Chapter 267: Following the routine, opinions differ

Xinghua Temple was first built in the Wei Dynasty. After several renovations, not counting the fields, the building complex alone occupied dozens of acres and had more than a hundred halls.

The Daxiong Treasure Hall, as the main hall, was even more magnificent, and it was the place with the most Buddhist spirit on Mount Yunlong.

Its hall had flying eaves and bucket arches, with upturned corners soaring into the sky, gold decorations and colorful paintings. On the high platform in the hall, the horizontal three-world Buddhas were enshrined, with the Medicine Buddha on the left and the Amitabha Buddha on the right, and the Buddha Shakyamuni in the center. It was solemn and solemn, compassionate and peaceful, with the sea island Guanyin sculpted on the back, and the eighteen Arhats arranged in a circle, with Buddha light shining, as if being in the West Heaven Spirit Mountain.

Of course, having such a Buddhist spirit, besides the credit of the dead sculptures, it was also because of the arrival of the incarnations of various true Buddhas.

As soon as Chen Wude and Luo Zun stepped into the treasure hall, a crowd of gentry and sages swarmed up, bowing and bowing.

"Censor Chen, Censor Luo, our Xuzhou main officials were clearly invited up the mountain to discuss river affairs with Premier Pan. Why were they detained by the Censorate and not allowed to leave?"

"Yes, it has been several days. Xuzhou's affairs, large and small, have lost their backbone, and it has become a mess!"

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"There is a group of soldiers and bandits in Xuzhou, specializing in picking on sages, famous families, and capable officials, plotting money and killing lives. Unfortunately, the Prefect and the Military Defense Circuit Vice Envoy are both detained on Mount Yunlong. What should we do!"

"Is this the General River Prefectural Yamen discussing the project, or the Censorate arresting people under the pretext? Censor Chen might as well give a firm word!"

A group of gentry representatives surrounded Chen Wude.

Some questioned, some pleaded, together with the eunuch's scolding and smashing the door outside the temple, messy voices, wrapped in a group, squeezed into the ears of Chen Wude and Luo Zun messily.

The two had a tacit understanding before coming.

Zun took the initiative to take half a step forward, coming out to respond to everyone's concerns: "Everyone, don't be impatient. The Censorate has always been open and honest in investigating cases, how can it detain people under a pretext?"

"It's just that Premier Pan was too detailed in surveying the river situation for this conference, and accidentally delayed for a few days."

"It just so happens that the Censorate has been reviewing the malpractice of river transport recently, and it just so happens that the Xuzhou main officials are all on the mountain, so we just consulted the case."

"As for what soldiers and bandits crossing the border, poisoning gentry and officials—"

Speaking of this, Chen Wude's expression on the side was a bit awkward.

Fortunately, Luo Zun had a thick skin and continued: "That's just a rumor that a few corrupt officials resisted stubbornly during the investigation and accidentally died or were injured. Don't be alarmed."

As he spoke, he saw his old schoolmate, today's leader, former Ministry of Revenue Warehouse Director Wang, at a glance.

Luo Zun's eyes separated the crowd and cupped his hands to Wang: "Old Mr. Wang, I haven't seen you for many years, and your style is still the same."

As a Jinshi of the 35th year of Jiajing, Wang was older than Zhang Juzheng. He became a Jinshi at the age of 49, and his official rank as Director was powerless. He retired three years ago and was already at the advanced age of 74.

But being old also has the benefits of being old.

Wang stood on the side leaning on a cane, swaying, holding a handkerchief in his hand to cover his mouth when coughing violently, plus his skin-and-bone face, no matter how you look at it, he was a look of not having much time left. Who would dare to say harsh words to him easily?

Fortunately, they were all old bureaucrats, and Wang didn't put on airs, trembling and bowing again: "The subordinate is already a person who has entered the soil by half, where is there any style or no style."

In August of the 12th year of Hongwu, Taizu customized that officials who retired and returned to their hometowns, when meeting with officials of different surnames, do not need to return the salute, and commoners should meet with official etiquette. If meeting with court officials, then order by rank, and rank is the same as order by age.

Luo Zun gave face to "order by age" and respectfully called him Old Mr. Wang; Wang also spoke of etiquette "order by rank" and called himself a subordinate.

The atmosphere was extremely harmonious.

It's a pity that when two groups of people meet on such an occasion, it is difficult to stop at reminiscing about the past.

Wang Wanli stood up, and his words followed Zun's words just now: "When the subordinate was working in the Ministry of Revenue, he was only a wall away from the two, and the official reputation and popularity were heard long ago. The two said that the Censorate did not detain people, and the old man naturally believed it deeply, but—"

"But outsiders, especially the people in the street, do not understand the laws of the imperial court and prefer to make shocking remarks."

"These days, the rumors in the street are really called a mess. They all say that our Xuzhou officialdom is not peaceful, the main officials have been wiped out, and the assistant officials should all be killed, as if a large Xuzhou has become a thief's nest in the blink of an eye!"

Wang became more and more excited as he spoke.

Accompanied by the complex rales in his chest, he struggled to take a few big breaths, and finally stated his purpose: "Since the Censorate did not detain people, can you release the people down the mountain first to calm the rumors? When Premier Pan arrives, it will be no more than another trip. What do you two think?"

Zun saw that the old man had the posture of kicking his legs, so he hurriedly greeted everyone to take their seats and negotiate, and he and Chen Wude sat opposite the gentry and sages.

For this kind of decision-making, Luo Zun did not answer.

Everyone looked at Chen Wude one after another.

Chen Wude was unmoved by this, sitting upright in the Taishi chair, and replied indifferently: "The Prefectural Yamen's miscellaneous affairs have their own laws in the imperial court."

"Whether it is the project of the General River Prefectural Yamen or the case of the Censorate in the traveling palace, it is inseparable from the assistance of Xuzhou colleagues. In the end, we must consult properly before planning the itinerary."

As soon as this was said, the backs of the gentry and elders who had just leaned on the chairs straightened up again.

This Chen Wude is really a person who can't hide his words. Zun is at least covering up, this guy actually said the word "case" bluntly!

Looking at this posture, I am afraid that he is ready to investigate to the end!

Immediately, someone couldn't help but persuade.

"Censor Chen, these days, dozens of Xuzhou's prefects, assistant prefects, thousand-households, and registrars—have all been disposed of by the Censorate. Isn't that enough?"

"It's almost the end of the year, and the Prefectural Yamen are busy with things. But now it's like this, the major challenges, river transport, land tax, and criminal names are all unattended. If Censor Chen still wants to investigate properly, I am afraid that next year's government affairs will have to be suspended."

"Yes, if we continue to be proper, the people of Xuzhou will really be miserable."

A group of people talked at once, like magic sounds piercing the ears.

Luo Zun couldn't help but dig his ears, and Chen Wude was not smiling, still sitting and listening.

After everyone finished speaking, Chen Wude nodded lightly and sighed: "Xuzhou, it is really a family of officials and people."

He picked up the teacup, lowered his eyelids, blew the floating foam in the cup, and asked calmly: "So, Wang Lao and everyone came here this time, entrusted by someone, and came forward to plead?"

This is of course a reasonable guess.

Local officials and gentry have always been one-body, two-sided roles in nest-style corruption.

Cough cough!

A violent cough sounded, and everyone subconsciously looked at the source of the sound, only to see Wang covering his mouth with a handkerchief, coughing constantly.

After a while, Wang stroked his chest with his hand, and it seemed that he was finally relieved.

Wang took a few deep breaths and struggled to ask: "The old man is old, forgot which year's Jinshi Censor Chen and Censor Luo are?"

The voice sounded powerless, and I don't know if it was chatting or asking seriously.

Chen Wude didn't want to answer such inexplicable words and kept his mouth shut.

Zun was very patient and replied frankly: "The Junior Censor and I are Jinshi of the same subject, and we were on the Golden List of the Yichou subject in the 44th year of Jiajing."

Wang nodded when he heard this.

I don't know what the old man was thinking, only heard his tone sigh: "The old man is a Jinshi of the 35th year of Jiajing, and has been conscientious for more than 20 years. I won't say that the old horse knows the way, but at least I have been immersed in the officialdom for more years than the two."

"What is anti-corruption, how to anti-corruption, I have more say than the two."

Luo Zun felt a headache when he heard this. This kind of old seniority is the most annoying. He doesn't know how to talk about things properly, and only knows how to put on the airs of a predecessor.

It's okay when he is in office, but now that people are gone and tea is cold, who can he block?

Wang was completely unaware of his own annoyance, and continued to talk to himself: "The Book of Rites says, if the water is too clear, there will be no fish, and if people are too observant, there will be no followers; the World Temple also said, correcting turbidity is precious in holding the middle, and cutting evil is taboo in being too extreme."

"The Censor is too harsh in Xuzhou, correcting the wrong too much, so that the hundred officials look at each other and tremble, the merchants hold their breath like ice abyss, and the small officials are terrified, fearing to step into the soup; the gentry are panicked, fearing to touch the blade."

"If this continues, I fear that the pillars of the state will be too afraid to offer counsel, causing the New Policies to stagnate, and that talented officials will avoid criticism, causing wise policies to be buried—"

Wang spoke at great length, chattering on incessantly.

Chen Wude and Luo Zun exchanged a glance, quite speechless.

The old man was still reciting the warped scriptures of the Shizong era, claiming that anti-corruption efforts must not be too forceful, otherwise everyone would feel endangered, dampening the enthusiasm and creativity of Confucian officials and affecting the development of the New Policies, and so on.

This set of arguments might have been heeded a dozen years ago.

Unfortunately, the preferences of the superior dictate the trends; the Wenhua Hall of today has long since discarded such notions like worn-out shoes.

Wang seemed to perceive their disdain, silently ceasing his discourse, the wrinkles on his face deepening.

He let out a long sigh: "Since Inspector Chen asks if we have been entrusted by others to come and plead for mercy, he must be certain that we have committed some unlawful acts, colluded with merchants, and are implicated in this, forcing us to jump out from behind the scenes, right?"

Chen Wude remained unmoved, while Luo Zun wore an expression that said, "Isn't that obvious?"

A so-called nest of corruption inevitably involves one person dragging down another.

Just as the Grain Depot Viceroy Fan Yingqi only poked the hornet's nest of the Guangyun and Yongfu depots, wouldn't the Huai'an depot, the Yangzhou depot, and even the various depots of the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue feel a sense of shared grief?

And if the water conservancy officials of Xuzhou had problems with the river transport, wouldn't the water conservancy projects they supervised while serving at the North and South Rivers also be investigated?

The former Grain Transport Viceroy Wang Zongmu claimed his focus was on sea transport, but could it be that every single censor, vice prefect, registrar, and assistant prefect in the Grain Transport Prefectural Yamen was unaware?

If the Xuzhou Military Defense Circuit openly stood guard for gentry and local worthies to smuggle goods, could it be that the grain transport soldiers didn't have a hand in this business?

The Grain Transport Regional Commander, Earl of Pingjiang Chen Wangmo, is currently on the list reported to the Emperor—besides his status as a noble, he is also the younger sister's husband of Empress Dowager Li and the Emperor's own uncle-in-law.

With the livelihoods of a million grain transport workers at stake, it would be no surprise if any manner of demons and monsters were to jump out!

However.

Wang unexpectedly shook his head and spoke of a past event: "At the end of the sixth year of Longqing, Seeing Hai Rui was ordered by imperial decree to investigate the salt tax case in Nanzhili."

"At that time, everyone clapped and cheered, talking about clarifying tax sources and sweeping away social ills, as if it were all benefits and no harm, but who ever cared about the peddlers and porters of the two Huai regions!"

"In those six months, the two Huai regions were in chaos; salt merchants would rather smuggle from salt fields in Joseon than dare to do business at the Two Huai Salt Tax Office, fearing they would be implicated."

"How many wealthy merchants suffered, families were ruined, and even the local people complained incessantly, forced to eat salt at double the price for half a year!"

"Inspector Chen, Vice Censor Luo, when the officialdom is shaken, how can the economy remain stable?"

"They say salt merchants are wealthy and grain transport workers are poor. The salt administration of the two Huai regions can squeeze out taxes and withstand the turmoil, but the Xuzhou grain transport is different; it truly lacks that foundation!"

Wang paused and pulled a thick scroll of petitions from his sleeve.

Under the suspicious gazes of Chen Wude and Luo Zun.

Wang rose and stepped forward, respectfully holding it out to them: "If I must say, I was indeed entrusted by others, but not by the 'mastermind' the Inspector imagines."

"It is the entrustment of thirty-one gentry families, one hundred and seventy-six merchant households, and hundreds of good families of guards, soldiers, farmers, and artisans, to convey the public opinion of Xuzhou to the authorities."

"Over these years of New Policies, with successive performance reviews and land surveys, and constant anti-corruption campaigns, one gust of wind after another, not to mention the instability in officialdom, even business and farming cannot be carried out with peace of mind; the people of Xuzhou have long been suffering!"

"Xuzhou cannot afford to be any poorer."

"Although I dare to offend, this is the sincere heart of the people of Xuzhou; I ask the Inspector to examine it clearly!"

Having said this, he actually knelt down in public, holding the petition above his head, sobbing uncontrollably.

Not to mention how surprised Chen Wude and Luo Zun were upon hearing Wang's plea, or how they responded on the surface, Xu Fuyuan and the others listening from the side hall were left completely dumbfounded.

This display of subservience and emotional appeal—how did it make them look like the villains!?

Investigating corruption is a matter of course; the local people not only didn't send banners of praise, but actually submitted a joint petition asking the Censorate to release the people immediately?

The older batch of scholars had basically never worked at the grassroots level and had no psychological expectation for the strange and varied reactions of the local areas.

Hearing these bizarre arguments and encountering these unexpected events, the impact was not insignificant.

"What kind of bizarre argument is this old donkey making? Is anti-corruption actually delaying the national economy and people's livelihood?"

Wan Xiangchun muttered, then couldn't help but look at Xu Fuyuan, asking for verification with little confidence: "Is it really as this old donkey says? Did the salt administration case really make the streets chaotic and the people complain incessantly?"

Xu Fuyuan, after all, had been a firsthand participant in the salt administration case and naturally knew it clearly.

However, he did not answer immediately.

Xu Fuyuan glanced at the several Imperial Guards waiting to support the hall, stood up, and gave a wink to his colleagues, signaling to talk outside.

Chen Xingjian and Wan Xiangchun exchanged a glance, looked at the atmosphere in the hall, and confirmed that there was no need for "swordsmen in ambush," so they called the Secretariat Drafter and rose together to follow out of the hall.

With no outsiders present, Xu Fuyuan immediately vividly recreated the scene for everyone: "Chaotic? That's an understatement!"

"That Three Borders Viceroy Chen Dong at the time was truly arbitrary and reckless; as a mere Vice Judge of the Two Huai Transport Office, he would draw blood with a white blade and leave with a red one, scaring the officials of the two Huai regions so much that they dared not look up."

"Afterward, he would say 'Call the salt merchants!', and over a dozen large and small wealthy merchants and giants were all beheaded and their homes confiscated; the salt merchants of the two Huai regions still shiver when they hear it today."

"For the first half-month, salt prices were like the tide, rising and falling, one wave higher than the next."

"Not to mention that after Seeing Hai Rui arrived, it became even more uncontrollable; the operation and trade of the two Huai salt tax were sluggish for at least a year or two."

"At that time, some people said that although there was corruption in the two Huai salt tax in the past, at least business was flourishing, but after the case was investigated, it was a scene of bankrupt merchants and withered livelihoods."

"For this reason, the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue specifically submitted a memorial to plead, saying that if officials are not allowed to be corrupt, they will inevitably be lazy in their work; on the contrary, corruption can improve the enthusiasm of officials, lubricate business, and promote the New Policies."

"Some colleagues in the Ministry of Revenue at the time, who were actually this group of people like Wang, even summarized a study called 'Efficiency Corruption Theory'; it seems Wang's retirement back then was also because of this."

Wan Xiangchun saw Xu Fuyuan in high spirits and was quite speechless, forgetting the words that were on his lips.

Chen Xingjian on the side felt his worry undiminished, muttering to himself: "In this way, we have become the people who destroy the business environment in the Emperor's words."

Once these words were out, Xu Fuyuan silently stopped his narration.

Secretariat Drafter Xiao Liangyou, hearing this, wanted to speak but stopped.

Unfortunately, he had only been interning at the Central Hanlin Academy for a few months, and it was not convenient for him to interrupt the conversation between several senior officials.

However, this small movement caught Chen Xingjian's attention.

He seemed to remember something, turned his head, and confirmed to Xiao Liangyou: "Didn't the Third Place Scholar go to the literary gathering the other day? Do you know what the trend is among the scholars and the public now?"

The Emperor had become a hands-off manager, and when he left, he didn't leave any clear edict, only entrusting this pile of cases to their group.

In other words, if they accidentally ruined the business environment of Xuzhou and caused public complaints, not to mention whether they disobeyed the imperial will, even their colleagues in the ministries and courts would probably not mind freeing up a few positions; perhaps a label of "rigid and harsh" would be slapped on them.

They had to be on guard!

Xiao Liangyou had nothing to hide about this, deliberated for a moment, and cautiously chose his wording: "The trend among the scholars and the public—it can be said to be mixed."

Chen Xingjian and Wan Xiangchun frowned suddenly upon hearing this.

The latter asked skeptically: "How is it criticized?"

Not to mention the praise, he was now wondering how it was criticized.

Xiao Liangyou blurted out: "It's not much different from Wang's 'water too clear has no fish' argument just now."

"Some merchants say that our large-scale arrests of officials make it difficult to guarantee the consistency of government decrees, affecting their legitimate business."

"Some people also worry that these officials are corrupt, but at least they are fed; if another batch of hungry corrupt officials comes, the people will still be the ones suffering."

"As for the scholars, there are even more arguments."

"They say corruption is a chronic disease of thousands of years, and the law cannot punish the masses, so it's better to let it be; they also say the court's harsh actions cannot last long;"

"They also say that people have a natural lifespan, and after a few decades, things will return to the old ways, so why bother."

The so-called natural lifespan of a person, of course, refers to the Emperor; the stronger the collective leadership of the Wenhua Hall in this generation, the more intense the counterattack will naturally be when they become old and frail.

Xiao Liangyou shook his head, his tone quite helpless: "At the literary gathering the day before yesterday, some scholars publicly slandered the court, claiming that there has never been any anti-corruption, and in reality, it is just internal fighting in the officialdom, with no difference."

The three of them listened to the Third Place Scholar's observations, their faces becoming increasingly ugly.

Xu Fuyuan even supported his forehead with his hand: "This affects our official careers!"

His tone was full of helplessness.

Others might be fine, but Xu Fuyuan was most afraid of being involved in such cases; in the 45th year of Jiajing, when Shizong was old and the Zhejiang faction was fighting, he was forced to retire from his post as a director in the Ministry of Personnel; in the 6th year of Longqing, he tearfully reported the salt administration case, and after being used as a raft, he still couldn't avoid being demoted to avoid the limelight.

Although he could return to office afterward, no one could stand being hit like this every time they reached a rising period.

Xu Fuyuan had been rising and falling, wasting time until now; as a proper Jinshi of the 41st year of Jiajing, having been an official for nearly twenty years, not to mention Shen Shixing of the same class, even Chen Wude, a Jinshi of the 44th year, was already wearing a scarlet robe, while he was still a director.

Now, the Xuzhou river transport case was originally thought to be something the people would welcome and political achievements would be easily obtained, but unexpectedly, it was again so complex with human hearts and right and wrong.

Xiao Liangyou looked at the three senior officials in such a state, and the words he had been brewing for a long time could finally no longer be suppressed: "Actually, in the eyes of this subordinate, these bizarre arguments just confirm what the Emperor said: the Xuzhou nest case is the result of the simultaneous influence of the officialdom's ecology from inside and outside."

The three of them turned their heads one after another, looking at this new Third Place Scholar in unison.

Since Xiao Liangyou had opened his mouth, he didn't care about whether he was showing off, and continued with his neck held high: "Although the Emperor often uses strange wording that is difficult for ordinary people to understand, the strange thing is that whenever you and I are on the scene, it suddenly becomes clear."

"On the 10th day of the 9th month of the 5th year of Wanli, the Emperor's article stated that the behavioral patterns of social members determine their thinking patterns, and conversely, the thinking patterns of social members also influence their behavioral patterns."

"Isn't this exactly the current situation of the Xuzhou nest case?"

"The defects in the official system and supervision of the river transport are certainly the internal cause of the Xuzhou nest case; aren't the customs and social atmosphere revealed by these bizarre arguments of Wang and the scholars the external cause of the nest case?"

"The two permeated each other, which made Xuzhou a thief's nest that was impenetrable."

"Therefore, it is not you and I who destroyed Xuzhou's business environment, but Xuzhou from top to bottom, from officials to merchants, from existence to cognition, all rotted to the roots, and it must be broken before it can be established!"

The worries of the public, of course, cannot be said to be all groundless.

Merchants worry that after the hidden rules are broken, reasonable rules may not be able to operate normally; the people, according to simple experience, believe that all officials are in the same boat, and it will be the same no matter who comes; scholars have more knowledge and are more pessimistic about this from the height of human nature and history.

These are all reasonable disappointments.

But at the same time, it is precisely these negative thoughts and concepts that, to a certain extent, react on the political ecology and play a negative role in inducing and promoting the spread of corrupt behavior.

Xiao Liangyou may not have fully understood these principles that the Emperor often recited, and his expression was unclear, but even so, the senior officials still had some understanding and gained something.

However, understanding is understanding; Chen Xingjian, an old bureaucrat, still had an subconscious resistance to the showing off of his juniors.

He joked lightly with a dissatisfaction he didn't even realize: "I'm old, even my attainments in classics can't keep up with the Third Place Scholar."

"We can only do some miscellaneous affairs; these unclean customs and social atmosphere still have to rely on the clever and outstanding juniors like the Third Place Scholar Xiao."

Classics, in a strict sense, is the study of Confucian classics; in a general sense, now that the Emperor is one of the Confucian masters of the world, the knowledge he expounds is naturally the most orthodox classics.

But knowledge is something that can be recited externally; if you want to use it to do things, Chen Xingjian disdains it.

It's just that Xiao Liangyou is not the official in charge of the case and doesn't have to consider the consequences, so he can stand and talk without back pain; no matter how good the principles are, can he really ignore the consequences?

The gentry and worthies pleading in the hall, the scholars and people discussing in the streets—can they all be killed with a white blade and leave with a red one?

Xiao Liangyou knew that he had said something inappropriate and caused Chen Xingjian's dissatisfaction, but he was a young man of the new class after all, and he didn't show any cowardice.

He replied neither humbly nor arrogantly: "These are all subjects added by the Imperial Academy later; this subordinate grew up under the New Policies and studied in the New Learning, and is also babbling behind the seniors."

"As for miscellaneous affairs and social atmosphere, they are originally two sides of the same coin; Censor Chen should never divide them into two."

"Just as the Emperor once said, since the Wanli reign wants New Policies, then the official system and tax New Policies are not enough; when the time is ripe, there must also be a New Policy in culture."

"No longer limited to the Imperial Academy, but to preach in state schools, preach in county schools, preach in private schools, and even preach in teahouses and restaurants!"

"Do the right things for the people of the world to see, tell the right principles to the people of the world, and return to the world a clear and bright universe where everyone shouts and beats corruption!"

"In the eyes of this subordinate, Xuzhou today needs this medicine."

Xu Fuyuan and Wan Xiangchun looked at each other, and saw a trace of surprise and accident in each other's eyes.

The few lines of dialogue and confrontation just now were all daily officialdom, not even counting as a conflict.

But the sharpness of this class of juniors might be too strong.

Not only the Third Place Scholar Xiao Liangyou, but the top scholar Wang Tingzhuan who had been in contact before was also in this state; even when the hall officials were present, they were all arguing on the basis of reason.

Growing up under the New Policies and studying in the New Learning, can it really raise a completely different new style?

Xu Fuyuan coughed lightly, smoothing things over: "Too far, too far."

"Whether it's miscellaneous affairs or social atmosphere, the people of Xuzhou are ultimately ignorant and unwise, resisting the clear and bright universe bestowed by the court, and one or two articles cannot explain the truth."

"We still have to act cautiously."

Brother Xu is a master of Guan learning and is round and kind; Chen Xingjian naturally gives him face, smiled, and didn't care about the juniors anymore.

On the contrary, Xiao Liangyou, with the unique problems of the young and strong faction, actually turned his gun on Xu Fuyuan: "It is precisely because of this idea of Director Xu that the people have no right principles to listen to."

"The Emperor once said that benefiting the people is the duty of the court. If, as Director Xu said, the clear and bright universe is a gift from the court, wouldn't it become a gift that can be given or not? How can we talk about duty?"

"This subordinate has heard a lot of these words from Director Xu; in fact, they are exactly the same as Wang's efficiency corruption theory, and I will inevitably have to refute them when rectifying the social atmosphere in the future."

Even though Xu Fuyuan had been through many battles, he felt lost and at a loss at this moment.

He didn't understand how he could have set himself on fire while smoothing things over.

Chen Xingjian on the side smiled without saying a word, looking like he was gloating.

It was Wan Xiangchun who had the best idea; he patted Xiao Liangyou on the shoulder and coughed lightly: "Third Place Scholar Xiao's knowledge is profound, and even Master Xu was left speechless."

"But the Emperor often says that knowledge must be verified by practice."

He raised his hand and pointed to the outside of the temple; after the sound of door-smashing outside the temple fell into everyone's ears, he continued: "The Junior Inspector is entangled by the local worthies and has no time to face the arrogant imperial envoy."

"Since Third Place Scholar Xiao has a lotus tongue and holds himself upright, it is just right for you to make a decision for us and come forward to deal with it, how about it?"

Chen Xingjian nodded repeatedly on the side, secretly giving a thumbs up to Wan Xiangchun.

It is still not good to talk to this kind of hot-blooded junior; even if you win the argument, it is the superior who loses face.

It is better to wear a high hat and throw him out to do the difficult work.

Xu Fuyuan couldn't bear it, fearing that Xiao Liangyou's temperament would cause trouble, and opened his mouth to speak.

Unfortunately, before he could speak, Xiao Liangyou stepped forward: "I am willing to do so, I dare not ask for it!"

Having said this, he held his head high, turned around, and walked toward the temple gate and the fierce imperial envoy outside the door.