Chapter 88: The Corrupt Official

Seeing the two of them deeply focused, Fu Chunjian slowly said, “Fifty years ago, Emperor Qianwei was the prefect of Taifang Prefecture. Over the course of ten years, I helped him build his political achievements, while Fu Tongshan advised him on strategies to gain the trust of the former emperor and the support of the ministers. After Emperor Qianwei ascended the throne, both Fu Chunjian and I rose rapidly in status. But I often challenged him in court because I couldn’t stand his disregard for the people’s interests in order to balance power among the ministers. Coupled with conflicts with the ministers, my career started to decline after I became the Minister of Revenue.”
After a pause, Fu Chunjian sneered, “Fu Tongshan is skilled in political tactics and has remained in high positions for decades. But… Emperor Qianwei is now paving the way for a new emperor, and our friendship from forty or fifty years ago has faded. Things aren’t going well for him these days.”
Zhou Zhengye was stunned speechless, while Lin Dong was also amazed. No wonder Fu Tongshan wanted Fu Chunjian to step in—being able to help a prefect rise to become prime minister in just ten years was truly extraordinary.
As a prince, although he had many advantages, he also faced tremendous obstacles. After all, the crown prince wouldn’t sit idly by while a rival rose through political achievements, and the ministers would naturally support the crown prince first.
Suddenly, Lin Dong slapped his hands together and stood up, declaring, “Since President Fu is willing to guide us from behind, County Magistrate Zhou surely won’t go astray. As long as more money is invested, and County Magistrate Zhou is willing to flatter his superiors at the expense of his reputation for the sake of the people, it won’t be hard to rise even higher than the position of magistrate of Xilan County.”
“But…” Zhou Zhengye hesitated.
“Are you worried I can’t provide that much money?” Lin Dong asked with a smile.
Zhou Zhengye’s face turned red. He wanted to deny it but feared that Lin Dong would see him as not only cowardly but also hypocritical.
“The Lin’s Inn does make over a hundred taels a day in profit, but it’s still not enough to buy an official position. However, although I can’t provide that much money, someone in Xilan County can.” Lin Dong said meaningfully, “It depends on how brave County Magistrate Zhou is.”
Hearing this, Zhou Zhengye was overjoyed. He never expected that he would have such a chance to change the image of being timid and weak that he had left in Lin Dong’s mind half a year ago.
Suddenly standing up, Zhou Zhengye declared loudly, “I was born into poverty and understand the hardships of the people best. As long as it benefits the people of Xilan County, I’m willing to sacrifice my life.”
Lin Dong and Fu Chunjian couldn’t help but praise him.

After organizing his thoughts slightly, Lin Dong said meaningfully, “There must be quite a number of unscrupulous merchants and landlords in Xilan County, right? They always need to bribe officials, especially during the county magistrate’s term. If the magistrate squeezes them hard for silver before handling official matters, it’s a good deal, isn’t it? I’m sure it won’t take long for the magistrate to encounter such a situation—one targeting Lin’s Inn. By then, I hope he won’t hold back.”

Lin Dong raised his eyebrows slightly and smiled. “If the magistrate is bold enough to identify those unscrupulous merchants and landlords with no strong backing, then sending people to threaten them every few days, and sending them invitations for the birthdays of their pets from time to time, how could they possibly lack silver? After all, with the prefect backing him, no matter how severe the situation becomes, he’ll have to help suppress it in the short term. Plus, with constant bribes, it certainly won’t have any negative impact at the higher levels.”

Lin Dong continued, “The only problem is that before the people of Xilan City benefit, these unscrupulous merchants and landlords will surely spread rumors to slander the magistrate and even send people to attack you. Though no one would dare assassinate an official, attacking your family or hitting you whenever you show up certainly won’t draw the wrath of the Heavenly Might Pavilion. Of course, I can help you deal with this trouble, but I can’t guarantee 100% safety.”

The two were stunned. Extorting money without doing anything in return—such behavior would surely be despised by corrupt officials, shunned by honest ones, and loathed by scholars everywhere. Moreover, the slightest mistake could lead to losing one’s position.

Still… it seemed worth a try. If it failed, it would just cost a head. If it succeeded, although a lot of silver would go to those corrupt officials in the yamen, ensuring peace in the county was still worth it. Besides, that silver came from those unscrupulous merchants and landlords anyway.

“Losing one’s position and life—worth it for the sake of duty. I’m just worried…” Zhou Zhengye frowned. “I’m worried that if we push too hard, those merchants and landlords might move their families away or unite to resist. They hold vast assets that affect many people’s livelihoods. If they do that, the consequences could be disastrous.”

Lin Dong also frowned. He hadn’t thought of that issue.

“And then there’s the matter of the yamen officials. If Zhengye takes money but doesn’t do anything, once word gets out, those unscrupulous merchants and landlords will surely shift their bribes to the clerks and supervisors. If we punish them one by one and they unite against him, Zhengye might end up as the sole magistrate with nothing.” Fu Chunjian said anxiously.

Lin Dong felt his head ache—being an official was truly troublesome.

The three of them fell into deep thought instantly. If these two issues weren’t resolved, Zhou Zhengye’s reputation might be tarnished, but more seriously, it would not only fail to benefit the people but could even have a worse impact than having a corrupt official in power.
“If words won’t work, then we’ll use force!” Lin Dong slammed the table abruptly and stared intently at Fu Chunjian. “Dean Fu must remember Wang Liuzhi, right?”
Fu Chunjian didn’t understand his meaning but nodded anyway.
“A while ago, the inn was set on fire. Although Gu Huanzong helped intercede, I still felt it would be better to have our own forces. Coincidentally, Wang Liuzhi also comes from a gang background, so I asked him to lead people to subdue all the gangs in Xilan City,” Lin Dong said sternly. “Whoever dares to cause trouble? We’ll be ruthless—arrest their families and force them to submit.”
The two were shocked. As scholars, extorting money and refusing to do things for it already meant sacrificing their reputations. But kidnapping people to threaten them seemed to cross some moral boundary to them.
Lin Dong said slowly, “Though such methods are despicable, fighting evil with evil is the only option.”
“This isn’t being an official anymore—it’s being a bandit,” Fu Chunjian said with a bitter smile.
“It depends on who we’re serving as bandits for,” Lin Dong replied calmly. “Dean Fu, do you still remember what kind of person Lin Dong used to be? Timid and weak, but kind to others. Many beggars in Xilan City have received my help. Now, though, he beats people, destroys shops, and gathers gangs—certainly not a good person. Yet I’ve also taken in all the orphans and the elderly in the city, keeping Xilan City’s order better than before. Who can really tell which is better?”
The two shuddered. Since they were already extorting money and refusing to do things for it, what did it matter if they went completely dark?
Fu Chunjian sighed deeply. “I never thought that I, Fu Chunjian, who always cared so much about my reputation, would end up unable to distinguish between right and wrong in my old age.”
Lin Dong’s face lit up as he looked at Zhou Zhengye.
Zhou Zhengye smiled proudly. “Willing to sacrifice everything—dare to bring down the emperor!”
Lin Dong was amazed. What an outrageous metaphor, especially coming from a scholar who was constantly influenced by loyalty to the emperor—it was simply unbelievable.
“Don’t worry, the ones who can’t tolerate you are the court officials and the corrupt merchants and officials. As long as we can truly improve the people’s lives, over time, it will become clear whether it’s good or bad,” Lin Dong said with a smile. “Even if I commit all kinds of evil deeds outside, the orphans and the elderly in Xilan City will never scold me.”
Hearing this, the two felt inspired. Time will reveal true character!

With a consensus reached on the major issues, things become easier. The slightly more troublesome ones involve dealing with corrupt landlords who have powerful backers and oppress the common people. Although Zhou Zhengye is still unmarried and childless, his parents are alive, so how to ensure their safety is a concern. There are also some miscellaneous issues, and after pooling everyone’s wisdom and discussing until midnight, a general direction was finally established. Next, it’s only a matter of testing whether this approach works in practice. Out of personal interest, Lin Dong suggested using Fenglin Restaurant as the first target for testing. Fenglin Restaurant is wealthy and likely has powerful allies in the court. If it’s possible to extract money from them without affecting Zhou Zhengye’s position, it would mark the first step in putting this plan into action, whether by using the money to get things done or by dealing with those corrupt landlords with backing.