[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers":3,"chapter-restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-chapter-33":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Restoring the Mountains and Rivers",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2364302,4623,"Chapter 33: The Eunuch Faction","restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-chapter-33",33,"\u003Cp>The affairs of the Battalion Command were settled, and the outcomes for the convicted officials were publicly announced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aside from a few unlucky individuals targeted with remote exile locations, most fared relatively leniently, with the nearest exile destinations just a hundred li from the capital.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some officials were even exiled to places right outside their own doors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regardless, measured from the capital, hundreds or even thousands of li had been covered in exile distances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It should have been a universally pleasing outcome, but the eunuch faction acted disgracefully, dragging in vast numbers of the convicts’ families.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whole-family exile was standard practice; direct blood relatives within three generations were mostly named on the lists, and entire clans were even exiled en masse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Through these maneuvers, the number of exiled people reached tens of thousands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scale of collateral damage was rarely seen in Great Yu’s history.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had they not spared executions, this case could have ranked among the Great Yu’s Top Ten Crimes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The convicted officials naturally could not endure this outcome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially those whose entire clans were exiled—spit from their own kin could drown them; it was even more unbearable than death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The civil official bloc also erupted in collective outrage—this kind of play was simply too deadly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In officialdom, everyone suffers bad luck at some point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the past, exile applied only to the guilty official himself; who had ever targeted families like this? It was clearly deliberate torment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If we don’t help now, what if we ourselves fall into misfortune later? Will we not suffer the same treatment?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The court erupted in heated debate; under pressure from the ministers, the eunuch faction produced mountains of evidence and wielded the Great Yu Code as their weapon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The legal basis was overwhelmingly solid—all sentences had been mitigated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the early days of the dynasty, these men wouldn’t have qualified for exile—they’d have been beheaded on the spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The civil officials, always known for their sharp tongues, never imagined one day they’d be silenced and humiliated in return.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some things can’t be spoken of openly; just because everyone normally ignores the law doesn’t mean the Great Yu Code has no power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To deny the Great Yu Code is to deny the legitimacy of the court.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When political correctness is involved, no one dares publicly attack the law.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only way to alter the outcomes was another maneuver—amending the law.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reformists supported this; amending the law was itself part of reform.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the law was revised, ancestral precedent would be broken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ancestral laws must not be broken” became a false proposition; the conservatives could no longer invoke ancestral law, effectively clearing the legal obstacles to reform.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Given core interests, conservative officials naturally wouldn’t let the reformists succeed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then a curious scene unfolded in court: first, the civil officials united to denounce the eunuchs; then the reformists and conservatives turned on each other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Standing near the back of the crowd, watching everyone hurl insults, Li Mu became a contented bystander.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Throughout, it was the senior civil officials who did all the speaking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to the Great Yu Code, only officials of fourth rank or higher had the right to speak; others, unless granted permission by the Emperor, were to remain silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There could be no scene of sixth- or seventh-grade junior censors shouting at the Emperor—they didn’t even have the right to speak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Almost every court session involved civil officials tearing into each other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unless directly tied to their own responsibilities, military officers generally stayed silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The eunuchs suffered similarly, often seeing Zuo Guang’en forced into debates against a host of scholars, then driven into silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No wonder the eunuch faction was so eager to target civil officials—their daily humiliations in court would drive anyone to seek revenge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Court is dismissed!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The eunuch’s voice rang out; Li Mu knew it was another day with no resolution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the court reached a decision, the convicted officials had already begun their journey into exile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Protests were useless—they were under direct escort by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and dared not resist after barely escaping the Imperial Prison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The most tragic were the scholar candidates: they’d shouted in righteous fury, only to have their degrees stripped and be thrown into the exile columns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With so many convict families gone, the once-crowded cells grew quiet again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With ample funding from the Battalion Command, Li Mu ordered a new row of cells built; his instinct told him they’d surely be needed in the future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sir, a scholar candidate has arrived outside, claiming to be the private secretary you hired.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Secretary Yan reported in a low voice, a hint of envy in his expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though both served in the yamen and Yan held an official government post, his actual status fell far short of that of a private secretary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While Li Mu’s private secretary position remained vacant, Yan had performed much of the secretary’s duties, and his standing in the yamen had soared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even officials of official rank treated him with courtesy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that the real man had arrived, those good days were likely over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bring him in.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Mu said calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He no longer held the initial anticipation for this tardy private secretary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shaoxing was over a thousand kilometers from the capital; if traveling by land, the journey would indeed take time—but there was the Grand Canal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had personally asked his uncle to arrange that, once the man reached the dock, he’d be given passage on any official or merchant vessel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had he been earnest, he should have arrived in the capital a month ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that time, factional strife was at its fiercest, with officials frequently arrested and imprisoned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To arrive only after the dust had settled? He was clearly waiting to see which way the wind blew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chasing advantage and avoiding harm—this is human nature.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had he been in Li Mu’s place, with no clear picture of the situation, he too would have chosen to wait and observe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man would still be employed—but he must be tested first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This had nothing to do with loyalty; employment was a transaction, and one shouldn’t expect too much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The test focused primarily on political acumen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Great Yu’s officialdom, political acumen mattered more than personal ability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Political misjudgments due to information gaps were understandable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if one lacked political acumen altogether, no matter how capable, he could only ever be an advisor, never a chief strategist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, Secretary Yan led in a middle-aged scholar dressed in a blue round-collar robe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Student Lan Linjie bows before the Battalion Commander!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Lan Linjie could finish his bow, Li Mu swiftly grabbed his arm and replied with a smile:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Lan, you’ve kept me waiting long indeed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before leaving the capital, Master Ouyang repeatedly recommended you, saying you possessed extraordinary talent and lofty ambition!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Master Ouyang mentioned by Li Mu was his uncle’s private secretary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also a scholar from Shaoxing, he was a full generation older than Lan Linjie; after repeated failures in the imperial examinations, he had long since lost his ambition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Recently, numerous official vacancies had opened due to personnel reshuffles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He accepted the Marquis’s recommendation and entered officialdom directly as a scholar, appointed as county magistrate in a district under Tongzhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The position of county magistrate in Great Yu was no easy one; while it wasn’t unusual for a scholar to hold it, such appointments were typically in remote prefectures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Better locations were reserved for jinshi graduates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His posting to a district under Tongzhou clearly involved the Hou Fu’s influence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Ouyang has entered officialdom!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After initial surprise, Lan Linjie quickly regained his composure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Failing repeatedly in the exams and unable to endure their hardship—choosing officialdom was not uncommon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Theoretically, there was no age limit for taking the jinshi exam, but the age at which one passed directly affected one’s future career trajectory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A jinshi in his sixties or seventies might even be older than his own mentor; meeting would be awkward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if the court wished to cultivate him, they’d worry whether his body could withstand the strain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he died en route to his post, the Ministry of Personnel would be held accountable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1365,"2026-06-21T08:09:02.410Z",1,"Qwen3.5 397B","f467c492da4b9c31485a3452d1af077fd8721f18e82ec8fd120d22c12b3712b1","restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-chapter-34","restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-chapter-32",391,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Frestoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-cover.jpg"]