Chapter 318: The Officials of Xuzhou Swept Clean

"A great responsibility? A great achievement? A great headache!" Guo Wei stood at the gate, stroking his beard and muttering to himself. He looked back at the temporary palace gleaming with gold and radiating treasure-like aura, and let out a long sigh. His sharply defined face was tightly wrinkled, and the solemnity showing through it could not be concealed.

Guo Wei's mind was extremely clear—what was there to investigate in Liu Xin's case? The matter was plain as day; with him being so reckless and unbridled, what difficulty was there in verifying the facts? The truly difficult part was how to handle the sentencing.

The Great Han's imperial clan was truly not numerous in bloodline. Liu Xin was already a close relative, and moreover, this was the founding of the dynasty—to conduct such a high-profile judicial inquiry was extremely rare since the Three Dynasties. Even setting up a tribunal to interrogate a Military Governor was practically "sensational news."

In fact, whether considering Liu Xin's status as Imperial Uncle or as a military province, if the Emperor wished to punish or execute him, there would be no real resistance. This chaotic age was hardly lacking in foolish or tyrannical rulers. Yet Liu Chengyou was going through all this solemn formality to follow "procedure"—what was he worried about? Guo Wei had some guesses in his heart.

What he wanted was openness and legitimacy, proper justification. This was meant to be shown to the court officials, to the officials and people of Xuzhou, and more importantly, to all the Military Governors across the realm. Look—Liu Xin, the key stronghold of the Central Plains and the Imperial Uncle of the reigning dynasty, had been taken down. What about everyone else?

Make this case a precedent, and in the future, matters could be handled accordingly. As for whether it would arouse suspicion or doubt from others—that was inevitable. But more importantly, it was about deterrence; the imperial court still had that confidence now.

Moreover, if the matter was handled with proper justification, standing at the highest moral ground, the benefits would far outweigh the drawbacks. In this chaotic age, righteousness as a concept wasn't worth much—but when it was needed, it was worth a thousand pieces of gold.

Recalling the events surrounding Liu Xin's case today, Guo Wei had a sense that the Son of Heaven had long intended to deal with his Imperial Uncle; Zhao Li had merely triggered it. But thinking back to that hour of silent sitting after returning to the temporary palace, he felt something had been overlooked.

"Where is Liu Xin being held?" Having quickly sorted out his thoughts, Guo Wei asked.

"Reporting to the Chancellor, he is temporarily detained in the Military Governor's office!" Zhao Yanjin, temporarily assigned to serve under Guo Wei, replied.

"Guard him strictly! Hmm... do not humiliate him!" Guo Wei instructed.

Since Guo Wei had been entrusted with presiding over the trial, Liu Chengyou had assigned him auxiliary officials, including censors led by Zhao Li and investigators from the Wude Office.

Returning to his quarters, Guo Wei wasted no time and said to Zhao Li and the others: "You must have already made considerable preparations. Present all the evidence and documents—I want to review them!"

"Yes!"

Zhao Li and his men were not long-winded; perhaps having received instructions from Liu Chengyou, they acted very efficiently.

Before long, several layers of documents were stacked on Guo Wei's desk. Looking at the accumulated evidence, Guo Wei knew he would be toiling through the night.

Only after going through them did Guo Wei learn from the detailed records just how egregious Liu Xin's crimes were, and how thorough Liu Chengyou's secret preparations had been.

Liu Chengyou making the assembled ministers sit in silence was certainly not without purpose—in that brief hour-plus, Changshe city and its surroundings had undergone a dramatic upheaval.

The city was placed under martial law. Large contingents of the Fengchen Army set out, led by investigators under the Wude Office, following the clues to arrest Liu Xin's partisans. The prefectural officials, from the Military Governor's Administrative Assistant on down, were almost entirely swept up; of the several County Magistrates and county heads summoned, half were also taken.

As for the governor's yabing guards, Ma Quanyi directly surrounded them with troops, disarmed them, and had their officers concentrated in custody.

Liu Chengyou's strike was like a thunderbolt.

"Is everything under control?" In the inner hall, Liu Chengyou stood by the window with one hand behind his back in a slightly ostentatious pose, staring at the night scene outside, asking casually.

Behind him, Li Shaoyou, Xiang Xun, and Ma Quanyi waited respectfully.

Upon the question, Li Shaoyou took the initiative to answer: "Reporting to His Majesty, the officials of Xuzhou with suspected crimes have all been arrested by myself and General Xiang. Counting the several county officials, the total comes to thirty-two persons. They are all currently held in the prefectural prison!"

Liu Chengyou sighed slightly: "This is sweeping up the entire Xuzhou officialdom in one net! No unrest was caused, I hope?"

"Rest assured, Your Majesty!" Xiang Xun responded steadily: "Beforehand, I had already sent troops to place the entire city under martial law!"

"What about the Xuzhou yabing guards?"

Ma Quanyi's opening words gave Liu Chengyou a sense of reassurance: "The yabing guards in the prefecture, totaling over two thousand three hundred men, have been brought under control, and all their officers and commanders have been arrested. Chief Inspector Yang has led the Tieqi Army to rush to the various subordinate counties to seize the officers and gather the troops!"

"You have done well!" Liu Chengyou pondered briefly, then said: "I will say it again—you must ensure stability inside and outside the city!"

"Yes!"

"His Majesty is just and selfless, placing righteousness above family ties. As long as the news of the public trial of the Imperial Uncle is spread, the people's hearts will be settled. The scholars and commoners of Xuzhou will surely rejoice and forget their worries, praising His Majesty's wisdom!"

Only Li Shaoyou would dare say such things.

"Go attend to your duties!" Liu Chengyou raised his hand.

"Yes!" The three replied in unison.

"Cousin!"

"Your servant is here."

Liu Chengyou instructed: "Go and assist Chancellor Guo as well! When he opens court for the trial, you should also be present—listen and observe for me!"

As if rooted to the spot, Liu Chengyou stood at the window, barely blinking, admiring the night scenery of the courtyard. The moonlight was faint, the lamplight yellow, the view not entirely clear, but under the gentle breeze, the swaying shadows of trees were faintly visible.

He had originally thought that given Liu Xin's temperament, with threats looming, he might react rashly, and Liu Chengyou had prepared ample countermeasures. But as it turned out, he had ultimately not turned his narrowing path completely into a dead end.

At the Empress Dowager's residence, Liu Chengyou came at night to pay his respects.

Lady Li seemed to have expected Liu Chengyou to come and had even prepared some food for him. She asked: "I heard you've detained Liu Xin?"

Liu Chengyou replied: "To be honest with the Empress Dowager, Censor Zhao Li impeached the Imperial Uncle before the assembled civil and military officials. I had no choice but to investigate impartially to win the people's trust! Chancellor Guo always handles matters fairly—he will certainly not wrong the Imperial Uncle!"

"Before me, Your Majesty need not speak such high-sounding words." Seeing Liu Chengyou's overly serious demeanor, Lady Li's phoenix-like face turned stern as she cut straight to the point: "I have heard of this Zhao Li within the inner court. Though he is known for daring to speak frankly, how would he dare to accuse Liu Xin on such an occasion?"

Liu Chengyou's hand paused. He placed the half-bitten cake with a chipped edge back on the plate, took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands, and met the Empress Dowager's gaze with a hint of bitterness at the corners of his mouth: "Indeed, I cannot hide this from the Empress Dowager's eyes, nor from the eyes of those court officials—even the Imperial Uncle's eyes cannot be deceived!"

Lady Li said: "If Your Majesty wishes to do things with proper justification, why speak of 'deceiving'?"

"In this world today, doing something with proper justification is no easy matter. Especially something this difficult!" Liu Chengyou's tone was full of emotion.

Lady Li looked at Liu Chengyou: "I won't ask you about anything else—how do you plan to deal with the Imperial Uncle?"

His brow slightly furrowed, Liu Chengyou took a breath and deflected: "The crimes Zhao Li cited against the Imperial Uncle have aroused deep popular resentment."

"How do you plan to deal with the Imperial Uncle?" Lady Li asked again.

Feeling the pressure from his mother's words, Liu Chengyou paused, then replied calmly: "I have entrusted Minister Guo with full authority. We must await the results of his interrogation and handle it according to law!"

Hearing his answer, Lady Li sighed and said no more.