Chapter 1275: Court (5)

Yan Du muttered softly, “That’s different…”

“The difference is that you’ve changed.” Rong Xuan looked at him with slight disappointment. “His Majesty’s magnanimous attitude has bolstered your desires and ambitions. However, don’t forget that His Majesty was once the other general besides General Yuan who advocated taking back the lost territory and actually took action to accomplish that aim. He’s not afraid of bloodshed. It’s just that he has respect for all lives!”

Yan Du was silent.

Rong Xuan sneered when he saw this. Other than the first few years, the Emperor’s methods of governing the country were very gentle. Coupled with the tax reduction every year, it already made people think that he was a cat without claws. However, they forgot that he was once a ferocious tiger waiting for an opportunity to attack, and was now a true dragon.

Rong Xuan turned around and left. These people were really blind to be afraid of King Rong and not the Emperor.

That brat Haoran was just noisy, but his heart was actually softer than anyone else’s. Although the Emperor rarely spoke, once he made up his mind, no one could change it. If he made up his mind to reform the official system, even if Yan Du were to lie down to block his path, the Emperor would at most hesitate for a moment before doing what he felt he ought to do.

Yan Du watched as Rong Xuan gradually walked away. He couldn’t help but caress the pine tree and sigh softly. His father had been as proud and independent as this pine tree his entire life, but what happened in the end?

But he was still abandoned by Emperor Jingyan, who he was loyal to, and he even bore the infamy of a lifetime.

The four people in the hall were also talking about the reform of the official system. Mu Yangling said, “Big Brother, since I started this matter, let me be the one to end it. By not implicating you guys, it’ll be easier for you guys to do things in the future.”

Qi Haoran immediately went to hold his wife’s hand and said with a straight face, “I’m with Ah Ling, Big Brother. Anyway, I almost forced someone to death just now. Let them slander me. I want to see how they will write about me in the history books in the future!”

Fan Zijin said coldly, “You won’t live to see that. Else, it wouldn’t be called a history book.”

Qi Haoran choked and could not help but glare at him.

Qi Xiuyuan waved his hand with a headache. “Alright, stop bickering at a time like this. What’s with Assistant Minister Lan this morning?”

“How would I know?” Qi Haoran jumped up. At the mention of this, he felt aggrieved. “I wasn’t targeting him alone. Almost half of the civil and military officials in the court were scolded by me. Everyone else was fine, but only he rushed out and tried to commit suicide. Can you blame me?”

Mu Yangling patted his chest comfortingly and said, “It’s not your fault. If he didn’t do it on purpose, his endurance is too low. If it’s the latter, how does the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs recruit their officials? How can an official serve the people if his endurance is so low?”

Qi Haoran nodded repeatedly. “That’s right.”

Qi Xiuyuan couldn’t stand the couple and endured it. In the end, he didn’t smash the memorial on the table. He only waved his hand and said, “Anyway, talk to them properly later. You mustn’t be too harsh, understand?”

Qi Haoran agreed reluctantly.

Hence, when the officials returned after dealing with the three urgent matters, they realized that King Rong was actually smiling at them. They immediately trembled in fear, the urge to relieve themselves arising once more.

Mu Yangling, who was sitting beside him, pinched his leg and whispered, “Be normal.”

Qi Haoran’s face immediately turned cold, causing the ministers to tremble even more.

Qi Haoran couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Whether he wore a smile or a cold expression, those officials trembled. What did they want him to do?

Mu Yangling was also rather helpless.

As Qi Xiuyuan was angry, he asked the imperial kitchen to prepare very simple foods, just steamed buns with pickled vegetables and a bowl of porridge.

The ministers were speechless when they saw this setup. So, Your Majesty, are you being protective and petty to the extreme?

However, when they saw that the food placed in front of the Emperor and King Rong’s table was the same, the officials couldn’t complain.

Since Qi Xiuyuan did not touch his chopsticks, the officials naturally did not dare to reach out to pick up theirs.

Qi Haoran looked at the food on the table and continued the topic of the day. “This is white flour steamed buns and white rice porridge, food that we view as simple. At present, I’m afraid only 50% of the people in Great Qi can afford to eat such things every day. Even then, this is only made possible by high-yielding grain seeds, improved technology and farming tools. Nearly 30% of the remaining 50% of the people eat corn, and a mixture of other cheap grains. As for the other 20%, they still can’t eat their fill and have to starve half the time.”

Qi Haoran looked at them and asked with a smile, “How many of you here have starved before? Starve to the point where you had to resort to eating mud and tree bark.”

The ministers looked at each other. In the end, a few generals responded they’d experienced that before. When they were fighting a war in the past, they lacked food, and it was common for them to not eat for a few days.

Qi Haoran said, “I’ve gone hungry before, so I’ve drunk horse urine and eaten kaolinite. There were even times where I thought of eating human flesh.”

The ministers stared at him in shock.

They knew that Qi Haoran must have suffered hardships in the war, but they did not expect it to be so extreme!

This time, Qi Xiuyuan was no longer silent. He said calmly, “I, too, have starved before. Just like King Rong, I’ve also drunk horse urine and eaten kaolinite. Do any of you know what kaolinite is?”

All the officials who had been provincial officials knew what kaolinite was, and so did the Minister of Revenue. He said in a low voice, “Kaolinite is a substance that resembles flour, but can cause death if over-consumed. When there is a shortage of food, people will resort to eating this. But if one accidentally eats too much of it, they could die…”

Qi Xiuyuan sighed and said, “That’s right. Who would eat kaolinite unless they had no choice? Since Great Zhou has only been destroyed for 13 years, I believe all of you haven’t forgotten how hard the people had it during the Great Zhou era, right?”

“At that time, bandits were everywhere. Do you really think that they were forced by West Xia and Great Jin?” Qi Xiuyuan said in a low voice, “Actually, they were forced by the Imperial Court. I don’t deny that there are some villains who want to rise up and replace Great Qi, but there are more people in this world who are forced to never rebel. The reform of the official system is not only for me, but also for the people and the peace of Great Qi!”

Qi Xiuyuan ignored Mu Yangling, who wanted to say something but hesitated. He looked at the ministers with bright eyes and said, “Now, the commoners can’t even eat their fill. If there is a corrupt official in a province, the local commoners will definitely suffer even more. I don’t want to only reflect on what’s wrong after Great Qi is overthrown by the commoners one day.”

“Your Majesty, Queen Consort Rong is trying to scare us. You can’t listen to a woman’s words.” As soon as Qi Xiuyuan finished speaking, an official pounced forward and said, “Your Majesty, since the Tang Dynasty, the Central Plain has adopted this kind of official system. I don’t see any chaos…”

“Were there no chaos after Great Tang and Great Zhou were destroyed?” Mu Yangling mocked.

That person immediately blushed and said, “Your Highness, don’t spout nonsense. Great Tang and Great Zhou were destroyed because of the turmoil caused by war.”

Qi Haoran sneered impolitely. “Why was there turmoil caused by war? Wasn’t it because an incompetent ruler and treacherous officials are in charge, causing the commoners to have a hard time?”

Hence, everyone quarreled again about the reasons behind Great Tang and Great Zhou’s demise.

When Mu Yangling saw the Imperial Court arguing, she couldn’t help but slam the table and shout, “Alright, stop arguing!”

Mu Yangling looked at them and sneered. “Aren’t you just afraid that after the change in the official system, you’ll face more restrictions and the benefits you can obtain will decrease? Let me tell you, even if there is no reform of the official system, no corrupt officials will go unpunished. Tomorrow, I’ll post an announcement in The Great Qi Times, allowing the commoners to report cases of corruption under their real names. This applies to all prefectures and counties. At that time, we’ll hand them over to the Court of Judicial Review for a thorough investigation. No corrupt official can escape!”

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