Chapter 97: From Merchants to Ministers—All Fall

Wei Lan led the remaining soldiers directly to the capital magistrate’s office.

The guards at the gate saw so many soldiers in armor approaching, and their faces turned pale with fright.

 

Wei Lan didn’t even dismount.

She signaled to Xi Ye.

Xi Ye immediately understood, dismounted, and led a group of soldiers charging into the capital magistrate’s office.

“The Prince of Ning is conducting an investigation.

All bystanders, step aside.”

As she spoke, Xi Ye grabbed a guard at the gate and asked, “Where is Qin Tai?”

“The clerk is in the study discussing matters with the magistrate.”

The guard said tremblingly.

“Lead the way.”

Xi Ye said coldly.

 

The guard didn’t dare delay and quickly led Xi Ye and the others to the magistrate’s study.

 

Without waiting for the guard to knock and announce them, Xi Ye pushed the door open directly.

 

The magistrate saw someone barging in and looked annoyed.

But when he saw the Fan family soldiers following behind the newcomer, he immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

He quickly stood up and went to greet them.

“What are you doing here?”

“Which of you is Qin Tai?”

Xi Ye asked sharply.

 

The man not wearing official robes quickly replied, “This subordinate is Qin Tai.”

 

Xi Ye waved her hand, and the soldiers behind her immediately seized Qin Tai.

 

Qin Tai was terrified and shouted, “What crime has this subordinate committed?

On what authority do you arrest me?”

“Less talk.

Men, gag him and take him away.”

Xi Ye, finding him too noisy, directly ordered.

 

A soldier found a dirty rag in the room and stuffed it into Qin Tai’s mouth.

 

The magistrate wanted to ask something else, but seeing Xi Ye’s unpleasant expression, he didn’t dare speak.

At the founding of the dynasty, it was best to avoid trouble.

Soon, the soldiers tied up Qin Tai and escorted him out.

 

Wei Lan sent a few men to escort Qin Tai back to the palace as well.

Meanwhile, she continued with the guards to make more arrests.

This time, she went directly to the Liu residence.

 

The guards at the Liu residence gate were used to throwing their weight around.

They thought the situation had already stabilized and they could again throw their weight around.

So, they didn’t take the newcomers seriously.

“Who are you?

Do you know our master’s status?

How dare you block the entrance of the Liu residence?”

The lead guard said arrogantly.

 

Wei Lan beckoned, and soldiers came over to pin those guards to the ground.

 

Xi Ye led a group of soldiers and charged inside.

“Where is Liu Wanli?”

“In… in the conference hall.”

A servant boy said, trembling with fear.

“Lead the way.”

Xi Ye said coldly.

 

The servant boy saw the soldiers behind her carrying spears and swords and immediately lost his nerve.

He walked ahead, trembling as he led the way.

 

They soon arrived at the conference hall.

Xi Ye kicked the door open.

The door crashed open with a bang.

 

Liu Wanli was inside discussing business with another merchant.

He was startled.

“Who?

Who dares to kick down my door?”

 

Xi Ye had already charged in with the soldiers.

“Which of you is Liu Wanli?”

“I am.

Who are you?

Dazhao has already been established.

You cannot break into private homes.”

Liu Wanli said with a frown.

“Break into private homes?

Let me ask you, who gave you the audacity to buy grain around the capital?”

Xi Ye questioned sharply.

“This is a matter for the court.

It is none of the business of you rough soldiers.

Besides, the court ordered the Ministry of Revenue to buy grain.

We are only following orders.”

Liu Wanli remained unperturbed.

“Is that so?

I hope you can maintain that attitude.

Take him away.”

Immediately, soldiers came to seize him.

“How dare you?

You poor, crude brutes!

Do you know who my sworn brother is?

He is the clerk of the capital magistrate’s office!

I was ordered by Minister Kong Qirui of the Ministry of Revenue to collect grain!

What crime have I committed?

You cannot do this!

You cannot do this!”

 

Xi Ye slapped Liu Wanli across the face.

Liu Wanli’s mouth immediately bled.

He tried to say more, and Xi Ye slapped him again.

 

The merchant friend beside Liu Wanli couldn’t stand it anymore and softly advised, “Can’t we talk this over?

Please… please don’t resort to violence.”

“Men, seal off the Liu residence.

No one inside is to leave without orders.”

Xi Ye continued to instruct.

“Yes.”

The soldiers quickly went to block the various gates of the Liu residence, preventing anyone from escaping or sending word.

 

Xi Ye led her men to the main gate of the Liu residence.

Wei Lan was still waiting on her horse.

Seeing them come out, she said, “Escort this man back to the palace as well.”

 

Liu Wanli was still defiant.

“Who exactly are you?

I collected the grain entirely on the orders of the court.

On what authority do you arrest me?”

“Is that so?

Which court ordered you to collect grain in the outskirts of the capital?

Rubbish!”

Wei Lan was also disgusted by these people.

“Kong Qirui, Minister Kong Qirui, have you heard of him?

He told me to buy the grain.

If you know what’s good for you, release me immediately.

Otherwise, you’ll be sorry.”

Liu Wanli’s face was swollen, yet he still kept talking.

 

Wei Lan was so angry she laughed.

“What a coincidence.

I’m naturally rebellious.

Releasing you is impossible.

Take him away.”

“Yes.”

Soldiers escorted the man to the palace.

“Let’s go.

Let’s go meet that Minister of Revenue.”

Wei Lan said coldly.

Compared to the small fry, these powerful big shots were even more detestable.

The Minister of Revenue was a high-ranking official of the second rank, managing the nation’s land, grain, taxes, and various fiscal revenues – an extremely important department.

And the head of it turned out to be such a character.

It was time for a thorough investigation.

 

Wei Lan directly ordered the soldiers to surround the minister’s residence.

She dismounted and walked towards the gate.

The guards at the gate stepped forward to block them but were pinned down by the soldiers.

“Where is Kong Qirui?”

Wei Lan asked coldly.

“How dare you!

What do you think you are, to address our master by name?”

 

Hearing this, several soldiers immediately beat that guard severely.

Seeing this, the others quickly lost their nerve.

“The master… the master is not at the residence.

He is handling matters at the Ministry of Revenue office.”

A servant boy quickly said.

 

Wei Lan nodded and instructed, “Send men to surround this residence.”

“Yes.”

Xi Ye immediately left a small team to surround the Minister of Revenue’s residence.

 

Wei Lan then took the remaining men and went directly to the Ministry of Revenue office.

When they arrived, Wei Lan dismounted and walked inside.

Xi Ye cleared the way ahead.

“The Prince of Ning is conducting an investigation.

Make way, everyone.”

 

When the guards at the office heard it was the Prince of Ning, they immediately became as docile as kittens.

“Where is your minister?

Lead the way.”

Wei Lan asked coldly.

“The minister… the minister is in a meeting with several officials.”

A servant in the courtyard said tremblingly.

“Lead the way.”

Wei Lan continued coldly.

 

Soon, the servant led Wei Lan and the others to a courtyard.

In the front hall of the courtyard were several desks, and several officials were discussing matters inside.

 

Wei Lan walked directly in.

These officials from the Ministry of Revenue had all seen Wei Lan during court sessions.

Seeing her arrive, they quickly stepped forward and bowed.

“Your servants greet the Prince of Ning.”

 

After saying this, the lead official asked, “May we ask why the Prince of Ning has come?”

“Kong Qirui, I heard you sent people to buy grain in the suburbs of the capital.

You have quite the nerve.”

Wei Lan said coldly.

 

Kong Qirui visibly trembled, then immediately retorted.

“Prince of Ning, we respect you as a prince of Dazhao.

But even a prince does not have the authority to arbitrarily pin charges on us ministers.

This servant has done no such thing.”

“Is that so?

Liu Wanli said he was acting on your orders when he dared to send people to buy grain in the suburbs.

You should know in your heart whether you did it or not.”

Wei Lan saw Kong Qirui’s face sweating, his guilty conscience evident, and she was almost amused.

“Prince of Ning, why do you say that?

Who is Liu Wanli?

This servant does not even know him.”

Kong Qirui knew the seriousness of the matter; admitting it would mean certain death.

He continued to be stubborn.

“Whether it’s true or not, His Majesty will decide.

Men, take him away.”

Wei Lan looked at Kong Qirui and said coldly.

“Yes.”

Immediately, soldiers in armor seized Kong Qirui.

 

A few officials nearby wanted to plead with Wei Lan.

During the Great Zhou, civil officials had always been strong and military officials weak.

The royals treated civil officials with great respect, while military officials were easily suppressed and looked down upon.

“Prince of Ning, Minister Kong is, after all, the Minister of Revenue.

Is it not somewhat improper for you to do this?”

“Yes, Prince of Ning.

Minister Kong is a civil official, after all.”

 

Wei Lan sneered.

“This is Dazhao now.

What’s this?

Are you two still pining for the old Great Zhou?

If your hearts are still with your old masters, then why didn’t you follow them in martyrdom when the army entered the capital?

Don’t mention the old Great Zhou’s systems to me here.

This is Dazhao.

Whoever violates the nation’s laws will be punished according to them.”

 

The two men were so frightened by Wei Lan’s words about martyrdom that they knelt directly.

The civil officials of the Great Zhou were a bunch of pedantic, weak-spined individuals.

A little harshness from you would scare them out of their wits.

“Prince of Ning, forgive us.

This subordinate spoke carelessly.”

“Yes, yes.

This subordinate spoke carelessly.”

 

The two quickly said, and as they spoke, cold sweat was already dripping down their faces.

“Take him away.”

Wei Lan said.

Then, Kong Qirui started shouting again.

 

Xi Ye quickly asked, “Your Highness, should we gag him?”

 

Wei Lan smiled faintly.

“No need.

A high-ranking official of the second rank acting like a common thug – it’s not us who lose face.

Let him shout.”

“Yes.”

 

With that, Wei Lan walked out, mounted her horse, and quickly rode back to the palace.

 

The people she had previously sent back for escort were still waiting at the palace gate.

Seeing them, Wei Lan said, “Bring all these people with me into the palace to see His Majesty.”

“Yes.”

The soldiers escorted these people into the palace.

 

Seeing Liu Wanli, Kong Qirui’s face was drenched in cold sweat.

He gritted his teeth and pretended not to know Liu Wanli.

 

Liu Wanli, on the other hand, had no time for Kong Qirui.

He saw his son being dragged by two soldiers, one of his lower legs already deformed.

 

Liu Yucheng shouted loudly, “Father!

Father, save me!

My leg hurts so much!

It hurts so much!”

“Sir, please, release my son!

Please release my son!”

Liu Wanli also wept incessantly.

His answer was the soldiers’ hard fists.

 

After Wei Lan had all these people kneel outside the imperial study, she herself entered first and bowed.

 

Fan Chuan quickly had her rise and asked, “There’s a commotion outside.

Has something happened?”

 

Wei Lan nodded.

“Mm.

I went to the outskirts of the capital today to see how the people there were doing, and I found people buying grain in the suburbs.

These people were buying grain in the suburbs at sixty wen per unit, then taking it into the city to sell at high prices.

They even said they were acting on the orders of the court.

I’ve arrested all those involved.”

 

Fan Chuan’s expression also turned cold.

She had executed several civil officials when she ascended the throne.

She didn’t expect these people to be so forgetful of the lesson.

“Bring those people up.”

 

Soon, the soldiers brought in the tightly bound individuals.

 

As soon as Kong Qirui saw Fan Chuan, he began to cry.

“Your Majesty, the Prince of Ning has flouted the law and arbitrarily arrested a court official!

This servant demands to impeach the Prince of Ning!

A person as lawless as her will surely one day disrespect Your Majesty as well!”

“Silence!”

Fan Chuan shouted sharply.

Then she signaled to Wei Lan.

“Prince of Ning, you will preside over this case.”

“Yes.”

Wei Lan acknowledged, then looked at Liu Wanli.

“Liu Wanli, your son was buying grain in the suburbs, claiming he had the court’s authority to do so, and that the Minister of Revenue was protecting you.

Is this true?”

“Your… this commoner…”

Liu Wanli was drenched in cold sweat, not daring to speak.

 

Wei Lan laughed coldly and cursed, “Fool!

Now that you’re before His Majesty, you still want to hide the truth?

Men, break Liu Yucheng’s other leg.

Liu Yucheng, it’s not this prince who wants to harm you; it’s your father who wants you dead.”

“Don’t!

Don’t!

Father, I’m in pain!

Please save me!

I beg you, save me…”

Liu Yucheng cried incessantly.

The next moment, his only remaining good leg was also snapped by Xi Ye.

 

Liu Yucheng let out a loud cry and fainted from the pain in the imperial study.

 

Wei Lan looked at Liu Yucheng and said coldly, “Splash him awake.”

“Yes.”

A soldier immediately brought cold water and splashed Liu Yucheng awake.

He was in so much pain he was barely alive.

 

Wei Lan looked at Liu Wanli.

“What’s this?

Still not talking?

Then I’ll have to…”

“Stop!

I’ll talk, I’ll talk!

I’ll tell you everything!”

Liu Wanli cried uncontrollably, interrupting Wei Lan.

“It was Kong Qirui who told us merchants to buy grain around the capital.

Buying grain from the suburbs and selling it in the city to the court or wealthy households doubled our money.

The silver we earned was split evenly with Kong Qirui.

Of course, if anyone asked, we weren’t afraid; we just said we were collecting grain for the Ministry of Revenue.

Your Majesty, this commoner’s words are true, every one of them!”

Liu Wanli confessed everything they had done.

 

Kong Qirui immediately panicked.

“Nonsense!

This official is a second-rank minister.

Do you know the penalty for slandering me?”

“Of course I know.

But everything I said is true.

The grain already collected, you had me record in a ledger, item by item.

That ledger is in a hidden compartment under my bed.

If Your Majesty does not believe me, you can send someone to fetch it.”

 

Fan Chuan nodded and instructed, “Go and retrieve the ledger he mentioned.”

“Yes!”

Soldiers immediately went to do it.

 

Kong Qirui still looked unconcerned, as if it had nothing to do with him.

He didn’t take Liu Wanli’s words to heart.

Doing this was dangerous; he had already avoided all risks and left no evidence behind.

 

The soldiers rode quickly to the Liu residence and soon returned with a ledger.

 

Wei Lan took the ledger from the soldier and flipped through it.

She looked coldly at Kong Qirui.

“Kong Qirui, will you still not confess?”

“This servant has done nothing wrong.

Why should I confess?

On the contrary, Prince of Ning, you have arbitrarily arrested a second-rank minister.

This servant wants to bring a lawsuit!”

Kong Qirui looked unafraid, as if he were truly innocent.

“The evidence is here, yet you remain so stubborn.”

Wei Lan scolded.

“Evidence?

Then may this servant ask the Prince of Ning, are the characters in this ledger this servant’s handwriting?

This servant will not admit to something I did not do.”

Kong Qirui smiled coldly, looking like he was enjoying the show.

 

Indeed, Liu Wanli immediately said, “Yes, the handwriting in this ledger is mine.

You were afraid of leaving traces that would implicate you, so every time you would have me copy the ledger you had already written, then tear up and burn your original.”

 

Wei Lan looked and saw that indeed, many pages had been torn from the ledger.

 

Liu Wanli smiled bitterly and continued, “But you knew doing this was dangerous, and so did I.

I also kept a backup.

Later, you gradually let your guard down and no longer inspected the ledger page by page, so I kept one page that you had written, and you never noticed.”

“Which page?”

Wei Lan handed the ledger over.

Kong Qirui immediately panicked and tried to grab it, but Xi Ye pinned him to the ground.

 

Liu Wanli turned to that page.

Wei Lan looked at it, then presented the ledger to Fan Chuan.

 

Fan Chuan glanced at it and confirmed that the page was indeed written in Kong Qirui’s hand.

 

Kong Qirui shouted, “No!

I still disagree.

Handwriting alone proves nothing!

What if it was forged?”

“Minister Kong, every time I went to your residence, your several personal guards were present.

They all recognized me.

If Your Majesty still does not believe, you can send men to arrest those people and interrogate them.”

Liu Wanli continued.

 

At this point, Kong Qirui’s guilt was undeniable.

Fan Chuan said, “Prince of Ning, this matter is entrusted to you for trial.

The Ministry of Justice will assist.

You must uncover all those involved.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Wei Lan said, then had these people taken away.

 

Over the following days, after being subjected to various tortures, all of them confessed.

 

Kong Qirui and the others were all executed.

Their severed heads were circulated among officials throughout Dazhao as a warning.

All their properties were confiscated, and their families were exiled to Lingnan.

 

After the verdict was reached, those capital officials who had been eagerly testing the waters all wilted again.

 

***

 

In the imperial study, the original three desks had been removed.

After all, Fan Chuan had now ascended the throne.

It was fine for Shen Lingwei to sit there, but it was clearly inappropriate for Wei Lan and Lu Zijin to sit in the imperial study.

 

Now, the few of them were sitting on stools, discussing matters.

 

Fan Chuan sighed and said, “These officials are already of the second rank.

What more could they possibly be dissatisfied with?”

“In the end, it’s because the Great Zhou was too lenient with civil officials, and its bureaucratic system was too bloated.

The most important thing now is to bring in some fresh blood and make those officials who do nothing get out.”

Wei Lan said.

 

Fan Chuan nodded along.

“The rebellions in various places have been mostly cleared up.

I will form another army of one hundred thousand to be responsible for guarding other regions within Dazhao.

These matters all require talent.

Those incompetent officials from the Great Zhou really can’t be used anymore.”

 

The reason Fan Chuan hadn’t moved against those people from the start was to stabilize the situation as quickly as possible.

Now that the situation was stable, new copper coins had been minted and circulated, the format of official documents had been changed, and the officials’ clothing had also been reformed.

Now was the time to make personnel changes.

 

After all, those old-timers had bled the people dry.

To fundamentally break the system, it was necessary to replace all those people.

Of course, things had to be done step by step.

This year’s special imperial examination was only the first step in refreshing the court’s blood supply.

“Your Majesty, it is also time to open the imperial examinations.

For the first examination of the new dynasty, why don’t you personally supervise the palace examination?

That way, the successful candidates will be the direct disciples of the Son of Heaven, essentially your own people.”

Wei Lan smiled.

“Good.

Then after tomorrow’s court session, I will issue a decree to open the imperial examinations.”

 

The few of them discussed for a while longer, and then Wei Lan and Lu Zijin went back to their place.

 

Wei Lan had been very busy these past few days.

Lu Zijin hadn’t had a good look at her little dog in days.

She hadn’t expected her little dog to be so intimidating in front of outsiders.

 

Seeing Lu Zijin looking at her, Wei Lan immediately hugged her tightly.

“Wife, I’ve been so busy these days.

Have you missed me?”

 

Looking at Wei Lan, who was hugging her and acting spoiled, Lu Zijin smiled and shook her head.

Little dogs are little dogs; they still love to act spoiled.

“Yes, my Prince of Ning has worked hard.

We’ll rest early tonight, okay?”

Lu Zijin said as she pinched Wei Lan’s cheek.

 

Wei Lan nodded, continuing to nuzzle against Lu Zijin, acting spoiled.

 

***

 

Because the severed heads of Kong Qirui and the others were circulated throughout the country, some officials behaved.

But a group of southern officials was very dissatisfied with Fan Chuan’s actions.

They believed Dazhao should also follow the Great Zhou’s example and improve the treatment of civil officials.

Otherwise, they would submit joint resignations.

 

The joint memorial was soon delivered to the capital.

Fan Chuan, who just so happened not to want to use those people anyway, took up her brush and approved them all.

 

Then, Fan Chuan proceeded to reform the bureaucratic system.

She merged departments with similar functions, immediately putting many officials out of work.

Fan Chuan had these people fill the vacancies in the south.

This way, those civil officials who had been causing trouble were directly unemployed, and the problem of redundant officials was also solved.

 

Of course, things were not so easy.

Those unemployed officials had originally intended to threaten Fan Chuan into improving the treatment of civil officials; they hadn’t truly wanted to resign.

When the emperor actually approved their resignations, these people started inciting southern students to cause trouble.

 

When this news reached Fan Chuan, she was furious.

If she weren’t the emperor now, she would have wanted to lead her troops to wipe out those people herself.

 

Wei Lan thought for a moment and said, “Your Majesty, why not leave this matter to me?

The southern officials are far from the capital.

They still fantasize that Dazhao will be as easy to fool as the Great Zhou.

In the end, it’s because no blood has been shed.

Capture a few of the ringleaders and execute them, and those people will immediately behave.”

 

Fan Chuan nodded.

“But the south is far from the capital.

It would take you several months to get there and back.”

“It’s fine.

Passing through Panyang, Zijin and I can go back and take a look.

The old residence has been abandoned.

I want to leave some people to maintain it.

Also, Zijin and I have been schemed against by Chen Zhou for a long time.

It’s time to go back and settle accounts with him.”

“That works.

Please be very careful, both of you.

I will assign you five thousand soldiers.

Pay attention to your safety.”

 

Although Dazhao had stabilized, those students, incited by others to cause trouble, still needed military suppression.

Fan Chuan only had a few family members by her side.

She naturally didn’t want anything to happen to Wei Lan and Lu Zijin.

But the situation in the south had escalated greatly.

Fan Chuan was afraid that sending other officials wouldn’t suffice.

Wei Lan, as a prince, could represent the emperor to deal with those people.

 

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