The bright moon hangs alone outside the hall.

A lamp in the hall is as bright as a bean.

Chen Shengjing was sitting behind a bookcase, flipping through the quarterly reports that had recently been sent by the Censor's Office.

Over the years, he gradually gave up control over the daily government affairs of the court and delegated the power that should have belonged to the emperor to the six ministries.

And he took his time and energy away from the heavy and trivial affairs, focusing on the system, structure, and mechanism of the Han Dynasty, looking for problems from them, and solving them...

For example, the Yushitai Monthly Bulletin he is currently reading contains detailed records of the nationwide official inspections last quarter, including the positions, resumes, origins of the guilty officials, the history of the crimes, methods, time span, negative impacts, etc.

elements.

Chen Sheng saw this not to be a hero, to deal with certain officials and to bring justice to the people.

That is not the work he should get involved in. If he gets involved, whether it is complicating simple problems or simplifying complex problems, it is contrary to his original intention.

His purpose in reading this was to find the underlying reasons behind these crimes and analyze why these prisoners were able to commit such crimes. Is it a human problem or a system problem?

If it's a human problem, then why didn't the official inspection system detect it earlier?

If it is a system problem, how can we properly solve this problem?

Finding problems and solving them... is much more difficult and heavier than solving the people who caused the problems!

So far, Chen Sheng has done a pretty good job.

Governments at all levels are concise, honest and powerful, and there is not much resistance to new systems and new mechanisms.

Moreover, under the combined reform of two powerful forces, top-down and bottom-up, the officials of the Han Dynasty are gradually moving closer to the direction of "being an official is just a job" guided by Chen Sheng.

To be more precise, the officials of the Han Dynasty were getting used to the layers of constraints imposed on them by Chen Sheng, and were gradually lost in the praises of the common people for being good officials and being good officials. This gave birth to the idea that being an official is what it means to be an official.

The thought of doing some practical things and good things for the country and the people...

Of course, objectively speaking, the officials of the Han Dynasty were still superior to others.

Although there are no laws and etiquette regulations, there are things that officials can do but people cannot do, and there are things that officials can use but people cannot use...

But no matter where they go, officials still believe that they should enjoy a higher level of treatment than the common people.

But no matter where they go, the common people still take it for granted that officials should enjoy a higher level of treatment than themselves.

This is something even Chen Sheng cannot deny.

But he is still working hard to change this deep-rooted thought.

And objectively speaking, this situation is slowly getting better.

For example, there are no officials in the Han Dynasty who dare to use soldiers to clear the way and make the people kneel down to greet them when traveling.

Those stubborn officials who believe that they are as high as the sky and the emperor are still building railways in the snowy area...

It took Chen Sheng twenty years to finally get the big man to this point.

He planned to use another twenty years to make becoming an official a path that would be chosen.

…

There was a strong wind in the middle of the night, and the study door and windows rattled.

Without raising his head, Chen Sheng protected the swaying lamp seedlings with one hand and continued to flip through the files in his hand.

However, after he picked up a page of paper, his palm suddenly stopped.

He closed the file in his hand and looked up. His eyes penetrated the dark dome and saw a turbulent river.

He carefully felt the situation in the big river, and his brows slowly wrinkled.

I don't know how long it took, but a low but clear old voice suddenly sounded in his ears: "Old minister Fan Zeng, I respectfully invite His Majesty the Emperor of the Han Dynasty to come and grant me divine power..."

'What is this old guy trying to do?'

Chen Sheng frowned and said something to himself, but verbally shouted without thinking: "That's right!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the dense Human Emperor Qi around him branched off into a small tributary and submerged into the void, and he didn't know where it went.

Fan Zeng, who was on the other side, was overjoyed when he heard the news and quickly replied: "Thank you, Your Majesty. I disturbed Your Majesty's sleep in the middle of the night. I am guilty. Your Majesty, please punish me!"

Chen Sheng: When you were praying, didn’t you think that you might disturb my sleep?

He took a deep breath, suppressed the urge to scold the old guy for being so agitated, and asked, "What are you doing so late at night?"

Fan Zeng replied: "Reporting to your majesty, I just watched the stars at night and saw big stars falling in the southwest. At the right time, the emperor's chariot collapsed (the Big Dipper), the crape myrtle disappeared, and the stars in the sky were all pale. The veteran deduced that it should be King Yong, and the king of Yue died.

, in order to confirm the calculation, I would like to ask Your Majesty to use your divine power to protect the old minister and make a prediction to find out the truth!"

Chen Sheng frowned in astonishment, his mind was so complicated that he didn't know what to say. After more than ten breaths, he said: "Let's start the hexagram and tell me the result after you finish the calculation!"

He said this verbally, but in his heart, he already believed Fan Zeng's speculation.

Because just now, the power of humanity was oscillating inexplicably. He carefully investigated it, but couldn't figure out the reason. He just felt that the power of humanity was generally stable, neither increasing nor weakening, but it just kept oscillating.

It's like someone throwing a big rock into the pool.

If we say that this kind of shock was caused by the death of Ying Zheng and Liu Bang, then it makes sense!

He was just a little surprised... It was just that Ying Zheng collapsed, why did Liu Bang join in the fun?

Two months ago, Guazhou had sent back intelligence, saying that Ying Zheng had been ill for a long time and would die soon.

However, the recent information about Liu Bang's personal life is all saying that he eats well and is in great health. In April, he even took in a pair of Annan boys and girls who spent the whole day in the monastery messing around. They are like beasts.

Chen Sheng was not surprised at all if he could live for another ten years!

Why did it suddenly snap?

After a while, Fan Zeng's voice came again: "Your Majesty, the hexagram shows that it is indeed King Yong, and King Yue is dying!"

Chen Sheng scratched his forehead and asked in confusion: "Can you figure out why the King of Yue died?"

Fan Zeng: "Back to your majesty, the King of Yue is protected by the fate of the Han Dynasty. Even with the blessing of your majesty, my veteran can only make a rough guess..."

Before he finished speaking, another voice suddenly sounded in Chen Sheng's ears: "Old minister Bai Qi, I respectfully invite His Majesty the Emperor of the Han Dynasty to come. I have something urgent to report!"

"Oh, it's really lively tonight!"

Chen Sheng muttered to himself, closing Fan Zeng's line, and connected his mind to Bai Qi's line: "Speak!"

Bai Qi was surprised and happy when he heard that Chen Sheng had connected the line so quickly: "I disturbed your majesty in the middle of the night. I am guilty. Please punish me!"

Chen Sheng:……

He took a deep breath and spat out two words: "Tell me something!"

Bai Qi quickly replied: "Your Majesty, the King of Yue has passed away, just outside our Zhuque Military Region..."

"etc!"

Chen Sheng frowned fiercely: "Why did the King of Yue die outside your Zhuque Military Region? Did you kill him?"

Bai Qi answered honestly: "The old minister was planning to kill, but before he could make a move, he committed suicide..."

"hold on."

Chen Sheng's mind was a little confused: "What do you mean, he committed suicide before you could take action? He traveled all the way from Guangdong to Jingzhou to touch your porcelain? What exactly happened? Please tell me again in detail.

!”

Bai Qi hurriedly recounted what happened to Chen Sheng from beginning to end, one by one, and finally said: "He arrived at the military area just after dark tonight. The old minister invited him to stay in the military area, but he refused.

He came in and insisted on camping outside the camp with the guards. The dinner was also scheduled for tomorrow night... The old minister and other soldiers gathered together and met the King of Yue. They said less than ten words and even a cup of tea from our Zhuque Military Region.

I haven’t even drunk it yet!”

Chen Sheng closed his eyes with a slightly tired look, leaned back, and sighed: "You, you, you usually hand over notes to Jinling for big and small things, but this time it's such a big thing, how can you do it?"

Did you forget to give Jinling a note and let me know?"

Bai Qi: "Aren't you worried that Your Majesty won't agree..."

Chen Sheng's fists itched when he heard this: "You know I won't agree, but you still dare to do it? Are you Bai Qipiao, or am I, Chen Shengti, incapable of going under the knife?"

Bai Qi answered truthfully: "This guy is just an unfamiliar wolf cub. I also thought about going to the west immediately. If I make a mistake now, I can make up for it later. If I come back from the west and deal with this guy again, will there be any chance of success?"

It’s hard to say if you have the opportunity to make up for your past mistakes..."

Chen Sheng: 'Do I have to praise you for your wit?'

He wanted to reprimand this old guy who made his own decisions, but after a moment of pondering, he gave up and asked instead, "How did he die?"

He probably guessed why Liu Bang committed suicide and why he traveled thousands of miles to commit suicide outside the Zhuque Military Region.

It's nothing more than fear of liquidation, and wanting to exchange his old life for a whole family of young and old, so that he can land smoothly...

You know, the person who invited him to dinner was Bai Qi, who almost killed all the Baiyue people!

Thinking about this, Chen Sheng even figured out why Liu Bang refused to be honest all these years.

In his eyes, Bai Qi is loyal, harmless to humans and animals, and even a bit funny like an old naughty boy.

But in Liu Bang's eyes, there was no difference between Bai Qi and that green-faced, fanged demon that ate people without spitting out their bones!

If you are a neighbor with such a person, you will have to sleep with a knife under your pillow!
To be continued...