The low-key prince summons trainees from the Imperial Household Department at the start of the game.

The spring rain in Jiangxi came suddenly and fiercely, with large raindrops pounding on the copper bells on the eaves of the post station, ringing all night long.

Xu Jie sat in the cramped upper room of the post station, with a Ministry of Personnel transfer order that had just been delivered by express horse from Nanchang Prefecture spread out in front of him.

I read it three times, word by word, by the light of a tiny oil lamp.

The wording of the transfer order was concise and clear.

"Xu Jie, the Supervising Censor of Jiangxi Circuit, has served for several years and has maintained an upright character. He is hereby promoted to Vice Surveillance Commissioner of Jiangxi, a fourth-rank official, and will remain in Jiangxi Circuit, specializing in criminal investigations and impeachments."

After reading it, he gently placed the transfer order on the table, his finger lingering on the four characters "Deputy Provincial Inspector" for a long time.

A fourth-rank official, specializing in criminal cases and impeachments.

The Deputy Provincial Surveillance Commissioner was the second-in-command of the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's Office in each province, and was in charge of impeachment and criminal cases within the province.

Impeachment memorials could be submitted directly to the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review without going through the governor.

In other words, from this day forward, all officials in Jiangxi Province will be under his supervision.

He got up, walked to the window, and pushed open the wooden window. A damp night wind carrying the scent of rain rushed in, making the oil lamp on the table sway.

Outside the window, the land of Jiangxi was shrouded in darkness by the rain, with distant mountains faintly visible in the lightning flashes, like giant beasts lurking in the darkness.

He gazed at the darkness, a faint smile slowly appearing on his lips.

He had endured so many years in Jiangxi, from being demoted to being reinstated, and from being reinstated to lying low again. He had waited far too long for this day.

Now the knife is finally in my own hand.

The news spread faster than he had anticipated within Jiangxi's official circles.

The day after the transfer order arrived, a long queue formed outside the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's office.

Officials of all ranks in Nanchang Prefecture, judges and magistrates of various prefectures and counties, and even several provincial administration commissioners who had always disregarded him, all sent people to deliver invitations.

Xu Jie refused to see anyone, only having his old servant leave a note on the door.

"The newly appointed Vice Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Xu Jie shall begin his normal work today, without hosting banquets, accepting gifts, or receiving private guests."

The words on the note were written by him, each stroke neat and tidy, just like his usual gentle and honest demeanor.

But once the note was posted at the door, all the officials in Nanchang Prefecture sensed something unusual about it.

If you don't see private guests, then it's all official business.

Refusing gifts means you don't respect anyone.

Not hosting a banquet is tantamount to not taking sides.

This isn't an honest person at all; he's clearly a cunning dagger.

The first person to test his limits arrived sooner than he expected.

On his first day in office, Ma Wencai, the prefect of Nanchang, sent his advisor to "consult" him on a long-standing land dispute case.

On the surface, the case involves two wealthy families fighting over a piece of paddy field.

In reality, it was Ma Wencai's brother-in-law who, relying on the prefect's power, forcibly seized hundreds of acres of fertile land from the neighboring village.

This case was suppressed for several years when the former deputy provincial judge was in office.

Now that it's his turn, Ma Wencai is clearly trying to gauge his opinion—whether to continue suppressing it or to bring it up.

Xu Jie finished reading the case file presented by the clerk.

I picked up the teacup and took a sip. The tea was a top-quality Longjing tea that the advisor had specially brought.

He didn't say much, but gently pushed the case file back, his tone as gentle as if he were having a casual conversation: "I've reviewed this case, and it is indeed an old case that has been pending for many years. What is Prefect Ma's opinion?"

The clerk smiled broadly, lowered his voice, and leaned closer: "Lord Ma means that this case is too complicated to be reopened."

"A new broom sweeps clean, why should Lord Xu bother with such old matters?"

"If Your Excellency is willing to show leniency, Lord Ma will personally visit you another day to express his gratitude."

Xu Jie smiled.

He picked up his teacup and took another sip, his gaze passing over the clerk's fawning smile.

It landed on the mottled gray wall of the back hall of the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's Office outside the window.

After a long silence, he turned back to look at the clerk, his voice still gentle and unhurried: "Go back and tell Prefect Ma that I will personally oversee this case."

"If he has any supplementary materials he wishes to submit, he shall deliver them to the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner within three days. If not, this official shall judge the case based on the existing evidence."

After he finished speaking, he stood up, picked up an unfinished case file from the corner of the desk, and began to review it.

The clerk's smile froze, and he opened his mouth as if to say something.

But they found that Xu Jie had turned his attention to the case files, as if he wasn't even in the room.

He had no choice but to awkwardly retreat.

As Xu Jie waited for him to leave the main hall, the smile on his lips faded slightly. He picked up his pen and wrote a line at the end of the case file.

"This case is suspected of involving collusion between local officials to forcibly seize farmland. The Provincial Surveillance Commission will retry the case at a later date. We request that the Provincial Administration Commission send personnel to participate in the trial."

He placed the pen on the pen mountain, leaned back in his chair, and suddenly recalled those years in his previous life during the Jiajing reign.

Yan Song controlled the government for more than a decade, and Xu Jie smiled and fawned over him for just as long. Everyone thought that Xu Jie was a spineless pushover.

It wasn't until the forty-first year of the Jiajing reign that he submitted a memorial to the throne, sending Yan Shifan to the execution ground and personally uprooting the Yan faction.

Patience is not weakness; it's about waiting until a knife is sharpened to its finest point before stabbing it in.

Meanwhile, a thousand miles away in the back hall of the Jiangdu County government office in Yangzhou, Lu Zhi was bent over his desk reviewing the last batch of lawsuits.

The transfer order just arrived this morning.

"Lu Zhi, the magistrate of Jiangdu County in Yangzhou, served for three years, maintaining upright conduct and loving the people like his own children."

"He shall be promoted to Assistant Prefect of Yangzhou, of the fourth rank, and remain in Yangzhou, in charge of taxation and criminal matters."

He jumped three ranks from the sixth rank to the fourth rank.

He finished reading the transfer order and put it on the corner of his desk. There were still more than a dozen lawsuits waiting to be approved on his hands. He did not slack off in the slightest because of his promotion.

The position of Assistant Magistrate of Yangzhou is not easy to hold.

Yangzhou was a hub of the Grand Canal, attracting numerous merchants, and its taxes accounted for nearly 20% of the total grain transport volume during the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The Tongzhi was in charge of taxation and criminal matters, managing both finances and personnel, making him the most powerful position below the Prefect of Yangzhou.

The former Assistant Magistrate of Yangzhou was dismissed and investigated for involvement in a corruption case related to the Grand Canal transport, leaving the position vacant for several months.

Now that the crisis has fallen on his shoulders, countless eyes are watching.

The most troublesome one was Sun Nian, the prefectural judge of Yangzhou.

This man had lived in Yangzhou for over ten years and was a confidant of Cao Wenzhong, the prefect of Yangzhou.

Relying on the prefect's power, he controlled Yangzhou's tax revenue for many years, keeping the accounts airtight.

In reality, he lined his own pockets, embezzling at least tens of thousands of taels of tax revenue.

The former Assistant Magistrate of Yangzhou was impeached during the investigation of him and was demoted three thousand miles away, exiled to Qiongzhou.

After taking office, Lu Zhi did not rush to deal with Sun Nian, and did not even arrange the routine personnel meeting. He simply sent someone to invite Sun Nian to his duty room.

When Sun Nian entered, he was all smiles, gave a standard official salute, and said, "Congratulations on your promotion, Lord Lu."

Lu Zhi invited him to sit down, and then had a servant brew a pot of newly arrived pre-rain Longjing tea, which he personally poured for him.

Then he picked up an account book from the desk and handed it to him, saying that it was a tax account book left by the former magistrate, and that there were some parts that he was not clear about, so he would like to ask Magistrate Sun for guidance.

Sun Nian took the account book and flipped through a few pages, his smile slowly fading.

Lu Zhi picked up another document and handed it to Sun Nian, saying that this was the salt and iron tax account of Yangzhou Prefecture this year.

Please have Judge Sun verify this for him and give him a reply within five days.

"Well... Lord Lu, the salt and iron tax accounts have always been directly managed by the prefectural government. I am merely a sub-prefect, and I am afraid it is inappropriate for me to overstep my authority," Sun Nian said, declining the offer.

Lu Zhi was waiting for these words.

He picked up his teacup and took a sip. His tone remained gentle, but his eyes sharpened: "Since Magistrate Sun knew it was inconvenient to overstep his authority, why did Magistrate Sun go to Prefect Cao to impeach the former magistrate when the former Assistant Magistrate investigated his accounts? Magistrate Sun is reluctant to overstep his authority, but he is very convenient at filing complaints."

Sun Nian's face changed completely, a fine layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead, and his lips moved several times, but he couldn't say anything.

Lu Zhi did not press his advantage, but gently placed the teacup on the table, his voice returning to its usual gentle tone.

He said that these accounts were left behind by the former magistrate, and he was just taking over the investigation. He told the magistrate to go back and check them carefully, and he would give him an answer in five days.

Change what needs to be changed, and supplement what needs to be supplemented.

He can forgive and forget as long as the previous mistakes can be made up.

After speaking, he lowered his head and continued reviewing the legal documents, as if Sun Nian no longer existed in the room.

Sun Nian held the account books, his hands trembling so much he could barely hold them.

After saying his goodbyes in a trembling voice, he turned to leave the duty room, but tripped on the threshold and almost fell.

Lu Zhi waited until he was far away, then put down his pen and leaned back in his chair.

Looking out the window at the old locust tree in the Yangzhou government office, which was wet from the spring rain.

Suddenly, I remembered the essay I wrote in my previous life during the reign of Emperor Dezong of Tang, "Six Articles on Equalizing Taxes and Caring for the People," the very first sentence of which was this.

"The people are the foundation of the state, and wealth is the heart of the people."

He remained silent for a while, then picked up his pen again and continued to review the unfinished stack of lawsuits.

Meanwhile, in Nanchang, Duan Xi couldn't sit still any longer.

Duan Xi, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Jiangxi, is fifty-six years old this year and has been in Jiangxi for more than ten years.

He rose through the ranks from Deputy Provincial Surveillance Commissioner to Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, becoming a deeply entrenched local power in Jiangxi's officialdom.

Xu Jie had already thoroughly understood the complex web of interests between him and Ma Wencai when he was an imperial censor.

Half of the profits from the hundred acres of fertile land seized by Ma Wencai's brother-in-law flowed into Duan Xi's pocket.

At the routine meeting of the Provincial Surveillance Commission, Duan Xi sat in the main seat, holding a teacup in his hand. His gaze lingered on Xu Jie's face for a long time before he spoke meaningfully: "Lord Xu, you have been decisive and efficient since taking office. You overturned the land dispute case on a whim, and you are also urging an investigation into Sun Nian's case. I admire you."

"However, some things, if too rigid, are more likely to break."

"You've been in Jiangxi for so many years, you should know that this place is different from the capital. The capital is all about rules and regulations, while this place is all about personal relationships."

"You've offended everyone. Who will do things for you in the future?"

Xu Jie bowed slightly, his face still bearing that gentle, spring-like smile, his tone humble as if he were asking an elder for advice.

But what he said made Duan Xi's smile freeze on his face: "Lord Duan is right, I am also afraid of offending everyone."

"So when I was sorting out the case files of Sun Nian a few days ago, I found that some of the accounts seemed to be related to the Provincial Surveillance Commission."

"I originally intended to report this directly to the Ministry of Justice, but then I thought, Lord Duan has been in Jiangxi for so many years, he must know more about these matters than I do."

"Why don't you, sir, take a look for me first? If it's really a misunderstanding, then there's no need to make a fuss all the way to the capital."

Duan Xi didn't say anything more, but simply put down his teacup and said, "Okay, okay."

Xu Jie stood up, straightened his clothes, still with that mild and unassuming demeanor, cupped his hands in greeting to Duan Xi, and turned to walk out of the main hall.

As he walked along the covered walkway of the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's Office, he suddenly recalled his past life when he had endured decades of hardship to bring down Yan Song, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

Local officialdom doesn't have as many rules as the capital, but there's one rule that will never change.

Whoever holds the knife has the right to speak.