Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 923 The war officially begins

"It's inappropriate... it's absolutely inappropriate..."

A group of officials gathered in Wang Yun's mansion, all of them with angry looks on their faces.

Not long after, Wang Yun came over and everyone hurriedly surrounded him.

"Wang Situ, please make the decision for me and others."

Wang Yun looked at them and asked in surprise, "What's wrong? It's so early in the morning. I have been feeling unwell these past few days. I wanted to stay at home and have a good rest for a few days, but you woke me up. I am really upset."

"Oh, Situ Wang, the situation is urgent, how can you still sleep?" an official said anxiously.

"Hmm? What's the urgent matter? Most of the books we have presented are the same. Even if the Imperial College is established, it is just a joke. Sooner or later, the world will belong to the nobles like us. Why are you so anxious?"

Wang Yun was somewhat unhappy, but he still sat down, and all the ministers gathered around.

"Situ, you don't know yet, something has happened, something serious has happened."

They all looked nervous and spoke quickly. Wang Yun saw that they did not seem to be joking, so he became serious.

"What happened to make you so panicked?"

"Situ, just two days ago, something happened at the gate of the Imperial College. Do you know?"

Wang Yun nodded, "Of course I know. It was just a few good-for-nothing prodigals who beat up a few unruly people at the gate of the Imperial College. Afterwards, the Sili Xiaowei came forward to quell the situation, and one of the chivalrous men who stood up for justice was also taken away by him. So what? Even if this person is summoned by His Majesty, he is just an ordinary citizen. Can he still threaten you?"

"Why not?" an official said, "Your Majesty dismissed the Luoyang Magistrate and appointed this man to take over. After he took office, he interrogated the previous Luoyang Magistrate on the same day. In less than half a day, he convicted him and sent him to Liangzhou for three years of hard labor."

"What?" Wang Yun was a little surprised and asked, "What is that person's background?"

"That's the weird part. That man is just an ordinary family. His father was just a county official in his early years. He can't be considered a member of the noble family at all."

Wang Yun exhaled heavily through his nose, his expression becoming somewhat serious: "How could your Majesty be so..."

Halfway through his words, he seemed to realize that he had said something wrong and stopped quickly.

"With such a background, a commoner can be directly promoted to the magistrate of Luoyang. This is simply a violation of social order. Even if it is a son of a noble family, after being recommended, he should be a minor official. Occasionally, if there are outstanding ones, they should be sent to a small county to serve as a county magistrate. What virtue and ability does this person have to be able to rise to such a high position in one step?"

He suddenly realized something: "That's not right. Even if His Majesty has made an exception and appointed him to important posts, it is not an urgent matter. Even if he becomes the magistrate of Luoyang, what can he do to you?"

"The problem lies with this man. After he interrogated the former Luoyang magistrate, he captured all the nobles who participated in the fight outside the Imperial College last night and brought them back to the government office. Young Master Du tried to resist arrest with his entourage and the guards in the mansion, but he ordered them to break down the gate of the mansion. Not only did he capture Young Master Du, he also arrested all the people in the mansion, including the guards and servants, and brought them back to the government office on charges of conspiring against the court and intending to rebel."

"Yes, his father, Lord Du, was playing chess in Lu Cheqi's mansion last night. After hearing the news, he hurried to the Luoyang magistrate's office, but was directly refused entry by the magistrate, saying that 'relatives of the prisoner cannot participate in the interrogation without being summoned.' Lord Du went to Lu Cheqi and Cui Sikong to plead for him, but the two of them closed the door of their mansions and refused to see him."

Hearing this, Wang Yun could not help but reveal his anger: "How dare this man be so bold? Does he think that just because he is appointed as the magistrate of Luoyang by His Majesty, he can do whatever he wants in Luoyang City?"

"There are a few of us who were visited by Lord Du, who hoped that we could save them. But he was so arrogant that he didn't even see us. It was really annoying."

Wang Yun said angrily, "You are just a child, you don't know how high the heaven is or how deep the earth is. What is this person's name?"

"Reporting to the Minister of Justice, this man's name is Man Chong, with the courtesy name of Bo Ning, and he is twenty-seven this year. In his early years, he was the magistrate of Gaoping County. When he was interrogating the county's supervisor for corruption, he tortured the man to death because he refused to admit the crime. After that, he resigned from his post and has been wandering around the world ever since."

When they said this, each of the ministers showed indignation on their faces.

Wang Yun snorted coldly: "Humph, so he was such a lawless and cruel official in his early years. Does he think that the capital of the Han Dynasty can be compared with that small county in the countryside? It's simply outrageous."

"Situ Yingming, we are here to invite him to the palace, and report this man's evil deeds to the emperor together with us, and then jointly request an imperial decree to severely punish him."

"Yes, that's right. Someone, help me change into court clothes."

Wang Yun's servants and several maids soon came over with his court robes.

However, just as he was changing his clothes, a servant came trotting over with a young eunuch.

"Wang Situ, His Majesty has a message."

Wang Yun hurriedly put on his court robes, then knelt down with the other ministers.

"This old minister kneels to listen to the imperial edict."

The young eunuch then straightened his bent body, and his voice became a little stronger.

"For the sake of long-term peace and stability in the country and for the sake of the scholars' study, I have reopened the Imperial College with the original intention of stabilizing the country and revitalizing the nation. However, two days ago, a number of thieves were so bold and reckless that they dared to stir up trouble at the gate of the Imperial College. Not only did they beat up merchants and civilians for no reason, they also spoke rebellious words, shouting that the Imperial College was the Imperial College of their family, and that civilians and merchants who dared to enter the Imperial College to study would be courting death."

"I have already said that the country of our Han Dynasty must be protected by all people together, not just one family or hundreds of families. This time, the Imperial College will be reopened to educate all people and select talents. The students we recruit will be divided into diligent and lazy, smart and stupid, regardless of their background or family. However, these thieves are so bold and reckless, misleading people, and endangering the court's plan. They should be executed."

"Now that the Luoyang magistrate has concluded the interrogation, he and his gang will be paraded through the streets, whipped thirty times, and thrown into the prison. After the spring, they will be exiled to Youzhou. The Du family of Xingyang has no regard for the law of the country. For this rebellious son, they have been running around and shouting, and they have also bribed the prison warden with a large sum of money. They have violated the law and discipline. Therefore, their Luoyang mansion is confiscated and they are sent back to their hometown, and they are ordered to concentrate on self-cultivation. I hope that the Minister of Education and other officials will strictly supervise their children and do not cause any more trouble. Otherwise, under the law of the country, no one can escape. I decree this."

Wang Yun was so shocked when he heard the order that he forgot to stand up until the eunuch came forward and called him.

"Wang Situ, you can stand up now."

"Ah? Oh...oh okay..."

Wang Yun stood up with the help of two officials.

"Sir, I dare to ask a question..."

Before he could finish, the eunuch said, "Si Tu, please don't harm me. His Majesty has already issued a strict order that eunuchs are not allowed to participate in state affairs. I came here today only to convey the oral order. I know nothing about the rest of the matters. I will take my leave now." After saying this, the eunuch bowed again and turned to leave, leaving everyone in shock.

After a long time, many ministers came back to their daze, and they looked at Wang Yun blankly.

"Situ, are we still going into the palace?"

Wang Yun gave them a fierce look and asked, "Why are you entering the palace? Are you looking for death?"

"But……"

"But what? Can't you hear what your majesty meant by this imperial edict? This shows that your majesty is fully aware of what Man Chong did, and it is even possible that all of this was tacitly approved by your majesty. In addition, sending a eunuch to deliver the imperial edict at this hour clearly means that we will go to the palace to see the emperor for this matter, and he directly used the imperial edict to shut us up. Moreover, didn't you notice? The imperial edict was ostensibly addressed to me, but the last warning said 'I hope the ministers and the officials'. Can't you see that?"

The ministers thought about it for a while, and then they all looked terrified: "Could it be... Could it be that His Majesty already knows that we are here at Situ's Mansion?"

Wang Yun said unhappily, "At least you are not that stupid."

"Then...are we just going to sit back and watch Man Chong continue to be so arrogant and domineering?"

Wang Yun heard this, looked at the sky outside the door, and said, "Man Chong is just a mere man who relies on the support of His Majesty. The tax reform came first, and the Imperial College was reopened later. All of His Majesty's measures are aimed at our noble families. But His Majesty's power is unpredictable, and we must not confront him directly. Go back and prepare, inform all branches of your family to buy all the books on the market immediately. In addition, dispose of as much of the family's land as possible, whether it is sold or abandoned. In short, when the land is re-registered at the beginning of the year, do everything possible to reduce the acres of land in the mansion."

"What Situ means is..."

Wang Yun's eyes sparkled. "Hehe, based on the books presented by the court officials, I estimate that there are no more than 100,000 books at most. It is far from enough to run a university of this scale. However, the opening date is approaching, and the court cannot lose its credibility. Therefore, Your Majesty must purchase books from all over the world through Anhan Trading Company. If this university is successfully opened, the common people, the sons of merchants and craftsmen will all enroll in it, and then become officials and occupy the court. After ten or twenty years, will there still be a place for us?"

"As for the land tax... At the beginning of the year, the land is sold, and after registration, the amount of tax to be paid is determined. Then it is taken back later. Although there will be some losses, compared to the less tax paid, it is only a drop in the bucket."

When the ministers heard this, they all looked delighted and praised him endlessly.

"Situ's move is indeed extraordinary."

"I will do it right away."

After they walked away, Wang Yun looked at their backs and said to himself, "When I have all the court officials under my wing, who in the court can be my enemy?"

As the New Year is approaching, the city of Luoyang is decorated with lights and colors everywhere in preparation for the arrival of the New Year.

However, Liu He was not in this mood at the moment. He looked at the memorials and the news from the Flying Eagle Guard, and his brows were furrowed.

"Liu Bei was so capable that he actually poached the Zhuge clan who were originally going to come to Luoyang to serve the court."

Liu He used the system to check and found that the Zhuge family was full of talented people.

Zhuge Xuan has 80 military strength, 89 intelligence, and 87 politics. He is both civil and military, and is qualified to be the head of a state.

Although Zhuge Jin is young and his attributes have not reached their peak, he has an intelligence of 82 and a politics of 71, and is definitely a potential stock.

Even Zhuge Dan, who was still a child, although his intelligence and political skills were average, had 47 points of military strength. If he was under his command, he could guarantee that his military strength would reach more than 90 when he was years old. Unfortunately, there is no such opportunity now.

Of course, among these people, the one Liu He cared about the most was naturally Mr. Zhuge Liang, who was revered as one of the representatives of China's 5,000 years of wisdom and loyalty in the original history.

Zhuge Liang's original historical peak attributes reached an astonishing command of 92, force of 34, intelligence of 100, and politics of 103. He was simply a typical representative of a general who could become a prime minister.

Although he is still a teenager, he already has command 39, force 31, intelligence 91, and politics 67.

Even though Liu He now has a lot of talented people under his command, he is still full of expectations for a Zhuge Liang of this nature.

"We must find a way to bring Zhuge Liang under our command in the future."

He was so obsessed with this matter that he forgot to care about Liu Bei's methods for a moment.

"Your Majesty..." Xun Yu's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"As of yesterday, after sorting and screening, the number of books donated by all ministers and families to the Imperial College totaled 96,477."

"In addition, Anhan Trading Company reported that for unknown reasons, all the books on the market were swept away by a mysterious buyer in a short period of time. Except for some common books, such as the Three Character Classic, other classics are almost impossible to buy."

"Also, many large clans have been selling their lands recently. Many clans have even sold more than 70% of their lands, which has greatly reduced the land tax they should pay. And this trend has not shown any signs of slowing down."

Listening to Xun Yu's report, Liu He unexpectedly showed no surprise, nor anger.

He just stared out the window in a daze, and said softly: "Finally... finally this day has arrived... This is the day when I and the noble families officially go to war... Noble families... I never wanted to exterminate you, I just wanted to seek a balance for the court, for the country, why don't you consider the overall situation and think about me, alas... It is really not my wish to have come to this point..."

Xun Yu and Qian Li couldn't hear what he said clearly, but they tacitly agreed not to step forward to ask.

Liu He sighed for a while, then came to his senses and asked Qian Li, "How is the harvest this year? Also, how is the military reorganization going?"

Qian Li walked out and said, "Your Majesty, this year, except for three counties in Youzhou that suffered a snowstorm not long ago, which crushed more than 10,000 houses, all other places under the jurisdiction of the court are peaceful, with good weather and excellent harvests. Although the tax reform has only been carried out for half a year this year, many major families have resisted and the results are not obvious, but they still collected 15% more taxes. If it can be strictly enforced next year, the tax revenue can be increased by 30%."

"This year, we have spent a lot of money to reorganize the military. We have added 5,000 Han Wu soldiers, 5,000 Golden Sword Camp, 3,000 Purple Gold Dragon Cavalry, 3,000 Flying Feather Cavalry, 5,000 Divine Machine Camp, and recruited more than 86,000 new soldiers."

"Well, well done." Liu He was greatly encouraged.

"After this year of peace, I'm afraid the soldiers' weapons will all be rusty. When spring comes and the Imperial College is done, I will send troops south to wipe out Cao Cao in one fell swoop and establish my rule over the world."

Liu He clenched his fist and said in a deep voice.

(End of this chapter)