The playboy county magistrate

At dawn, around 5 AM, the sky began to lighten.

The bells of the Zichen Palace rang out loudly, and officials entered the court, standing in two rows.

The court, where people used to whisper and discuss matters in shifts, is now so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The civil and military officials exchanged glances, all knowing that something big was about to happen.

The emperor, dressed in a dragon-patterned imperial robe, sat high in the court, his face stern, his gaze sweeping over the officials below.

Having ruled the country for several years, he was well-versed in the power struggles in the court and the treacherous nature of human hearts. He could see through the undercurrents within the palace with just a glance.

"If you have something to report, speak now; otherwise, the court may adjourn."

The eunuch's high-pitched, drawn-out chanting broke the deathly silence of the hall.

The next moment, Fan Wuwei stepped forward, holding a thick stack of joint memorials, raised it high above his head, and his voice resounded throughout the Zichen Palace.

"Your humble servant, Grand Censor Fan Wuwei, impeaches Li Xuanzhi, the Assistant Magistrate of Pingzhou! This matter concerns the safety of the state and the very foundation of imperial power!"

The officials, who had been holding their breath, were instantly shaken and looked up at each other.

The recent new policies in Pingzhou have been a great success, and the people are praising them. This is the peak of Li Xuanzhi's achievements.

Unexpectedly, Fan Wuwei impeached him at this time, and immediately accused him of crimes against the country and the emperor!

The emperor's expression remained unchanged, revealing neither joy nor anger. "Present your report."

Fan Wuwei knelt down, his head bowed even lower. But he deliberately raised his voice several octaves.

"Li Xuanzhi, having only been in officialdom for a few months, seized control of the new policies throughout Pingzhou, acting expediently and without prior approval! He completely destroyed the old local systems, confiscating private land as public land, changing private furnaces to government-run operations, and breaking the monopoly on commerce!"

"His actions are too forceful, his power too great, and his influence too overwhelming! Now, the people of Pingzhou only know of Lord Li, not the imperial court. The officials of the prefectures and counties only obey his orders, showing little regard for imperial authority!"

"This man uses the guise of benefiting the people to actually seize power! He wins the hearts of the people with new policies, and uses those hearts to consolidate his private power, carving out a prefecture and establishing his own system. If this continues, Pingzhou will no longer be the king's land, and the officials will no longer be the king's subjects. This is a great calamity for the nation!"

Being overly diligent in government is wrong, winning popular support is wrong, and doing things to the extreme is also wrong.

It is a great taboo for an emperor to have a reputation that surpasses that of the court and to hold power in one's own hands.

As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of court officials stepped forward one after another.

"Your Majesty, we beseech you to thoroughly investigate Li Xuanzhi's crimes of rallying support among the people and establishing his own independent regime in various prefectures and counties!"

The three highest-ranking officials, veteran ministers of the six ministries, more than ten censors, and dozens of local officials stationed in Beijing.

"We second that proposal!"

A dark mass of people, all kneeling and bowing their heads.

"Your Majesty, we beseech you to rescind the decree expanding their power under the new policies, strip the prefectures of their real power, and halt their expansionist tendencies. This is to secure imperial authority and strengthen the state!"

Its momentum was overwhelming, and its sound resounded throughout the imperial palace.

A total of seventy-six court officials jointly submitted a memorial, encompassing more than half of the senior officials and nobles in the court. They included civil officials, imperial censors, members of the imperial family, and local gentry factions.

They directly used imperial power as a weapon and the state as a pretext to force the emperor to choose between two options.

Either abandon Li Xuanzhi, severing the new policies' continued expansion of influence, or appease the gentry and stabilize the existing order in the court.

Either protect Li Xuanzhi and continue the new policies, or confirm the criticism of "favoring powerful ministers and allowing subordinates to threaten the emperor," and face the collective opposition of the entire court.

The atmosphere in the hall instantly became extremely heavy, so oppressive that it was suffocating.

The neutral courtiers turned pale and dared not speak.

The reformist officials were outnumbered and powerless, and none of them dared to step forward when more than half of the court officials were forcing the emperor to make a choice.

Fan Wuwei prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed, then spoke again in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty! Throughout history, powerful ministers have brought ruin to the country by first winning the hearts of the people and consolidating their personal power. Li Xuanzhi, at such a young age, already holds the power of life and death in a province and has won the hearts of countless people. If we allow him to expand his influence throughout the country and control even more provinces and counties, his power will be unstoppable in the future!"

"If we do not eliminate this threat today, it will surely become a major problem tomorrow! We, your humble servants, plead for Your Majesty's resolute decision to remove this hidden danger as soon as possible!"

The old guard ministers all raised their voices and repeated the same sentence in unison—

"We implore Your Majesty to act decisively and eliminate this hidden danger as soon as possible!"

On the dragon throne, the emperor remained silent for a long time. His gaze fell upon the kneeling officials below, cold and unfathomable, revealing neither joy nor anger.

He knew perfectly well that Li Xuanzhi was loyal and devoted to the people. The accusations of forming cliques and seizing power were utter nonsense and a blatant frame-up.

But he knew even better that the way of the emperor was not about right or wrong, but about balance.

Now, half of the court officials are pressuring him to make a choice in court, drawing the attention of the gentry throughout the land.

If he insists on going his own way and forcibly protects it, he will be openly making an enemy of the entire old aristocratic system.

An imbalance in the court and turmoil in both the government and the people will inevitably lead to endless troubles.

After a long silence, the emperor finally spoke calmly:

"With the new policies in Pingzhou now in effect, the people are at peace and the results are evident. There is no evidence of disturbance or disruption of the government. Li Xuanzhi has worked diligently and practically to eliminate long-standing problems. His contributions to the local area are commendable and he should not be unjustly punished."

Upon hearing this, the faces of Fan Wuwei and other old-fashioned nobles and court officials who were kneeling on the ground all changed drastically.

The Emperor is still protecting them.

But in the next sentence, the emperor's voice suddenly turned cold and hard.

"However, the power of officials must be restrained, and the influence of local authorities must be controlled. The expansion of the new policy should be temporarily suspended, and the expansion of local prefectures and counties should be immediately halted."

"Summon Li Xuanzhi to return to the capital immediately to report on his duties, hand over the administration of Pingzhou, and await further instructions upon arrival in the capital."

Two imperial edicts, one to protect and one to punish, one to guarantee and one to collect.

Instead of punishing him personally, they stripped him of his power, suspended his administration, and cut off his influence.

He rejected the demands of the old guard to kill virtuous officials, thus protecting the spark of reform and the life and innocence of Li Xuanzhi. He also conformed to public opinion at court, temporarily suppressing the power of local officials and stabilizing the balance between the court and the people.

Fan Wuwei shuddered, then a look of extreme ecstasy and ruthlessness flashed across his eyes.

Become!

Although they were unable to bring down Li Xuanzhi in one fell swoop, they were unable to kill him.

Being able to halt the new policy and reclaim real power would be a major success!

Li Xuanzhi's reform foundation, built on solid achievements and popular support in Pingzhou, was suddenly undermined.

Once he leaves Pingzhou and enters the capital, becoming trapped in the court and losing his local power, won't it be easy to find an opportunity to completely destroy him later?

The former officials all breathed a sigh of relief, their eyes revealing a smug look, and they all kowtowed in agreement:

"Your Majesty is wise!"

The emperor's gaze slowly swept over the assembled officials, his mind clear as a mirror, yet he said nothing more, only coldly stating:

"An urgent imperial edict is sent to Pingzhou. Li Xuanzhi is ordered to immediately hand over state affairs upon receiving this edict and return to the capital to report on his duties. Court adjourned!"

The officials rose and left the court in haste. The winds of change in the entire imperial city shifted in an instant.

No one praises the new policies for benefiting the people anymore, and no one extols Li Xuanzhi's wisdom and ability.

Throughout the court and among the people, only rumors circulated that "his achievements were so great that they threatened the emperor's authority and his power was so great that he was difficult to control."

……

Thousands of miles away in Pingzhou Prefecture, Li Xuanzhi was bent over his desk, refining the details of the new policies for Pingzhou.

The weary messenger strode into the courtroom, unfurled the bright yellow imperial edict, and read it aloud:

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: With the new policies of Pingzhou initially established, the expansion of the territory is temporarily suspended. Li Xuanzhi, the Assistant Magistrate of Pingzhou, is hereby ordered to immediately hand over all administrative affairs of the prefecture, return to the capital at full speed to report on his duties, and await further orders. So be it!"

These few words, devoid of praise or criticism, reward or punishment, struck like a thunderbolt, shaking the minds of the remaining officials.

Li Xuanzhi slowly raised his hand, his voice steady and firm, without the slightest fluctuation:

"Your subject, Li Xuanzhi, receives the imperial decree."