Chapter 117: The Court and the Martial World

Page (1/3)
Capital city, the Tai Chi Hall.
All civil and military officials bowed respectfully to the emperor seated on the throne. Only after the emperor raised his hand and said, “Rise,” did the ministers stand up.
The emperor, approaching fifty years old, already had strands of white hair but remained vigorous. He glanced at the officials gathered before him and said calmly, “Today’s court session, is there any matter to discuss?”
No sooner had the emperor spoken than Prime Minister Wang Du stepped forward, holding the court tablet, bowed, and reported, “Your Majesty, Inspector Zheng Qi of the Eastern Jiangnan Circuit has sent an urgent report from six hundred miles away. The bandit leader Qiu Dian, after seizing Yuezhou, has declared himself King of Yue and begun to dispatch troops from Yuezhou, invading neighboring prefectures and counties.”
Hearing this, the emperor frowned deeply.
He looked around at the officials and muttered, “What a villain. I had thought he had some grievance to air, but it turns out he harbors such treacherous ambitions!”
Pausing, the emperor added in a low voice, “Zheng Qi is also incompetent to have let such a bandit grow so bold.”
After cursing a few times, the emperor stroked his beard and looked at a young man standing at the lower end of the hall, speaking quietly, “What does the Crown Prince think?”
The Crown Prince, twenty-eight years old and with ten years of political observation in court, stood at the emperor’s left side in the foremost position.
He was handsome and carried an air of authority. Upon hearing the report, he stepped forward slightly and lowered his head, replying, “Father, since the bandit has raised his banner and declared himself king, he is committing high treason. We must dispatch the imperial troops to suppress him, capture the leader, and display his head in the capital to pacify the people.”
The emperor glanced at the Crown Prince, then shifted his tone and asked, “Some days ago, Gu Qing went to Xuanzhou. I heard he arrested all the officials there. Has the investigation concluded?”
Gu Wenchuan stepped forward holding the court tablet and bowed his head, responding, “Your Majesty, the matter has been thoroughly investigated, and I am preparing to submit a detailed report.”
“Then present it at today’s court session.”
“Yes.”
Gu Wenchuan lowered his head and said, “Last year, the national treasury was depleted, so the Ministry of Revenue proposed an additional tax. The tax was supposed to be two hundred coins per household to be forwarded to the court. However, by the time it reached Xuanzhou, the amount had been raised to five hundred coins.”
“More outrageously, in Shidai County under Xuanzhou, the tax was extorted up to eight hundred coins. In Hexi Village of Shidai County, the tax was added to one guan. Villagers unable to pay were threatened with the sale of their family members by the tax collectors.”
“This led to a conflict.”
“The villagers of Hexi killed the county magistrate of Shidai. Afterwards, Xuanzhou’s governor Tian Jing and his deputy Cao Rong, to cover up the scandal, surrounded Hexi Village and burned it to ashes.”
“This is how the so-called Hexi bandits came to roam the area.”
Gu Wenchuan said gravely, “Your Majesty, the Xuanzhou incident is profoundly sobering. You are benevolent and do not wish to burden the people with heavy taxes, yet local officials are insatiably greedy. The administration is in utter chaos. If drastic reforms are not enacted, the tax scandal in Xuanzhou will not be an isolated case.”
“Furthermore!”
At this point, Gu Wenchuan’s tone became impassioned. He looked at the Crown Prince, then at Pei Yan, who stood at the back of the court, and said coldly, “Before I went to Xuanzhou, Your Majesty had already sent Pei Shaoqing there due to the Shidai incident. Why, upon his return, did Pei only report the rebellion in Shidai County but never mention the exorbitant taxes?”
The emperor’s gaze turned to Pei Yan. Pei could only step forward, hold the court tablet, kneel before the emperor, lower his head, and kowtow, saying, “Your Majesty, I was negligent. Upon arriving in Xuanzhou, I was deceived by the local officials. I am guilty.”
The emperor looked first at the Crown Prince, then a faint, nearly imperceptible smile appeared at the corner of his mouth before he resumed a solemn tone and slowly said, “As an imperial envoy, Pei Qing was sent to inspect the region on my behalf. To be so careless is unforgivable. Crown Prince.”
The Crown Prince stepped forward again, glanced at Gu Wenchuan, then lowered his head and said, “I am here.”
“What do you think should be done?”
The Crown Prince replied solemnly, “The officials in Xuanzhou have committed unforgivable crimes and should be severely punished. As for Pei Yan, he is young and less experienced than Inspector Gu. I believe he may… be treated more leniently.”
“To be an imperial envoy and yet so negligent.”
Page (2/3)
The emperor frowned and said, “To have allowed myself to be deceived by the corrupt officials of Xuanzhou is no small fault. Considering this is his first offense, and with the Crown Prince’s plea, Pei Yan.”
Pei Yan knelt, kowtowing deeply and said, “I accept Your Majesty’s judgment.”
“Demote him two ranks, cut his salary for three years, but keep him in his post. Do you accept?”
Pei Yan kowtowed again, “I accept, Your Majesty’s wisdom.”
The emperor nodded, stood up, and said calmly, “The Xuanzhou officials shall be handed over to the Ministry of Punishments for trial. Report the results to me as soon as possible. Today’s court session is adjourned…”
Before he could finish, Prime Minister Wang Du, mustering courage, spoke up, “Your Majesty, regarding the Yuezhou rebels, what is the plan…”
The emperor, having been ready to dismiss the court, frowned and said, “Didn’t the Crown Prince already say to dispatch troops to quell them?”
Wang Du bowed again, “May I ask Your Majesty, from which route should the troops be sent, and who shall lead them?”
“Those matters you must discuss among yourselves. When you reach a decision, submit a memorial to me.”
The emperor turned his back, walked down the imperial dais, stopped, glanced at the gathered officials, and said, “With enemies surrounding us, the capital’s elite troops must not be deployed.”
He said no more, turned his back, and left.
Gu Wenchuan looked anxious and was about to speak further but was pulled back firmly by an elder.
“Vice Censor, this…” Gu Wenchuan’s face turned ashen, “Such a great matter, how can it be… how can it be…”
How could it be so lightly dismissed!
The elder, a censor, shook his head slightly and whispered, “Do not be anxious.”
The Crown Prince, watching Gu Wenchuan and the censor, smiled faintly and, with hands behind his back, prepared to leave as well.
Prime Minister Wang Du stepped forward and stopped him, bowing, “Your Highness, the matter in Yuezhou is indeed urgent. The court has yet to decide on a plan. Should the rebels grow stronger, it will be uncontrollable.”
The Crown Prince’s expression remained calm.
“Father has already said the elite troops must not be moved. This is sound reasoning. First, to protect the capital’s safety; second, the long distance would make it unsuitable for the elite troops to march.”
“It’s merely a local uprising. Zheng Qi is incompetent. We should send someone knowledgeable in military affairs to raise troops locally to suppress the rebels.”
He glanced at the officials of the Censorate, narrowed his eyes, and with hands behind his back, left.
Wang Du stood silently, watching the Crown Prince depart, not speaking for a long time.
Prime Minister Cui Yuan quietly approached, looked at the worried Wang Du, and smiled, “Brother Daqi, court affairs cannot be rushed, yet not too slow either. Although the Yuezhou matter is troublesome, it is far from beyond control. Do not be anxious.”
Wang Du took a deep breath, looked back at Cui Yuan, then glanced at the group of officials from the Censorate whispering together, and sighed deeply, “Minister Cui, a local rebellion involves the very foundation of the realm. How can we afford to be so negligent?”
“On the contrary, the Xuanzhou affair is minor. Today’s court session did not discuss the main matters and instead talked about these trifling issues!”
Cui Yuan looked at Gu Wenchuan and the other censors, frowned slightly, and said, “Brother Daqi, this is no small matter. It may involve even more fundamental affairs of the realm.”
He turned toward the now empty imperial throne and shook his head slightly, “Our emperor is too clever. Dealing with someone too clever is never easy.”
He patted Wang Du on the shoulder and smiled, “Come, let us return and discuss. We must select a suitable candidate to dispatch to the Yuezhou area promptly.”
Page (3/3)
Wang Du sighed and followed behind, asking, “After the New Year, didn’t the court send a recruiter to the Xuanzhou area? Perhaps we should send him a message by urgent courier for him to begin raising troops locally.”
Cui Yuan shook his head, “Fan Zhao is a civil official, unfamiliar with military affairs.”
“He is only responsible for recruiting troops. The court will appoint someone else to lead them.”
Cui Yuan considered this and nodded, “That is feasible. We will discuss further.”
Wang Du looked at Cui Yuan and slowly said, “Is Minister Cui’s nephew the administrator of Xuanzhou? It is not far from Yuezhou. Perhaps he can assist in this matter?”
Cui Yuan’s expression was calm.
“Once he is in the region, he is a subject of the Great Zhou, not anyone’s nephew. Since he happens to be there, let him help.”
Wang Du nodded first, then shook his head with a sigh.
“Problems everywhere, left and right, always struggling.”
Cui Yuan said quietly, “We prime ministers do the work of patching the holes. It is what must be done.”
“Brother Daqi, after doing this long enough, you will get used to it.”
…
Tianmu Mountain.
Li Yun sat in a chair, studying some geographical maps hidden in the Tianmu Mountain stronghold.
These maps were drawn by locals—crude but sometimes more accurate.
He was engrossed when Li Zheng came running up, panting, and said, “Second Brother, someone is coming up the mountain!”
Li Yun put down the map and looked at Li Zheng with some excitement, “Is that Bai Qi returning?”
“Probably.”
Li Zheng continued, “But he didn’t come alone—he brought twenty or so people with him.”
Li Yun stood, reached for his wolf-tooth club, and said slowly, “It seems he fears he cannot control the entire stronghold alone and has brought reinforcements from Yuezhou.”
“Let’s go.”
Li Yun rose tall.
“Go meet them!”
(End of chapter)
Page (3/3)