When offices are sold, the buyers must extract the purchase price from the governed — corruption is not a leak in such a system; it is the system
This lesson plays out across 1 chapter of the chronicle. Read where it was learned — and what it cost.
- The Emperor Who Priced the EmpireEastern Han — Ling Di (Depth) · 170 AD - 183 AD
Ling Di posted price lists for government office, ran a market stall in the palace for practice, and called two eunuchs his father and mother. The empire's honest men were meanwhile banned from office for life.