In the evening.
Officials from various counties arrived at the Prefect's Residence one after another. Before long, Ju Shou sent a messenger to the back hall to report to Zhang Chen, saying that everyone had arrived and the banquet could begin.
Zhang Chen stood up, picked up the chishan sword, hung it by his waist, and walked with determined steps towards the front hall.
"The Prefect has arrived."
Following the messenger's shout, Zhang Chen slowly walked into the front hall and came to the main seat.
"Greetings, Prefect." All the officials rose together and bowed to Zhang Chen.
Zhang Chen looked around and saw that these people were all well-fed and plump, clearly having enjoyed years of pampered lives.
It was lamentable that while the people in various counties were impoverished and struggling, these individuals were so well-nourished. It was evident how much they had exploited the common people over the years!
A wave of disgust rose in Zhang Chen's heart, but his expression remained normal. He waved his hand and said, "There is no need for such ceremony, please take your seats."
"Thank you, Lord."
Zhang Chen raised his cup and said, "Gentlemen, you are all vital pillars of my Wei Commandery. Since I first took charge of Wei Commandery, I have encountered numerous incidents before having a chance to meet with you all. Fortunately, now that the rebellion has been quelled, I finally have the opportunity to meet with you. The victory in this battle was not solely due to the army's efforts and the soldiers' sacrifice; stability in the rear was equally crucial, and this could not have been achieved without your concerted efforts. Come, gentlemen, let us drain this cup!"
After Zhang Chen finished speaking, he raised his cup and drank it all. The others also drank their cups one after another.
After drinking one cup, the banquet began. To make these people lower their guard, Tian Feng even specially arranged for dancers to perform and musicians to play.
After three rounds of drinks, Zhang Chen looked at the person sitting in the first seat to his right. That person was the County Magistrate of Ping'en County, named Zhou Yao.
Zhang Chen looked at Zhou Yao and said, "County Magistrate Zhou, I heard that Ping'en County had a poor harvest this year. Is the county treasury still abundant?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yao's eyes darted around, and he quickly began to complain miserably: "Lord, Ping'en County suffered a drought this year, with almost no harvest. Now the remaining grain in the county treasury is exhausted, and the people have no food or clothing. This humble official is truly heartbroken, heartbroken!"
As Zhou Yao spoke, he secretly glanced at Zhang Chen.
"Oh? A drought?" Zhang Chen said calmly, "Lord Zhou, this official finds it very strange. You say that all counties belong to Wei Commandery, so how is it that within one commandery, some suffer from disaster while others have a bountiful harvest?"
"Ah... this... this..."
Zhou Yao was momentarily speechless, his face flushed red.
After Zhang Chen finished speaking, he looked to the other side, towards the County Magistrate of Changle County, named Xu An.
"County Magistrate Xu, did you also suffer from a disaster there?"
Xu An stood up and said, "Reporting to Lord, the small county did not suffer from a disaster, but there were mountain bandits causing trouble nearby, and all the grain was stolen!"
"If that's the case, have you sent troops to suppress them?"
"This... Lord, the small county has few soldiers and it is difficult to deal with the bandits..."
"That's easy to handle. This official will immediately dispatch troops to help you suppress the bandits!"
Upon hearing this, Xu An's face suddenly changed, and he quickly said, "Ah! No... no no no, Lord, how could such a small matter trouble Lord? This humble official can handle it himself."
"Heh heh, handle it? Lord Xu, is this how you handle things?" Zhang Chen said, then took out a letter from his sleeve and motioned for the messenger beside him to show it to him.
Xu An took the letter, opened it, and his face immediately turned deathly pale with fright.
"Lord, this... this..."
"Lord Xu, you colluded with mountain bandits to plunder the grain harvested by the people, and then split it three-seven, you getting seventy percent and the bandits only thirty percent. After that, you falsely claimed to have purchased the grain from elsewhere and sold it to the people at a high price, thus profiting enormously. What a scheme, what a method!" Zhang Chen snorted coldly, "With such ability, it is truly a waste for you to only be a mere County Magistrate. Do you want this official to give you the position of Prefect as well!"
"Lord! This humble official dares not, this humble official dares not!" Xu An immediately broke out in a cold sweat, quickly knelt on the ground, trembling like a sieve.
Zhang Chen looked at Zhou Yao again and said, "Lord Zhou, Guangping County had a great harvest this year, and Ping'en County is less than a hundred li from Guangping County, yet it suffered a drought. Are you treating this official as blind and foolish, allowing you to deceive me?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yao was so frightened that he immediately knelt on the ground, repeatedly saying, "Lord, spare my life, Lord, spare my life!"
"Someone, bring them up!"
With a command from Zhang Chen, several messengers carried the two wooden boxes into the hall.
"Take a good look, what is in those boxes?" Zhang Chen said, pouring himself a cup and slowly raising it to his lips.
Seeing this, everyone immediately gathered around, took out the bamboo slips and letters inside, and began to examine them.
At the same time, Ju Shou, Qian Zhao, and Fang Ping naturally did not step forward, but instead rose and came to Zhang Chen's side.
After only reading a few pages, those people's faces suddenly changed dramatically, and cold sweat streamed down.
"This... this..."
"You scoundrels!" Zhang Chen slammed the table and angrily rebuked, "As officials of the Han Dynasty, you do not think of repaying the nation's kindness or bringing peace to the people. You have habitually engaged in corruption and violated the law, oppressing the people, and now you even dare to collude with rebels! Do you know that this is a crime punishable by the extermination of your nine generations!"
After Zhang Chen finished speaking, without waiting for everyone's reaction, he feigned great anger and forcefully threw the cup in his hand down.
In an instant, Generals Zhang He and Gao Lan, who were ambushed outside, saw Zhang Chen's cup fall and immediately led their men in. All the swordsmen and axemen stepped forward together and, with little effort, pinned down all the officials in place.
At this moment, these people finally woke up as if from a dream. This was not a celebration banquet at all; it was clearly a "Hongmen Banquet" specifically targeting them!
Zhang Chen slightly raised his eyes and said coldly, "Escort them all to the prison and interrogate them thoroughly. Make them confess all their past crimes clearly!"
"Yes." The two generals received the order and immediately ordered the swordsmen and axemen to escort these people away.
"Lord, Lord, I have been wronged!"
"Lord, spare my life! Lord, spare my life!"
"Lord, spare my life, this humble official will never dare again, Lord, spare my life..."
For a time, screams and pleas for mercy rose and fell.
After several days of interrogation, Zhang Chen indeed uncovered many more criminal evidences.
These people, while Li Wen was in office, still knew to restrain themselves. Now that Li Wen had been transferred, they began to escalate their actions.
In just a few months, those who levied excessive taxes, those who monopolized markets and bullied others, and those who colluded with officials and bandits all emerged, turning several counties into a chaotic mess.
Zhang Chen couldn't help but feel a wave of relief. Fortunately, he had acted decisively and dealt with this group in time, otherwise, if it had dragged on for a few more days, wouldn't the people have become completely disheartened?
Zhang Chen looked at the stacks of criminal evidence piled on the desk, feeling very angry in his heart.
In front of him was the list of dispositions presented by Tian Feng. Among the officials from ten counties, there were a total of twenty-eight people, and not a single one was innocent!
Zhang Chen picked up the vermilion brush and marked off their names one by one.
If it were just corruption and violation of the law, perhaps these people could have saved their lives with their family backgrounds. But they also colluded with the Yellow Turbans, which was a crime of treason. The court would never show mercy to such people.
Zhang Chen immediately marked these people for execution one by one and issued an order. These people colluded with rebels and plotted against the state. According to the law, they were to be beheaded, and all their family property was to be confiscated.
After issuing the order, Zhang Chen immediately summoned Guo Jia, Tian Feng, and Ju Shou to discuss the matter of filling the vacant official positions.
The three of them worked all night before finally compiling a list.
This created vacancies for officials in ten county towns at once, and it was truly difficult to find suitable personnel for a while. Zhang Chen even appointed Zhang Fu, the former secretary of Guangping County, to the position of County Magistrate.
Although these people were not famous, their abilities had been tested, and governing a county was well within their capabilities. More importantly, these people were upright in character, and Zhang Chen believed that they would surely bring a new atmosphere to the various counties.
After completing all this, Zhang Chen ordered Tian Feng to quickly issue the order, instructing the replacement officials to take office as soon as possible to stabilize the overall situation.
From this moment on, Wei Commandery was finally truly in his hands!