Chapter 77

What Xun recited was a passage from the "Spring and Autumn Annals of Judgments." The "Spring and Autumn Annals of Judgments," also known as the "Spring and Autumn Decisions" or the "Spring and Autumn Resolutions," was written by the Confucian sage Dong Zhongshu. Because the Han laws were directly inherited from the Qin laws, although they were somewhat simplified and streamlined, they still appeared too rigid and cumbersome. Therefore, Dong Zhongshu incorporated Confucian thought to re-evaluate dozens of cases he believed were unjustly judged. By the Eastern Han dynasty, Confucian thought had thoroughly dominated, and Dong Zhongshu's methods were widely applied in judicial proceedings.

In simple terms, the guiding principle was that Confucian morality should take precedence over state law. Where the law had loopholes, Confucian thought could be used to fill them. Where the law was reasonable but not emotionally just, Confucian thought could be used to correct it.

Among these, Dong Zhongshu mentioned a case: A man named Jia had a son named Yi, whom he gave to a man named Bing at a young age. Bing raised Yi until he grew up. Later, Jia, after drinking too much, told Yi, "I am your father." Yi became angry and said, "I am your father, not you, Black Knight, and I am not Skywalker..." Well, this part can be ignored. In short, Yi, in a fit of anger, beat Jia with twenty sticks, and Jia then reported Yi to the authorities.

This situation was similar to the dispute between Ningke and his neighbor, Wang. According to Han law, without a formal adoption document (which also included documents for surrogate fatherhood), Jia was Yi's father, and Yi beating his father was a grave act of filial impiety, punishable by death. However, Dong Zhongshu argued that although Jia had given birth to Yi, he had not raised him, and the father-son relationship had been severed. Therefore, Yi did not commit filial impiety and should not be sentenced to death.

Law is rigid, but people are flexible. In the Eastern Han dynasty, to trample on the rigid law, people often used the "Spring and Autumn Annals of Judgments" method, and the court recognized it. Scholars also praised it—because Confucian thought was supreme, and the law should step aside.

This time, Xun used this method and immediately ruled that Ningke should pay a fine of 500 coins for the assault and be released from court. The county magistrate, Huang, was immediately flustered, exclaiming, "How can this be? How can this be? The law does not say this!" Xun gave him a contemptuous glance, thinking that he was just a scholar in name, unlearned and uncultured.

The county vice-magistrate, Tu, who had some knowledge, tried to argue, saying, "Dong's original text states, 'Jia has a son Yi, whom he gave to Bing,' indicating that there was an adoption document, so Yi should not be sentenced to death, which is different from Ningke's case..." Xun coldly replied, "If that were true, the law would have been sufficient to make the judgment. Why did Dong need to record it in such detail?"

The county magistrate, Geng, sighed, "Enough." He raised his sleeve, revealing a bamboo slip, and asked Xun, "Do you know what this is?" Xun shook his head. Geng said, "This is Geng's impeachment of you for bribery!"

Upon hearing this, Xun burst into laughter, "Ha ha ha ha ha~ Geng, you can submit your impeachment, and so can the others." He then suddenly turned serious, "Let's see if any of you can move me an inch. And let me tell you, Geng, do you think Cao Jinyin needs to report to the court to dismiss you? Where is the court now?!"

In theory, county magistrates are appointed by the court and should be dismissed by the court. Even the governors and administrators of commanderies and states, or the prefects and magistrates of counties, do not have the direct power to appoint or dismiss. If the regular procedure were followed, Xun, as a postal inspector, would have to submit his reasons for impeaching Geng to the court, and the Secretariat would make the final decision. Although the Secretariat generally would not reject the impeachment of a governor or administrator if the reasons were sufficient, this buffer would allow Geng to find ways to turn the situation around or seek other avenues. If Geng were not dismissed for various reasons, Xun would certainly face severe consequences—his reputation would be ruined.

However, it was not a peaceful time, and few people followed the regular procedure! In the Guandong region, even the provincial inspectors were often appointed by local recommendations. How many governors, administrators, or county magistrates were appointed by the court? How many were dismissed by imperial edict? On the contrary, many officials appointed by the small court controlled by the Guanxi warlords were driven away before they even reached their posts, often by force. It was a miracle if they managed to save their lives.

Was Cao Cao's appointment as the Inspector of Yanzhou by the court? Was Cao De's appointment as the Administrator of Jinyin by the court? Did they need to report to the court to dismiss a county magistrate?

So when Xun said this, Geng's face turned ashen, and he was speechless.

Xun and his group left Chengyang County that day and spent the night at one of Ningke's estates. Ningke, whose life was saved, was extremely grateful to Xun. Xun said there was no need to thank him, and asked if the promise Ningke made the previous night to offer all his property as a reward was still valid. Ningke hesitated but nodded. Xun then said, "You don't need to give all your property. I won't take a single coin. Just donate half of your land deeds and half of your movable assets to the commandery, and report everything you have experienced and seen to Cao Jinyin. Otherwise, 'I can save you, but I can also kill you!'"

Ningke, satisfied with keeping half of his property, agreed. Xun then turned to Wu Zhi and asked if he wanted to continue his duties as a patrol officer in his hometown or join him as a guest. Wu Zhi bowed repeatedly and said, "Your Excellency is upright and has saved Ningke's life. I am deeply moved and wish to follow you and serve you."

Xun then asked Lu Hong, "Mr. Lu, you are a man of great talent. Why be a minor official in Shouzhang County? Why not join me, or wait for me to return and recommend you to Cao Jinyin for a higher position?" Unfortunately, Lu Hong just smiled and shook his head, saying, "Cheng has done me a great favor, and I do not wish to betray him. I have not achieved anything, and I do not need your recommendation." Xun could not persuade him and had to let it go.

The next morning, they left Ningke's estate and headed west to Juyang County. As Wu Zhi had predicted, the administration in Juyang was relatively clean, and Xun did not find any significant faults or signs of misconduct. They continued to Chengwu, Danfu, and other places, conducting private investigations, sealing the treasuries, and uncovering two corrupt county vice-magistrates and one negligent county magistrate, all of whom were impeached by Xun and reported to Cao De. The other officials were also reprimanded.

After a long journey, they finally arrived in Dingtao, the seat of the commandery, in early summer. Xun met Cao De, completed his mission, and Cao De hosted a banquet for him. They discussed the journey in detail, and both enjoyed the conversation. Although their positions were different—Cao De, despite being the son of a former high official, was once a commoner like Xun—now there was a clear hierarchy in the bureaucracy, but Cao De did not treat Xun as a subordinate. Xun felt that he could be informal and treat Cao De as a friend.

After the banquet, Cao De sat next to Xun, holding his hand and saying, "Hongfu, you have worked hard on this trip." Xun pretended to shake his head, "Working for Mr. Cao, it's not hard." Cao De was puzzled, "What did you call me?" Xun quickly clarified, "It's just a local term." In his heart, he thought, "I meant your brother, not you."

However, Cao De's face fell, and he sighed, "Those corrupt officials are truly hateful, but you have impeached too many on this trip... For example, in Chengyang, you impeached all the officials..." Xun was surprised and asked, "You don't plan to dismiss them?" Cao De said, "I dismissed them all last month, but now I have fewer people to use, and Chengyang has become a ghost town—"

"I have already discussed with my brother, and I would like to borrow you for a few more months to serve as the county magistrate of Chengyang. What do you think?"

Xun was furious, thinking, "You are really taking advantage of me! I haven't even returned home, and you want me to go to Chengyang. Do you have any humanity?" But Cao De kept begging and promised that Xun could return home for a few months and just arrive by August to avoid disrupting the autumn harvest. Xun, after much reluctance, had to agree.

Cao De, despite his seemingly honest appearance, was full of cunning. He was like a stone hat, with a low presence, but once he stuck to you, he was like snot, impossible to shake off. Xun could only lament his poor judgment in choosing friends. He remembered a phrase his friends often said in his previous life: "Teammates are there to be betrayed."

After thinking for a while, Xun said to Cao De, "Why don't I recommend some talents to you?" Cao De said, "Sure, sure, I would love to hear about them." However, Xun did not mention names but asked, "I have been traveling for months and have been out of touch. Do you know the current situation in Qingzhou?"

Cao De said, "You asked the right person. My brother wrote to me a few days ago, explaining the surrounding situation—Xuzhou is stable, the Inspectorate of the Imperial Secretariat appears calm but is actually turbulent, and as for Qingzhou..."

"Last year, Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan fought over Qingzhou. Yuan's army entered Le'an from Bohai, and the Governor of Ping