Qian Wu trembled when he saw the town mayor get angry. A higher rank can crush a lower one, and besides, he was not even in the same rank as the town mayor.
He immediately went to the desk, found the documents, and handed them to Zheng Hongfang: "Mayor, please take a look."
Zheng Hongfang took a look and found that it was indeed the first version of the document. At that time, because the staff had not yet been properly organized and there was a severe shortage of teachers, the document issued was a voluntary document, calling on both men and women to attend school.
Zheng Hongfang's expression was unpleasant, and he was somewhat angry: "This is the old document. The new document was issued half a month ago. Why didn't you look at it?"
Qian Wu said in a slightly trembling voice, "We have not received any new documents."
Zheng Hongfang's expression darkened further: "I had the document issued half a month ago, how come it wasn't received?"
Qian Wu suspected he hadn't seen any new documents, so he checked his desk again, but there really weren't any.
Shen Xi glanced at Qian Wu, then at Zheng Hongfang, her expression cold and stern: "Investigate!"
If government orders are not implemented, it is a major taboo.
No matter how good the policies are from above, they are useless if they are not received at the lower levels.
I often stroll around Shenxi in and around the county town, and I don't see this phenomenon there. I never expected that such a scene would be found in a place far from the county town.
Is it beyond our reach?
No matter how far away, wherever she was in charge, her orders had to be effectively communicated.
This really wasn't Qian Wu's fault. Although the old clan chief had gender bias, the policy was written that way at the time, so it wasn't entirely wrong.
Zheng Hongfang made a mistake; he failed to supervise effectively and made errors in his work.
Zheng Hongfang made a mistake during his first term in local government, and he was the most anxious person about it.
He immediately ordered a thorough investigation. If such a problem had occurred in a village very close to the town, he dared not even think about the villages farther away.
After much investigation, it turned out to be a mistake by his subordinate Zhao Xing, who was in charge of document management. The document was supposed to be issued that day, but Zhao Xing had been drinking too much and handed the matter over to another person in charge of documents named Li Yuan.
Li Yuan was just a lazy bum; he had no idea what documents were being issued and dealt with them haphazardly.
The latest documents about going to school were simply placed on the document shelf and ignored.
After Zhao Xing sobered up, he forgot about the matter, assuming that he had handed the task over to Li Yuan and that Li Yuan had already done it.
Zheng Hongfang was furious. Zhao Xing was usually quite careful in his work, but this time he made such a mistake.
It was also his own fault. Because he had too many things to do, he didn't ask about it afterward, and eventually the leader found out.
Neglecting their duties and failing to fulfill their responsibilities.
Although this did not cause serious consequences, it still violated the regulations.
Shenxi left the matter to Zheng Hongfang to handle himself.
Zheng Hongfang immediately bowed and thanked him, for this was a chance given to him by the superior!
"Zhao Xing and Li Yuan were stripped of their posts and sentenced to six months of hard labor. They were also barred from holding any official position for three years."
“Zheng Hongfang,” Zheng Hongfang even held himself accountable: “Zheng Hongfang will be fined one year’s salary and given ten strokes of the cane.”
Shen Xi nodded; Zheng Hongfang showed no mercy to her.
Zhao Xing was filled with remorse and vowed never to drink again. He planned to study hard after six months of hard labor and strive to enter the ranks of officials again in three years.
Li Yuan was quite indignant: "This was Zhao Xing's job, what does it have to do with me?"
Zheng Hongfang glared: "If you've been entrusted with a task, you must be loyal to it. Since you've promised, you must do it. Besides, it's an official matter. If you fail to do it, you will naturally be punished."
Li Yuan glared angrily at Zhao Xing: "It's all your fault!" He was doing a good job slacking off when Zhao Xing ruined it.
Zhao Xing felt extremely ashamed. He had let down Li Yuan and his superior's trust.
Zhao Xing said guiltily, "I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you later, I definitely will."
Li Yuan felt a little relieved. He knew that Zhao Xing meant what he said and would definitely compensate him if he promised.
He wouldn't have agreed to Zhao Xing's request if it weren't for their good relationship, and as a result, they were both punished.
These two unfortunate brothers were punished together and sent to do hard labor.
Zheng Hongfang, limping after being beaten, followed Shen Xi and continued to deal with the matter.
By this time, Qi Xiuwen had already completed all the investigations. The location of the bandits' hideout had been found when the bandits were arrested, but unfortunately, when the regular army was sent there, there was no one there at all.
It seems that those bandits who escaped either went back to pack up and then ran away, or they didn't go back at all and just ran away.
The bearded man was the leader of this gang of bandits, named Lu Ertai. He was cruel and ruthless, had the best martial arts skills, and his origins were unknown, though it was said that he had once been a bodyguard.
Half of these bandits were loyal to him, while the other half, who joined later, were less so.
Chenxi ordered people to investigate this person's background in detail and to track down his whereabouts.
This is the alpha wolf, a wolf that bites. Since we've offended it, we must kill it; we can't let it live.
Ge Sishu's account book was retrieved, and it indeed contained a clear record of all the accounts in Lingtou Township, as well as all matters of embezzlement and bribery, large and small.
All those involved in the accounts were arrested and brought to justice, including 35 officials of varying ranks, as well as 23 local tyrants, bullies, and members of powerful families.
In such a small village, there were so many corrupt officials, local tyrants and evil gentry. Apart from those who had fled and never returned, the rest were punished to varying degrees.
Ge Sishu was promoted to township head for his meritorious service and temporarily took over Lingtou Township. He will be transferred elsewhere after Lingtou Township is stabilized.
Learning from past experiences, locals will no longer serve as township or town leaders; instead, people from other places will be appointed.
Ge Sishu bowed and expressed his gratitude; he finally had hope of getting ahead. Moreover, he could now govern the area openly and legitimately, which made him extremely happy.
Ge Liang, as the village head, colluded with bandits and harmed the people; he was sentenced to immediate execution.
Upon hearing the verdict, Ge Liang collapsed to the ground, his face ashen, unable to utter a complete sentence, only able to shout and scream.
Qi Xiuwen ordered his men to drag him out.
Ge Santong openly extorted money, secretly kept prostitutes, bribed Ge Liang, and extorted money from the people, etc. He was sentenced to twenty strokes of the cane and a fine of twenty taels of silver, and was required to hand over all the money he had extorted.
He will definitely be stripped of his position as squad leader, expelled from the militia, and sentenced to three years of hard labor without parole.
Ge Santian and Ge Dashan were also dismissed from their posts, sentenced to twenty strokes of the cane, and ordered to hand over the silver they had obtained through extortion. They were also expelled from the militia and sentenced to three years of hard labor.
Chenxi also ordered a thorough investigation of all grassroots officials. Grassroots officials are the foundation; if the foundation is loose and unstable, even the most luxurious building will collapse instantly.
Throughout history, many uprisings failed because their foundations were unstable. Some even became more tyrannical than bandits after capturing the capital, ultimately leading to their demise.
Shenxi didn't want the blueprint for the edifice he had painstakingly built to be destroyed by a bunch of parasites.
It seems that local armed forces, whether government troops or militia, can no longer be controlled by the local authorities.
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