Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 92 The Prefect of Daming Prefecture?! You, you, you are Lu Qingtian?!

"What do you mean by this? The postal service bestowed by His Majesty is specifically for retired officials to use when returning home. It can only be used once and is for the official's personal use only. Don't take this for granted!" The postmaster retorted angrily.

"Stop arguing with me! Everyone can be used, these two can be used, so why can't I be used?" the man said, pointing at the Lu brothers.

"You're clearly trying to take advantage of my master's retirement! You, a mere post station clerk, are behaving like those snobbish and petty people, courting death! How do you know my master won't be reinstated? Besides, my master's students and former officials are all over Beizhili. He can easily dismantle your entire post station with just a casual letter!"

"Hey, what are you pointing at! My brother is the current prefect of Daming Prefecture, who do you think you are? Besides, we all paid for this!" Lu Xiangtong slammed his fist on the table and shouted.

"The Prefect of Daming Prefecture?!" the postmaster exclaimed in surprise. "You, you, you are Lu Qingtian?!"

"Gulp," the man who had just been shouting swallowed hard, trembling as he took out a few pieces of silver and stuffed them into the postmaster's hand, saying, "Pack me the fine grains, I'll use them to feed the horses on the way. I have other things to do, so I'll be going now, farewell!"

Lu Xiang-sheng, the prefect of Daming, was known for his meddling and his hatred of evil.

Lu Xiang's reputation for promotion was good among the common people; every gentry in Hebei knew of him, and his reputation was absolutely infamous!

Although he borrowed his master's prestige, if he really caused his master to be impeached, he would definitely be in deep trouble.

After saying that, the man snatched the stack of documents from the postmaster's hand and ran towards the stables in the backyard.

The postmaster didn't even glance at him, but instead looked at Lu Xiang-sheng and said, "I was blind and didn't recognize your greatness. How could I accept your money? I would be talked about behind my back by the villagers. I'll return the money to you right now. Sir, why don't you stay at my post station for a day? I'll have my wife prepare some good wine and food to entertain you."

“No need. My trip to the capital this time is not at the behest of the court, but rather my own decision. Let’s follow the rules.” After saying this, Lu Xiang-sheng looked somewhat puzzled and said, “I am the prefect of Daming, and I have never stood up for the people of Shunde Prefecture. Why do you call me Justice?”

"My lord, you may not know this, but although Shunde Prefecture is not fortunate enough to be under your jurisdiction, your suppression of the bandits has truly benefited the people of this region. This bandit gang has been committing crimes in multiple prefectures, and Shunde Prefecture was among their targets. In the past, these petty thieves would never have dared to cause trouble at the post station. Now that the imperial army is unable to deploy its forces in time, they have become incredibly audacious, even daring to rob us post station workers!"

Moreover, my post station is frequented by many people, including those from Daming Prefecture, who often speak highly of your esteemed reputation. I have long admired you, and it would be my great honor to entertain you. I hope you will not refuse and will grant me this small wish!

"Alright, you may go now. Thank you for your trouble," Lu Xiang-sheng nodded and said. Having received permission, the postmaster excitedly ran to the kitchen.

“Brother, you are truly renowned far and wide! When I become an official in the future, I will definitely follow your example!” Lu Xiangtong said with a look of longing.

Lu Xiang-sheng glanced at his younger brother and said, "If you want to act like me, you need to be strong! Look at yourself, you're as thin as a withered hemp stick. With that kind of physique, how can you compete with the powerful and wicked?!"

Lu Xiang-sheng agreed to stay the night as the postmaster had promised. It wasn't that he was afraid of the dark or thieves; he simply felt the postmaster was knowledgeable and experienced, and talking to him would allow him to learn more about things he hadn't known before. He instructed Lu Xiang-tong: "Don't underestimate such lowly officials as postmasters; they connect the court and the public, and might have different perspectives on current affairs."

"With the price of official salt rising like this, isn't it going to fuel the rise of smuggled salt? Smuggled salt will only become more rampant! Liu Yicheng, you probably don't use official salt all the time, do you?" Lu Xiang-sheng said, taking a sip of wine.

Liu Yicheng sat beside Lu Xiang-sheng. Being able to dine at the same table as the prefect, and the renowned "Upright Official Lu," was something he could boast about for a year. He hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement. Lu Xiang-sheng frowned slightly. As the prefect of the Ming Dynasty, he had received numerous official documents from the court over the past six months and was quite familiar with the reforms. He largely approved of Bi Ziyan's reforms and had already begun inventorying the land in Daming Prefecture according to the court's requirements.

Of course, there was a lot of resistance, just as he told his younger cousin, that one needed to be in good physical condition.

His strengths lay in two aspects: he was a formidable fighter, training hundreds of soldiers under the guise of bandit suppression; and he was incorruptible, with impeccable public and private morality, unafraid of being exposed or compromising with powerful figures. Therefore, when he set his mind to something, no one could stop him. However, he also understood the difficulty of these reforms; his ability to implement them did not guarantee the success of other officials.

Moreover, Bi Ziyan's reform measures were not always correct.

Originally, Lu Xiang-sheng thought the imperial court's salt tax reform was quite good, and he actively cooperated with it. During his tenure, he had already arrested many smugglers. But now he didn't know if what he was doing was right or wrong. He felt that it went against his original intention of reducing the exorbitant taxes and levies on the people and allowing them to recuperate.

The rising price of salt has made it difficult for ordinary people to obtain salt, but this is not the biggest problem. The bigger problem is that the price increase of government-controlled salt will exacerbate the rampant smuggling of salt. If this continues, the reform will eventually fail.

His purpose in coming to the capital was to appeal to the Three Judicial Offices regarding more than a dozen wrongful convictions in Daming Prefecture. Now it seems that, in addition to addressing the wrongful convictions, he also needs to visit Grand Secretary Bi to remind him of the matter.

During the Song Dynasty, Wang Anshi's reforms failed because the loopholes were not corrected in time, turning good laws into bad ones and ultimately leading to disaster and the abolition of the new laws. Lu Xiangshan believed that Bi Ziyan was selfless and devoted to public service, so he did not want Bi Ziyan to fail.

The next day, Lu Xiang-sheng left a small silver ingot on the table inside the house and rode away on his pony. It wasn't until the postmaster was cleaning the house that he discovered the silver ingot. He rushed out the door, but Lu Xiang-sheng was nowhere to be seen. He stared blankly in the direction Lu Xiang-sheng had gone for a long time, his face filled with a sense of loss.

Three days later, Lu Xiang-sheng arrived in the capital. Coincidentally, the results of the imperial examinations were being posted in Beijing at that time.

"Congratulations! Huang Xiang, Master Huang, from Pingyang County, Wenzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, has passed the imperial examination!!!"

"Congratulations! Liu Ruozai, from Huaining County, Anqing Prefecture, Southern Zhili, has passed the imperial examination!"

……

The announcements of the successful candidates rose and fell, and the scholars whose names were called were overjoyed, with bursts of cheers erupting from the crowd from time to time.

Lu Xiang-sheng looked at these things with a smile on his face. Back then, he passed the imperial examination at the young age of twenty-two and was full of vigor and ambition.

"Study hard, it'll be your turn next year," Lu Xiang-sheng said, patting his younger brother on the shoulder.

Lu Xiang-sheng watched the commotion for a while, but did not linger. Instead, he led his ponies and Lu Xiang-tong straight to the Ministry of Justice.

(End of this chapter)