Tang Dynasty Prison Administration

Chapter 114: Establishing the Prison Warden

Su Wendao reported, "Your Majesty, there are a total of 1,324 gold ingots!"

In the Tang Dynasty, one copper coin was worth one wen, one hundred copper coins were worth one qian, ten qian were worth one liang of silver, ten liang of silver were worth one jin, and one gold ingot was worth ten liang of gold.

Upon hearing this, the Emperor chuckled and said, "Judging from the memorials, you said that this Zhang Xizhou had been planning for eleven years. Eleven years, and he actually managed to amass such a large sum of money. If it weren't for you solving this case, the consequences would have been unimaginable!"

"These tens of millions of coins, if used to recruit soldiers, would be enough to build an army of tens of thousands!" The Emperor looked at the eunuch Gao Lishi beside him and said slowly, "I will reward you handsomely!"

"Tell me, what reward do you want?"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen hurriedly performed a grand salute, kneeling down and saying, "Your humble servant dares not accept any reward, but this time, Zhang Xizhou rebelled, and the people of Dunhuang suffered greatly. Moreover, when the Tibetan army and the rebels attacked Dunhuang, we were fortunate that the people of Dunhuang risked their lives to help us; otherwise, Dunhuang County would have been in grave danger!"

After pondering for a moment, Su Wen continued, "Your Majesty, I hope you can bestow some reward upon the people of Dunhuang. Firstly, so that all the people of the world may know of Your Majesty's great kindness and virtue; secondly, so that all the people of the Great Tang may know that they should possess the courage of the people of Dunhuang!"

Upon hearing this, the sage chuckled and looked at Su Wen, saying, "Very well, then so be it!"

After speaking, the Emperor looked at Gao Lishi and said, "Let the Secretariat draft an edict: the people of Dunhuang County in Shazhou, who bravely resisted the Tibetan invasion and assisted the acting governor of Shazhou and Imperial Envoy Su Wen in suppressing the rebellion, are hereby exempted from all miscellaneous taxes and corvée labor for five years. All soldiers and civilians who sacrificed their lives for our Great Tang will be given one thousand coins for funeral expenses, and their families will be given three bolts of brocade for three years of compensation!"

"Kang Li, the Xuanjie Colonel, was promoted to Zhaowu Colonel and buried with the待遇 (treatment/benefits) of a Zhaowu Colonel. Qin Zhan, the Sima of the Shazhou Governor's Office, was promoted to Governor of Shazhou and buried with the待遇 (treatment/benefits) of a Shazhou Governor. Their families were provided with appropriate allowances according to regulations!"

"As for Zhang Yi, regarding the court... let's proceed according to Guo Zhiyun's arrangements for now!"

After speaking, the Sage looked at Su Wen and smiled, saying, "Announcement: Su Wen has made great contributions in solving the mysterious cases in Youzhou, the Lotus Case in Qingzhou, and the Yitian Case in Shazhou, and in dismantling the Yitian Zhang Xizhou. Therefore, he is hereby appointed as the Minister of the Ministry of Justice's Criminal and Prison Affairs Department, concurrently serving as the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review!"

At this point, the Emperor looked at Su Wen and said, "I have found that the Dali Temple alone is not enough to handle all the criminal cases in the country. Therefore, I have specially created the Prison Administration Bureau. I grant you special privileges. You can actively recruit people, and you can apply for any official position according to the standards of the Dali Temple and whatever you want. Remember, you must not accept any useless people!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen replied, "Yes, thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty!"

The sage smiled and said, "Oh, by the way, Xu Sheng, the Vice Minister of Rites, has a son named Xu Ge. I've heard he's been studying under you. He was a young hero during the Xiantian Coup, and this time he has performed a great service in Dunhuang, killing Wei Si, a rebel during the Xiantian Coup. I propose that Xu Ge be appointed as the Judicial Advisor of Yongzhou!"

Gao Lishi replied, "Yes, Your Majesty!"

After saying this, the Emperor waved his hand and said, "Su Wen, I hope that in the past year or so of training you have found many capable individuals. In addition, I hope that you can complete all the preparatory work for the Prison Warden within six months and officially begin operations before the end of the year!"

"I desperately need you!" The emperor said this as if he wanted to say each word carefully.

Upon hearing this, Su Wen immediately recalled what Qin Zhan had said and what Cui Lingyu had said along the way: the Guanlong Group now held immense power in the court, and the entire Dali Temple had been completely monopolized.

Moreover, among the six ministries of the imperial court, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of Justice were all controlled by the Guanlong Group. Only the Ministry of Rites, which had no real power, was controlled by the Hebei Group. Of the three provinces, the Secretariat, the Chancellery, and the Ministry of Personnel, only the Chancellery was controlled by the Hebei Group.

The sage was well aware that as early as the reign of Empress Wu Zetian, she had condoned Emperor Wu Yizong's massacres in Hebei, which almost led to a large-scale rebellion by the Hebei group during Wu Zetian's reign. However, Di Renjie did his best to pull the entire Hebei group back, otherwise a full-scale war would have broken out!

Now, this situation is beginning to emerge again in the entire court. The emperor must suppress the Guanlong Group and support the Hebei Group, and ensure that the people of the Hebei Group can at least sit on the same side as the Guanlong Group.

These are all things that Cui Lingyu and Su Wen have carefully analyzed on the way, and Su Wen has also come to understand them. This is also why the Sage wanted to bestow Cui Lingyu into marriage with Su Wen.

That explains why the sage chose Su Wen.

Because the Ministry of Justice can control all criminal cases in the country, and criminal cases can naturally become a knife, a knife that pierces the Guanlong Group and leaves them with no way to resist.

With such a vast power base, the Guanlong Group has countless opportunities to manipulate things, making corruption and other illicit activities extremely easy to occur. Therefore, the sage needs a knife to cut off the power of the Guanlong Group.

Upon hearing this, Su Wen lowered his head and bowed to the Emperor, saying, "Your subject will certainly serve as this incomparably sharp blade!"

Upon hearing this, the emperor smiled and said, "It seems that my decision to betroth Cui Lingyu to you was the right one. I hope you will serve me well!"

Su Wendao replied, "Your subject understands!"

Su Wen had only taken two steps when he turned back and bowed to the Emperor again, saying, "Your Majesty, I have another matter. May I ask if it is permissible to allow a coroner and a member of the criminal gang to enter the prison?"

The emperor laughed and said, "I have said that you are free to handle all matters concerning the prison warden, including cases. However, you should know that even if he is not, you must train him to be. You are a smart man!"

"Your Majesty, I understand. I take my leave!"

......

When Su Wen returned home, he found Cui Lingyu, Cui Bi, and Xu Ge all there. Cui Lingyu had even bought a large table of food to wait for Su Wen to come home.

When Cui Lingyu saw Su Wen return, she was delighted and said, "It's getting late, and curfew is coming soon. What brings you here?"

Cui Lingyu said, "I heard from the lord that His Majesty summoned you to the Taiji Hall and was somewhat worried about you, so I came here specifically. What do you think?"

After washing his hands in the courtyard, Su Wen came to the table and said, "It's similar to what you said before. The Emperor has ordered me to establish the Prison Warden's Office within six months and granted me the authority to act expediently. All personnel in the Prison Warden's Office are under my control!"

Cui Lingyu nodded and said, "Six months is a bit tight. It seems the Sage must have a major case on his hands, and he probably can't wait to weaken the Guanlong Group!"

"Does Su Lang have a candidate?" Cui Lingyu asked.

Su Wen took a sip of wine and slowly said, "There are a few. Tomorrow I will send men to find them and order them to come to Chang'an. However, there is one person I don't know which side he's on!"

Cui Lingyu asked: "Who is it?"

Su Wendao said, "Li Xingguo is highly skilled in martial arts. Our prison warden needs someone with exceptional martial arts skills to oversee things!"

Cui Lingyu smiled and said, "Su Lang, he was the person the Sage sent to protect you beforehand. Do you think the Sage would send anyone else to protect you?"

Su Wen chuckled and said, "Yeah, my brain... sigh..."

Su Wen raised a glass of wine towards Cui Lingyu and said, "If it weren't for Lingyu being by my side, I'm afraid I wouldn't understand any of the intricacies involved!"