Li Zhaode sighed. "Because their methods are cruel," he said, "They often use small crimes to commit major crimes. Whenever they encounter a case, they are afraid that it will not be big enough, and they are afraid that it will not be broad enough. Nobody knows whether or not the next moment the steel knife that is used to kill will fall on their head. These people enforce the law for the country, but in reality they have become the biggest destroyers of the law. "
The ruthless officials tried in vain to solve all problems with harsh punishment, but they completely neglected the root and ignored the actual contradictions. They did not think about how to solve these problems, but used violence and torture to forcibly maintain the situation they wanted. Even if it had a little effect, the backlash would be a hundred times more serious.
When the ruthless official Yan Yannian was the governor, in order to establish his authority, he gathered all the prisoners on death row in the county government and executed them. Blood flowed for several miles. Thereafter, in the areas under his jurisdiction, anyone who committed a small crime was executed. For a time, there were no more robbers and the people were almost at peace. However, a few years later, even more people took the risk out of desperation. Robbers swarmed up and became more and more violent. In the end, robbers simply turned into mass rebellion.
The common people said, "Better corrupt officials than cruel officials!" Why is that? Because although corrupt officials seized wealth and ran amok, they were not as brazen as cruel officials. Against corrupt officials, the common people could at least expose them. Against cruel officials, the common people could only keep their mouths shut. They dared to be angry but did not dare to say anything, or even did not dare to be angry.
"Today's cruel officials are even more unbearable than the cruel officials of ancient times. In order to please the Emperor and establish political achievements, they do anything. In order to amass wealth and seize power, they also do anything. Knowing the past can serve as a mirror to the present. The cruel officials of ancient times, compared to today's cruel officials, are many times more noble. To the country and the people, they still do more harm than good. Today's cruel officials do more harm than good. Ever since I became the prime minister, I have deeply felt the harm of cruel officials. Attacking cruel officials and restoring clarity to the court is what I have always done. "
Princess Taiping smiled and said, "What the prime minister said is very true, Taiping deeply agrees. Ever since Zhou Xing was executed and Lai Junchen was demoted, the cruel officials in the court have ceased their banners and drums, seemingly no longer causing harm. But they are always waiting for an opportunity to make a comeback. A few days ago during the joint trial of the three law departments, they were restless because of this. To prevent them from rising from the ashes, the prime minister's responsibility is great! "
Li Zhaode said: "This old man has always taken it as my duty to crack down on cruel officials. I wonder if Your Highness has any good ideas on how to crack down on cruel officials?"
Princess Taiping said with a smile, "I am just a woman, what kind of brilliant opinion can I have? But … the newly appointed Minister of Justice, Yang Fan, since taking charge of the Ministry of Justice, has made great contributions in bringing order to the Supreme Court and the Imperial Envoy Station. His actions coincide with the Prime Minister's thoughts. "
Li Zhaode nodded and said, "Yang Fan, huh? This old man has also paid attention to him before. Unfortunately, his brilliance was short-lived. Now, he has become an ordinary person in the Ministry of Justice and has no achievements."
Princess Taiping sweetly said: "Prime Minister Li is wise and farsighted, but there are also times when he makes a mistake. You must be busy with state affairs, dealing with thousands of affairs every day, that's why there are some omissions. The reason why Yang Fan was showing his ability a little bit now, pretending to be obscure, was only because he was only a doctor of the Ministry of Justice, and above him was his immediate superior, Cui Yuanzong. Cui Yuanzong is timid and afraid of getting into trouble. He has been restraining Yang Fan in every possible way. Even if Yang Fan has a thousand skills, I am afraid he can't use them. "
Li Zhaode's eyes revealed a hint of a smile. He said: "Yang Fan is still too young. There must be someone at the top to control the overall situation. Otherwise, won't he become a runaway wild horse? If he really causes an unmanageable mess, who will clean up the mess for him? But, Cui Yuanzong is indeed lacking some drive. He is in the Ministry of Justice, but he likes to be overcautious and indecisive. This is very inappropriate! "
Princess Taiping lightly shook her horsewhip and said in a free and easy manner: "That's right. Right now, the position of the Minister of Justice has been vacant for a long time. Minister Cui is also an incompetent person. I think it is time to change the person in charge of the Ministry of Justice."
Li Zhaode lightly knitted his brows. He slowly said: "But Cui Yuanzong did not make any big mistakes as an official. Where can we change him?"
Princess Taiping said: "If he did not make any mistakes, then he has performed a meritorious service. With Cui Yuanzong's qualifications, he can be promoted to Prime Minister, right? Prime Minister Li is in charge of the Political Affairs Hall. I believe that if Cui Yuanzong is promoted to Prime Minister, he can do more things by Prime Minister Li's side. As for the Ministry of Justice, if we can change a person who is willing to work and let his subordinates do the work, it will be a good thing for the country and the people. "
Li Zhaode's eyes slightly flashed. He asked: "Then, in Princess's opinion, who can be the Minister of Justice?"
Princess Taiping said: "Prime Minister Li assists the Emperor and controls the officials. The choice of the Minister of Justice should be decided by Prime Minister Li."
Li Zhaode stroked his beard and smiled. He slowly said: "Hmm, I feel that the current Minister of Justice, Doulu Qinwang, has a steady temperament and can be of great use. Unfortunately … his qualifications are not enough!"
Princess Taiping said: "The so-called qualifications are all created by people. Everyone thinks he has the qualifications, so naturally he has the qualifications. If Prime Minister Li is interested in Doulu Qinwang, although I am not in the officialdom, I still have some connections. If Prime Minister Li makes a suggestion, I am willing to help Prime Minister Li wave the flag and shout the battle cry. "
Li Zhaode hurriedly cupped his fists and said: "Old man's painstaking effort is all for the people of the world. If Princess can facilitate this matter, old man will really thank Princess' benevolence on behalf of the world. "
Princess Taiping smiled and said: "I do not dare to accept Prime Minister Li's thanks. Taiping thought that the current Ministry of Justice does not have enough officials. Since Prime Minister Li wants to use the Ministry of Justice to take the lead in cleaning up the country's laws and regulations, the Ministry of Justice must have more astute and capable officials. In my humble opinion, if Doulu Qinwang becomes the Minister of Justice, he will need an assistant minister who can cooperate with him in order to avoid repeating the mistake of the Left and Right Ministers fighting for power. As far as I know, the Left Remonstrating Official Tao Wenjie is familiar with the law, astute and capable. He has a calm temperament and treats people generously. If he is appointed as the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, I believe he will bring out the best in Doulu Qinwang. "
Li Zhaode let out a soft 'ah' sound and said in a low voice: "The Left Remonstrating Official Tao Wenjie? Hmm, old man knows a thing or two about his character. If this person becomes the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, old man thinks he can take on this heavy responsibility! "
Speaking to this point, the two of them looked at each other and smiled, with a tacit understanding. Just like that, an important appointment was completed on horseback.
…
The Deputy Imperial Censor Wan Guojun rode an old horse, walking lazily at the side of the procession returning to the city.
Right now is not the time for the Imperial Censor to show off, riding an old horse will make it appear more low-key.
Not far ahead, Yang Fan sat tall and straight on a date red horse. Wan Guojun stared coldly at his back and said to Wei Suizhong, who was riding beside him, "How is it? You still haven't found any evidence against him?"
Wei Suizhong was originally a ruffian in the streets, but was promoted by Lai Junchen. Even though he is now an Imperial Censor, his ruffian nature has not changed. Just now, when the court officials sent off General Xue from the capital, he could still pretend. Now that he is riding on a horse, his waist is slumped and his shoulders are slanted, there is no trace of an official.
He used his horsewhip to rub his head and said in distress: "I have arranged for a few Imperial Censors who understand the law to look for mistakes in his official duties, but Yang Fan is not doing anything at all. That Chen Dong has always been careful in his work, and now he is even more watertight. It is even more impossible to find loopholes in his cases. This person has been working in the Ministry of Justice for half his life, will he let us find any evidence against him?"
Wan Guojun thought for a moment and said: "Then what about his personal integrity? Is there nothing wrong with his moral integrity? Hasn't he been with Princess Taiping recently? "
Wei Suizhong spread his hands and said: "He really hasn't. These days, he has been going in and out of some nunneries and temples with people from the Luoyang prefecture. Didn't you say that this matter involves Prince Wei and Prince Liang and told us not to interfere? I didn't pay much attention to it. These two days … I heard that he has been going to some nunnery, but there is no one from the Luoyang prefecture accompanying him. "
Wan Guojun frowned and said doubtfully: "He doesn't want the company of the Luoyang prefecture, but goes to a nunnery alone. What is the meaning of this?"
Wei Suizhong chuckled and said: "Who knows? Could it be that he found some pretty nun in the nunnery while working on a case and wants to seduce her?"
Wei Suizhong was just joking, but Wan Guojun's eyes lit up and said: "Brother Wei's words might really be true. This person has an affair with Princess Taiping, so he must be greedy for riches and is infatuated with women. What is he doing in a nunnery alone? That doesn't make sense. What you're saying is more reasonable … "
Wei Suizhong's interest was also piqued. Could it be that there was a little nun in the nunnery who was so beautiful that this Yang Langzhong, who had already broken the flower of Luoyang, was infatuated with her?
He immediately said excitedly: "If that's the case, I will send someone to keep a close eye on him. If I have time, I will personally go and watch him!"
…
Princess Taiping's carriage was also mixed in with a large group of royal relatives, slowly making its way into the city. From Shili Pavilion to the city gate, there is still a considerable distance. The long line of people and carriages to see her off stretched on the official road for several li, moving slowly.
Behind Princess Taiping's carriage was a ox-cart. Two large green ox-carts had shiny fur and two plates of thick and strong horns on their heads, looking very majestic.
The curtains of the carriage were drawn down, so no one could see what was going on inside. Today, there were all kinds of people who came to see Xue Huaiyi off. Many of them were not familiar with each other, so no one knew who was in the carriage without an official banner, and they were too lazy to ask.
The person sitting in the carriage was Young Master Jiang, and beside him was Situ Liang. Lu Boyan did not follow him out. Even though Old Man Lu's martial arts were superb, he was old and did not have enough energy. On top of that, he was injured. Even an iron man would not be able to endure the long journey from Chang 'an to here. At this moment, he was resting in Princess Taiping's residence to recuperate.
Bamboo curtains were hung on the carriage. From the inside, one could vaguely see the pedestrians outside, but the people outside could not see the passengers inside. At this moment, Young Master Jiang was sitting upright in the carriage, staring at the back of Yang Fan, who was sitting upright on the horse in front of him. His eyes were cold. If looks could kill, Yang Fan would have been riddled with holes by now.
…
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