novelSusiti 061: A storm is brewing, a change is imminent.
061: A storm is brewing, a change is imminent.
But this was the daily life of an ordinary small county in the Tang Dynasty, and this kind of life went on for more than half a year.
Jiaoshui County mainly relies on silkworm farming, and there are not many people who farm. Su Wen was chatting with several old women while selecting silkworm pupae.
Silkworm pupae come in different sizes and need to be packaged separately. In addition, there are differences in quality.
There's hardly anything going on in this county office. In the six months since I arrived, there hasn't been a single murder case, and even neighborhood squabbles are rare. I spend my days either wandering around outside or, like the county magistrate, sleeping soundly in the county hall.
Otherwise, how could the county magistrate have fattened himself up to two hundred pounds?
Su Wen had considered asking Xu Ge to teach him martial arts, but after practicing for three days, he never mentioned it again. It was something that ordinary people simply couldn't withstand.
Not only did he have to eat chicken all day long, but he also had to practice non-stop from morning till night. Su Wen found it novel on the first day and could still practice, but he felt annoyed on the second day and didn't mention it on the third day.
Su Wen sometimes thought that the protagonists in novels could easily mount up and kill enemies, even taking on hundreds or thousands of people at once. That was really nonsense. Let alone practicing martial arts, even the authors who wrote the novels were considered amazing if they could write for more than six hours a day!
How can someone like that still persist in practicing martial arts?
On the fourth day, Su Wen lost confidence in practicing martial arts and eventually stopped mentioning it altogether. He spent his free time practicing calligraphy, reading books, working in the fields, chatting with women, and going to teahouses to boast with the old men. The days passed by like this.
......
Meanwhile, in Chang'an, at the Taiji Palace.
"Whoosh!"
The emperor threw the complicated situation off the stage and onto the ground. The courtiers standing on both sides of the hall dared not utter a word, while the two people standing in the center immediately knelt on the ground, bowed their heads, and dared not utter a sound.
"What on earth are they doing? Fifteen lives lost in half a month, and they still haven't found the killer. What, did the killer grow wings and fly away?"
The emperor paced back and forth on the court platform in anger, shouting, "Is the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review of my Great Tang Dynasty such a fool?"
At this moment, an official in a red robe stepped forward from the court and said, "Your Majesty, this case is extremely strange and involves many hidden aspects. The Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review is young and has very little experience dealing with such complex and strange cases. Therefore, it is impossible to solve the case in a short time. We need to give him more time..."
A man stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Lord Wang, Xia Shaoqing has been in Qingzhou for almost a month now, and hasn't found a single clue. However, he has been making arrests in Qingzhou—knife-wielding men, monks, Taoists, foreign merchants, and people from the Western Regions—more than a hundred people have been arrested. What? Are you going to keep going for a while longer? Are you going to imprison everyone in Qingzhou?"
The official hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty, that's not what I meant. I just felt..."
"What do you think?" Another person stepped forward and said, "Lord Wang, stop thinking. Xia Shaoqing is your wife's nephew. Are you perhaps protecting him? He's young, and although he's talented, solving cases isn't his forte. He's only got the position of Shaoqing in the Court of Judicial Review. He should just work hard and diligently. He can still make it in the future. But don't think you're a genius now!"
One of them stepped forward and said, "Lord Xu, Lord Li, please don't say such things. Vice Minister Xia has earned his position as Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review through his own abilities, solving many major cases. How could he be as incompetent as you say!"
Another person stepped forward and said, "Who doesn't know what happened in those major cases? He'd only been in office for two days, and the cases were already solved. He took all the credit, while the former junior minister's body is still warm!"
At this moment, someone else came out, and it seemed that a dispute was about to break out in the court.
The sage closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and roared, "What do you think this place is? Still arguing?"
Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent, not daring to utter another word.
The sage said, "The people of Qingzhou are now terrified and filled with fear. They are all afraid, and some have even started to stay indoors. Nobody dares to go out, fearing they will either be killed by the murderer or arrested and imprisoned by the authorities. And you still have the leisure to argue here!"
Zhang Shuo stepped forward from the ranks of officials and bowed to the Emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, I do have a candidate who is certain to solve this case!"
The sage looked at Zhang and asked, "Who is he?"
Zhang said, "Your Majesty should know that it is Su Wen, the one who solved the mysterious case in Youzhou and uncovered Xue Huaiyi's identity!"
Upon hearing this, the sage pondered for a moment and said, "Indeed, how could I have forgotten about him!"
The sage looked at Gao Lishi beside him and asked, "Where is he?"
Gao Lishi thought for a moment and replied, "Your Majesty, you demoted him to the position of county magistrate in Jiaoshui County, Laizhou. He should be raising silkworms now!"
Upon hearing this, the sage chuckled and said, "Look at the chaos in the court over the Qingzhou matter, while he's busy raising silkworms for me in Jiaoshui County. He's probably living a very comfortable life right now!"
After speaking, the sage walked to the dragon throne and sat down, saying, "I remember the last time I saw him, how long ago was that?"
Gao Lishi replied, "Your Majesty, it has been almost a year!"
The sage said, "It's been a year. He should have grown a lot by now and be more sensible!"
After speaking, the Emperor looked at Yao Chong, who was standing to one side, and said, "Yao Chong, draft an edict to summon Xia Wenyu, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, back to Chang'an and demote him to Acting Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, so that he can gain more experience!"
Yao Chongying replied, "Yes, Your Majesty!"
The Sage continued, "Furthermore, an urgent dispatch has been sent, summoning Su Wen to receive the decree and immediately depart for Qingzhou Prefecture to investigate the Qingzhou Lotus Case!"
Yao Chong responded, "Yes!"
The Emperor paused for a moment, then said, "I hereby appoint Su Wen as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice's Criminal and Prison Affairs Department, equivalent in rank to the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. He will have the authority to oversee all cases within the Tang Dynasty's territory, and will be able to investigate and adjudicate cases without submitting them to the Court of Judicial Review. He will also serve as the Acting Governor of Qingzhou, and will be tasked with solving this case within one month!"
Yao Chongying replied, "Yes!"
After the emperor finished speaking, he turned and left. Gao Lishi announced, "Court is adjourned!"
After the emperor left, the court officials began to discuss the matter. Only Zhang Yue and Yao Chong remained. After everyone else had left, Yao Chong spoke up, "Brother Zhang, what is the emperor's intention? Although Su Wen has solved many extraordinary cases and is a talented person, it is not necessary to create a separate department for him, with the same rank as the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, to oversee all cases. Is this to..."
Yao Chong dared not continue. Zhang Shuo then whispered in his ear, "The Dali Temple is practically becoming a breeding ground for the sons of powerful families to advance their careers. Judging from the Emperor's actions, he intends to weaken the foundation of these powerful families!"
Yao Chong nodded thoughtfully. Zhang Shuo then whispered in his ear, "I've heard that Cui Ziyan of the Cui family of Boling has spoken to the Emperor several times about his granddaughter, Cui Lingyu, who is of marriageable age. He requests the Emperor to grant her a marriage, and the groom is Su Wen!"
Upon hearing this, Yao Chong was greatly shocked: "The Cui family looks down on even us, yet they would take a liking to Su Wen?"
Zhang chuckled, "Prime Minister Yao, don't you know? Are you pretending with me again?"
Yao Chong just laughed and said, "I couldn't hide it from you after all. I heard from Xu Ge that this person is a prodigy. He learns government affairs incredibly quickly. In less than a month in Jiaoshui County, he became one with the local people. In fact, some people in Hebei Province are almost calling him a god!"
"Xu Ge?" Zhang said, taken aback. "Is he your wife's grand-nephew?"
Yao Chong smiled and said, "That's right. His father, Xu Sheng, once asked me if I agreed, saying that Xu Ge wanted to become his disciple. Of course I agreed!"
Zhang said, quite shocked, "Oh, wow, you actually made preparations in advance?"
Yao Chongdao said, "Do you even need to tell me? When I first saw the case file Wang Yu sent, I knew that this man was a prodigy with a bright future ahead of him. It's just that there was no way to befriend him. Coincidentally, when he was the magistrate of Luoyang County, Xu Ge was the elder in Luoyang County. Isn't this God pointing the way?"
Zhang Shuo looked at Yao Chong with a smile, and the two walked out of the court with smiles on their faces.
Ouchi.
The Emperor beckoned to Gao Lishi, who hurriedly ran forward. The Emperor whispered in his ear, "Write a secret letter to Su Wen. I intend to give him an important role now. After investigating the case in Qingzhou, return to the capital as soon as possible. I want him to stir up trouble in the court. I hope he won't disappoint me!"
Gao Lishi responded, "Yes, Your Majesty!"