Daqin Zhentiansi

Chapter 517 If you don't take it, how can I, Gong, take it?

The once quiet pavilion above Donghua Gate gradually became noisy again after the departure of Minister Wang Anzhi and Imperial Censor Cao Yue.

"Alas, studying, studying your whole life, yet the people call you a pedantic scholar, a bookworm," the old man said, looking up at the setting sun, his face full of desolation. "What's the point of being an official..."

His words elicited slight nods from the other censors in their blue robes, who felt a sense of resonance within them.

The Imperial Censor was of noble character, but "noble" meant not wealthy or powerful.

If one did not have a heart that yearns for the country and its people, who would be willing to linger in such a prestigious official position?

With their Confucian and Taoist cultivation, if they were appointed as officials in other regions, they could at least hold real power in a prefecture or county.

Of course, serving as an official in the capital city meant a meteoric rise to power, and the dream of most censors was to become a high-ranking official overnight, like Cao Yue, who rose from a lowly censor in the morning to a high-ranking official in the evening.

Censors are also human beings.

"Ahem, everyone, I have something to say, but I'm not sure if I should."

A voice rang out from inside the attic.

Everyone turned their heads and saw that the speaker was Gong Yuzheng, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

This Vice Minister Gong had served as the head of local prefectural schools for decades before teaching at the Imperial Academy. His tenure as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites was short-lived.

However, Vice Minister Gong was a master of Confucianism and Taoism, and his knowledge in all aspects was impeccable. He was quite prestigious in the Ministry of Rites.

"Please speak freely, Your Excellency."

"Yes, Lord Gong, please speak."

Everyone nodded.

Gong Yuzheng glanced at everyone and took out a small jade-colored plaque.

He handed the plaque to the white-bearded censor in a scholar's robe standing next to him.

"Please take a look at this item and guess what it is used for."

The censor took it, examined it, and with a puzzled look on his face, handed it to the others.

This jade plaque is made of ordinary material and only has numbers engraved on it; there is nothing else.

The group turned it around in their hands, still not knowing what it was.

"Lord Gong, what is the meaning of this? Don't play games with us."

The middle-aged man with a short beard, dressed in a blue scholar's robe, handed the jade pendant back to Gong Yuzheng and spoke in a low voice.

Gong Yuzheng accepted the jade pendant and waved with a smile.

"This is a house certificate. With this certificate, you can claim a three-story house in the three cities within the Imperial City."

Room ID?

A three-story house?

What do you mean?
The censors present couldn't afford a house even if they owned one in the three inner cities of the capital, let alone one in the nine inner cities.

Most of them spent most of their lives living in the official residences shared by officials of the Ministry of Rites. These were houses with only one side room and one study, and their families had nowhere to live.

Some people rent apartments elsewhere, but only those who are quite wealthy can afford that.

Not all censors are poor, but poverty is a standard feature of officials who speak out.

"This was made by Yu Yuan Trading Company. With this token, you can exchange it for a residence in the capital city," Gong Yu said softly, holding the jade token. "The inner three cities."

The attic fell silent instantly.

The censors were initially stunned.

"Yu Yuan Trading Company..."

"Yu Yuan Trading Company!"

The white-haired censor standing beside Gong Yuzheng stared wide-eyed, his face flushed, and pointed at Gong Yuzheng, trembling all over: "You, surnamed Gong, you have become an accomplice of the Yuyuan Trading Company!"

"Minister Gong, are you going to help Yu Yuan Trading Company bribe us? Have you wasted your time studying the classics?" The middle-aged censor on the other side clenched his fists and hissed through gritted teeth.

Everyone else glared angrily at Gong Yuzheng.

"How awful! After hearing such words today, I'm going home to wash my ears."

"Bah! Tomorrow I will submit a memorial impeaching you, Gong."

"Don't even mention a house, even if you gave me a palace, I wouldn't even look at it."

Gong Yu watched the crowd vent their anger, his expression unchanged. Censors, huh? All they do is spout nonsense.

How can you become an imperial censor if you can't even swear?
After everyone had finished shouting and cursing, Gong Yuzheng raised the jade tablet again.

"This jade pendant wasn't given to me by Yu Yuan Trading Company."

"I exchanged it for 121 paintings and calligraphy works, as well as three Confucian treasures."

A look of emotion crossed his face as he sighed softly, “Living in the capital is no easy feat. For three years, I’ve been crammed into an inn with several colleagues. If I, Gong, had a house, I could bring my wife, children, and grandchildren to the capital. My youngest grandson is of school age, and I could have him by my side to teach him. That would put my mind at ease…”

His words caused a slight change in everyone's expression.

Feel the same.

If there were a place to live in the imperial city, who wouldn't want their whole family to live together?

But in this imperial city, apart from those aristocratic families, military merits, or the residences of third-rank officials, how many other low-ranking civil and military officials can afford to have a residence in the inner three cities?

Even in the three central cities, it's difficult to afford a decent house.

“Lord Gong, a house in the inner three cities is worth tens of millions. Although you are a master, you can’t exchange a house just for your calligraphy and paintings. I don’t believe that Yu Yuan Trading Company didn’t use this to bribe you.”

In the attic, a young censor in his early thirties, dressed in a faded white scholar's robe, spoke.

His words drew nods of agreement from everyone.

Although they were poor, they were not ignorant.

“Lord Lu, my residence is not one of those grand mansions with three or five courtyards in the inner three cities, but a three-story pavilion that Yu Yuan Trading Company is planning to rebuild.”

“A large mansion can have more than a hundred such pavilions. In the inner three cities alone, there are at least two million more pavilions.”

Gong Yu held the jade token in his hand and said softly, "The attic may not be big, but it's enough for a family to live in."

"Having such a house in this imperial city brings me peace of mind."

Stable.

Everyone in the attic fell silent.

If not for poverty, who would willingly choose to wander aimlessly?
"Congratulations, Your Excellency! You are a master of Confucianism and Taoism. You can get such a mansion just by selling your calligraphy and paintings." A black-robed censor spoke in a low voice in front of Gong Yu. "When was Your Excellency's mansion completed? Zhao Chen will go to congratulate you."

That remark sounded sarcastic no matter how you looked at it.

You are a master, you are a vice minister, you can exchange your calligraphy and paintings for a house.

Others don't receive this kind of treatment.

The others' lips twitched as they looked up at Gong Yuzheng.

Gong Yu laughed heartily and held the jade token in his hand: "Gentlemen, as long as you are willing, you can use your calligraphy and paintings to take the house from Yu Yuan Trading Company."

"Of course, each person can only have one room, and the calligraphy and paintings must be of the highest quality."

Gong Yuzheng's words stunned everyone.

Can they also exchange calligraphy and paintings for houses?
What exactly is Yuyuan Trading Company doing?
"Lord Gong, if we take this house, wouldn't we be colluding with Yu Yuan Trading Company and becoming no different from those corrupt officials?"

"Lord Gong, can I not take this house?"

Someone spoke from the attic.

The other censors who were tempted looked at each other with complicated expressions and remained silent with their heads down.

Gong Yuzheng slowly narrowed his eyes as he looked at the censors who had spoken.

"Lord Cai, Lord Jiang, if you don't take it, how can I, Gong, take it? How can my colleagues take it?"

"If the Censorate doesn't take it, how will the other officials in the Ministry of Rites take it?"

"If the officials of the Ministry of Rites don't take it, how dare the millions of low-ranking civil and military officials in the capital take it?"

A faint aura of righteousness and the power of the Great Dao intertwined around Gong Yuzheng.

To speak of such corruption with such righteous indignation, and even to be imbued with a sense of righteous power, left everyone stunned.

"If the housing problem for the millions of low-ranking officials in the capital cannot be solved, how can the Minister take any further steps?"

"If the Minister cannot advance his career, how can he share His Majesty's burdens, and how can he bring happiness to the people of this land?"

"Are you really willing to disregard the millions of officials in the capital and the trillions of people in the country just for your so-called reputation?"

(End of this chapter)