On the second day of May, the tenth year of the Xuanli reign, the imperial palace of the Yu Dynasty, the imperial study.

"According to statistics from the Imperial College, as of yesterday, a total of over 37,000 students had come to the capital to take the Enke exam."

Emperor Xuan held a small booklet in his hand and sat before the dragon table, saying slowly:

"Wofeng Road has one Daofu and three provincial governments."

"The three prefectures govern a total of 220 counties and districts. According to the old system, each county has a county magistrate, a county magistrate, a county lieutenant, and a county instructor, requiring a total of around 900 people."

"Including the personnel from the provincial and state governments, the full staffing is 1,264 people."

"I had a brief chat with you last evening. He nominated three officials for the prefecture. The first is Dong Xiangfang, the Junior Secretary of the Honglu Temple; the second is Yan Xibai, the Doctor of the Ministry of Personnel; and the third is Ning Yuchun, the Prefect of Jinling Prefecture."

"I summoned you to the Imperial Study to hear your opinions. Are these three qualified for the duties of the provincial governor? Tell me. If so, I will order them to go to Wofeng Road immediately."

Fu Xiaoguan was leisurely brewing tea. Yan Beixi bowed to Emperor Xuan and said, "This old minister believes that these three are steady people and should be able to handle it."

Yan Shidao was silent for a moment and then nodded. Dong Kangping naturally had no objection.

"The three prefects have been decided..." Emperor Xuan put down the book and walked over. He also sat in front of the tea table. He looked at Fu Xiaoguan and asked, "Are you ready for tomorrow's special examination?"

"Your Majesty, I have made all the arrangements."

"Well, the poem you wrote in Sifang Tower two nights ago was excellent. I liked it very much."

Fu Xiaoguan was stunned. How could the news reach His Majesty's ears so quickly?

Emperor Xuan stroked his beard and smiled, "When the great roc soars with the wind, it soars up to ninety thousand miles! What a courage! Go ahead and do it, I'll support you from behind!"

Yan Beixi and others had not heard this poem yet. At this moment, when they suddenly heard Emperor Xuan recite this sentence, the three of them were also shocked. This poem was extraordinary!

Suddenly I remembered that this kid seemed to have not written a poem for a long time, and the first poem he wrote was a complete one. So what were the following verses?

Everyone was itching to do so, but Emperor Xuan did not continue reading. Instead, he looked at Fu Xiaoguan with a smile and asked, "Do you... have any other difficulties that I need to deal with?"

Fu Xiaoguan poured tea for the four of them, raised his eyes and smiled, "One hundred million!"

"Get lost...! Forget about that, let's get real!"

Fu Xiaoguan's face was full of resentment. He suddenly remembered that he had promised Dali Temple Minister Su Shanyue to ask His Majesty to write a calligraphy, which he almost forgot.

"Well, then please write a calligraphy for me, Your Majesty."

This task was simple, and Emperor Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, tell me, what do you want to write?"

"Just write... the eight characters: 'Holding Virtue, Understanding the Law, Investigating Things, and Pursuing the Public'."

"Be virtuous and clear about the law; investigate things and strive for justice..." Emperor Xuan frowned as he recited the words carefully. Suddenly, he asked, "These eight words are very good, but they don't fit the situation of the Ministry of Personnel or the Supreme Court. What do you want them for?"

Fu Xiaoguan bowed and said seriously, "This is exactly what I'm asking for from the Dali Temple. I hope all the officials in the Dali Temple can remember these eight words!"

"Laws are the rules of a country, the bottom line of morality, and the code of conduct that governs everyone. They are related to the fairness and justice of lawsuits, and also to the court's standing in the hearts of the people. The people have a scale in their hearts. If the law is mixed with personal feelings, the scale will tilt, and the harm to the country will be extremely great."

"I remember an incident where an old man fell down, and a young man kindly helped him up. However, the old man sued the young man at the yamen, saying that the young man had pushed him down and was now seriously injured. He asked the county magistrate to judge him and order him to pay a hundred taels of silver in compensation!"

Yan Beixi frowned, "Ridiculous!"

"Yes, it is indeed absurd, but the case decided by the county magistrate is even more absurd."

"How did he break it?"

"He said there were no eyewitnesses to the case, so it was impossible to confirm whether the boy had actually hit the old man. This was not wrong, but he made an absurd inference. He also said, based on common sense, if you didn't hit the old man, why did you go to help him?"

Emperor Xuan frowned, "So the county magistrate ruled that the young man lost?"

Fu Xiaoguan nodded and grinned, "The young man lost and had to compensate the old man with a hundred taels of silver, just for doing a good deed. Isn't that ridiculous?"

Emperor Xuan slammed his hand on the table and said, "What's the county magistrate's name? I will issue an edict to dismiss him from office immediately!"

"The magistrate is dead."

"Humph, he deserves to die! Otherwise, I would have skinned him alive!"

Fu Xiaoguan sighed, "The young man was wronged, and the county magistrate died, but the incident caused a huge uproar in the county. If this old man fell down, with no one to witness it, would you help him up or not? If you helped him up and then got blackmailed, who would have that much silver? A hundred taels, many people would lose everything!"

"But if we don't help, it contradicts the respect for the elderly advocated by the sacred teachings. So should we help or not? People tend to seek benefits and avoid harm. When faced with a living example, when it could lead to their own ruin, people naturally choose not to help—there's nothing wrong with not helping, right? Then the disaster won't befall them."

"Can we blame the people for being indifferent? No, this is the injustice of the law, which has led to a decline in morality. If this continues, there will be no more trust between people."

"Therefore, I believe that legal institutions should keep these eight words in mind. I also believe that the Yu Dynasty's Criminal Code is too general and needs to be refined."

The four of them were all stunned. The "Yu Criminal Code" was inherited from the "Da Chen Code" of the previous dynasty. So many years have passed, but no one has proposed to revise it.

This is no small matter!

Yan Beixi looked at Fu Xiaoguan meaningfully. Did he give that example just to propose the revision of the "Yu Criminal Code"?

"This matter... you are too busy to handle it, and the Yu Dynasty does not have such talents to revise the Yu Criminal Code..."

Fu Xiaoguan chuckled and bowed, "I think the former Minister of Personnel Xi Xunmei can take charge of this matter. In addition, I am thinking of bringing Xi Xunmei with me so that I can provide him with some opinions and suggestions when revising the Yu Criminal Code."

Yan Beixi suddenly woke up and realized that this kid was trying to save Shi Xunmei!

Emperor Xuan's gaze fell on Fu Xiaoguan's face and he looked at him for a few breaths.

"I remember you mentioned a few other people in the Golden Palace a few days ago."

"Your Majesty, they are Shi Yiming, Xue Donglin, Xi Shuang, and Fei Qian."

"You want them too?"

"I have no advisers by my side, and according to current laws, they can no longer serve as officials. Why don't you, Your Majesty, give these four people to me?"

Dong Kangping frowned, and Yan Beixi felt a tightness inside—

This kid is a bit too arrogant because of his talent!

Emperor Xuan was silent for a long time, then suddenly smiled and said, "Good, I will issue an imperial decree to pardon these five people!"