In a case that resulted in the attribution of two courtiers and a hereditary earl, the people rejoiced despite the loss of dozens of innocent lives. You must know that in this day and age, it is not easy to convict an official, let alone condemn the life of an earl.

This result alone is enough for the people to praise the wisdom of the Son of Heaven, thinking that the Ming Dynasty is indeed worthy of the name of the prosperous era now, and judging this point is no worse than any dynasty. For this reason, many people also widely praised Lu Jin, the Daxing County Commander who exposed the case, and almost praised him as a figure like Bao Gong and Di Gong in the previous dynasty.

It's just that these people don't know that the object of their praise is now very depressed, because he clearly sees that there is something else wrong, but he can't do anything because he is in the officialdom. This sentiment was still evident until he visited Hu Hui again.

Because of the previous relationship, Lu Zhen had already become familiar with Hu Mansion, and was soon introduced into the door by his subordinates, and then he was taken by an old housekeeper and went directly to Hu Hui's study in the middle courtyard to see him.

This is not an easy treatment. At this time, the intercourse between people in officialdom can be seen from several aspects. One of them is the title, the general relationship is called an official position or a direct adult, and the relationship will be commensurate with the word when it is close; The second is the place to meet guests when visiting each other, if the relationship is ordinary, they generally only meet in the guest hall, and only as confidants and friends will be invited to the study to meet and talk.

Of course, the relationship can also be taken one step closer, and at that time, you can go and meet your respective wives or parents. However, this kind of relationship is too rare in the DPRK and China, and it is generally only used for real kinship.

Now that Lu Zhen can be introduced into the study to talk, it is enough to see that Hu Hui attaches great importance to him, and he really treats him as a disciple.

Lu Jin, who knew this rule, was also a little flattered, so after entering the door, he felt a little restrained: "I've seen the boss." ”

"Shan Si is coming? I expected you to come to the old man in the next two days, and you came in such a hurry. Hu Hu laughed, and after ordering someone to bring tea to Lu Jin, he waved his hand and let those subordinates retreat.

Seeing that Hu Hu actually affectionately called his cousin, this made Lu Zhen stunned again, and then bowed his head and said: "Xia Guan does have some doubts in his heart, only ask the boss." ”

"You don't have to be so angry in private, you can call me Mr. in the future, and I will call you Shansi, what do you think?" Hu Hu was not in a hurry to say something, but put forward such a suggestion.

Lu Zhen naturally won't disobey. Although this gentleman is not as good as the teacher, he can also be regarded as a disciple of this Hu Butang, which is a relationship that many officials in the DPRK and China can't stammer. Unexpectedly, today he actually took the initiative to accept Lu Jin, a young county magistrate, to get started, which shows how much attention he attaches to him.

Without much hesitation, Lu Zhen had already stood up, respectfully gave a long salute, and said, "I've seen Mr. Hu." ”

"Excuse me, you and I are both practical people, and some vain things are exempt." Hu Hu gave a handful of help and said with a smile: "The old man can still take you under the door when he is old, which can be regarded as a great gain." ”

"Mr. praised it falsely, and Lu Zhen was ashamed."

"This is not a lie, your mind and ability are good, except for a slight lack of background, everything else is impeccable. Especially in this matter, your performance is even more impressive to the old man, so I moved my mind to take you under the door. Hu Hui said with a solemn expression: "But you don't have to worry, I feel that the old man made this decision to calm your anger, in fact, I have already made up my mind after the palace came out that day." ”

After a meal, he smiled bitterly again: "But speaking of which, the old man really disappointed you, this time he broke his promise, failed to investigate this case to the end, and convicted the people who should be guilty." Presumably you came to see the old man today for this reason, right? ”

Lu Zhen sorted out his thoughts for a while, and then looked at the other party squarely, nodded and said, "What Mr. said is that I have been unable to understand why you stopped me from speaking in the hall for the past two days. ”

"You see that there is another problem behind this case, so you want to bring it up on the spot?" After getting Lu Jin's affirmative nod, Hu Hu sighed softly: "Actually, it's not just you, I'm afraid that many people present have seen some clues, but no one has come forward because of this, why do you say this?" Is it really the officials who protect the real criminals, as some people say? ”

"Isn't it?" Lu Zhen couldn't help but ask.

Hu Hu looked a little strange and said, "Yes and no." They did hastily close the case because they wanted to keep some talents, but the real purpose was not that. ”

"And their purpose?"

"For the sake of the face of the court! This case seems to be too big, but if you really dig down, it will be different. A Shuntianfu magistrate, a criminal department Lang Zhong really has the courage to do such a deceptive thing? If there is no nod from the people behind them, no matter how bold they are, they will not dare. You know, this is Beijing, how many eyes are staring at them. ”

Listening to his analysis, Lu Zhen understood. Obviously, if this case is pursued, countless officials will definitely be implicated, and at that time, the imperial court may really have another bloody storm like the Hongwu Dynasty, which is definitely not the result that people like Hu Hu want to see.

Seeing that he was thoughtful, Hu Hu said again: "And that Liu Xun, so it is so easy to take everything on yourself, and confess your guilt, do you think it is only because of the conclusive evidence?" No, it's because someone needs him to come out and take all the charges, otherwise someone else will be implicated. ”

"Let an earl take all the charges down?" Lu Jin was completely stunned, even if he had more ideas, he couldn't believe that the water in this case would be so deep. If you abandon an earl to protect it, I'm afraid that your identity will be much higher than Liu Xun's, who will it be? Guogong, or the princes above?

With this thought in his life, Lu Jin's body was a little cold. Only then did he know that Hu Hu's actions to stop himself were not only to maintain the dignity of the court, but also to protect himself. If the case really continues to be investigated and those guys are brought out, the situation of his own county commander will be very dangerous.

Seeing his thoughts, Hu Hu smiled again: "You don't have to worry too much, this is Beijing City after all, under the emperor's throne, they don't dare to be too wild." And this experience has taught them a lesson, and I think they will be much more restrained in the next period of time. ”

It is said that officialdom is dark, but Lu Zhen didn't realize it before. But now, although Hu Hu only vaguely mentioned a few words, it still made him feel a little frightened. However, after being shocked, he was a little angry: "Could it be that these people can get away with it because the situation needs to be stable?" The innocent who were slaughtered......"

"Of course, the matter will not be settled like this, otherwise the old man will have no face to continue to stay here." Hu Hu did not hesitate to interrupt Lu Jin's words, and said with a straight face.

"What do you mean, Boss?" Lu Zhen was a little puzzled, the case has already ended, the trial that should be tried and the exile that should be exiled has been released, can it be retried?

"It is no longer possible to use this case to condemn some people, so there is only some other way. After the New Year, it is Jingcha, and I, the secretary of the ministry, still have some right to speak. Hu Hui explained lightly.

Lu Zhen immediately understood, it turned out that Hu Hu had already prepared, and those who were involved in this case would definitely pay the price.

Jingcha, this can be regarded as a major difficulty that the Beijing officials of the Ming Dynasty will encounter in three years.

Every year in Beijing, after the Spring Festival, the hundreds of officials in Beijing have to write down their work in the past few years and submit them to the text, and then the officials will verify them. But if you make a serious mistake, then I'm sorry, I can only ask you to go home early.

And the most cheating thing here is that the officials take the initiative to report their problems. In other words, you expose your own shortcomings to others, and then leave the final decision to the other party, and truly give the person authority.

Maybe someone is going to say, so I don't write about my shortcomings, okay? The answer is no, and it will also give people the impression that you are arrogant and arrogant, and that alone is enough to depose you.

Therefore, every three years of Jingcha is a tempering and a ghost gate for the hundred officials in the capital. For the officials, this is the guarantee for them to suppress the ministers, and only by holding the power of Jingcha can the officials be called the heavenly officials, and they can be the existence that can be equal to the internal ministers.

From this point of view, Hu Hu is indeed an old fox, who can do his duty as a minister without affecting the overall situation, no wonder he can survive four dynasties without falling, and now he is ranked at the top of the ministers.

"Good plan, sir, but ...... In addition to the officials, what about those who made Liu Xun guilty? Lu Zhen couldn't help but mention it again.

A wry smile floated on Hu Hui's cheeks: "Wenwu Shutu, those nobles are not something I can deal with, so there is nothing I can do about it." At least for now, the DPRK and China will not clash with the nobles because of this case. ”

Lu Wei was silent, although Hu Hu's words were only a few simple words, but they had already made him see that the current situation of the Korean Chinese armed forces is competing and the situation is not mutually exclusive. It's no wonder that in the past, military attachés were all stable and suppressed, but they were only recently suppressed because they didn't start a war, but they will definitely not give up. Therefore, it is not for no reason that the later Daming civil official group suppressed the generals so badly.

In addition, there is another point that Hu Hu did not mention, that is, he was worried that if he really forced those nobles to be anxious, the other party would suddenly throw himself into Wang Zhen, who was already interested in using troops to make meritorious contributions to foreign countries, and the situation would be really bad at that time.