Chapter 0286: What Underhanded Tactics Would Xie Chengze Devise?
After the Qionglin Banquet concluded, official positions were gradually assigned to the newly appointed scholars.
Bian Yangchun was dispatched to Yi Province, serving as a deputy to assist the prefect in handling administrative affairs. Gu Ying voluntarily requested to return to Yi Province and was granted the position of Judicial Army Officer. He would soon accompany Bian Yangchun back to Yi Province.
Jing Ze and others also secured official posts in the court and Jingcheng. Just when everyone thought the next event would be the coronation ceremony, the Crown Prince unexpectedly declared that he would observe a three-month mourning period for the late emperor, with the formal coronation to be held only after the mourning period ended.
Among the common people, it was widely said that the Crown Prince was exceptionally filial.
Only a few individuals knew the truth.
The Crown Prince was waiting for that person to return to the capital and witness his ascension to the throne in person.
However, the death of Prince Regent had already been publicly announced. In what identity would that person return to the capital?
Jing Ze and the others did not know, for the Crown Prince soon announced something shocking. Through divination by a revered sage, he had learned that Pingcheng was about to experience a massive earthquake. If no measures were taken, it would inevitably lead to nearly 300,000 civilians being killed or injured.
He demanded the Ministry of Revenue allocate 600,000 taels of silver for disaster relief to facilitate the temporary relocation of the people. He immediately issued an edict ordering the prefects of Dezhou, Yizhou, Xuzhou, Qingzhou, and other regions to educate the populace on earthquake preparedness and heatstroke prevention methods during relocation. He also designated key county offices in several critical areas and mandated that all civilians must leave their hometowns before the height of summer—some moving north, some west, and some south.
The court officials were in an uproar, clearly considering this an alarmist overreaction. After all, relocating 300,000 people was no small feat. Most crucially, if the earthquake did not occur, wouldn’t it result in a pointless loss of 600,000 taels of silver and even damage the Crown Prince’s and the court’s reputation?
The Crown Prince had already postponed his coronation for mourning, and the Imperial Jade Seal remained in the hands of the powerful minister, Shen Yuan. If the people were to lament and complain over this matter, how would the court save face? How would the Crown Prince justify himself?
“If what the Crown Prince says is true and this is such a significant event, why hasn’t the Directorate of Celestial Observation sounded the celestial bell?” one minister couldn’t help but question. This was comparable to the heavy snow disaster in the north around the New Year—how could the Directorate of Celestial Observation fail to predict it?
“The Directorate of Celestial Observation is not omnipotent,” Xie Jinyu glanced at the minister, his sharp gaze immediately causing the official to step back. “I am informing you, not consulting you.”
Shen Yuan, standing nearby, faintly felt that this rhetoric sounded somewhat familiar.
Unable to persuade the Crown Prince, the ministers couldn’t help but turn to Shen Yuan. “Lord Shen! Are you just going to let the Crown Prince act so recklessly?!”
This Crown Prince truly seemed like a different person since the late emperor’s passing—his actions and demeanor were utterly chaotic, showing no consideration for the feelings of his ministers.
For a moment, the officials found themselves missing Xie Chengze.
Although the Second Prince had a penchant for confiscating properties and stirring up chaos in the court, at least he was direct and dealt with substantive matters. Unlike the current Crown Prince, whose intentions were utterly incomprehensible. Merely looking at his expression was enough to send shivers down their spines.
Now, they could only pin their hopes on Shen Yuan. Even though Shen Yuan had been withholding the Imperial Jade Seal from the Crown Prince, he was the only one who could possibly restrain the unruly Crown Prince.
Unexpectedly, their last hope was dashed.
With his hands tucked into his sleeves, Shen Yuan spoke with a composed expression, “Your Highness the Crown Prince speaks wisely. The Directorate of Celestial Observation is not omnipotent. While we cannot blindly trust the words of enlightened masters, the newly appointed Baozhang Zheng of the Directorate has conducted extensive research on earthquake predictions. After thorough examination and comparison, he believes an earthquake is indeed likely to occur in the area.”
Of course, these words were entirely fabricated by Shen Yuan.
After all, these ministers wouldn’t understand the technicalities, and the Directorate held absolute authority in such matters. Whether the Directorate could actually predict earthquakes in the future was irrelevant—what mattered now was getting through this immediate crisis.
The ministers remained unconvinced, insisting they would only believe Pingcheng was truly at risk of an earthquake if the Directorate issued an official document.
As Xie Jinyu’s expression darkened, revealing hints of a tyrant’s fury that might erupt into shouts for executions at any moment, Shen Yuan rubbed his temples, growing increasingly nostalgic for Xie Chengze, who was currently recuperating far away in Jizhou.
How would Xie Chengze handle this situation?
Shen Yuan couldn’t help but recall the young man’s bright eyes, sparkling with cunning like a little fox disguised in raccoon dog fur, always full of wicked ideas.
If he were here…
He’d probably declare passionately: “This prince advises you not to covet the treasury’s silver! Otherwise, this prince might start coveting your family fortunes!”
Then he’d loudly proclaim, “Don’t believe me? I’ll dig up old accounts from your residences and have you all demoted to Pingcheng to see for yourselves whether this earthquake will happen or not!”
Ah, an idea had come.
Inspired by Chengze’s spirit, Shen Yuan gazed calmly at the ministers and asked, “Well then, esteemed colleagues, who among you disagrees with the Crown Prince’s decision?”
The ministers exchanged glances before several stubborn officials stepped forward. “We beg Your Highness to reconsider!”
“Anyone else?” Shen Yuan scanned the mutually observing ministers, repeating his question like an auctioneer at Liaozhou’s auctions. “Who else disagrees with the Crown Prince’s decision?”
A few more ministers stepped forward. “We beg Your Highness to reconsider.”
Shen Yuan nodded slightly before turning to address Xie Jinyu. “Your Highness the Crown Prince, with the new emperor’s ascension approaching in Jian’an, perhaps we should take this opportunity to thoroughly investigate these ministers’ family assets. Similar to how we dealt with the Second Prince’s faction previously, we could conduct a comprehensive review to resolve past instances of corruption and misconduct. Of course, I fully recognize these ministers’ contributions to royal affairs and their loyalty to the court. Therefore, we need not resort to extreme measures like confiscating properties or executions. Instead, we could demote them to Pingcheng for six months. When the term concludes, they may return to the capital upon imperial decree, serving the new emperor with renewed dedication to revitalize our dynasty.”
Upon hearing this, the ministers’ faces instantly turned ashen.
What in the world?
How could anyone possibly do such a thing?
They thought they’d seen the last of such dizzying, blood-pressure-spiking tactics after the Second Prince’s departure. But Minister Shen—you who were always upright and decisive—how could you resort to such underhanded methods now?
Anyone unaware might think the Second Prince hadn’t actually died and was secretly advising you from the shadows!
Shen Yuan’s approach was truly too vicious. If he and the Crown Prince enforced this through coercion or forced demotions, it would inevitably provoke collective outrage.
Newly appointed officials witnessing this would grow distrustful, privately wondering about their own fates should the court continue operating this way, gradually developing alienation toward their superiors.
The veteran ministers at court would be utterly disheartened, as if their sincere devotion had been washed away like water flowing eastward. After years of diligent service, they faced such unwarranted treatment—how could they not lose heart?
Factional strife within the court was already rampant. If ministers’ remonstrations continued to be ignored, the dynasty would inevitably decline, further eroding officials’ confidence in the Crown Prince. This would lead some to harbor treacherous intentions, potentially reviving incidents like the Sheng Shihai affair.
Thus, the peril of an emperor’s obstinacy was evident.
Yet now, Shen Yuan adopted an alternative approach: using “temporary demotion” to wipe clean the slate of the old ministers’ past corruption and misconduct, rather than resorting to confiscation, execution, or exile. This preserved their dignity and left no room for criticism.
Since no criticism could be raised, the method was deemed feasible. Feasibility meant they would be demoted to Pingcheng…
But if an earthquake were to strike Pingcheng during the peak of summer, wouldn’t they be left with no burial place? How would this differ from outright execution?
The newly promoted officials and those covetous local governors were all eagerly awaiting their early demise to vacate positions for themselves!
With bitter expressions, the ministers raised their arms in salute and conceded, “The Crown Prince is sagacious! We endorse the policy of relocating the common people!”