Chapter 313: Deliberating at Length

After the funeral rites concluded, they temporarily returned to the field headquarters at Yangdi.

Inside the field headquarters, in a spacious felt tent, two figures of no ordinary bearing sat facing each other across a table—the two chancellors, Vice Director of the Chancellery Dou Zhengu and Vice Director of the Secretariat Li Tao. Having just seen the late emperor to his final rest, both still wore mourning silk, and their faces yet carried a trace of grief.

Picking up his teacup, lightly shaking his head as he blew on the freshly brewed tea, Li Tao said in a mocking tone: "Brother Dou, look at today—before the late emperor's tomb, in front of everyone, Chancellor Yang wailed and beat his breast, mourning without end. Truly grief-stricken beyond measure!"

And in the court today, the former Jin remnant officials had basically already banded together. Among the chancellors, the conflict between Li Tao and Yang Bin was the most intense—their political views often differed, and their mutual impeachments and censures had been far from once.

"Didn't His Majesty say so? Chancellor Yang's loyalty to the late emperor is a sincere heart, commendable in its devotion!" Dou Zhengu said in a low, measured voice. He took a sip of tea, savoring it carefully—whether savoring the flavor of the tea or the meaning of the words, one could not tell.

Glancing at Dou Zhengu, Li Tao understood his meaning. He smiled faintly, knowing in his heart—indeed, this Chancellor Dou, though he usually kept a low profile, was perfectly clear about many things.

"What a pity, though—now is the Qianyou era of our emperor's reign. No matter how loyal one is to the late emperor, how could that win His Majesty's favor?" Li Tao's tone carried an unmistakable relish: "Under the Son of Heaven of the Great Han, there are none who may be trifled with. Such a simple truth—our Chancellor Yang seems not to grasp it!"

Hearing the sharp edge in his words, Dou Zhengu also let out a faint breath: "Those within the game are often not clear-headed enough. Chancellor Yang, a founding minister, is proud and haughty. Throughout Gaozu's entire reign, he held the reins of state, wielded power at the center, and no one dared cross his path. But in the year since His Majesty ascended the throne, personally taking charge of military and civil affairs and repeatedly applying pressure—with Chancellor Yang's temperament, how could he endure that!"

Li Tao nodded in agreement, eyes narrowing slightly as he fixed his gaze on Dou Zhengu: "Brother Dou, in the court, Yang Bin often leans on his power to bully and oppress us. My heart can hardly bear it. Last year I suggested His Majesty send him out to a garrison post—it was refused, and I was rebuked instead."

"Yang Bin is arrogant and obstinate, proud of his achievements, and constantly forgets his duty as a subject. The Son of Heaven has tolerated much of it. But the Son of Heaven's temper is fierce—can he endure one time, yet endure a lifetime? In my view, Yang Bin has long become a thorn in His Majesty's heart, urgently awaiting removal. If not removed, His Majesty will never rest easy!" Li Tao's tone carried confidence.

"What does Brother Li intend to do?" Dou Zhengu asked urgently.

Clenching his fist slightly, Li Tao lowered his voice: "Yang Bin shows no respect for the sovereign, despises his fellow officials, has lost the people's hearts, and even vainly attempts to control the court. His Majesty wishes to remove him—he merely lacks an excuse and an opportunity. I believe that we, for His Majesty, for the court, for His Majesty, should actively submit our remonstrances..."

Hearing this, Dou Zhengu's expression turned slightly grave. After thinking it over seriously for a moment, he replied: "This matter—we must deliberate at length!"

"What reservations does Brother Dou have?" Li Tao frowned.

Amid Dou Zhengu's low-key demeanor, a hint of cunning gleamed: "Since Brother Li has already seen that the Son of Heaven cannot tolerate Yang Bin, why should we add unnecessary trouble?"

"But whenever I think of the humiliation Yang Bin has inflicted upon us, my heart burns with indignation!"

Once Gaozu's coffin had entered the mountain tomb, Liu Chengyou sent a portion of the accompanying generals and mourning officials back to the capital bearing the spirit tablet to perform the repose rites, while Liu Chengyou himself led the main body and moved his entourage to Changshe.

Even though it was near the capital, the Son of Heaven's personal arrival was an extremely rare occurrence for the gentry and common folk of Changshe. The local officials naturally attended to him with great diligence, and Liu Xin personally led the military governor's subordinate officers, doing his utmost as host.

But it was quite obvious that the lower-ranking gentry and common folk of Xuzhou reacted with indifference to the Emperor's coming. Since ancient times, whenever an emperor traveled, so long as he put out his full procession, there was never a time it did not disturb the people.

"How dare he? How dare he?" Inside the temporary residence, Liu Chengyou made no effort to hide his fury, venting with a harsh expression: "As a clansman of the Great Han, my imperial uncle—how are his deeds any different from beasts, any different from bandits and robbers?"

"He actually had the nerve to do it—using the late emperor's and my name to lead raids on officials and people for private gain. This ruins the court's prestige, ruins the late emperor's and my reputation! I entrusted him with a regional command, and he commits such vile acts—how am I to face the wronged gentry and people? How am I to face the world?"

"He is cutting at the very foundation of the Great Han. Water can carry a boat, and it can also capsize it—no matter how crude a man is, can he not understand even this much?"

"Is he trying to drive the people of Xuzhou to rise up in revolt against the Great Han?"

"..."

Liu Chengyou rarely got this agitated. He paced back and forth before the imperial desk, spittle flying, his unrestrained voice making the tent curtains tremble.

Li Shaoyou kept his head low, maintaining a humble bearing, quietly waiting for the Emperor to vent his emotions. He had anticipated Liu Chengyou's fury.

Over the past several days, Li Shaoyou had widely deployed secret agents of the Wude Office, investigating deeply and probing carefully, conducting a survey of the situation in Xuzhou. Over nearly half a year, the Wude Office's influence had also spread through the prefectures near the capital. The investigation had not been difficult.

Of course, there was nothing that warranted much effort—Liu Xin's deeds were almost all out in the open, plain and clear, with hardly any attempt at concealment. Just like the military officers and officials who had tyrannized the localities for years, he had no idea what restraint meant, or what reverence meant. Moreover, Liu Xin had always acted under the identity of the imperial uncle.

Yet when his subordinates successively reported the situation up, even Li Shaoyou could not help but feel "admiration" for Liu Xin. His audacity was truly too great—bullying the good and honest, preying on the common people—those were the least of it.

Corruption and bribery, selling offices and titles—those were not even capital crimes. Acting arbitrarily in punishments, treating human lives like grass—those were everyday occurrences. The prefectural officials were used like dogs and horses; if they gave the slightest offense, they were abused like chickens and ducks.

But what truly stunned Li Shaoyou was this latest act—Liu Xin's plundering of the people. Cases like Guqiao town, where both sides had "reached an agreement" and tribute of money and silk was offered, were ultimately the minority. The more common situation was the yabing guards directly looting and seizing by force.

Robbing with banners displayed openly—Li Shaoyou was truly "impressed." Even sending troops disguised as bandits and robbers to plunder would have had less impact, let alone doing it under the banner of welcoming the late emperor's coffin and making offerings to the Son of Heaven.

That last point was what most "astonished" Li Shaoyou—to dare do such a taboo-breaking thing! He truly thought that having the identity of an imperial uncle was a talisman of protection.

Sure enough, upon receiving the report, Liu Chengyou's reaction did not surprise Li Shaoyou in the least.

Liu Chengyou was still venting: "Back in the Eastern Capital, for his cruelty and tyranny, his corruption and greed, his disruption of military morale, I demoted him and sent him out of the capital. I sent him to Xuzhou—I didn't ask him to be loyal and diligent, to nurture the people. Even if he idled and neglected governance, I could have tolerated him. Who could have imagined—not only does he refuse to reform, he has actually gone from bad to worse..."

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!" Noticing that Liu Chengyou's tone had eased somewhat, Li Shaoyou finally spoke up.

Taking a deep breath, Liu Chengyou sat down, staring at Li Shaoyou and demanding word by word: "At this moment, the common folk of Xuzhou must be full of complaints—the people are all blaming the court, cursing me as a tyrannical, benighted sovereign, aren't they!"

Li Shaoyou said awkwardly: "It hasn't come to that."

"Hasn't come to that? Hmph!" Clutching the memorial Li Shaoyou had submitted, Liu Chengyou gave a cold snort, then turned to Zhang Dejun and called out: "Summon Zhao Yanjin!"

Zhao Yanjin was on duty outside and strode in steadily: "What are Your Majesty's orders!"

Liu Chengyou's tone was urgent: "Take a squad of armored soldiers and arrest the Military Governor of the Zhongwu Army, Liu Xin, for me!"

"Ah?" Zhao Yanjin stared in shock at the cold-faced Son of Heaven.

At this moment, it was Li Shaoyou who stepped forward, speaking cautiously: "Your Majesty, after all, he is the imperial uncle. In your servant's view, this matter should be deliberated at length..."