Han Ji

Chapter 147 Eliminating Officials

In the winter of the fourth year of Zhongping, in November, the first strong wind swept through Hanzhong.

The wind rushed in from the mountain pass of Micang Road, carrying the damp chill from deep in the Bashan Mountains. It swirled with snowflakes and whipped against the city walls of Nanzheng, making a pattering sound. The paper windows of the prefectural government office bulged and deflated in the wind, as if struggling to breathe.

Liu Bei sat behind his desk, holding a scroll of names open in his hand.

The bamboo slips were yellowed, their edges roughened, and the ink stains varied in shade, new ones covering old ones, like layers of scabs. Jian Yong stood beside the desk, leaning slightly forward, pointing to several names with his finger, his voice low.

"Li Gui, fifty-three, was a county clerk who had been in charge of criminal matters for eight years. He was Su Gu's cousin."

Jian Yong paused, then pulled a thin booklet from his sleeve and spread it out next to the roster.

"These are case files that he handled in the past three years. There are thirty-seven errors and omissions, including eleven cases where he accepted bribes to change the verdict. The largest case involved accepting fifty taels of gold from the powerful Du family in Xixiang to change the case of killing a servant to one of the servant's suicide."

Liu Bei didn't look up, but tapped the two characters "Li Gui" with his finger.

"Where is the victim?"

"The victim was Old Wang, who sold pancakes in the east of the city. His son worked as a farmhand for the Du family and was beaten to death and thrown into a well." Jian Yong said calmly, "Old Wang filed a complaint for half a year, but Li Gui ignored it. Last winter, Old Wang froze to death at the entrance of the yamen."

The room was quiet for a while.

The fire in the charcoal brazier popped, sending up a few sparks that landed on the brick floor and went out.

"Next," Liu Bei said.

"Zhao Kui, forty-six, a granary official in the prefecture, has been in charge of the granary for three years. He is Chen Lun's brother-in-law." Jian Yong turned a page. "The accounts show a deficit of four hundred shi of grain and eight hundred thousand coins. Two hundred shi of grain were supposedly lost due to mold during last year's autumn harvest, but in reality, they were resold to smugglers in the rice granary area. The money... most of it went into Chen Lun's pocket."

"evidence?"

"The old clerk in the warehouse can testify that the person who implicated the smugglers got hold of the lead." Jian Yong pushed over another roll of ledger. "These are the inventory records for verification, and they don't match."

Liu Bei leaned back, the chair back creaking slightly.

"continue."

"Sun Youcai, sixty years old, an old clerk in the Household Department, in charge of land registers. He concealed land and did not report it, collecting bribes from powerful families, accumulating more than two hundred taels of silver over eight years." Jian Yong's speech quickened, "And there's Wu Yong, Zheng Qi, Zhou..."

He rattled off twelve names in one go.

After he finished speaking, only the sound of the wind remained in the room.

Liu Bei closed the register, his voice unusually clear in the silence.

"How many?"

"There are twelve mediocre officials and nine corrupt officials," Jian Yong said. "The other eight are of humble origins, but they are diligent in their work, keep clear accounts, and have a good reputation. They are promising talents."

"name."

"Qian San, 51, an old clerk in the Revenue Department, skilled in arithmetic. Sun Shouzheng, 49, a clerk in the Criminal Department, can recite the laws backwards. Li Laoshi, 44, the warehouse manager, not a single grain of rice is missing..." Jian Yong finished reporting and added, "These eight people have all been suppressed by Li Gui and Zhao Kui, and have not been promoted for many years."

Liu Bei got up and walked to the window.

The snow outside the window was falling heavily, turning the world into a vast expanse of white. The rooftops of Nanzheng City were covered with a thick layer of snow, with only a few wisps of gray-black smoke rising straight up before being blown away by the wind.

"Brother," Jian Yong asked from behind him, "Shall we move?"

Liu Bei did not turn around.

"Move," he said.

He turned back, walked back to the desk, picked up the pen, and wrote on the hollow bamboo slips.

"Twelve incompetent officials will be given severance pay and sent back to their hometowns. Nine corrupt officials..." He paused, "those with conclusive evidence will be imprisoned. Those whose fate is uncertain will be given a warning and their reactions observed."

The pen tip scratched across the paper.

"Those eight men," Liu Bei wrote, then put down his pen, "are promoted. Qian Sannian is promoted to clerk in the Household Department, Sun Shouzheng is appointed to assist in criminal matters, and Li Laoshi is appointed to manage the Ever-Normal Granary... They are familiar with Hanzhong, and they are afraid of death, so they are easy to use."

Jian Yong noted it down, then hesitated for a moment.

"Over in Sugu..."

"Don't worry," Liu Bei interrupted, his tone flat. "He won't interfere."

The rectification began on November 16th.

The first person to be invited into the back hall of the prefectural government was Li Gui.

When he entered, he still maintained the airs of an old official, dressed in a deep robe and official hat, walking with a steady gait. But upon entering, he saw no tea, only Jian Yong sitting alone behind a desk, on which lay a scroll of case files.

Li Gui's heart skipped a beat.

"Registrar Jian," he forced a smile, "what business do you have with me?"

Jian Yong didn't say anything, but pushed the case file over.

Li Gui looked down. After reading only three lines, his face turned pale. It was a land seizure case he had handled three years ago. An old widow in the western countryside had lost her son in battle, and her five mu of meager land was forcibly seized by a powerful local strongman from a neighboring village. The old widow sued the powerful local strongman, and Li Gui accepted twenty taels of gold from him and ruled that "the land deed was lost, both parties were at fault, and the land was confiscated."

At the end of the case file, there is a note in small print: "The victim, Liu, froze to death outside the prefectural government gate in the twelfth month of the third year of the Zhongping era."

Li Gui's hands began to tremble.

"Jian, Jian, the registrar," his voice trembled, "this, this is..."

"This is the case you adjudicated," Jian Yong said, looking at him. "On the day Liu froze to death, you were drinking. Du Xi and Wang Chun were at the banquet, and it cost eight thousand coins."

Li Gui's legs went weak, and he knelt down with a thud.

"Registrar! I...I was confused for a moment..." He crawled forward two steps, his forehead hitting the ground. "I'll return the twenty taels of gold! I'll return double! I beg you, Registrar, to show leniency..."

Jian Yong did not move.

"Two paths," he said. "One, resign from your post, return the embezzled funds, and get out of Nanzheng. Two, I'll send you to jail. According to the law on theft, anyone who embezzles more than twenty taels of gold shall be beheaded."

Li Gui collapsed to the ground, as if his bones had been removed.

After a long pause, he said in a hoarse voice, "I...I resign."

That afternoon, Li Gui carried his personal belongings out of the prefectural government office. Snow was falling heavily, covering his head and shoulders. He hunched over, slowly making his way down the steps, the hem of his official robes trailing in the snow, leaving a crooked trail.

The second one is Zhao Kui.

He was tough; he slammed his fist on the table as soon as he walked in.

"Jian Yong! What do you mean?" He glared at him. "I, Zhao Kui, have managed the warehouse for three years. Even if I haven't achieved anything great, I've certainly put in the hard work! You're investigating me? What gives you the right to investigate me?"

Jian Yong didn't reply, but pulled out a roll of account books from under the table and threw it over.

Zhao Kui grabbed the book, flipped through a couple of pages, and his expression changed.

"This...this is fake!" he roared. "I'm in charge of the warehouse accounts!"

"Your word doesn't count." A voice came from behind the screen.

Guan Yu turned around.

He wasn't wearing armor, only a blue cloth robe, but his hand was on the hilt of his sword, and his phoenix eyes were half-closed as he looked at Zhao Kui.

Zhao Kui's momentum faltered.

"Commander Guan..." He swallowed, "This is a matter for the prefecture, you..."

"The affairs of the prefecture are my elder brother's affairs." Guan Yu walked up to him, his voice not loud. "Your brother-in-law is Chen Lun?"

Zhao Kui puffed out his chest: "So what if I am?"

"Not really," Guan Yu said. "Why don't you go ask him now if he'll protect you?"

Zhao Kui opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Guan Yu stared at him for three breaths. Then he turned around and nodded to Jian Yong.

"Take away."

Two guards entered and seized Zhao Kui. Zhao Kui panicked and struggled, shouting, "How dare you! I... I want to see Prefect Su! I want..."

The sound has faded into the distance.

Jian Yong wrote in his notebook: "Zhao Kui, imprisoned, pending verification."