Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 507 Wave after wave

Yang Biao and his twenty or so people looked at each other, not knowing how to explain to Liu He. In the end, they could only look to Cui Jun and Xun Yu for help.

Cui Lie, in particular, kept giving his son looks, but Cui Jun was also confused. He himself hadn't figured out the mystery, which made Cui Lie very anxious.

Xun Yu looked as if he completely understood.

"Lord..."

He put down the bottle and stood up.

"My Lord, have you ever calculated how many of these people account for the total number of officials in Luoyang and Sili?"

Liu He was certainly not a fool. When he asked this question, he immediately understood what it meant.

"So what? Do you also think that the law cannot punish everyone?"

Xun Yu said respectfully, "My Lord, these people account for about 70% of the ministers in the court. And they account for nearly 60% of all officials in the counties and prefectures of the entire Sili region."

Zhong Yao added, "This only counts officials, not clerks. Even among the officials, officials below 600 dan in the capital, and county officials and below in the localities, are not very important in this plan because of their low positions and little power. It is not certain that all the criminals will confess at once, but it is conceivable that their number is definitely not small. If these people are also counted, I am afraid that the number of people involved this time will be one of the largest cases since Emperor Guangwu founded the country."

"Once all these ministers and the forty-three heads of families are executed according to the law, including the Chen, Zheng, and Wei families, the number of people killed will be tens of thousands. In addition, countless people will be dismissed from their posts, sent to the army, exiled, or imprisoned because of this."

"What do you mean by this? These bastards committed treason and rebellion. Such a heinous crime is unforgivable. Do you think you can forgive them?"

Cheng Liang slammed the table and stood up, waiting for Zhong Yao angrily.

Zhu Ye also stood beside him and said, "Third brother is right. Even if these bastards are cut into pieces or tortured to death, it would be considered as mercy from eldest brother. If you plead for them, don't blame me for disregarding our past friendship and driving you out of the house with my own hands."

After the two of them shouted like that, Yang Biao and the others felt a little embarrassed.

As the invisible leader among the crowd, Yang Biao had to stand up at this time.

"General, we are also thinking about you and the stability of the court. If the punishment is really carried out strictly according to the law, more than 60% of the officials in the court and the various regions will be lost. In this way, the court system will not fall apart, but its operation will be greatly reduced. It will be difficult for the central government to issue orders, local bullies will run rampant, taxes will not be collected, and there will be no officials to provide relief when disasters occur. Isn't it going to be a mess?"

"That's not a problem."

Ye Xiang also came out and stood next to Cheng Liang and Zhu Ye.

"If an official abuses his power for personal gain, commits evil, or even colludes with others to plot rebellion, then it is better for such an official position to be vacant."

After hearing what he said, Cheng Liang and Zhu Ye both gave him a thumbs up.

"What the generals said is true, but they also oversimplified the matter."

Yang Biao looked at the three of them and spoke in a very respectful tone.

"This is definitely not just a matter of a few hundred people. Once they are all executed, many officials and families who were involved but not deeply involved and therefore not caught will probably flee for fear of being held accountable. Moreover, the remaining families that were not involved also have marriage relations with them and may also be scared away."

"Secondly, the general has always been unfriendly to the noble families. If so many families are severely punished this time, the scholars of the world will have a grudge and fear against the general. A large number of court positions are vacant, and no scholars will come to serve. The Sili and Bingzhou regions alone will be in chaos. How can the general have the spare energy to go out and recover the other states?"

Yang Biao spoke sincerely and it was obvious that he was not deliberately trying to excuse the traitor, but was truly thinking this from the bottom of his heart.

Liu He looked at the other ministers.

"Do you all think so?"

Everyone stood up.

"We all agree with what the commander said."

Liu He nodded and said, "Now that all the ministers are about to be eliminated, will it be difficult for your brothers and nephews to fill these vacancies?"

"No." Yang Biao said firmly, "This incident involves more than 200 officials. There are no less than 200 people in my family who have not yet entered the government. However, some are too young, some are too old, some have poor character, and some are only interested in learning and have no interest in official career. At present, there are only 70 or 80 people who can fill the vacancies. Moreover, most of them can only hold official positions below 1,000 stones. There are very few people who are qualified for official positions such as the Prefect of the Guards, the Minister of the Chancellery, and the Nine Ministers."

"This only counts the officials who are directly involved in this matter. If we count the people who will flee as I mentioned before, the number of vacancies will probably be no less than 500. The nobles have fled from the general's rule to serve under the princes. This is extremely disadvantageous to the general. Moreover, if the capital of the capital falls into chaos due to lack of management, the consequences are self-evident. Please think twice, general."

The situation he described is not to be underestimated.

The operation of a country or a court cannot be achieved without the officials at all levels. All matters, big or small, need these officials to make plans and then execute them one by one. If 70% to 80% of the officials in the court died or fled, the consequences of this disaster would be much more serious than a defeat in a war.

Thinking of this, even Liu He had to start thinking carefully.

Cui Jun and Xun Yu looked at each other, then looked at Liu He's expression, and they both chose to remain silent.

Liu He pounded on the table, frowning, and was also in a dilemma.

"I wonder what you guys think is the best way to deal with this?"

Seeing that he seemed willing to accept the proposal of them, Yang Biao quickly responded.

"In our humble opinion, among the three of Chen Ji, Zheng Tai and Wei Ji, Chen Ji is the most ruthless. We can behead Chen Ji, confiscate the entire Chen family, whether it is the main family or the branch family, and confiscate all their property. The men will be exiled and the women will be used as military supplies. Zheng and Wei will be beheaded, and all officials in the family, whether it is the main family or the branch family, will be dismissed. In addition, they will pay 100 million coins as a ransom, and the whole family will be forgiven."

"As for the other people who were directly involved, the families that provided soldiers and food to the rebels, select those who contributed the most and committed the worst crimes, and punish them severely. The rest were mostly coerced by the three men. Although they are disloyal to the court and the general, they can still be saved. The general can burn all the letters they exchanged with Chen, Zheng, and Wei. All the parts involving these people and their families in the confessions of the people in prison should be erased."

"In this way, they will be grateful to the general and serve the general and the court wholeheartedly from now on. Isn't that wonderful?"

As soon as he mentioned this method, Liu He felt it sounded very familiar.

"Hmm? This trick seems to have been used by Cao Cao in history after he defeated Yuan Shao. He pardoned all his subordinates and the many ministers and families in the court who colluded with Yuan Shao and plotted to rebel against him, burned their correspondence with Yuan Shao, and pretended that he didn't know about it, in order to gain their loyalty."

Liu He also had some interest in this method.

"Brother, don't listen to their nonsense. Keeping these people who bring disaster to the country and the people will only cause trouble for us. I don't believe that we can't find someone to be an official. With these guys behind us, how can we be at ease when we go to war in the future?"

Cheng Liang tried his best to persuade Liu He, and Zhu Ye and Ye Xiang also joined in.

However, Liu He ignored them. He kept tapping the table and thinking hard. Seeing this, others did not dare to disturb him.

"Ta...ta...ta..."

Suddenly, the sound of knocking on the table stopped, and everyone's eyes turned to Liu He.

"This matter is of great importance, and I am at a loss for a decision. The ministers have a point, but my third brother and his friends are also right. Why don't we trouble the court judge to continue to hear the case? Your Majesty was frightened that day and is bedridden and unable to attend court. How about giving me a few days to think carefully and then make a plan?"

Everyone thought about it and decided that this was the only option.

The banquet was over and everyone went back to their homes, including Cai Yong who was finally able to return to his own mansion.

"Brother, you..."

Cheng Liang and others wanted to say something, but Liu He interrupted them with a wave of his hand.

"Let's not talk about this for now. Call Gong Saner over. I have something to tell him."

"Gong Saner, okay, I'll go find him myself."

Zhu Ye had a very good impression of the young eunuch. When he heard that Liu He was looking for him, he ran to the palace in person.

Liu He narrowed his eyes and thought to himself, "I don't need to worry about how to deal with it yet, but I have learned from the past. I can't let those ministers do whatever they want with the palace affairs..."

He was also thinking about it, and on the other side, the major families were also planning their next move...

(End of this chapter)