Chapter 87: The Hardship of Being an Official

Lin Dong felt conflicted. Zhou Zhengye was after all the new county magistrate, and though his position came from the spiritual skills Lin Dong had provided, it might be presumptuous to rush into giving him advice on how to govern. He didn’t want to upset the man.
Due to what had happened half a year earlier, Zhou Zhengye felt respect and guilt toward Lin Dong and didn’t dare to look him directly in the eye. Fu Chunjian, however, noticed Lin Dong’s unusual behavior and asked, “Does Manager Lin have any suggestions?”
“Well, there are a few, but it’s hard to put into words,” Lin Dong replied honestly. “I’m afraid it might upset County Magistrate Zhou.”
Zhou Zhengye suddenly stood up like a startled rabbit, insisting he couldn’t do it.
The two were surprised, unable to understand why Zhou Zhengye reacted so intensely. If it weren’t for Lin Dong knowing Zhou’s character and trusting Fu Chunjian’s judgment, he might have suspected Zhou was after power. Otherwise, there would be no reason to be so deferential.
“Zhengye, are you not feeling well?” Fu Chunjian asked concerningly.
“No, no…” Zhou Zhengye realized he was too nervous and quickly picked up his teacup, taking a big gulp.
Fu Chunjian didn’t believe it but didn’t press further. He turned to Lin Dong. “Manager Lin, if you have any suggestions, go ahead. I know Zhengye well—he certainly wouldn’t be upset with you over this. Besides, he got his position thanks to you.”
“Let’s not mention the spiritual skills anymore,” Lin Dong said after thinking for a moment. He then smiled and asked Fu Chunjian, “Dean Fu, have you ever been an official before?”
Fu Chunjian froze for a moment before shaking his head with a wry smile. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have assigned this tough task to Zhengye.”
Lin Dong nodded. “How long do you think County Magistrate Zhou can hold the position?”
Fu Chunjian pondered for a while before saying helplessly, “If he loses contact with the provincial governor, he has another year left in this term, plus three years for the next term. After that, the governor will likely send someone to subtly inquire if there are any more spiritual skills. If not, his term will end.”
“Why?” Lin Dong asked.
“With Zhengye’s personality, he would be seen as a thorn in the side of most of the wealthy families in Xilan City and a pain in the neck for his subordinates. Externally, his superiors would despise him… Without the governor holding him back, his term would probably end soon.”

Lin Dong nodded and said seriously, “I know what kind of integrity you upright scholars possess—refusing to curry favor with superiors, avoiding association with corrupt officials, and not willing to engage in insincere dealings with unscrupulous merchants. But isn’t it better to be flexible? Take bribes when necessary, flatter superiors when appropriate—only by holding higher positions, even the highest, can one bring more benefits to the people.”

“It’s not that simple. Not to mention factional struggles. Take bribery, for example…” Fu Chunjian organized his thoughts before speaking, “If an inn wants to take over Lin’s Inn’s business, spending a thousand taels of silver to have yamen officials harass them daily—should Manager Lin take the money or not?”

“This…”

Lin Dong suddenly realized he too could be naive at times. He understood Fu Chunjian’s point—merchants are driven by profit, just like himself, always scheming to undermine Fenglin Restaurant and boost his inn’s business. Without greater returns, who would be foolish enough to give away a thousand taels of silver? If Zhou Zhengye accepted this money, he would inevitably have to help the giver make even more money, which meant destroying Lin’s Inn. If he refused to act despite the money, he would still remain a thorn in the side of the powerful families.

Honest merchants might welcome good officials, but these days, few honest merchants can achieve success, let alone exert influence.

“And then there are the officials under them. If allowed to get rich, it’s still the people who suffer,” Fu Chunjian said softly. “Superiors are even more troublesome. Flattery is one thing, but more importantly, gifts must be given during the three major festivals each year, especially near the end of their term. To succeed as the next county magistrate, you need at least twenty to thirty thousand taels of silver—without that, it’s impossible. If you want to get promoted, you have to go to the prefecture yamen, where even more money is spent. Where does all this money come from?”

Lin Dong was speechless.

Fu Chunjian sighed and said, “Unless you have strong backing, you won’t last long.”

Lin Dong gritted his teeth and declared resolutely, “Well, when my term ends, I’ll just give more spiritual techniques. If those don’t work, I’ll pay in silver!”

“It’s not that simple. Just paying silver won’t guarantee you’ll succeed or get promoted—it depends on who you ally with,” Fu Chunjian shook his head. “Most people lose their positions or even their heads due to factional struggles. Choosing the wrong ally means even offering a sky-high price of hundred thousand or even several hundred thousand taels of silver is useless.”

“I wonder how many years President Fu has been an official?” Lin Dong asked.

Fu Chunjian gave Lin Dong a deep look—was he trying to get him to step in?

“It’s hard to say. Then forget it,” Lin Dong said helplessly.

Fu Chunjian’s face turned red. He fell silent for a moment before forcing a smile and saying, “I understand what Manager Lin means. To be honest, I really don’t want to deal with these things anymore. But Manager Lin is willing to give up fame and fortune to use his spiritual skills and provide silver for the people of Xilan City—such generosity… I, Fu Chunjian, must stand by him at all costs.”

Lin Dong’s face also turned red. It was true that he didn’t seek fame, but with both spiritual skills and silver, he wasn’t completely selfless either.

If Zhou Zhengye were truly a good official with the ability to lead, Xilan City would surely become prosperous over time. As long as Lin’s Inn remained the top choice for the local wealthy to host banquets, changes might not be noticeable in the short term, but over time, the number of private rooms that charged entry fees would surely increase.

Moreover, Lin Dong had no intention of spending his own silver. He just wanted to give Zhou Zhengye a nudge—so many unscrupulous merchants in Xilan City couldn’t be wasted…

“Without hiding anything from Manager Lin,” Fu Chunjian said with a smile, “I became the chief clerk of Taifang Prefecture at eighteen and reached the highest position as Minister of Revenue by thirty. After that, my career had its ups and downs. At forty, I resigned from office and came to Xilan County to become the president of Qiushui Academy. As for political struggles, though I don’t pay much attention to them, it’s not hard to see through their complexities.”

Lin Dong and the others were stunned. Xilan City was full of hidden talents! A Minister of Revenue at thirty—that was a second-rank high official. Neither the former emperor nor Emperor Qianwei could be considered wise rulers. How did he get such a position?

“You must both be curious about how I became Minister of Revenue,” Fu Chunjian said with a smile. “Princes who reach the age of sixteen, if they pass the assessments, can serve as generals in times of war or be appointed as prefects in peaceful times. You should both be aware of this.”

Lin Dong nodded. Although the previous emperor didn’t understand politics, he had heard of this rule.

In the Great Han Dynasty, the legitimate eldest son was crowned crown prince at birth and had the right to inherit the throne. But other princes weren’t entirely without opportunities. During times of war, those who reached sixteen and passed the assessments could serve as generals, while in peaceful times, they could choose to serve as prefects in any province.

If one could be made a general through military achievements in troubled times or a prime minister through political accomplishments in peaceful times, and if their status far surpassed that of the crown prince, they too were eligible to become the next heir to the throne.

Of course, some princes with higher ranks could take shortcuts in the struggle for the throne—by gaining the emperor’s favor and overthrowing the crown prince.