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Chapter 559 Jinzhi's Anti-Corruption
Zhang Cai was so easily persuaded by Su Lu not only because she realized he was someone who couldn't be openly discussed, but also because the eunuch faction's bribery and corruption were truly outrageous.

In recent years, bribes have been required for the promotion or transfer of any official. Those of lower rank receive several thousand taels of silver, while those of higher rank receive tens of thousands. Those who cannot afford to bribe are either demoted or imprisoned. Many have been driven to despair and committed suicide.

To take a recent example, just this month—Wang Yun, the prefectural magistrate of Guangping Prefecture, was unable to raise the necessary bribes when he was transferred to a new post. As a result, he was subjected to all sorts of harassment and extortion by Liu Jin's cronies. His family's assets were almost completely depleted, his wife committed suicide, and Wang Yun, having nowhere else to turn, hanged himself in the prefectural government office.

Another censor, Li Jin, returned to the capital after inspecting the south of the Yangtze River. Because he had no money to bribe officials, he was demoted to the position of postmaster by Liu Jin. He was then constantly investigated and suppressed, and eventually committed suicide by drinking poison at the post station.

The series of tragedies, coupled with the kneeling incident at Fengtian Gate last month, had already frightened Zhang Cai.

That evening, Zhang Cai went to Liu Jin's residence to request an audience.

Liu Jin was listening to his family members recount the details of the gifts received that day when he heard that Zhang Cai had arrived. He happily invited him in. A table was laden with gold and silver jewelry, with no attempt to conceal it from Zhang Cai…

Zhang Cai patiently waited for Sun Cong and Zhang Wenmian to finish their reports. Upon hearing that Liu Jin had collected 30,000 taels of silver in just one day, his pupils constricted, and he made up his mind to remonstrate with Liu Jin.

Liu Jin had his family put away the bribe money, and after everyone had left, he asked with a smile, "What does Xi Lu have to say? Now that there's no one else around, can you speak?"

"Yes." Zhang Cai bowed and stood before Liu Jin, uttering the words he had prepared beforehand: "Does the old gentleman know where these bribes sent into the mansion come from?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Jin's expression darkened, but out of respect for him, he still asked indifferently, "Where did you come from?"

“They’re either stealing public funds or exploiting the common people. Those officials use your name to solicit bribes for their own enrichment, but less than one-tenth actually reaches your household; the remaining nine-tenths end up in their own pockets. Yet the resentment of the people and the criticism of the court officials are all concentrated on you. If the world descends into chaos one day, all the responsibility will fall on you!” Zhang Cai said with deep sorrow.

"..." Upon hearing this, Liu Jin frowned and gestured for him to continue.

"Besides, the old gentleman has held immense power for many years, and his treasury is overflowing with gold and silver. What he should be pursuing is official rank and fame, not these inexhaustible material possessions." Zhang Cai, observing Liu Jin's expression and seeing that he seemed to have taken Liu Jin's words to heart, pressed on, saying:

"Now all the government offices, both inside and outside the government, are using your name to engage in corruption, yet you alone suffer the infamy. In reality, you are doing all the work for others. How unfair it is, sir!"

"..." Liu Jin remained silent, his brows furrowing even more deeply. In the past, he wouldn't have listened to Zhang Cai's words at all. But after being repeatedly reprimanded by the emperor, he had no choice but to consider his own safety. Zhang Cai's words struck a chord with his concerns.

After a long pause, he slowly nodded and said, "I have also noticed what Xi Lu said, but everyone around me says that no official is not corrupt, and no great figure in history has ever fallen because of this. They all committed other crimes and used this as an excuse. So I have not thought deeply about its harm."

“Yes, normally collecting a little money wouldn’t be a big deal, but right now the national treasury is empty and chaos is erupting everywhere. Every instance of extortion from the people at this time could be a spark igniting a pile of straw. Every misappropriation of public funds could leave disaster victims without money for relief—that’s what’s called the last straw that breaks the camel’s back,” Zhang Cai said in a deep voice.

"The camel's 800-pound weight was clearly imposed by those civil officials, but in the end, because of this one straw, everything became the old man's responsibility. Isn't that too unfair?"

"Indeed." Liu Jin finally nodded emphatically.

Zhang Cai seized the opportunity to further say, "This is not due to the old gentleman's oversight, but rather the work of those in power. Many of the old gentleman's confidants have used his power to swindle money and break the law, enriching themselves while leaving the old gentleman to bear the infamy. If this continues, it will not only damage the old gentleman's reputation, but also endanger the emperor's trust in him!"

"..." Although it was a cool night at the end of July, Liu Jin's forehead began to sweat. The seventeen charges on that anonymous letter were listed by the Emperor himself—the vast majority of which were the work of his subordinates!

But just as Zhang Cai said, in the end, it all came down to our family alone!

Zhang Cai's tone became increasingly earnest, and he pressed on while the iron was hot, saying, "I am honored by your favor and entrusted with this important task, so I cannot remain silent knowing that you are in grave danger. I humbly request that you quickly eliminate these bad apples and remove the poison from the bone, so that you can consolidate your power, secure your position, and leave your name in history!"

Liu Jin remained silent for a long time, then slammed his hand on the table and exclaimed, "What Xi Lu said is absolutely right! I was almost misled by a villain!"

Zhang Cai's words suddenly enlightened him, sweeping away his worries and fears of the past few days. He couldn't help but exclaim, "We really didn't misjudge him! Xi Lu is a hundred times better than that senile old Jiao Fang!"

"You flatter me, sir," Zhang Cai quickly replied modestly. "Grand Secretary Jiao was decisive and wise back then, he's just old now..."

“He got upset when we told him he was old, but the Emperor tried to persuade him to stay and he wouldn’t leave. He’s shameless.” Liu Jin shook his head and immediately decided to follow Zhang Cai’s advice, using strong measures to restrain the eunuch faction and crack down on corruption in order to quell resentment and consolidate his power.

A few days later, he used the emperor's name to implement a series of "new policies," cracking down on corruption with swift and decisive measures.

First, he issued an edict strictly prohibiting officials, both inside and outside the government, from giving gifts of money or valuables, and that anyone caught offering bribes would be arrested immediately!

At first, everyone thought, "Can a dog change its nature of eating excrement?" So no one dared to take it seriously, and they sent gifts as usual... Just then, Imperial Censor Hu Jie returned from his inspection tour of Shandong and, as was customary, brought lavish gifts to Liu Jin. Liu Jin, wanting to establish his authority, had Hu Jie arrested and imprisoned him as a warning to others.

Subsequently, Liu Jin investigated and punished Li Xuan, the Junior Supervisor; Zhang Luan, the Vice Minister; and Zhao Liang, the Deputy Commander. These three men, ordered to inspect Fujian, amassed 20,000 taels of silver and returned to court to present it to Liu Jin. To demonstrate his 'integrity,' Liu Jin submitted a memorial ordering the silver to be deposited into the national treasury, but instead punished all three men. Countless others suffered misfortune due to bribery. For a time, the corrupt trend was effectively curbed. Those both inside and outside the court praised Zhang Cai for guiding Liu Jin to do good deeds…

Furthermore, Liu Jin strictly followed Zhang Cai's advice and investigated his cronies who abused their power for personal gain and violated the law. His intention was to dismiss and expel them all, regardless of their relationship to him, to completely eradicate corruption…

It turned out that not a single one was clean.

If he drove them all away, he would be left with no one to rely on. In the end, he could only symbolically expel a few, then ordered the others to make an exception and not to repeat their offenses!
At least in the short term, this restrained the eunuch faction and greatly reduced the harm they caused to the people...

Finally, in order to alleviate the current financial predicament, Liu Jin, following Zhang Cai's advice, ordered a surprise audit of the national treasuries and granaries in various counties to recover the financial deficits caused by corruption and embezzlement over the past eight years and to hold the relevant officials strictly accountable.

Although the final outcome is unknown, at least under Zhang Cai's guidance, Liu Jin has begun to repent and start anew...

~~
"I heard that Eunuch Liu is also planning to conduct a nationwide land survey and reorganize military settlements next year."

Su Lu couldn't help but smile bitterly after hearing this; then she knew she couldn't protect him at all...

He thought he was the founding emperor, demanding a land survey? No wonder he ended up being executed by being cut into a thousand pieces.

But at this moment, at a banquet bidding farewell to the last group of his classmates who were leaving Beijing, he couldn't say anything that would spoil the mood.

Su Lu then picked up his wine cup and solemnly addressed his fellow graduates who were about to depart for their respective posts:
"There is chaos in the local area now, so you must be careful on your way. When you first arrive at your post, do not seek merit, but first understand the local situation... just like when we investigated the temples."

"Understood." The other students raised their glasses and nodded in agreement.

The situation has indeed been turbulent lately; in recent months, news of bandit rebellions has been frequent in various places...

In the south, tens of thousands of Zhuang bandits were causing trouble in Liuzhou, Guangxi, and Miao bandits in Duanteng Gorge were also restless.

This month, Shandong was also plagued by banditry. Zhao Shi, the bandit leader of Caozhou, and others repeatedly plundered the countryside, intending to collude with bandits in Zhili to plot a rebellion. The Shandong garrison commander quickly reported to the court, and Liu Jin ordered the Shandong garrison commander, governor, and officials of the three provincial administrations to work together to apprehend the bandits and prevent their spread to the capital region.

A few days ago, news came that two bandit leaders, the Erwangs, were plundering villages in Leping, Jiangxi. The county magistrate, Wang He, led militia to apprehend them. However, the magistrate was captured by the bandits, and his more than three hundred militiamen were all slaughtered…

Even in Su Lu's hometown in Sichuan, there were displaced people causing trouble. Liu Lie and others gathered in the mountains and forests, plundering the Hanzhong area, and their followers had grown to more than two thousand people...

Although these bandits were not large in scale, they were scattered throughout the region and numerous as hairs on a cow, making it impossible for the imperial court to eradicate them. Under such circumstances, the heavy responsibility of protecting the territory and ensuring the safety of the people and maintaining local order fell entirely on the shoulders of the county magistrates.

And the vast majority of those who graduated that year went on to become county magistrates…

During the meal, Yin Jing, who was about to take up his post in Jize County, couldn't help but ask Su Lu, "Won't this chaos eventually escalate into widespread chaos?"

Su Lu nodded, his tone solemn, "Definitely."

"Is there no way for the imperial court to stop this?" the other students pressed.

Su Lu shook his head and said helplessly, "No. This year, the whole country is suffering from a severe drought. Except for the southeast, the crop failure is a foregone conclusion. Unfortunately, the imperial treasury is empty and food supplies are scarce, so there is no way to provide relief. When the starving people gather, they will amplify the banditry tenfold or a hundredfold. The raging waves are already formed and cannot be stopped by human power."

As he spoke, he earnestly addressed his fellow students: "So please remember, safety comes first. When you arrive in your local area, be sure to treat your subordinates well and recruit local militia in order to protect yourselves."

His words terrified his fellow students. Mao Bowen, the prefectural judge of Shaoxing, asked with great concern, "Is the country about to perish?"

"Rest assured, everyone, the Ming Dynasty will not perish!" Su Lu shook his head decisively: "The country is indeed very ill right now, but it is not beyond saving. It has just run a high fever!"

“I believe this high fever will actually become an opportunity for the Ming Dynasty to be reborn—once the old order is destroyed, it will be time for us to stand up and rebuild a new order. So until that day comes, please make sure you protect yourselves!” He emphasized repeatedly, “Don’t try to be heroes, that’s not what you should be doing.”

"But what if the Ming Dynasty doesn't survive this high fever?" Lu Ying asked.

"No, we'll get through this." Su Lu shook his head and said in a deep voice, "Don't underestimate the abilities of our seniors!"

(End of this chapter)