Lin Shuhan opened the folding fan in his hand again and said, "This Wang Jingqing has been an official for thirty years. He has embezzled a huge amount of silver, amounting to four hundred thousand taels. However, His Highness only dismissed him from all his official positions and demoted him to a commoner. He did not even take away his title of Jinshi..."
Qiu Yizi thought about it and said, "It's no big deal. Wang Jingqing seems to be an old man in his sixties or seventies. It's okay to teach him a lesson. Why bother with a half-dead man like him?"
"Humph!" Lin Shuhan sneered, "Lord Qiu is kindhearted. There is also a man named Liu Jiantong in the Jiangnan Canal Transport Office, who is almost seventy years old. Over the years, he has intercepted more than 100,000 taels of silver from the siege funds for repairing the canal. Lord Qiu, what do you think the prince will judge?"
Qiu Yizhi was about to answer when he heard Lin Shuhan answering his own question: "Your Highness has taken away all his honors and official positions, and also forced him to be exiled 3,000 miles away. Because he is too old and weak to travel far, he has let his two sons take his place! What is 3,000 miles away? Jiayu Pass! If ten people go there, can half of them come back? And two of them go at once. I'm afraid it would be good luck if only one of Mr. Liu's two sons can come back."
After hearing this, Qiu Yizhi also felt that the sentence was a bit too severe, so he put down the book in his hand, thought for a while and said: "Given Liu Jiantong's case, there is nothing wrong with this sentence. It's just that asking his two sons to go to the army at the same time seems a bit harsh. I will talk to His Highness some other day, and it would be good to keep one of them."
Lin Shuhan sneered again and said, "Lord Qiu has a lot of face and can have a say in the eyes of the great prince. You might as well be a good person and help to speak up for the case below."
Qiu Yizi was such a smart person that he could tell there was some sarcasm in Lin Shuhan's words, but he didn't know what the deep meaning was. He stared at Lin Shuhan's deep triangular eyes for a while and said, "What kind of case is it? But Mr. Lin has a friend involved in it. He wants to ask for a favor from my eldest brother?"
Lin Shuhan also looked directly into Qiu Yizhi's eyes and said, "I don't have such a friend. Even if I did, I would have cut off all ties with him if I knew he was a scum who sucked the blood of the people. How could I be willing to plead for him?"
He paused, and brought the topic back to the case, saying, "Your Excellency must remember the case of Suzhou Prefecture's private appropriation of the surplus grain from Taicang and Changping Warehouse. This was a conspiracy, and there were forty or fifty officials in Suzhou Prefecture involved in it. Your Excellency knows that since Emperor Taizu of this dynasty, all cases involving Taicang and Changping Warehouse have never been given a light sentence. Take the Suzhou case for example, there were thirteen people who were sentenced to death, beheading, or hanging, and countless others were exiled or imprisoned..."
Qiu Yizi interrupted, "Your Highness handled this case so severely, Mr. Lin has nothing to say, right?"
Lin Shuhan sneered again and said, "It just so happened that the one who embezzled the most money and grain here even tried to fake a granary fire to resist the imperial court's inspection. However, the one called Hu Farong did not do that. Not only did he save his life, he also kept his reputation and was arranged to be the county magistrate in the Yunnan-Guizhou Road."
Qiu Yizi thought for a moment and said, "Hu Farong didn't take any advantage! Yunnan and Guizhou are the poorest places in the Han Dynasty. As the saying goes, 'People don't have three cents of silver, and the land is not three feet flat', which is exactly what they mean. I think even if Hu Farong goes to take up the post, he may not be able to come back alive!"
"Humph!" Lin Shuhan sneered again and said, "There are many ways in the officialdom. As long as Hu Farong still has some achievements, he can make some achievements in Yunnan and Guizhou, and flatter a few fellow townsmen and classmates. He will immediately become an effective official. Maybe he can be transferred out of Yunnan and Guizhou in less than a year or two. Even if he died in office, it was because he died in the line of duty. According to the Han Dynasty's system of favoritism, his son can get a job as an official without taking the imperial examination."
Zheng Xin's judgment in this case was indeed biased.
Even Qiu Yizi found it difficult to refute him. After thinking for a while, he said, "In the laws of the Han Dynasty, the provisions on corruption are very broad. People who embezzled the same amount of money could be punished by lingchi to death or demotion and salary reduction, depending on the circumstances. No wonder it is difficult for Your Highness to handle the case. However, this case is indeed unfair, and I will definitely argue with Your Highness on this case."
After hearing this, Lin Shuhan shook his head and nodded. He suddenly stood up and walked around the pavilion, saying, "Recently, the more I read, the more confused I am. I can't even tell whether Master Qiu is really stupid or just pretending to be smart."
As the emperor's adopted son, if someone else was taught a lesson like this by Lin Shuhan, a commoner, he would definitely get angry on the spot.
However, Qiu Yizi was a humble person, and he admired Lin Shuhan's talent very much. He did not show any sign of being angry. Instead, he smiled and said, "I am considered a smart person in front of others, but I am just a stupid person in front of Mr. Lin. Mr. Lin spoke so eloquently, what is the deep meaning behind it?"
Lin Shuhan glanced at Qiu Yi and said, "Master Qiu not only knows the key points here, but also knows how to keep a low profile. He is much smarter than me! Well, since Master Qiu can't speak out, I, a free and easy person, can speak out!"
He laughed at himself, and suddenly said firmly: "Your Highness is selling favors privately, and what he is doing behind the scenes is forming a clique for personal gain!"
Qiu Yizhi was shocked when he heard this, and his palms were unable to bear the strength for a moment, and the book he was holding fell to the ground. He quickly bent down to pick up the book, and took this opportunity to calm down his mood, then stood up and said: "Mr. Lin, what you said is a bit alarmist, right? My eldest brother is the eldest son of the emperor, and the whole world belongs to his family, so why bother to form a party?"
Lin Shuhan smiled and said, "There are countless secrets in the world, especially the secrets of the royal palace. However, in my opinion, among the millions of people in the Han Dynasty, there is probably no one who is more familiar with the situation than Lord Qiu. You and I are both open-minded, so why should we talk in secret here?"
Qiu Yizhi couldn't understand Lin Shuhan's words any more. He smiled to himself and said, "Mr. Lin is really insightful about things. I gave up my high position in the imperial court and chose to come to Shanyin County in the remote south of the Yangtze River to be a small county magistrate. Isn't it just to avoid interfering in other people's affairs?"
Lin Shuhan said sternly, "It is really remarkable that Lord Qiu has such insight. However, not everything in the world can be done as one pleases. With Lord Qiu's status, merits, and reputation, even if you want to retire from the world, others may not let you go. If you don't believe me, please think about it. When have you left the center of the court in the past six months?"
Qiu Yizi was startled when he heard this, and then he thought that although he was only a seventh-rank county magistrate, he was dealing with the emperor, the prime minister, and the princes all the time - and these people were of high status, and it was very rare for an ordinary local official to see them from afar even if he served for a lifetime.
So Qiu Yizhi sighed and said, "Mr. Lin is right. Unfortunately, life is not as good as it seems, and there is nothing we can do about it..."
Lin Shuhan said sternly, "Master Qiu, don't be discouraged. If I hadn't recognized you as a friend and saw that you were sincerely working for the court and redressing the grievances of the people, I wouldn't have bothered to say these words if it were anyone else."
Lin Shuhan's words were so sincere and thorough that Qiu Yizhi could not help but be touched. He quickly spread out the book in his hand and placed it on the table in front of him, stood up and bowed deeply, saying: "Sir, you are so talented, please teach me."
Lin Shuhan still looked proud and arrogant, and did not extend his hand to help. He said calmly: "With Lord Qiu's wisdom, what can a poor scholar like me teach you? I just saw what the prince did and occasionally got some experience."
He pondered for a moment and said, "Master Qiu, didn't you notice that all the officials that Your Highness has dealt with leniently have served as examiners of the imperial examinations without exception?"
Qiu Yizhi was stunned again. He started his career in the army and was young. Jiangnan Road was a place where he was unfamiliar with people and places. He was not very clear about the resumes of these officials. However, although Lin Shuhan was a little aloof, he was definitely not the kind of person who spoke without thinking.
So Qiu Yizi frowned and asked, "Why? Is there such a thing?"
Lin Shuhan smiled and nodded, saying, "When did I ever lie? You see, Wang Jingqing was a Jinshi, originally appointed to Jiangnan as a school official. He presided over seven or eight Jiangnan provincial examinations, and he selected five or six hundred Juren and Xiaolian. Jiangnan was a flourishing literary society, and among these Juren, seven or eight out of ten were Jinshi. In this way, this inconspicuous Wang Jingqing was the teacher of more than three hundred Jinshi in the Han Dynasty. His influence is not to be underestimated."
Lin Shuhan took a breath and continued, "As for Hu Farong, he is even more extraordinary. He was born in the Ministry of Rites. Although he held a low position and had never served as the chief examiner or deputy chief examiner, he had participated in countless imperial examinations. How could he be so familiar with people? Moreover, he was a disciple of the old Prime Minister Yang Yuanzhi, and many of his classmates held high positions. Your Highness gave him a light sentence with a flick of his pen. I wonder how much face he had given to others!"
Lin Shuhan spoke slowly and listed five or six officials whose sentences were obviously too light. As expected, they all had a strong background in the imperial examinations.
So Qiu Yizhi sighed and said, "It turns out that my elder brother wants to delve deeper into the imperial examination and build up his own power!"
Lin Shuhan clapped his hands and praised, "Master Qiu is indeed a wise man! Your Highness's father-in-law is Qin Guangyuan, a leader in the literati circle. He is already well-known among scholars. After this incident, your Highness's reputation among the literati circle must be at its peak."
Qiu Yizi nodded and said, "Mr. Lin is not lying. Among the emperor's three sons, the second brother has the most military power, the other three have both military power and government affairs, but the eldest brother only has a few servants in Luoyang Prefecture, and other than that, he has no military power at all. But the emperor is determined not to give him the opportunity to lead the army alone, so he has to put all his chips on the civil officials, and there is nothing he can do about it."
"Alas! How could Your Highness not understand the truth that 'it takes ten years for a scholar to rebel'?" Lin Shuhan said, "However, Your Highness's desire to become the heir is already obvious..."
At this point, the conversation between the two has already involved the most important event in the world, the succession to the throne.
Qiu Yizi was a person who wanted to keep a low profile and didn't want to say a word more about this matter. He quickly stopped him and said, "Mr. Lin, don't talk nonsense about this matter! Be careful or you will lose your head!" (To be continued)