The Fierce Teacher of Zhenguan: Starting with Teaching the Crown Prince to Make a Comeback

Chapter 142 Review
The execution ground in Linyi County was located at the East Market.

In the past, this place was considered the most bustling spot in the county town, with vendors gathering and people making a great commotion.

But since the locust plague spread and famine struck, the place quickly became desolate, leaving only deathly silence and the occasional pale-faced pedestrians hurrying by.

However, today, the place is once again packed with people.

On the makeshift wooden platform, the executioner stood expressionless, holding a dagger, like a fierce god sculpted from clay in a temple.

The audience below the stage was packed with people.

Most of them were pale and thin, dressed in rags, and looked at the figure on the stage, who had once been like a "local emperor" in their eyes—the county magistrate Chen Jingyuan, with complicated expressions.

Chen Jingyuan had long lost his former official prestige; his official robes had been stripped off, leaving him only in a white prison uniform, which was filthy.

His hair was disheveled, his eyes were vacant, and his mouth was stuffed with hemp seeds, so he could only make muffled sounds. His body was as limp as mud, and he could only kneel on the platform with the help of two yamen runners.

An official from the Eastern Palace, a clerk surnamed Wang, stood before the platform, holding a scroll of documents, and read out Chen Jingyuan's crimes in a loud and clear voice.

"An investigation has revealed that Chen Jingyuan, the former magistrate of Linyi County, instead of repaying the nation's favor, took advantage of the natural disaster to commit corruption and abuse of power. The evidence against him is irrefutable! First, he embezzled grain stored in the official granaries, using various pretexts to line his own pockets; second, he colluded with clerks to manipulate the public granaries, leaving relief funds unused; third, he even forcibly exchanged official grain for salt intended for disaster relief from the Crown Prince, exploiting the people and deceiving His Highness the Crown Prince! His despicable actions make him a vermin of the nation and a great scourge to the people!..."

One by one, the charges against them were made public.

At first there was silence, then suppressed sobs and low curses began to rise from the crowd.

Those people who had lived in constant fear finally understood the reason, and flames of anger ignited in their eyes.

"...His Highness the Crown Prince was ordered to provide disaster relief, showing compassion for the people's suffering and keen insight. How could he allow such petty villains to wreak havoc on the local area?"

"According to the law, Chen Jingyuan is sentenced to immediate execution by beheading! His family property is confiscated, and his relatives are exiled! This is to uphold the law and appease the people!"

The order to "execute" landed with a resounding thud.

The executioner raised his knife and struck.

A flash of cold light, and a head rolled to the ground, blood splattering and staining the table red.

After a brief silence, a huge uproar erupted from the crowd.

Some clapped and cheered, some wailed and cried, and many others stared blankly at the headless corpse, their faces filled with disbelief and shock.

To them, the county magistrate was heaven, the law, and the very embodiment of the imperial court.

Now, the Crown Prince himself has torn this sky apart.

It turns out that the laws of the imperial court can indeed punish such "local tyrants," and that His Highness the Crown Prince is not aloof and superior, but truly stands up for ordinary people like them.

"Long live Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

Someone shouted first, and then the shouts spread like a tide, converging into a wave of gratitude.

Many elderly people knelt down on the spot and kowtowed repeatedly in the direction of the Crown Prince's residence.

Even in some ordinary people's homes, longevity tablets inscribed with "Long Live the Crown Prince" are quietly placed. Although simple, they represent the most basic gratitude and faith.

Inside the camp, Li Chengqian listened to the distant commotion, but his face showed little pride; instead, it became even more solemn.

"Issue the order: the troops will rest briefly and set off tomorrow for Xiaqiu, the capital of Yanzhou Prefecture. I want to see what kind of sight it is there!"

When news spread that the Crown Prince's entourage had left Linyi and was continuing eastward, many people in Linyi County spontaneously gathered on both sides of the road to kneel and see off the Crown Prince's carriage.

They had nothing to offer but their eyes full of gratitude and anticipation.

Sitting in the carriage, Li Chengqian watched this scene through the curtain, and the heavy sense of responsibility in his heart grew stronger.

At the same time, several fast horses carrying news of the upheaval in Linyi County galloped towards various prefectures in Shandong, reaching the grand mansions of prominent families, at a speed even faster than the prince's entourage.

Inside the study of the Cui family's villa in Qinghe.

"This Li Chengqian... I underestimated him."

"I thought he was just an impulsive and easily angered lame crown prince, but I never expected him to be so ruthless and decisive. No matter how useless Chen Jingyuan was, he was still a relative by marriage to my Cui family. I killed him without hesitation, without leaving any room for maneuver."

An elder from the lower clan said in a deep voice, "He is making an example of us. As the crown prince, he is acting as an imperial envoy and wielding the power of 'decisive action'. It seems he is determined to establish his authority in Shandong."

"Establish your authority?"

Cui Yan sneered.

“Killing people won’t establish authority. Shandong is a very murky place. Does he think that by killing Chen Jingyuan, he’s cut off our secret route to smuggling refined salt, and that we’re helpless?”

There was a stern look in his eyes.

"Issue the order: in all the prefectures and counties under the influence of the Cui family, strictly forbid all grain merchants and large households from exchanging a single grain of rice for the Crown Prince's salt!"

"Doesn't he have salt? Let him hold onto his salt and watch the disaster victims starve to death!"

“In addition,” he added, “we should send a message to the local officials who are subordinate to us: on the surface, the Crown Prince’s decrees must be obeyed, but in practice… they can be delayed and implemented at our discretion.”

"In short, we must make sure he encounters setbacks and obstacles everywhere he goes! Let him understand that without our approval, his disaster relief efforts are just empty talk!"

Similar dialogues, expressed in different words, convey similar meanings among top aristocratic families.

Crown Prince Li Chengqian's tough stance exceeded their expectations, but it also provoked an even stronger backlash from them.

They have been entrenched in Shandong for hundreds of years, with deep roots and a complex network of relationships. They will never easily bow down to a young crown prince.

Cutting off their food supply, hindering their government operations, and even creating "unexpected" troubles are their usual and extremely effective methods.

Several days later, in Yanzhou, outside the Crown Prince's temporary residence in Xiaqiu City.

Li Chengqian's face was even more gloomy than when he was in Linyi.

Two days have passed since we arrived in Xiaqiu, and the situation is worse than we expected.

The strategy of exchanging salt for grain was almost impossible to implement here.

The dispatched officials reported that the wealthy households in the city directly stated that they had no grain to exchange.

Some small businesses are interested, but their numbers are few and far between.

What enraged him even more was that he received two reports of grain merchants being robbed, both of which occurred within Yanzhou.

A surge of evil fire burned in his chest.

That night, the lights inside the camp were dim.

Li Chengqian dismissed his attendants, leaving only Li Yichen in the tent to talk.

This was the only opportunity he had managed to find to speak alone with Li Yichen after arriving in Yanzhou.

“Sir,” Li Chengqian’s voice was weary and tinged with a hint of confusion.

"Given this situation, how should students respond? Those powerful families dare not disobey openly, but they are secretly making things difficult for us at every turn."

“With the supply lines blocked, government orders are difficult to implement. If this continues, let alone disaster relief, I fear the students will be trapped and die in this Shandong region.”

Li Yichen sat at the lower end, the candlelight illuminating his calm face.

He had anticipated this situation.

“Your Highness,” he began slowly.

"Your series of actions, especially the execution of Chen Jingyuan, have clearly impacted the interests of the local powerful clans in Shandong. They may have been observing before, but now they are certain that Your Highness is serious about reforming the bureaucracy and reclaiming some of their control over the region." "Therefore, their counterattack is inevitable. Cutting off food supplies, creating banditry, and delaying government orders are all their usual tactics, aimed at making Your Highness back down, or... causing Your Highness's disaster relief efforts to fail, thereby damaging your prestige."

Li Chengqian clenched his fists.

"How could I bow down to them!"

“Of course we cannot bow our heads,” Li Yichen said.

"But we cannot simply launch a direct assault. Your Highness, have you ever calmed down and carefully reviewed every step we have taken since Chang'an?"

Li Chengqian was slightly taken aback: "What do you mean, sir?"

“I call it ‘review’,” Li Yichen explained.

"That is, to review and analyze what has happened, examine its gains and losses, and summarize its patterns in order to gain insight into opportunities and optimize subsequent actions."

Li Chengqian became interested.

"A post-mortem analysis? Please elaborate, sir."

"Let's start with His Highness's decision to promote bonds in Chang'an, and even his decision to personally go to Shandong."

Li Yichen guided him.

"Why did Your Highness choose this strategy in the first place? What was your expected goal?"

Li Chengqian pondered for a moment and said, "Issuing bonds is to solve the problem of an empty treasury and quickly raise money and grain. It is also a new policy attempt. Going to Shandong in person is for three reasons: first, to understand the people's conditions; second, to intimidate the locals; and third... well, to use this opportunity to make a name for myself and consolidate my position as heir apparent."

“Yes.” Li Yichen nodded.

"This was the initial intention. Upon arriving in Shandong, Your Highness's first stop was Yexian County. Seeing the plight of the disaster victims, Your Highness decisively used military rations to set up soup kitchens. This was an emergency measure. Although it consumed military rations, it quickly calmed the hearts of some people and demonstrated Your Highness's benevolence and sense of responsibility. This was a success."

"However, in Yexian, Your Highness also discovered problems such as the official granaries being inexplicably emptied and the charity granaries being in name only. Although you noticed something was amiss, you were in a hurry to get on your way and did not investigate further. You only sent a letter to inquire, which may be considered a mistake."

"The failure to uncover the underlying mechanisms at the time led to a somewhat passive situation when facing more covert and systematic corruption and resistance in Linyi."

Li Chengqian recalled the situation in Yexian and nodded slightly.

"That's true. At the time, I only thought Zhou Fu was incompetent, but I never thought that he might be behind it."

“To Linyi,” Li Yichen continued.

"Your Highness's policy of exchanging salt for grain was originally a good one. However, it was secretly distorted by people like Chen Jingyuan, which almost turned Your Highness's benevolent rule into a bad one."

"Fortunately, we discovered it in time, decisively arrested Chen Jingyuan, publicly executed him, and announced his crimes, which reversed public opinion and won the hearts of the people. This was a great success!"

"This move not only eliminated a parasite, but also demonstrated His Highness's determination and methods to the Shandong officialdom and even the powerful families. This is what is meant by 'establishing authority'."

“However,” he changed the subject, “killing Chen Jingyuan was like stirring up a hornet’s nest, which provoked an even stronger backlash.”

"The robbery of grain merchants and the boycott of grain exchange in Yanzhou are clear evidence of this. This is a chain reaction triggered by our actions; although difficult to avoid, it was to be expected. Did Your Highness ever anticipate such a fierce counterattack?"

Li Chengqian pondered and said, "I had considered that they might be dissatisfied, but I did not expect their methods to be so ruthless, directly looting grain carts. This is an attempt to cut off their lifeline!"

"These are the unexpected things we need to find in the review, or rather, the risks we underestimated."

Li Yichen emphasized.

"So, based on this review, what should we do next?"

Without waiting for Li Chengqian's reply, he asked and answered his own question.

"First, we need to adjust our strategy and not rely solely on bartering salt for grain and waiting for bond-holding grain traders."

"Secondly, we need to take the initiative, rather than react passively."

"How can we take the initiative?" Li Chengqian asked eagerly.

"Does Your Highness still remember the 'method of investigation' and the 'prisoner's dilemma' that I mentioned before?" Li Yichen asked.

"Naturally remember."

“We can put it to use now.” Li Yichen’s gaze was calm.

"For Yanzhou and the other prefectures and counties you will visit later, Your Highness should not wait until problems arise before taking action, as you did in the previous two stops. Instead, you should make preparations in advance."

"Please enlighten me, sir!"

Li Chengqian leaned forward, his eyes gleaming with a thirst for knowledge.

“First, we need to strengthen our research and investigation efforts,” Li Yichen said.

"Before Your Highness arrives at the next prefecture or county, several elite teams will be dispatched, disguised as merchants and refugees, to secretly infiltrate and learn about the disaster situation and the people's conditions."

"More importantly, we must investigate which powerful families the local officials have close ties with, who is controlling grain prices, and whether there are any unusual bandit gatherings within the territory. Information is the foundation of decision-making."

Li Chengqian nodded heavily.

"This plan is excellent! I will arrange for the most astute members of the Hundred Cavalry Division and the Crown Prince's Guard to go there tomorrow!"

"Secondly, make good use of the prisoner's dilemma before the incident occurs," Li Yichen continued.

"Your Highness may use the pretext of summoning local officials to inquire about the disaster situation and supervise government affairs to call in the governor, the prefectural governor, the chief secretary, the military commander, and even the magistrates of the main subordinate counties for questioning."

"Question them separately?" Li Chengqian seemed to be deep in thought.

“Yes.” Li Yichen nodded.

"The questions asked can be roughly the same, such as the grain stored in the official granaries, the management of the charitable granaries, the situation of bandits, and the progress of coordinating grain purchases with local powerful families."

"However, during the questioning, one may intentionally or unintentionally reveal some information obtained from the 'research' that is difficult to verify, or imply that certain information has been obtained, without explicitly stating it."

He looked at Li Chengqian and explained, "These officials are not a monolithic group. They belong to different factions and may have their own selfish motives."

“If His Highness questions them separately, they will not be able to collude and will become suspicious of each other. Some may think that His Highness has something on them and become panicked.”

"Some people might think that their colleagues have already informed on them, and in order to protect themselves, they might reveal some of the truth."

"This is to place the 'prisoner's dilemma' beforehand, actively create information asymmetry, divide and intimidate local officials, and perhaps find a breakthrough in this process."

Li Chengqian felt a sudden boom in his mind, as if a bolt of lightning had pierced through the fog!
He never imagined that the cold "prisoner's dilemma" could be used in such a way!
Instead of interrogating after the crime, they laid a psychological trap beforehand!
"Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands in praise.

"In this way, the students will shift from passively investigating the case to actively exerting pressure! They will be instilled with fear before they even commit any wrongdoing!"

"Thirdly," Li Yichen continued, delving deeper.

"It means anticipating the strategies that criminals might use and making preparations in advance. For example, if a grain merchant is robbed, we need to assume that this will continue to happen and may even expand in scope."

"Then, Your Highness, could you, under the pretext of suppressing bandits and protecting the grain transport, dispatch loyal and reliable soldiers from the nearby military headquarters, or send elite troops from the Eastern Palace Guard, to secretly protect the vital grain routes in small groups?"

"Perhaps we could set up checkpoints at key passes for patrols? Even if we can't completely eliminate it, it would make it more difficult for them to plunder, demonstrating the court's control."

"For example, powerful families might unite to resist the grain exchange, attempting to create a false impression of a famine and pressure Your Highness. Could we then employ a two-pronged approach?"

"On the one hand, His Highness sent important officials to summon the heads of local aristocratic families who were not top-tier or had conflicts with Cui, Lu, and others, offering them certain benefits beyond bond interest in order to divide and win them over."

"Even if we can only influence one or two companies, we can break their united blockade."

　One chapter will be updated at 10 PM tonight!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)