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

"...Have you ever tampered with the case files before?" Qin Yunhe looked at the clerk Song below with a sullen face.

"No adults, this is the first time."

It was the height of summer, and coupled with his anxiety, Song the clerk was sweating profusely as he knelt down.

When he was really caught by the prosecutor and interrogated, Song Shuli had no idea what the prosecutor was thinking.

On weekdays, they would do some small tricks or do something convenient to earn some benefits, which was tacitly agreed. Even if the Dianshi or even the previous prosecutor knew about it, they would often turn a blind eye.

But this does not mean that the clerks will not feel guilty.

"Sir, this is really the first time I've touched a case file. I...I thought that the impact wouldn't be that big in that short period of time, and I'm really tight on money lately, so I agreed to do it."

"How do you know that that little bit of time won't affect the verdict? You've been in the government office for several years, and your father and grandfather were both clerks. Don't you know the consequences of tampering with testimony?"

"I……"

"Not only may this little change of yours lead to the death of a wrongful person, but it may also allow the murderer to go unpunished. What crime should you be charged with?"

Originally, Qin Yunhe had discussed this matter with Liu Dianshi in advance and had already agreed on how to deal with it, but he couldn't help but get emotional when talking about it now.

"Assisting in falsely accusing innocent people and shielding murderers..."

Qin Yunhe became more and more agitated. Liu Dianshi was sweating nervously and looked at Qin Yunhe nervously, wondering whether he should speak up in time to stop him.

We had clearly agreed on this before.

This is getting more and more serious. How can I stop it?

Clerks are permanent, but officials come and go. It is not difficult to deal with a clerk like Song, but it will be difficult to deal with if the clerks become dissatisfied and cause trouble.

After all, the entire department's case files are still dependent on them.

The clerks have been here for generations...

"Sir, based on my understanding of Song Shuli, he would definitely not intentionally assist in false accusations, let alone shield the murderer. He must have really not thought of that, and he is short of money..."

"Yes, sir," Song Shuli reacted and kowtowed quickly: "I hope you can forgive me for my first offense and for the hardworking and dedicated generations of my family. Give me a chance to make amends..."

Qin Yunhe naturally knew the seriousness of the matter, he just wanted to scare him because he was really annoyed.

Taking advantage of Liu Dianshi's plea and Song Shuli's request for mercy, he stopped talking, took a deep breath, and suppressed his emotions.

After a while, Qin Yunhe softened his tone and asked, "You really didn't do anything before?"

Hearing that he was slowing down, Song Shuli quickly said, "It is absolutely true. I swear that I have never tampered with the testimony before."

Qin Yunhe said nothing, but just looked at Song Shuli as if examining him.

Liu Dianshi spoke at the right time: "Sir, I have already verified that Song Shuli has indeed not tampered with anything before, and he has always been diligent."

Regardless of whether Song Shuli had done anything before, Liu Dianshi had to ask for this favor.

Qin Yunhe looked at Song Shuli for a long while with a sullen expression, and said, "Go find the police and receive twenty strokes of the cane, and then follow Hu Shuli to study again. If you dare to do it again in the future, I will not let you off easily."

Scribe Song's face changed, not only because of the twenty strokes of the stick, but also because he was being made to start over from scratch as an apprentice.

Being an apprentice not only means having low pay, but also being ordered around, working hard and being scolded.

Song Shuli was dissatisfied but did not dare to show it. He just went to look at Liu Dianshi, but Liu Dianshi did not look at him and pretended not to notice.

He tried his best, and we are already showing mercy by not firing him and never hiring him again.

Qin Yunhe continued, "Liu Dianshi, tell all clerks that within three days, if anyone has tampered with the case files, they will come forward to confess and be forgiven. If anyone denies his guilt and is found out, he will be beaten with 30 sticks and expelled from the office and will never be employed again.

If anyone dares to tamper with the case files again in the future, they will be beaten with 30 sticks and expelled from the hall and never employed again."

After hearing this, Song Shuli felt that he had taken advantage of the situation and dared not disobey. He kowtowed and left to accept the punishment.

After Song Shuli left, Qin Yunhe called a few squad leaders and said, "You should have heard that a few days ago, the Japanese officials found that a clerk took bribes to tamper with the testimony, and almost harmed an innocent person.

I know that yamen runners and clerks have meager incomes, and they may occasionally accept some silver coins to do favors for me, and I have never made a fuss about it. However, I will never allow any injustice or unjust actions.

I also hope that the squad leaders will control their subordinates well. If anyone is found to be shielding suspects, wrongly harming innocent people, or maliciously framing others, I will not let them off lightly according to the law.”

Several squad leaders have been in the government office for many years. Although each prosecutor is different, they can get to know each other after following them for a while.

Over the past year or two, several squad leaders and registrars have gotten to know Qin Yunhe's temperament and character, so they naturally have a rough idea of ​​it.

Wu Bantou was the first to bow and said, "I obey your orders. Please rest assured, I will punish my subordinates severely when I return."

The other two squad leaders also followed suit.

After several squad leaders left and only Qin Yunhe and Liu Dianshi were left in the study, Qin Yunhe let out a deep sigh.

After a while, Qin Yunhe said, "Liu Dianshi, please go back and discuss with Chen Dianshi to arrange for the clerks to examine their merits from now on."

Liu Dianshi was surprised and asked, "Your Excellency is going to evaluate the clerks?"

But how do you test clerks?

"Yes, arrange for the clerks to take performance tests. The tests are held every six months and are divided into three grades. Each time the test is conducted, the monthly salary will change according to the performance. The monthly salary of the top graders will increase by 20%, while the monthly salary of the bottom graders will decrease by 20%. Those who have been rated as the bottom grade twice in a row will be demoted and will never be employed again."

Liu Dianshi looked bitter.

"Sir, the clerks already have a meagre income. If they are demoted in the examination, I'm afraid... it will cause collective dissatisfaction among the clerks."

"It is precisely because they have such meager incomes that I am compiling the merit list. Isn't it good to give them a legitimate way to increase their incomes? Do they assume that they will be inferior?"

Liu Dianshi's expression became even more bitter.

That being said, the first thing the clerks noticed was probably the reduction in monthly wages and the demotion of those of lower ranks.

As for what the prosecutor said above, it was him and Chen Dianshi who finally carried out the execution, and they were the two who offended people.

Qin Yunhe no longer paid attention to Liu Dianshi's expression and let Liu Dianshi leave.

The malpractices accumulated over thousands of years in the government office could not be changed by him alone, but if he really did nothing, he would not be able to get over the hurdle in his heart.

After much thought, this was the only solution he could think of.

Zhao Ping was not on duty today, so after practicing a few words, he ran back to the desk, intending to coax the clerks to teach him a few more words.

He ran over excitedly, only to find the office in chaos with the sound of faint discussions and chaotic footsteps.

He walked in without knowing why, but someone was walking out hurriedly. Seeing that he was blocking the way, he pushed him away with an impatient look on his face.

Zhao Ping was pulled to the side and staggered two steps. He looked at the clerks in the desk in confusion.

They might gather in groups of two or three, chattering about something, or sit alone at a desk, absent-mindedly frowning and thinking.

Anyway, no one is working properly.

Zhao Ping curiously asked a nearby clerk: "Brother Li, what are you doing?"

The clerk frowned and looked up at him, with an unhappy look on his face, looking at Zhao Ping scrutinizingly.

Two or three people who were talking nearby looked over, with defensive and rejecting looks on their faces.

Someone sneered quietly: "No wonder he runs so often, it turns out he's here to monitor us."

Someone else raised his voice and said, "You are a human being, playing tricks on us."

Zhao Ping felt uneasy at the sudden unfriendly attitude of the clerks and didn't know what he had done wrong.

The older clerk Hu suddenly said, "Don't talk nonsense. What does a child know?"

As he spoke, Hu Shuli stood up and pushed Zhao Ping out: "Zhao Ping, go back first. It's a mess here today. Don't make things more chaotic."