ten years to the back hall. I will examine them one by one."
"Yes! Yes! We'll get right away!" Huang Jiewei and Constable Wang, feeling as if they had been granted a pardon, hurriedly accepted the order and left.
Over the next month, Song Ce first appealed the cases of those who had been wrongfully imprisoned, and then began a thorough investigation into long-standing cases in Shiguan County.
Shiguan County, located at the northwestern gateway to the capital of the Dali Dynasty, was a place where local powerful families colluded with nobles in the capital, forming a deeply entrenched network of influence. In recent years, they had illegally established prisons, seized land, and openly murdered innocent civilians—the list of their crimes was endless. However, previous officials, fearing their power, dared not punish them according to the law.
Song Ce did two things in response to these people.
Firstly, according to the records of Shiguan County, three years ago, the philanthropist Master Li publicly whipped a civilian to death in the street. The then county magistrate, fearing Master Li's background, accepted a bribe and did not pursue the matter. Song Ce directly ordered Gao Chengfeng to arrest him and bring him to justice. After a public trial, Master Li was also publicly whipped to death in the street, and his body was displayed on the city wall for three days.
Secondly, Fang Dahong's nephew, Fang Yuanshan, had long occupied farmland and driven the landowners to their deaths. Song Ce exchanged Fang Yuanshan and several accomplices for their lives, and confiscated all their property to be used for relief grain.
In just half a month, Song Ce executed nearly forty lawbreakers.
Song Ce showed no leniency to those minor officials and clerks who had previously protected local powerful figures, punishing them severely as well. For example, Huang Jiewei, the clerk deeply trusted by Fang Dahong, was sentenced to exile for secretly altering over seventy volumes of past case files. Those powerful landlords who committed offenses could receive lenient treatment if they reported each other; however, if they were found to have concealed the crimes of their own clan, the entire clan would be implicated and punished without mercy!
Such clear laws and severe punishments, governing the county by law, naturally yielded remarkable results. The local powerful clans within Shiguan County suffered a devastating blow in a short period. Not only that, but even the surrounding counties, upon hearing of this, became much more disciplined and dared not break the law again.
After eliminating these local powers one by one, Song Ce ordered another secret guard, Chu Xiaoer, to abolish the armed forces and tax checkpoints privately set up by the powerful families, and to centralize all tax collection rights with the government. At the same time, he dispatched all the yamen runners to travel throughout Shiguan County to re-register the households and land of the people, investigate the refugees and hidden households, and liberate the people who had been enslaved by the powerful families.
Within six months, Song Ce had rapidly improved public order in Shiping County. The people were able to live in peace, and fugitives gradually returned home, creating a thriving scene. After restoring order and efficiency to the county's administration, he then set about reforming commerce and began vigorously developing Shiping County's economy.
Regarding Song Ce's actions, Gao Chengfeng and Chu Xiaoer had significant disagreements in their correspondence with the new emperor, Wei Shaosu.
Gao Chengfeng, a descendant of the imperial clan, admired Song Ce's iron-fisted policies but felt his methods were too "harsh and severe," especially the punishment of the entire clan, which he saw as an abuse of cruel law. Chu Xiaoer, on the other hand, believed that while governing Ningguo with propriety was appropriate, governing a chaotic world required severe measures! Nurturing evil is like nurturing a carbuncle; it will eventually backfire. Song Ce's actions were a model of rule of law in chaotic times and were entirely justifiable.
Unable to reach an agreement, the two had no choice but to each write to Wei Shaosu to express their views.
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Author's Note: [Cat emoji]
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