Chapter 598 [Three Updates] 598

Liu Tan felt deeply that young people these days were really foolish. If he had been like those dandy young men in Chang'an who didn't care about human lives, he would have been covered in blood under the horse's hooves by now.

Liu Tan originally wanted to go out for an outing with Lu Xuan, but after being cooped up in the palace for a long time and dealing with paperwork with Lu Xuan for several days, Liu Tan finally couldn't help it.

There were so many things going on in the world. If he kept grappling with them every day, the workload would truly be endless. So, in the end, he simply pushed the less important matters aside, pulled Lu Xuan closer, and said, "Let's go, let's quit. Let's go out and play."

Resting in Chang'an for so long might have really spoiled him. In the past, he wouldn't feel anything when dealing with paperwork for several days, but now he feels extremely bored.

Of course, in reality, most of these documents were just formalities. When the Northern Border Kingdom first started, there were bound to be a lot of things to do. At that time, Liu Tan had to solve various problems and meet various challenges every day. Of course, he felt a special sense of accomplishment.

Now that the Northern Border Country has basically entered a period of stable development, Liu Tan could indeed try to do something else, but that would be pure hassle. It would be better for him to go out and play.

How can we waste such beautiful spring time in the room?

It may be that God didn't want him to go on the trip, and he was stopped and cried out for justice as soon as he left the palace.

Liu Tan looked at the man kneeling below, almost prostrating himself, choking with sobs, and asked, "Where are you from? What's your grievance? Why don't you go to the Supreme Court?"

The Supreme Court is where cases are properly handled. Even if you don't go to the Supreme Court, you can go to the Magistrate of Shuofang County.

If the Shuofang County Magistrate feels that he cannot handle the case, he will naturally report it up the chain of command.

Now this person is breaking the rules by running directly to intercept the Northern King's horse.

But... Liu Tan glanced at the people around him. Although those people did not surround him directly, their intermittent glances and their ears that were almost perked up showed that they were watching the gossip.

The man kneeling on the ground whispered, "I am a student who wants to take the imperial examination."

Want to take the imperial examination?

The imperial examination was last year, why are people still looking for him now?

Liu Tan didn't ask any more questions and just said, "Come here, take him back."

No matter what, we can't try cases on the street.

He turned to Miao Rui and said, "Send someone to invite Prime Minister Huo over."

The imperial examination was presided over by Huo Guang from beginning to end, so this matter certainly could not get around Huo Guang.

Not long after, Liu Tan returned to the palace. Seeing how unhappy he looked, Lu Xuan couldn't help but squeeze his hand and said, "It will be the same if we go again tomorrow."

Liu Tan said helplessly: "I just suspect that God doesn't want me to rest."

It was a rare occasion for him to want to skip work, but he encountered something like this when he went out. Who could he complain to?

Although he thought so, his expression became very serious when he sat on the throne.

The man who had just stopped the horse and cried out for justice was also brought up. Only then did he take a serious look at the other person, and he felt something was strange - this man was not from the Central Plains, and judging from his appearance, he should be a Hun.

Yes, the Huns, not people from the Western Regions.

After dealing with these people for a long time, Liu Tan could more or less tell what they looked like. But when he saw the other person in this appearance and wearing a student's gown, he couldn't help but feel a little curious for a moment.

Huo Guang hadn't arrived yet, so Liu Tan couldn't just sit there and wait, so he asked, "Tell me, who gave you the news that I would be passing by that place?"

The man had been standing obediently below, but after hearing what Liu Tan said, he immediately knelt down and said, "Your Highness, please understand. I have absolutely no connections with anyone. I just heard that this is the only way for Your Highness to leave the city, so I waited there. If Your Highness doesn't believe me, you can ask the people around here. I would never dare to deceive Your Highness."

Liu Tan was a little surprised. Did this guy still just sit back and wait?

Bah bah bah, who is the rabbit.

He glanced at Bi Gao, who immediately understood and ordered a young eunuch to go and find out the news.

At this time, Liu Tan asked again: "How long have you been waiting there?"

The man said directly: "I have been waiting for one year and three months."

One year and three months?

Liu Tan quickly calculated in his mind that the imperial examination had started last summer, and now it would be a year in just over two months. However, that was the time for the metropolitan examination, and the provincial examination would start much earlier.

This calculation means that this person basically ran to Shuofang City when the provincial examination began.

And at that time... Liu Tan happened to leave Shuofang City.

This person is really unlucky.

No, it can’t be considered bad luck, at least he really waited for it.

You know, if Liu Tan hadn't wanted to skip work on a whim today, according to the regular procedure, if Liu Tan had left the city, this person would have been blocked outside by his elite regiment before he could even reach Liu Tan.

Liu Tan may not even know that there is such a person coming to appeal for justice.

As a result, I encountered this today.

Liu Tan asked, "Tell me, what is it that made you wait so long in Shuofang City?"

He did not ask about the other party's origins. There were Huns in the Northern Border Kingdom. In order to seduce, or rather, to attract the Huns to surrender to the Han Dynasty and thus achieve the goal of splitting the Huns, Liu Tan took in many Huns and even naturalized some of them in order to retain them.

Although this man looked like a Hun, his gestures were no different from those of other Han people, so Liu Tan naturally regarded him as a Han citizen.

No one knew what had forced him to stop the imperial carriage. You know, the probability of success of stopping the imperial carriage was actually lower than going to the Supreme Court to file a complaint.

As for whether the Supreme Court was colluding with anyone, Liu Tan felt that Jiang Chong had done a pretty good job on this point. After all, he knew that he would not tolerate any injustice. If it was really exposed, he would be in trouble.

The man bowed and said, "This time, I, Ke Minghan, would like to sue the Prime Minister!"

When he said this, Huo Guang happened to be walking in.

Liu Tan looked up at Huo Guang. Although his expression remained serious, his eyes were full of gloating.

You should know that Liu Tan is definitely the most prestigious one in the Northern Border Kingdom, but apart from him, the most popular one is Huo Guang. People all respect and love Huo Guang when they mention him. Today, someone actually wants to sue him, which is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

However, what disappointed Liu Tan was that even after hearing these words, Huo Guang walked in with steady and powerful steps, and every step seemed to have been measured, very even, and he did not seem to be affected at all.

After Huo Guang saluted, he sat quietly aside.

The man named Ke Minghan seemed a little nervous. He glanced at Huo Guang quickly and then kept staring at the ground.

Liu Tan asked, "What do you want to tell the Prime Minister?"

Ke Minghan bit his lip and mustered up the courage to speak: "I...I am reporting to the Prime Minister for pretending to obey the emperor's orders while secretly disobeying them and favoring some students over others during the imperial examinations."

Liu Tan was a little surprised: "What do you mean? Is there any evidence?"

His attitude seemed to inspire Ke Minghan, who said excitedly, "I am the evidence. This is my household registration. I am a Han Chinese, a citizen of the Northern Territory, yet I cannot participate in the imperial examinations. May I ask the Prime Minister, is this household registration no longer useful?"

Huo Guang was slightly startled. He looked at Ke Minghan and asked, "Are you... a Xiongnu who returned to Han?"

Ke Minghan flinched slightly and subconsciously glanced at Liu Tan. After noticing that the King of the Northern Territory was looking at his household registration, he straightened his chest and said, "Exactly."

Huo Guang nodded and said to Liu Tan calmly, "It is my order that Xiongnu people who have returned to Han are not among those who will be admitted."

Since you can't be admitted, there is no point in taking the imperial examination.

Liu Tan glanced at Huo Guang and knew he must have his own ideas. Before he could say anything, Ke Minghan knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Your Highness, although we are Xiongnu people, we have a heart that is loyal to the Han. If Your Highness had not taken us in, I'm afraid our entire tribe would have died on the grassland. Our desire to serve Your Highness is as warm and sincere as the sun, but the Prime Minister has turned us away. When Your Highness granted us household registration, he stated that we would be treated the same as the people of the Han Dynasty. Why is it different now?"

Liu Tan: ...

I can't tell anything else, but it's true that this person must have read a lot of books. He's so talkative, he's really a good talent for the Honglu government.

Liu Tan coughed lightly. "I have just returned, and the imperial examinations are still under review. I am aware of your situation. Many of the rules and regulations of the Northern Border Kingdom are still in their infancy, so they are bound to be imperfect. I was already out at sea at the time, and the Prime Minister could not be contacted, so I could not make any decisions on my own. I had no choice but to resort to this last resort. It is not his fault. Since I agreed to this, I will naturally treat everyone equally. I just wonder if there are other Xiongnu people besides you who wanted to take the imperial examination but were unable to do so?"

Ke Minghan was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect Liu Tan to exonerate Huo Guang in just a few words.

This excuse does not mean that Huo Guang is wrong, but rather puts the responsibility on the King of the Northern Territory himself.

The King of the North is away, and the Prime Minister can't be contacted, so he doesn't dare to make arbitrary decisions. Is that wrong?

The fault lies in the fact that the King of the North did not perfect this rule.

Ke Minghan had originally planned to expose the Prime Minister's true identity even if he didn't take the imperial examination. However, he was at a loss as to what to do and could only subconsciously answer, "Yes... yes."

Liu Tan immediately said, "Come here, tell them to count how many Xiongnu people who were rejected and didn't take the provincial examination are still here. Organize a new one and have them come to Shuofang City to take the exam. I will cover their travel expenses, food and lodging."

Ke Minghan couldn't help but stare at Liu Tan with wide eyes. He had already accepted his fate and thought that the best outcome would be to be able to take part in the imperial examination next year.

However, this result was already a luxury in his eyes. He did not expect that the Northern King's solution would be far beyond his expectations.

Even when he was sent to the posthouse, Ke Minghan was still a little dizzy.

Huo Guang, who hadn't said a word from beginning to end, waited until Ke Minghan left before he said helplessly, "Your Highness, why must you do this?"

Liu Tan said, "I know what you're worried about. I didn't plan everything out properly. Even if we really want to be on guard against the Huns, we can't be so drastic. The worst that can happen is that we can be more rigorous in our investigation of them."

Huo Guang asked a soul-searching question: "If that's the case, should these people also take the palace examination? Even if they pass the provincial examination, they still need to take the metropolitan examination."

Liu Tan: ...