Han official!

Chapter 162: Reducing Zi to an Official
"You are sealing it privately, why don't you stop!"

Guo Jie grabbed An Guo Shao Ji's hand that was reaching for the seal and stopped him from sealing the letter without permission, so as to avoid making a big mistake.

The sealing method of this era was to roll up the bamboo slips, tie them with ropes, and place a lump of moist clay at the knot.

Then use a seal to press the clay to form the seal text.

After drying, the clay hardens and becomes a seal, ensuring that the document is not opened privately during delivery.

An Guo Shao Ji carried sealing clay with him because he liked to stamp his seal on the buttocks every time he conquered a lady. In addition, he was an assistant clerk of the Shangji Yuanshi, and he carried sealing clay with him so that Guo Jie could use it to send letters.

"This"

An Guo Shao Ji was an official who was responsible for carrying seals. He knew that privately sealing a letter that had already been sealed was a serious crime. He was immediately startled and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

The Han Dynasty law had clear regulations: Anyone who privately destroyed the seal of a letter and sealed it again with mud would first be punished by having his temples and beard shaved, and then be sentenced to three years' imprisonment and become a slave.

It is not clear who secretly opened and read this letter from the Huns.

As long as An Guo Shao Ji sealed the letter privately, it would be considered that he had opened the letter privately.

By then, even if An Guo Shao Ji had a hundred mouths, he would not be able to explain himself. He could only suffer the punishment of shaving off his temples and beard, being sentenced to be a slave, and finally being exiled to the border as a criminal official.

"Luckily, Mr. Guo and Mr. Yan stopped me."

An Guo Shao Ji held the opened letter and felt it was extremely hot, as if he was holding a branding iron. He quickly threw it to Yan Yi next to him and did not dare to hold it in his hand anymore.

People were coming and going in front of the gate of Waiguo Pavilion. If someone saw An Guo Shao Ji sealing the letter privately and reported it to the government, the officials who came from powerful families would definitely severely punish An Guo Shao Ji, an official close to Guo Jie.

In addition, this letter is evidence of trading with the Huns, and it is completely possible to frame An Guo Shaoji for trading with the Huns.

By then, An Guo Shao Ji was no longer charged with the crime of sealing the documents privately, but with the crime of treason.

Sentenced to death by beheading.

"Whoever finds the Huns will buy a hundred white horses."

The Insect Emperor said softly and with a smile, "This is a perfect opportunity to reap the benefits. Sang Hongyang is already losing the battle for the position of Chief Ceremonial Officer against King Wuqiu Shou. If Sang Hongyang offers a hundred white horses, he can turn the tables and become Chief Ceremonial Officer."

The Han Dynasty only respected Confucianism.

King Wuqiu Shou had the support of Gongyang Confucianists such as Dong Zhongshu.

However, he was defeated by a group of Han officials including Guo Jie.

As soon as Chong Huangrou's words came out, everyone in the room immediately became excited.

Except for the different colors.

"Mr. Guo has two choices."

Yan Yi said sternly, "First, I can reap the benefits, but I might be accused of colluding with the Xiongnu. Second, I will not report it for the time being, handle the letter on my own, and steal the one hundred white horses."

"Mr. Guo, the most urgent thing is to catch the person who received the letter."

An Guo Shao Ji was the most excited. He was a minor official from a commoner family, but one day he would be able to participate in defeating Gongyang Ru. He looked quite excited.

"Of course."

Guo Jie nodded slightly, agreeing with An Guo Shao Ji's idea, and also believed that one hundred white horses should be robbed.

He laughed and said, "I concealed it because I was worried that the superiors would take the credit and steal the hundred white horses. But I don't have to worry about the white horses being stolen."

Not only did Guo Jie reap the benefits, but he also didn't have to take the risk of secretly communicating with the Huns.

Why not report it?

His superiors were Zhao Yu and Zhang Tang, who would not embezzle the credit of their subordinates.

"Mr. Guo."

At this time, Ji Mengqing came in carrying venison. He wiped the sweat from his face with his soap-colored cap and said happily, "The venison is already roasted. Mr. Guo, enjoy it to your heart's content. I'll send someone to bring a few more cups of millet wine."

Ji Mengqing was full of anticipation, and it seemed like a great honor to host a banquet for Guo Jie.

“It tastes great.”

Guo Jie took the bronze dagger, cut off a piece of venison, and chewed it in his mouth: "I am very satisfied with your hospitality, but Pu is involved in secret communication with the Xiongnu. This matter needs to be resolved as soon as possible. I can no longer stay in the outer pavilion."

He stood up from the reed mat, threw the copper dagger in his hand to Ji Mengqing, and led everyone out of the extraordinary house.

"This bronze dagger is given to you as a reward. The venison will be moved to the village hall behind the pavilion and given to the students as a nourishment."

"Don't worry, Mr. Guo."

Ji Mengqing hurriedly took the bronze dagger, his expression ecstatic. "The clerk will immediately move the venison to the township office. Also, I will send thieves to inspect the township office every day to prevent it from being plundered by bandits."

The accountant sat in the hall. The floor was no longer the rammed earth of the outer pavilion. It was covered with a wooden floor and a number of sitting tables were placed on it.

Guo Jie, Yan Yi, Chong Huangrou, Yi Zong, An Guo Shaoji, Mang Tong, Su Jia and others gathered together to discuss the one hundred white horses of the Xiongnu.

There is another official in charge of accounting.

Su Jia's father Su Jian.

A few days ago, Su Jian went to Maoling and presented the pork, scallions, and vinegar that Guo Jie had captured.

As a result, the meat and vegetables were left behind, and Su Jian was also favored by Wei Guang.

Wei Guang tried every possible means to get Su Jian to leave, and had already recommended a palace official.

It’s not warm yet.

Su Jian was taken away by Wei Qing again.

Guo Jie could only find Zhao Yu to ask for a few clerks to help him handle the various account books. He did not seek any credit, but he would not make any mistakes.

"The matter of the white horse has been reported to the governor and the county commander."

The first thing Guo Jie did when he returned to the official temple was to hand over the letter and Pu to the Right Internal History Zhao Yu and Commandant Zhang Tang. Without any accident, the task of capturing the 100 white horses was handed over to him.

"The Lord of the Mansion said that the first person to capture one hundred white horses will be rewarded with two slaves and one maid. You can choose from the twenty-seven counties of the Right Internal Affairs Bureau and take the most beautiful slave or maid."

"In addition, the county commander also gave out rewards, including a carriage and an ox."

Fujun is a respectful title for the prefect, and Junjiang is a respectful title for the commander.

Zhao Yu and Zhang Tang attached great importance to the one hundred white horses and gave them generous rewards one after another.

"Two young slaves, one maidservant, one carriage, and one oxen?"

Everyone was overjoyed, their faces full of desire, and they were eager to find a hundred white horses.

This reward is equivalent to giving three beautiful wives, or three beautiful wives chosen at random in the province, in addition, there is also a luxury car.

How could people not be jealous?

"If converted into money, according to the market price in the East Market, it would be nearly 60,000 coins."

Su Jia already had Yao Ji, and didn't want to keep the slaves and maids, and just wanted to exchange them for money.

It lies in the wealth-based election system.

The system of selecting minor officials in the Qin Dynasty and the Western Han Dynasty involved a system of selection based on wealth.

That is to say, officials were selected based on their family property.

The reason is that in the Warring States Period and the pre-Qin period, it was believed that wealthy officials would not be greedy for money, as the saying goes, "When one has enough food and clothing, he will know honor and disgrace."

The Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system.

The wealth selection method was continued.

Only middle-class families with assets of more than 100,000 coins could serve as officials.

The high property standard of 100,000 coins for a family property resulted in a large number of talented people being unable to serve as officials due to poverty.

The powerful monopolized official positions through donations, exacerbating social discontent.

It was not until Emperor Jing of Han that an edict was issued to reduce Zi to an official.

The regulation that one only needed a family property of 40,000 coins to become an official greatly alleviated the public's dissatisfaction.

Su Jia's younger brother Su Wu had not yet taken up an official position. As his elder brother, he had already begun to consider helping Su Wu accumulate a fortune of 40,000 coins so that he could be selected as an official in the future.

"The rewards from the Lord and the Commander are quite a bit."

Su Jia's face was filled with worry again. "Pu doesn't know who to send the letter to. According to him, if the letter isn't delivered by noon (11:15-12:00), there's no need to send it again."

It was already the lunch break (15:00-15:45), long past the noon time agreed upon by the Xiongnu and Pu.

It seems that the people who bought the horses knew that secretly finding the Huns to buy horses was a serious crime punishable by beheading, so they acted cautiously and did not dare to leave any clues.

In an instant, everyone was in a stalemate.

The Huns temporarily found the greedy Pu to deliver the letter. He was a random person selected. Even if Pu's identity was exposed, they still couldn't find the others.

Just as the Huns expected, the clue ended with Pu.

There is no way to continue the investigation.

"what?"

Just when everyone was at a loss, Yi Zong suddenly exclaimed in surprise, took out a two-foot sword, and gently scraped the surface of the pottery.

He scraped some particles off the pottery, put them in his mouth and tasted them slowly, his eyes gradually becoming bright.

"Sister-in-law!"

Yi Zong was an expert in criminal justice, and his expression brightened. "I think I know who secretly tore up the letter and read its contents. In other words, I have a plan for an interrogation. However, I need to call Ji Mengqing over."

Guo Jie glanced at Su Jia and signaled him to go there in person, saying that Su Jia's bravery could avoid any mistakes.

Just when Su Jia hurried over to find Ji Mengqing.

Yi Zong directly stated his guess.

"I looked over and over at the pottery vessel Pu had used to hide the letter, and I smelled a hint of sweetness. I scraped off the surface clay with my two-foot sword, and sure enough, I tasted sweetness, the taste of yam."

There are many things that taste sweet, such as preserved fruits, cheese, and sugar.

Malt sugar is malt sugar.

It has a special sweet taste and is also the easiest sugar to make.

Guo Jie understood Yi Zong's intention: "There are many towns in the Chang'an area that make candied rice. If we find the head of the Waiguo Pavilion, Ji Mengqing, and ask him which merchants from the city were buying grain at the Waiguo Pavilion yesterday, we can find out who opened the letter without authorization."

According to the evidence found by Yi Zong.

It was probably the merchant selling candy who peeked at the letter, or it was the merchant's servant who opened the letter.

Because his hands were stained with candy, he left evidence of the candy on Tao Yuan.

As everyone waited anxiously, Su Jia and Ji Shaogong finally rushed back to the official temple and took their seats.

"Mr. Guo."

Ji Mengqing was puzzled. "I wonder what they want from the sudden call for the clerk? Could it be that they've found the thief who read the letter, and that he's actually a guard at the Outer Pavilion?"

Seeing that he was getting more and more impatient as he spoke, Guo Jie was worried that there might be people among the guards who were colluding with the Huns again, so he waved his hand and signaled him to calm down.

"Sit down and talk later," Guo Jie asked, "were there any candy vendors selling candy at the pavilion yesterday?"

Merchant selling candy
Ji Mengqing didn't understand what Guo Jie meant by this question, but he thought about it carefully and recalled the merchants who had dinner at Waiguo Pavilion yesterday.

"Never."

Ji Mengqing shook his head and said, "Yesterday, only a few groups of officials from Chang'an, accompanied by villagers who had finished their border defense, returned to Chang'an, exhausted. They passed by the Outer Pavilion and borrowed a horse hoof stove to cook a large pot of coarse wheat rice."

There is no answer to this.

Everyone was disappointed. They thought they had found a clue and were about to catch the person who read the letter.

Unexpectedly, there was no merchant selling candy at the outer pavilion to buy grain.

Guo Jie, however, remained calm, only frowning as he continued to ask, "Among these villagers who have returned from the border defense, are there any from the five li villages of Xiaoli, Danglili, Jili, Gouli, and Youlili?"

The five neighborhoods he mentioned were all neighborhoods that were good at making candy.

These neighborhoods were close to the Nine Markets of Chang'an. Malt sugar was a kind of malt sugar, and the raw materials were easy to find. They made malt sugar and sold it to the Nine Markets of Chang'an to earn money to buy corn.

"Of course!"

Ji Mengqing looked surprised. "How could Mr. Guo know that among the villagers who came to rest in the Outer Pavilion yesterday, a group of them were from Dangli Village. Not only did they rest and eat in the pavilion, but they were also the last group of villagers to arrive."

"When the village official from Lili returned with the villagers who had been on guard for three months, it was already evening. By the time they left the pavilion, it was already dark, so they went to a nearby village to stay overnight."

The Xiangting provided higher levels of food, horse feed, and accommodation according to the rank of the official.

Merchants or ordinary clerks have to pay for food and accommodation, which is a considerable expense.

Village residents often choose to stay overnight in the village. As long as they are familiar with the village officials, field officials and others, they do not need to pay and can stay in the cowshed or horse stable.

"Be Leary."

Guo Jie smiled and said, "It will be much easier now that we have found a clue. Tomorrow, Yi Zong will follow me to Dangli Village, and the others will wait near the gate."

Dangli is a neighborhood in Chang'an City. It has a large population and is considered a big neighborhood in the densely populated Chang'an. Most of the residents make a living by making sugar.

The architectural layout of the neighborhood is different from that of the township.

The village has a "U"-shaped architectural layout. Because it is in the countryside, two rammed earth walls were built to prevent looting by bandits.

The lili is run through by a main lane, with lumen located at the beginning and end of the lane. In the middle of the lane, there is a hongmen, forming several small lanes of similar size. The houses of the residents are distributed on both sides of the small lanes, and they need to pass through the hongmen to enter and exit.

The lili is located in the city, so there is no need to worry about bandits. It only has an outer wall, which is mainly used for curfew to prevent residents from going out at night.

In the ammunition room of Dangli, the village clerk and the field manager were writing in the daily work book. They had just brought back the villagers who were guarding the border yesterday, and there was a lot of words that needed to be written.

Although Dangli was a neighborhood in Chang'an, many residents could not afford the 300 yuan overtime fee to be exempted from military service.

"Guo Shangli?"

Guo Jie used to be the head of a pavilion in Gaojie, and later served as a county official. In the eyes of the common people, he was a role model for rising from the bottom, and all the officials in Chang'an knew him.

When the village official and Tian Dian of Dangli saw a man standing at the door of the ammunition room, they quickly stood up to greet him.

The clerk was a man in his thirties who looked like a Confucian scholar. He had a gauze bun on his head, a habit he had developed during his time at the dusty frontier. After returning to Chang'an, he had not changed it back for the time being.

The clerk was wearing an official robe worth more than two hundred coins. It seemed that he came from a well-off family, at least a middle-class family with a fortune of two hundred thousand coins.

"Why did the superior suddenly visit Dangli?"

The village official gave a wry laugh and said, "I am a lowly official, but I am only worth 230,000 yuan. Tian Dian's wealth is only 150,000 yuan, so he's not a wealthy man with over a million yuan. There's no need for Guo Shangli to make this trip in person."

Guo Jie confiscated a lot of property from the powerful.

His reputation among the common people grew more and more famous, attracting many common people to applaud and cheer.

It is truly a pleasure to kill the tyrants who oppress the common people all day long.

The village official's first reaction when he saw Guo Jie.

Is he here to confiscate the property of the powerful?

Fortunately, the village official was not a wealthy man with a fortune of one million, but just a middle-class man with a fortune of 230,000.

Guo Jie and Yi Zong looked at each other, and it was obvious that the local official was in awe and afraid of Guo Jie's reputation for killing powerful people.

The thief, who had not opened the letter privately, suddenly noticed the official's nervousness.

However, we cannot judge anything by appearances alone.

"Don't worry."

Guo Jie smiled and said, "I have no special business here, nor do I intend to confiscate anyone's property. I am simply conducting a routine inspection."

Patrol plan?

The village official secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but still did not dare to relax.

He pointed to the wooden tablet on the desk and said, "The clerk is writing today's daily work book. The senior clerk can look through it at will. If there is anything you want to ask, feel free to ask. As long as the clerk knows something, I will tell you everything."

As long as the family property is not enough.

He was not afraid that the cruel official Zhao Yu's henchmen would confiscate his property.

"There is one thing I need to ask you."

Guo Jie pondered and said, "It's nothing serious. Yesterday, when I was inspecting the Outer Pavilion, five bundles of water chestnuts were lost from the Outer Pavilion where Ji Mengqing was staying. I suspect they were stolen by an outsider. Today, I came to Dangli to inspect the affairs of the court and wanted to ask if you knew anything about it."

He appeared to be indifferent, but in fact he was relaxed on the outside but tense on the inside, carefully observing the expressions of the village official and Tian Dian.

Guo Jie deliberately mentioned five bundles of茭草.

The purpose is to alert the enemy.

He deliberately alarmed the village official and the field official to test their reactions after hearing the five bundles of茭草.

If there is anything wrong, the local officials and the farm officials will be arrested immediately.

When the village official of Dangli had just returned to Chang'an yesterday with the villagers who were guarding the border, he couldn't help but suspect that there was a Hun hiding among the villagers.

Yi Zong, wearing an iron crown and reddish-black clothes, stood beside him, tightly gripping the two-foot sword at his waist.

Take action at any time.

"Zhacao?"

The clerk looked confused and said, "Yesterday, I stayed overnight outside Chang'an City and also went to the Outer Pavilion to buy grain. However, the only livestock I had was an ox pulling a cart. The cart was full of corn, water, felt blankets, and other food and drink for the journey, as well as a felt blanket for sleeping."

"I wouldn't steal water chestnuts, and I wouldn't dare steal water chestnuts to feed horses."

Involving horse politics.

No one dares to be negligent.

"Please wait a moment, sir."

The village official said sternly, "Let alone missing five bundles of water chestnuts, even missing one single one is a serious crime that cannot be forgiven lightly. Many villagers returned to Chang'an yesterday. Although it is not certain that it was stolen by Danglili, it is not impossible."

"Official, go to the homes of the border residents and ask who has been to the stables where the horse feed is stored."

He turned around, picked up the wooden tablets on the table, and prepared to find the villagers guarding the border to question them one by one.

Unexpectedly, Tian Dian avoided looking at Guo Jie.

Obviously he did something wrong.

"Thief!"

Yi Zong smiled coldly, drew out his two-foot-long sword, and placed it on Tian Dian's neck. "My brother-in-law told me about stealing the water chestnuts. Why are you avoiding me and not daring to look at me? Tell me! Did you steal the water chestnuts?"

The village official was startled. Looking at the sharp two-foot sword in Yi Zong's hand, he was really afraid that he would cut the neck of his wife's brother Tian Dian with one sword.

Tian Dian's legs trembled and he almost fell to his knees.

"No, not a petty official."

Tian Dian said with a mournful face, "The little official did not leave the Extraordinary House that day. He stayed with the village official the whole time. The village official can testify for me, and Ji Mengqing, the head of the Outer Pavilion, can also testify for me."

Guo Jie's brows were furrowed.

"It wasn't you. How come you were so timid when you heard about the theft of the water chestnuts? You didn't dare look at anyone. Do you know something? Ha, this matter involves the Xiongnu. If you don't confess, your entire clan will be imprisoned in Chang'an Prison with you!"

The village official looked horrified.

It actually involved the Huns.

He participated in border defense many times and knew that anything involving the Huns would become a big deal.

Lighter.

He worked in the city as a thief and died of exhaustion from hard labor all his life.

It's heavy.

Cut it in half directly!

"Say it!"

The clerk was so angry that he slapped Tian Dian in the face: "You beast, why don't you just tell me what you mean? Do you want to implicate me and your sister and put them in jail together? I will beat you to death!"

"Snapped!"

"what!"

Tian Dian screamed, clutching his swollen cheek, and said, "I don't know who stole the water chestnuts, but on the day we cooked at the Outer Pavilion, one of the border guards went to the toilet there, and he was the only one who left the Extraordinary House."

The village official suddenly understood.

Most of the anger on his face disappeared.

"The petty officials also know about this."

The village official quickly explained, "That man is the schoolmaster of Dangli. He moved to Dangli last year. He's a well-educated clerk. He opened a private school in Dangli to teach children and earn some money to support his family."

"This Huo Xiang always rents a house and is short of money. My good-for-nothing youngest son, unwilling to serve on the frontier, found Huo Xiang and gave him three hundred coins in lieu of service."

Tian Dian calmed down and said with a wry smile, "The clerk's eyes were evasive because he didn't want to tell everyone about Master Huo Xiang. He is very capable of teaching children. With him teaching the children in Dangli, the children in Dangli have a better chance of being selected as officials."

This is Tian Dian’s selfish motive.

The local official wanted to say something but stopped himself. He had the same selfish motive and did not want to see Huo Xianglao imprisoned in Chang'an Prison.

"Ugh."

The village official simply sighed, not daring to shield Elder Huo Xiang. He said sternly, "This Elder Huo Xiang lives in the lane behind the third Hongmen, on the left side of the Lumen. If you, the superior, wish to arrest him, I am willing to lead the way."

"It's just that if Mr. Huo Xiang hadn't colluded with the Xiongnu, this humble official would be willing to help him atone for his sins."

Stealing five bundles of water chestnuts is not a serious crime.

It doesn't cost much money.

The villagers who were called in by the village officials should all be willing to help Mr. Huo Xiang to atone for his sins.

Guo Jie motioned Yi Zong beside him to put away his two-foot sword, then nodded and said, "Lead the way. This old man surnamed Huo only left the extraordinary house and went to the restroom of the pavilion. We can't be sure he stole the water chestnuts yet. Let's go and ask him clearly before we can decide on his guilt."

(End of this chapter)