Fangzhou Xier, starting with failing the art exam

He revealed his plan to establish a canal transport management office and his desire to invite him to join, where he would be responsible for adjudicating cases and drafting laws.

Lin Yue listened quietly, a slight ripple finally appearing in his usually calm eyes.

He was suppressed for upholding the law and had already considered resigning. He only hoped that his younger sister would return from her studies at the Celestial Master's Mansion and succeed him.

But the King of Qin before him had given him a chance to truly realize his ambitions and rectify the law.

(I) Leng Qiqi pondered for a moment and asked, "Your Highness, I only have one question: are you looking to rectify a few parasites in the canal transport system, or..."

Lacey looked at him and solemnly replied, "What I want is a crystal-clear canal."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yue abruptly stood up and bowed deeply to Lai Xi: "If Your Highness truly has such a resolve, Lin Yue is willing to be the magic blade in Your Highness's hand, cutting down all lawlessness!"

With Lin Yue successfully recruited, a huge weight was lifted off Lai Xi's shoulders.

The next day, at the first meeting of the Canal Transport Management Office, Lai Xi formally nominated Zhang Cheng, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, to be in charge of surveying and engineering matters, and Lin Yue, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, to be in charge of legal and judicial matters.

This appointment surprised the officials sent by various departments.

Zhang Cheng and Lin Yue were both well-known lone wolves in the court, belonging to no faction.

Laixi's move undoubtedly sends a signal to the outside world: the canal transport rectification department will not engage in factional infighting, but will only focus on practical work.

Some neutral officials who had initially been hesitant or even resistant nodded in approval upon seeing this, and their perception of Lacey changed dramatically.

In this way, under the deterrence of Yang's army and with the addition of neutral officials, Laixi quickly completed the initial integration of the Grand Canal Reorganization Office, firmly grasping this newly established power institution in its own hands.

All is ready except for the opportunity.

And this favorable wind was the canal gang's account book, which was enough to stir up a huge wave.

On the third day after the establishment of the Rectification Department, a case that was neither too big nor too small was placed on Lacey's desk.

A fight broke out among porters at a small dock in the south of the city.

The incident began when the Tongda Chamber of Commerce's ships occupied the best berth at the dock and overturned the cargo of an ordinary boatman. A verbal altercation ensued, which eventually escalated into a physical fight.

In the past, this was a very common and trivial matter, and the government would usually punish both sides equally, or simply favor the Tongda Chamber of Commerce.

This time, however, Yang Wei directly referred the case to the Canal Transport Rectification Office.

Lacey knew his chance had come as he looked at the file.

He immediately ordered Lin Yue to lead a team and personally handle the case.

Lin Yue accepted the order and set off. He immediately set up a temporary court on the dock in front of all the boatmen and porters.

The plaintiff was the boatman who was beaten black and blue; his name was Chen Laosan, and he was one of the real-life prototypes of the previous story of "Chen Laowu".

The defendant was a manager at the Tongda Chamber of Commerce.

The manager, used to being arrogant, didn't take the newly established rectification department seriously at all, and still acted haughtily in court.

Lin Yue didn't waste words with him, but coldly ordered the witnesses to come forward one by one.

The dockworkers were initially afraid of the Tongda Chamber of Commerce's power and dared not utter a word.

But when they saw the guards from the Discipline Division that Lin Yue brought pinning down the few fierce-looking thugs in charge, their courage gradually grew.

Finally, a young laborer was the first to step forward and testify that it was the people from the Tongda Yiqiliuyi|鏾*児2蹴二商会 who started the fight.

With the first, there is the second, the third...

The law does not punish the masses; once pent-up resentment finds an outlet, it surges forth like a flood.

The manager's expression shifted from arrogance to astonishment, then to fear, and finally to ashen.

Lin Yue pronounced the verdict in court: Tongda Chamber of Commerce manager was found guilty of gathering a crowd to cause trouble, injuring people and damaging property, and was sentenced to thirty strokes of the cane and to compensate boatman Chen Laosan for all losses.

Thirty strokes of the cane were delivered solidly in front of everyone.

The foreman's screams echoed over the dock, sounding more melodious to the people than a theatrical performance.

"Master Qingtian!"

Chen Laosan was so moved when he received the compensation money from Lin Yue that he knelt down on the spot, tears streaming down his face.

The people on the dock erupted in cheers.

The case quickly spread throughout the capital city through the words of the local people and storytellers.

With the Canal Transport Office in order to be reorganized, King Yanxi of Qin enjoyed unparalleled prestige for a time.

And this is just the beginning.

What Lacey wanted was far more than just getting rid of an arrogant manager.

He instructed Yang Wei to hand over a portion of the canal gang's account book involving smaller sums of money and lower-ranking officials to Lin Yue as an anonymous tip.

Lin Yue was overjoyed, as if he had found a priceless treasure.

Based on this list, he began a precise crackdown on the deeply entrenched petty officials within the canal transport system.

Today I'll arrest a tax clerk, tomorrow I'll audit a dock inspector.

Although these people hold low-ranking official positions, they are the lowest-level executors in the corruption network, dealing directly with ordinary people and businesses, and causing great public resentment.

Lin Yue's interrogation methods are extremely sophisticated. He often uses swift and decisive methods to subdue his target first, and then uses irrefutable evidence in the ledger to break down their psychological defenses, making him accurate in every interrogation.

For a time, everyone in the canal transport system was on edge, and the atmosphere was tense.

Xun Huiming's side quickly realized that something was wrong.

They discovered that the investigations by the Grand Canal Rectification Office seemed to always be accurate, and they specifically targeted small fry who were people they had previously wanted to protect but were not influential enough to be targeted.

They began to try to interfere, either by sending people to plead for him or by making veiled threats, but all their efforts were in vain when they reached Lin Yue.

Yang Wei and his Yang Family Army kept all external interference out of the Rectification Department.

Just as the investigation was in full swing, a detail caught Lacey's attention.

While reviewing the case files, Yang Wei discovered that among all the arrested tax officials, there was a young man named Zhou Quan who was the most unusual.

He embezzled the smallest amount of money among all the people, and every time he embezzled, he would write the word "shame" in red ink on his private ledger.

His confession, unlike the sophistry of others, appeared unusually painful and filled with struggle.

“Your Highness, this person might be a breakthrough point.” Yang Wei pulled out Zhou Quan’s complete file separately.

Lacey flipped through the files and came across Zhou Quan's complete resume.

Born into a poor family, he entered officialdom through the imperial examination and originally wanted to be an honest official, but he was drawn into the corrupt world of canal transport.

He had elderly parents to support and a wife and children to feed. To make a living and to avoid being ostracized by his colleagues, he was forced to go along with the corrupt practices.

His conscience was not entirely dead.

"Winning hearts and minds is the best strategy," Lacey said slowly.

He looked at Yang Wei and said, "Don't use torture or coercion. Find an opportunity for you to see him in person."

“Tell him that I know his difficulties and also appreciate the sense of shame in his heart.”

"Now there is an opportunity for him to clear his name and live an upright life."

Lacey paused, then said in a deep voice, "Promise him that as long as he tells everything he knows and testifies against the people behind him, I will not only pardon his crimes, but also protect him and his family, and give him a chance to start over."

For Zhou Quan, who was in the depths of despair, this deal was undoubtedly a lifeline.

That night, Yang Wei secretly entered the Dali Temple's prison.

No one knows what he and Zhou Quan talked about.

All that is known is that the next morning, when Lin Yue interrogated Zhou Quan again, the young tax collector, after remaining silent all night, finally broke down completely.

He knelt on the ground, weeping bitterly, and told everything he knew.

From how his superiors coerced and lured him into joining, to the destination of every embezzled sum, to how they colluded with the Tongda Chamber of Commerce to falsify accounts and turn the nation's tax revenue into private wealth.

He provided a detailed list and a complex network of relationships.

And at the top of this net, it pointed to a figure that was both unexpected and yet perfectly logical to Lacey.

Minister of Revenue: Huang Shizhong.

……

Wherever the sun and moon reach, it is scorching earth: Chapter 244: Active United Front Work

The Heavenly Prison, the deepest cell in the prison.

It was dark and damp here, lit only by a dim oil lamp.

The young tax collector, Zhou Quan, huddled in a corner, hugging his knees, his body trembling uncontrollably.

He has been locked up here for three days. During these three days, he has not eaten or drunk anything, and his mental state is on the verge of collapse.

He couldn't understand why he had ended up like this, when he had simply followed the crowd and taken some money according to the rules.

Why are those who receive far more and hold far higher positions than him still unharmed?

He thought of his elderly parents, his gentle and virtuous wife, and his son who had just learned to call him "Dad".

The thought of them made Zhou Quan's heart ache as if it were being cut by a knife.

He regretted it, he was afraid, he was desperate.

Just then, the heavy iron door creaked open.

A tall, imposing figure walked in against the light, blocking the only source of light at the cell door.

The cell door slowly closed behind him, plunging the entire cell into deeper darkness, leaving only the faint glow of a lamp.

Zhou Quan looked up in alarm and saw who it was.

It was Yang Wei, the fearsome general beside His Highness the King of Qin.

These past few days, he's been the one arresting people at the Canal Transport Rectification Office.

It is said that no one who falls into his hands can withstand three rounds of interrogation.

"What...what do you want to do?" Zhou Quan's voice trembled uncontrollably, and he instinctively shrank even further into the corner.

Yang Wei didn't say anything, walked to the opposite side of him, and sat down cross-legged.

He wasn't wearing that terrifying armor, just ordinary black casual clothes, but the murderous aura honed from countless corpses and seas of blood on his body remained undiminished.

He took out an oil paper package from his pocket, opened it, and inside were two steaming white steamed buns and a small dish of pickled vegetables.

"Eat."

Yang Wei pushed the oil paper package in front of Zhou Quan.

Zhou Quan was stunned.

He thought Yang Wei was there to torture him, but he didn't expect him to be there to deliver food.

He looked at the white steamed buns, and his stomach growled involuntarily.

But he dared not move, fearing this might be his last meal.

"His Highness said that you are a scholar and should know the principle that 'food is the first necessity of the people,'" Yang Wei said slowly.

"Man is made of iron, food is made of steel. If you don't eat, how can you have the energy to think?"

"Your Highness?" Zhou Quan was startled. "Your Highness, Prince Qin?"

"Besides His Highness the King of Qin, who would care about the life or death of a mere tax collector like you?" Yang Wei said sarcastically.

"Your colleagues and superiors probably wish you were dead in jail, so that there would be no one to testify against you, right?"

These words pierced Zhou Quan's heart deeply.

Yes, not a single person has come to see him these past few days.

Those "good brothers" who used to call him brother and share money with him seemed to have forgotten him.

Zhou Quan's eyes instantly reddened.

With trembling hands, he picked up a steamed bun and took a big bite.

The sweet aroma of flour mixed with the salty bitterness of tears rushed into his throat, causing him to cough violently.

Yang Wei didn't urge him, watching as the other person wolfed down the two steamed buns.

Yang Wei didn't speak again until Zhou Quan let out a burp and calmed down a bit.

"His Highness has reviewed your file."