Madam, protect me!

Chang'an.

In recent days, Li Nuo's name has often appeared in the mouths of the people.

In the past, he was mentioned more because he was the son of the Dali Temple.

But this time, he really relied on his own ability.

He was sent to Zhao State for half a year, successfully supported the empress to the throne, was named a first-class prince, presided over many reforms in Zhao State, and was called the envoy of Daxia, but in fact he was the regent of Zhao State, and he and the empress were secretly engaged for life.

This is almost the pinnacle that civil servants can achieve. Which scholar does not fantasize about all this?

There are even rumors that he and the empress have lived together for a long time, and the empress is pregnant with his flesh and blood...

Zhao State, like Daxia, is also one of the five dynasties.

His achievements and status have actually surpassed his father.

In Daxia, he is the son of Li Xuanjing.

If it were in Zhao State, people would only call Li Xuanjing the father of the king of a different surname, Li Nuo.

The news of the court officials is better than that of the people. When they went to the yamen the next day, they had learned from their colleagues that Li Nuo had returned to Chang'an after several transfers in the three provinces.

Half a year ago, when he was on a diplomatic mission, he was still a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Justice.

After half a year on a diplomatic mission, he was promoted twice and became the vice minister of the Ministry of Justice and the secretary of the Central Secretariat.

According to officials of the Central Secretariat, as the secretary of the Central Secretariat, he was not subject to the jurisdiction of the vice minister of the Central Secretariat, but was directly responsible to the left prime minister, and he did not have to follow the fixed time of going to and leaving the yamen. This power was only possessed by officials above the third rank in the entire court.

The father and son who were worried about in the same court, which finally happened.

Li Xuanjing was in charge of the Dali Temple and the Mingjing Division, and the Ministry of Justice belonged to his son Li Nuo. Li Nuo was also the secretary of the Central Secretariat and could participate in the central decision-making, write his own memorials and approve them, and this power was no different from that of the prime minister.

Strangely, the right prime minister, who had always suppressed Li Nuo, did not raise any objections this time.

It can be foreseen that the future court of Daxia might really become a one-man show of the Li family.

Ningxin Garden.

Su Qing had just come back from outside and heard that the people of Chang'an were talking about Li Nuo.

What about secretly getting married to the empress, the empress is pregnant with his child...

Of course, it is better to confirm with him about all the rumors about him.

She glanced at Li Nuo and asked, "What is going on between you and the empress of Zhao? Why do people say that you have secretly got married?"

Li Nuo explained, "That's all fabricated. If you don't believe me, ask Yiren. She knows everything."

Song Yiren nodded and said, "These are all boring rumors of the people of Zhao. The empress of Zhao has nothing to do with him."

She sneered at these rumors. When she was in Zhao, she slept in the same bed with him. If Zhiyi had any relationship with him, how could she not know?

Su Qing heard this and didn't ask any more questions.

With Yiren by his side, he shouldn't mess around. It seems that he had wronged Yiren before.

The private marriage was fake, and the empress was pregnant with his child, which was naturally nonsense.

After dinner, Li Nuo took a walk with Jiaren and Anning.

This time when he came back, he did not see Fenghuang.

An Ning said that Fenghuang left Chang'an half a month ago to look for new musicians.

Fenghuang now has Tianyin Court and Lelai Tower in addition to Yuyin Pavilion, and almost monopolizes Chang'an's high-end entertainment industry.

After she took over, Tianyin Court and Lelai Tower became pure music houses, but the business was better than before.

Officials of all sizes in Chang'an used to go to brothels with fear, fearing that they would be arrested and sent to the Dali Temple for reflection, but now they can go to these places openly.

They only provide services for listening to music and watching dances, and the imperial examinations also test music. The court can't forbid them to communicate with the girls about music, right?

More court officials went there, and the rich families in Chang'an and the students of major academies also regarded it as an elegant thing. Many of the musicians even changed their fate and successfully entered the rich family. Even if they were just concubines, they would have endless wealth and glory for a lifetime.

In the past two days, in addition to staying at home with his beautiful wife and An Ning, Li Nuo also took time to go to the Ministry of Justice.

In almost half a year, the Ministry of Justice has accumulated a lot of files. Although after entering the fifth realm, handling these ordinary cases has little impact on the improvement of cultivation, it is better than nothing.

In addition, the revision of the "Daxia Law" is also an urgent matter.

The prison sentence of Zhao State has been increased to 30 years, while the maximum prison sentence of Daxia is only three years, which greatly affects the speed of his life increase.

The life span required to exchange the abilities of each family is too terrifying. Li Nuo's current life span of more than 10,000 days will be gone if he exchanges it for the sixth realm of cultivation. This number will be multiplied several times before he can feel safe.

The scope of redemption can also be narrowed.

He does not intend to abolish redemption directly. This kind of thing cannot be done overnight.

Everyone has selfishness. All the officials in the court are the beneficiaries of redemption. It is unimaginable that they may encounter resistance to betray their class.

Even pushing redemption forward one step is a great progress.

After that, it can be gradually reduced until it is completely abolished.

Because of the experience of Zhao State, Li Nuo quickly revised the new Daxia Law.

Of course, Daxia is not Zhao State after all. As long as the queen gives an order, the new law can replace the old law.

According to the process, as the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, if he wants to amend the law, he must first obtain the consent of the minister of the Ministry of Justice, and then submit the new law to the Dali Temple in the name of the Ministry of Justice.

After the Dali Temple reviews and agrees, it will be handed over to the Zhongshu Province. After the Zhongshu Province passes the resolution, it will continue to be reviewed by the Menxia Province. After the Menxia review is completed, it will be handed over to the Shangshu Province for execution. The Shangshu Province will issue the new "Daxia Law" to the Ministry of Justice, and this law will truly have legal effect...

Although the process is cumbersome, no step can be skipped.

Ministry of Justice.

The Minister of Justice is fifty years old this year. He is the last fifth-level legalist in Daxia, except for Li Nuo and An Ning. Although Li Nuo has seen him many times in the Ministry of Justice before, this Shangshu has a personality similar to his father. He is usually serious and Li Nuo only communicates with him on official business.

After reading Li Nuo's memorial, the Minister of Justice stamped his seal on it.

Li Nuo clasped his fist and said, "Thank you, Shangshu."

The Minister of Justice smiled and said, "You're welcome. If the new law can be implemented, it may restore the glory of the legalists. I have also done my part..."

After a moment, Li Nuo walked out of the Ministry of Justice with the memorial.

He had not considered the restoration of the glory of the Legalists as mentioned by the Shangshu.

But the revised "Daxia Law" is indeed more stringent than the original law, and the more stringent the law is, the more beneficial it is for the practice of the Legalists.

The most glorious moment of the Legalists was also when the law was the most stringent.

Now, imprisonment, exile, and even acts that are not considered crimes were all serious crimes that cost the head when the law was the most stringent.

Now, if you flirt with a woman in the street, the circumstances are minor, but you will be beaten with a stick and fined some silver.

At that time, if you dared to touch a woman's face without consent, you would be beheaded directly.

Now, visiting a brothel is not a crime, but at that time, both men and women would be hanged for such transactions.

However, too harsh punishments are not conducive to the long-term stability and harmony of society. Under heavy pressure, a large number of people in countries with strict laws fled, and countries no longer reused the Legalists.

The laws of various countries have gone from strict to the extreme of looseness.

For example, shortening the prison term, using money to redeem the crime of a heavy sentence, etc.

Among them, the most important reason is the influence of the privileged class.

In the process of legal evolution, from the beginning of not distinguishing between relatives and strangers, and not distinguishing between nobles and humbles, to not punishing the powerful, and then to redeeming crimes with silver...

Every step in between is a process of constant game between the legalists and the powerful.

In the period when the powerful prevailed, the law would be more lenient to the powerful.

In the period when the legalists prevailed, the law was relatively strict to the powerful.

After hundreds of years of tug-of-war, there are the current laws of various countries.

When Li Nuo came to the Dali Temple, he happened to meet Prince Chun and his father going fishing together.

Li Nuo explained his purpose, and Li Xuanjing didn't even look at his memorial, and said: "The seal is in the drawer under the table, you can use it yourself..."

Watching their carriage go away, Li Nuo could only come to his yamen, find the seal, and stamp it himself.

The next thing is very simple.

His letter of appointment had come down yesterday. He had his own office in the Secretariat. Li Nuo came to the Secretariat, found the seal of the Secretariat Sheren, stamped it, and finally handed it to the left prime minister.

After reading it, the left prime minister did not ask any more questions and said, "Wait a moment in the office. I will take it to the Ministry of Personnel for review."

Ministry of Personnel.

The Ministry of Justice's Secretary was trembling as he flipped through the new Daxia Law, looking up from time to time at the opposite side, where the left prime minister was sitting and waiting.

The Secretary was responsible for refuting the violations of government orders, reviewing and refuting imperial edicts and memorials, and inspecting the malpractices of the six ministries. If the Ministry of Justice wanted to amend the law, he, as the Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, had the right to deny it.

The prison term was comprehensively increased, from a maximum of three years to thirty years.

The scope of redemption was narrowed, and the redemption was limited to less than exile.

The redemption amount was increased by a hundred times, from a maximum of 300 taels to a maximum of 30,000 taels.

Even if it was just a small item mentioned in this memorial, it was a big deal...

Moreover, the seals on it, the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Dali Temple, and the Minister of the Secretariat, each of whom he could not afford to offend, after reading it, he immediately stamped his seal on it without any hesitation.

If this memorial was rejected from his hands, how could he serve as an official in the court in the future?

Similarly, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel also used their seals on this memorial very straightforwardly.

The three ministries are called three ministries, but they are actually two ministries.

The Ministry of the Secretariat makes decisions, the Ministry of the Secretariat executes, and the Ministry of Personnel is just a process. The official rank setting of the court is already very clear.

The Minister of the Ministry of the Secretariat is the left prime minister, and the Minister of the Ministry of the Secretariat is the right prime minister, both of whom are of the second rank.

The Minister of the Ministry of the Ministry of Personnel is only the third rank, and the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel is two ranks lower than the Ministers of the other two ministries. The left prime minister personally took the memorial to let them review it, and his attitude was self-evident. If the Ministry of the Ministry of Personnel rejected it, it must give a reason to the left prime minister.

After passing the imperial examination, officials had to swear an oath in the Confucian Temple before entering the court.

The content of the oath included being an honest official and serving the people wholeheartedly. Who dared to openly oppose such a reform?

After the review and approval of the Ministry of Personnel, the memorial was passed to the Ministry of Shangshu, and only the execution remained.

The Ministry of Shangshu governed the six ministries, and the government orders could reach the nine temples and local prefectures and counties. Only with the nod of the right prime minister, the government orders of the Ministry of Zhongshu could be implemented.

The contradiction between the left and right prime ministers also came from this.

Without the approval of the left prime minister, the right prime minister could not draft a government order.

Without the consent of the right prime minister, the government orders of the left prime minister could not be implemented.

Unless the two people agree, no reform can be implemented.

The left prime minister thought that the right prime minister would put forward conditions this time. Unexpectedly, after reading the memorial and the thick new law, he quickly said to an official: "Let the Ministry of Industry print out the new law as soon as possible and send it to Gyeonggi and All state yamen, from today onwards, any crime committed by anyone will be carried out in accordance with the new law..."

…

Zhongshu Province.

Li Nuo was drinking tea in his yamen room. When he looked up, he suddenly saw a familiar figure passing by the yamen room. After being stunned for a moment, he immediately stood up and said, "Wait a minute."

The young official holding a pile of documents in his arms stopped and turned to look at the source of the voice. He was also stunned for a moment, and then smiled: "Brother Li, long time no see..."

Li Nuo walked outside the door and asked with a smile: "Why are you here?"

Zhou Yudao: "I have just been transferred to the Zhongshu Province as the chief secretary."

Li Nuo remembered that Zhou Yu had more than 80 people in the imperial examination at that time and could only hold a ninth-grade official position. At that time, he was doing clerical work in a county in Gyeonggi Province.

He is also a clerical official, the chief secretary of Zhongshu Province, but he is in the seventh rank.

Zhongshu Province was the absolute center of the imperial court, and the Chief Secretary of Zhongshu was responsible for the compilation and writing of laws and regulations.

Although he has no real power, he can gain access to state secrets in advance and accumulate experience in this position. Then he goes to the Sixth Department to practice. If he does an average job, he may stay in the Sixth Department. If he has outstanding political achievements and is transferred back to the Zhongshu Province, then He is from Zhongshushe.

The people of Zhongshu Sheren continue to hone their skills, and if they are transferred to the outside, they will be the third-rank officials such as Liubu Shangshu, Jing Zhaoyin, and Jiuqing.

Of course, there are very few Zhongshu Shuzhu who can become prime minister. Strength and luck are indispensable.

But even so, there are probably many people who would be willing to exchange for the seventh-rank official position of Zhongshu Chief Secretary for a sixth-rank or even fifth-rank official position.

In the yamen, Zhou Yu explained in detail: "I used to be a clerk in Yueyang County, but after the Two Kings Revolution, the county captain was beheaded by Dali Temple, so I was promoted to county captain. After another six months, I Dad tried his best to transfer me back, and I have been in Zhongshu Province ever since..."

The Change of Two Kings was the incident between King Han and King You of Qing Dynasty.

Many officials died that time, resulting in a serious shortage of manpower in the court. Many officials with qualifications were promoted, and those without qualifications also had to be promoted. If they were not promoted, there was nothing they could do. They had to make room for this year's new batch of Jinshi. Compared to the new Jinshi, they at least have some qualifications...

Zhou Yu was lucky, and there were people in the court, so no wonder he was promoted so quickly.

Zhou Yu hugged Li Nuo and said, "I haven't congratulated Brother Li on his promotion yet."

Li Nuo also clasped his fists and replied: "Same joy."

His top score in six subjects was one-sixth of Zhou Yu's.

If he hadn't killed his relatives out of righteousness, Li Nuo wouldn't have caught his father. And if Li Nuo failed to get the top score in six subjects, it's not certain whether An Ning could marry him.

Li Nuo poured him a cup of tea and asked, "How is your father recently?"

Zhou Yu nodded and said, "He is very good. A few months ago, he was appointed as a doctor in the Ministry of War."

From the doctor of the driving department to the doctor of the military department, although the official position is still the fifth rank, the meaning is different. The power of the doctor of the military department is higher and the future is greater, much higher than that of the doctor of the driving department. It seems to be a flat promotion, but in fact it is secretly promoted. .

This is also good news for Li Nuo.

He will also have to contact the Ministry of War next. If he has acquaintances, it will be easier to handle many things.

Li Nuo was about to reminisce with Zhou Yu when a head came in from the outside. When he saw Zhou Yu, he said in an unhappy tone: "Master Zhou, what are you doing here? Have you found the document I asked you to find for me? Zheng Sheren I need it urgently, there are still a few documents for you to find..."

Zhou Yu picked up the paperwork on the table and said, "I found it, I found it..."

The middle-aged official walked in and said: "If you find it and you don't bring it to me, why are you hanging around here..."

Li Nuo turned to look at the middle-aged official and asked, "Who are you?"

Zhou Yu took the initiative to introduce: "This is Chief Secretary Zheng."

When the middle-aged official saw Li Nuo, he was stunned for a moment, then immediately bowed and said, "I have met Li Sheren!"

Li Nuo smiled and said: "It turns out to be Master Zheng's secretary. I thought he was from Zheng Sheren."

Chief Secretary Zheng's heart skipped a beat. He had been in the officialdom for many years. How could he not understand the implication of this sentence? Is Chief Secretary Zheng just the son of a doctor in the Ministry of War? Why does he look so familiar with Li Sheren?

He is also from Zhongshu She, but the status of the other Zhongshu She people is far inferior to him.

At least, they didn't have the dignity to let the left prime minister take the memorial and go to the Menxia Province to review it in person.

He tremblingly took the documents from Zhou Yu's hand and said repeatedly: "Thank you Master Zhou, I will go find the other documents myself, so as not to delay you and Li Sheren's reminiscence..."

After Zheng Sheren left quickly, Zhou Yu hugged Li Nuo and said, "Thank you, Brother Li."

Li Nuo waved his hand and said, "You're welcome."

In the officialdom, workplace bullying is very common. Although Li Nuo has never encountered it, he has seen it a lot. He just didn't expect that even second-generation officials like Zhou Yu would be bullied.

Zhou Yu explained: "Zheng Zhushu is a member of the Zheng family, and Zheng Sheren is his uncle."

It's not surprising that people in Zhongshushe won't take the doctor of the Ministry of War seriously. As one of the six aristocratic families, the Zheng family can even ignore the imperial court in their territory.

Another voice came from outside the government office: "Master Zhou, Secretary Zhou, Dushe is looking for you..."

Zhou Yu said to Li Nuo: "I'll go over first and talk about it later."

Li Nuo nodded and said, "Go ahead."

Zhou Yu walked to the door, turned his head suddenly, hesitated for a moment, and asked: "Brother Li, can I ask you a question?"

Li Nuo said: "Ask it."

Zhou Yu looked at him and asked curiously: "Is the Queen of Zhao your woman?"