Chapter 1966: Still the Age of Comparing Flaws

At this moment, the Chuigong Hall seemed not to be in the Ziwei City of Luoyang, but in Shancheng of Shanzhou, making it hard to breathe. In two years, Emperor Liu's back had never been as straight as it was today; with both hands braced on the imperial desk, he stared fiercely at Wang Yucheng below the hall like a fierce tiger.

Wang Yucheng, however, wore a fearless expression, the wrinkles on his face spreading wide as he spoke eloquently, pouring out his views on the ills of the Western Campaign and the failings of the court's governance. His calm tone could not suppress his excitement—it seemed these two years had truly stifled him.

It was clear that Wang Yucheng's sharpest criticism targeted the court's "Four Levies" on the northwest—levying grain, levying horses, levying soldiers, levying laborers. These were "wartime policies" formulated specifically for the Anxi campaign. When the court originally devised them, it had considered the burden on the people and issued an edict that the Four Levies would temporarily replace the regular taxes.

However, the scripture was ultimately recited crookedly. As time passed, the so-called "Four Levies" gradually evolved into exorbitant surtaxes on top of the regular taxes. The people of He-Long in reality had to bear two sets of taxation, yet both were recorded under the name of the Western Campaign.

By now, on the basis of the "Four Levies," the "Four Corvées" had also been developed—the handiwork of some "clever" officials who actively responded to the court's call and engaged in "policy exploitation" under the court's decrees.

Under the banner of supplying the Western Campaign, they acted with reckless abandon. What was truly infuriating was that if even half of the resources squeezed from the people actually went to the Western Campaign, that would already be good. Where the rest went went without saying.

And the resulting suffering of the people, the grievances of the common folk—where did they point? At the Western Campaign policy, at the court, at Emperor Liu! The Western Campaign was, after all, something Emperor Liu had pushed through single-handedly.

Of course, the severity varied across the circuits, prefectures, and counties, depending on the moral fiber of the officials in charge. Wang Yucheng's integrity was beyond question, yet despite his many efforts to protect the people, the livelihood of Shanzhou's populace remained as dire as this. One could only imagine how much worse the scenes were under officials whose characters were not as resolute as his, and who had no bottom line at all.

Wang Yucheng even gave Emperor Liu an example: Zhu Qi, the Prefectural Administrator of Hezhou, had once said this to his subordinate officials: "The people suffer, but officials suffer more. Rather than both officials and people suffering, better that only the people suffer. Throughout the ages, when have common folk ever not suffered? However hard things get for the common folk, they can dig wild vegetables and gnaw on tree bark to survive. But if we fail to complete the tasks assigned by the court, losing our posts is the lesser matter—losing our heads is the greater one."

There was also a man named Zhang Jing, a Longxi administrator, who had once brazenly declared: "The supply of grain for the Western Campaign is a decree of the court; everyone in He-Long is tightening their belts. We officials are the most hard-pressed of all, squeezed from both above and below. To complete our assigned tasks, we endure humiliation and bear heavy burdens, working diligently and conscientiously."

"If even officials cannot survive, and we fail to complete the tasks assigned by the court, delaying the great matter of the Western Campaign, and the court's thunderous wrath descends—in the end, it is still the common people who suffer. Everything we do is for the people's good."

Because there were even worse situations, the current "bad" became acceptable. Zhang Jing's rhetoric perfectly embodied the principle of "comparing who's worse."

When Wang Yucheng raised these two examples, Emperor Liu could no longer contain himself. Rage surged straight to his head as he slammed his fist heavily on the desk: "Creatures like this—how dare they call themselves officials?"

In the more than forty years of Emperor Liu's reign, he had heard all sorts of strange theories and absurd arguments, but never had he heard anything like what Wang Yucheng described today—so shocking, so piercing to the heart, so dripping with blood. At the same time, it made Emperor Liu burn with shame and anger, and even stirred fear within him.

What concerned Emperor Liu most was clearly this: the bad reputation was borne by him and the court, while the benefits all went to those corrupt officials. This was a situation that could almost break Emperor Liu's composure.

After all, using the heads of corrupt officials to pacify the people and ease the contradictions of rule was almost the emperor's most adept method. Yet now, this very tactic had been turned against him by some northwestern officials—audacious beyond measure, reckless in their actions, unforgivable!

"Heh heh heh..." The old emperor let out some chilling laughter: "What in the world has happened to the northwest? In these ten years, the court has rectified things several times over—how can there still be such wolf-hearted, dog-lunged scoundrels who deceive the sovereign and harm the people?

They say poor mountains and harsh waters breed unruly folk. I say, it's not just unruly folk—it also breeds treacherous officials and thieving clerks!"

Unable to restrain himself, Emperor Liu began firing off indiscriminate broadsides. And whenever he made such thoughtless remarks, it meant the butcher's knife was about to be unsheathed.

"Those two dog-thieves you mentioned just now—who are they? The Prefectural Administrator of Hezhou? The Longyou administrator?" Emperor Liu asked Wang Yucheng with venom, his words dripping with murderous intent.

Wang Yucheng hesitated for a moment, then still clasped his hands and said: "To answer Your Majesty: Zhu Qi, Prefectural Administrator of Hezhou, and Zhang Jing, Longyou administrator."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Liu took out a sheet of imperial decree paper, picked up his brush and wrote swiftly. Then he raised his head and said to a palace eunuch: "Summon the guard on duty!"

"Yes!" The eunuch acknowledged the order and hurried out of the hall.

The eunuch's name was Ma Zheng—the one who, when Emperor Liu fell into the water last year, had desperately dived in and nearly drowned himself. For his commendable loyalty, he had been duly promoted, rising several ranks from a minor palace attendant to become a eunuch supervisor, attending at the Chuigong Hall.

Before long, a valiant and handsome young warrior entered the hall and bowed loudly: "Your servant Zhang Wenwei requests an audience—please give your orders, Your Majesty!"

Zhang Wenwei was the eldest grandson of Zhang Yongde, Marquis of Yangyi. He now served as the leader of the palace guard in the Inner Palace, with boundless prospects ahead.

Looking at Zhang Wenwei, Emperor Liu had no time to express his appreciation. He raised the handwritten decree and instructed: "Take this decree, go personally to Longyou, and act according to its contents—bring me the heads of those two beasts!"

Seeing Emperor Liu's somewhat ferocious and terrifying expression, Zhang Wenwei was slightly startled inwardly, but dared not show the slightest negligence: "Yes!"

With that, he stepped forward, took the handwritten decree from the eunuch Ma Zheng's hands, and was just about to set off with thunderous efficiency when a sudden voice interrupted him: "Hold on!"

The speaker was Kou Zhun. One sentence drew everyone's attention to him. Because of Wang Yucheng's memorial, Emperor Liu had indeed overlooked him. He turned his gaze and looked at him coldly: "Kou Zhun, have I been neglecting you? What do you have to say now?"

Facing Emperor Liu's piercing gaze, Kou Zhun's expression was grave as he clasped his fists and said solemnly: "Your servant understands that Your Majesty intends to send the palace guard directly to take the lives of those two officials in Longxi?"

"And what's wrong with that?" Emperor Liu said flatly.

Kou Zhun took a deep breath and replied in a low voice: "Your Majesty, what Administrator Wang has said is still only one side of the story. To dispose of them hastily without verification would be rash. Moreover, a prefectural administrator and an administrator are both high-ranking local officials with no small connections. Even if the two are guilty, the proper authorities should try them and execute them according to law, so as to win the hearts of the people..."

After hearing Kou Zhun's opinion, Emperor Liu chuckled twice, then sneered at Wang Yucheng: "Wang Yucheng, did you hear that? Kou Zhun says you may be making false accusations, and accuses me of listening to only one side. What do you have to say!"

Wang Yucheng glanced at Kou Zhun, then raised his hand and said calmly: "Your Majesty, every word I have spoken may be investigated. If there is even half a sentence of falsehood, I am willing to share the same punishment!"

Pausing for a moment, Wang Yucheng continued: "However, with all due respect, what Censor Kou has advised is most fitting. The state has its laws, the court has its institutions. If the state's legal system is broken because of two villains, it would truly not be worth it. I beg Your Majesty to think thrice!"

After Wang Yucheng finished speaking, Emperor Liu fell silent for a moment, his cold gaze shifting between Wang and Kou. He tilted his head and said softly: "Kou Zhun, these years as a censor within the passes have improved you considerably—you've even started instructing me on how to do things!"

There was a fair amount of sarcasm in Emperor Liu's words, but Kou Zhun remained composed and answered unhurriedly: "Your servant would not dare. I am merely following the teachings Your Majesty gave me years ago—to fulfill my duty as a minister, to serve the state with loyalty. That is all!"

"What a sharp tongue!" Emperor Liu said, taking another careful look at Kou Zhun, then drawled: "It seems the position of censor of Guannei Circuit truly wastes your talents!"

Having said this, Emperor Liu turned to Zhang Wenwei, who stood at attention awaiting orders, and said: "The handwritten decree is void. You will still make the trip to Longyou—escort those two villains back to the capital in chains. I want to see for myself what kind of people could utter such astonishing words!"