Chapter 201: The Storm in the Western Capital

Liu Chengyou was somewhat surprised by Shi Hongzhao's enthusiasm. He had originally thought he would need to expend some words to achieve his goal, but unexpectedly, without even needing to spell things out, Shi Hongzhao had taken the initiative to shoulder this task himself. Naturally, Liu Chengyou was more than pleased with this.

"Good, Minister Shi is truly a pillar of the court, a bulwark of the state, one who does not avoid danger and enemies, who is brave in taking on responsibilities and daring in shouldering them. I shall entrust this matter entirely to Minister Shi's discretion!" A string of flattering words flowed even more smoothly from Liu Chengyou's mouth.

"A pack of treacherous villains, vermin of the state — I can seize them with a turn of my hand and bring them to justice." Shi Hongzhao waved his hand, his tone impatient.

"With Minister Shi handling this, I can rest easy!" Liu Chengyou nodded and said, "I shall dispatch clerks from the Wude Office to assist Minister Shi."

"No need!" The moment Liu Chengyou finished speaking, Shi Hongzhao refused very bluntly: "My presence alone is sufficient."

Shi Hongzhao truly was the type who, given an inch, would take a mile. As for his arrogance, Liu Chengyou's expression revealed no reaction whatsoever, and he still said calmly: "Minister Shi must not misunderstand — I have no other intention. It's just that those minor clerks of the Wude Office have already made some headway in their preliminary investigations, and with their assistance, I imagine it could save Minister Shi from wasting unnecessary energy..."

Only after Liu Chengyou's careful placating did Shi Hongzhao nod in agreement, take his leave, and depart in a whirlwind of haste. Judging by his momentum, he was bound to stir up a major commotion.

Having Shi Hongzhao handle this matter could not be said to be ill-intentioned; it was merely a case of letting the right person do the right job. Liu Chengyou had not given any instructions on how to handle it, leaving everything to Shi Hongzhao's own discretion. And given Shi Hongzhao's usual crude and heavy-handed style of doing things, one could well imagine what kind of scene would unfold next.

After leaving the palace, once he obtained the list from Li Shaoyou, things became very easy for Shi Hongzhao. He directly assembled the four battalions of imperial guards accompanying the imperial entourage, and with Liu Chengyou's tacit approval, the commanding officer Ma Quanyi also very readily dispatched troops in support. Although Shi Hongzhao was still Chief Commander of the Imperial Guard cavalry and infantry, the foremost senior general of the imperial army, once away from the Eastern Capital, he could not mobilize the troops accompanying the entourage at all.

Soon, over two thousand imperial guardsmen, under Shi Hongzhao's arrangements, went about it with great fanfare, following the list — going door to door, making arrests, and confiscating properties. Such a huge commotion made everyone in the Western Capital turn their heads in alarm. Had it not been for the imperial army, under orders, strictly maintaining order in the city, people might have thought another mutiny had broken out.

Only afterward did they learn that Chief Commander Shi had received reports that certain officials and nobles had violated the law and committed misdeeds, bringing calamity to the region, and after verification confirmed the facts, he had therefore dispatched troops to enforce the law...

Such a justification was riddled with holes. If those people had committed crimes, there were the prefectures, prefectural governments, and the Censorate to handle it — why resort to military affairs, directly sending troops to arrest and enforce the law? It was neither reasonable nor in accordance with regulations. However, the Great Han dynasty of today was not one that paid much attention to rules, especially when Shi Hongzhao was the one leading the law enforcement.

Within three days, in the Western Capital, over forty officials and powerful magnates had been taken down, and not a single name on the list escaped the net. Before being thrown into prison, they were paraded through the streets of Luoyang, where their crimes were publicly proclaimed and their misdeeds enumerated in detail.

It could be observed that most of these people were old ministers and meritorious officials — and specifically the kind with terrible reputations, those who were insatiably corrupt and tyrannical. On the surface, Shi Hongzhao's purge operation appeared to be well-founded and justified.

However, the Western Capital immediately became restless, especially among the old remnants of the previous dynasty. Because if they reflected on themselves, they would find that they were not much better than those who had been arrested.

In the city, people were seized; in the surrounding countryside, troops were sent to seize their lands and occupy their estates. Most importantly, their peasants were released...

After this burst of fierce action, grievances filled the Western Capital, and nobles and officials alike felt endangered. Some officials directly sought an audience with Liu Chengyou, wanting to report Shi Hongzhao's "wrongdoings" and impeach him for his crimes — but unfortunately, there was no way they could get to see Liu Chengyou.

And this "rectification campaign," in Shi Hongzhao's hands, gradually showed a tendency to expand. It was not just the people on the list — as the confiscations gained momentum, he began to cast his gaze upon others. Whoever had much land, whoever had a rich estate — those became his targets.

"Chief Commander Shi, the corrupt officials on the list have basically all been apprehended and punished. It's time to stop — know when to hold back." In the capital's prison, Li Shaoyou found Shi Hongzhao, who was interrogating a criminal official, and said to him seriously.

Glancing at the prisoner who had been beaten to a bloody pulp, Shi Hongzhao's style was as intense as ever.

"Know when to hold back?" Urged by his words, Shi Hongzhao was first taken aback, then glared at Li Shaoyou: "Those bastards are dregs of the state, ruining the country and disrupting governance, bending the law and harming the people. I wish I could exterminate every last one of them — how can you speak of stopping? You need not open your mouth with superfluous words; just watch as I, the Commander, sweep these scourges from the state."

Shi Hongzhao was arrogant and overbearing in his manner, and Li Shaoyou's expression immediately darkened. He demanded in a low voice: "Does the Chief Commander intend to take down every official in the Western Capital? If you stir up public outrage and expand the situation, causing instability at court, how will you clean up the mess then!"

Hearing this, Shi Hongzhao grew angry as well and retorted: "Do I need a whelp like you to remind me how to conduct my affairs? What is your intention in speaking up to defend those traitors to the state — could it be that you are in league with them?"

As he spoke, Shi Hongzhao's gaze toward Li Shaoyou actually carried a hint of "suspicion."

Seeing this, Li Shaoyou no longer suppressed his voice. Reasoning with Shi Hongzhao was clearly a dead end, so he said directly: "His Majesty has issued an edict beforehand — you must not blindly implicate the assembled ministers!"

Who would have thought that even invoking Liu Chengyou would not sway Shi Hongzhao, who instead scolded even more harshly: "Ignorant and insolent whelp — you dare to use His Majesty to pressure me?"

Before Li Shaoyou could open his mouth, Shi Hongzhao continued: "What nonsense about not blindly implicating people — utter rubbish. I only know that evil must be eradicated completely! The edict I received contains no such clause. Are you perhaps twisting the Son of Heaven's intent, plotting treason?"

Hearing Shi Hongzhao's words, Li Shaoyou nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. He had known that Shi Hongzhao was arrogant and hard to control, but he had not expected it to reach such a degree — so utterly unreasonable, not even putting a royal relative and close minister of the Son of Heaven in his eyes.

As his expression shifted uncertainly, Shi Hongzhao seemed to have no mood to keep wrangling with him there. He called to his subordinates and ordered: "Someone, drag this fellow out of here for me!"

"Shi Hongzhao, don't go too far!" Hearing this, Li Shaoyou shouted in anger directly.

Hearing Li Shaoyou call him by his full name, Shi Hongzhao launched into another round of cursing and had his retainers forcibly drive him away.

After driving off Li Shaoyou, Shi Hongzhao wore a composed expression, utterly unconcerned. Who was Li Shaoyou, after all? Just a favored companion and playmate of the Son of Heaven — how dare he prattle on before him, Commander Shi, spouting nonsense and pointing fingers? He had simply brought humiliation upon himself.

Driven out in disgrace, Li Shaoyou was burning with rage.

"He has insulted me too far!" Li Shaoyou cursed angrily: "I knew this man was hard to control, but I did not know he was this hard to control!"

"Commander." Seeing his superior enraged, one of his subordinate personal officers asked in a low voice, offering a suggestion: "Should we report this to His Majesty?"

"Naturally!" Li Shaoyou replied immediately.

"Your subordinate will immediately prepare the evidence of his crimes." The personal officer said.

In the course of carrying out his work, Shi Hongzhao had certainly lined his own pockets plenty. Of the confiscated wealth, the seized lands, and the released households, a good deal had been pocketed by himself. He had also, incidentally, seized other men's wives and daughters as his concubines — taking mothers and daughters together, tsk tsk... Truly, he had no scruples whatsoever, and all of it had been recorded by the spies of the Wude Office.

Li Shaoyou stopped him, having already regained his composure. Glancing toward the direction of the capital's prison, he said: "He is acting on His Majesty's orders this time — these things cannot bring him down."

As he spoke, Li Shaoyou added with a cold laugh: "This base fellow sits atop a cauldron of fire and does not even know it."

"Moreover, with his arrogance being what it is, how long can His Majesty tolerate him!"

"Then what should we do now?"

"From now on, keep an eye on Shi Hongzhao and his relatives and retainers. Record in detail every crime and every impropriety they commit!" A heavy, sinister glint flashed in Li Shaoyou's eyes. There was naturally a vindictive streak in Li Shaoyou's nature, and the way Shi Hongzhao had humiliated him this time had truly enraged him.

"I still need to go to the palace. If Shi Hongzhao is allowed to run amok like this, even His Majesty's intervention might not be able to clean up the mess!" After thinking it over, Li Shaoyou sighed again, mounted his horse, and headed toward the imperial city of Luoyang.

As for the outcome of assigning Shi Hongzhao to handle this matter, Liu Chengyou had actually anticipated it in advance, so upon hearing Li Shaoyou's report, he was not too surprised. This man's law enforcement was characterized by violence and brutality. Back when they were in the Eastern Capital, with its chaos, Liu Zhiyuan had decreed that the three offices — the Imperial Guard Command, Kaifeng, and the Patrol Inspectorate — carry out rectification, and Shi Hongzhao's methods had been the most cruel and severe. Of course, the results had also been the best, but at the cost of making the court appear evil in the eyes of the people.

Hearing Li Shaoyou's report that Shi Hongzhao intended to expand the scope of the matter and continue making arrests and confiscating properties, Liu Chengyou's brow only furrowed slightly. Indeed, he had not drawn a red line for Shi Hongzhao, leaving him to act freely. But what Liu Chengyou was focused on was the fact that even when Li Shaoyou invoked his name, Shi Hongzhao remained just as arrogant as ever...

"What have the gains been?" After considering for a while, Liu Chengyou asked.

"Up to now, over a hundred qing of farmland seized, nearly four thousand hu of grain, over two thousand households of peasants released, and confiscated coin and silk valued at over a hundred thousand min..." Li Shaoyou reported, then calmly added: "These are all figures I recorded in secret; there may be discrepancies. As for the specifics, a detailed memorial will need to be submitted."

"Quite a substantial haul, indeed." Liu Chengyou remarked lightly.

Last year, when the Khitan invaded from the south and then returned north, they had nearly stripped the Central Plains bare. Yet in just over a year, these nobles, officials, and powerful magnates had amassed this much — their talent for accumulation was evidently quite refined.

"Your Majesty, Shi Hongzhao is arrogant and hard to control, with ruthless methods. If he is allowed to continue, I fear it will lead to instability among the people and unrest at court!" Li Shaoyou cautioned carefully.

Hearing this, Liu Chengyou pondered for a while longer, then said: "Wait a bit longer."

The truth was that Liu Chengyou had other plans in mind. Shi Hongzhao was doing too "splendidly" a job — since that was the case, why not let him draw a bit more hatred?

At present, a single edict from Liu Chengyou could make Shi Hongzhao stop and stabilize the situation and the people's hearts. But Liu Chengyou felt it was still not enough — the Emperor's intervention should come at a more opportune moment.

Let this storm in the Western Capital continue for a few more days.