Rebirth: From being expelled from the imperial court to becoming a high-ranking official

When Fu Jiao arrived in Fuyu County, he was already extremely angry.

If he had not promised Lord Wei, he would have really thought of this and would have immediately executed Wei Chengji without thinking twice.

But in the end he suppressed his anger and decided to wait and see what Wei Chengji had to say.

Before the imperial censor's carriage arrived in Buyeo County, Wei Chengji had already brought a group of subordinates to the official road outside the city to welcome him.

As soon as Fu Jiao got out of the car, Wei Chengji immediately smiled and led his subordinates to greet him.

"Your humble servant greets His Excellency the Inspector. I hope you will forgive me for not welcoming you in person."

Although Fu Jiao was angry, he did not want to hit someone who smiled at him, so he returned the greeting and said, "Master Wei, you are too polite. I'll trouble you to come and welcome me in person."

Although Fu Jiao seemed unenthusiastic, Wei Chengji didn't take it seriously and said with a smile, "Please follow me into the city. We have prepared wine and food to welcome you."

Fu Jiao had made up his mind, but when he saw Wei Chengji, he started to reprimand him, both for show and to vent his dissatisfaction.

But seeing him welcoming her with such a smile, in front of all his subordinates, and thinking of Wei Chengji's uncle, she finally endured it.

Surrounded by officials and clerks of all ranks in Fuyu County, Fu Jiao was welcomed to the largest private room in Qingyun Tower.

Not only Wei Chengji, but also the county magistrates and the Dianshi under him, who didn't know how powerful the inspector's visit was? Everyone raised their glasses, toasted and flattered Fu Jiao.

No matter how hard he tried to appear to be ruthless, after receiving such compliments, Fu Jiao's attitude softened a little.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill and returned to the post station, Fu Jiao left Wei Chengji alone to question him.

Wei Chengji was also alert. Without waiting for Fu Jiao to ask anything, he took the initiative to say, "Sir, since the news of your inspection of Xu Ning came, I have prepared all kinds of case files, books, and records. What do you think you will do next?"

The two of them had a tacit understanding about Wei Chengji's cousin.

Fu Jiao didn't beat around the bush and asked directly with a cold face, "I heard some rumors all the way to Songren County. It is said that Fuyu County forced people to pay for river trespassing, forced people to death and forced them to sell their children. Is this true?"

Wei Chengji immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

He said, why did the Inspector have a cold expression on his face? How could this rumor spread so far so quickly?

He thought that as long as he dealt with the rumors in the city, the matter would be over.

“Sir, this is absolutely fabricated, someone wants to frame me.

There have been similar rumors in the city before. I asked my subordinates to question those who spread the rumors. They all admitted that they didn't know where the rumor came from and were just following the crowd. The rumor soon died down."

"So what's the deal with this river invasion money?"

Originally, he could have turned a blind eye to the matter as long as it had not been brought to Fu Jiao's attention. But now that the matter had spread to Songren County, it would have been a bit unreasonable for him to not ask about it.

Although these things are almost customary practices in various places, I think Fu Jiao has an idea of ​​them.

However, Wei Chengji was still hesitant to directly talk about how he collected the money for river invasion.

"Lord Wei, you'd better speak frankly. I may be able to cover up for you. If you conceal it and don't report it, don't blame me for being ruthless when it is discovered in public."

"Yes," Wei Chengji wiped his sweat and said quickly, "Sir, please allow me to report. It's not that I am greedy and want to collect the river invasion fee, but as soon as I took office, I found that the previous county magistrate left a big hole..."

Having said that, Wei Chengji looked up at Fu Jiao and saw that Fu Jiao didn't react.

Although Fu Jiao had never held a local office, he was very familiar with the arthritis in various places.

Wei Chengji continued, "I really have no choice. I am new here, where can I get so much money to fill this hole..."

Fu Jiao saw that he was still unwilling to speak directly, and said, "I am not unaware of local affairs. It is always difficult for a new official to take office, so it is understandable that he will collect some embezzlement."

Moreover, as the head of a county, Wei Chengji does have the right to set up reward and punishment donation programs according to local conditions.

Wei Chengji gritted his teeth and continued, "Originally, I was thinking of collecting some money and slowly plugging this hole.

But the hole was really big.

At this time, I discovered that although there was a land deed for the riverbed land, the previous county magistrate had not reported the land, and of course all the money from the sale of the land was embezzled by him.

I was confused for a moment and just wanted to fill the hole quickly, so I collected the money for the river invasion."

Wei Chengji's expression also showed that he was in great pain.

Fu Jiao also knew that this kind of thing was difficult to talk about, especially since the previous Fuyu County Magistrate had been promoted.

"Are you sure you didn't force anyone to sell their children and cause someone to die? This is a peaceful and prosperous time. If someone really died, I can't cover it up for you."

"Sir, there is absolutely no such thing. I have no choice but to collect the river trespassing fee. Why would I force you to that extent?

At that time, when the land was being reclaimed, people rushed to reclaim it, and no one family reclaimed much. Some reclaimed five or six mu, and some reclaimed less than one mu.

Those who can afford to buy land must not be so poor that they have no savings. Why would they be driven to death by a little money for river encroachment?

Besides, I am also worried that something might happen if I push too hard, so I have repeatedly extended the deadline. There will be no deaths or selling of children."

Fu Jiao waited for him to finish speaking but did not speak immediately. He just kept thinking.

In this way, each family only had a few taels of silver. In addition, Wei Chengji extended the deadline, and the local area was not a very poor place, so no one would die.

I was so nervous about the job at the time that I took it seriously when I heard someone was killed.

Thinking about it now, the rumors were really outrageous.

"How much did you collect for the river trespassing on that river beach?"

Wei Chengji choked, not knowing if he could speak directly.

"Now you still want to hide it, how can I cover it up for you?"

Wei Chengji just said stubbornly: "The river beach is a total of 1,122 acres."

Fu Jiao calculated and found that it was not a lot.

He pondered, should he make a fuss about this matter?

He came here to find out something.

As long as no human life is involved, the matter is not too big or small, and there is a common problem in the local area to cover it up, it will certainly not be punished too severely.

This way I can also give an explanation to Lord Wei.

"Besides this matter, do you have any other unfinished business?"

"Your Excellency, absolutely not. If it weren't for the situation, I wouldn't dare to do this."

"Okay, bring me the land register tomorrow."

----

The inspectors were usually of the seventh rank, with slight differences in different dynasties. They were not of high rank, but because they inspected on behalf of the emperor, they had great power. So he and Wei Chengji called each other "sir", and Wei Chengji was more humble, calling himself "lower official" humbly.

Haoxian refers to the excess part collected in the name of loss when collecting money, grain and taxes in ancient times (actually it is corruption).