The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Chapter 642

It should be noted that the prefect of Datong was only a fourth-rank official, while Xie Pi was a proper second-rank official, not to mention Lin Lu, who was titled Grand General. Although the status of military officers in the Ming Dynasty was not as high as that of civil officials, it still depended on who the military officer was.

The man before him, Lin Lu, was the son of Princess Deqing, the emperor's cousin, and had been granted the title of marquis with numerous military achievements. Even if such a person were to be killed on the spot in Datong, it would be that simple. At most, the officials of the Six Ministries would impeach Lin Lu, but Lin Lu could easily deflect their impeachments by claiming that he had delayed military operations.

"My lords, I will not go. I still need to select a suitable guide for General Lin. I cannot let the banquet interfere with General Lin's important business."

"Dada Buhua said."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, sir."

Lin Lu bowed and said.

After Dada Buhua left, Lin Lu, Xie Pi, and the officials of Datong, both high and low, all arrived at the post station in Datong, where officials received their superiors.

According to the regulations of the Ming Dynasty, there were rules regarding the amount of food served at post stations, but these rules were rarely followed.

After all, if we really followed the rules, those dishes would be too tacky to serve and would easily offend the leaders.

This was a major reason why officials in the Ming Dynasty were corrupt, because the expenses for entertaining inspectors or other officials from higher levels were paid from the officials' own salaries.

When Zhu Yuanzhang first established this regulation, his original intention was to eliminate the extravagant practice of local officials using public funds for lavish meals. However, in the end, it led to local officials being forced to embezzle public funds.

In response to this phenomenon, when the imperial court reformed the performance evaluation system, it made corresponding provisions to allocate a small portion of local fiscal revenue each year as entertainment expenses for local officials. Generally speaking, this portion of the expenses was more than enough for their entertainment needs.

If that's not enough, the local officials will have to pay for it themselves. As a result, when local officials entertain guests, they will first calculate the expenses to avoid overspending. If they want to spend more money on food and drink, that's not impossible, as long as they increase the local fiscal revenue.

Of course, this fiscal revenue must not be plundered from the common people. Nowadays, the main duty of the Jinyiwei in various places is to supervise these officials. The performance evaluation system has been reformed for only a few years and has achieved remarkable results. Nowadays, both local officials and Jinyiwei are considered to be honest and upright.

Of course, over time, the phenomenon of collusion between the Embroidered Uniform Guard and officials will inevitably emerge, at which point the court will need to establish a more rigorous oversight mechanism.

The prefect of Datong spared no expense in entertaining Lin Lu and Xie Pi, spending a large sum from Datong's hospitality budget to prepare an extremely lavish meal, including only the finest wine.

When the prefect of Datong heard Lin Lu say that he would not drink alcohol, he was actually relieved. In this way, they could save a lot of money. The most expensive thing at a banquet is never the food, but the wine, especially good wine. A jar of good wine is worth the value of all the food.

Everyone drank tea instead of wine, and the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves immensely. Xie Pi and Lin Lu, in particular, felt especially close to each other, even though they hadn't interacted much in the capital.

After having a good meal, Dada Buhua led five or six Mongolians to the post station.

"Lord Xie, General Lin, these men are living maps of the grasslands, they know the grasslands better than anyone else."

"Dada Buhua said."

"Thank you for your trouble, sir. I will put in a good word for you before His Majesty later."

Lin Lu looked at the group and nodded in satisfaction.

Upon hearing this, Dada Buhua's eyes lit up. He had always had a strong sense of identification with the Ming Dynasty, after all, his ancestors were genuine Han Chinese. In addition, after becoming the deputy protector, his life underwent earth-shattering changes. Now, Dada Buhua had married many beautiful women and was living a very comfortable life. If he were to return to his previous life, he would definitely not be able to adapt.