Miao Chu

Chapter 303 Vase
After seeing Han Li off, and with the end of the workday approaching, Judge Jiang hurriedly straightened his hat and clothes and rushed to find his superior.

Inside the room, Vice Envoy Liu was extremely busy.

It was the time to collect summer taxes, but before the money had been collected, there were already places waiting to be spent—Jinghu South Road and Guangnan West Road were suffering from severe drought and locust plagues, while Jingxi and Hebei Roads, as well as the capital region, were experiencing a once-in-a-century flood. How to reduce taxes and provide disaster relief was entirely up to the Ministry of Revenue.

Aside from the transportation of relief grains, fodder, and cloth, various water-related matters also require silver, grain, and materials. The Kyoto Prefectural Government is currently reorganizing the city's street plans, relocating those that need to be moved and relocating those that need to be rebuilt. The correction of household registrations also falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Revenue. In addition, there are various farmland irrigation projects, land reclamation, and the monopolies on tea, wine, and alum. Now everything is coming together...

Although he did all the trivial tasks, just listening to people explain things and reading the reports kept him so busy that his backside was sore—that's how it is for people who sit in their chairs for too long. His ears were ringing, and his old eyes were about to go blind.

Of all these things, the most disgusting is Chanzhou.

The imperial court urged Chanzhou to expedite the construction of the Liuta River, but the local authorities claimed that the Ministry of Revenue was not providing funds or materials, causing delays in everything and hindering progress on the river project.

So Li, the councilor, Cao, and others all sent men to chase after them.

Aside from this, there's also Chanzhou, which is the closest. A fast messenger can make a round trip in two or three days. They come to our door every day to urge us for money and materials, but they say they don't have enough manpower. I don't know where all these people come from to chase after money. Why don't they use the time to go up to the river and carry a few baskets of stones and silt themselves instead of wasting time here?

Whether it's the Minister of Revenue or Vice Minister Fan, they hold high positions and wield great power, so they can ignore these matters. However, although Liu Min is already a deputy envoy with considerable influence and influence outside the capital, he cannot afford to be too disrespectful to the prime minister's confidant. Besides, the matter still needs to be resolved eventually.

He was incredibly annoyed.

The entrance was crowded with people, who came in one by one to report their affairs. Finally, they were all dealt with. Just as it was almost time for the end of the day, a clerk came running over to report.

"My lord, more people from Chanzhou have arrived. They're outside, and my men are trying to stop them. They say you're in a tense meeting and can't leave right away—but the guards reported that they seem to have seen some of their men at the back gate as well..."

Liu Min felt like he was going to vomit blood.

This wasn't the first time Chanzhou had acted this way; it was common for people to block the entrances from both the front and back gates.

He felt a splitting headache, and soon another servant rushed in, panting, "Sir! Sir! The Vice Minister requests your presence in a moment..."

Today, Vice Minister Fan went to the palace for an audience with the Emperor, and he had only recently returned to his office when he summoned me to come over.

Vice Envoy Liu sensed something was amiss, beckoned the visitor closer, and asked, "Do you know why the Vice Minister summoned me?"

The servant was happy to curry favor and whispered, "I heard that as soon as the Vice Minister returned, he ordered someone to oversee the allocation of silver and goods to Chanzhou..."

He added, "Vice Minister Fan doesn't look too good..."

Even though he hadn't seen the person yet, just hearing what the servant said, Vice Envoy Liu knew that this time it must be about the Liuta River.

In the previous instances where the superior urged him to accelerate the process, he had always helped his subordinates to block it. Although he didn't know what had happened this time, Liu Min dared not be negligent again after hearing Fan's unpleasant expression.

He thought for a moment, then summoned his subordinates and urged, "Go to the left wing and see if Judge Jiang is there..."

He had only spoken halfway when he heard a voice from the doorway say, "Vice Envoy, you wanted to see me?"

Upon seeing that the visitor was none other than Judge Jiang, Vice Envoy Liu didn't bother to say anything else and immediately asked, "How's the account of Liuta River going? The Vice Minister has been urging me several times, but I said that I haven't done so many things in many years and it's not easy to settle them in a short time. What's the progress for you right now?"

Judge Jiang hurriedly replied, "I already have some leads, and I can give you a definite figure tomorrow!"

Vice Envoy Liu frowned and said, "I can't wait until tomorrow. Bring me whatever you have right now."

He added, "You should also speed things up later. If Vice Minister Fan asks in a hurry, I'm afraid we'll have to give it to him tonight!"

Judge Jiang hurriedly rang the bell and ordered someone to fetch the documents.

While he was picking up the items, he hesitated for a moment and said, “Vice Envoy, actually, when I was doing the accounting these days, I also calculated the expenses of Chanzhou over the past year or two. The numbers that Lü Zhongchang patted his chest and said back then have now increased four or five times in terms of money, materials, and manpower. How can he have the face to keep urging us to pay back the money now?”

"No matter how accurately he calculates it, or how little he gives, we're still losing out—we don't even know how much more he'll want later. Calling this Liuta River a bottomless pit wouldn't be an exaggeration!"

Vice Envoy Liu frowned and said, "This is not something you or I can judge. Since the court has made a decision, we lower officials are merely following orders!"

“I know that you have been working hard lately and that you have been working tirelessly day and night. However, the Liuta River has been under construction for almost two years, and the imperial court has invested countless manpower and resources. Now is a critical moment. If we stop, all our previous efforts will be in vain.”

"Moreover, the Yellow River has been rising sharply recently, and we have put the slow-flowing canals and sluice gates outside the city into use. To protect the capital, the Liuta River cannot be lost. Don't be fooled by how tough Vice Minister Fan is right now; it's just a show. In the end, not only will we suffer this loss, but we will most likely not get the better end of the deal."

Vice Envoy Liu was trying to comfort his subordinates, but they didn't need his comforting words.

Judge Jiang said, "I'm not stupid. I know that I can't avoid it most of the time. But I see that you and the Vice Minister are very anxious. I've been thinking about it day and night, hoping to share your worries. I have three plans: the best, the middle, and the worst. I wonder if you have the time to listen to one of them?"

Vice Envoy Liu gave a casual reply, and while listening to him speak, he was already flipping through a document in his hand. He also took out a small booklet and copied its contents into it, preparing to have a reminder when he reported back to his superiors later.

He was preoccupied with Fan You, so he was naturally a little absent-minded. Xiao Jiang was only ever good at strategizing, and he had never heard of him being good at planning or having a sharp mind. He didn't know who had gotten the three schemes of superior, middle and inferior to him to get by.

"...This can be done by everyone, from the powerful and wealthy to merchants and laborers. As for the items to be purchased, it would be better to bring wine quotas, ordination certificates for monks and Taoists, land and property, etc. The most important thing is to let people know that our Ministry of Revenue has done its best and brought out all the best stuff—but we must first calculate the total amount in private, so as not to suffer a huge loss..."

"Ministry of Rites, Ministry of Personnel, Imperial Observatory, Capital Prefecture... let's see what each place is lacking... let's see how they react..."

"...We can't just stand by and bear it, otherwise everyone will think we're just doing our job. If the people from Chanzhou try to block us again, we can say that we've already reported it, but it's stuck at a certain government office or department... Do you think they're the only ones in the world who can be so disgusting?"

The pen in Vice Envoy Liu's hand slowly came to a stop.

A leaf before the eyes obscures Mount Tai.

I'm just too reasonable!
if……

He looked up at the person opposite him and said, "What did you just say you were going to buy?"

Judge Jiang, who had been carefully observing his superior's expression, suddenly became excited when he saw Vice Envoy Liu's expression change from indifference to concern. His face turned slightly red, and he repeated his words.

“Monks and Taoist ordination certificates can only be sold privately and cannot be displayed openly, but your matter of buying and exchanging silver for a certificate is quite interesting—what is your plan?”

After hearing Judge Jiang finish explaining the three strategies—superior, middle, and inferior—just as the servant who had gone to retrieve the manuscript returned, Vice Envoy Liu immediately stood up, took the booklet, and hurried to see his superior.

As expected, this time it was about the Chanzhou matter.

The Emperor and the two palaces were anxious. When Vice Minister Fan entered the palace this time, he was questioned repeatedly for being a mere figurehead and doing nothing. They also said that he could not make any more excuses, or he would be punished.

He coldly relayed the superior's demands, then added, "I think the situation at Liutahe is really bad. That Lü Zhongchang is like a headless fly, wanting to do this one minute and that the next. He probably doesn't know what he's doing at all. You should settle your accounts carefully. No matter how much you give him, he'll just come back to ask for more next time!"

He added, "The people of Chanzhou are truly outrageous. I don't know how they manage their subordinates—I just returned to the yamen, and at the crossroads, they sent messengers to block my way and demand payment..."

Vice Envoy Liu hurriedly said, "Your Excellency, I have an idea..." He extracted the essence from the three plans (superior, middle, and inferior), discarded the dross, and modified them to make them easier to implement before explaining them one by one. Finally, he asked, "What does Your Excellency think?"

After pondering for a moment, Vice Minister Fan said, "This is interesting. You should discuss it first and come up with a plan for me to see."

He added, “Let me give you a suggestion: make good use of the Kyoto Prefectural Government Office—it involves the most and the widest range of matters, and there’s also Prefect Zhao there. Although he doesn’t usually manage things much, he still holds a position. Once he speaks up, it’s more effective than you or me saying hundreds or thousands of words.”

After Judge Liu left Vice Minister Fan's room, he immediately summoned several capable subordinates and told his superior, the Supervisor, about the matter.

Soon, someone said, "We can reduce the amount of wine and tea sold. Things are valued for their scarcity, and merchants will surely be eager to buy them!"

Someone else said, "At the beginning of the year, wasn't there a major human trafficking case and gambling den case at the Kyoto government office? I heard it involved hundreds of houses and shops, many of which were in particularly good locations. If they were put up for betting, there would definitely be people willing to participate!"

"Has it been handed over?"

"not yet."

Before long, a fast horse galloped towards the Kyoto Prefectural Government Office.
The next morning, just as the patrolman named Cao Lingkun had finished his shift, Qin Jie called him in.

Upon hearing his superior inquire about the progress of the two cases, the man quickly explained, "The cases are indeed quite complicated..."

He sang for quite a while, but it was difficult.

Qin Jie then asked, "When will the case be closed?"

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Inspector Cao had no idea what to do and could only bite the bullet and give a date.

Qin Jie was very dissatisfied and said, "I don't care about your nonsense. The case in the spring has been solved for several months. There's no reason why it should still be dragging on and not being closed, is there?"

Inspector Cao had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Many of those people who were originally in charge of those two cases were Xin Feng's subordinates. They had picked up some bad habits. I thought that I would need some capable people in the future, so I had them take over the cases. Because they were a bit messy, and no one was properly handing them over, it was a bit difficult to get started."

Having spent many years in officialdom, Qin Jie could detect many flaws in a person's voice as soon as he heard it.

Normally it would be one thing, but this time...

He frowned and said, "Many of Xin Feng's men are good at solving cases. You should make good use of them. Don't let a little squabble over trivial matters delay important business. Otherwise, if the higher-ups blame us, neither of us can bear the consequences!"

The inspector, Cao, nodded repeatedly, but before leaving, he couldn't help but quietly ask, "Sir, why are you suddenly rushing to close this case? Has something happened?"

There's nothing wrong with talking about this, Qin Jie explained the matter briefly.

After hearing this, Inspector Cao was practically cursing under his breath.

He obediently returned to the left courtyard, summoned his subordinates who were involved in the two cases, and said, "Organize all the files, and later call in the original personnel and hand them over..."

In an instant, almost everyone started arguing.

"Inspector, we already recommended them for commendation and rewards for their two major cases. They've already received all the good stuff. Now that we've finally taken over and sorted things out, why are we handing them back? Wouldn't all this work have been for nothing?!"

"You're asking me? I'm asking you the same question!"

Inspector Cao cursed irritably, "You never care about things normally, and now that the cooked duck has flown away, you come here to mourn!"

"Inspector! Inspector, look, we're all brothers here. Inspector, please help us think of a solution. We only have seven or eight days at most..."

Before the man could finish speaking, Cao Lingkun shook his head.

“If it were anything else, or any other ordinary time, I would naturally say something to you, but this time it was specifically requested from above…”

"Inspector? I wonder which superior you are?"

Hearing that the other party was unwilling to give up, Inspector Cao said impatiently, "Who else could it be! Your 'mother' wants you to close the case quickly! If you had any backbone, you could have closed this case in three to five days. Why would I have to lose face like that—and then have to coax and beg them to come back later!"

No one in the room dared to utter a word immediately; they could only sigh and lament.

In Kyoto, the government office has both a father and a mother—these are just playful nicknames used by everyone.

"Father" refers to the Provincial Judicial Commissioner, who conducts inspections twice a year. If anything goes wrong, punishment will follow, which is something no one can help but fear.

"Mother" refers to the Ministry of Revenue. The entire operation of the capital's government relies on the Ministry of Revenue for all financial matters. If you accidentally offend it, you could be choked and lose your food.

Hearing that it was the Ministry of Revenue that spoke, no one dared to utter a word.

Before long, the original team members from both cases were called in.

Inspector Cao smiled and said a few polite words, only saying that his subordinates had other arrangements to handle other cases, and asked their original people to help them close the case quickly so as not to delay the process, etc.

Even after Inspector Cao and his men left, the remaining group was still somewhat bewildered by the room full of documents.

"What's going on? They insisted on kicking us out earlier, but now they want us to come back? Isn't there something fishy going on?"

"Should we go ask Inspector Xin?"

"Why don't we ask Young Master Han as well?"

While the group was filled with unease, the young master Han they were talking about had already returned to his residence.

It was already late, and Master Chen had long since arrived home.

As soon as Han Li entered, he greeted everyone, asked for the warehouse key, and went inside to search around.

Master Chen followed him inside and asked, "What time is it? Have you eaten? What are you looking for?"

Han Li said, "I remember that Senior Brother originally had a box of vases here."

What are you doing with the vase?

"For displaying lotus flowers," Han Li added. "White porcelain would be best."

(End of this chapter)