Jiuxi

Chapter 1005 1003 [Empty Eight-foot Body]

Hearing Lu Chen's murderous declaration, Kong Yingdong's face turned pale and he staggered to the ground again.

Empress Dowager Ning frowned, but this time she did not let Kong Yingdong stand up, nor did she order Yuan Yuji and other palace servants to help him up.

The two prime ministers remained silent, and Qin Zheng stood in the corner like an invisible man.

As for the five important officials who came in later, except Wang An who was relatively calm, the other four showed varying degrees of nervousness and embarrassment.

To their surprise, Lu Chen did not continue to call for Kong Yingdong to fight and kill him. Instead, he said, "Ever since I killed Emperor Jing on the battlefield of Lei Ze Plain in the autumn of the year before last, I know that many people want to see me die suddenly. They must think it is a pity that I did not die together with Emperor Jing on the battlefield."

Queen Dowager Ning sighed, "Why do you say that, King Qin? I have never forgotten your contribution to the Great Qi, and I believe that most people will not forget it either."

"Your Majesty, I am always grateful for your trust and respect."

Lu Chen bowed his head slightly to show respect, and then said calmly: "I have made some contributions in the past few years, and was granted the title of Duke of a County, and was also appointed as the commander of the Jiangbei Army. This is considered to be the highest achievement for a minister, to the point where it is difficult to be rewarded for my great contributions. Last year, I killed Emperor Jing and wiped out the Jing Army, and recovered the Jiangbei homeland. Naturally, I became a thorn in the eyes of many people, and their attitude towards me would only be to kill me as soon as possible. They may not have the courage to do so, but they will definitely have this idea."

This time, without waiting for Queen Mother Ning to persuade him, he continued, "Your Majesty, I roughly know the starting points of these people. Some are purely selfish, and killing me can bring them and their families several lifetimes of wealth and glory. But some are loyal. After all, I am a powerful official no matter what. In their eyes, I have become the biggest threat to the court. I will not comment on whether their ideas are correct, but at least they are much better than the former."

"Since the King of Qin understands this, why doesn't he make some concessions?"

Xue Nanting finally stopped being silent.

The left prime minister of the dynasty stood straight with his eyes focused, showing no fear at all.

Lu Chen calmly replied: "Prime Minister Xue, if I give in according to your idea, my whole family will surely die."

At this moment, no one was paying attention to Kong Yingdong who was barely alive. Everyone felt that the air in the hall was stagnant, making it almost impossible to breathe.

Xue Nanting no longer concealed his feelings and said frankly, "Your Majesty has the people in his heart. Prime Minister Xu and I are not treacherous ministers. We have been through so many ups and downs together over the years. Could it be that the King of Qin is unwilling to give you even this little trust?"

"I believe in your majesty, and I believe in the two prime ministers, but I don't believe in the world and human nature."

Lu Chen's answer was simple, and he repeated the same sentence: "Many years ago, when rumors about my background began to spread in Yongjia City, I told myself very clearly that I could not become the second Marshal Yang."

Upon hearing this strange yet familiar name, Zhang Cang and others' expressions changed.

Xue Nanting shook his head and said, "Things are different now."

"That's true."

Lu Chen did not deny it, and then said calmly: "Prime Minister Xue has a photographic memory and is knowledgeable. He should know the details of the unjust case better than me. It is true that Chengzong was stupid, but he did not dare to act rashly at first, because Marshal Yang commanded hundreds of thousands of troops on the Jinghe River defense line. Later, as one impeachment after another did not cause Marshal Yang to resist, Chengzong gradually knew Marshal Yang's bottom line, so he became more and more excessive, and finally he simply issued an imperial decree to recall Marshal Yang to the capital, and then executed him within just three days."

Xue Nanting couldn't help but fall silent, because he knew the deep meaning of Lu Chen's words.

Lu Chen looked around at everyone, and finally looked at Xue Nanting and said, "Prime Minister Xue, whether you are willing to admit it or not, if I do as you planned, I will be safe and secure in the short term, but the situation in the future is not something you and I can control. By then, someone will be watching the Qin Palace, the generals in the army, and even the new policies. Whether he wants to use dealing with me as a stepping stone to advance, or he wants to hinder the new policies like this Minister Kong, he will gnaw at my flesh and blood bit by bit until I fall completely."

Today, he changed his gentle and reserved attitude of the past six months and let these senior officials see his straightforwardness and sharpness.

Xue Nanting couldn't help but glance at Xu Zuo who was still silent. He recalled the heart-to-heart talk they had had in Yongjia, and Xu Zuo had also mentioned this point at that time.

Lu Chen did not force Xue Nanting to reply. He continued, "For the past six months, I have been thinking about a question. If I do not interfere too much, can the new policy be implemented smoothly? I am very aware of the concerns of the adults, so the Innovation Department has only done two things. The first is to formulate the charter of the new policy, and the second is to establish a supervision system from the central to the local level. Apart from that, it has not interfered in specific government affairs. Now I would like to ask you, how has the progress been in the past six months?"

There was silence.

"Let's talk about cleaning up the bureaucracy first. The Censorate has impeached more than 100 officials so far, and 83 of them have been dismissed. This number may seem large, but please understand one thing. This is the total number of officials in the capital area, Nanzhili, the ten states in the north of the Yangtze River, and the thirteen states in the south of the Yangtze River. On average, only three or four officials were dismissed in each area. I really can't imagine that the vast majority of officials in our Great Qi are so honest and capable. It's simply the biggest joke."

Lu Chen turned to look at the Imperial Censor Zhang Cang and said coldly: "Zhang Xiantai, in the past six months or so, you have only impeached three officials, and they were all officials from poor families with no connections, right?"

Zhang Cang no longer had the momentum he had when he first entered the palace. Cold sweat broke out on his back and he reluctantly replied, "Yes, I didn't mean to target you..."

"No need to explain." Lu Chen interrupted neatly, and then said sarcastically: "Zhang Xiantai is mainly responsible for managing the censors, so he has no time to collect evidence to impeach officials. But as far as I know, there are many officials in the censorate who follow Zhang Xiantai's example. They seem to be busy all the time, but in fact they don't fulfill their duties as officials at all. Maybe this is the result of the upper-level influence. This can also explain why Daqi has a vast territory and tens of thousands of officials, but only 83 corrupt officials were dug out in more than half a year. No wonder the implementation of the new policy is so difficult."

Zhang Cang's lips moved, his face full of embarrassment.

Lu Chen seemed too lazy to continue arguing with him, so he changed the subject and said, "Speaking of the household system, Minister Gao of the Ministry of Revenue comes to me every few days to complain. He just can't figure it out. The court clearly implemented the Jingjie Law a few years ago, and spent a whole year last year to formulate a new land tax policy. Why is there so many obstacles to the household system? You are all capable ministers, are you willing to teach me about this matter?"

Xu Zuo said, "Because the household system harms the interests of all the wealthy families. This is not like the previous land surveying system, which only required these wealthy families who own countless fertile fields to pay more taxes. Even if they dare not openly oppose the court, they still use various means to pretend to obey and secretly obstruct the court."

Lu Chen nodded and said, "Prime Minister Xu is right. I have no intention of criticizing the two prime ministers today. I have seen their hard work. Both Prime Minister Xue and Prime Minister Xu have spared no effort in supporting the new policy. But I have to say that I am very disappointed with the results achieved by the court in the past six months. Whether it is cleaning up the bureaucracy, the household system, or even the establishment of schools, the determination of commercial taxes, the development of engineering and farming, every one of them has been bumpy and progressed slowly."

At this moment, everyone was a little confused and didn't know what this prince was going to do.

At first they thought Lu Chen was just angry at what Kong Yingdong had done, but then Lu Chen's words made them all nervous again, thinking that Lu Chen had finally lost his patience and intended to use tyrannical means to do something unloyal.

But now it seems that Lu Chen does not seem to have that idea. What he cares about is still the eight new policies that benefit the people.

"As for this year's special examination, if I hadn't been careful in advance and had people check the identities of all the candidates, the censors stationed in the Imperial Examination Hall would have sent the names of the A and B lists yesterday. I would have had people check the identities of the candidates on the lists overnight. I'm afraid I would have been deceived by this sanctimonious Minister of Rites."

Lu Chen raised his hand and pointed at Kong Yingdong, then said in a cold voice: "I have not yet given up my power, and these people dare to obstruct the new policy. If I take a step back, I dare to ask if the two prime ministers can withstand their counterattack?"

Xue Nanting and Xu Zuo were silent at the same time.

"I know that many people secretly curse me as a traitor to the country, and I also know that those aristocratic families, wealthy officials and gentry have people spreading all kinds of rumors in the streets, so I have been secretly entangled in the past six months, and I have hesitated whether to maintain the status quo. I have also tried my best to avoid causing your majesty's worries, so I have not interfered too much in the operation of the court. As long as you can make the new policy go smoothly and can truly seek some benefits for the common people of Da Qi so that they can have enough food and clothing, then I can stay out of it."

Lu Chen looked at Xue Nanting and said bluntly: "Since you can't do it, can't break through these thorns that hinder reform, and can't bear to see blood and dare not kill, then let me do it!"

Xue Nanting finally lowered his head.

Lu Chen bowed to Queen Mother Ning and said solemnly, "Your Majesty, I request that the Innovation Department conduct an independent investigation into the fraud case in the Imperial Examination!"

Queen Mother Ning did not see the scene that she was most worried about, and she finally felt relieved. She also knew that Lu Chen was determined, so she nodded and said, "Approved."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Lu Chen raised his head, looked directly into the eyes of Empress Dowager Ning and said, "I have another matter to report. Due to the great resistance to the new policy, there are many officials like Kong Yingdong in the central and local government offices. If we do not use thundering means to deter them, the implementation of the new policy will inevitably be difficult. Therefore, I ask Your Majesty to allow the Innovation Department to be fully responsible for all government affairs of the eight policies of the new policy, and the various departments of the court will only be responsible for assistance! When the new policy is implemented, the Innovation Department can immediately abolish most of its powers and only retain the responsibility of supervision."

Empress Dowager Ning had actually guessed that this would be the result. She knew very well that as long as she nodded, the Reform Department would become a terrifying government office.

As for the last sentence about abolishing most of the powers, when that day really came, Lu Chen would have already controlled the court.

But she had no reason to refuse now.

"Accurate."

Empress Dowager Ning looked stunned and uttered these two words with difficulty.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Lu Chen saluted again, then stood up, his eyes cold and determined.

There is no perfect choice in this world. If you want to do something, you cannot covet a flawless reputation.

Rather than being timid and trapped in your own web, it is better to forge ahead and break through with force.

The world is changing dramatically from today on.

(End of this chapter)