Wei Chen, the chief eunuch, came very suddenly, and there was a huge crowd of people, and there was no way to come to report the news, so that the officials of the Ministry were unprepared, and they had to watch him take away all the boxes of official documents that had been backlogged for a long time. Although he already knew where Xiao Zhao County Ling lived, Wei Chen still pretended to ask someone.

According to the rules, all officials who enter Beijing to report on their work must leave a contact address in the official department, in case they are sent down by errands but cannot find anyone. In the past, the high-spirited officials were nothing in front of Wei Chen, nodding and flattering a bunch of good words, and then handed over the address, stuffed a heavy purse, and asked what was going on in the court.

Wei Chen took the address and threw up his sleeves and left, not looking at the purse, his face was cold. Out of the yamen of the Ministry of Officials, he did not follow the path on the address, but went directly to Zhao Youcai's house, as if he knew the whereabouts of Xiao Zhao's county order.

When it was, Zhao Youcai was talking ruthlessly, and every word was extremely heartbreaking, "Zhao Youshu, don't think that winning the exam will be one step to the sky, believe it or not, I will be able to step you down immediately?" But a seven-grade sesame petty official dares to oppose me. I am a heavenly official, and I control the future of all officials in the Great Yong Kingdom. If you don't do what I want, it's not just about withholding the debriefing report. I'm going to move the real thing, and I'll give you a Ding class when I grade it, and I'll send it to Lingnan, Shuzhou, Xiangxi and other places, and you can see how long you can live. ”

The several state capitals in his mouth are the places where the Dayong State exiles prisoners, the environment is harsh, the people are fierce, and the road is difficult and dangerous. The officials sent to these places either have no money or power, or they have offended the powerful, and they will be gone for the rest of their lives, and few of them will return to the capital alive.

Youshu knows the inside story well, but she is not afraid at all. His best friend (of course, only unilaterally identified by him) was the king of Yama, who was in charge of the underworld, and he could not be afraid of death for anything. Putting down the tea that had already been cold, he was about to refuse the matter, but he heard a sound of footsteps outside, and then the chief butler of the Zhao Mansion ran in and said in a trembling voice, "Master, Mrs., eldest young master, a father-in-law came outside, saying that he came to summon the little young master to the palace for an audience at the behest of the emperor." ”

"What did you say?" Zhao Youcai's ruthless and smug expression turned into disbelief. However, a seven-grade sesame official was summoned by the emperor in person, so what happened?

Youshu was also surprised, and when he walked under the corridor, he saw a eunuch with a white face, a feminine appearance, and an extraordinary bearing hurrying over, and said in a loud voice, "Is it Zhao Youshu in Suichang County?" ”

"Exactly down there." Youshu walked down the steps and gave her hand.

"Wei Chen, the head of the inner house, has seen Lord Zhao. The emperor has an order to urgently summon Lord Zhao into the palace and ask Lord Zhao to go with the minions. Wei Chen immediately returned the salute with a very respectful attitude. He is in charge of the internal affairs of the palace, although he is only a fourth-rank official, but because he has been reused by the emperor, his status is not worse than that of a first-class official. Liubu Shangshu had to nod his head when he saw him, flattering constantly, and leaned in front of Xiao Zhao's county order, but he put his posture very low, and he was very careful in his words and deeds.

Youshu didn't realize it at all, but Zhao Youcai was a personal essence, and he soon sniffed out something strange. Zhao Youshu entered the palace this time, I'm afraid it's not a bad thing, but the emperor's blue eyes. If the emperor values him, the debriefing report of the officials will be useless, and his threat will become a complete joke. In this way, what should I do with the lives of my family? Do you really give him back all your possessions?

When Zhao Youcai was extremely unwilling and burned inside, Youshu had already left with Wei Chen. The second master and the second lady were so anxious that they were sweating, and they complained again and again that their son was not doing things simply. Unable to imagine, they could only wait and see what it would be like for Zhao Youshu to come back from the palace. If he is reused by the emperor, the matter of family property will be even more difficult to solve, and if he is reprimanded, he may be able to operate.

Wei Chen personally went to ask Xiao Zhao County Order, but entrusted a few boxes of official documents to his apprentice and asked him to take them to the Jinluan Palace. Several strong eunuchs carried boxes inside, and after saluting, they were neatly placed in the center of the main hall, so that the civil and military officials and the emperor could see it clearly.

The official Shangshu looked at it fixedly, and suddenly sweated like a waterfall. I saw several boxes with seals on them, and notes were written on the seals. One of the notes reads: The silver taels have been settled and can be sent to Lord Liu for approval; Another article reads: If more than half of the payment is delivered, it must be retried; The last one used a striking Zhu approval: refuse to pay the money, postponed indefinitely!

All the ministers have handled the work report and assessed the rank in the ministry, and they naturally understand what is going on when they see this scene. Not only the officials are in this rule, but also in other ministries, it is easy to do things with silver, and if you don't give silver, there is only one word - consumption. Let's see who consumes who dies first.

However, this kind of rule is contrary to the law, and it is not tolerated by the law of the country, and everyone understands it in their hearts, but they must not declare it in their mouths, otherwise it will be corrupt and perverted the law, and the crime will be serious. They originally thought that those officials in the Ministry of Officials had their own ways to deal with the inspection from above, and didn't the emperor have nothing to do when he was there? Unexpectedly, as soon as Wei Chen went, he turned out ironclad evidence, and then placed it on the Jinluan Palace. is worthy of being the first general manager of Ouchi, worthy of being the emperor's most relied on henchman, and there are really two brushes!

If they knew that Wei Chen was not an ordinary person, and when he entered the official office, he used a trick to catch the officials off guard, and they would not be so surprised.

The new emperor left the throne and walked slowly, first walking around the box twice, and then standing in front of the last box, his already cold face becoming more and more unfathomable. He gently removed the seal and said firmly, "It has been postponed indefinitely, it seems that Zhao County's debriefing report is inside, right?" ”

Don't open it, don't open it! The official Shangshu covered his face with his hands and shouted secretly. The seal is nothing, a few words can prevaricate the past, and the bad is that there are account books in each box, which records in detail how much silver those officials who came to report on their work, how many treasures they sent, and what background and origin of those who refused to pay silver, so that Lord Shangshu can see at a glance, and then arrange errands according to the weight of the silver taels. According to those who refused to pay the silver, it dragged on for a year and a half; If they don't pay it, those officials with no background will be sent to the bitter cold land like prisoners.

It is precisely because he controls the promotion of officials in various places that the officials of the Ministry of Officials have earned a majestic nickname - Heavenly Official.

Obviously, the mind of the official secretary could not stop the new emperor. He had already opened the lid of the box, took out an account book and looked through it, his face expressionless, and his eyes were unpredictable. All the officials hung their heads one after another, and wondered with palpitations: Even the account books are placed inside, do you think you don't die fast enough? What do Lord Liu's subordinates eat? How could Wei Chen be allowed to search for such a terrible thing?

It's still the same sentence: people can't fight ghosts. The so-called ghost is afraid of the wicked, and it is necessary to see what level the ghost is.

In a series of heavy breathing, the new emperor finished flipping through the account book and commented in a low voice, "Interesting." I never expected that the rating of the officials would be based on the amount of money and the weight of the background. If there is more money, it will be given to the first class, and if there is less money, it will be given to Ding, and if there is no money, it will be detained in Beijing and wait for it to be issued. What do you think of local officials? Fat sheep to the slaughter? What do you think of me? A fool who can be deceived and fooled with wanton? The capable are persecuted by you, and the incompetent are popular, so that officials everywhere are greedy and martial, well-dressed monkeys, unable to master the lord, and dying to benefit the people, all of whom are corpses and vegetarians. In the long run, how can my people not rebel? How can I not die? ”

The more he spoke, the more angry he became, and he raised his hand to smash the account book on the face of the secretary. only heard a crisp sound of "pop", and there was an extra red mark on the forehead of the official Shangshu, and a nosebleed meandered down, which shows how much force the new emperor used. He immediately knelt down and kowtowed to plead guilty, trembling all over his body and dripping in cold sweat, looking very wolf.

A eunuch quickly picked up the account book, patted it lightly, and handed it to the hundred officials at the emperor's signal.

The new emperor didn't need the help of others, he bent down and rummaged carefully, and finally found Zhao County's debriefing report at the bottom of the box and opened it to read.

"Lord Liu, do you remember what you said before?" After a moment, he spoke slowly.

"Dare, dare to ask the emperor, which sentence are you referring to?" The official Shangshu was already paralyzed with fright. As soon as the new emperor ascended the throne, he killed hundreds of officials, except for the officials and households, and they were all purged inside and outside, and won the title of the living king of Hades. It was terrifying enough when he had a cold face and frowning, but now that the corners of his lips were smiling, why was it even more terrifying?

"Why did you say you withheld Zhao County's debriefing report?"

"Weichen said, Weichen said that Zhao County's debriefing report did not conform to the rules and had to be rewritten." The official secretary wiped his cold sweat as he spoke, and his heart was up and down, and he was frightened. Today's incident is all led by Zhao County's work report, I knew that this was the case, I would give him a first-class rating, and it would be just a matter of approving it immediately, so why hold on? In the end, you have to blame Zhao Youcai for that idiot! It's good to settle the grievances and grievances in their own family, why do they use others as guns?

Thinking of this, the secretary of the ministry hated Zhao Youcai to the bone marrow, but he also regretted it too late, so he could only pray that Zhao Youshu's debriefing report was really out of line, and his own crime could be one less.

However, it backfired, but the emperor was furious, but there was still a sense of appreciation, and the ministers had already guessed that the report of this Zhao County Commander was not only in line with the rules, but also extremely exciting. Sure enough, after reading it, the new emperor handed the thick pile of files to the hundred officials to read, and walked back to the throne without saying a word.

The officials, who were still half-convinced, were all silent after reading the file, and their eyes faintly showed a look of amazement. Worthy of being the eighteen-year-old high school champion, this Zhao County Commander is brilliant and eloquent, expounding his political achievements from various aspects such as people's livelihood, commerce, agriculture, public security, and water conservancy, and summing up his advantages and shortcomings. His use of words is rigorous, logical, and his narration is objective and beautiful, which can be regarded as a model in the debriefing report.

Even if the officials who are the most proficient in business are found, they can't write a more comprehensive, standardized, and excellent report. And Mr. Liu said that his report was "out of order", which now sounds like a big joke. If you don't receive the money, you can say it clearly, why frame up and ruin people's careers?

The eunuch withdrew the report and wanted to hand it over to the emperor, but when he saw the other party waving his sleeves, he said in a deep voice, "Let Lord Liu take a look at it." What exactly does his so-called 'non-conform' debriefing look like? ”

The official Shangshu took the report and read it carefully, trying his best to find a mistake or omission, but it backfired, and he knew in his heart that he was finished, and there was really no excuse at all.

The new emperor ordered people to open the rest of the boxes, take out the account books and circulate them, and said leisurely, "The common people are the foundation of the country, and the foundation of the country must be patriotic people." Worry about the country and the people for the officials, and never forget the original intention, so that you can always do it. Well, well said! My Dayong country finally has a good official who has done his best and died. ”

This is the conclusion of the report of Zhao County's order, and the emperor took it to recite it repeatedly, which shows that he appreciates it very much, and looks at his political achievements, which makes most officials embarrassed. Everyone hung their heads with ashamed expressions.

The new emperor looked down at the hall and continued, "The kingdom is rich and the people are dominant; The only remaining country, the rich doctor; The country of the dead, the rich cangfu; It is said to overflow and leak. Throughout history, self-examination, you say, is my Dayong a kingdom, a hegemon, the only surviving country, or a country of death? ”

Who would dare to answer this sentence? However, when you think about the people who died of starvation, drowning, drought, and unjustly dying, and then look at the rich officials and scholars, the answer is self-evident.

The new emperor knocked on the table, and was about to speak, when he heard a clear voice from outside the hall, "Emperor Qiqi, if you don't vigorously rectify the rule of officials, my Dayong will definitely become a country of death!" ”

Hey, what kind of stunned young man dares to say such a thing? The officials looked back one after another, and saw a young man wearing a seven-grade official robe, no, maybe a teenager? Strode in. His face is like a crown of jade, his color is like a spring flower, his snowy skin and red lips are matched with crystal cat pupils, and he doesn't look like a court official, but like a delicate son of a family who stole an adult's clothes and ran out. Fortunately, he was capable, dignified and calm, and he was able to control the scene.

Everyone frowned at first, and then nodded secretly, already guessing the identity of the arrival. It turns out that Zhao County's order looks like this? No wonder he can write such a talented and rich article, no wonder he dares to answer that fatal question, no wonder he refuses to bribe the officials and stick to his name. Young people are not afraid of anything, and they have a bloody nature of "daring to be the first".

When everyone thought that Zhao Xianling had an upright personality and a wooden temper, they saw him look up at the new emperor on the throne, and his expression of neither humility nor arrogance instantly turned into surprise, confusion, and ecstasy, forgetting to look at the road under his feet, he tripped over the heavy carpet and fell on his back.

What kind of bearing, dignified and calm, it turned out to be an illusion! The officials covered their faces with their hands and could not bear to look at them directly.

Youshu waited in Beijing for more than half a month and didn't see the emperor rectify the rule of officials, thinking that he was afraid of those dog officials. Such a mind and means obviously cannot be his master, so he slowly died of his heart. But now, the person he looked forward to and hoped for, and the person who thought and thought about it, was really sitting in the hall, which surprised and delighted him, and he was at a loss.

He threw himself a few times, but he was so eager that he tripped over his right foot and fell again. Fortunately, Wei Chen, who followed closely, quickly stepped up to help him, and saved Xiao Zhao County Order in embarrassment.

Youshu hurriedly arranged the hem of her official hat and clothes, and looked up at the same time, and saw that the person who was once very familiar was looking at herself with extremely unfamiliar eyes at the moment. He is still so handsome and unpretentious, but his temperament is cold and strict, and there are several deep grooves engraved between his eyebrows, which are caused by perennial frowning.

This is the master, but not the master, almost in an instant, Youshu came to a conclusion. The master will not look at himself with a cold gaze, and the master will not be indifferent when he falls, unless he has forgotten what he once was.

Thinking of this, Youshu seemed to have been struck by lightning, her eyes blinked, her mouth was deflated, and she left two lines of teardrops the size of beans. However, after thinking about it, he was relieved again. After all, the master is not himself, he has a special background, and he can be directly reborn without reincarnation. Each of his lives is brand new and independent, and after drinking Meng Po soup and Lechuan water, he naturally has no memories of his previous lives.

It doesn't matter, you can do it all over again, you can recreate countless good memories of zào, and you can chase him back! Youshu kept cheering herself up, so she stopped her tears, but her eyes and nose were still red, and she looked very pitiful.

There are officials who cry and make trouble in the court, and there are those who shout, but they are all wronged and accused, or debate with others in court, but there are very few people who cry inexplicably like Zhao Countyling? Oh no, he's laughing again now, is there really nothing wrong with his brain? The officials looked at each other in unison.

The new emperor was also quite puzzled, and asked in a deep voice, "Is it Zhao Youshu, the commander of Suichang County?" Why did you cry and laugh when you saw me? The words fell, and the groove between the eyebrows became deeper and deeper.

Youshu hurriedly wiped his face with his sleeves, then quickly stroked the official hat, smoothed the hem of his clothes, and half-knelt to salute, "Your Majesty, Weichen is Zhao Youshu, the commander of Suichang County." Weichen has admired the emperor for a long time, and once he saw the face of heaven, he was excited and ecstatic, and asked the emperor to forgive the minister. It is said that it is better to see than to hear, the emperor is really wise and powerful, eloquent and strategic, and he shakes the sky with a heroic spirit, so that the Qiankun is initially determined, the society is initially stable, and the people return to their hearts, which is really the blessing of my great mediocrity, the blessing of the community, and the blessing of the people! Weichen retracted his previous nonsense, there is the emperor sitting in Zhongtian, how can I be a country of death, within three or five years, the country will be rich and the people will be strong, the Haiyan River will be clear, and the world will be peaceful. ”

He was full of praise as soon as he opened his mouth, not only praising the new emperor to the point of his ears, but also the civil and military officials were also speechless and amazed. I thought this was a clean official with a wooden and upright personality, but I didn't expect it to become so flattering in an instant, and I returned the previous words in three or two sentences.

High, really high! Even the traitor who was the best at slapping horses in the court had to give Zhao Xianling a thumbs up.

The new emperor frowned, and his heart was very entangled. He knew that Xiao Zhao County Ling was not the kind of person who flattered and bullied, but his appearance today was too abnormal, and he was like a different person. Worried that there were demons and monsters that had invaded Xiao Zhao's body in the county, the new emperor twisted his eyebrows and looked at it carefully, but he was even more confused, yes, this person was indeed the one he knew, as if it was fake.

Although his mouth was full of whiskers, his expression was extremely sincere, and his eyes also flashed with joy, as if he admired himself very much. But hell, I've been in obscurity in the domain for so many years, and who knows who I am except for a few henchmen? Could it be that someone can see through my tricks and recognize me as the king of Yama? The new emperor was puzzled, but he couldn't ask, so he had to wave his hand and say, "It's cold on the ground, get up and talk back." ”

After a slight pause, he took out a bright yellow silk handkerchief from his sleeve and handed it to Wei Chen, "Let Zhao Xianling wipe his tears." ”

Note that it is "let" instead of "for", which means that you can't touch a finger of Xiao Zhao's county order. Wei Chen understood in his heart, took the handkerchief and walked to the hall, and carefully handed it over, "Lord Zhao, wipe it quickly." ”

Youshu wiped it twice, and naturally put the silk handkerchief in his pocket, but he didn't plan to return it.

Wei Chen wanted to speak and stopped, his expression was entangled, and all the ministers also secretly thought: If the emperor's things don't say the word "reward", do you dare to be selfish? That's a lot of guts! Did you really write the debriefing report? What we see in the report is clearly a big loyal minister, a good minister, and a clean official, but why did he become a traitor, a minister, and a corrupt official when he came to the palace? Could it be that something went wrong?

The new emperor put his fist to his lips to hide his expression of crying and laughing. As soon as Shu came, he couldn't wear this cold mask, and it was really a hit nemesis.

Youshu didn't notice what he was doing wrong, and was secretly speculating about his master's thoughts. After all, he has been with the master for two lifetimes, and he knows a lot about the other party's methods, and he knows that if the master does not attack, it will be a thunderbolt. Leaving the officials in the ministry before was because the time had not come, but now that he has summoned himself, he must be ready to start.

Thinking of this, Youshu immediately took out the written fold and said in a loud voice, "Your Majesty, Weichen wants to impeach the Ministry of Officials Shangshu Liu 7749 Counts, the first crime is corruption and perversion of the law; The second crime is to buy and sell official ......" and presented a lot of evidence.

Wei Chen immediately sent the folds and evidence to the imperial front, all of which were obtained by Xiao Zhao's personal visit these days. He set a trap on the officials of the ministry, pretending to be forced to helplessly say that he would raise money, but he said that he had a bad memory, and asked the adults to list the money they received one by one. The officials of the Ministry of Officials, who claimed to be heavenly officials, were rampant in their actions, and they did not hesitate to write down the money under various names on paper and hand it to him, and they also gave extremely detailed explanations.

This kind of thing is irrefutable and irrefutable when it comes to the imperial front. The face of the official Shangshu turned white and purple, and he couldn't wait to get over. The civil and military officials also showed panic on their faces, and cold sweat was like a waterfall.

The new emperor seemed to be thunderous and angry, but he thought in his heart: By the way, this is the county order of Xiao Zhao that I know, fair and honest, not afraid of power, and dare to say and do.

Youshu is willing to go to the soup for the sake of her master, and she will never give up, how can she be afraid of a few powerful people? He impeached seven or eight out of ten officials in the ministry, and then knelt down to cry out for himself.

The new emperor almost walked down, personally helped him up, endured and pressed his legs and feet, and said in a deep voice, "Zhao County Order, please get up quickly." I will thoroughly investigate the corruption of the officials. Come on, take off Lord Liu's black gauze hat and put him in the prison to await trial! ”

The ministers were more or less involved with the ministers and wanted to intercede for him, but they couldn't find a suitable excuse for a while, so they had to be silent. The key to controlling the country lies in the rule of officials, and the rule of officials is the death of the country, it involves the country, it involves the country, and it is not a big or small thing. If Lord Liu's crimes of buying and selling officials and perverting the law for bribes are implemented, Ling Chi's execution will be considered light, and even more so, it will be even more numerous among the nine clans.

With such a thing as the destruction of the nine clans, who would dare to mix it indiscriminately? The farther away you are, the better.