Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 940: Chapter 56: Prince Han Shouldn’t Have

Back to the story, with Marquis Wuping leading the opposition against the new policies of land registration of commoners, the state collection of taxes for public expenses, and other initiatives proposed by the Emperor, the curtain has finally fallen. However, this doesn’t mean that the implementation of these policies went smoothly.

The royal power doesn’t reach the countryside, and many local officials pretended not to know about these new policies of land registration of commoners and state collection of taxes. They thought that with the mountains high and the Emperor far away, they could decide whether or not to implement them, and the Emperor would never know. Unfortunately, they underestimated the Emperor.

The Emperor has always been aware of the local officials’ true colors and had long sent the Dragon Guards to keep an eye on various localities. Once it was discovered that a local official hadn’t implemented the new policies, the Dragon Guards would directly convict them and exile them to Lingnan.

Zhao Yao would always mention in his memorials to the Emperor that there were too few people in Swamp Prefecture. The Emperor would then exile these deceitful, two-faced, and inactive officials to Lingnan to add to Zhao Yao’s labor force.

Upon learning that the Emperor had directly sent trusted aides to inspect the implementation of these new policies, and that officials who hadn’t implemented them were exiled to Lingnan, other local officials were terrified and dared not neglect the policies.

The Emperor was especially ruthless, publicly announcing the local officials who hadn’t implemented the new policies during the morning court, and of course, their outcomes were also mentioned. This matter was even published in the court bulletin, making all officials across Great Zhou aware of it.

The capital’s officials felt fortunate that they honestly implemented the new policies and didn’t act hypocritically like the local officials; otherwise, their outcomes might have been worse.

Marquis Wuping and his associates felt immensely relieved that they timely and wisely decided to compromise. If they had continued to protest according to their original plan, their outcomes would likely have been dire.

However, what truly frightened the civil and military officials was that the Emperor had secretly sent the Hidden Guard to various localities to monitor whether the local officials had implemented the new policies. What was most terrifying was that these trusted Hidden Guards could discreetly uncover everything. Might there also be Hidden Guards secretly monitoring them from the Emperor’s side?

For a time, the hearts of the entire court were shrouded in fear as they speculated on whether there were indeed Hidden Guards always watching their every move. But later, upon reflection, they thought that if there really were someone watching all their moves, they would have long been demoted or even beheaded. Presumably, the Emperor only sent the Hidden Guard because the local officials were not properly implementing the new policies; thinking this way, the ministers felt much more at ease.

In the study of Prince Chu Mansion, Prince Chu was chatting with Yang Ling.

Yang Ling asked, "Your Highness, do you think the Emperor really sent the Hidden Guard to monitor the officials in the capital?"

"Father is not that idle to monitor every move and every word of the officials." Prince Chu believed that people thought the Emperor sent someone to monitor them because they had guilty consciences. "If Father really sent people to monitor and knew everything they did, could they still be doing well now?" With a number of ministers having questionable pasts, if Father really sent people to watch them and knew everything, they would have been dealt with by Father long ago.

Yang Ling stroked his beard, smiling as he said, "I do think the Emperor would indeed send people to monitor those noble families."

"The noble families definitely need monitoring, but not the other ministers." After all, the noble families are unreliable.

"Right now, many ministers in the court must be worried."

Prince Chu sneered, "Scaring them a bit is good, letting them know fear."

Hearing this, Yang Ling chuckled lightly and said, "There isn’t a minister in the court who doesn’t fear the Emperor, is there?" This episode just made the ministers fear the Emperor more.

"This is Father’s majesty." He was truly far behind Father in this respect.

"Prince Han shares this trait with the Emperor."

Prince Chu slightly raised an eyebrow as he noticed Yang Ling suddenly mention Zhao Yao, who was far away in Lingnan: "In what way is the Tenth Brother like Father?"

"Your Highness, Prince Han barely arrived at the Swamp Prefecture before he killed all of its officials," Yang Ling said, "I’ve heard that not long ago, Prince Han killed quite a few other officials from different prefectures as well."

Prince Chu was aware of this matter because Zhao Yao had been accused by the Censors because of it.

"Those officials in Lingnan have committed all sorts of evil, and the Tenth Brother is right to kill them."

"But, Prince Han didn’t leave even one alive; don’t you think that’s ruthless?" Yang Ling continued, "Previously, the Emperor also exterminated the noble families in Yangzhou and the officials of the Jinling Prefecture. In this regard, Prince Han resembles the Emperor a lot."

"Whether it’s Father or the Tenth Brother, they eliminated those who deserved it."

Yang Ling looked deeply at Prince Chu and sharply questioned, "If it were you, could you kill all the guilty officials?"

Prince Chu was taken aback by the question and then replied, "I would."

"You wouldn’t, Your Highness!" Yang Ling said with absolute certainty, "You would kill half and leave the other half. Though you would know their crimes were unforgivable, you would still spare half of them."

Prince Chu was rendered speechless by Yang Ling’s words. Although he had just said he would, if it actually happened, he might not pursue utter annihilation just as Yang Ling described.

"Your Highness, you would believe in sparing the multitude from punishment, while neither the Emperor nor Prince Han concerns themselves with such things. They think that regardless of how many officials have committed grave crimes, even if it’s thousands, they should be dealt with according to the law," Yang Ling stated solemnly, "Your Highness, this is your biggest difference with the Emperor."

"Sir, do you think Father shouldn’t have executed so many officials?"

"The Emperor did well, but I believe it’s unnecessary to eliminate all of them. It won’t do the Emperor’s reputation any good, and history will remember him as cruel," Yang Ling replied.

Prince Chu said, "Father doesn’t care about reputation."

Yang Ling asked again, "Could you be as unconcerned about reputation as the Emperor?"

Prince Chu pondered for a moment and said, "As long as it’s in the best interest of the people, I don’t care about reputation."

"Your Highness, take for example, the Emperor’s insistence on building the canal a few years ago," Yang Ling said, "The expenditure on building the canal is another matter; just the manpower required reached into the hundreds of thousands. During this time, many people died in the process, leading to discontentment among the people towards the Emperor. A few years ago, many opposed the construction, but the Emperor was insistent. If it were you, would you endure the people’s dissatisfaction and continue the construction?"

Just as Prince Chu was about to answer, Yang Ling said, "Your Highness, when you learned that thousands had died in the canal’s construction, you would soften your stance and cease the work."

"I..." Prince Chu wanted to say he would continue, but he couldn’t bring himself to lie.

"You’d stop, Your Highness." Yang Ling knew Prince Chu’s temperament well, "I remember Prince Han participated in the canal construction issue, suggesting to the Emperor where to build it, right?"

Prince Chu nodded slightly, "The Tenth Brother is quite adept at hydraulic engineering. His suggestion for the Yellow River in the past was also from him, so when Father wanted to build the canal, he consulted the Tenth Brother. Eventually, the Tenth Brother proposed constructing a canal from south to north."

"It’s undeniable that Prince Han is impressive, even excelling in hydraulic engineering," Yang Ling continued, "If it were Prince Han, he would persistently push for the canal’s construction just like the Emperor, regardless of the death toll."

Prince Chu did not refute Yang Ling’s words.

"Upon arriving at Swamp Prefecture, Prince Han embarked on massive construction projects, building docks, roads, taverns, and such. The local populace in Swamp Prefecture wasn’t enough, so he brought in exiled criminals from other prefectures for labor."

Prince Chu frowned slightly, "Do you think this is not good, sir?"

Yang Ling sighed, "Prince Han wants to develop Swamp Prefecture, but he’s too hasty. He just arrived and should focus more on recuperation rather than undertaking so much. The local populace of Swamp Prefecture cannot withstand such exertion from Prince Han."

Prince Chu had not considered this aspect.

"Your Highness, being different from the Emperor in this regard isn’t a bad thing," Yang Ling smiled, "You have a kind and merciful heart, which is a virtue." Unbeknownst to Yang Ling, the attribute he praised in Prince Chu was seen as a flaw by the Emperor.

Looking at Yang Ling, Prince Chu solemnly said, "Thank you for the praise, Mr. Xie."

Yang Ling ceased discussing this, shifting the topic to Prince Zheng’s impending return to the capital. A few days ago, the Emperor ordered Prince Zheng to return to the capital.

Prince Zheng was currently en route back to the capital.

"Your Highness, are you really not sending anyone to intercept and assassinate Prince Zheng midway?" If he guessed correctly, Prince Dai and Prince Jing had already sent people to assassinate Prince Zheng.

Prince Chu said with a grim face, "Letting him die on the road would be too much of a favor."