Prime Minister

Chapter 121, Section 120: [Departure]

With the Yushu Town land ownership case finally settled, the wealthy and unscrupulous gentry Wang Dong not only paid a heavy price, but his past crimes of bullying the good people in the village were also exposed one after another. Chen Guan, the registrar of Jiangdu who helped cover up his crimes, naturally could not escape the punishment of the law.

This is just the beginning.

With the case successfully solved, Xue Huai and his staff naturally moved into the Jiangdu County government office.

While personally handling the backlog of cases in Jiangdu County, he also drastically purged the corrupt practices within the county government.

In just four days, seven corrupt officials in the county government were arrested.

This matter quickly created a storm, rapidly impacting the entire officialdom of Yangzhou.

There was much discussion about this within the government office. After all, the Jiangdu County Government Office and the Yangzhou Prefecture Government Office were located in the same city. Xue Huai's commotion had truly shocked and left the officials of the government office speechless.

That morning, as Xue Huai and a group of clerks continued to help the people at the Jiangdu County government office, Liu Rang, the prefectural magistrate, and Zheng Xuan, the judicial officer, came to the back hall of the government office to request an audience with Prefect Tan Mingguang.

Inside Cunpuzhai, Tan Mingguang ordered a servant to serve tea to the two men and smiled, saying, "You two have come so early in the morning; you must have something important to discuss?"

His attitude towards the two remained the same as always. He did not seem to have any inappropriate thoughts because of Xue Huai's arrival. He still just wanted to be a leisurely prefect.

Seeing this, Liu Rang felt somewhat relieved and immediately took out two official matters to consult with Tan Mingguang.

Zheng Xuan was the same.

Tan Mingguang chuckled inwardly, but did not directly expose their intentions, instead playing along with their pretense.

About an incense stick later, Liu Rang put down the dossier and said with a solemn expression, "Your Excellency, in the past few days, Director Xue has been acting swiftly and decisively in the Jiangdu County government, successively punishing Chen, the registrar, and many other officials. There is much discussion about this in the streets, and I am somewhat uneasy about it."

"disturbed?"

Tan Mingguang took a sip of tea and asked curiously, "Why is Boson uneasy?"

Liu Rang sighed and said, "Your Excellency, I am not criticizing Director Xue's actions as inappropriate, but his actions are so drastic and completely disregard the consequences, which will inevitably cause panic among the people. Yangzhou is a major tax-paying area in Jiangnan, and stability is more important than anything else. Director Xue's punishment of evil and promotion of good is indeed gratifying, but if it is not controlled, I am afraid it will be difficult to control in the end."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Zheng Xuan immediately chimed in, "Working in officialdom is inherently difficult. No one doesn't want to be an honest and upright official, but they are sometimes forced to do so due to practical difficulties. If Director Xue continues to do this, how many people will be left in the Jiangdu County government? What will the officials in other places think? I'm afraid not many people will be able to work with peace of mind, which will inevitably affect the stability of Yangzhou."

"Well……"

Tan Mingguang fell into deep thought, but inwardly he sneered.

Why should I have known today?

You knew that Xue Huai was coming to Yangzhou to make a name for himself, but instead of cleaning up your own messes, you went out of your way to provoke him, thinking that you could restrain him with a bunch of thorny official duties. As a result, he turned the tide with a single decisive move.

Now Xue Huai can legitimately clean up the officialdom in various places. After all, this is a righteous title given to him by most of the officials under the prefecture. Moreover, people like Wang Gui have made contributions by following Xue Huai. Now that they have tasted the benefits, they will probably firmly support Xue Huai all the way.

If Xue Huai can't solve those problems, your wishful thinking will naturally come into play. The problem is that those thorny official duties are a piece of cake for Xue Huai, which leads to the situation developing in an uncontrollable direction.

Now that you're panicking, you want to drag this old man out as a shield?

Thinking of this, Tan Mingguang hesitated and asked, "This matter can't be that serious, can it?"

"Fu Zun."

Liu Rang frowned and said, "Jiangdu County government is just the beginning. Governor Xue has already punished eight people. There will probably be more to come. And this is only the first stop for Governor Xue. He will also go to Yizhen County, Baoying County and other places. How many vacancies will appear in the Yangzhou government at that time? This matter will definitely alarm the Provincial Administration Commissioner and the Governor."

He deliberately emphasized the last four words.

Tan Mingguang was naturally aware of the relationship between the Liu family and Chen Yan, the governor of Jiangsu. However, Chen Yan could not control everything in Jiangsu's officialdom. Moreover, if it really came down to a competition of connections, wouldn't Xue Huai's background be even stronger?

He thought for a moment and said, “Boson, there’s no need to worry. What the Great Yan has in abundance is candidates for officials. The other day, Magistrate Xue sent someone to report the details of Jiangdu County, and I immediately sent a document to the Provincial Administration Commission. Candidates for officials will arrive soon, and it will not affect the normal operation of the Jiangdu County government.”

Liu Rang felt restless and uneasy.

Last night, he was severely scolded by his father, Liu Fu. It was clearly Liu Fu's arrangement to make things difficult for Xue Huai, but in the end, he was the one who had to bear the consequences.

Of course, he could understand his father's feelings. The Liu family and the other four powerful families were preparing for a major event, and at this time they really couldn't spare too much energy to deal with Xue Huai. He originally thought that Xue Huai would be tied up with a bunch of thorny official matters, but who knew that this boy would cut through the Gordian knot and resolve the old case in Jiangdu County in just a few days.

Xue Huai's reputation among the people is soaring, and many people are spreading the word about his reputation as an upright official.

For Liu Fu, it was one thing for Xue Huai to gain fame, and even acceptable for him to win over Wang Gui and his group of clerks. However, if he was allowed to run rampant and cause turmoil in the counties of Yangzhou, it would shake the foundation of the local powerful clans in Yangzhou.

Therefore, Liu Rang hoped to persuade Tan Mingguang to temporarily suppress Xue Huai in the name of the prefect. However, Tan Mingguang, who had never refused him before, started speaking in official jargon.

Liu Rang suppressed his anger and said sincerely, "Your Excellency, I am doing this for the sake of the bigger picture. Rumors are rampant in the streets right now. If Lord Xue makes a wrong judgment in the end, it will likely incite public anger. I urge Your Excellency to consider this carefully."

“Berson’s intentions are commendable, but…”

Tan Mingguang maintained his friendly smile and said gently, "You can rest assured, I believe that Xue Tongzhi knows how to advance and retreat. Besides, his main task is to resolve the thorny official matters that have accumulated in the government over the years. Dealing with some corrupt officials is just a side effect, so you don't need to worry about it." Liu Rang was immediately speechless.

Tan Mingguang is right. The righteous cause that Xue Huai now holds was personally given to him by the officials of the prefecture, and it has been approved and permitted by Tan Mingguang. Asking Xue Huai to stop now would be like protesting too much.
Don't be fooled by Tan Mingguang's usual obedience to them; after all, he is the legitimate prefect of Yangzhou.

If he doesn't give in, can Liu Rang force him?
Seeing that things were hopeless, Zheng Xuan gave Liu Rang a wink and then said, "Your Excellency is right. Your Excellency and I acted rashly and we hope you will forgive us."

"Hey, that's going too far."

Tan Mingguang waved his hand and smiled, "Now that Xue Tongzhi is outside and you are inside, if we unite sincerely and work together, we will surely be able to clean up the officialdom of Yangzhou. I am extremely gratified by this."

The two men offered a few more words of flattery, then rose to take their leave.

As soon as Liu Rang stepped out of Cunpuzhai, his face turned ashen.

Zheng Xuan said softly, "Brother Bo Xun, please calm down."

Liu Rang took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, saying, "Let him be smug for a while longer. Sooner or later, he'll regret it."

Zheng Xuan was taken aback, unable to discern whether the person he was referring to was Xue Huai or Tan Mingguang, and dared not ask any further questions.

The two quickly left.

……

Two days later, in the back hall of the Jiangdu County Government Office.

After several days of hard work, Xue Huai had largely resolved the important official matters and brought about a certain degree of reshuffling of the county government.

But Li Chunjiu is still alive.

Firstly, although he had made mistakes in being negligent and lazy in his duties, he basically did not participate in the corrupt and illegal acts of his subordinates. At most, he accepted more banquets, which was really nothing in the current officialdom of the Great Yan Dynasty.

Neither Xue Huai nor Tan Mingguang had the power to directly dismiss a county magistrate.

If Xue Huai wants to replace Li Chunjiu, he must first collect sufficient detailed evidence, then jointly report to the Jiangsu Provincial Administration Commission with Tan Mingguang. After the Provincial Administration Commission investigates, it will report to the Ministry of Personnel, and finally the Ministry of Personnel will make a decision.

Unless Li Chunjiu commits an irreparable mistake and the evidence is conclusive, the Jiangsu Provincial Administration Commission can only act first and report later. Even then, Xue Huai cannot make the decision directly; this is a hard rule in the officialdom of the Great Yan.

Of course, this doesn't mean Xue Huai is helpless against Li Chunjiu. He put down his teacup, rubbed his temples, and slowly said, "Magistrate Li, I remember that next year is the time for the grand plan?"

The so-called "grand assessment" refers to the triennial evaluation of local officials by the Great Yan Dynasty, which corresponds to the six-yearly "capital inspection."

Li Chunjiu replied hesitantly, "Your Excellency, that is indeed the case."

"The grand plan..."

Xue Huai looked up at Li Chunjiu, paused for a moment, and then said, "How do you think the government will write your evaluation?"

He has made great progress in the past few days. For example, he promoted some capable but unconnected officials in Jiangdu County, gained an excellent reputation among the people, and thoroughly grasped Li Chunjiu's background. Just because he is not making any moves against him now does not mean that he has no other means to bring Li Chunjiu's career to an end.

Li Chunjiu naturally understood this point, and he said with utmost humility, "Your Excellency, I have neglected my duties in the past two years, and I feel truly ashamed and uneasy. I hope Your Excellency can give me a chance. In the future, I will definitely work diligently and will not let Your Excellency down."

With no one else in the hall at this moment, and Xue Huai making no attempt to conceal his intentions, Li Chunjiu dared not beat around the bush and expressed his attitude to Xue Huai in a very explicit manner.

"It's easy to say nice things, but it's hard to do them."

Xue Huai said noncommittally, "Magistrate Li, I hope you will remember what you said today and not make a mistake for yourself."

Li Chunjiu nodded quickly and said, "This humble official understands."

"Be a good official and a good person, and don't let the people completely lose faith in us officials."

Xue Huai stood up, his tone calm yet sharp: "I will remember your promise today, and we'll see how it goes next year."

Li Chunjiu felt a cold sweat run down his back and bowed, saying, "This humble official will remember Your Excellency's teachings!"

Xue Huai said no more and strode out.

Jiang Sheng, Wang Gui, and more than 30 others waited quietly.

Li Shun led over the magnificent steed "Fuxiao" given to him by Jiang Li. Xue Huai mounted the horse, glanced at the plaque of the Jiangdu County Government Office and Li Chunjiu and his entourage who were respectfully seeing him off at the gate, and then spurred his horse forward.

The others followed suit and quickly left the city.

They headed west, going straight to Yizhen County, which was the hardest hit by disaster last year.

(End of this chapter)