Chapter 274: Dividing Offices and Setting Up Bureaus: Raising Poisonous Worms in a Jar

Liu Boyuan's move was the equivalent of Lu Zhenfei just playing a "three," and he immediately slammed down a "rocket" on top of it.

Such a bizarre move was absolutely beyond anything Lu Zhenfei had anticipated.

The corner of his eye twitched violently as he looked instinctively toward Wu Kongjia.

Wu Kongjia gave a slight shake of his head.

He looked to his two advisors next, and this time received two head shakes.

He looked again at Vice Magistrate Liu Zhengcai, who was also staring dumbfounded — it was even less likely that he had arranged this.

Not a plant?

It really wasn't a plant!

He had spoken with Liu Tingxuan in the capital as well — why had he not seen back then that Liu Tingxuan was a man who would go this far?

How could a man who would go this far still not have squeezed his way into the New Policies circle by now? It made no sense!

Could it be that watching the former eunuch-faction man Huo Weihua soar straight up the ranks had stung him into action?

One must understand that although he, Lu Zhenfei, had also written letters home,

the letters did no more than tell his son to take the initiative in clearing up exemption fraud and false registrations — he had not breathed half a word about voluntarily donating silver.

Ahem — of course, this also had something to do with the fact that Lu the Incorruptible had not been in office long, and his official purse was hardly deep.

And after he passed the capital examination and entered the capital, he had spent money like water on investigating local conditions, and on purchasing all manner of official documents and books — to the point that he was now even preparing to pay for his own posting, so naturally he was all the more reluctant to part with his wealth.

But however one looked at it, this fire had, inexplicably, burned faster and fiercer than he had expected!

Just as he thought! When the time comes, Heaven and Earth themselves lend their strength!

I, Lu Zhenfei, am indeed fated to turn back the raging tide!

Lu Zhenfei could not figure it out, nor did he have the time to figure it out.

He let out a great laugh, strode forward, and seized Liu Boyuan by the arm.

"Good! Good! Good!"

"Liu Huaqing has indeed raised his son well! A tiger does not beget a dog — the ancients did not deceive me!"

Having dropped the name of Liu Boyuan's father, signaling that he had duly received this inexplicable show of sincerity from the Liu family,

Lu Zhenfei rode the wave and smoothly steered the topic into the next phase.

He clapped Liu Boyuan heavily on the shoulder, turned with the motion, and faced the assembly:

"But with Boyuan so utterly sincere, how could this county magistrate let a man of righteous deeds walk clothed in brocade through the night?"

"This brings us to the 'government student incentive' strategy that this county proposed when I had audience with His Majesty."

"The various gentlemen of the New Policies were greatly impressed by this strategy, but due to numerous considerations and critical points, it remains under deliberation at present and cannot yet be promulgated." The county magistrate's interview and audience with the Son of Heaven, directing the New Policies gentlemen at headquarters, adding a 0.3x red tint to "greatly impressed" — the entire passage contained not a single lie, yet every possible buff that could be stacked was stacked to the limit.

"But this county holds that time waits for no man."

"With the realm now so benighted, how can we sit and wait for orders from the central government?"

"The method of the New Policies lies in obtaining the method, promoting the method, testing the method! This word 'method' does not necessarily have to come from the top down — it can also come from the bottom up! Our Leting government students, with sincere hearts pledged to the nation — how can this good method not be put into practice?"

"How can we in Leting not dare to be the first under Heaven!"

"If in the future the central government issues an order, that will merely be adding flowers to brocade."

"Even if no order comes, this official will still follow the example of the ancient sages and erect a 'Stele of the Various Worthies of the Leting New Policies' beside the Altar of Soil and Grain!"

"So that a thousand centuries hence, the people will still know that Leting's harvest of ten taels, its myriad lamps in ten thousand homes — all of it rests upon the merit you gentlemen achieve today!"

If the mood before had been merely hot-blooded, this moment was a complete detonation.

A stele erected! A name left behind! Enshrined beside the Altar of Soil and Grain!

This was the ultimate lifelong dream of every scholar!

The crowd was about to boil over again, but Lu Zhenfei decisively cut them off with a wave of his hand.

The matter of the government students had to be struck while the iron was hot, nailed down and riveted tight, all within today! His time was desperately tight — he had no leisure to listen to any more oaths of loyalty.

"However, to accomplish great things, one cannot be without order and regulation, nor can one indulge in empty talk."

"This official intends to divide the government students into three groups — 'Cadastral Survey,' 'Waterworks,' and 'Agrarian Affairs' — each led by a man of ability selected for the task."

"Finally, there shall be a fourth group, 'Oversight,' to be occupied by men of high virtue and prestige, tasked specifically with investigating abuses and malpractices."

His gaze, sharp as a torch, swept across the assembly and finally settled upon Liu Boyuan.

In the matter of cadastral survey, arithmetic and local knowledge were in truth secondary — the most critical requirement was impartiality.

Given the stance Liu Boyuan had taken today, he, Lu Zhenfei, truly could not think of anyone who could be more impartial than him.

That was three thousand taels! If the man could embezzle three thousand taels out of the cadastral survey without being reported and caught by others, then that would count as Liu Boyuan's own ability. "The cadastral survey is a matter of immense consequence. It requires mastery of arithmetic, thorough familiarity with local conditions, and even more, it requires thunderbolt methods and an impartial face that shows no favor."

"Liu Boyuan!"

Liu Boyuan's body jolted, and he immediately answered in a great voice: "This student is here!"

"This task I entrust to you! If a single fen or li is miscalculated, this official shall hold you and you alone to account!"

"This student accepts the command! I shall not fail the weighty trust of our father-and-mother official!"

"As for the waterworks..." Lu Zhenfei's gaze drifted, finally landing on the two remaining sons of official families.

This matter, in truth, was also not easy to handle.

The difficulty did not lie in any technical challenge.

After all, the Luan River was not the Yellow River — it hardly demanded such a high standard.

The crux was still that the cadastral survey required impartiality, and the waterworks, in truth, also required impartiality.

The key here was not overt acts like graft and bribery, but rather the course of the waterworks — where to cut off, where to route through, whom to pare away, whom to enrich — these likewise required careful deliberation.

A slight bias might be tolerable, but if a man, for the sake of his own family holdings, forcibly turned a good undertaking into a disaster, then all would be lost.

"Wang Moru! Zhang Guangyun!"

"This student is here!"

"Your fathers, when transferred to local posts, earned excellent reputations and devoted themselves especially to water-conservancy works — I expect you must have inherited their learning in this field."

This was a lie.

From the moment Lu Zhenfei entered the capital until he set off for his post at Leting, he had been so frantically busy his feet never touched the ground. When would he have had leisure to investigate these two men's family backgrounds, let alone consider any inherited family learning? To put it plainly, on the one hand he needed their local prestige; on the other, it was precisely official sons like these who were easiest to keep a grip on.

"I therefore assign you to take charge of water-conservancy matters — convene the village elders, survey the terrain, and settle the regulations for all water-conservancy works."

"But this official gives you fair warning first!"

Lu Zhenfei's voice turned abruptly cold, carrying a bone-deep chill.

"Should there be any reckless misconduct, deliberate favoritism toward your own clans and family enterprises, or any corruption whatsoever — I shall seize your government-student quotas as recompense for the offense!"

"Do you dare accept this charge?!"

The two men exchanged a glance, then declared loudly:

"Your students... dare not refuse this charge!"

"As for farming matters..." Lu Zhenfei's gaze swept across the assembled students and settled on one man among them.

Farming matters offered no money to be made, nor did they require any fine talk of impartiality.

What they required most was someone who had genuinely worked the land, and beyond that, the single word "sincerity" mattered above all.

"Chen Yumen!"

Chen Yumen started, plainly never imagining that he — a poor government student — would be called by name right after three sons of the local gentry.

"Your student is here!"

"This official knows your family is poor, that you often till the fields yourself, and that you understand best the seasons of farming and the lay of the land."

"Now listen carefully! When you go out into the fields, you are not to shut your door and build a cart in isolation. You must humble yourself and seek out those old farmers who can achieve 'two harvests in three years,' and only then measure the land and lay your plans."

"Which land can grow what, and which cannot — every detail must be clarified one by one." "And correspondingly, what is to be planted, how much seed is needed, how many tools, plow oxen, and fertilizer, and how much each household lacks — all must be tallied one by one." "Our target is a yield of ten taels, but when it comes down to each individual household, the aim is simply that every person be used to the full, every patch of land give its utmost — only that every place may truly increase its output, not that land and labor be recklessly squandered."

"If in any of this there is the slightest laziness, cutting corners, or careless muddling through, this official shall likewise seize your government-student quota as atonement!"

"Do you dare take up this matter?!"

Chen Yumen's blood surged hot; he bowed deeply. "Your student... will spare no effort unto death, and never dare the slightest laziness or muddling through!"

"As for supervision..."

Lu Zhenfei turned last to two Confucian scholars whose hair was already half-white.

"Lu Guangyu! Zhong Xiumin."

The two men stepped forward together, cupped their hands, and awaited their orders.

"This official knows that you two once participated in compiling the Leting county gazetteer."

"This matter of 'supervision' under the new policies is at once an office of disciplinary inspection and a veritable record kept by official historians!"

Lu Zhenfei's tone slowed, yet every word weighed a thousand jun.

"I hope you will be like the 'blue-robed historian' Zhang Maoxiu — let your brush record the truth without flinching, and speak boldly for righteousness!"

"Let not a single instance of hidden malpractice or fraud be omitted, nor a single person of merit and sincere heart be overlooked."

"With the brushes in your hands, leave a trustworthy history for these new policies of Leting!"

"Can you do this?!"

Lu Guangyu and Zhong Xiumin exchanged a glance, then bowed down together.

"Your students... dare not but obey your command!"

The candidates for all four teams were soon fully selected.

Posts with room for graft were given to rich official sons who had something to lose.

Work requiring meticulous care was given to farmer's sons who truly understood such matters.

Posts requiring prestige were given to men of local repute who themselves sought a name that would outlast them.

Though various calculations lay behind all this, it was in truth still barely patched together, rushed to the extreme.

But Lu Zhenfei paid no heed at all to how much of it was right or wrong.

In any case, in the style of the new policies, get the thing rolling first and talk later — sift as you go, observe as you go, and that would suffice.

After all, what he had to do next would be far more chaotic than merely appointing these people!

Lu Zhenfei swept his gaze over the assembled scholars, flung his wide sleeve, and barked sharply:

"Now — right here in this county school."

"I give you the time it takes one incense stick to burn. Each group is to settle its own roster, each man to sign up and select those whose talents fit the task. Form your teams at once!" "Before that incense stick burns out, I want to see results!"

"Quick, quick, quick! Get moving!"

"Once the groups are formed, there are still matters waiting for you to handle!"

With that, he beckoned with his hand and withdrew, taking the others with him.

The government students inside the room stared at one another blankly for a moment — then suddenly erupted.

"I want to join the surveying team! My arithmetic is good!"

"Bullshit! You call that good at mathematics? You can't even calculate an irregular field from a triangular one!"

"Brother Chen! Brother Chen! Take me along! My family also has three mu of poor land — I understand the art of sowing and reaping!"

"Wang Moru! Wang Moru! I want to do water conservancy! When we were boys I always swam with you in the Luan River — don't you remember?"

"Get lost! Water conservancy requires knowing how to survey — not going off to catch fish!"

"Ai-ya, stop shoving! My shoe! Who stepped on my shoe!"

"Old Mister Lu! I want to join the supervision team! I want to let my brush record the truth!"

"Off with you! Your handwriting looks like a dog's scratchings — what truth are you going to record?!" Shouts, squabbles, the crash of tables and chairs — everything blended into one din, hens flying and dogs leaping, utter chaos.

Where was the slightest trace of the decorum befitting disciples of the Sage?

"Quiet! All of you, quiet!"

Liu Boyuan shouted a few times until his voice was hoarse, but in an instant he was swallowed up by the surging crowd.

Everyone was simply yelling at the top of their lungs, simply pressing around him with all their strength, shoving and jostling him, spittle flying into his face, ceaselessly recommending themselves. Liu Boyuan was jostled so hard he staggered left and right, his Confucian scholar's cap knocked askew down to his neck.

The arrogance and ruthless drive inside him were finally forced out by these schoolmates who had utterly lost their minds!

"Out of my way!"

He exploded with sudden force, shoving aside the several men in front of him with one push, then cast around the room, searching in every direction.

Finally, he snatched up a wooden bench from nearby.

He raised it high above his head, and with all the strength in his body, smashed it viciously against the floor!

"Bang!!"

A deafening crash that set teeth on edge — splinters of wood flew in all directions; the bench had one leg cleanly broken off by the impact.

This single thunderous crash finally drowned out all the clamor.

Everyone in the room was startled, their movements halting involuntarily, and one after another they turned to stare at him in shock.

Liu Boyuan's chest heaved violently, his eyes bloodshot. He shouted only one word: "Gentlemen!"

But he immediately felt this was not enough.

He gave the crowd no time to react at all — he simply kicked the broken bench aside, flipped himself up, and leaped directly onto the red-lacquered great table before him! From high above, he looked down upon them all.

"We have only the time it takes one stick of incense to burn! If this bickering continues, no one will get into any group!"

His voice was hoarse, yet carried a ruthless edge that brooked no dissent.

"Listen to my arrangements! All group leaders, step over here to my side right now! The rest of you, register one by one!"

"Anyone who jostles and shoves again — I, Liu Boyuan, will be the first to kick him out!"

The crowd looked at one another in bewilderment, and at last slowly began to calm down from the feverish frenzy of moments before.

At the same time.

The four men, apart from Instructor Chen, had already moved to another room. As Li Liye passed the Confucian temple's offering altar, he simply helped himself, picking up a small, finely wrought bronze incense burner.

Once inside the room, he lit a stick of incense and set it in place, and the four men at once bowed together in reverence.

After this was done, with nothing else to occupy them, the four simply tucked their hands into their sleeves and fell into idle conversation.

Midway through their chat, the topic inevitably turned to the new policies in Northern Zhili.

Although Wu Kongjia corresponded frequently with the capital, it was impossible for every matter to be written down in letters.

He had therefore always been rather curious about the evaluation, selection, and training process for county magistrates in Northern Zhili.

"So, this so-called leaderless small group — is that also something His Majesty invented?" Wu Kongjia, hearing a muffled crash carried faintly from the direction of the Hall of Enlightenment, raised an eyebrow involuntarily. "With that kind of racket, they haven't actually started fighting, have they?"

Lu Zhenfei sat in his chair, holding a teacup, and gave a low chuckle, paying the noise no mind whatsoever.

"A true leaderless small group — I haven't the time to play that game with them."

"That method is to take a group of people, completely erase all distinctions of status, throw in a single topic, and let them tear at each other like venomous insects in a jar, then see who crawls out in the end."

Lu Zhenfei took a sip of tea, his tone indifferent.

"But these men each have their own rank and standing, and I have already designated the heads of each group, so strictly speaking this can only be counted as half a leaderless discussion."

"If under these conditions they still cannot pull themselves together within the time it takes one stick of incense to burn, then I shall have to reconsider the caliber of these men. Given status, yet unable to use that status to exert influence — how then are they worthy of that status?"

"And going a step further, I must also place a question mark beside this new law built upon the foundation of government students."

"Whether government students can be used, whether they are fit for use — all of this must be carefully observed in this matter. One must not assume one has obtained an excellent method, only for problems to arise at the verification stage — that would be a calamity."

"And in the final analysis, even if they do argue themselves into a complete mess, what of it?"

"I have… after all, prepared for both outcomes from the very start."