Qin Official

"Thank you so much, Marquis Changnan, for your help."

As soon as he entered the hall, Xi made it clear why he was here. Today, he made a special trip to express his gratitude to Hei Fu.

"I am just a small official from the border county. He is about to die from an illness, but has no way to seek medical treatment. His family has prepared the coffin and put the slips and documents I have transcribed over the years into it little by little, just waiting for him to die."

"But I didn't expect that the Marquis of Changnan would mention me in front of His Majesty, so that I could go up to heaven to listen. Your Majesty also sent an imperial doctor to come thousands of miles away for treatment. I was lucky enough to be able to escape from the great commander's place. live……"

Heifu remembered this. It happened three or four years ago when Qin Shihuang was on his eastern tour. He received a letter from his family saying that he was ill and about to die.

Heifu took pity on him and felt that such a good official should not be unknown, so he took the opportunity of advocating engraving and printing to use Xi's copying of laws and regulations as an example.

At that time, he felt that Xi's story should not only be known to millions of people in future generations, but also to Qin Shihuang! At the grassroots level of the empire, there is such a diligent and conscientious Qin official!

But unexpectedly, Xi was actually saved by the imperial doctor sent by Qin Shihuang. After a year and a half of rest, Xi was in good health.

Not only that, Xi was a blessing in disguise and was molded into a typical example by the court. Although he did not engage in any "learning from Comrade Xi" activities, Xi was immediately promoted from the fake county magistrate and given two levels of nobility. Now he is the fifth doctor.

He sincerely thanked him, but Hei Fu didn't even dare to say so, so he avoided the table and said, "If Mr. Xi had not enforced the law impartially, Hei Fu had been framed more than ten years ago and was in jail. How would anything happen later?"

Xi She, who was nearly fifty years old and already showing his age, had looked at Hei Fu for a long time. When he saw that he was rich and wealthy and returned to his hometown, he was still not arrogant or impetuous. He nodded and said:

"Anlu County, Nan County, has truly produced an extraordinary person!"

Recalling the case more than ten years ago, the humble Guizhou boy in the past is now one of the top ten emperors in the empire. I can't help but feel a lot of emotion. As someone who has witnessed this junior's humble beginnings, I am also very happy.

After the two expressed their thanks, they sat down and chatted about business: although they had known each other for a long time, they had no personal friendship.

What Heifu is most concerned about is, of course, the military situation in Dongting County.

Dongting County is Qianzhong County, located in Guizhou, western Hunan in later generations. Two thousand years later, it was a Manchu ethnic autonomous prefecture and county. Not to mention now, the ratio of local Xia people to barbarians is about one to ten. In some places, it is even one to one. Than a hundred...

In the early days of unification, a conflict broke out between the Yue people and the Qin army there. The defeated Yue people fled south into Xi'ou, which was the trigger for the Qin-Ou war. After the Southern Expedition began, a partial division from Qianzhong County crossed the Yuanshui River and headed south, stationed in Tancheng (Jingxian County, Hunan Province), and became at odds with the Guilin Army...

Xi said: "Dongting County has a mixed mix of barbarians and barbarians, which is inherently unstable. In recent years, people from Nanjun have often come to deceive the barbarians and bring them back to Nanjun as slaves. There have been frequent conflicts between Xia and Yue. Since the war began, there have been frequent betrayals by Yiyue and Yue in the county. Before the Tancheng army had time to attack Xiou, they had to stop and suppress the rebellion, so they did not go deep into Lingnan and the army still existed."

"It's just that Tancheng is blocked by mountains. It's difficult to transport food and fodder, and the army is short of food. The county lieutenant hopes that they can return to Qianling County to eat."

Hei Fu sneered in his heart. The Dongting County Lieutenant followed the trend two years ago and clamored to join Bashu to open up southwestern Yi and march into Qielan and Yelang in the west. These border generals were greedy for the achievements of Li Xin and Hei Fu, and they were eager to achieve success, regardless of the situation of the county, and they repeatedly provoked border conflicts. This was one of the reasons why the Qin Dynasty used troops on all sides. Now they were frustrated and their enthusiasm had faded.

"Emotions are all over the world. The only one who wants to fight this battle is Qin Shihuang..."

Heifu complained in his heart and asked about things related to Xi's work: "How is the administration of Dongting County officials?"

Xi sighed, shook his head and said, "It's not good, the administration is getting worse..."

…

In Xi's view, compared to the enterprising spirit before unification, the atmosphere among the Qin officials seemed to have changed.

"There are always those who look for excuses and accept gifts."

Xi mentioned an incident: "Two years ago, when I recovered from illness and returned to my post, I heard that the magistrate of Yuanling County not only invited guests and friends to marry his daughter, but also notified the three elders and officials in the county to come to congratulate her. , sit under the hall."

"I punished those who blatantly collected bribes, but all the officials said that this was a wedding gift to the county magistrate's son, not a bribe. The county magistrate also thought that it was not enough to punish him, so I finally rejected all opinions. , the county magistrate will be removed from office, and the remaining officials will be slightly punished."

Hei Fu nodded and collected money for the banquet. It was similar to Lu Gong's family in Peixian County. If he was happy in Surabaya County, Peiling would be in trouble. It's a pity that there are too few judges like Xi.

When he was in Jiaodong County, he also saw a similar situation: when officials left, it was common for colleagues to give three to five hundred or even one thousand yuan, but the government turned a blind eye. After all, Qin officials had low salaries, and everyone had to live. .

But now, there are more "welcome money" in various places. When officials arrive, local rich and powerful people give money one after another. It is called settling-in allowance, but it is actually bribes. The new officials would turn a blind eye to whoever gave it, and they would not be embarrassed in doing corvee work, but would pass on the heavy work to the common people, even barbarian tribes.

In addition to these favors and courtesy, there are also those who directly take bribes and bend the law.

Xi handled a case in which a prisoner who had been arrested by Dongting County for committing a crime received a letter from the jailer in his hometown, saying that there was still a case there and that it would be sent for trial. If Xi hadn't noticed something was wrong after checking the love letter and sent someone to chase him, the prisoner would have been released upon his return.

There are also extortionists. Dongting County is a remote area, and people from the Six Kingdoms region are often moved here. The escorting officials take advantage of the opportunity to extort people, plunder the money of the immigrants, and decide the distance of migration based on the amount of bribes accepted.

Xi sighed and said: "There is no way. Changsha County and Dongting County are no better than Nan County. Many county and township officials are retained by the old Chu officials. After ten years, they have only a rough understanding of the laws and regulations. Once they are replaced, the government will be unable to collect taxes and corvee."

Heifu expressed his understanding. He had faced the same situation in Jiaodong. He even ordered the magistrate of Mi County to work with the eldest son of the Yeyi Tian family, and the two parties collaborated to sell private salt!

This is true even for long-term officials, and the food-fighting officials are all held by local people. Although they have little power, they are enough to intimidate the common people. Just like Liu Ji did back then, he took advantage of his position as the head of the pavilion to eat and drink, and refused to pay the debt. The restaurant had to write off the old and new debts. There are so many similar things.

He has always followed the rules and never doubted the joy of laws and regulations, but he has also seen the disadvantages:

"It is a good thing to have strict laws and regulations, but now many new officials do not practice the law, and the administration of officials is corrupt, which makes it possible for petty officials to use the law to bully the people and commit crimes due to the law. Therefore, the people fear officials like tigers and wolves, because a petty official quotes the law and order. Just slap on any charge and you can ruin their families and turn dozens of people into prisoners."

As a county magistrate, Xi was in charge of the judiciary and was already working hard to clean up the administration of officials. However, there was one thing that he was powerless to do, and that was the increasing burden of corvee.

Things were fine when they were first unified. The South had long-term peace and accumulated a lot of wealth. But since the 33rd year, the Qin Dynasty has used troops against Baiyue. Although Qianzhong County is poor, it has been allocated a lot of corvee and taxes.

As the war reached a stalemate, casualties on the front line gradually increased and needed to be supplemented. Almost every household had to provide one person to transport military supplies and build roads and canals.

What to do if the Xia people are not caught enough? There are not many barbarians in the area, so let the barbarians come and work! As a result, the forced labor led to conflicts, which led to bloodshed and the barbarians in the territory rebelled. Merchants from Nanjun also took the opportunity to buy slaves, and the relationship between Yi and Xia became even more acute.

Xi said to himself: "In the past two years, I have been the father of murderers, the son of an orphan, cut off people's feet, tattooed people's heads, countless people. Although according to the law, they committed the crime of Jiangyang and missing time, they really deserve to be punished. But……"

However, when the prisoners in a county account for one-fifth of the residents, something is not right.

"Last year's statistics, recorded in the "Book of Disciples", showed that Qianling Sikong had 125 male prisoners and 87 female prisoners, a total of 226 people. In the entire Qianling County, there were only 152 registered households. More than eight hundred people.”

Similar things were done in Xi's year. Because they protected the traitors, more than a hundred people in Blind Mountain were all punished to be tortured without mercy.

But what he is facing now is not an occasional collective crime, but a continuous vicious circle that spans the entire world.

The war lasted for a long time - taxes and corvees were heavy - many people fled in fear of death - officials hunted them down and brought them to justice, and made them prisoners - more people fled in fear - heavier punishments... the results It means that the road is full of prisoners.

These prisoners were all thrown into the Southern Expedition. The emperor seemed to really want these "unruly people" to die in the tropical rain forest.

Officials like Xi who still have some conscience are in a dilemma: they completely follow the orders of the imperial court and as the executor of policies and the collector of taxes and levies, they will naturally be resented by the head of Guizhou.

If you are soft-hearted and open to the rule of Guizhou, you will not be able to achieve the goals required by the court, and you will be punished by laws and regulations, and will be banished to a distant place for crimes such as "not being straight in prison".

Xi has never been soft-hearted and has never violated the laws of the imperial court, which is why he has been able to serve until now...

Xi also told Heifu something: "This time, the counties of central Guizhou, Nanjun, Changsha, and Hengshan were punished for indirect crimes and were assigned to serve in the Changnan Marquis Army. There are probably no less than dozens of them, and there are indeed people who have been corrupt and bribed. , but there are also officials who cannot bear to criticize the head of Guizhou harshly and are judged for dereliction of duty."

"Relegated officials and prisoners, are these the '300,000 soldiers and civilians' that the emperor promised me?"

Heifu couldn't help but have a headache. No wonder in history, when he heard that something happened in the Central Plains, the Southern Army directly blocked the passage and refused to go back.

There are no elites who can be sent to a place like Lingnan. Most of them are cannon fodder. It’s strange that they have strong combat capabilities...

"This is what Xi has witnessed in the past few years. I originally hoped that things would be a little better after the war, but now that His Majesty has appointed the Marquis of Nanchang as general, grain, prisoners, and soldiers are constantly going south. It seems that this battle will , the fight is about to continue."

Heifu smiled bitterly: "It is difficult to return, but since I have been ordered by you, I have to do it. I just hope that the whole army can win and save the southern counties from suffering."

He said happily: "Although I am in a border county, I often hear that the Marquis of Changnan is not only a good soldier, but also loves the people. He will definitely live up to your majesty's responsibility."

He still has great confidence in Heifu.

At this point, Xiye was about to stand up and say goodbye. He handed Heifu over and said:

"Marquis Changnan, I am very happy to be here. One is to say thank you, and the other is to say goodbye."

"Goodbye?"

Heifu had just returned and was still unaware of the transfer order that Xi had just received.

He said happily: "Mao Jun, the imperial censor, has assigned me to serve as an official in the Censor's Mansion in Xianyang. I have agreed and will set off soon!"

…

Hearing that Xi was going to Xianyang to become an official, Hei Fu was stunned and scolded Mao Jiao in his heart for poaching people to his backyard.

But thinking about it, I still blame myself. It was expected that a typical person like Xi, who was well-known in the emperor's ears, would be sent to the capital, so he smiled and said:

"It's a good thing to be an official in the court. A 600-stone official is far better than a 600-stone official."

Xi shook his head: "I thought that the official position was not between the government and the public, and the salary and position were not high or low. Whether it was a fight for food or two thousand stones, we were all Qin officials? We must abide by the laws and orders."

He pointed at his gray beard and said: "But apart from being able to memorize laws and regulations, I have no other talents. I have been wandering around the place for thirty years with no name. The imperial court suddenly summoned me to the capital. I was really scared. I was afraid that I would be incompetent and ruin the state affairs." "

These words were sincere, very much like the old party members of later generations, and Heifu was a little moved.

"But I heard that the duty of the Yushifu is to supervise officials and revise laws and regulations. In recent years, the court's laws and regulations have become more and more stringent. Don't say that it is difficult for the head of Guizhou to cope with it. Even the officials can't breathe. I always feel that there is something wrong. Something wrong.”

In Xi's eyes, laws and orders are the foundation for maintaining local order and must not be violated. Legal principles must outweigh human sentiments.

But what if the harsh decrees of the imperial court were the main reason for disrupting local order?

Then there must be something debatable about this law.

In the past, he had a humble status and was powerless, so he could only follow silently, but now, an opportunity is in front of him.

"This time I went to the Censor's Mansion. I wanted nothing more. I just hoped that I could use my own modest means to inform the Censor of what I saw and heard in the local area, so that I could benefit a little from the law and order collection."

Heifu said: "Xi Jun knows the laws and regulations well and will definitely be a good censor."

In his heart, he disagreed. The national leaders have become bloated and have ideological problems. It will not help if you supervise the legislative or financial departments.

The king is the one who creates the law, the ministers are the ones who abide by the law, and the people are the people who follow the law. In this era where the king is greater than the law, no matter how the laws and regulations are profited or lost, they will ultimately treat the symptoms but not the root cause.

I'm glad that I'm entering Xianyang this time, but don't be like Hai Rui when he entered Beijing. He was full of ambitions when he arrived, but ended up running into the cold reality...

But Heifu still congratulated him and sent him out personally.

When the two said goodbye, Heifu said with emotion:

"Although it has been a long time, I still remember that at the end of September 2020, Ji Ying and I were falsely accused by the head of the Huyang Pavilion and went to the county jail for litigation. Before entering the hall, I still remember the words written on the earthen wall."

Xi Ziran remembered the layout of his office and nodded: "The Lord is talking about the way to be an official?"

"Yes, that's the way to be an official!"

That is an article that every Qin official must read by heart, and it is also a must-read textbook for civil servants in the Qin Dynasty. Heifu can still recite a few sentences.

He recalled: "At that time, I was humble and despicable, and I didn't know much about literacy, but I could still see the idea of ​​being an official from it. Then I heard that Xijun held the lawsuit, and it was indeed as the article said, pure and upright, cautious and solid, He is a selfless judge, meticulous and careful, quiet and not harsh, and judges as rewards and punishments. He is really a good official, and I admire him endlessly. From that day on, I determined to be a Qin official!"

Xi was a little surprised and said quickly: "I don't dare."

Hei Fu said: "You don't need to be humble to be happy with you. When Hei Fu was the pavilion chief in Anlu, you often taught me something, catching thieves and thieves. I am happy with you, just like a teacher."

"Today, Mr. Xi will enter Xianyang, and Mr. Hei will also give you the words that Mr. Xi taught you in the past! I hope that no matter what happens in the capital, whether you succeed or fail, you will never forget your true heart!"

Xi didn't expect that Heifu would praise him so highly and even say something like treating him like a teacher. However, he was always cautious and was not overjoyed. He still bowed calmly and said: "Your Majesty, please speak."

Heifu solemnly said:

"The Dharma is the formula of the world and the instrument of all things!"

"Officials, the people's lives are at stake!"

…

ps: See Chapter 74