Lin Shuhan opened the folding fan in his hand again, and said: "This Wang Jingqing, who has been an official for 30 years, has embezzled 400,000 taels of silver before and after, but His Royal Highness only removed him from all his official positions and demoted him to a commoner, and he didn't even take ......away his reputation as a jinshi."

Qiu Yizhi thought for a while and said, "It's not a big deal. This Wang Jingqing seems to be an old man in his sixties and seventies, so just teach him a lesson, so why bother with him, a half-dead person? ”

"Humph!" Uncle Lin laughed coldly, "Lord Qiu is kind-hearted. There is also a person named Liu Jiantong in the Jiangnan Caoyun Yamen, who is almost seventy years old. Over the years, more than 100,000 taels of silver have been intercepted from the siege funds for repairing the canal. Lord Qiu guessed how His Highness was judged? ”

Qiu Yizhi was about to answer, but he heard Lin Shuhan ask himself and answer: "His Royal Highness will take all his meritorious official positions, and he will have to fill the army for 3,000 miles." Because he was too old and infirm to travel far, he let his two sons be punished on his father's behalf! What is 3,000 miles away? Jiayuguan! Ten people went, can half of them come back? And once they go, there are two, I'm afraid that if the two sons of Lord Liu can come back, it will be a creation. ”

When Qiu Yizhi heard this, he also felt that the sentence in this case was a bit too heavy, so he put down the book in his hand, thought about it and said, "With Liu Jiantong's case, there is nothing wrong with such a judgment. It seems to be a bit harsh to ask his two sons to fill the army at the same time, and I will talk to His Highness another day, and it is good to keep one of them. ”

Lin Shuhan sneered again and said, "Lord Qiu has a big face, and he can speak well in His Highness. Just do it to the end, and help talk about the following case. ”

Qiu Yizhi is such a clever person, he has long heard a bit of ridicule in Lin Shuhan's words, but he doesn't know what kind of deep meaning there is, he stared at Lin Shuhan's deep triangular eyes for a while, and said, "What kind of case?" But Mr. Lin has a friend involved in it, and he wants to go down to my eldest brother to ask for a favor? ”

Lin Shuhan also looked directly into Qiu Yizhi's eyes and said: "Lin doesn't have such a friend, even if he does, knowing that he turned out to be a scum who sucks people's fat and people's ointment, he has categorically broken off his friendship with him, where will he help him intercede?" ”

He paused, re-introduced the topic to the case, and said: "My lord must remember the case of Suzhou Mansion privately dividing Taicang and Changping surplus grain. This is a nest case, and there are always forty or fifty officials involved in the Suzhou government. My lord knows that since Emperor Taizu in this dynasty, none of the cases involving Taicang and Chang Ping have been dealt with lightly. Taking the case of Suzhou as an example, there were 13 people who were killed, beheaded, and hanged, and the rest were confiscated and imprisoned countless......"

Qiu Yizhi interrupted: "His Royal Highness has handled this case so harshly, Mr. Lin has nothing to say, right?" ”

Lin Shuhan sneered again, and said: "It's just that here is the one who is greedy for the most money and grain, and he also came up with the idea of pretending that the granary is on fire to resist the imperial court inspection, but the one named Hu Farong didn't do anything, not only saved his life, but also didn't lose his fame, and arranged to go to Yungui Road as a county commander." ”

Qiu Yizhi thought for a while and said, "This Hu Farong didn't take advantage of anything!" Yungui Road is the most barren place in the Han Dynasty, as the saying goes, 'people have no three points of silver, and the land has no three feet flat', which is what it means over there. I think this Hu Farong is going to work, and he may not have the life to come back! ”

"Humph!" Lin Shuhan sneered again and said, "There are many doorways in officialdom. As long as this Hu Farong still has fame, he can do anything in Yungui and make any political achievements, find a few fellow villagers to tout and praise in the same year, and he will be a cadre immediately, maybe he will be transferred from Yungui again in a year and a half. Even if he dies in office, it will be a death in the line of duty, according to the system of Dahan Enyin, his son can be an official without scientific examinations. ”

In this case, Zheng Xin's judgment was indeed biased.

Even Qiu Yizhi couldn't argue for him, and after thinking for a while, he said: "In the Han Dynasty, the provisions on corruption are very broad. Those who covet the same amount of money are guilty of crimes, and according to different circumstances, there are all kinds of punishments ranging from Ling Chi's execution to demotion. It's no wonder that His Highness's case is difficult to handle. However, this case is indeed unfair, and I will definitely fight for this case with His Highness. ”

When Lin Shuhan heard this, he shook his head and nodded, suddenly got up and walked around the pavilion, and said, "Recently, the more I read, the more confused I become, and I can't even tell whether Lord Qiu is really stupid or pretending to be smart." ”

As a dignified righteous son, if someone else is taught such a lesson by Lin Shuhan, a cloth-clothed grass person, he will definitely be angry on the spot.

However, Qiu Yizhi is a person without a frame, and he admires Lin Shuhan's talent very much, so he didn't mean to be angry at all, but said with a smile: "In front of others, he is considered a smart person, but in front of Mr. Lin, he can only be regarded as a stupid person." Mr. Lin said a lot of things like this, I don't know what the meaning is? ”

Uncle Lin glanced at Qiu Yi and said, "Lord Qiu not only knows the joints here, but also knows how to keep the light and the secret, but he is much smarter than me!" Well, since it is difficult to speak as Lord Qiu, Lin, a person who is idle and wild cranes, can be open-mouthed! ”

He laughed self-deprecatingly, and suddenly said categorically: "Your Highness, this is selling favors privately, and what you are doing behind your back is a party for personal gain!" ”

Qiu Yizhi was taken aback when he heard this, and the tiger mouth couldn't bear his strength for a while, and the book he was holding suddenly fell to the ground. He hurriedly bent down to pick up the book, taking this opportunity to calm his mind, and then got up and said, "Mr. Lin's words are a bit alarmist, right?" My eldest brother is the eldest son of the emperor, and the whole world is the head of his family, so why bother to form a party? ”

Lin Shuhan said with a smile: "I don't know how many secret things in the world, especially the secrets of the royal palace are the most obscure. However, in Lin's opinion, among the hundreds of millions of people in the Han Dynasty, those who are more familiar with the situation than Lord Qiu may not be able to find a second one. You and I are both enlightened people, so why do you speak secret words here? ”

Qiu Yizhi couldn't understand what Lin Shuhan said anymore, smiled to himself, and said, "Mr. Lin really looks at things in a subtle way. If you don't do the position of a very popular minister in the center of the imperial court, you just want to come to Shanyin County, a poor and remote country in the south of the Yangtze River, to be a small county commander, isn't it just to not get involved in it? ”

Lin Shuhan said with a straight face: "It's really remarkable that Lord Qiu can have this kind of knowledge. However, not everything in the world can be done as you like. With Lord Qiu's status, merits, and reputation, even if you want to retire from the rivers and lakes, others may not be able to let you go. If you don't believe me, please think about how long you have left the center of the court in the past six months? ”

Qiu Yizhi was stunned when he heard this, and thought about it carefully, although he was a seven-grade small county commander, he was dealing with the emperor, the prime minister, and the prince all the time - and these people with respectable status, ordinary local petty officials, even if they had been in a lifetime, it was very rare to see them from afar.

So Qiu Yizhi sighed and said, "What Mr. Lin said is good. It's a pity that life is unsatisfactory nine times out of ten, and this is something that can't be helped......"

Lin Shuhan said with a straight face: "Don't be discouraged, Lord Qiu. If it weren't for Lin Mou's recognition that the adult was a friend, and seeing that the adult was honestly doing things for the court and avenging the grievances of the people, otherwise I would have been too lazy to say these words. ”

Lin Shuhan's words were so sincere and thorough that Qiu Yizhi couldn't help but be touched, and he hurriedly spread out the books in his hand on the table in front of him, got up and said deeply: "Sir, please ask me." ”

Lin Shuhan still looked arrogant and arrogant, and he didn't stretch out his hand to help, and said lightly: "With Lord Qiu's insight, what can I teach you as a down-and-out scholar?" It's just that I saw what His Highness did, and I occasionally had some experience. ”

He pondered for a moment and said, "Didn't Lord Qiu find out? All the officials who were dealt with lightly by His Royal Highness, without exception, all served as the chief examiners of the imperial examination? ”

Qiu Yizhi was stunned again when he heard this, he debuted in the army, he was young, and Jiangnan Province was a place where he was not familiar with his life, and he really didn't know the resumes of these officials. However, although this Lin Shuhan is lonely, he is by no means the kind of person who talks about it.

So Qiu Yizhi frowned and asked, "What?" And such a thing? ”

Lin Shuhan nodded with a smile and said, "When did Lin say something?" You see that Wang Jingqing was born as a jinshi, and he was originally appointed to Jiangnan Province by a scholar, and he presided over seven or eight Jiangnan Township tests, and there were always five or six hundred people who were raised from under him. The literary style of Jiangnan is prosperous, and among these people, there are seven or eight high school scholars. In this way, this inconspicuous Wang Jingqing is actually the seat teacher of the three hundred Jinshi of the Han Dynasty, and his influence is not trivial. ”

Lin Shuhan took a breath and continued: "As for this Hu Farong, it is even more amazing. He was born in the Ministry of Rites, although he was a lowly junior and had never served as the chief examiner or deputy chief examiner, but he didn't know how many imperial examinations he had participated in, so he could be so familiar. Moreover, he is a disciple of the old prime minister Yang Yuanzhi, and there are no longer a few high-ranking officials among his classmates. His Royal Highness shook his pen and lightly dropped him, but I don't know how much face he sold to others! ”

Lin Shuhan said in a paragraph, listing five or six officials whose punishments were obviously too light, and sure enough, they were all with deep backgrounds in the imperial examination.

So Qiu Yizhi sighed and said: "It turns out that my eldest brother wants to deepen the line of the imperial examination and cultivate his own power!" ”

Lin Shuhan clapped his hands and praised: "Lord Qiu is really an understanding person!" His Royal Highness's father-in-law is Qin Guangyuan, who can be called a master in the Shilin, and he is already quite famous among scholars. After this incident, His Highness's prestige among the scholars must be as high as the sky. ”

Qiu Yizhi nodded and said, "What Mr. Lin said is not a lie. Among the three sons of the emperor, the second brother has the heaviest military power, and the three have both military power and government affairs, but this eldest brother only has a few errand servants from Luoyang Mansion in his hands, and there is no military power at all. It's just that the emperor is determined to never give him the opportunity to lead the army alone, and there is no way for him to invest all his chips in civil officials. ”

'Alas!' Xiucai rebelled, and it will not be achieved in ten years', how could His Highness not understand it? Lin Shuhan said, "However, His Royal Highness's desire to compete for the heir has been clearly revealed......

Speaking of which, the conversation between the two has already involved the first major event in the world, the succession to the throne.

Qiu Yizhi was a person who wanted to keep his head down, and he didn't want to say more than half a word in this matter, so he hurriedly stopped: "Mr. Lin can't talk nonsense about this matter!" Beware of head-to-head landing if you're not careful! ”