A son who doesn't resemble his father? Love you, old man, see you at Xuanwu Gate!

Chapter 58 Tongde
The Court of Justice.

This is perhaps the only private residence of a high-ranking official among the Nine Ministers that is named after his official title.

The salt and iron officials, Dong Guo Xianyang and Kong Jin, had arrived long ago, but stood outside the door, hesitant to enter the house.

Seeing this, Zhang Tang's eldest son, Zhang He, considerately helped the two chief agricultural officials push open the half-closed door. In an instant, Dongguo Xianyang and Kong Jin's faces turned pale.

As the saying goes, being delirious won't make you die. Dongguo Xianyang and Kong Jin gritted their teeth and stepped inside, but stopped at the door.

The Minister of Justice is asleep.

As the saying goes, a person's sleeping posture best reveals their character.

Those who breathe evenly, with their eyes and mouth lightly closed and their brows relaxed are open-minded; those who breathe unevenly, with their mouth and eyes seemingly open and closed, and their brows furrowed, are surely scheming and calculating, even in their dreams.

Zhang Tang, however, was neither the former nor the latter. He was fast asleep, his breathing not only even but also long and continuous, with almost no breaks. His eyes and mouth were closed, but his eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and two deep lines appeared at the corners of his mouth.

Looking at this face, Dongguo Xianyang and Kong Jin's eyes were filled with tension and unease. They knew the reason why Zhang Tang hadn't woken up until late in the morning: he hadn't slept for two days and two nights.

People in the Court of Justice are free in the summer, sentenced in the spring and autumn, and executed in the winter. The Minister of Justice is required to review all the execution cases of the Han Dynasty before the winter solstice, mark them with red ink, and then send them to the kingdoms, prefectures and counties for execution.

Just yesterday, the Court of Justice sent 36,500 execution orders to 91 prefectures and 18 vassal states across the country, exactly matching the date.

In other words, Zhang Tang killed 36,500 people in one day.

What kind of heartless cruelty must one possess to be able to sleep peacefully after killing tens of thousands of people?

Having served as officials under the central government for several months, Dongguo Xianyang and Kong Jin spent their days arguing and playing games with the staff of the Prime Minister's office. It would not be an exaggeration to say that they accomplished nothing. However, their active networking and spending of money allowed the two Grand Ministers of Agriculture to understand the habits and principles of officialdom of the high-ranking officials.

Taking Zhang Tang as an example, there are basically four modes for handling cases.

First, if Zhang Tang believed that someone was someone His Majesty or the Crown Prince wanted to punish severely, the case file would be handed over to the cruel officials in the department for trial, who would do everything in their power to implicate others.

In the immediate context, this relates to Zhou Yang and his entire clan.

Second, if Zhang Tang believes that someone is someone His Majesty or the Crown Prince wishes to forgive, the case file will be handed over to an official in the department for review. Even if the criminal's life is in danger, no one will be implicated.

In recent times, there were former Imperial Censor Li Cai and Grand Master Zhuang Zhu.

Third, if Zhang Tang were to try a powerful and influential person, he would inevitably find ways to impose a severe sentence.

In the immediate context, it involves the entire Zhou Yang clan.

Fourth, if the subjects of the trial are ordinary people, Zhang Tang used to often report to His Majesty, and now to the Crown Prince, that some people who should be sentenced according to the laws of the Great Han Dynasty would often be pardoned after His Majesty or the Crown Prince had made a clear judgment.

Unfortunately, Dongguo Xianyang and Kong Jin were both people whom the crown prince wanted to punish severely and local powerful figures. When they received the letter from the Minister of Justice inviting them to his residence for a chat, the scene of the court meeting that day, in which three high-ranking officials from both the central and outer courts were executed, uncontrollably came to mind.

On their way here, Dongguo Xianyang and Kong Jin had already decided where they would be buried after they died.

Zhang Tang slowly opened his eyes and saw Dongguo Xianyang and Kong Jin sitting there restlessly. He sat up from the couch and said, "Someone come here."

Zhang He, who was standing at the door, immediately walked in and respectfully greeted, "Father."

"Fetch me a basin of water."

"Yes, Father." After a brief exchange between father and son, Zhang Tang looked at the two Grand Ministers of Agriculture and said unhurriedly after Zhang He left again, "Sit down."

Dongguo Xianyang and Kong Jin bowed and sat down on the stools by the window.

"I heard that you two used precious silk to get through someone in the inner court to meet His Majesty. You offered 300,000 taels of gold and 100 bolts of precious silk every year to get His Majesty to make a decision that went against the ancestors' wishes: merchants could serve as officials under the central government." Zhang Tang spoke again, directly targeting the central army.

Dongguo Xianyang and Kong Jin almost jumped up, saying in unison, "Reporting to the Minister of Justice, there is absolutely no such thing. We both submitted our petitions to the emperor and were fortunate enough to gain His Majesty's favor, which is why we have this opportunity."

The path to officialdom in the Han Dynasty was actually very narrow, and the social classes were clearly defined.

If you are powerful and wealthy, you can donate money and goods to become a courtier. If you follow His Majesty's path, you can become a courtier of the Emperor. Stay by His Majesty's side, and when you are favored by the Emperor, you can rise to the rank of a high official. The new Imperial Censor Mei Gao is an example of this.

If one follows the path of the prime minister, then one becomes a secretary in the prime minister's office, serving as a county magistrate or county head in various parts of the Han Dynasty. Those with outstanding political achievements will be promoted step by step, progressing towards becoming high-ranking officials.

If you are a commoner, you will be recommended for filial piety and integrity. Filial piety and integrity are actually two separate systems: one is "recommending filial piety" and the other is "inspecting integrity".

It goes without saying that those who are filial piety can move the earth and rise to high positions. As for those who are incorruptible, they are already ordinary officials above the common people, and they can go a step further as incorruptible officials.

Of course, there are people who are both filial sons and incorruptible officials. "Filial piety and incorruptibility" can be listed separately or placed side by side. However, since the Han Dynasty was founded on loyalty and filial piety, "filial piety" naturally takes precedence over "filial piety".

This is the orthodox path to officialdom for both the powerful and the common people.

In addition, there was a shortcut: "petitioning on the bus".

The Weiyang Palace, where the emperor resided, was surrounded by a wall. It had main gates on the east and north sides, with the East Gate and North Gate built outside the gates. The East Gate and East Gate were used to receive the lords' audiences, while the North Gate was used by the subjects to present their daily reports and pay homage.

In theory, anyone in the world who comes to the Northern Palace to submit a memorial can recommend themselves and impress the emperor with a single word, thus rising rapidly in rank.

In reality, at most only three people could gain the emperor's favor in a year. The most representative example is the first year of Yuanshuo, when Zhu Fuyan, Xu Le, and Yan An entered the emperor's court.

It is not a crime to submit a petition to the emperor to gain a position in the central government, but it is a serious crime to gain a position in the central government through bribery.

Beheading, execution in the marketplace, confiscation of property, extermination of the entire clan... many punishments could be used.

Zhang He returned and placed the basin on the washstand.

Zhang Tang walked over, picked up the washcloth from the basin, and said while washing his face, "So, in the first year of Yuan Shou, it was the two of you who were promoted by submitting a memorial to the Northern Palace?"

“It’s us,” Dongguo Xianyang and Kong Jin said.

Zhang Tang put the towel back in the basin, and Zhang He immediately lifted his official robe to help his father put on his clothes. "His Majesty is not here, and there is no one to vouch for us. I wonder if the two Grand Ministers of Agriculture can withstand the severe torture in the Court of Justice?"

Immediately, Dongguo Xianyang and Kong Jin were drenched in cold sweat.

Only then did they realize why, after the palace coup, the favored ministers of both the central and foreign courts had followed His Majesty to Ganquan Palace, far from the center of the court, without looking back. Was this because they anticipated a reckoning?
Those favored ministers who usually call each other brothers and eat and drink together didn't tell them either.

What are they going to do?
"Don't be nervous, I've only heard about it. No one has ever seen those 300,000 gold coins."

Zhang Tang bared his fangs and laughed, "But I think, what His Majesty has, the Supreme Ruler will also have, right?"

"Yes, yes, the Minister of Justice will have them..." Dongguo Xianyang and Kong Jin said in succession.

Zhang Tang smiled and said, "This secret is enough to live off for a lifetime!"
(End of this chapter)