Chapter 55
The county magistrate is the head of a county, and the prefect is the head of a prefecture. There is also the administrative division of county in between. It is very difficult for Li He to jump the level and get promoted.
Chu Huan didn't rush to deny it: [He wasn't involved in Li He being used as a scapegoat?]
The system didn't remember this person being on the list last time, so it was a little worried. It double-checked: [No, this guy was added because the prefect who was involved in that incident was removed from office.]
Chu Huan: “…”
She removed the corrupt prefect who was messing with Li He, and as a result, she took this opportunity to replace him with a more ambitious prefect. What difference does it make?
It is still unknown whether the people of Zhuangzhou have been harmed by this prefect who is eager to show off his political achievements.
If another incident involving the Champion Tower were to occur, at least a small part of the blame would be on her.
Chu Hua: [Tong'er, check this guy out. I want to know if he has any fatal flaws.]
So that she can get the man down in one go.
The system also disliked this person and wanted Li He to replace him, so it agreed happily: [Okay!]
Everyone was secretly ready to go.
Of all the perpetrators and victims of the Zhuangyuan Tower, only the prefect was left. Without sufficient witnesses and physical evidence, it was difficult for the Jinyiwei to arrest anyone at will, and it was also difficult for the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice to make a judgment - they suffered from the lack of evidence.
Since we can't use the incident of the Champion Tower to bring him down, let's try something more deadly!
While the system was busy searching for gossip, Chu Huan smiled and invited everyone to have afternoon tea together and chatted about some other gossip. Everyone was very cooperative.
Until the system came back, both parties kept silent tacitly. They seemed to be concentrating on drinking milk tea, but in fact they were busy eating melons.
System: [Good fellow! I really am calling him good fellow!]
Chu Hua: [What did he do that angered heaven and man?]
Everyone: ???
The gossips they have been eating recently are quite big, including all kinds of strange ones. The incident of the Champion Tower is enough to break people's bottom line, and they can't think of any more explosive gossips in the short term.
Facts have proved that there is no lowest limit for human beings.
System: [This person has no talent and failed many examinations. Later, his family paid for him to become an official.]
This wasn't the first time he'd profited through unauthorized means, but it was the first time he'd realized so profoundly that status and power could be achieved through deception.
This is the first time I've heard that official positions can be bought and sold. I always feel that this method is a bit unfair to those who have studied hard for half their lives and still can't pass the exam.
The system's baby voice sounded muffled. It was really speaking up for those who had studied from childhood to old age but still failed to pass the exam. It felt that the buying and selling of official positions was a bit excessive.
If you can buy an official position just by spending money, then why would anyone need to study? As long as your family saves a little more money, you can become an official even if you can't read a single word. All anyone needs to do is make money and buy an official position.
If every hall is filled with illiterate fools, dandies who only know how to drink and have fun, and there are few people with real talent and knowledge, wouldn't this country be doomed?
Everyone: "..." You are so bold, you take advantage of others not being able to hear you :)
That is to say, there were no other court officials at the scene, otherwise those people would be so angry that their faces would turn red and their necks would become thick, and they would rush forward to teach the system some common sense.
Chu Huan could hear the system's anger from its increasingly rapid and agitated voice, and quickly tried to appease it: "System, as long as the number is strictly controlled, it's not as serious as you think."
The system was stunned for a moment: [Can't we discuss toxicity without considering dosage?]
Chu Hua paused: [You can understand it this way.]
[Each dynasty had its own system of donating money to become an official. This system was initially established because the national treasury was not well-off.]
The system immediately understood: [These are the salt and tea permits you mentioned earlier. By issuing them in large quantities, they collect money and use it for disaster relief.]
Chu Hua: [Yes, you see, four years ago, when things were so difficult, Dasheng preferred to increase the number of salt permits rather than sell a large number of official positions, right? There were still some, after all, the finances were truly difficult, and the people had to be saved.]
Therefore, the first thing to do when buying official positions is to control quantity, and the second is to control quality. Basically, the official positions bought and sold by the court were those with no actual power, just a title, in other words, they were just buying reputation with money.
The inexperienced little system 188 was stunned: [This is even possible?]
Chu Huan chuckled softly, "Why not? The previous emperor sold a large number of official positions, clearly marking the price of each one. The higher the rank, the more powerful the position. Even the prime minister, who was often beheaded in the later period and no one took the position, was bought and sold at a fixed price."
The system was full of disdain: [This eating method is a bit too ugly.]
Then he became puzzled: [If the emperor can chop off the prime minister's head whenever he's unhappy, is there really a fool who would spend money to buy it?]
With a ready-made melon to eat, it was reluctant to waste its energy searching for it, and simply asked the host how fast it could be.
Chu Huan didn't hesitate to answer: "Of course there is. As long as you flatter the emperor, make everything go your way, and go along with him, being prime minister isn't as difficult as you might imagine."
The prime ministers who were beheaded all held a glimmer of hope for the court and were eager to guide the foolish monarch onto the right path. That is why they repeatedly braved the emperor's displeasure and risked their lives to give advice.
The system was eager to hear about the donation, and didn't want to hear this: [Back to the topic.]
Chu Hua: [The point is, in order to amass a large amount of money, the previous emperor created countless empty positions, meaning they were positions with only the title of official, but they actually did nothing.]
These people did not need to report for duty every day, but they could receive the official hat, robe, and boots corresponding to their official rank. They could wear them and walk around with open arms, and be respectfully addressed as "sir." However, other than that, they had no other rights.
[In other words, this is actually a disguised way of making money by creating false pretenses.]
The system was stunned: [The previous emperor really went to great lengths to make money.]
"What's the difference between this and spending money on clothes and then finding a bunch of actors to flatter you?" The system hesitated and said, "At most, you can donate money to become an official so that you can do this without breaking the law and avoid being arrested by the Imperial Guards. Then you can spend some money to get yourself out?"
Chu Hua: [Poof——]
Everyone: Hahahaha!
Chu Huan: [The last emperor of the previous dynasty truly did too many stupid and bad things. It's said that after the founding of the Great Sheng, they spent three days and three nights just summarizing the reasons for the previous dynasty's downfall.]
[Of course, I don’t know if it’s true or not, I just heard it from others.]
The system immediately became excited upon hearing this: [Isn't it me? I'm here, how can I let you eat fake melons? Wait!]
Chu Huan smiled secretly. Even though she was using her mind, she still felt thirsty, so she lowered her head and drank a cup of milk tea.
The milk tea is a bit sweet. It is okay to drink as a beverage, but it is not enough to quench your thirst.
"Green bamboo, water."
Qingzhu knew what Chu Huan needed, so he brought a pot of warm water that was just right for her to drink.
As a result, Chu Huan wanted it, Jiang wanted it, and the Second Prince's wife also wanted it. After pouring a few cups, it was not enough.
The women looked at each other, feeling a little embarrassed. They had never expected that listening to the melons could make them thirsty.
Qingzhu Hongmei hurried to fetch water, fearing that she would come back too late and miss the melon.
Unfortunately, the system came back at this moment: [There are no three days and three nights.]
Some of the founding emperors of the Great Sheng Dynasty were members of the previous dynasty. Unable to bear the sight of such a wicked emperor, they abandoned the dark and joined forces with the good, colluding with the insiders and the outsiders. As people who had experienced this firsthand, they had a lot of bitterness to express.
Just listening to them complain about the last emperor of the previous dynasty took a whole day and night. You know the mentality of a melon-eater. There are so many melons lined up, one after another. Many people are so desperate to pee that they can't even go to bed. How can they sleep? They can't sleep.
That’s right! Everyone nodded secretly.
They all drink water and eat food quickly when they are not eating melons, for fear that they may accidentally hear something too exciting and choke on water or cough out of shock. If this happens too many times, they will easily be exposed.
Some of them wanted to go to the toilet, but they were reluctant to leave because the melon was so delicious, so they were holding back.
I understand those people so well!
System: [Later, everyone couldn't hold on any longer and went back to sleep, so it was only two days and one night.]
Everyone was screaming in their hearts: They can actually eat melons for two days and one night! How enviable!
They also wanted to follow Chu Huan and the system to eat melons every day. It would be best if there was endless melons to eat for three days and three nights!
Chu Huan wasn't envious, but rather a bit wary: [Isn't this just forced overtime?]
Everyone: ???
What is forced overtime? What's this new term?
After Chu Huan said this, the system also reacted: [Oh, yes, eating melons is very happy, but eating them for two days and one night in a row is not so happy.]
[Also, after hearing this for so long, you might be surprised and shocked at first, but as you hear it more, your threshold becomes higher, and after a while, you'll develop aesthetic fatigue and lose the joy.]
Chu Hua reminded it: [You're still forced to eat melons until the emperor leaves. It's strange that you can be happy.]
The system substituted itself into the main system. If it was pulled in front of the main system and ate melons for two days and one night... the whole system would suddenly be in trouble.
[No, no, let's talk about something else.] It's afraid of being forced to work overtime and being forced to eat melons!
Chu Huan didn't know what the system was thinking. Her little baby voice was trembling with fear, and even had a hint of crying in it.
She was afraid that if she continued, Little Silly Tong would actually cry, so she quickly continued the previous topic: [The system of donating money to become an official has its pros and cons. It is indeed somewhat unfair to those whose families do not have sufficient wealth.]
But on the other hand, isn't the imperial examination system also somewhat unfair to those who are clearly talented but lack the ability to take the exam?
This angle was somewhat unusual, and the system had never heard of it: [Isn't it said that the imperial examination was a very fair exam? It's almost the same as the college entrance examination.]
Chu Hua: [You say it's fair because the imperial examination has no threshold restrictions. Students from aristocratic families, children from poor families, young children, and the elderly can all enter the officialdom through the imperial examination.]
But can you say it's absolutely fair? Children from aristocratic families don't need to mobilize the entire family to support one student's education, nor do they need to copy books for money. They have famous teachers to teach them, can discuss with outstanding classmates, and can know the examiner's preferences in advance and prescribe appropriate treatment accordingly.
[Students from wealthy families and those from poor families are not on the same starting line from the beginning.] This principle also applies to the college entrance examination.
After a long pause, Chu Huan added: [The imperial examinations do not allow women to take the exam. This is the greatest injustice.]
The system sighed: [I really hope there is no gender discrimination in the imperial examination.]
In an instant, the entire Qianhuaju and Chu family fell silent.
Among them were Chu Ping and Pei Mingcheng who had been officials for many years, Chu Qin and Song Zhi who had just entered the officialdom, and many female relatives who had lived in the harem and taken care of their husbands and children for many years, but they had never thought about this.
——Isn’t it unfair that women are not allowed to participate in the imperial examinations?
In their inherent impression, studying and imperial examinations are men's business, and women only read "Lectures for Women", "Instructions for Women" and "Rules for Women", and are only responsible for respecting their parents-in-law, supporting their husbands and raising their children.
Originally, this was nothing, but Chu Huan had already explained to the system the salt permits and donations for official positions, and had made the cowpox vaccine and penicillin that impressed everyone. Her vision and ability were beyond the reach of many men.
Chu Ping and others asked themselves: Is there only one woman like Chu Huan?
Won't.
Wasn't it a woman who defeated countless men and came in third in the autumn hunt?
There may be many women who are better than men, but they just don’t know about them.
Chu Huan knew how difficult it was for women to take the imperial examination, so she just mentioned it briefly, sowing a little seed in everyone's hearts and then left it at that.
So what did the prefect do?
The system quickly found the original melon: [After becoming an official, he began giving money to his superiors, flattering them, and fawning over them. I really learned something from him.]
When the Champion Tower was built, the methods used were extremely despicable, with no regard for human life. However, it was a practical achievement that served to enhance political performance. The Champion Tower did bring a lot of fame and money to Tasmania, and it could be considered a development of the tourism industry.
After a few years, he realized that achieving political achievements required time, money, and energy, and was simply too much work. So he began falsifying his achievements. What was the easiest thing to falsify? Crop yields.
Chu Hua's pupils trembled: [Falsely reporting agricultural output?]
Many people at the scene didn't understand why Chu Huan was so shocked, and they looked at each other: What's wrong with this?
Isn’t it just changing a number in the account book?
As long as the numbers are not too outrageous and high enough to attract the attention of the central government, the higher-ups will not send anyone down to investigate.
Chu Hua: [How did he do it?]
System: [They slightly altered the numbers. At first, the changes were small, so no one noticed. But later, they became bolder and reported more.]
Chu Hua: [Not discovered?]
System: [This is too difficult. He reported the agricultural products and established connections with the locals. Everyone wants to achieve political success. Having gone undetected in the past few years, they've become emboldened. Now that they're on this pirate ship, who can get off midway? So, he gritted his teeth and continued.]
[Everyone was keeping it a secret, keeping tabs on each other. Who would report them? When the higher-ups heard about the good yields, they only sent someone over to take a look. By then, the crops had already been stored in the warehouse, so at most they could see some samples.]
"Isn't it easy to tamper with the samples? Just find the highest-yielding plants within a radius of dozens or hundreds of miles and show them to the inspectors, right?"
Chu Hua could more or less guess what would happen next: [If the inspectors wanted to see more, they would either bribe them with money, sex, or other means, or simply show the high-production areas to deceive them.]
If any more officials take this seriously or raise doubts about it, they will be killed, right?
System: [Yes, after getting drunk, he fell into the river and was killed by bandits on his way back. There are many ways to die.]
Chu Hua: [Many officials like to drink a little and compose poetry while tipsy. It's not uncommon for them to break their legs and fall into the river while drunk.]
Robbing a caravan can bring in a ton of money, making it a very profitable business. This is why many places have so many bandits and robbers, and why they can never be completely eradicated. Many people die this way every year.
So, as long as they don't kill inspectors too frequently in a short period of time, using these two methods of death frequently won't attract attention. Oh, what a good plan.
The system sighed: [He has been using this method of falsely reporting agricultural output for years, and no one in the court has noticed anything wrong.]
Jinyiwei: “…”
Does this imply that they are incompetent?
They are clearly the emperor's eyes and ears, yet they don't even know such things. They are unworthy of the title of the court's lackeys!
Pei Mingcheng's embroidered spring sword was ready to use. He had already thought of the list of Jinyiwei to be sent to Zhuangzhou on official business this time.
At this moment, he heard the system's extremely mocking voice: [What a shame Pei Mingcheng is still a Jinyiwei, and the dreaded Jinyiwei deputy commander.]
[After so many years, he still didn't know that his uncle was sent to inspect agricultural products, discovered something fishy, and was killed by Zhuangzhou Governor Bao Qizhi in collusion with bandits, rather than being killed by bandits by chance on the road.]
He thought he was avenging his uncle by killing a few bandits, and didn't suspect anything fishy about it. He also didn't know that his real enemy, Bao Qizhi, was already the prefect.
Pei Mingcheng: ???
Pei Mingcheng:!!!
Huo Ran stood up. What party? He would go in person!
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