The Tang Dynasty: Wu Zetian made me her imperial tutor

"There are actually tens of thousands of forged official titles?"

Upon hearing the report, Wu Zetian flew into a rage and slammed her hand on the phoenix couch several times.

Bang, bang, bang! With each strike, he yelled, "Damn it!"

The criticism wasn't just directed at the corrupt common people, but also at the local officials who accepted bribes and helped fabricate evidence.

The hall was completely silent. Everyone who had followed Xue Ne, Zhang Yue, Cui Shi, and Du Shenyan, as well as the maids who accompanied them, lowered their heads and held their breath.

Only Lu Jun, accustomed to such scenes, remained unfazed.

"I report to the Empress Dowager that, according to the law, 'anyone who falsely claims official position shall be exiled two thousand li,' which is just the right distance to Hexi and Longyou."

"However, Yongzhou is in a very important location and involves a large number of people. The Empress Dowager may wish to show leniency and still treat it as a search and seizure case."

"The whole family can be moved to Liangzhou or Longyou to be registered and granted land, or if someone in the family has served in the army for five years, their past offenses will be forgiven."

"If you are unwilling to go, you shall be sentenced to exile according to the law."

Most of those who forge official titles are from Chang'an. If we push them too hard, it's hard to say what kind of trouble it might cause.

If they are treated leniently, knowing they are in the wrong and having a choice, they will be more inclined to accept the outcome.

After her initial anger subsided, Wu Zetian immediately understood and nodded, "Chu Yu's considerations are very thorough."

Although she despised the powerful clans of Guanzhong, with her ascension to the throne imminent, stabilizing the situation was of utmost importance.

Taking this opportunity to demonstrate benevolence and virtue is also a good thing, as it counters the bad reputation of condoning cruel officials.

Lu Jun added:

"I estimate that there are more false rebels in Yongzhou than elsewhere, totaling around 30,000 across all prefectures, which is sufficient to supplement half of the needs for military farming and recruitment in the Hexi Corridor."

"I am preparing to depart for Yongzhou to oversee the investigation and to uncover the escaped households who have sought refuge with powerful clans and forged ordination certificates."

"With Yongzhou setting a precedent, the other circuits can each send their own censors to follow suit and take charge of the matter."

"Granted!" Wu Zetian was both surprised and delighted, and immediately agreed.

Thirty thousand!

Just by uncovering the forged officials, we can replenish 30,000 men. This is the first time Chu Yu has done something practical, and he has given me a tremendous surprise!

His talent extends far beyond being an advisor; he can be consulted whenever problems arise.

Xue Ne was promoted by me, and those others were recommended by Chu Yu. They are all very capable, and it's good for them to gain experience...

Thinking of this, he smiled and said, "Gentlemen, as you accompany Chu Yu on her missions, you should accumulate experience, for I will give you important responsibilities in the future!"

When Xue Ne heard that the inspector was going to the front lines of the Hexi Corridor, it meant that war was about to break out, and a thought stirred within him, secretly filled with anticipation.

Zhang Shuo, Cui Shi, and Du Shenyan exchanged glances, and the corners of their mouths subtly turned up.

The Empress Dowager's meaning was clear: as long as they handled their duties in Yongzhou well, they could be promoted to censors and handle household inspections in other provinces.

His rise from proofreader to censor was not only a leap in rank, but also a step into the ranks of important Qing officials, promising a bright future.

Life is so easy with Brother Chu Yu!

At this time, the land official...

Those who had previously besieged Lu Jun gathered around and poured out their grievances to Wei Mingkang:

"Lord Wei, we can't let Lu Chuyu investigate any further. There are too many people forging official titles. If they are all sentenced to exile, wouldn't it cause chaos?"

"Chang'an has many aristocratic sons and wealthy merchants. Letting them serve as concubines under the guise of official titles is also a way to maintain their dignity..."

"Those responsible for compiling the registers are all important officials from the capital and surrounding areas. Are they all to be punished and investigated for past mistakes?"

"With Yongzhou handling things this way, the entire Guannei Circuit, as well as Henan and Hebei Circuits, will soon be affected!"

"What I'm worried about is that the Empress Dowager will send cruel officials to forcibly intervene and, in the process, eliminate the powerful clans of Guanzhong..."

"Or, why don't we secretly send someone to threaten Lu Chuyu and make him back down? What do you all think?"

"Brother, don't drag us into this mess... He's protected by the Imperial Guards. Do you want your entire clan executed?"

"What should we do? We thought he was just talking big, but who knew he was so capable, finding out in just seven days..."

"Lord Wei, think of something!"

The newly appointed Minister of Land Affairs was named Ge Fuyuan, and the Vice Minister was named Li Yuansu. Seeing the uproar among the crowd, they were afraid of being dragged into the discussion and had long since distanced themselves to avoid being implicated.

Wei Mingkang was a member of the Wei clan of Jingzhao, and his interests were at stake, so there was no way to avoid him and he had to personally receive him.

In the past few days, he personally witnessed Lu Jun leading people to bury themselves in the vast books and manage to carve out a large hole, far beyond his expectations.

He secretly admired him, but since it involved his own family, he had to find a way to stop this young man...

"Don't worry, gentlemen, I have a plan!"

He wrote a memorial and entrusted a close relative of the Luantai to present it to him. It was immediately sent to the Xianju Palace.

Wu Zetian was concerned about matters of military service and household registration, so her memorials were given priority and read aloud by Wan'er:

"Wei Ming, the Director of the Land Administration Office, submitted a memorial stating that the tax and labor service registers should be submitted every three years, but the one currently held by the court is from two and a half years ago."

"The information used for verification with the Ministry of Revenue has already shown some discrepancies. Censor Lu's efforts in checking are likely in vain..."

As she continued reciting, her voice grew weaker.

This person is despicable; he's clearly after Lu Jun, saying he's been busy doing nothing these past few days!

Wan'er's heart pounded. She looked up at the Empress Dowager, afraid that she might doubt Lu Jun's abilities.

Wu Zetian pondered for a moment, then asked, "Wan'er, do you think the memorial makes sense?"

Wan'er replied, "That makes sense, but it only raises the question without offering a solution, so Wan'er thinks it's incomplete."

To say that Wei Mingkang only raises questions but doesn't offer solutions is an insinuation that he is just causing trouble and not doing his job properly, which is a malicious accusation.

Destroy his spirit, kill him!

If he wants to restrain Chu Yu, he should just confront her fiercely; why should he hold back?

Wu Zetian nodded: "I think so too. As the Director of the Land Department, he doesn't even know how to share my burdens... Humph, call him over and let him say it to my face!"

"Don't they always say, 'Listen to both sides and you will be enlightened; believe only one side and you will be misled'? Bring both sides in for a confrontation!"

He immediately ordered the eunuchs to set out from several directions simultaneously.

Before long, all the relevant officials were in place.

On the land official's side, Minister Ge Fuyuan, Vice Minister Li Yuansu, and Director of the Land Official's Office Wei Mingkang were all summoned.

The official in charge of the Autumn Bureau was also involved in the registration and verification process, and Vice Minister Zhou Xing and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue Tang Qi were both present.

On Lu Jun's side, in addition to him, Zhang Shuo, Cui Shi, and Du Shenyan, who were in charge of proofreading, were also present.

Wu Zetian had Wei Mingkang recite the memorial and asked him, "The matter of inspecting households is of great importance. What good strategies do you have, Minister Wei? You cannot just mention the difficulties without offering practical solutions."

Wei Mingkang replied, "This winter is the perfect time to register the households. Local authorities will verify the lists of taxpayers and submit them, and then the new ones will be available."

After submitting his memorial, he carefully considered it and made ample contingency plans.

After saying that, he smiled politely at Lu Jun and said, "At that time, I will carefully compare the two together with Imperial Censor Lu."

A hint of smugness crept into his smile.

His method was very simple, summed up in one word—

drag!

The accounts for rent, labor service, and tax were submitted every three years, and the household registration was to be re-established at the end of the year, giving them six months to prepare.

Six months is enough time to tip off the relevant parties, allowing them to make up for what they owe, pay what they owe, and destroy evidence where necessary.

This was an open scheme; by using inaccurate data as a pretext, he was confident that neither the Empress Dowager nor Lu Jun could find fault with it.

Zhang and the other two also realized what was going on, and secretly gritted their teeth: "There's definitely something wrong with the Wei family!"

Although Du Shenyan came from the Du clan of Jingzhao, his main branch settled in Xiangyang and had no connection with Yongzhou. Furthermore, he was an honest and upright official, never harboring corruption. He then turned to Wei Mingkang.

"Outwardly appearing upright but inwardly harboring depravity, I, Du, would never deign to cohabit with you in a prestigious family in Jingzhao!"

Wu Zetian was well aware of the behavior of powerful ministers; it was not surprising that they would always come up with a plausible reason to obstruct government orders.

How to solve this problem depends on Chu Yu.

She remained impassive, while Wan'er's beautiful eyes stole glances at Lu Jun, a hint of anxiety flashing in them...

Lu Junchao asked Wei Mingkang, "Lord Wei, this matter is urgent. Could you please have Yongzhou immediately create a new register?"

Hahaha--

Laughter filled the Xianju Palace.

Wei Mingkang's voice was the loudest, and Ge Fuyuan and Li Yuansu couldn't help but laugh out loud as well, while Zhou Xing just chuckled softly.

"Imperial Censor Lu is young and has never served in a local post, so he probably doesn't know why the records are updated every three years, does he?"

"Because each expense is enormous, the villages and towns need to carefully calculate, record, and report to the county, and then to the prefecture."

"Not to mention the lack of time, there isn't enough paper to go around."

"The censor himself has seen it; there are 600,000 account books in Yongzhou alone. The government has an annual quota for procurement, and it's difficult to buy them all on short notice. How can we just start manufacturing them whenever we want?"

The imperial court had a designated source for purchasing paper, which required paper mills to produce it in advance, as there was no time to make it on the spot.

Even if there are goods available elsewhere, the process of purchasing and transporting them from various places still takes months to complete.

Wei Mingkang explained it very patiently and meticulously.

The more meticulous the detail, the more proud one becomes.

This favored minister of the Empress Dowager, having achieved early success, indeed lacked local experience and revealed his incompetence as soon as he opened his mouth.

After everyone finished laughing, Lu Jun suddenly asked, "Lord Wei, don't you think it's wasteful to need so much paper every time we compile a register?"

Wei Mingkang was taken aback: "The accounts must be meticulous. What's the point of worrying about waste?"

Lu Jun asked, "Isn't there any other way?"

Wei Mingkang countered, "You have a way?"

Lu Jun smiled slightly: "Yes."