Han official!

Chapter 132 Your Excellency
In the first year of Jianyuan, at the end of July, the summer heat had passed and the weather in Chang'an gradually turned cooler. The seedlings between the ridges began to ear and were about to mature. They were especially afraid of drought, so the villagers brought water into the ditches between the fields to irrigate the fields to prevent the gap between the harvest and the summer. It was a busy scene.

The time for reporting is generally at the end of autumn and winter, that is, after the autumn harvest in August.

Last year, the submission of the plan was delayed until winter because the emperor ascended the throne, which delayed the submission of the plan. This year, the submission of the plan will begin according to the usual time.

There is only a little over a month left until the next meeting.

A carriage covered with white cloth was moving slowly forward on the side road. Mang Tong, the driver of the carriage, took out a handful of corn to chew from time to time, and also stuffed a handful of corn into the mouth of the ox pulling the carriage. This made the carriage run more steadily and less bumpy.

The car was filled with wooden tablets and hemp paper, which recorded the monthly records of more than 20 county officials in Jing County, detailing the content of their duties each month. On the hemp paper lay a person.
The man was wearing a fine black gauze robe and a black cap worn by civil officials, not the eaves cap worn by military officials. He was obviously a civil official in the county government temple. He still carried a sword and a knife, and was holding a roll of hemp paper, carefully flipping through the Yueyan Book.

An ordinary clerk would have a headache and a bitter look on his face when faced with a whole cart of wooden slips and hemp paper, and he would not know when he would finish reading the monthly records of many county officials.

Guo Jie, however, watched with great interest.

In the eyes of Chong Huangrou and others, it was quite strange that a warrior who could kill a tiger with a hammer with his bare hands would not care about military tactics.

Instead, he started reading the complicated and tedious Yueyan Book.

Can you really understand it?
Guo Jie was not only able to understand, but also saw some of the county officials' Spring and Autumn style of writing, and deliberately used some skillful words to cover up their dereliction of duty.

Guo Jie used to be a leader in charge of a region, and checking various resumes and work contents was his job.

The monthly record is a detailed record of various work contents.

Guo Jie couldn't help but sigh that the system of the Han Dynasty was perfect, almost as perfect as the modern official system, and the benefits brought by the establishment of the monthly report book were no less than the modern official selection system.

Selection is a public examination for civil servants.

Every promotion requires an examination.

Public servants must take exams whenever they want to be promoted, providing a fair selection system.

Yueyanbu has the same function.

Every word and action of the county magistrate would be recorded in the monthly record book, and in order to prevent falsification, a checking system was established.

Hook proofreading means checking by ticking, or using other symbols instead of ticking, which is quite diverse.

Check the county clerk's monthly records one by one.

According to the records in the Yueyan Book, county officials were rewarded or punished. Those who performed well were promoted, while those who performed poorly were demoted.

All the work content of the county clerk was recorded in the Yueyan Book. If a superior official promoted a county clerk who should have been demoted in violation of regulations, the Yueyan Book would become evidence for the court judge to sentence the superior official.

Everything is traceable.

This sentence seems simple, but Guo Jie knew very well that it could not be fully achieved even in modern times.

"Mr. Guo, we have arrived at the Chang'an official temple."

Mang Tong drove a carriage covered with white cloth and stopped at the right gate of the Jing County Official Temple. Many county officials were changing their clothes and chatting while changing clothes. Most of the topics were about the new Gongcao Guo Jie.

Guo Jie's carriage covered with white cloth stopped at the door, which immediately attracted the attention of the county official. He stretched his neck and looked through the window at the new official at the gate.

Many county officials had happy expressions on their faces.

The Gongcao in the past was an old official, and one could see some of the falsification techniques used by the county magistrate in the monthly records.

The county officials were miserable and could only try to find ways to make amends to avoid being severely punished by Zhao Yu, or even losing their official positions.

Guo Jie was different.

He was a reckless man who absolutely could not understand the Spring and Autumn style of writing used by the county officials to cover up the real situation.

For example, the statistics and annual growth of tree planting area in spring.

In order to be promoted, some county officials were fond of showing off their achievements and only recorded in their monthly records that the number of trees planted in spring increased by 100 mu, without recording the number of trees planted.

The water here is very deep.

Planting one hundred catalpa trees on one acre of land means increasing the tree planting area by one acre.

Planting a catalpa tree on one acre of land also increases the tree planting area by one acre.

The same acre of land can result in very different amounts of manpower and financial resources required.

The Spring and Autumn style of writing is a word game played by officials.

"This is my seat."

Guo Jie noticed the attention of the county clerk and knew what these directors from the capital were planning, but he didn't care. He had plenty of time to let the county clerks see his modern interrogation methods, so he walked directly along the corridor at the door and went to the seat near the main gate.

Disciples are also called Your Excellency.

The hearing hall and residence of the Chang'an magistrate were arranged in a layout of hall in front and bedroom in the back, with a small door between the office area and the living area.

It's called He.

Menxia means working under your Excellency.

Hetongge.

Your Excellency is a respectful title for officials.

Amidst the envy of many county officials and assistants, Guo Jie walked into the hall and sat down. The first thing he saw was a half-man-high lantern with more than a dozen lamps.

The lamp is made by burning rush and oil to emit light at night. Oil is more expensive than three baht coins. Lighting a lamp is like burning money to emit light.

There were more than a dozen lanterns connected together, all burning money at the same time.

Guo Jie took a few looks at the whole group and then sat down, quite satisfied. "I will recommend Mang Tong as the Gongcaoshi and An Guo Shaoji as the Gongcaoshuzu."

Shi means deputy.

As long as Mang Tong could stay by Guo Jie's side, he didn't care about the size of the official position. It made no difference to him whether he was a historian or a secretary.

When Anguo Shaoji heard that he was recommended for the position of Gongcao Shuzuo, he was delighted and bowed hastily: "Thank you, Mr. Guo. I will not let you down."

Gongcao Shuzuo was an assistant clerk beside Gongcao, responsible for copying documents.

There is another very important official business.

Select talents.

When An Guo Shao Ji heard the words "Gong Cao Shu Zuo", he was even a little dazed and couldn't believe it.

Not long ago, he was still a low-level cavalryman. Within a short period of time, he was promoted to a military official and obtained a L-shaped house in Chang'an.

Now, he is serving as the Gongcao Shuzuo, who is in charge of selecting talents for the government offices in Chang'an.

Although An Guo Shao Ji only copied a list, the person who made the final decision and reported it was Guo Jie.

But deciding whose name to write and whose not to write is already a great power.

Guo Jie pointed to a small pile of hemp paper nearby and sneered, "These are the monthly records of the daily affairs of the Zhao family, both high and low officials. A new official's first major task is to start with the Zhao family."

Mang Tong's hand reaching out to grab the corn froze instantly. If it was about killing people, he was quite good at it.

It was too difficult for him to proofread the Yueyan Book.

Anguo Shaoji was nervous. He came from a humble cavalry background and was quite skilled in archery and horseback riding. He had never worked with the Yueyan Book and was worried that he would not be able to do the job Guo Jie had asked him to do. He felt ashamed of Guo Jie's promotion and recommendation.

Guo Jie looked at the expressions on Mang Tong and An Guo Shao Ji's faces. How could he not understand what they were thinking? He sighed softly.

He was surrounded by military officials and lacked the assistance of civil officials.

Guo Jie turned to look at Wei Guang and said, "I asked you to find my other sister-in-law, Huo Zhongru. Have you heard anything about him?"

If we talk about who is the best at giving birth to sons, Huo Zhongru is definitely the best in Chang'an, having drawn two super SRs in a row.

Huo Qubing and Huo Guang.

Huo Zhongru and Wei Guang's second sister Wei Shaoer had already given birth to Huo Qubing. After her conscription period expired, she returned to Pingyang County to serve as a county official.

Guo Jie wanted to find Huo Zhongru to help with some desk work. Huo Zhongru was a clerk and was good at this.

Wei Guang's face was filled with indignation. "We've sent several people to look for Huo Zhongru, but we couldn't find that idiot. After he had sex with Wei Shao'er, he was worried about being punished by Princess Pingyang, so he ran away. How could he dare to show up again?"

He didn't call him brother-in-law, but instead called him a mediocre dog.

The reason is that Wei Guang refused to acknowledge that Huo Zhongru, who abandoned his wife and children, was his sister's husband.

Wei Guang wished he could shoot Huo Zhongru's head off with his eight-stone bow.

"We'll talk about this later."

Guo Jie took out a few rolls of hemp paper and threw them over. "Lord Chong, could you please help me sort out some of the monthly records of the Zhao family? I'm short of clerks, so I have to trouble you, Lord Chong."

Chong Huang Rou was a marquis' son from a wealthy family. The education he received since childhood was not comparable to that of the riding slave Wei Guang, the knight-errant Mang Tong, and the commoner An Guo Shao Ji.

The only person with a good family background was Yi Zong, whose grandfather was a cook.

But he was also a low-level official.

Among the people sitting there, none of them were middle-class people with assets of more than 100,000 yuan. They were all ordinary people, some even poor people with assets of less than 20,000 yuan.

"Mr. Guo is being polite when he says this."

Chong Huangrou brought over a pile of wooden tablets and hemp paper, placed them on the desk, and began to sort out the officials who were from the Dongdao Zhao clan. "To investigate the Dongdao Zhao clan, we should focus on the township where they were registered. The Dongdao Zhao clan lived in Wushili, so we should first find the officials whose hometowns were in Wushili."

There are more than twenty official positions in the Chang'an government, in addition to honorary positions such as county officials and school officials, as well as farm officials, livestock officials and other officials. It is no small task to sort out the officials of the host Zhao family.

Compared to Wei Guang, Mang Tong and An Guo Shao Ji who were scratching their heads, Chong Huang Rou was more patient. She spread out a piece of hemp paper, picked up the brush and wrote beautiful small characters.

Wei Guang looked around and would rather ride around Stanley than sit down to write.

He looked at the elegant official script written by Chong Huangrou and said in amazement, "Your handwriting is really beautiful, slender and delicate, just as beautiful as you are."

When praising a man's handwriting, people tend to use the word "vigorous and powerful" to describe it.

Wei Guang seemed to be praising a lady.

Chong Huangrou's face darkened. "If you can't speak, then don't speak. My words are like a knife's edge, but how come they become slender and delicate in your mouth?"

"Mr. Guo."

Chong Huangrou took out a roll of hemp paper and handed it to Guo Jie. "One of Zhao Tuo's cousins served as a city official. These are his monthly records. According to the records in the monthly records, Zhao City Official seems to have some unusual records."

Guo Jie hurriedly took the hemp paper, looked at it carefully for a few seconds, and smiled: "Go and find all of Zhao Shiyuan's monthly records from the past few years."

Inside the hall, Guo Jie, who had found a breakthrough, began to examine Zhao Shiyuan's monthly records.

On the other side of the gate, Zhao Yu and Zhang Tang were kneeling in the back hall of the hearing hall, with Yin Qi and Wang Wenshu beside them.

"Mr. Zhao."

Yin Qi, mindful of Guo Jie's loyalty, bowed and said, "Guo Jie is not good at paperwork, the work of a civil official, but is more adept at weapons. Appointing Guo Jie as Gongcao is inappropriate. I think he should be promoted to Weicao or Bingcao."

Wei Cao was in charge of the transportation of corvée soldiers.

The Bingcao is in charge of military affairs.

Guo Jie, who was able to kill a tiger with his bare hands, was not a clerk, so he was more comfortable serving as a lieutenant or a military officer.

Zhao Yu is a moody person.

Yin Qi dared to question his decision in front of Chang'an Ling Zhao Yu, and he risked being whipped.

Even someone as cruel as Yin Qi couldn't help but feel nervous when he said a few good words for Guo Jie.

Wang Wenshu also bowed and said, "Good. I agree with Yin Qi's opinion. Guo Jie is more suitable to be a Bingcao or Weicao than Gongcao. After all, he is a military officer."

After he said this, even though he was inhumane in his actions and liked to involve many people, he was still trembling in his heart.

I was afraid of being whipped by Zhao Yu.

Yin Qi and Wang Wenshu had witnessed with their own eyes the consequences of disobeying Zhao Yu.

Miserable.

"What does Zhang Wei think?"

Zhao Yu's face showed no emotion. He turned to look at Zhang Tang, who was wearing an iron crown and black clothes. "Guo Jie is an official you personally promoted. The matter of recruiting Guo Jie as Gongcao still depends on what Zhang Wei thinks. Is Guo Jie qualified to be Gongcao under your command?"

The Chang'an Order was in charge of government affairs.

The Chang'an Wei was in charge of public security, criminal justice and other matters.

When the Chang'an Ling is absent, the Menxia Gongcao can temporarily exercise the power of the Chang'an Ling, which is not something that an ordinary clerk can do.

What's more, Guo Jie was just a military officer.

Zhang Tang said sternly, "Promoting Guo Jie to the position of Gongcao is the responsibility of Lord Zhao, the Chang'an Magistrate. I am the Chang'an Wei, in charge of criminal justice. Whether Guo Jie is qualified for the position of Gongcao is beyond my authority."

His nature was to do everything according to Han laws.

Anyone who violates the Han law will be treated equally, and no one will be allowed to bend the law for personal gain.

Even the rich and powerful who come from wealthy or small families are not eligible.

Zhang Tang would never overstep the boundaries of the rules, and of course would not interfere with Zhao Yu's decision. It was Zhao Yu's responsibility to decide who to appoint as Gongcao.

Zhao Yu, facing Zhang Tang's unyielding attitude, couldn't help but stretch out his fingers, curling his mustache, and smiled, "Being Gongcao is not an easy job. If he delays the affairs of the Chang'an government and is held accountable by the higher-ups, Guo Jie will have no choice but to resign from his position. How long do you think Guo Jie can stay in the position?"

Zhang Tang frowned and said, "It's a few days shorter, a decade longer. Gongcao is involved in too many political affairs, and he's so tired that Guo Jie has voluntarily resigned."

Including Zhao Yu, no one thought Guo Jie was qualified for the position of Gongcao.

Yin Qi was puzzled and asked, "Lord Zhao was not optimistic about Guo Jie and thought he wouldn't last more than ten days as Gongcao. Why did he still recruit him as Gongcao?"

Zhang Tang and Wang Wenshu looked over and also didn't understand Zhao Yu's intention.

Zhao Yu saw Zhang Tang, who was famous in Chang'an for his criminal justice system, and didn't guess his intention. He smiled and said, "Guo Jie has made great contributions this time. I want to recommend him for the position of lieutenant of a small county. If I recommend him directly from a small official, the ministers will not agree. If a Gongcao of Jing County is promoted to lieutenant of a small county, it will be a natural thing to do."

He has only one purpose.

Gold plated.

(End of this chapter)