Daxia Palace, Imperial Study.
Fu Xiaoguan was discussing the follow-up plan for rural revitalization with Yan Xiwen and Yunxi when Liu Jin tiptoed in, bowed and whispered, "Your Majesty, Zong Shiji has been escorted to the Ministry of Justice."
Fu Xiaoguan raised his head and said, "Bring him here so I can take a look."
"Well... Your Majesty, he's very dirty and stinks. He begged General Bai to let him wash. Please..."
"Oh, then wash him and change his clothes so that he can come to see me in a more respectable manner."
"I obey your command."
Liu Jin retreated. Fu Xiaoguan turned to look at Wu Tianci and asked, "If one day, a minister you like very much makes a mistake, a serious mistake that is punishable by death, would you forgive him because of your love for him?"
"Don't rush to answer me, think carefully about it in your mind first."
Wu Tianci was a little surprised and thought to himself, I don’t have a minister that I like very much. Aren’t these ministers all promoted by you, father?
He couldn't empathize and could only make assumptions, so it was difficult for him to answer this question.
Fu Xiaoguan continued to discuss with Yan Xiwen and Yun Xiyan. Not long after, Liu Jin walked in with Zong Shiji.
Zong Shiji was wearing handcuffs and shackles. He stood in front of Fu Xiaoguan with his head down and a look of fear on his face, then knelt down with a thud.
"Your Majesty, the guilty minister Zong Shiji, kowtows to His Majesty!"
Fu Xiaoguan didn't even glance at him out of the corner of his eye, but Wu Tianci looked at Zong Shiji who was kneeling on the ground in surprise.
"I'm thinking of transferring Shi Yiming to Yueshan North Circuit as prefect, and Fang Wenxing to Yueshan South Circuit as prefect. As for the prefects under them, we'll promote them from among the county magistrates in the other circuits. Especially promote more to wealthy areas like Jiangnan West Circuit and Jinghu North Circuit."
"Shi Yiming and Fang Wenxing have done a very good job as prefects. They have received excellent evaluations from the Ministry of Personnel and the Censorate for the past two years. With their experience, they should be able to govern these two prefectures."
"What do you think? Feel free to speak your mind. You can also make nominations. Ultimately, it all has to be approved by the Cabinet."
Zong Shiji lowered his head and knelt on the ground. When he heard these two names, he was suddenly shocked. He knew both of these people!
To be honest, Shi Yiming was hostile to the emperor when he was in Jinling.
Ever since the Shi family fell due to being implicated in Xue Dingshan's rebellion, Shi Yiming was rescued from prison by Fu Xiaoguan.
He is now about to be favored by the emperor and become a high-ranking official!
If I had not made these mistakes and had not followed Yan Xibai into corruption, the position of the governor of Yueshan North Road would definitely be mine!
However, there is no if, all of this is my own fault.
He didn't dare to look up, but Yun Xiyan looked at him twice. After all, they had participated in the Enke together that year and even had hot pot together in Jinling.
It's been several years since we last met.
Who could have imagined that the goodbye scene would be like this.
It's really fate.
Yun Xiyan no longer thought about Zong Shiji, and it was even more impossible for him to plead for Zong Shiji, because this guy had really gone too far. He actually wanted to kill Prime Minister Yan!
The crime is unforgivable.
Just look at the emperor's attitude of not even looking at him, which shows that even the gods can't save him.
"I nominate He Sheng'an and Huang Sheng. Both He Sheng'an and I were candidates for the special examination that year. I took first place, and He Sheng'an came in second!"
"He Sheng'an was once assigned by His Majesty to Lanling County in Wofeng Road. He oversaw the construction of Lanling County's freight distribution center and also oversaw the construction of the North-South Grand Canal."
"He did a great job, but after you left, the events that followed in the Yu Dynasty led to the projects not being completed."
"In the early years of the Great Xia Dynasty, He Sheng'an was transferred to Yuzhou in the northern Dali Province to serve as the prefect. The Ministry of Personnel and the Censorate have always given him excellent evaluations. They promote talented people regardless of their relationships. Besides, this guy and I are not related, but I think he has the ability to govern."
"Your Majesty, you know Huang Sheng. In my opinion, he's living too comfortably in Qinzhou. We should give him some more responsibilities and send him to Yueshan Road to experience what it's like to be an official in a poor place."
Fu Xiaoguan grinned, "Okay, write down these two names as well. What about you, Xiwen?"
"I think these four are all capable of doing the job. How about this: after Ning Yuchun and Qin Mowen return, we can see if there are any other prefects who need to be replaced?"
"No, the situation in Yueshan Road is the most serious right now. We need to decide on candidates first. After all, it will take some time for them to get there."
"Then tomorrow I will submit the resumes of these four people to the cabinet for discussion, and first decide on the candidates for the two provincial governors of Yueshan."
"Yeah." Fu Xiaoguan nodded and looked at Yun Xiyan, "I say, your Ministry of Revenue's silver and the grain that needs to be transferred must keep up!"
"Spring plowing hasn't been completed in many places along the Yueshan Road. They have nothing to eat until next year. If anyone starves to death... I'll hold you responsible!"
Yun Xiyan grinned, "Your Majesty, rest assured. Our Ministry of Revenue has plenty of silver, and grain has been transferred directly from Jiangnan West Road and Jingzhou South Road. Of course, the current transfer is only to address the immediate needs. I still need to wait for the detailed statistics of the rations needed by the two regions."
"Well, that's it for now."
This sentence means that the small meeting in the imperial study today is over.
Yun Xiyan and Yan Xiwen were about to leave when Fu Xiaoguan pressed his hand.
Only then did he look at Zong Shiji, "Raise your head, let me take another look."
He used the word "朕". Yun Xiyan and Yan Xiwen understood that the emperor's use of the word "朕" meant that he was not that close.
Zong Shiji raised his head, tears streaming down his face, "I, your humble servant... am ashamed of my life, Your Majesty!"
"No, it really doesn't matter whether you are worthy of me or not. What matters is whether you are worthy of the people under your rule and whether you are worthy of your conscience!"
"I didn't expect a person to change so much. This is my mistake. Because of this mistake, all the people in all the counties and prefectures of Chongzhou have suffered for so many years."
"You are so powerful that you can actually cover up everything with one hand, making those people point at my nose and curse me!"
"So you are still very capable."
"The guilty minister..."
Fu Xiaoguan waved his hand, interrupting Zong Shiji's words, "Don't say anything, because there's no point in saying anything. I just want to see you. When I see you, I'll ask myself why I went blind in the first place!"
"I have to thank you, Zong Shiji! If you hadn't sounded the alarm for me, I would have thought that Daxia was truly a sunny day, without a single cloud covering it."
"So you did a great job. You made me realize that people's hearts are fickle, and people will change even more."
"Well...I don't want to know about your mess right now. Go and report to the Ministry of Justice."
"Liu Jin, take him to the Ministry of Justice. I've seen enough and feel a little sick."
"His Majesty……"
Fu Xiaoguan waved his hand, and Liu Jin dragged Zong Shiji out of the imperial study.
"Xiwen, tell the Ministry of Personnel that criminals like Yan Xibai and Zong Shiji should be publicly tried in the most crowded area of Chang'an!"
"They themselves have no shame, why should I give them face!"
"Let this incident serve as a wake-up call to all officials in Daxia. Although I have abolished the law of collective responsibility, officials like them...will be infamous for eternity!"
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