I proved immortality through the imperial examination.

Chapter 70 Punishing the Tyrant

Xun Sizhou stood up and looked around. "This is an official ship, and it looks like the flag of the Second Academy."

By the way, given your rank, shouldn't the Second Academy at least send a section chief to deliver it?

Xue Xiang pointed to the official ship, "Isn't that it?"

Zhou Xingchun, the head of the Third Department of the Second Hospital, sent someone to apologize the day before yesterday, saying that his schedule was uncertain and that I should wait for him at the ferry this morning. And here he is, here he comes.

Xun Sizhou put his hand to his forehead and said, "I understand. They really don't miss any opportunity."

That official ship must be loaded with merchant goods, tsk tsk..."

"How far is it from Yunmeng? How much money can you make there?"

"Chief, you may not know this, but while it is true that the official ship came from Yunmeng, it must have picked up the goods on the Xiang River first."

He carried an official flag; goods weighing less than a thousand catties could be considered gifts from officials' families, exempt from inspection and taxation. If he were transporting tea, this alone could save him almost a spirit stone in taxes. Even a section chief's monthly salary was only eight thousand spirit threads.

Xue Xiang hadn't expected there to be a hidden agenda behind this.

However, subsequent events confirmed Xun Sizhou's judgment.

As the ship docked, crates of cargo were unloaded. Zhou Xingchun, heavily pregnant, craned his neck to look around, clearly worried that Xue Xiang would notice the commotion and make a fool of himself.

Xue Xiang moved to a corner, giving him ample room to maneuver, and told Xun Sizhou to take his luggage and leave first.

After a short while, Zhou Xingchun stepped onto the ferry, and Xue Xiang immediately appeared.

"Director Xue, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Zhou Xingchun stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and his entourage followed suit.

Xue Xiang returned the greeting with a cupped hand, "I just arrived too, Director Zhou, you've worked hard."

Half an hour later, the group arrived at the Suiyang Town Government Office by carriage.

An hour later, a meeting to welcome Xue Xiang to his new post was held in the main office.

Led by Deputy Town Magistrate Cai Gaoyi, all the on-duty leaders and officials came.

Zhou Xingchun, as was his routine, finished his concise remarks and praised Xue Xiang before handing the floor to Cai Gaoyi.

Cai Gaoyi said some polite words and then the meeting ended.

Next up was the welcome luncheon.

Suiyang Town was well-prepared, and Zhou Xingchun ate to his heart's content, while Xue Xiang was also given a lot of wine.

After the luncheon, Zhou Xingchun was then assigned to a nearby secret passage for the second half of the event.

Xue Xiang knew that he no longer needed to be present for the next step of the process, so he voluntarily withdrew and cooperated with Du Yuan, the deputy director of the second office of Suiyang Town, to continue the registration process.

Du Yuan handed him the seal box of the eleventh room's manager and the key to the manager's private apartment. He then personally escorted him to the eleventh room's private courtyard, pointed to the northwest corner, and told him that was his private apartment. Du Yuan then bowed and returned.

During lunch break, there were few people in the courtyard. Xue Xiang opened the office building, which was bright and clean, with all the cabinets locked.

There was a single bed in the corner, a set of desks and chairs on the right by the window, the courtyard of Room 11 visible from the left window, and a corner of Suiyang Lake visible from the right window. The office environment was impeccable.

As soon as Xue Xiang sat down, Du Yuan, who had brought him earlier, hurriedly came over, saying that something had been left in Xue Xiang's gift box, and he looked very nervous.

Xue Xiang took out the box, opened it, and inside lay a seal the size of a finger and a piece of blue iron. The iron piece was irregularly shaped, like a fragment, and exuded a hazy power.

Du Yuan let out a long sigh, grabbed the blue iron piece, and said with a forced smile, "Your predecessor, Director Kang, also held the position of town-level official seal. This is the town-level official seal, and I must take it back. If I lose this treasure, I'll be stripped of all my clothes."

Please forgive me, please forgive me…

Du Yuan bowed respectfully and prepared to leave.

"Brother Du, this is the first time I have seen this. May I have a closer look?"

Xue Xiang stared intently at the seal that Du Yuan had gripped in his hand, his eyes filled with fervor. It was the highest seal of a first-level organization. Even if it was just the lowest-ranking town-level seal among the seals, it was still a seal.

Du Yuan handed it to Xue Xiang, saying, "Director Xue, please keep an eye on things."

Xue Xiang carefully examined it, but apart from sensing a hazy force field, he couldn't find any other effects. "This seems to be a fragment?"

Du Yuan nodded, "All the palm prints are fragments; only when they are put together can they form the true seal."

"What is the use of bringing them together?"

Xue Xiang's thirst for knowledge was overflowing.

Du Yuandao said, "The seal of the palm is the seal of the cultural heritage of a region."

After the sage established the golden rules, he extracted the Dao of Heaven and transformed it into the essence of the universe, suppressing mountains and rivers. From then on, whether they were ancient aristocratic families or reclusive noble clans, all were stripped of their destiny and eternally suppressed.

The seals of a place suppress the cultural heritage of that place.

At the same time, when evil spirits are causing trouble, a local seal can draw upon its literary essence, borrowing the power of heaven and earth to suppress all evil.

Therefore, in this day and age, no matter which level of government office it is, no one has more power than the head of the government office.

There is no greater honor than the seal of office.

Although Suiyang is small, it is still a great honor to serve as its governor for a term of office.

Xue Xiang suddenly realized that he didn't have a clear understanding of how Zhangyin Temple operated.

Since Du Yuan brought it up, he felt it necessary to listen carefully.

He then unpacked the fine tea he had brought, pulled Du Yuan to sit down, and hurriedly brewed him a cup of tea, looking for his advice.

The Eleventh Office is in charge of public security and wields considerable power.

Du Yuan had also vaguely heard that Xue Xiang had connections in the city and was willing to curry favor with him.

He picked up his teacup and began to speak, "Director Xue, are you familiar with our country's system?"

Xue Xiangdao said, "I've only heard that His Majesty the Holy Emperor doesn't seem to be involved in much affairs, and that the Grand Secretaries jointly govern the court."

Du Yuandao said, "Before the Jia Shen Incident, the emperor and the scholar-officials jointly governed the country."

After the Jia Shen Incident, the country was governed jointly by scholar-officials.

"Brother Du, could you tell me more about the Jia Shen Incident?"

Xue Xiang was surprised to find that his current knowledge did not cover the term "Jiashen Incident" at all.

Du Yuan lowered his voice and said, "Although it happened hundreds of years ago, it's still taboo, so I can't say more..."

Du Yuan said he couldn't say much, but his passion for gossip was at its peak.

At first, Xue Xiang, who was unaware of the story, listened with great interest. Later, seeing how detailed the descriptions were, he immediately realized that it contained fictional elements.

After all, this guy could even rattle off the things that King Sejong and Queen Min said in bed before Sejong's death.

Those who didn't know the situation might have thought he was lying under the bed at the time.

However, no matter how outrageous the details are, the general framework should be correct.

Just like the storyteller recounting the Xuanwu Gate Incident, saying that Yuchi Gong and Qin Qiong single-handedly swallowed up thousands of armored soldiers.

This is, of course, a score from Liliyuan.

However, the general content of the Xuanwu Gate Incident—"Li Shimin killed Jiancheng and Yuanji and seized the throne"—is probably not far off.

Xue Xiang dissected the various embellishments of Du Yuan's account of the "Jiashen Incident," extracting the core content, which can be summarized as follows:

When the Holy Lord fell, the Holy Son and the Holy King Qi fought for the throne. The Holy Son sought help from the Buddhist Kingdom of the Western Regions, while the Holy King Qi sought help from the aquatic creatures of the East Sea. The war lasted for seven years, causing mountains and rivers to collapse and the sun and moon to crumble.

Later, prominent Confucian scholars stepped in and violently quelled the rebellion.

The Confucian sage Han Yukun proclaimed, "I have never heard of a regicide, but I have already executed a tyrant," shaking the literary tradition and the heavenly order. He then unleashed his great supernatural powers to kill the holy son and the Qi Sage King.

He also selected a young ruler from among the imperial clan to succeed to the throne.

From then on, the Holy Emperor resided high in the heavens, ruling with ease and grace.

The Grand Secretaries of the Wenyuan Pavilion jointly manage major political affairs.

"...It was precisely because of this Jia Shen Incident that the tyrant oppressed the people, and fear gripped both the ruler and the common people, leading to a major change in the system."

The changes were also enormous in the local prefectures, counties, and towns.

Originally, the governor, the prefect, and the city magistrate were all in power, but now they are jointly governed by the various levels of officials.

For example, this seal in my hand, when there is a dispute at the Temple of Seals meeting that cannot be resolved, the town magistrate can request a decision on the seal…”

"What is the choice between printing and seal engraving? Could you explain it in more detail, brother?"

Xue Xiang quickly poured Du Yuan another cup of tea.

He had certainly heard about Wen Yin's choice and had asked Xie Haiya about it, but Xie Haiya told him to focus on preparing for the exam and didn't want to discuss it further with him.

Now that the opportunity is right, he naturally wants to figure it out.

(End of this chapter)