Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

After Cao Zu died of illness, Cao Xun was granted the title of Chengxin Lang.

Moreover, he did not have the status of a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination), but went directly to participate in the palace examination and became a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) – the imperial examination in the Song Dynasty was so absurd, unlike the Ming and Qing Dynasties, where it was not as formal, and the emperor could often interfere in it at will.

Emperor Huizong was so frightened that he became the retired emperor and retreated to Longde Palace.

Cao Xun went to "go to Longde Palace" and then fled the capital with Emperor Huizong of Song.

Historically, this fellow was captured by the Jurchens, but escaped back with Emperor Huizong's "imperial edict in a belt," and tearfully begged Zhao Gou to send troops to rescue his father and brother.

Later, he served as the deputy envoy to negotiate peace, brought Zhao Gou's biological mother back to Hangzhou, and rose through the ranks to become the Grand Commandant of the Southern Song Dynasty.

Cao Xun had not committed any major crimes, and he was also proficient in poetry, painting, and traditional performing arts.

Zhao Yuan then had him stay in the Hanlin Academy to assist in organizing the various works left by Emperor Huizong of Song and the Dasheng Ci poems passed down from the Dashengfu period.

He also occasionally served as a special advisor, and was invited by the editorial team of the History of Song to verify many court affairs during the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song.

Where is Cao Xun?

Suddenly someone shouted outside.

"Bang!"

Cao Xun suddenly stood up, and in his panic, he knocked over the stool.

Soon, a civil official burst through the door, followed by several bailiffs: "Who is Cao Xun?"

Cao Xun knelt down with a thud: "Spare me, spare me!"

The civil official said, "Your crime is not serious. As long as you confess honestly, you will at most be fined and exiled. It will not implicate your family."

"Stand up and come with me."

Chapter 3309 The Grace of Survival

"Thank you for saving my life! Thank you for saving my life!"

Cao Xun wiped his sweat with his sleeve.

This guy has no real power, so he wouldn't have the opportunity to commit a serious crime.

However, he knew many secrets of the former Song Dynasty palace, had a family tradition of writing erotic poetry, and knew how to flatter and create a lively atmosphere.

After get off work every day, he would hang out with a bunch of rich and powerful kids; to put it bluntly, he was just a hanger-on.

Even a hanger-on can rise to the top – a broker!

Merchants from other places who came to the capital would seek his help if they encountered any trouble, and he would then use his connections with the sons of powerful and influential people to smooth things over.

The sons of powerful and wealthy families in Tokyo who engaged in such activities were led by Li Bangyan and Xu Fuyan's sons, while Cao Xun was considered their lackey.

As Abu watched Cao Xun being taken away, he asked with a puzzled look, "What happened to Cao?"

The translator, a minor official in the maritime trade office who understood Persian, sighed, "Alas, he has committed a crime and may be exiled."

Abu said, "Cao is a learned scholar, an excellent poet, and also plays beautiful music."

"What crime could someone like him possibly commit?"

"You don't understand." The translator was too lazy to explain.

It wasn't until six months later, after Abu had learned more Chinese, that he was able to glean even a few fragments of information, which he then pieced together and recorded in his mind:

"Although the officials of the Ming Dynasty were all scholars, there were also those who lacked moral character and secretly embezzled the country's money."

"The Great Khan of Peach Blossom Stone, His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty, is determined to combat corruption in the empire and will not tolerate any acts of bribery."

"This is a perfect country, and it must not have the slightest blemish..."

"Even the two sons of Atabok (the tutor, the prince's protector, specifically referring to Li Bangyan) were beheaded for their crimes..."

"Without a doubt, the people here are very happy, and all greedy officials and their relatives will be severely punished by the great emperor!"

In Abu's writing, the Ming Dynasty was flawless.

It also explains why all the officials of the Ming Dynasty were of high moral character, because those who were not were severely punished.

...

Huainan.

Linghu Xu, the Left Provincial Administration Commissioner, is an old friend of His Majesty Zhu.

The Right Provincial Administration Commissioner was named Guo Sanyi. He had once curried favor with Wang Fu, but was demoted to Prefect of Yingzhou because of the power struggle between Wang Fu and Cai Jing.

Li Hanzhang raised an army in Suizhou in response, launching a surprise attack on Yingzhou, which was sparsely defended. Guo Sanyi was so frightened that he immediately surrendered the city.

From then on, he joined Zhao Yuan's faction and became part of Li Hanzhang's inner circle.

From the founding of the Ming Dynasty to the present, Li Hanzhang has always served as the Minister of Personnel, and his old subordinate Guo Sanyi has naturally been promoted all the way.

When this guy was an official in the Song Dynasty, he was a sycophant and did nothing but write poems and flatter others.

However, after surrendering to Zhao Yuan, he worked diligently and his achievements were quite remarkable.

"Shen Qiu did an excellent job. The land tax reform in Huainan Province has finally been completely completed."

Linghu Xu first praised Guo Sanyi, and then said to the officials of the Three Departments,

"Next is the reform of the official system. This is a new policy of the imperial court, and we must not slack off. No matter how difficult it is, we must push it forward!"

"We will definitely take this matter very seriously!"

The officials all expressed their commitment, showing great enthusiasm, because doing a good job would mean political achievements.

Guo Sanyi also expressed his opinion, but he was not very enthusiastic and seemed worried.

Linghu Xu continued, "There are several points to note regarding the reform of the official service system. First, all levels of government must strictly determine the number of officials to be employed..."

Before the speaker finished speaking, a commotion suddenly broke out outside, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps.

Officials from the three departments of Huainan Province subconsciously looked outside.

Several people were so frightened that they trembled all over, with Guo Sanyi trembling the most.

Linghu Xu got up and walked to the door, only to see two officials, one old and one young, leading soldiers toward him.

The young official bowed first: "Wu Hui, Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, has been ordered to arrest Guo Sanyi, Right Provincial Governor of Huainan, and bring him to justice."

"I apologize for disturbing you, Lord Linghu!"

Linghu Xu was startled and asked, "What has Guo Sanyi done wrong?"

Wu Hui said, "When he was the Right Provincial Governor of Henan, he was corrupt, abused his power, and committed favoritism."

"They even colluded with the imperial censors to leak the exam questions in advance."

"They also colluded with two censors, the Henan Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, the Luoyang Prefect, and others to embezzle and divide the property of the relocated clans."

“Even Li Hanzhang, the Minister of Personnel, was investigated for promoting Guo Sanyi all the way.”

"Isn't he incredibly audacious?"

Linghu Xu found it hard to believe.

Wu Hui introduced the older official next to him, saying, "This is Mei Zhili, the newly appointed Right Provincial Governor of Huainan."

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Mei said with a bow.

Linghu Xu quickly returned the greeting and then went to check the official documents the two had brought.

The other officials who were in the meeting also came over at this time, and all turned to look at Guo Sanyi.

Guo Sanyi himself was paralyzed on the spot and unable to move, and was dragged out by two soldiers.

All the officials were dumbfounded. This was the Right Provincial Governor, and he was dragged away from the meeting. Such a thing would never happen in the former Song Dynasty.

Even if it was a crime, he was a civil official; such behavior is extremely undignified!

Chapter 3310 A Minister Who Followed the Dragon

Guo Sanyi, who had remained silent until the soldiers dragged him outside, finally screamed hysterically:

“I’m not convinced! I’ve always been rated as excellent in performance evaluations. I’m a meritorious official who followed Minister Li to the Ming Dynasty.”

“I…I…I don’t deserve to die. The Ming Code is too harsh on officials.”

"That's harsh punishment and severe laws, not the way a benevolent ruler would act, not the way a benevolent ruler would act!"

"If officials are beheaded and their homes confiscated for the slightest mistake, and their families are also implicated, wouldn't that chill the hearts of scholars across the land? In the future, which scholar would be willing to share the burdens of the nation?"

"I need to see His Majesty. The Great Ming Code needs further revision..."

"Gag him!"

Wu Hui grew impatient.

In front of numerous officials, Guo Sanyi was gagged, making him look even more pathetic.

Moreover, he was wearing an official robe, and his official hat fell off during the struggle.

Such a scene caused a severe psychological shock to the officials present.

So this is how tragic the consequences of corruption and bribery are!

Seeing that Guo Sanyi had quieted down, Wu Hui glanced at the crowd and said, "There may be some corrupt and lawless people among you."

"If you surrender now, you may be given a lighter sentence. Don't wait until the court finds out about you."

Upon hearing this, one official was indeed startled and looked flustered.

Wu Hui, as if he had eyes of fire, raised his hand and pointed at the crowd: "Hey you over there with the goatee... don't look around, I'm talking to you."

"Report your name and official title immediately, and I will send someone to investigate later."

The man whose name was called cried out in terror, "Spare me! I want to turn myself in! I want leniency!"

Wu Hui sneered: "Arrest them all at once."

The man grew increasingly terrified: "I really want to turn myself in! I really want to turn myself in!"

Wu Hui said disdainfully, "Stop shouting, consider it a confession."

"Thank you so much."

The man, having been tricked and exposed, was actually moved to tears of gratitude.

The censors and soldiers came quickly and left just as fast, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

The officials of the three departments of Huainan Province stood in the meeting room without daring to utter a sound, fearing that the censor would suddenly return with a surprise attack.

Even officials who hadn't made any major mistakes were now feeling uneasy.

That's fucking terrifying!

The newly appointed Right Provincial Governor of Huainan, Mei Zhili, bowed to his new colleagues and said, "Gentlemen, I have come at an inopportune time. Shall we continue the meeting today?"

Linghu Xu said, "The meeting hasn't been fully resumed yet!"

Who's in the mood for a meeting?

People kept looking out, worried that the censor would lead his troops back, and they didn't listen to what Linghu Xu was going to say next.

Linghu Xu had no choice but to order: "We will hold the meeting another day."

"Those who should turn themselves in should do so immediately, and those who haven't done anything wrong should go home and rest. Don't gossip about anything."

"As long as you all serve as honest and upright officials, the Ming Dynasty Code will not find you."

The officials left the meeting room one after another, while the clerks and runners of the Provincial Administration Office had already started watching the drama unfold and discussing it.

While Wu Hui was still leading people to arrest Guo Sanyi's family members, the news of the Right Provincial Governor's downfall had already spread throughout the city.

The next day, the prison cart slowly drove through the main street, heading towards the city gate.

The streets were lined with people who had heard that Guo Sanyi was a corrupt official and had all come to see him off.

"Corrupt officials shall not meet a good end!"

Someone shouted, and the people began throwing filth at the prison cart.

Upon seeing this, Wu Hui exclaimed in surprise, "Who threw that brick?"

"No throwing bricks! If someone gets hit and dies, we can't conduct the trial!"