Do you know: I, a commoner prime minister

Chapter 23 Becoming an Apprentice?

Hai Si opened his mouth slightly, but ultimately did not speak.

Logically speaking, he knew that Zhou An was right.

However, while humans possess rationality, they also possess emotionality.

It is precisely because of this sentiment that I can understand You Guan and feel sorry for him.

Hai Xiuyuan, seeing his grandson's dissatisfaction, said, "Ziqin, since you want to be an official, you need to think long-term. If you can't do that, even if you become an official and govern a region in the future, you'll easily run into problems!"

"Grandson understands."

Hai Simian looked downcast and said, "But when I think about how You Guanruo will be sentenced to imprisonment and the two of us will be separated, missing each other, it makes me feel terrible."

"Ugh."

Looking at his grandson's expression, Hai Xiuyuan knew that he was so concerned and attentive to You Guan's affairs because of the early death of his mother.

He didn't comfort Hai Simian, but looked at Zhou An and said, "Huai De probably hasn't finished speaking yet, has he?"

"The student believes that even if the government is lenient and does not pursue You Guan's actions, he will still be unable to stay in his hometown. Imprisonment and exile are actually quite similar; it all depends on how the government sentences him. If he is sentenced to exile, his mother can go to the place of exile with him after her illness is cured."

"So this is what you were waiting for!"

Hai Xiuyuan's gaze toward Zhou An deepened with admiration.

Imprisonment is essentially being sent to do hard labor, which is very tough, but it has a time limit, usually three to five years.

Exile, on the other hand, involves being sent directly to remote, sparsely populated areas.

The purpose of doing this was, on the one hand, to punish people. The ancients cared a lot about their homeland; otherwise, there would be no saying that it is hard to leave one's homeland.

Secondly, it can also fill the population gap in remote areas.

The reason why You Guan's case needed to be reported to the Dali Temple for approval was not because the Jiangning Prefecture government couldn't handle it.

It should be noted that Jinling is the seat of government of Jiangnan East Circuit. Even if the Jiangning Prefectural Government did not know how to handle the matter, it could report it to the Provincial Judicial Commissioner.

The reason it wasn't reported was clearly because the Criminal Investigation Department didn't want to take on the matter.

In reality, if judged normally, the final result would most likely be as Zhou An said: imprisonment.

The problem is that many people believe the punishment should be lenient and not pursued further.

Both the Jiangning Prefectural Government and the Judicial Commissioner's Office were local government offices.

If a judgment is made that does not conform to the majority of people's wishes, it is inevitable that it will be criticized.

This is not good for the reputation of the officials in the Jiangning Prefectural Government and the Judicial Commissioner.

After the report is submitted, the judgment will be issued by the Court of Judicial Review. If you want to criticize, criticize the Court of Judicial Review; it has nothing to do with them.

If things proceed normally, You Guan will most likely be sentenced to prison. As Hai Simian said before, the mutual longing between mother and son is also a kind of torment.

Even if You Guan's mother is cured, she may not be able to wait for her son to return because she misses him so much.

Moreover, no matter how you look at it, You Guan was robbing people and even injured someone.

Those who say his actions are understandable and request a lenient sentence are all scholars.

It's hard to say what the villagers in the village where Yu Guan and his mother live will think, or whether the shopkeeper who was hurt and frightened will retaliate.

Sentencing You Guan to exile would allow the mother and son to reunite and live in a different place, avoiding future troubles.

Life must be tough in remote areas, but You Guan's family was already poor, otherwise they wouldn't have done this.

Although life was tough in remote areas, the government would allocate land to them because of the sparse population, and they could make a living.

Zhou An's thinking was far-sighted; he not only considered upholding the authority of the law, but also anticipated the potential predicaments that You Guan and his mother might face.

This is also why he admires Zhou An even more.

Over the past six months, the more he learned about Zhou An, the more he appreciated him.

If Zhou An hadn't been recommended by Lu Wang, he wouldn't have known whether Lu Wang intended to take on any disciples, and he would have already prepared to accept Zhou An as his disciple.

"I am ashamed to admit my inferiority in Huai De's talent!"

Hai Simian understood Zhou An's meaning and looked at his grandfather excitedly, saying, "Grandfather, please help him!"

In Zhou An's plan, there was an important element: the government's judgment.

Once a prison sentence is handed down, there's nothing that can be done.

Since there was no problem with this judgment, the imperial court naturally could not easily change it.

Someone has to be able to influence the verdict and sentence him to exile.

Neither Hai Simian nor Zhou An had the ability; only Hai Xiuyuan could do it.

"I understand. I'll write to your uncle later," Hai Xiuyuan said.

"Thank you, Grandfather!"

Hai Simian smiled happily upon hearing this.

"You've known Huaide for so long, you should learn more from him in the future!" Hai Xiuyuan said.

"Grandson understands!"

Hai Simian smiled and looked at Zhou An, bowing and saying, "Huai De, please give me your guidance in the future."

"Ziqin, you're making me feel so bad!"

Zhou An quickly dodged and said, "As the saying goes, 'He who does not plan for the long term cannot plan for the short term; he who does not plan for the whole cannot plan for a part.'"

Ziqin actually understands the reasons behind this, but it's because personal feelings got involved that affected your judgment!

If Hai Simian hadn't been burdened by his mother's early death and the resulting feelings of longing for her, he wouldn't have been unable to maintain an objective perspective.

Hai Xiuyuan and Hai Simian looked at Zhou An in surprise upon hearing this, leaving him completely bewildered.

"He who does not plan for the long term is not fit to plan for the short term. He who does not plan for the whole is not fit to plan for a part."

Hai Xiuyuan stroked his beard and laughed, "Huai De occasionally utters witty remarks, but they always manage to be thought-provoking!"

"Um?"

Zhou An was taken aback. This sentence hasn't been said yet?

He really didn't know where those words came from or when they appeared.

I was just saying it casually.

Although he has a photographic memory, he still needs to see things before he can read them. There are so many books in the world, but he has only read a limited number.

"Huai De, would you be willing to become my disciple?"

Hai Xiuyuan couldn't hold back any longer. Even if his old friend blamed him, he was determined to snatch this student away.

Moreover, since Lu Wang admired Zhou An, yet did not accept Zhou An as his disciple, he probably had some reservations.

They worried that his status as a reformer would affect Zhou An's future.

But he had no such concerns.

Zhou An was stunned when he heard this, but after regaining his senses, he was tempted.

While the ability to govern is one aspect, connections and background are, to some extent, even more important than ability.

The Hai family adhered to strict rules and wielded considerable influence in the imperial court.

The benefits of taking Hai Xiuyuan as one's teacher are self-evident.

Just as Zhou An was about to bow down in reverence, Hai Siqian became anxious.

"No!"

Hai Si asked hastily, "Grandfather, since you've accepted Huaide as your student, how should I address him?"

If Zhou An were to become his grandfather's disciple, wouldn't he become his elder?

"Never mind, I forgot about that!"

Hai Xiuyuan waved his hand and said, "Huai De, shouldn't you go back to Qinghe?"

"Okay, we'll leave in two weeks!"

Zhou An thought to himself, "What a pity. So does Hai Simian. Let's just discuss our own points."

But now that Hai Xiuyuan has changed the subject, he can't just kneel down and ask to become his disciple.

"Yes, come over before you go back. Old Lu brought me a gift, how could I not return the favor!" Hai Xiuyuan said with a smile.

"I've taken note!" Zhou An said, bowing respectfully.