Chapter 608: The Curtain Falls

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While Niu Cha was taking Jincheng, Ma Han gathered the Rich Clans of Sizhou for a banquet within the city.

After three rounds of Wine, he formally showed his hand to the Rich Clans.

"What! You want to defect to Yan Wang and become his subordinates from now on?" A Rich Clan member with a flushed face stood up abruptly.

The banquet hall fell deathly silent.

Another Rich Clan member stood up, "Is your Ma Family preparing to sell us out to Yan Wang?"

Ma Han had long anticipated that the Rich Clans would be agitated.

So he said: "That's right, our Ma Family has already made its choice. Only by following Yan Wang does our Ma Family have a future; otherwise, we will only be destroyed in these chaotic times."

After a pause, he said: "His Highness Yan Wang has said that as long as you are willing to voluntarily hand over your land and distribute it to the commoners, he will let bygones be bygones regarding your past. This is benevolent enough."

"A fine 'let bygones be bygones.' To think you want to take away the family assets we've accumulated—how is that possible!" A Rich Clan member snorted angrily.

"Ma Han, you had better think clearly. We don't have to follow your Ma Family. The world is in chaos today, and influential clans are recruiting soldiers and buying horses everywhere; they would be delighted for us to defect to them." A Rich Clan member looked at him with mockery.

Ma Han remained unmoved. He looked at the assembled Rich Clans, "I will only ask you one thing: who is willing to stand on the side of my Ma Family?"

After waiting for a while, five small Rich Clans stood up and walked to Ma Han's side.

"Traitors!" The other Rich Clans cursed one after another.

Seeing that the majority of the Rich Clans did not stand with the Ma Family, Ma Han revealed a look of disappointment.

Just as Yan Wang had said, these Rich Clans only cared about their own interests.

They would not consider the long-term future of Great Song, nor would they consider the long-term future of the Ma Family.

"Since that is the case, then don't blame me." Ma Han lowered his head in silence for a good while, then suddenly threw his cup onto the ground.

As the cup shattered, Dian Zhang led soldiers charging in.

"Lock them all in the dungeon.

From today on, confiscate all the land and property of the Rich Clans and distribute it to the people of Sizhou," Ma Han said.

Upon receiving his order, the soldiers seized the Rich Clan members one after another.

Amidst a chorus of curses, the Rich Clan members were escorted out of the courtyard by the Ma Family soldiers.

Dian Zhang came to Ma Han's side at this moment and said: "Head of the Family, the soldiers have finished assembling and can depart at any time."

Ma Han nodded. Next, they would thoroughly purge the Rich Clans of Sizhou.

"Congratulations, Your Highness. Now that Jinzhou is stable, Sizhou should be soon as well."

Yancheng, Council Hall of the Prince's Mansion.

Liu Fu bowed to Zhao Xu.

The news of Ma Han's break with the Rich Clans had reached here in just three days.

Zhao Xu smiled.

The Sixth Prince was dead, and Ma Han was currently purging the remnants of the Rich Clans in Sizhou.

Although this would still take some time, the war between the Ma Family and the Rich Clans indicated one thing.

Like him, the Ma Family was now formally at odds with the Rich Clans and had no path of return.

Next, they would engage in a life-or-death struggle with the Seven Great Influential Clans that were declaring their own states, as well as the powerful clans under their command.

"Jinzhou has been recovered, but we still need to send officials to govern it. I will leave this matter to you to handle," Zhao Xu said.

"Yes, Your Highness." Liu Fu was overjoyed. The territory controlled by the Prince's Mansion was growing larger and larger, and as the Prince's Tutor, he was naturally happy.

Zhao Xu nodded and thought of something. He said: "By the way, I intend to reform the official ranks of the fiefdom. Since the Imperial Court and the fiefdom's Government Office exist simultaneously, it would be better to merge them into one. I have already reported this to the Emperor, and the Emperor has agreed."

Liu Fu was stunned for a moment, then felt relieved.

The territory of the Imperial Court now was the territory of Yan Wang's fiefdom.

After Yan Wang rebuilt the imperial court, rather than keeping a batch of imperial officials just for show, it was better to use the resources at hand.

Simply have the fiefdom officials hold the titles and ranks of the Imperial Court.

In this way, although their functions had not changed much, they were promoted in terms of reputation.

Chuckling twice, Liu Fu couldn't help but ask: "Your Highness, what is this subordinate's official rank now?"

"Naturally, it is Prime Minister of Great Song," Zhao Xu said, "And from now on, do not refer to yourself as 'this subordinate'; you must address yourself as 'your subject'."

"Prime Minister!" Upon hearing this, Liu Fu felt so happy he was about to faint.

He had never imagined that one day he would become the Prime Minister of Great Song.

Although this Prime Minister's actual power was no different from that of the Prince's Tutor, in terms of reputation, it had almost reached the pinnacle of power.

"Your Highness, you are truly too good to this subordinate—no, to your subject. Even if I were to be a beast of burden for you in my next life, I could never repay you." Liu Fu was so excited his lips were trembling.

Zhao Xu rolled his eyes, "I don't need you to be a beast of burden in your next life; just do your best to handle matters for me in this life."

Immediately, he picked up a booklet from the table and handed it to Liu Fu, "This is the list of ministers approved by the Emperor."

Liu Fu took it and hurriedly opened it. To his shock, his own name was at the very top, corresponding to the position of Prime Minister.

Below that was Yang Feng, whose corresponding position was Grand Marshal, though it was noted as a titular position.

Below Yang Feng was Chang Wei, whose official rank was Zhenguo Great General.

Then, Prefects like Zhu Tuo and Commandery Governors were promoted to positions such as Ministers of the Six Ministries, Grand Court of Revision Minister, and Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial.

Mi Wen was promoted to the Censorate, and Xu Ke was placed in charge of the Supervisory Court, among others.

"These are the heads of each department. You can select the remaining officials yourselves and send them to me for review," Zhao Xu said.

Liu Fu nodded.

The official rank system was extremely complex and needed careful refinement; there were still many things for him, the Prime Minister, to busy himself with.

"Besides this, I intend to take advantage of this change in official ranks to carry out a reform of the officialdom. From now on, we will implement a separation of powers in every prefecture, commandery, and county," Zhao Xu said after a moment of contemplation.

Liu Fu was no stranger to this term.

At the Government Academy, Yan Wang had spoken many times about the separation of powers.

In truth, this meant dividing the former power of the County Magistrate into three parts, to be held jointly by three chief officials in charge of a region.

In this way, it could prevent a single County Magistrate from monopolizing power and doing whatever he pleased within the county where he served.

At the same time, these three chief officials would be rotated every three years and transferred to other counties to prevent them from becoming too familiar and colluding with one another.

These three chief officials were the County Magistrate, the Vice Magistrate, and the Supervisory Historian.

They were respectively in charge of government affairs, the apprehension of thieves, and the trial of cases.

At the same time, a special agency would be set up within the Supervisory Court, responsible for auditing local officials, keeping the County Magistrate in check, and reducing the corruption and degradation of officials.

At the time, when Yan Wang spoke of these things, he had realized that the administrative system of the fief would shift in this direction; he had not expected that this day would finally arrive now.

"Your Highness truly has a grand vision; after this reform of the officialdom, all of Yanzhou will take on a brand-new look," Liu Fu said.

In his view, this improvement to the Da Song official system would make the implementation of government affairs more efficient and professional.

The County Magistrate would be able to devote all his energy to the implementation of policies without being overwhelmed by all kinds of cases.

Only those proficient in Da Song Law could serve as officials in the Supervisory Court.

The Vice Magistrate would be directly under the jurisdiction of the Martial Marquis Office, and the chief official must be proficient in investigation and apprehension.

With the three parties each performing their own duties, they could bring prosperity to the region.

As the two were speaking, Feng'er reported that Yang He had arrived.

Zhao Xu vaguely guessed something, so he let Yang He enter.