White-robed Minister

Chapter 141, page 0139: [A Clear Form of Retaliation]

(Couplets are not regulated verse, and their rules are not as strict. Especially in the Northern Song Dynasty, conforming to the Guangyun rhyme scheme was sufficient. In addition, the tone of the first character of a seven-character couplet can be changed, and the first, third, and fifth characters of the first line can also be changed.)

In the Northern Song Dynasty, the annual holiday lasted seven days, starting before the New Year and ending on the sixth day of the first lunar month. Around the Lantern Festival, there was another five-day holiday.

On the sixth day of the first lunar month, officials from the tax office would come to clock in at the hour of Mao (5-7 AM) and would subconsciously glance at the Spring Festival couplets.

It felt quite novel, and they plan to put up Spring Festival couplets at their home next year as well.

Before the spring plowing season, the last batch of laborers were recruited to finish the repair work on the south city wall.

"Xu, the judge!"

"Xu, the judge!"

As Xu Lai inspected the area, the officials remained respectful to him, but their smiles were more natural than before.

The awards ceremony at the end of last year made everyone feel that Xu Lai was still a "human being," not just an official machine that only knew how to do official business.

Of course, the fact that they were already working non-stop before the Lantern Festival was over has once again caused dissatisfaction among the people.

That's just how people are.

I genuinely admire you, but your actions have really annoyed me!

Admiration and resentment are two emotions that can coexist.

The city wall repair project was nearing completion, with only a few hundred officials, craftsmen, and laborers on site. Xu Lai took a quick look around before heading to the Transport Commissioner's Office.

Transport Commissioner Wang Yirou was not there; who knows where he went? The Transport Judge handed the "printed paper" to Xu Lai.

"Official documents" are the resumes of officials. They must be submitted to local officials for evaluation before February each year, and then reported to the central government. Officials keep the official documents themselves, while the central government only accepts the relevant documents.

Evaluations conducted within a year are called "zero evaluations," and are even specified in terms of the number of days served.

The evaluations accumulate over three years. Regardless of how many times you are transferred during that period, it can only be counted as one term of office, at which point a "review" can be conducted.

Xu Lai's printed paper now contains evaluations from three superiors.

Gong Dingchen's evaluation of him was: "Virtue and Righteousness: This official was courteous in his duties and upright in his conduct; I have never heard him violate Confucian teachings. He was humble and respectful in his interactions with colleagues; and he never spoke harshly or sternly to clerks and commoners."

[Qing Shen: Since assuming office, this official has ensured that all public funds handled are clearly accounted for, with complete and accurate records. He has never accepted gifts or made requests.]

[Fairness: The official's signed documents were all in accordance with the law and impartiality. His draft judgments were considered fair by his superiors and colleagues.]

The text also includes sections on diligence (office attitude), managing affairs (duty), encouraging education (water conservancy and agriculture), and providing relief to the people.

Gong Dingchen's comments were all positive, especially the section on "governing affairs," which was several hundred words long and consisted entirely of concrete achievements. Such an evaluation, when sent to the central government, would easily attract attention.

The evaluation by the Provincial Judicial Commissioner Shen Qi focused on different aspects, mainly: criminal justice, exoneration, adultery and theft, education (whether lawsuits have been reduced), collection of taxes (whether the people have been disturbed), and negligence (major mistakes).

Shen Qi's evaluation, like Gong Dingchen's, was full of praise, with hundreds of words devoted to both the criminal law and tax collection sections.

Only the transport commissioner Wang Yirou, damn it, is nitpicking!

Fortunately, the Transport Commissioner's evaluation of the judges mainly focused on household registration, land ownership, taxes, and commercial duties. Wang Yirou dared not use overly harsh language, because a judge's serious misconduct was equivalent to a prefect or vice-prefect's serious misconduct.

In order not to offend Gong Dingchen and Zhuang Gongyue, Wang Yirou did not even write that Xu Lai embezzled funds to repair the city wall.

Wang Yirou dared not write anything in the specific section, but added a sentence in the general comment column: "However, the matter of repairing the city was led and supervised by this official."

He imposed excessive labor and countless levies. The people could not bear the harassment and secretly called him "Tiger Xu."

This comment is absolutely disgusting!

The repair of the city walls of Yingtian Prefecture and its counties was procedurally flawed. While the matter was being reported to the imperial court through the Transport Commissioner's Office, laborers were being directly conscripted to begin construction. By the time the imperial court's approval arrived, the project was already more than halfway complete.

However, Wang Yirou did not mention the serious problems with the procedure, because mentioning it would offend Gong Dingchen and Zhuang Gongyue.

He was fixated on the fact that Xu Laizheng's levies were disturbing the people, and even wrote "Tiger Xu" on the official seal.

Xu Lai questioned, "How did you come to the conclusion that the forced labor is excessive and the levies are inexhaustible?"

The transport judge was named Xu Su, and he was from the same clan as Xu Lai. He was an old man in his sixties or seventies.

Xu Su seemed unwilling to argue with Xu Lai, explaining, "The comments were written by Wang Caosi, and have nothing to do with me. Xu, the judge, can go and argue with Wang Caosi."

"Why isn't he at the shipping office on a weekday?" Xu Lai asked.

Xu Su replied, "I don't know, he may have gone to the county to investigate."

Wang Yirou deliberately avoided seeing Xu Lai today, so she definitely won't change her comments.

Xu Lai picked up the printing paper and left, keeping Wang Yirou firmly in his mind.

Don't let him find the opportunity again!

Our Xu Sanlang is still quite petty.

Wang Yirou's overall assessment didn't actually have much impact on Xu Lai.

When conducting assessments, the assessment institute will review the assessment content from previous years.

Gong Dingchen and Shen Qi both used excessive praise, but Wang Yirou alone called Xu Lai a "Xu the Tiger" who disturbed the peace. Under normal circumstances, the evaluation grade would change from "upper-middle" to "lower-lower" or "upper-middle".

It is also possible to trigger a review process, call Xu Lai in for a talk and explanation, or even send people to conduct an on-site investigation (this is not common).

Xu Lai walked out of the Transport Commissioner's Office, took a deep breath, and quickly regained his composure.

He returned to the signing hall, found the project-related documents, and said to Zhang Kongmu, "Have a clerk make a copy for me."

"You want to copy all of these?" Zhang Kongmu asked in surprise.

Xu Lai said, "Copy it all. This is my private matter; I'll pay you according to the copying fee!"

"Yes." Zhang Kongmu hurriedly went to do it.

A few days later, Xu Lai went to Gong Dingchen with a large stack of documents: "My lord, could you please sign this document for me?"

Gong Dingchen flipped through several documents, completely bewildered, and asked, "Why do I need to sign?"

Xu Lai said, "Wang Caosi's assessment of me is that he has over-exerted the people, levied countless taxes, and the people secretly call him 'Tiger Xu.' My three-year term is up, and I will be re-examined. The Examination and Assessment Institute will definitely review my case then, and I must prove my innocence!"

Gong Dingchen was both amused and exasperated.

In his long career as an official, he had never seen an official prepare materials more than two years in advance to prove their innocence during the review process.

In most cases, people just accept their bad luck.

Because no one can withstand scrutiny; if things blow up, it will expose even more policy mistakes!

Gong Dingchen hesitated.

If he signs, he will definitely offend Wang Yirou in the future.

If he didn't sign, Xu Lai would be wronged. Xu Lai was his subordinate, and repairing the city wall would also provide him with political achievements. Under these circumstances, he had to help Xu Lai both morally and logically.

After careful consideration, Gong Dingchen picked up his pen and signed each document, affixing his official seal as well.

Wang Yirou is getting old, and although she has a wide network of connections, her influence is waning.

But Xu Lai has a bright future ahead of him.

By helping Xu Lai now, he can create good karma for his son.

Xu Lai bowed and expressed his gratitude, then took the materials to find Zhuang Gongyue.

After listening to Xu Lai's account, Zhuang Gongyue, though unwilling to help sign, felt extremely disgusted with Wang Yirou.

Who includes unofficial nicknames in officials' performance evaluations? That's incredibly disrespectful!

Moreover, Zhuang Gongyue would also have received a share of the political credit for the renovation of the prefectural city. However, Wang Yirou's actions turned this project into a nuisance, thus tarnishing Zhuang Gongyue's political achievements.

What should I do?

Zhuang Gongyue stared at the documents, examining them closely. They bore Gong Dingchen's signature and seal. If he didn't sign them, he would be disrespecting Gong Dingchen and Xu Lai.

After careful consideration, Zhuang Gongyue also signed and stamped the document.

Anyway, Xu Lai's investigation still has more than two years to go, and Wang Yirou might even die of illness by then. Besides, his father-in-law is Fan Zhongyan's son, so why would he be afraid of a mere Wang Yirou?

"Thank you!" Xu Lai bowed and expressed his gratitude.

Duke Zhuang returned the greeting, saying, "It is the proper thing to do."

Xu Lai carried a large stack of documents back to the back of the signing hall and put them in a cabinet. He instructed Yu'er, "Don't touch these things; I'll need them later."

"Okay, I'll lock it up." Yu'er felt like she had been given an important task.

That evening, Gong Dingchen returned home and recounted the incident as an amusing anecdote.

Gong Fugui sincerely exclaimed, "Xu Sanlang is meticulous and far-sighted in his work; he even prepares for performance evaluations in advance."

"With such a meticulous mind, he is bound to achieve great things in the future," Gong Dingchen said with a smile. "When I was his age, I knew nothing. I only had enthusiasm and didn't consider the consequences of my actions."

Gong Fugui didn't know how to respond; a son shouldn't comment on his father.

Gong Dingchen said, "You will continue to serve as an official with me in the local areas and learn more about how to govern. If anyone recommends you, you must decline them all, and especially you must not stay in the capital."

"Yes!" Gong Fugui quickly agreed.

Gong Dingchen gazed in the direction of Tokyo: "Alas, in the next year or two, the fighting in the capital will probably become even more intense."

He was better informed than Xu Lai and knew what major events had occurred in Tokyo during this period.

Perhaps the censors' impeachments were too harsh, prompting the emperor and his ministers to scramble to respond. At the end of last year, the emperor began to reward Han Qi for his role in establishing the heir apparent, promoting him (and adding honorary titles) for his meritorious service.

The emperor's general meaning was: Han Qi has made such great contributions, so don't keep harping on this.

Then, the fun began.

Fan Zhen was in charge of drafting the edict on promotions, and in the edict, he actually compared Han Qi to the Duke of Zhou and Huo Guang, implying that Han Qi's resignation would cause turmoil in the country.

Emperor Zhao Shu was furious!

The censors also rose up in protest, demanding the dismissal of Han Qi and Fan Zhen.

Even Ouyang Xiu was furious, accusing Fan Zhen of comparing the emperor to a child.

Gong Dingchen even suspected that Fan Zhen was a scoundrel who deliberately tried to ruin Han Qi. This guy had a good relationship with Han Qi and Ouyang Xiu, but he also had a good relationship with Sima Guang.

Having caused such a huge mess, Fan Zhen was dismissed from his position as a Hanlin Academician and demoted to the post of Prefect of Chenzhou. The Emperor told him to get out of there immediately and not even spend the Lantern Festival in the capital.

Han Qi then requested to resign again, but the emperor did not agree.

The debate over Puyi has resurfaced.

This time, it was the censors who initiated the movement, pressuring the emperor to quickly confirm the title of Prince Pu, and absolutely forbidding him from being honored as the late emperor.

The prime ministers have already fallen into a disadvantageous position.

Even the emperor was finding it hard to bear. The censors repeatedly brought up last year's floods, and Zhao Shu was already considering whether to issue an edict of self-reproach.

At this moment, Zhao Shu really wanted to kill Fan Zhen!