Transmigration: Space-Aided Rise to Power and Prosperity-Chapter 578 - 414 Question

The Emperor noticed Min Feng looking unwell and narrowed his eyes slightly. But then he turned to Gu Chengyu, signaling him to respond.

"Your Majesty, previously I’ve studied the ’Da Yan Law’ for some time. It states that if military officers commit crimes, those deserving exile or penal servitude should be sentenced to a hundred strokes of the cane, followed by five degrees of penal servitude, and assigned to garrisons within two thousand miles. For three degrees of exile, deployment depends on the distance to various garrisons. Soldiers and officers committing crimes should be penalized equivalently and are exempt from tattooing."

Gu Chengyu responded fluently without pause. The Emperor, familiar with the Ministry of Justice’s penalties, found no fault in Gu Chengyu’s words.

The Emperor nodded with satisfaction, "It seems you have studied the law extensively, something that cannot be achieved overnight."

Min Feng frowned involuntarily; the Emperor’s meaning was already clear. He had previously claimed Gu Chengyu sought him for advice on the codification, but now he was contradicted by his own words.

The Emperor implied that Gu Chengyu had diligently studied these texts for a long time, so why would he need to consult Min Feng for a mere index?

"Min Bianxiu, let me ask you then, how should one be penalized for neglecting timely flood prevention?" the Emperor suddenly pointed to Min Feng and inquired about work laws.

Min Feng felt his heart sink upon hearing this. Of course, he had read the laws before. During the imperial examination, he focused entirely on the Four Books and Five Classics, spending spare time on poetry, only skimming through ’Da Yan Law’ a few times. He had only revisited it seriously after joining the Hanlin Academy due to the need to revise the codification.

However, he hadn’t carefully reviewed the work laws because there were too many books, and he couldn’t read each thoroughly. He had only glanced through quickly and couldn’t remember. He struggled to recall as sweat trickled down his temple.

Min Feng stepped forward, took a moment, then bowed to the Emperor and replied, "Your Majesty, I have indeed flipped through the law books before, but with so many books, my aptitude fails me; I have forgotten."

He really tried hard to remember but had no recollection. The more anxious he became, the harder it was to recall, and his face flushed.

A few days ago, his teacher selected some important books for him, including laws, advising him that he only needed to skim the others, but he must memorize the laws.

However, he had just joined the Hanlin Academy and already had a lot of work during the day, leaving him to study at night, which inevitably delayed him. Who would have thought the Emperor would test him today, clearly an unlucky year. The most troublesome part was that Gu Chengyu answered correctly while he could not, making it obvious he lied.

Min Feng could only steel himself and tell the Emperor he had forgotten. If asked something else, he might have answered correctly, as the imperial examinations rarely included law-related questions; candidates missing them only affected their rankings.

Dayan prioritized literature over martial prowess; the most important part of the examination was policy debates, so examinees wouldn’t focus much on laws.

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the Imperial Study Room suddenly grew cold. The Emperor snorted disdainfully, comparing the third-place scholar with Xia Qing, considering Xia Qing at least had some genuine talent and skill, while Min Feng seemed to have adopted Xia Qing’s methods entirely but not his skill.

"Gu Aiqing, you answer," the Emperor said after a cold snort, looking at the three standing nervously in the Imperial Study Room, and once more pointed to Gu Chengyu to respond.

Gu Chengyu stepped forward and respectfully answered, "Your Majesty, as stated in ’Da Yan Law’, if one neglects river defenses or repairs too late, officials are to receive fifty lashes. If it harms homes or causes property loss, sixty lashes; if it results in injury or loss of life, eighty lashes."

He paused halfway, noting the Emperor’s countenance had slightly softened, then continued, "If flood embankments are neglected or repaired too late, thirty lashes; if crops are submerged, fifty lashes; damage due to natural disasters beyond human control is excused."

Gu Chengyu answered confidently, smoothly and continuously, and the more he spoke, the worse Min Feng’s expression became.

The Emperor had posed two questions, and Gu Chengyu had responded perfectly to both, even Zhang Hai nodded quietly, having long recognized Gu Chengyu’s talent. Unfortunately, he took a wrong step today, and Gu Chengyu might already be displeased with him.

"Could it be Gu Aiqing has memorized the book of laws?" The Emperor was somewhat surprised, for Gu Chengyu seemed prepared to answer whatever was asked.

"To report to Your Majesty, I have thoroughly reviewed most books related to codifications, thus having a vivid impression of your questions. Furthermore, I’ve compiled a more detailed index, which I invite Your Majesty to review."

Gu Chengyu drew a booklet from his sleeve and respectfully presented it.

"Oh? De An!" By now, if the Emperor still couldn’t see through this, he’d be a fool. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Gu Chengyu was indeed Min Feng’s superior, but Min Feng attempted to claim the credit despite that, simply because he was Xia Qing’s disciple? The Emperor glanced back and forth between Min Feng and Gu Chengyu and suddenly had an idea.

He’d like to see how Xia Qing feels about making requests for positions after having produced such a disciple.

De An took the booklet, gazing deeply at Gu Chengyu. He too, realized, Min Feng and Gu Chengyu’s supposed collaboration was false; Min Feng’s attempt to claim Gu Chengyu’s achievement was true.

Zhang Hai also realized he had been exposed. Although he was anxious, he had prepared himself somewhat when he first spoke. While punishment was inevitable, losing his official’s hat was unlikely.

Nevertheless, Min Feng wasn’t a fool; he directly said it was Gu Chengyu’s work. Thus, although everyone there clearly understood, nobody could pin it on him.

Receiving the booklet, the Emperor opened it, revealing a much more detailed index. Each government office’s broad content was concisely described, with precise attributions to relevant books, making this booklet much thicker than the previous one.

It was evident that the previous booklet had been excerpted from this one. The Emperor flipped through roughly; the handwriting was tiny, resembling annotations in a book.

"This booklet could indeed be a reference for the compilers; it’s detailed beautifully. With this, the codification progress could speed up."

The Emperor was quite pleased with the booklet since the Hanlin Academy officials had been sluggish with their work. At their usual pace, the codification would take no less than half a year to complete. Unlike actual records, codifying could be much faster, but those officials were accustomed to dragging their feet, needing constant prodding to hurry up.

Now, with this booklet, a lot of work was saved for those officials. Targeted searches in the books would surely speed things up significantly.