Chapter 543: Look, we

"Not kill?"

Wei Zheng, blunt and outspoken, and with Li Shimin's promised spinach still not arriving, was already a bit irritable; hearing this, he instantly grew anxious.

"What are you joking about? The Ministry of Works is corrupt to this degree, and today His Majesty, in front of all civil and military officials, almost said it outright. If we don't execute them, how will the Court officials view it?"

"Oh! If we don't kill them, and future officials think they can take bribes without punishment, who could resist the temptation? Not using one's position to embezzle?"

"Lord Wei, look at you, so impatient!"

Chen Yan said slowly and calmly, "You haven't fully grasped my meaning. Whatever we do, don't we all have to consider the consequences? If we only care about immediate impact, it may indeed intimidate the officials, but wouldn't that be the end of it?"

"I want to ask everyone, in recent years, has His Majesty killed few corrupt officials?"

Chen Yan gave examples one by one: "Let's not talk about the distant ones, just discuss the fourth year of the Zhenguan era. When I was County Magistrate of Weinan County, the tax case that shook the Court—how many died? When the Yellow River flooded, how many corrupt officials did His Majesty execute?"

"In August, His Majesty's conflicts with the aristocratic families subtly intensified, and he found a reason to execute a batch; by year‑end the reckoning came, and, well, many more died!"

"The fifth year of Zhenguan, that is this year, corrupt officials have not been scarce in being uncovered, and likewise not scarce in being executed, right?"

"But does this thing kill cleanly?"

The rhetorical question left everyone in complete silence.

Indeed!

How can the world's corrupt officials be eradicated completely?

Even Chang'an and the surrounding counties are like this; farther places are even worse.

Many people become officials, aren't they all for wealth and fame?

No one is an exception!

When a person holds power, ambition naturally sprouts and expands!

There's a saying, how does it go?

"The prime minister's gatefront seventh‑rank officials!"

That saying actually has a lot of nuance.

Don't be fooled by Chen Yan's every visit to Du Ruhui's door; the gate attendants are all exceedingly respectful, as if they'd bend their heads to the waist.

But try it with someone else, will you?

If even a single gate attendant behaves like that, imagine the officials who wield power in the Court.

"You just said we should consider consequences when acting; elaborate, please."

After a while, Li Shimin said slowly.

Chen Yan thought for a moment and said, "That saying is easy to understand. May I ask everyone, the Ministry of Revenue previously uncovered eight or nine corrupt officials; when Han Zhongliang handed over the evidence and the people to the Dali Temple that day, he came to ask me and Lord Dai who would fill those eight or nine vacant positions."

"After all, everyone has their own duties; each person has their own official business, and having too few or too many is unacceptable!"

"However, the Ministry of Works' problem is far more serious; even a Ministerial Attendant of the Ministry of Works was involved!"

"I want to ask everyone, after you execute this batch, have you thought about who will replace those positions?"

Li Shimin fell silent; Chen Yan's thought, to some extent, coincided with his own.

His idea was to first thoroughly investigate the Ministry of Works and construct the Wen Ming Dian needed for the Imperial Examination.

Secretly dispatch Li Daozong to investigate the other Four Ministries and Three Provinces; when next year's Imperial Examination results are out, there will naturally be enough talent.

"Heroes in the world are like minnows crossing a river; when one batch goes down, another batch will naturally rise up!"

Wen Yanbo pondered, "We haven't reached a point where no one is usable; down below, we still don't know how many are still struggling in the mire, awaiting a day to emerge!"

"Ma Zhou, Li Yifu, Zhang Wenguan aren't the best examples?"

He somewhat disagreed with Chen Yan's words, so he deliberately mentioned a few names Chen Yan knows well.

Those three had indeed struggled at the bottom before, but each possessed considerable ability.

They simply hadn't been discovered, nor met suitable opportunities.

"Lord Wen, can you guarantee that the newly promoted individuals won't be as corrupt as the previous ones?" Chen Yan asked again.

Yet that question stunned Wen Yanbo, who shook his head and laughed, "Minister Chen is joking; I, an old man, cannot see into people's hearts—how could I guarantee they won't be greedy?"

"But I can guarantee, if we don't execute these corrupt officials, they will absolutely not dare to be greedy!" Chen Yan immediately replied.

His words startled everyone, their brows knit tightly.

After careful thought, their brows relaxed again.

"That… indeed makes sense!"

Changsun Wuji suddenly brightened, unable to contain his joy, "After today's encounter with His Majesty, the Minister of Works has been removed, and all civil and military officials know that His Majesty holds evidence of their corruption. If we do not deal with them, they will certainly live in fear thereafter, acting cautiously, doing things earnestly!"

"Because they fear! They fear His Majesty raising the slaughter sword!"

"Everyone in the world knows how His Majesty treats corrupt officials; the examples from the past two years are countless."

"So…" Li Shimin twitched his small moustache, staring at Chen Yan below, "You mean I first hold the sword above their heads, making them feel it could fall at any moment, yet never actually fall?"

"First use this batch, then after the Imperial Examination ends, wipe them all out in one go?"

"Your Majesty is wise!" Chen Yan clasped his hands, "In this way, aren't all problems solved?"

"First, these people are already familiar with official duties and procedures; the immediate priority is to build the Wen Ming Dian as quickly as possible. Killing them and replacing them with newcomers could even affect construction progress!"

"Better to use them for now, while secretly investigating the other Four Ministries and Three Provinces, and after the Imperial Examination ends, conduct an unprecedented purge of the entire Court. Then, using Lord Wei's method, His Majesty would only need to rage once—wouldn't that be better?"

Li Shimin: "......"

A good plan is a good plan, but could you stop mentioning the rage thing?

Do I have to rage?

"A single sweep..."

Fang Xuanling hesitated a bit, "Should we first see how many rotters exist in the Court?"

"If there are too many, cleaning out too many could destabilize the foundation of the Court and the realm, which wouldn't be good."

"Act within our capacity!" Chen Yan said patiently, "Seek an appropriate execution scale; the rest can be kept for now. According to the old method, just hang a sword over their heads."

「Moreover, everyone present knows clearly how important next year is; the Three Provinces and Six Ministries absolutely cannot afford any mistake, otherwise if something goes wrong, nobody can bear the responsibility...... 」

As the last words fell, the officials' expressions changed, and they rose solemnly.

「Li Shimin's eyes flashed with sharpness as he rose and spoke loudly: 'Zi An speaks sense; how important next year is, you all know it well in your hearts—I! will absolutely not allow any place to have problems!'」

"'Alright, no need for more nonsense; the minority follows the majority—those who agree with Zi An, or those who disagree with Zi An, let's start voting now.'"

Chen Yan wore a look of relief.

Our Er Feng is so easy to please!

Look, we're Zi An again!

「...... 」