Yang Xiu was a little nervous, this Lord Zhu's words became more and more thorny, not only dissatisfied with the two of them, but even a little hostile.

Lin Jue still smiled and bowed: "What Lord Zhu said is that maybe it will be easier for the lower officials to go to the Pavilion Hanlin Academy and other places to serve. But what we have to do as officials is to serve the court, and where the court needs it, we should go, instead of choosing what we like to do? In that case, who would want to go to the bitter cold place of the border town to serve, and who would want to go to the remote and barbaric state to be an official? Xia Guan believes that we officials must have the consciousness of 'I am a brick, where I need to move'. We must also face difficulties in doing things. It's true that I haven't held a position related to the Criminal Division, and I really don't know much about my duties, but the subordinate is not afraid that he will not be competent, because the subordinate will learn, and the subordinate believes that he will soon get started. The subordinate has absolute confidence that the criminal prosecution department can operate, which is not only the confidence of the subordinate official, but also the subordinate official's commitment to Lord Zhu. The adult's doubts about the lower officials will be quickly dispelled. ”

"Oh? Hehehe. Sure enough, it is worthy of its name, and it is impossible to refute what it said. A brick? Where do you need to move? Hahaha. Interesting. Zhu Zhirong laughed, but in an instant, the smile on his face retracted. He stretched his neck and glared at Lin Jue, "But ...... Everyone can talk big, but doing things is not done by lip service. Are you confident? Where does faith come from? Lord Lin, I don't like people who talk big and empty, and since the court has appointed you to serve, this official has nothing to do. But no one has privileges under his authority. I might as well put it more bluntly. No matter what path you have taken, what relationship you have pulled to get this position, this official will only tell you one sentence, if things are not done well, this official can not care what kind of royal relatives you are, what kind of champion talent, the same give me a fuck. The Yamen of Kaifeng Mansion does not raise waste. Do you understand? ”

Yang Xiu's color changed, and she was about to get up and refute angrily. This Zhu Zhirong has completely lost the body of an official, although it is a relationship between superiors and subordinates, but this kind of speech without minimum etiquette is really unacceptable. What's more, his words reflected that Lin Jue got this position through nepotism, which was even more of a shame without scruples in person.

Lin Jue reached out and put it on Yang Xiu's hand, stopping Yang Xiu's impulsiveness. He still had a smile on his face, but it was already a little hideous and stiff.

"Lord Zhu, the next two are officials of the imperial court, and they are officially appointed officials. I hope you can understand this. If you think the two of us are not suitable, you can go and appeal to the emperor. Today we are here to perform our duties, and without saying a few words, the adults will say something that they have and not, and they will say something that they don't understand, which is probably a little inappropriate. Before the lower officials started to do things, Lord Zhu concluded that we were not up to the task? Could it be that Lord Zhu couldn't help the fortune telling? Master Zhu, you can't do things with your mouth, but you can't rely on speculation and prejudice, right? In this way, Lin Jue set up a military order for the adult here, and in three months, if the lower official is not qualified for the position of the criminal department, there is no need for the adult to say much, Lin took the initiative to resign and asked the court to appoint another high-ranking person. What do adults think? ”

Zhu Zhirong looked at Lin Jue fiercely. After a while, a smile slowly appeared on his face. Nodding his head, he said, "Good, good, good." Lord Lin really has some self-cultivation, this official provokes you so much, you can still calm down, and you don't jump like thunder. The officer is very satisfied with your performance. Of course, you didn't make promises, and you didn't even dare to refute them, which is what I'm satisfied with. I, Zhu Zhirong, don't want my men to be unrestrained wild horses, but I also don't want to be docile sheep. All I can say is that your performance today is passable with me. Maybe you'll be able to do it. ”

Lin Jue and Yang Xiu couldn't smile bitterly, listening to his words, those words before turned out to be a means of temptation? Or maybe they use these words to cover up the inappropriateness of their previous words.

“…… You said three months, but the official didn't want to be too harsh, so he gave you half a year. If you can't satisfy me in half a year, then you will leave. If you don't leave, I will go to the emperor and ask for your replacement. The emperor will still listen to my words. What do you think? Zhu Zhirong continued.

"A gentleman's words are hard to chase." Lin Jue said loudly.

"Well, that's it. But...... The two of you are taking up your new duties today, and I have to inform you of some things. Let you know what you need to do. Originally, if it was an experienced official, this section could have been omitted, but unfortunately both of you are new, and this official has to explain. Zhu Zhirong nodded and said.

"There is Master Lao, and the lower officials will listen to you."

"That's the case, my Kaifeng Mansion originally didn't mention the Yamen of the Criminal Prison Division, and my Great Zhou Criminal Division can only be qualified to be established at the road level, you should know this."

"Xia Guan understands." Lin Juedao.

"It's good to understand, that is to say, the criminal department you are going to serve is a new yamen, and you have to set it up yourself. Personnel can be drawn from the government, and I can also provide you with some candidates for subordinate officials. It's not about starting from scratch, and it's not about sitting back and enjoying it. ”

"Xia Guan understands." Lin Juedao.

"This is a section, and you have to understand why my Kaifeng Mansion has set up a yamen for the punishment department. It stands to reason that there is a Gyeonggi Road Criminal Division, and my Kaifeng Mansion is nominally under the jurisdiction of Gyeonggi Road, so there is no need to set it up again. Since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, it has always been like this. However, these days are different. You must understand that there are as many as 16 counties under the jurisdiction of Kaifeng Prefecture, with a population of more than 400,000 households and more than 2 million people. It is true that in the matter of criminal prisons, the county orders and even the Kaifeng Prefecture and the government offices have the right to hear and adjudicate cases. However, the official duties of the prefectures and county governments are far more than just criminal and prison litigation cases, which are numerous and complicated, and they are really overwhelming. The Gyeonggi Road Prison Division nominally has jurisdiction over Kaifeng Prefecture, but my Kaifeng Mansion is actually directly under the jurisdiction of the imperial court. So they don't bother with us. In the past, when it was peaceful, it was just over, gritting your teeth. In recent years, however, there have been quite a number of public order cases, and all kinds of large, small, and difficult cases have begun to accumulate, which has overwhelmed officials at all levels. ”

“…… Investigating, judging, and adjudicating cases requires manpower and energy, and difficult cases require specialized manpower to solve them. The case cannot be solved, the people are quite dissatisfied, and the pressure on us is increasing. You must know that Kaifeng Mansion is the place where the capital is located, and nothing is trivial. Therefore, under such circumstances, the official had to propose to the imperial court to set up a criminal prosecution department to carry out centralized investigation of difficult cases that had not been solved in the past, and some unjust and wrongful cases must also be carefully identified. This is the reason why Kaifeng Prefecture has set up a separate criminal prison department. ”

Lin Jue and Yang Xiu nodded frequently, and they both understood. The public security situation in the areas under the jurisdiction of Kaifeng Mansion is getting worse and worse, and cases are frequent, and the yamen of Kaifeng Mansion and the big lords of the counties under its jurisdiction finally can't stand it. The county magistrates have the power to decide cases, but their affairs do not end there. If there is peace and quiet in the jurisdiction, it may be a pleasure to solve the case. If they are asked to do a lot of cases every day, they have no other time to do anything else. In this case, there will be no time to investigate and solve doubtful cases, unsolved cases, and difficult cases, and under the accumulation, the public security and public grievances under the jurisdiction can be imagined. If you don't deal with these things, it will have a bigger impact. The was in the crotch of his pants, and he was in a hurry to dig the latrine.

"I see, the lower officials and others all understand."

"Knowing the original purpose of this office, you should also understand what you are up against. It is your duty to solve the cases in your custody as soon as possible. In particular, some vicious murder and robbery cases must be investigated and the suspects must be brought to justice. The difficulty lies in the fact that some cases have been backlogged for many years, and the clues are already very vague, and it is extremely difficult to detect. There are also vicious cases of serial murder and even dozens of lives, and major cases that have aroused shock and concern from the government and the public, and it is even more necessary to solve the cases. Just like the case of 20 or 30 lives in the temple broken at the 30-mile bridge north of the capital last winter, the clues were broken after the investigation, and many clues were complicated, so special people were needed to investigate. We even invited the Imperial City Division to investigate that case, but there was no result, which shows how difficult it is. I just want you to understand that what you have to do is not simple. This is also one of the reasons why the official said before that he didn't like people to play tricks, because these are not things that can be done well with empty talk. Zhu Zhirong said in a deep voice.

When Lin Jue heard the big case of the Thirty-Mile Bridge, his heart beat wildly. That's a case I did, and I actually have to investigate it myself, isn't this just a thief shouting to catch a thief? According to Zhu Zhirong's words, his position as a criminal officer is not easy, and it seems that the idle days are gone.

"Master Zhu, the lower officials understand. The lower officials must set up a yamen as soon as possible and start operating as soon as possible. Lin Jue arched his hand.

"Good!" Zhu Zhirong stood up and smiled. "Everything that should be said has been said, and the official will not keep you, and someone will take you to the new yamen public house in a while, and then it will be up to you what to do. Of course, if you have any doubts or need the help of the official, you will come to me, but the official will not shirk if he can. ”

Lin Jue and Yang Xiu got up and arched their hands when they heard this: "Thank you, my lord, the official will retire." ”

Zhu Zhirong nodded, Lin Jue and Yang Xiu turned around and walked out, Zhu Zhirong suddenly shouted: "Wait, there is something I forgot to say." ”

Lin Jue and Yang Xiu stopped and turned around, but saw Zhu Zhirong muttering: "I forgot to tell you that you must report to the official every ten days, and let the official know your progress." Several other big cases have to be solved within a limited time, and the court has been urging them, and it is very difficult for the official to do so. Without progress, it is unjustifiable. ”

Lin Jue arched his hand and smiled: "I understand my lord, my lord will do his best, and he will not embarrass his lord." ”

Zhu Zhirong stroked his beard and nodded, Lin Jue and Yang Xiu turned around and went out.

After leaving the yamen lobby and coming to the courtyard, the sun was dazzling outside, and Lin Jue and Yang Xiu unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. For some reason, there is always a feeling of depression in the lobby of Kaifeng Mansion. Maybe it's not because of the lobby, but because of this Lord Zhu. His eyes seemed to penetrate people's hearts, and under his gaze, he always felt quite uncomfortable. Coupled with the unpleasant words he said before, the two of them felt that this Lord Zhu didn't seem to like them. I don't know what will happen after that.

After listening to what Zhu Zhirong said, the happy mood before the two of them came had already cooled down. It seems that the position of the Yamen of the Criminal Division is not easy to handle, and the pressure is huge.

"Two adults, please come with me. The villain was ordered by Lord Zhu to lead the two adults to the newly established Yamen of the Criminal Prison Division. A man who looked like a servant walked up from the side and arched his hand.

"I'm tired." Lin Jue nodded.

The two people followed this person out of the Yamen compound of Kaifeng Mansion to the square, walked all the way west along the square, passed two government offices, and came to an inconspicuous courtyard. The courtyard looks very old. The walls on both sides of the courtyard gate are crawling with vines, which are only in March at the moment, and the vines have not yet produced leaves, so they give people the impression that they are full of withered yellow and black ash. The glazed tiles on the lintel were broken several times, the green platform was mottled, and there were still a few handfuls of withered grass growing on the roof tiles, swaying in the wind. The door panel of the courtyard gate is a wooden door, and there are cracks on it.

"Two adults, that's it." The servant bowed down and smiled.

"Okay, thank you. Please come back. Lin Jue nodded.

The official left, Yang Xiu frowned and walked up the steps, reaching out to push open the wooden door. The wooden door creaked. Faltering. When the door opened, the scene in the courtyard came into view, and the two frowned at the same time. For they saw the grass growing all over the yard, the trees scattered all over the place, and a large stone millstone lying in the grass of the yard. It seems that this courtyard has not been inhabited for a long time.

"How did you give a place like this? Can it be used as public housing here? Yang Xiu muttered in a low voice.

Lin Jue smiled and said, "Brother Yang, are you disappointed?" ”

Yang Xiu said: "It's not that I'm disappointed, I feel that what Master Zhu said is serious, but he doesn't really care about our yamen." Otherwise, how could it be given such a place. ”

Lin Jue smiled and walked slowly into the courtyard. The yard is not without paths, although there are a lot of weeds, but it is not too dilapidated. The three public houses at the back and several wings on both sides are of good appearance.

"Not bad, much better than I thought. At least the house is intact, except for the weeds in this yard. Branches can be pruned. Brother Yang, don't be sad, no matter what, this is our new yamen. Lin Jue said with a smile.

Yang Xiu smiled bitterly: "Brother Lin is really optimistic. That's it, that's all. The whole thing is still like that. ”

Lin Jue nodded and was about to speak, when suddenly the door of the main room in front of him creaked. A figure walked out in a flash, Lin Jue and Yang Xiu were startled, and shouted at the same time.

A little old man with wrinkled faces, dressed in the clothes of a servant and wearing a black square hat, stood on the steps in confusion, and it could be seen that he was also startled.

"Who are you?" The old servant asked.

Yang Xiu frowned and said, "I haven't asked you who you are?" Isn't this the new office of the Criminal Division? ”

"yes." The old servant nodded.

"This one is the newly appointed Sentencing Officer, Lord Lin, and I am the new Judge Yang Xiu. What do you do? Yang Xiu shouted.

"Oh, it turns out that the two new adults have arrived, and I am saying why they haven't arrived yet. The inside is about to come out, and the new criminal judge and judge have arrived, and they have not yet come out to greet them. The old servant shouted at the broken gong.

At this call, seven or eight people rushed out of the main room, and an old man in a green official uniform almost fell when he went down the steps, but fortunately the people on the side helped him.

"Xiaguan Yu Deshui gave a salute to Lord Lin and Lord Yang, oops, he said that he was coming in the morning, and he really came. Okay, okay, the two adults have arrived. This yamen will have a master. The old man in the green-robed official uniform gasped and laughed.

A group of people also stepped forward to salute, and they made a fuss for a while.

Lin Jue frowned and looked at the group of people in front of him, and said in a deep voice: "You are all from our yamen? ”

"yes. The lower official is the governor you accept. These two are masters, one is Lao Qin and the other is Lao Liang. This one is Wu Youde, the head of our yamen's official team, and he is called Lao Wu. These are your servants. ”

Yu Deshui introduced them one by one. But Lin Jue and Yang Xiu's faces were already stunned, as if they had swallowed a duck egg raw. The seven or eight people in front of me were all as old as autumn eggplants. The average age must be over 50. If you want to say that the governor is older, it is reasonable to say that the two masters are older. The remaining four or five officials are all old and unlooking, how can they run errands and take people?

"Just you? Our servants should be staffed more than that. Lin Jue asked.

"More than that, more than that. We are also mentioning the name of the Criminal Prison Division, although we can't compare with the road-level big yamen, our equipment is also a medium yamen. Except for our three officials, two masters, and three miscellaneous servants. There are also eight officials and 12 catchers. Yu Deshui said with a smile.

"Oh!" Lin Jue put his mind at ease, in this way, there are still fifteen or sixteen places, and some strong people can be selected to come in.

"The rest of the people went to the Kaifeng Mansion Treasury to move their things. We don't have enough tables, chairs, benches, cabinets, supplies, etc. There are also a large number of case files that have to be moved to the adults for their eyes, so they are not here. I'll be back in a while, I'll be back in a while. Yu Deshui said with a smile.

Lin Jue frowned and said, "You mean, the personnel are already fully equipped?" Don't have to pick and choose people anymore? ”

"No, no, Lord Quanzhi and Master Tongju have already arranged it, and they were selected yesterday evening." Yu Deshui said with a smile.

Lin Jue looked at Yang Xiu, and Yang Xiu spread his hands helplessly. All the personnel have been allocated, so what Zhu Zhirong said before was that the selection of personnel and the selection of subordinate officers were all fart, and there was no need to choose them by themselves.

Yu Deshui and the others surrounded Lin Jue and Yang Xiu into the main house, the room was a little messy, some broken tables, chairs and benches were piled together, and there were piles of garbage on the ground. It seems that Yu Deshui and the others are cleaning the house. The house is not dilapidated, the wooden doors and windows are intact, and there are no traces of leakage and mold. From the open back window, there is a small courtyard behind it, with a lot of messy flowers and trees.

The original appearance of this yard does not seem to be bad, if it is tidied up, the house is put with new furniture, the windows are pasted with new window paper, and the cleaning is done, it should be a very good place.

"Lord Lin, Xia Guan is taking them to sweep and clean up the house, why don't the two adults move and stand outside for a while? It's all dust, and it's not good to choke two adults. Lao Wu, let's see if we can find two chairs to sit on and move outside, so that the two adults can sit and rest in the courtyard. "Yude Waterway.

"Okay, this has two three-legged chairs, and the villain can just connect one leg. The two adults waited. Lao Wu agreed repeatedly, and busily rummaged through a pile of broken tables, chairs and benches.

Lin Jue waved his hand and said, "No, you guys are busy with yours, I'll just go around with Lord Yang." Clean out the house first, and then slowly tidy it up later. ”

"Okay, well, follow Lord Lin's orders. Everyone was busy, and the public room of the two adults was sprinkled and cleaned first. The cobwebs on the roof should also be cleaned up, and don't be lazy. Yu Deshui commanded loudly.

Everyone promised in unison, in front of the officials, who would be lazy? For a while, the dust was heavy, and the miles were busy and busy.

Lin Jue and Yang Xiu stood inside for a while, and they were really choked by the dust, so they came out to stand under the porch and chat. There are so many people to do things, and before half an hour arrives, piles of garbage, dust, and broken tables and chairs have been brought out. After the dust cleared, when Lin Jue and Yang Xiu entered again, the three rooms had also changed their appearance greatly. The dust stains on the walls and beams are gone. The tattered paper hanging from the long window was also torn clean. Although the whole room is empty, the floor wall is white and square, and it looks a lot more comfortable.

"It's hard work, it's what it looks like. After the table, chair and bookcase are placed, it looks like it. The main hall was hung with a plaque, and some flowers and plants were placed in the room, a few calligraphy and paintings were hung, and new window paper was pasted. A few more lanterns under the porch will make an immediate difference. Lin Jue laughed.

Yu Deshui's face was covered with dust, and he bowed down and smiled: "Yes, my lord is an elegant person, and our criminal justice office must be elegant." ”

Lin Jue smiled and nodded, turned his head to look outside and said, "Why haven't the tables, chairs, stools, and cabinets been moved yet?" Is the warehouse far away? ”

Yu Deshui hurriedly said: "Old Wu, go and take a look." Old Yuan, why haven't they come yet? It's really slow. ”

Lao Wu hurriedly said: "I'll go and take a look." Maybe there's a lot of stuff. ”

Lao Wu patted the dust on his body while walking outside the courtyard gate, and suddenly there was a noise outside, Lao Wu turned his head and said happily: "The things have been moved back." ”

Lin Jue hurriedly led everyone to the gate of the courtyard, and saw a group of people carrying a large number of things from the courtyard gate, all of which were furniture and other things. Soon it was a big pile. In the end, the two men came in carrying two large boxes, and their faces were red and they cursed again and again.

"I've all come to see Lord Lin and Lord Yang. From now on, Lord Lin will be the criminal officer of our yamen, our leader. Lord Yang is the judge. Everybody has come to see it. Yu Deshui greeted loudly.

A group of officials hurriedly stepped forward to salute and spoke in a mess.

From the moment they entered the door, Lin Jue and Yang Xiu's expressions were dull and embarrassed. They originally thought that these fast catchers who went to move things were all young and middle-aged, but when they came in, Lin Jue and Yang Xiu found that they were all some old people. All of them have wrinkles on their faces, they are hunched over, and their panting is uneven. Where are the arresters and servants who can do things, and the entire Criminal Division is staffed by all the old and weak, and this is just a nursing home.