But to be honest, no one has discovered their illegal activities so far.
After all, even in later generations, it is not so easy to catch corrupt officials. Many people work until retirement, and their problems are only discovered later when they are implicated by other officials. This shows that it is not easy to catch corrupt officials who are hiding deeper.
Bai Zhipeng was not so blatant. He often hinted to his subordinates to help Bai Zhiyuan's goods avoid inspection easily, thus evading taxes for many years without anyone noticing.
However, in the past two years, the imperial court has cracked down on corruption and added many supervision channels, such as the Imperial City Administration, the Censorate, and inspections by higher-level leadership departments.
Although there is still a lot of room for maneuver under the new policy, if Bai Zhiyuan only does business in his territory of Yingzhou, he must register with the State Taxation Bureau of Ruyin County and the State Government. Otherwise, if he is caught and reported to the Lu Mansion or the Censorate, he will be in big trouble.
The State Taxation Bureau was easier to deal with; Bai Zhipeng had a solution. He had already established a good relationship with the new Director of the State Taxation Bureau, and the two were now very close. The County Government and the County Taxation Bureau were more difficult, so he could only take it one step at a time.
He was afraid that the newly appointed Ruyin County Magistrate was a young and inexperienced person, so he had to think of other ways.
The two people were talking.
A servant came in and said, "Master, Magistrate Li is here."
"Well, let him in."
Bai Zhipeng nodded, then said to Bai Zhiyuan, "Step aside for a moment."
"Um."
Bai Zhiyuan hid behind the screen.
A moment later, Li Xiaoji came in. Seeing that Bai Zhipeng had specially set up a banquet in the backyard of the provincial government office, he was a little puzzled, but still bowed and said, "Your humble servant greets the governor."
"Hahaha."
Bai Zhipeng stood up, walked over, took Li Xiaoji's hand and said with a smile, "County Magistrate Li is young and promising. I admire him very much. Come and sit down."
"Thank you, Governor."
Li Xiaoji sat over.
In fact, I have met Bai Zhipeng in the past two months when I came to report on official business and complete assessments.
Bai Zhipeng often spoke in official language and told riddles, which annoyed him greatly.
Li Xiaoji was born into a family of officials and of course understood the rules of officialdom.
But he was too lazy to chat with Bai Zhipeng, or perhaps he wanted to see what Bai Zhipeng was up to, so he pretended to understand, as if he understood something.
Perhaps it was because he saw the time was ripe that Bai Zhipeng came to confront him.
The two of them sat down, and Bai Zhipeng personally poured wine for Li Xiaoji, forcing Li Xiaoji to pretend to be flattered and said, "You are so kind, Governor."
"The county magistrate passed the imperial examination at the age of twenty, which means he has a bright future. Unlike me, I wasted decades and only passed the imperial examination at the age of thirty-five."
Bai Zhipeng seemed to be complaining, and said with a wry smile, "I wasted six years as a county magistrate, and another six years as a magistrate. Now I'm nearly fifty years old, and I'm just now serving as a prefect. I feel deeply ashamed. I can't compare to you young people."
"Whatever the prefect says, it's all for the country and the people."
Li Xiaoji said hurriedly.
"Come on, have a drink."
Bai Zhipeng raised his glass.
Li Xiaoji had no choice but to continue accompanying him.
The two of them chatted back and forth, and after drinking seven or eight cups of wine, they seemed to start talking.
Seeing that the relationship was almost established, Bai Zhipeng raised his chopsticks, picked up a piece of food, and asked, "Bo Shi."
Hearing him suddenly call his name so intimately, Li Xiaoji felt a little disgusted, but still responded, "Yes."
"What do you think the purpose of being an official is?"
"It's all for the common people and for the country."
"That's natural, but what else?"
"This official doesn't know."
"Of course he got promoted."
Bai Zhipeng poked the ceiling with his chopsticks and said, "If I don't get promoted, how can I govern more places? How can I enter the central court and serve the emperor?"
Li Xiaoji said modestly, "What the governor said is true. However, I have only just been appointed as a county magistrate. Under the new laws, I am trembling with fear and dare not slack off in the slightest. How can I even dare to hope for promotion?"
"You are young and promising, and you are a Jinshi with a high degree. You have a good background and a bright future. But sometimes, you still need some opportunities."
Bai Zhipeng looked like an experienced person and seemed to be giving instructions.
Li Xiaoji quickly said, "I am a foolish person. If the governor can give me some pointers, I will be very grateful."
Seeing him speak, Bai Zhipeng pointed upwards and said, "As the saying goes, it's easier to get things done in the court if you have someone close to you. Sometimes, you need to find a backer. This person must be a key person, and someone who can give you the key words at the key moment. This is the secret to promotion."
Li Xiaoji scratched his head and said, "But I don't know any of the senior officials in the court. Even if I have some good relationships with my peers, they are all serving in various places, and some even hold lower positions than me. Who can speak for me?"
"You, why don't you get it?"
Bai Zhipeng tapped the table lightly and whispered, "This month, the imperial censors from above came to assess you. Although you received an excellent grade, every county in the prefecture is actively completing their assessments. Why should I put you first?"
Hearing this, Li Xiaoji pretended to be in deep thought. After a moment, he seemed to suddenly understand and bowed to Bai Zhipeng and said, "Sir, I am deeply grateful!"
"That's right."
Bai Zhipeng smiled and said, "Young people should not always look at the people around them, nor think about what their peers can do for them. Look up, and you will understand that there are always people better than you."
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