The Fallen Nation System, Turning the Tide - Chapter 69 : Misstep

Chapter 69 : Misstep

“What kind of hero kills a mere Qi Rui!”

Divide and devour?

Everyone exchanged glances, then picked up the watermelons before them with both hands, their eyes gleaming brightly.

Indeed, while the court currently showed no dissent, most officials were still old retainers of the late emperor. The Emperor’s own trusted followers could all fit within this very room. If any incident were to provoke dissatisfaction among those old ministers, it could potentially hinder the Emperor’s grand plans.

After finishing the watermelon, Xu Ying dismissed everyone, allowing them to return home to rest.

Upon leaving Azure Wave Study, Zhang Yu and the others divided their responsibilities. Zhang Yu declared, “I can meticulously investigate and impeach officials in the court.”

Sun Zhuo frowned slightly, “I can search for relevant evidence of crimes… Any matters requiring complete eradication can be entrusted to me.”

Gao Yun stated, “His Majesty has previously emphasized the importance of the people. By pacifying the populace and winning their hearts, the grand plan can succeed. As I have close ties with women in service, I can reassure them. Even if those old ministers rebel and harbor treacherous intentions against the sovereign, they lack righteous cause and cannot successfully rise up.”

The scholars from the Hall of Gathered Talents hung their heads in shame, as if they had accomplished little since passing the imperial examinations. Without noble family backgrounds or experience, they were uncertain what they could do for the Emperor.

Gao Yun turned to the dejected group and offered advice: “Since His Majesty has selected you, each of you possesses innate talent. But everything must be earned through your own efforts. In my opinion, you should go down to the villages, investigate the people’s livelihoods, and uncover evidence of negligence by those old ministers.”

While Zhang Yu and Sun Zhuo dealt with high-ranking officials, the Hall of Gathered Talents would start from the bottom, uprooting the old forces and thoroughly purging the court of the late emperor’s ministers and their affiliated minor officials.

Upon hearing this reasoning, the scholars from the Hall of Gathered Talents immediately felt their ambitions ignite. They straightened their backs, brimming with untapped energy and renewed vigor.

With everyone cooperating according to their roles, they rolled up their sleeves ready for major action. Once successful, with the old ministers removed and positions vacated without opposition, they could smoothly take their places.

This was destined to be a sleepless night. News of the Emperor summoning his followers to share melons quickly spread from Azure Wave Study.

The next day, after attending morning court, Liu Xu headed to his office. On the way, Secretary Lu Jian called out to him from behind. After looking around to ensure no one was nearby, Lu Jian lowered his voice and said, “Sir, last night His Majesty secretly summoned Princess Huaiyang, Gao Yun, Zhang Yu, and others. His Majesty shared melons with them, and from the conversation, it seemed they intend to move against us. Sir, what should we do?”

Liu Xu immediately stopped walking, his eyebrows furrowing in surprise. “Is this true?”

Lu Jian replied solemnly, “I dare not speak a single false word.”

The day had finally come. Liu Xu’s expression turned grave. After pondering for a long while, he slowly raised his head, his gaze sharp as a knife, and said in a deep voice, “Lay low recently. Don’t give Zhang Yu and the others any handles against us.”

Lu Jian worriedly said, “Sir, but this isn’t a sustainable strategy. What I fear most is them resorting to underhanded tactics, fabricating charges against us at will…”

While thieves may strike any day, constant defense is impossible. If the sovereign demands his minister’s death, what resistance can they possibly offer?

Liu Xu stroked his beard in deep contemplation.

How to gain Xu Ying’s trustthat was the crucial issue. As long as they could change her perspective, Zhang Yu would have no means to act against them.

But trust couldn’t be built overnight. With time running short, they needed another approach.

At that moment, Liu Xu suddenly recalled something and said, “Isn’t there the Winter Examination? The Winter Examination has no restrictions on status, only on participant numbers. If we could test into the Hall of Gathered Talents, would Her Majesty dare target her own Hall members?”

Lu Jian was stunned into silence. “Would that really work…?”

Liu Xu’s idea was to secure positions in the Hall of Gathered Talents, leaving the emperor no new candidates to use and forcing her to continue employing them reluctantly. Moreover, since the Hall was filled with the emperor’s trusted aides, this would also serve as a gesture of loyalty from veteran officials like themselves.

Though this was merely Liu Xu’s personal notion, after Lu Jian shared it with others, the ministers fell into contemplative silence. They faced two choices: either resign gracefully or take the Winter Examination for a chance at survival.

Having served peacefully for decades, none were willing to relinquish their positions easily. One by one, they expressed willingness to attempt the Winter Examination.

Liu Xu sighed deeply. Who would have thought that in their twilight years, on the verge of retirement, they’d still be dragging their old bones to examination halls?

Preparing for an exam required understanding its question patterns above all.

Last year’s Winter Examination had been presided over by Princess Huaiyang, Xu Lang. The test papers remained in her possession rather than the Ministry of Rites, and the questions were notoriously tricky. Through various channels, Liu Xu finally managed to compile a complete set.

When Liu Xu and other veteran officials attempted the Winter Examination papers to gauge the difficulty, they froze at the very first section. Turning the papers over and examining them against sunlight, they found no discernible patternsjust bizarre shapes and configurations. After painstakingly identifying all patterns, they’d exhausted most of their mental energy, feeling dizzy and fatigued.

The subsequent general knowledge section made Liu Xu’s vision darken, but he gritted his teeth and raced through the questions. Even his imperial examinations decades ago hadn’t felt this exhausting.

Looking around, he saw colleagues with sweat-soaked robes, some supporting their heads with closed eyes to recover before continuing. The situation looked grim, and Liu Xu frowned deeply.

This experience revealed that those who entered the Hall of Gathered Talents were truly exceptionalthe outstanding performances of Gao Yun and Zhang Keqian now made perfect sense.

Without answer keys available, some officials wavered after experiencing the exam’s difficulty. Even with good scores in earlier sections, the analytical essays at the end were heavily dependent on graders’ subjectivity. Entering the Hall was clearly no simple feat.

Liu Xu encouraged everyone: “Taking the exam demonstrates our sincerity to Her Majesty. Admission would be ideal, but what matters isn’t the scoreit’s the gesture.”

Though he said this, they all knew failing to outperform younger candidates would bring utter humiliation.

Just as they sighed contemplating withdrawal, turmoil struck Qingzhou. Qi Ruiwho, like Zhao Yingzhong, had been tasked with inspecting local officials and finding faultswas found dead.

After heavy rainfall, night soil collectors discovered a corpse in a waste pit and immediately reported to authorities. When retrieved and cleaned by coroners, the body was identified as Qi Rui, who had been preparing to depart Qingzhou.

The Qingzhou Governor’s agonized cries seemed loud enough to be heard across the province. Though the coroner ruled it an accidental death from falling, this very determination meant no one could be held accountableleaving the governor ultimately responsible for the incident.

The Governor of Qingzhou lay limp on his bed, inwardly cursing his misfortune as he pondered how to evade punishment. His Chief Secretary suggested, “The power dynamics in Qingzhou are intricate. Why not report Qi Rui’s death as a murder and request His Majesty to send someone to investigate?”

The Chief Secretary added, “Qi Rui had offended plenty of people in Qingzhou. His death by foul play seems entirely plausible.”

The primary rule of evading blame was to shift responsibility.

This Qi Rui had once insulted the emperor and criticized the policy on female physicians. The emperor surely held no fondness for him. Moreover, many court officials hailed from Qingzhou, presenting a perfect opportunity to target Liu Xu and his allies. If the emperor was inclined, it would be easy to pin the blame elsewhere.

As the Governor of Qingzhou mulled it over, the Chief Secretary further elaborated, “I’ve heard that His Majesty has secretly gathered his most trusted ministers to discuss major affairs, intending to purge the old officials of the late emperor and promote new talent. This is a heaven-sent opportunity.”

Tempted by the idea, the Governor’s eyes sharpened. He followed the Chief Secretary’s advice and drafted an urgent memorial, suspecting Qi Rui had been deliberately murdered. The memorial bypassed the Grand Secretariat and was delivered directly to the emperor through Sun Wanyun.

The memorial listed everyone who had clashed with Qi Rui. Since Qingzhou was close to Youzhou, Xu Ying soon learned of Qi Rui’s alleged murder. She was shocked when she read the memorial.

Xu Ying fumed, “Qi Rui was appointed by me, and his tasks were assigned by me. If they have any grievances, they should come at me! What kind of hero kills a single Qi Rui?”

Upon hearing of the trouble in Qingzhou, Liu Xu’s heart sank, sensing grave danger. The majority of the court officials had ties to Qingzhoueither they were natives or had studied under the Liu family there. He feared this was the beginning of a purge.

Zhang Yu immediately spoke up, “Your Majesty, I implore you to issue an edict at once, dispatching a special envoy to Qingzhou to thoroughly investigate this case. This will prevent local officials from mishandling it out of incompetence or fear of certain individuals, allowing the true culprit to go free.”

The court erupted in an uproar. What was Zhang Yu implying? Who was he insinuating?

Qi Rui had been sent by the emperor, and his safety was tied to the careers of local officials. Who would be foolish enough to kill Qi Rui and bring trouble upon themselves?

Sun Zhuo, standing in the ranks, subtly shifted his gaze.

Liu Xu’s eyelid twitched violently. Instinctively, he stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, the paths are slippery after the rain. It’s possible Qi Rui simply slipped and fell. We must not jump to conclusions about his death or maliciously speculate about others, falling into the traps of petty schemers who seek to sow discord between ruler and ministers. I urge Your Majesty to handle this matter with caution.”

Zhang Yu glanced sideways at him and remarked coolly, “Whether it was an accident or not will be clear once we investigate. Or perhaps the relatives of the murderer have guilty consciences and dare not face scrutiny, so they resort to obstruction and try to cover it up as an accident?”

Falsely accused, Liu Xu grew angry. He had been a court official long before Zhang Yu was even weanedwhat right did Zhang Yu have to speak to him like that?

Liu Xu retorted sarcastically, “Of course, we must investigate. But this matter must not become a tool for those with ulterior motives to engage in factional strife and eliminate dissent. Your Majesty, please see clearly.”

An investigation was acceptable, but he had to ensure his own people were among the investigators.

Knowing Liu Xu’s intentions, Zhang Yu firmly opposed every candidate Liu Xu proposed. For each person Liu Xu named, Zhang Yu used mistakes previously pointed out by Zhao Yingzhong and others to shut him down.

After several rounds of back-and-forth, Liu Xu conceded, “I believe Feng Liang of the Court of Revision is suitable for the task.”

Feng Liang was known for his integrity and single-minded dedication to cases. Liu Xu was gambling that Qi Rui had indeed died from a fall.

Zhang Yu hesitated slightly, glanced at Sun Zhuo, and finally nodded in agreement.

Xu Ying commanded, “Sun Zhuo, you and Feng Liang shall go to Qingzhou together. You must uncover the true culprit and put an end to such audacious acts.”

“Additionally, suspend the Qingzhou Governor from his duties. He has failed in his protective responsibilities. He may only resume his post when the murderer is identified. If he fails to solve the case, he shall be removed from the governor position permanently.”

Sun Zhuo and Feng Liang accepted the orders.

Author’s Note:

Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided nutrient solutions between 2023-05-26 21:54:19~2023-05-27 21:22:25~

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Thank you all for your support. I will continue to work hard!