Chapter 296

The lingering prestige of the great victory was like a sword hanging over the heads of all officials, bringing supreme honor as well as unprecedented pressure.

Chen Wen understood well that in troubled times harsh measures are needed, and the new dynasty must establish its authority.

Relying solely on enfeoffments and rewards was insufficient to thoroughly purge the old dynasty's entrenched ills from this newly reorganized, complex state apparatus and make it run efficiently.

One must take advantage of the east wind of this great victory and, with an iron fist, carry out a deep rectification from the central to the local levels.

This arduous task fell upon the shoulders of the newly appointed Deputy Minister of the Gate of the Palace and equal to the Chancellor, Wang Ru, and the Duke of Jingguo and Deputy Chief of the Bureau of Military Affairs, Qian Gui.

One holds a clear mirror, hung high in the court, to oversee officials and rectify discipline;

The other wields a hidden blade, moving through shadows, to probe secrets and eradicate pests.

Their joint effort foretells that this rectification campaign will not be limited to superficial formalities.

The Edict on Rectifying Officialdom and Purifying Discipline issued by the Council of State was soon promulgated throughout the realm.

In the edict, with a stern tone it laid bare the officialdom's ills of complacency, corruption, and buck-passing, ordering officials at all levels to self-examine and correct themselves within a set deadline.

At the same time, it was announced that the Censorate would take the lead, jointly with the Ministry of Punishments and the Ministry of Personnel, to form a team of investigating censors dispatched to all circuits, prefectures, and counties to conduct both open and covert inspections.

Beneath this overt edict, Qian Gui's Inspection Bureau, like a silent tide, had already silently infiltrated.

An invisible great net woven from secret agents and informants was cast over every corner of the bureaucratic system.

Bian Liang, the Revenue Division of the Ministry of Revenue.

A chief clerk was leisurely sipping newly arrived spring tea, pondering how to use his authority to audit grain supplies from various regions to earn himself some 'hard-earned money'.

He believed his methods were covert, his accounts flawless, and as a veteran official with deep-rooted connections above and below, no one dared to move against him.

However, he did not know that his transaction with a certain grain merchant in a dark alley, and the wealth hidden in his cellar far exceeding his salary, had already been recorded on file by the Inspection Bureau's hidden agents and lay on Qian Gui's desk.

Hebei, a newly attached prefecture-county.

The magistrate, prideful of his 'ardent labor and great merit' in enforcing the land reclamation order, began to invent pretexts, levying 'settlement fees' and 'livestock taxes' on returning refugees, lining his own pockets.

He even secretly colluded with local strongmen, attempting to thwart the court's land survey, concealing vast tracts of ownerless wasteland for future division.

He thought the emperor was far away and the heavens high, and as a 'meritorious official' no one could control him.

Yet he did not realize that his every move was watched clearly by the young censors Wang Ru had sent out, disguised as refugees' relatives, and by the Inspection Bureau's informants planted among the county office's minor clerks.

Huainan, the hub of grain transport.

A deputy transport commissioner, exploiting his position, colluded with the grain transport gangs, privately raising the loss rate of grain shipments and falsely reporting ship repair expenses, thereby diverting large amounts of state funds into his own pockets.

He had built a tight network of interests, which he believed was as solid as gold and bronze.

Yet he did not know that Qian Gui's men had already infiltrated the lower ranks of the transport gangs, even bribing his most favored concubine to obtain a copy of the crucial ledger.

The storm brewed in silence.

The first to be pushed onto the storm's crest was that chief clerk of the Ministry of Revenue's Revenue Division.

One morning, as he had just stepped into the office, he was apprehended on the spot by bailiffs from the Ministry of Punishments and agents of the Inspection Bureau.

The evidence was conclusive, leaving no room for denial.

The wealth seized from his home piled up like mountains.

The case was personally overseen by Wang Ru, handled with swift and decisive vigor.

Within three days the verdict was handed down: embezzlement of military provisions, a huge amount, an unpardonable crime, sentenced to immediate execution, confiscation of property, and exile of his family.

On the day of execution, the market square of Bian Liang was packed with a sea of people.

When that head, which had once schemed how to squeeze out extra gains, rolled to the ground, the entire capital's officialdom was shaken.

This was not merely the execution of a corrupt official, but a clear signal: the new dynasty's emperor will show no mercy toward corruption! No matter what post you hold or what background you have!

Soon after, that 'meritorious' magistrate from Hebei was also arrested and brought to the capital.

Wang Ru, in the court assembly, personally read out his crimes before the assembled civil and military officials.

Item by item, the chain of evidence was complete and clear.

The magistrate at first tried to make excuses, but in the face of irrefutable proof he finally turned ashen and collapsed limp on the ground.

Likewise, he was swiftly convicted and beheaded as a public example.

The strongmen he had colluded with were also eradicated root and branch, their lands confiscated, and the ringleaders executed together.

When the news spread back to Hebei, the refugees who had participated in the land reclamation all clapped with joy, and their sense of identification with the new dynasty greatly increased.

The case concerning Huainan's grain transport, however, involved a broader scope.

Qian Gui remained composed, secretly laying his groundwork, and when the evidence chain was fully closed, he struck suddenly.

In a single night, that deputy transport commissioner and his several protectors within the transport gangs and even at court were arrested simultaneously.

Although the trial proceedings were somewhat protracted, the outcome was equally merciless.

The principal offender was beheaded; accessories, according to the gravity of their circumstances, were either exiled, stripped of office and investigated, or reduced to commoner status.

A massive worm of corruption entrenched in the grain transport line was thoroughly eradicated.

This rectification campaign was not smooth sailing.

During it, some officials attempted to collude in resistance, spread rumors, and attack Wang Ru as 'overly strict' and Qian Gui as 'fabricating charges';

also some officials, relying on their seniority or background, tried to plead with Chen Wen for leniency or to exert pressure.

However, Chen Wen's attitude was extraordinarily resolute.

He even, at a small court assembly, coldly said to the several venerable nobles who had come to intercede:

"In the Battle of Jinzhou, General Han Tong and tens of thousands of soldiers gave their lives for the state, staining the battlefield with blood."

"Their sacrifice was not to feed these worms, nor to let these vermin officials continue to suck the blood of the people!"

"If anyone thinks Wang Ru is too strict or Qian Gui is fabricating charges, let them go to the barren land outside Jinzhou and ask those heroes buried in foreign soil whether the peace they bought with their lives can tolerate these dirty dealings!"

Those words rang like struck metal, leaving those old ministers red-faced and retreating in embarrassment.

From then on, no one dared publicly to plead for corrupt officials.

With Chen Wen's absolute support, Wang Ru and Qian Gui worked in seamless unison—one in the open, one in the shadows—continuing to drive the rectification campaign forward.

Batch after batch of corrupt officials and redundant clerks were cleared out of the imperial court and local government offices.

The vacant positions were then filled through relatively fair performance evaluations and selections by officials who were more capable and more vigorous.

The officialdom's atmosphere was thereby cleared up.

Although it was impossible to completely eradicate entrenched malpractices, efficiency noticeably improved, buck-passing and wrangling were greatly reduced, and the implementation of policies became much smoother.

More importantly, this rectification campaign greatly intimidated those officials who harbored hopes of luck, established the authority of the new dynasty, and gave the lower-class populace hope.

When the final memorial summarizing the rectification stage was placed on Chen Wen's desk, he slowly closed it.

Outside the hall, the sky was already drawing near dusk.

The lingering glow of the setting sun filtered through the lattice windows, scattering upon the polished gold-tiled floor.

Within him, the heavy, settled Fortune Momentum seemed, like a bone-scraping detox, to have shed some impurities in this internal purge, becoming purer and more condensed.

Although the Growth Progress Bar did not therefore skyrocket, he could feel that the dynasty's foundation had thereby become more solid.

This laid a firmer foundation for his next steps, whether developing the economy or facing future challenges.

He knew that bureaucratic rectification was not a task accomplished in a day.

But this first step must be taken resolutely and thoroughly.

Now, the sword has already been swung.

Next, it is a matter of how to guide this completely renewed bureaucratic system to forge the true… Chen Dynasty's visage.