"So, you were the one who instigated the prince's memorial?" Lao Zhu's evil eyes wandered up and down Han Du's body, as if he was looking for a place to strike.
Han Du felt a sting all over his body and couldn't help but explain quickly: "Your Majesty, I have never done this."
Lao Zhu obviously didn't believe it, and he didn't turn around to ask Zhu Biao, because Lao Zhu knew that if he asked Zhu Biao. Even if Han Du did it, Zhu Biao would protect him.
Instead, he stared directly at Han Du and asked again: "Are you really not the one who incited me?"
"No." Han Du replied with a clear conscience, standing upright.
Lao Zhu's eyes stayed on Han Du for a moment, and then he said reluctantly: "In that case, you should get up first."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Han Du slowly stood up from the ground and relaxed his stiff legs.
Seeing Han Du's appearance, Lao Zhu couldn't help but groaned and cursed: "Don't pretend to be pitiful in front of me. I don't know you?"
But after a while, Lao Zhu turned around and whispered to the old eunuch: "Please sit down."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Han Du quickly bowed to express his thanks.
Who wants to stand when they can sit?
After Han Du sat down, Lao Zhu asked: "You also agree with the prince's memorial, why?"
The main event was coming, and a thought flashed through Han Du's mind. After pondering for a moment, he asked: "Your Majesty, how many honest officials do you think the world has had since ancient times?"
"As rare as a phoenix." At this point, Lao Zhu couldn't help but sigh. He yearns for honest officials just like looking for the stars and the moon, but even so he has to admit that there are too few truly honest officials.
"Where are the corrupt officials in the world?" Han Du asked again.
Lao Zhu's face darkened and he said angrily: "Like the sand of the Yellow River."
Han Du spread his hands and said with a smile: "That's it. There are so few honest officials, but there are so many corrupt officials. Corruption is like a scourge. If you want to control it, you can't just rely on severe punishments to stop it. Thousands of people can't stop it. Years ago, Emperor Yu told us that if we want to control the floods, it is better to remove them than to block them."
"Okay, that's great." Zhu Biao became excited when he heard this. Han Du compared corruption to a scourge, and compared corruption control to flood control, and also proposed that it is better to block the situation than to remove it. These words simply spoke to Zhu Biao's heart.
Although Lao Zhu also felt that Han Du's words were reasonable, he didn't have much reaction. He said disdainfully: "That sounds nice. It's better to block it than to block it. Corruption is different from a flood. How can you block it?"
Seeing that Lao Zhu was so stubborn, Han Du paused and started to tell the story, "Your Majesty, this time I was in Liyang and found that some officials were indeed greedy and took the initiative to accept property from landlords and gentry. But some officials were originally able to stick to their duties. Heart..."
"Don't excuse those corrupt officials. If they could stick to their true intentions, why would they accept Pan Fu's money?" When Lao Zhu saw Han Du mentioning Liyang, he became furious. In his opinion, all the corrupt officials in Liyang deserve to die, and none of them is innocent.
Seeing this, Han Du had no choice but to explain: "Judging from what they did later, they were indeed worthy of death. But I was wondering, among so many officials, can't I find even one who sticks to his true intentions?" ?”
Han Du's words forced Lao Zhu to fall silent. There were dozens of officials in several counties, and it would be too much to say that he could not find even one who could stick to his true intentions.
"I have interrogated them one by one. At least half of the officials here were able to stick to their true intentions and not be corrupt at the beginning." Han Du sighed slightly, feeling unworthy for those people.
Lao Zhu looked at Han Du doubtfully. Since Han Du said that when he interrogated officials, he found that most of them were people with integrity, then this must be true. Because all the confessions of corrupt officials must be kept and archived, as long as they are checked, they will know whether they are true or false. It is impossible for Han Du to talk nonsense on this matter.
"There are so many? Then why did all of them become corrupt officials in the end?" Lao Zhu was a little anxious. If most officials in the world were neither corrupt nor taking, then he would be happy.
Han Du sighed: "Because official salaries are too low."
The sonorous and powerful voice made Lao Zhu feel angry, but he was patient and wanted to hear what Han Du would say next.
Han Du looked at Lao Zhu and said: "The salary given by the emperor, if the officials only have firewood, rice, oil and salt, is enough to live on for a hundred officials and their families. However, in addition to eating, a person must be free from illness and disaster. If officials or their family members get sick, with such a low salary, will they have the money to treat the illness?"
Lao Zhu suddenly fell silent.
Han Du continued: "Many of the officials in Liyang were unable to stick to their true intentions because they had no choice but to do so. Some were sick themselves, some were sick of their parents, and some were sick of their children. They couldn't. Do you want to watch your family die? One of the officials, he was originally able to live a life of poverty, but after his old mother became ill, he saw that his mother's face became less and less energetic day by day. Faced with the gift sent by Jiang Yiru, He compromised on the precious medicinal materials..."
Han Du's words made Lao Zhu feel sad. He couldn't help but recall the scene when his parents and siblings starved to death in front of him in order to leave him the last vegetable dumpling. If he had any idea at that time, let alone being greedy, even if he was asked to kill someone, he would not hesitate.
Lao Zhu closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and calmed down his emotions. He looked up at Han Du with sharp eyes and asked, "Are you saying that I killed him by mistake?"
"No." Han Du shook his head without hesitation and said, "Greed is greed, no matter what the reason is. Otherwise, if corrupt officials are exempted from their guilt due to extenuating circumstances, how can it be fair to the people? "
"That's right!" Lao Zhu nodded immediately and said, "If I spare them, it would be unfair to the people."
Then he looked at Zhu Biao and reminded: "Did you hear that? As long as you are a corrupt official, no matter what the reason, you will never be forgiven. Otherwise, how can you explain to the people of the world?"
"My son, please remember your father's teachings!" Zhu Biao sat upright and bowed respectfully to his father.
When Han Du saw that Lao Zhu wanted to take the opportunity to point out Zhu Biao, he stopped talking. When Lao Zhu looked back at him, Han Du continued: "Corrupt officials are indeed unforgivable, but some officials who clearly stick to their hearts are dragged down by people with ulterior motives because of a little medicinal material. Going into the water is enough to attract attention.”
Lao Zhu couldn't help but nodded, even he felt unworthy of such an official. But it was impossible for him to admit his mistake, even if he asked Han Du what good advice he had, Lao Zhu would not be able to ask, so he could only stare at Han Du.
Han Du understood and immediately said: "The reason is that officials' salaries are too thin."
Lao Zhu disagreed, and snorted coldly and said: "Are officials' salaries low? Yes, the salary I set is indeed not generous compared to other dynasties, but I also gave the officials and gentry preferential treatment without having to pay for it? So, Isn’t that enough?”
Han Du looked at Lao Zhu speechlessly, such words could only come from Lao Zhu's mouth. What does it mean that it is not considered generous when compared with previous dynasties? This is simply the lowest salary ever, okay? And compared with previous dynasties, it is not a little less, but a lot less. Take the Tang Dynasty, which Lao Zhu most admired, for example. The salary of officials in the Ming Dynasty was only one-tenth or two of that in the Tang Dynasty. Who dares to believe it?
However, Han Du had no time to argue with Lao Zhu about this now. Instead, he bowed sincerely and said, "Your Majesty, the officials and gentry's failure to pay for food will cause endless disasters. You must not continue."
"First Evolution"
After hearing this, Lao Zhu suddenly turned pale, stared at Han Du with his cold eyes, and said sternly: "Do you know what you are talking about?"
It was Lao Zhu's proud strategy that officials and gentry did not have to pay grain, but now Han Du said it was causing endless disasters. Lao Zhu did not slash Han Du's neck with a knife because he was his son-in-law.
It has to be said that although Lao Zhu was tough and merciless to officials, he was still able to show enough tolerance to his relatives.
"Han Du shut up, how can you question the emperor's will?" Zhu Biao was anxious. Whether his memorial could be accepted by the emperor was a small matter. If Han Du angered his father, he might not be able to save him. Handu.
Han Du glanced at Zhu Biao gratefully. He didn't want to say anything, but he had to say some things.
Pursing his lips vigorously, Han Du said under Lao Zhu's burning eyes: "Does your Majesty know why Jiang Yiru and others committed evil in Liyang, but no one reported them?"
Liyang can be said to be a pain in Lao Zhu's heart now. No matter what the circumstances are when Liyang is mentioned, Lao Zhu will pay great attention to it. Suppressing the anger in his heart, he asked in a deep voice: "Isn't it because they have won over all the officials?"
Han Du shook his head slightly, "This is indeed a reason, but even if the officials are protecting Jiang Yiru and others, isn't it strange to the emperor that before this, for so many years, no suffering common people came to the capital to complain against them? "
"Why is this?" Lao Zhu suddenly pondered. He really didn't think of this problem at first. Now that Han Du reminded me, I felt that it was really weird.
It stands to reason that for as many years as Jiang Yiru and others have been domineering in Liyang County, the people of Liyang have suffered for many years, but why have no people come to the capital to sue them in the past?
Not to mention that Jiang Yiru and others could block all the people who sued them in Liyang. Official Jiang Yiru and others might still be able to block them. Could it be that they could even block all the trails in the county? it's out of the question.
Besides, they can still stop one or two common people. There are countless people suffering in Liyang. It is impossible to stop them all, right?
If this was really possible, then no scholar surnamed Huang would come to the capital with a blood letter to sue them this time.
