The playboy county magistrate

"His Majesty appointed me to the cabinet, granting me special permission to implement policies as appropriate and to speak frankly and make decisions. This is not for the sake of conservatism, but for the sake of innovation."

He did not come to follow the rules and maintain stability; he came to eliminate long-standing problems.

The four elders' expressions hardened slightly, and the relaxed smiles in their eyes vanished instantly.

Grand Secretary Zhang spoke in a deep voice, attempting to bind the matter with old rules.

"What Lord Li says is absolutely right. However, the old practices of the court have been followed for a hundred years, and everything has its own rules and regulations. Reform is a matter that involves a wide range of issues and many implications, and it may destabilize the court. We must proceed slowly and carefully, and not be too hasty."

This is the excuse that the old minister most often uses—

Take it one step at a time.

They appear to be cautious and seek peace, but in reality they are procrastinating, shirking responsibility, and clinging to their own interests.

Under the guise of "stability," they obstruct all change and protect the old interests of powerful families.

The other Grand Secretaries immediately echoed, "Grand Secretary Zhang is absolutely right. The stability of the court depends entirely on the maintenance of old rules. If we rashly reform, it may cause chaos, and the losses will outweigh the gains."

For a time, the four men agreed on one point: citing centuries-old precedent and the stability of the court, they banded together to obstruct change.

As expected, Li Xuanzhi's first meeting in the cabinet ended in a stalemate.

Countless hidden factions within the court are watching this cabinet power struggle, waiting to see if the newly appointed regent can break the deadlock or be controlled and restrained by the established forces.

Faced with the four elders' joint attempt to shirk responsibility, Li Xuanzhi's expression remained unchanged, his gaze became even clearer, and he appeared even more composed.

He stepped forward slowly and lightly tapped his fingertips on a thick stack of local government documents on the table.

"Maintaining stability through old rules paves the way for a prosperous era. However, the accumulated problems of old rules are the root cause of chaos."

"The 'gradual and deliberate' approach you all speak of is actually condoning corruption, protecting redundant officials, and allowing deep-seated problems to fester. The people are suffering under oppressive policies, the national treasury is depleted by empty accounts, career advancement is blocked by nepotism, and the court is stagnant due to outdated practices. This kind of stability is a false stability, a stability with rotten foundations!"

The four elders' expressions changed simultaneously, their bodies stiffened slightly, and they were momentarily speechless.

Before everyone could react, Li Xuanzhi's voice deepened, and his aura became fully unleashed.

"All backlogged and delayed memorials must be thoroughly investigated and approved within three days. All vague and wasteful accounts of money and grain must be verified and those responsible held accountable. All those who have violated regulations by appointing officials through nepotism or occupying official positions without merit must be investigated and dismissed immediately!"

"Each should perform their duties and bear their responsibilities. Merit should be rewarded and wrongdoing should be punished. Only when the cabinet has no right to shirk responsibility can the court be free from a culture of complacency!"

"I am new to the cabinet and my voice carries little weight. If any of you seniors feel that I have said anything wrong, please go to His Majesty and request that he remove me from the cabinet. If you cannot do so, then please do not blame me for being ruthless and disrespectful to elders due to your lack of attention to detail."

Li Xuanzhi did not have any acquaintances in the cabinet, but he had the emperor backing him up.

The cabinet members could all enter the palace to see the emperor at any time, but the others could only rely on their age and the fact that they had served in the cabinet for a long time, and that the emperor had high hopes for them.

But if you think about it carefully, which of the people in the cabinet is a fool?

In the emperor's mind, Li Xuanzhi and these old fogies were fundamentally different.

Unless they can find something incriminating about Li Xuanzhi, something potentially fatal, they might not be able to work together to drive him out.

If they truly do nothing, or are determined to oppose Li Xuanzhi, then the current emperor is not like the former emperor who was easily swayed; this emperor is notoriously unyielding.

Or they could do everything Li Xuanzhi did, and easily take over a country as a vassal state, making it obediently pay tribute.

Historically, civil officials and military generals have often been at odds, but Li Xuanzhi was capable enough to earn the respect of even local military generals who held power.

Even among the military generals in the imperial court, many people envied those who held military power.

After all, not all military generals have troops under their command. Nor do all military generals have the ability to gain the trust of local officials.

Now, Li Xuanzhi has won the hearts of the people with his new policies, and with his wisdom and methods, he has intimidated the strongest of the surrounding small countries, Mobei, and is also highly trusted by the emperor.

He had all the necessary conditions met, and even his troublesome family members had been completely subdued by Li Xuanzhi. How many lives did they have? Did they really want to go against Li Xuanzhi?

Establish authority?

Who's establishing authority over whom?

They investigated the backlog of memorials, verified the accounts of money and grain, and dismissed officials who had violated regulations by patronizing the government.

Each point hits the nail on the head regarding the lifeblood of aristocratic families.

For a century, major aristocratic families have relied on hereditary privileges to place their members in positions of power, used local connections to conceal financial losses, and used old court rules to delay and evade responsibility.

Through layers of exploitation and generational profiteering, an unbreakable network of vested interests has long been formed.

Li Xuanzhi's bold and decisive actions were a beacon of hope for scholars from humble backgrounds, but for aristocratic families, they were a devastating blow.

That night, for the umpteenth time, the study lights in the mansions of the major families in the capital stayed on all night because of Li Xuanzhi.

At the home of Zhang Gelao.

"Having achieved early success, he has become arrogant and overconfident, attempting to undermine our centuries-old foundations simply by entering the cabinet!"

"Investigate the accounts and abolish the practice of hereditary officials. If this is allowed to continue, no family's descendants will have a stable career in government. Local private reserves will be exposed, and generations of accumulated wealth will be destroyed in an instant!"

"Having achieved merit on the frontier, he's become arrogant and complacent. Does he really think he can act arbitrarily in the central government?"

Public sentiment was inflamed, and resentment grew.

The head of the Zhang family, who was the eldest son of Grand Secretary Zhang, held the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and wielded real power in evaluating official conduct.

"On the surface, we all obey the government's orders without the slightest disobedience, lest we be accused of disobeying the imperial decree."

"Secretly, they delayed and shirked responsibility, offering only perfunctory responses. Accounts were altered and concealed, and memorials were submitted with false reports and cover-ups. The officials in power temporarily avoided confrontation, forming a tacit alliance to deal with the situation. Letting him clear the accounts in three days and conduct the audit in five days became nothing but empty words."

"No matter how much the emperor favors him, his foundation is still shallow. His ideas cannot be pushed forward, chaos will arise in the court and among the people, and sooner or later the emperor will suspect that he is too hasty and incompetent in governing. At that time, we will not need to make trouble; he will reap what he sows."

This is what they call "when there are policies from above, there are countermeasures from below."

Li Xuanzhi was ultimately just a person, not a monster with three heads and six arms; there would always be times when he couldn't handle everything.

……

The following day, the Cabinet was on duty.

All the verification files submitted by various regions and departments have been piled up and stored in the archives.

The four Grand Secretaries sat calmly on either side, seemingly performing their duties diligently. In reality, they had already instructed various factions to embellish and obscure all problematic accounts. They had temporarily transferred all officials who had violated regulations to conceal their whereabouts. They had also hastily and perfunctorily approved all the backlog of memorials.

On the surface, everything seems perfect, but in reality, it's empty inside and has no real effect whatsoever.

Grand Secretary Zhang raised his hand and gently tapped the neatly organized file, his tone calm and even.

"Lord Li, the investigation is complete. All files from various departments and offices have been compiled. There are no omissions, no backlogs, and no violations or dereliction of duty."

The other senior officials readily echoed this sentiment.

"The administration is clean and efficient, and the accounts are well-organized. It seems that the rumors of the past were exaggerated and it was just a false alarm."

Everyone gave the same story, deliberately whitewashing the situation in an attempt to deceive everyone.