Chapter 239 Meeting an Acquaintance in Prison
It’s not clear whether the old emperor is crazy or not, but Tianlao has ushered in a peak season.
Ten or twenty prisoners were imprisoned in one breath. In the Zhao Prison next door, it is said that there are more prisoners, the cells are not enough, and the single rooms have become multi-person rooms.
Chen Guanlou was flipping through the roster and allocating cells. Going down the list one by one, everyone has a share among the four class leaders.
Parting and dividing, he suddenly froze.
"Tou Chen, do you have any questions?" Shi Hong asked from the side.
Chen Guanlou calmed down and shook his head, "No problem, I just saw an acquaintance."
"Does Mr. Chen know anyone who is an official?" Shi Hong was extremely curious. "Among this wave of prisoners, are there no people from the Hou Mansion?"
He stared at the list and checked it again and again. They are all civil servants, not a single noble general. The reason why Xungui has been able to stand in the court for hundreds of years is not only because of his military merits, but also because most of the time Xungui does not get involved in the party disputes in the court. No matter who sits in the position of Prime Minister, he must treat the power of Xungui with caution.
Shi Hong didn't think Chen Guanlou had the ability to know the officials in the imperial yamen, so he suspected that Chen Guanlou was talking nonsense.
snort!
They were all jailors, and his cousin was Lord Fan's concubine. He didn't even know a few officials. Chen Guanlou couldn't be more awesome than him.
It must be a deliberate attempt to put money on his face. Shi Hong expressed strong contempt.
Chen Guanlou didn't pay attention to Shi Hong at all. He did see a familiar name on the list: Zhao Mingqiao. The talented man who used to live in Chunxiang's house later moved out after becoming a disciple of a famous teacher. I heard that I passed the Jinshi exam last year. Unexpectedly, within just one year of being an official, he would be sent to prison.
Without any hesitation, he assigned Zhao Mingqiao to his own jurisdiction for management. After all, he was an old acquaintance and could take care of him.
After a busy day, Chen Guanlou came to the cell door to visit Zhao Mingqiao on the pretext of inspecting the cell.
He knocked on the cell door fence with a water and fire stick. Zhao Mingqiao, who was sitting on the bed in a daze, came to his senses with a confused look, turned around and saw him.
Stunned!
It seems that he dare not recognize it.
Chen Guanlou coughed lightly, "Master Zhao, don't you recognize me?"
"Ah!" Zhao Mingqiao finally realized, "Tou Chen! I said he looked familiar, and I was confused. I didn't think about it for a while. It's a crime."
Zhao Mingqiao suddenly became happy and smiled cheerfully, quite casually.
Chen Guanlou told him, "If you have anything to do here, just ask and I will try my best to help."
Zhao Mingqiao grinned, "There is one thing. The jailer told me that according to the rules, I have to hand over six hundred taels of silver, otherwise I will have no good fruit. However, it has only been a year since I entered the officialdom, and it has cost a lot. I don’t have any savings on hand. Can you pay it forward? When the servants at home collect enough money, they will pay it in full.”
He was still the polite Mr. Zhao who didn't recognize people based on their status.
"No problem, I will tell the people below so that they don't make things difficult for you. If Yinliang really doesn't want to help, just tell me and I will find a way for you. It is fate that we meet each other." Chen Guanlou was very happy. readily.
In fact, when Zhao Mingqiao was renting with Chunxiang's wife, they didn't have much contact with each other. They are both busy people and it is rare to meet them together. However, he has always had a good impression of Zhao Mingqiao. He does not have the stinking habit of other scholars who are aloof and arrogant. He is cheerful and humorous. He never shows off his status as a scholar. He can talk eloquently and hang out in the market. He can go up and down. Really talented and down-to-earth.
These days, down-to-earth scholars are as rare as down-to-earth celebrities in later generations. In the eyes of most officials and scholars, the common people are nothing but ants, leeks without joy, anger, sorrow, and joy, and are born to be enslaved.
Chen Guanlou hopes that if there are more officials like Zhao Mingqiao and more down-to-earth officials, the lives of the people will be easier.
What a pity!
After only one year as an official, he was sent to prison.
This official luck is really bad.
"Tou Chen is still so generous. If I really can't get enough money, I will definitely ask you for help." Zhao Mingqiao did not show any pretense and accepted Chen Guanlou's love generously. His eyes were still clear, but a little more tired from the vicissitudes of life.
"Don't be polite to me. After all, we have a friendship after having dinner together." After a pause, Chen Guanlou asked with concern: "In your case, I remember you were Jinshi in high school last year. It's only been a year. Why? Just came in?"
He really couldn't hold it back and had to ask clearly.
When Zhao Mingqiao heard this, his expression suddenly became serious, "Jiang Tu's traitors controlled the imperial court, deceived the Holy People, and ransacked Dongzhou for their own selfish interests. They aroused civil unrest in Dongzhou, and the religious bandits took the opportunity to cause chaos, harming the people of the three prefectures and twelve counties. Jiang Tu's crime deserves death. As a minister, I can't stand by and watch. Even though I am a small person, I will follow the example of my colleagues and let more people know about Jiang Tu's crime. I am willing to go to prison."
What a righteous speech!
The corners of Chen Guanlou's mouth twitched, and he couldn't bear to look directly at him.
"No, do you really think that Jiang Tu has the ability to deceive Shengting? Do you really think that Jiang Tu is plundering Dongzhou for his own selfish interests, thereby stimulating a civil uprising in Dongzhou?" Chen Guanlou asked in succession, "You officials, They are all rare smart people in the world, you don’t really think so, do you?”
"I know what you want to say, what goes up must follow. However, some things are clear, but they cannot be said or done." Zhao Mingqiao said solemnly, "The saints have their own advice. As an ant in the officialdom, I should naturally focus my firepower on Jiang Tu. If Jiang Tu is not eliminated, the world will not be at peace."
"But even if Jiang Tu is gone, there will be Li Tu and Zhang Tu. How can you ensure that the successor will be better than Jiang Tu? It is more likely that he will be worse than Jiang Tu."
Chen Guanlou did not talk about inertia or discuss historical views. With his shallow historical knowledge, a dynasty will only get worse if it goes bad. You think you have reached the first floor, but you didn't expect that there are still eighteen levels of hell below. To set things right, it is not something that can be done by a minister.
History has proved that in such a situation, only two people can turn the tide, one is the emperor who is arbitrary and the other is the powerful minister who holds great power. And these two people cannot exist in the same time and space at the same time.
It is obvious that the current situation is the emperor who is arbitrary and he does not want to change. He wants to go all the way. Sorry, there is no powerful minister in power now. As long as the old emperor is alive, there will be no powerful minister. When the new emperor ascends the throne, there may be a powerful minister, and then there will be a new round of swords and swords.
"Even if the newcomer is worse than Jiang Tu, we must get rid of Jiang Tu first. We can no longer tolerate Jiang Tu continuing to harm the court and the people." Zhao Mingqiao spoke righteously, passionately, and vigorously.
Chen Guanlou sighed secretly and said something heartbreaking, "You didn't get rid of Jiang Tu, but you were put in prison."