Chapter 225: Wang Ru's Inspection Tour

The dawn light was faint, a lightly equipped entourage quietly departed from Bianliangcheng.

No banners or ceremonial guards, no gongs to clear the way—only about ten able guards and two inconspicuous blue-covered wagons.

In the lead wagon sat the newly appointed Imperial Censor-in-Chief, Wang Ru.

She wore no elaborate official robes, only a simple, elegant dark-colored ruqun, her hair neatly coiled with an ordinary jade hairpin; yet the calm and sharpness in her brow revealed her status more clearly than any fine attire.

Her mission on this trip was, by imperial decree, to inspect the counties surrounding the capital.

On the surface it was a routine inspection of official conduct and a survey of popular sentiment;

In reality she bore two secret orders: first, to personally verify the effectiveness of the new dynasty's policies at the grassroots level, especially the agricultural encouragement and tax reduction measures that Chen Wen particularly cared about, aimed at pacifying the populace;

Second, to covertly investigate whether local officials were colluding with remnants of the Iron Crow Army, or exploiting the implementation of the new policies to engage in corruption that harmed the people and threatened the foundations of the new dynasty.

The wagons glimmered as they left the prosperous Bian Liang, and the scenery ahead gradually changed.

Along the official road, although traces of war's devastation remained, the fields now bustled with many busy figures.

The newly promulgated Order to Encourage Farming and the edict reducing certain miscellaneous taxes were clearly beginning to take effect.

Wang Ru did not rush to enter the prefectural and county offices; instead, she ordered the convoy to deviate from the main road toward some villages that appeared relatively impoverished.

She well knew that to grasp the true state of the people, one could not rely solely on the 'model villages' meticulously prepared by local officials.

In the first village, called Li Family Village, Wang Ru had the guards wait far off, taking only a clerk disguised as an attendant, and entered the village on foot.

At the village entrance, a few elderly farmers mending their tools saw strangers—especially the remarkable bearing of Wang Ru—and grew somewhat uneasy.

"Elder, there's no need to be alarmed."

Wang Ru showed a gentle smile, her tone approachable.

"We are merchants from Bian Liang passing by; we'd like a bowl of water and, while we're at it, ask how this year's harvest is."

Upon hearing they were merchants, the old farmers relaxed a little.

An old man with white beard and hair sighed, pointing his rough hand toward the distant fields.

"Alas, can it be good?"

"Last year we suffered war's devastation, and spring planting missed its proper time."

"Fortunately…fortunately the Imperial Court has just issued an edict saying part of this autumn's tax can be deferred, and the government has loaned some grain seed to families like ours who truly cannot get by."

A glimmer of weak hope shone in his cloudy eyes.

"All we hope for is that Heaven grants us enough to eat, so the children can survive this winter."

Wang Ru listened carefully, her heart somewhat eased.

The new policies were indeed being implemented; although the effect was still slight, at least they gave these lower-class folk a chance to catch their breath.

She noted the elder's mention of "government loaned seed" and accordingly asked:

"Elder, is the government's loan of seed proceeding smoothly?"

"Are there any clerks exploiting this to extort benefits, or forcibly levying other things?"

Upon hearing this, the old man's eyes flickered; he exchanged a glance with several other farmers and answered hesitantly:

"It… it's fairly smooth."

"All thanks to the blessings of the Imperial Court."

Wang Ru read his expression and knew there must be something hidden.

She kept her composure, took a small string of copper coins from her sleeve, and slipped it into the old man's hand.

"Elder, to speak frankly, my employer also wishes to go into the grain‑seed trade, so I merely want to learn the details—there is no ill intent."

The old man gripped the heavy string of copper coins, hesitated a moment, then lowered his voice:

"Young lady, since you ask in earnest, this old man will speak frankly."

"Loaning seed is a good thing, but the officials handling it… alas, they pluck every feather from a passing goose."

"They claim it's interest‑free loaned seed, yet they charge 'stationery fees' for registration, 'courier fees' for land measurement and yield assessment, and in the end the seed received is a full twenty percent less than what the official notice promises!"

"And it's nothing but shriveled, old grain!"

"We… we dare not complain; having even a little is already good."

Wang Ru's eyes instantly turned cold.

"Indeed, just as suspected!"

"Although the new policies are good, their implementation at the grassroots has been twisted by these parasites into a new instrument for exploiting the people!"

She suppressed her anger, then carefully asked for the names and appearances of the clerks in charge, as well as the exact procedures, committing them silently to memory.

Leaving Li Family Village, Wang Ru visited several nearby villages; the situation was largely the same.

The modest benefits brought by the new policies were almost entirely cancelled out by layer upon layer of extortion.

While the people feel gratitude toward the emperor, resentment toward the specific clerks handling affairs and even the local officials quietly accumulates.

Afterward, Wang Ru finally revealed her identity and entered the first stop of her tour—the suburban county east of Bian Liang, Xiangfu County.

The County Magistrate, leading all the officials of the county office, had long been waiting anxiously outside the yamen.

"As an Imperial Censor-in-Chief who patrols on behalf of Heaven, possessing the right to submit memorials based on hearsay and to reach the Emperor directly, she could easily ruin the futures of these petty seventh‑rank officials."

In the court hall, Wang Ru took the seat of honor, her expression calm, first listening to the County Magistrate's report on implementing the new policies, settling refugees, and collecting taxes.

The Magistrate spoke in extravagant flourishes, his data detailed, as if Xiangfu County were already a scene of prosperous governance and harmonious people.

Wang Ru listened silently, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, merely setting down her teacup gently and asking:

"Magistrate Li, having traveled all the way here, I see that though the people are busy in the fields, their faces are sallow."

"I have heard that the Imperial Court's Order to Encourage Farming includes a government loan‑of‑seed program; I wonder how it is being carried out in your county?"

"Have you encountered any difficulties?"

Magistrate Li's heart jolted, and he quickly replied with an apologetic smile:

"Replying to the Censor-in-Chief, Sir, the loan‑of‑seed matter—I personally supervised it, and it has been fully implemented!"

All qualified farming households in the county have already received grain seeds according to quota, and none fail to feel grateful for the Emperor's heavenly grace!

He said while secretly observing Wang Ru's complexion.

Receive according to quota?

Wang Ru repeated the phrase, her tone giving no hint of joy or anger.

She took out from her sleeve a book that appeared ordinary, precisely the ledger compiled by the clerk from the covert investigation records.

Then why have I heard that the actual seed allotted to some farming households falls short of the official quota by seventy percent?

Moreover, much of it consists of stale, shriveled grain.

And why do clerks invent pretexts to collect fees such as 'brush and ink' and 'running errands'?

With each question she posed, Magistrate Li's face grew paler.

This… this must be the slander of troublemakers!

Or… or the clerks are outwardly obedient but secretly defiant, and I, the lower official, have failed to notice!

Magistrate Li fell to his knees with a thud, cold sweat pouring down.

He never expected that this young female censure officer would, without changing expression, have grasped such solid evidence.

Negligence?

Wang Ru rose, walked to the center of the hall, and swept her gaze over the officials below, who were silent as cicadas in winter.

His Majesty has exhausted his mind and effort, wishing to let the people rest and to establish an era of peace.

You who eat the ruler's stipend do not share his worries, but instead deceive superiors and inferiors, extort the populace, turning the Emperor's benevolent rule into a tool for your own enrichment!

Turning the people's grateful hearts into resentment and grudges!

Her voice suddenly turned stern.

Your actions are no different from termites gnawing at the beams!

This is not mere negligence; it is dereliction of duty and corruption, shaking the foundations of the state!

She no longer looked at Magistrate Li, whose face was ashen, and gave the order directly:

Come here!

Seize the chief clerk, household registrar, and related clerks of Xiangfu County immediately and subject them to strict interrogation!

Detain Magistrate Li temporarily; after I ascertain whether he knew or participated, he will be dealt with together!

Furthermore, immediately post a notice: regarding the seed loan affair in Xiangfu County, anyone who has been extorted may go to the temporary post of the Inspection Bureau to lodge a complaint; after verification, they will receive double compensation!

At the command, the accompanying guards surged forward like tigers and wolves, dragging away the several officials who had already been frightened limp on the ground.

The onlooking crowds outside the hall first fell silent, then burst into an unstoppable cheer!

Wang Ru acted swiftly and decisively, staying in Xiangfu County for three days.

Not only did she quickly clarify the seed loan corruption case, punish the corrupt according to law, and compensate the affected farmers;

She also took the opportunity to thoroughly examine the county's accounts and prisons, uncovering two clerks who had accepted bribes from powerful local figures and perverted justice.

She handled affairs fairly, acted decisively, and distinguished rewards from punishments, quickly establishing immense prestige in Xiangfu County.

The people spread the word, calling her 'Wang the Just Judge'.

However, while handling what seemed an ordinary neighborly dispute over water that turned into a brawl, Wang Ru keenly sensed something unusual.

The case file recorded little, and both parties' testimonies also seemed reasonable.

But one party, a farmer named Zhao Si, when describing the dispute, had flickering eyes and his words revealed an unreasonable fear and hostility toward the authorities.

Moreover, according to covert investigation, this Zhao Si's paternal cousin had once served as a low‑rank officer in Zhao Kuangyin's army, and after the defeat his whereabouts became unknown.

Wang Ru immediately became alert and ordered someone to secretly monitor Zhao Si.

At the same time, she recalled the scattered information Qian Gui had given her before leaving the capital, which seemed to mention that the Iron Crow Army, besides infiltrating the court and the military, also focused on developing spies among the populace, especially groups dissatisfied with the Imperial Court, or using them to spread rumors.

She did not startle the snake; she merely noted the clue silently, encrypted it, and sent it through a special channel to Bian Liang, turning it over to Qian Gui's Inspection Bureau for thorough investigation.

She faintly felt that perhaps something deeper lay behind this seemingly ordinary civil dispute.

The tendrils of the Iron Crow Army might extend farther than she imagined, perhaps already reaching into the countryside surrounding the capital.

Having finished the inspection of Xiangfu County, Wang Ru continued on to the next stop.

Behind her carriage, an increasing number of people spontaneously followed to see her off, some even crying out for justice.

She knew that the path of the itinerant inspector had only just begun, with many entrenched abuses awaiting her eradication and many conspiracies awaiting her exposure.

The pen in her hand and the new dynasty's statutes behind her are her sharpest weapons.

She wanted this region surrounding the capital to truly become the foundation of the new dynasty's stability, so that the Emperor's benevolent governance could benefit every subject without obstruction.