You get Lu Bu as your starting character.

royal palace.

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

Zhou Chen sat upright on the dragon throne, looking at Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Xun Yu, Liu Ye, and Prince Zhou Zhan.

While taking advantage of the crisis in the Hundred Cities of the Great Wilderness to finish off those experts there, Zhou Chen sent Fang Xuanling and four others to take the opportunity to rectify the local administration and clean up any remaining hidden dangers.

Now, Fang Xuanling and the other four have all returned.

"How did your five ministers fare on this trip? Was it successful?"

Zhou Chen looked at Fang Xuanling and the other four and asked.

Prince Zhou Zhan was the first to step forward, cupping his hands and saying, "Your Majesty, although this trip had some twists and turns, everything went relatively smoothly."

“Those powerful families that showed signs of trouble have all been dealt with by this old minister.”

"Among them are dozens of powerful and influential families, led by the Song family of Lingnan and the Dugu family of Wushuang Prefecture. Some members of other families, such as the Wang family of Langya, also secretly contacted people from the Hundred Cities of the Great Wilderness and were captured by the old minister..."

King Zhou Zhan reported everything.

Zhou Zhan, the "King of the Mountain," was the leader in this cleanup of the remaining hidden dangers.

"Oh!"

"Has someone from the Langya Wang family also stepped forward?!"

Zhou Chen's eyes flickered.

The Langya Wang family was one of the seven great families before the Great Zhou Dynasty. Wang Yangming, the Minister of Justice, came from the Langya Wang family. One of the nine young ladies selected by Zhou Chen was also from the Langya Wang family.

Previously, the Langya family was very perceptive and sensible, and they cooperated well with the court's actions.

Unexpectedly, the surprise attack on the Great Zhou by experts from the Hundred Cities of the Great Wilderness also prompted some members of the Langya Royal Family to step forward.

Zhou Chen wasn't too surprised.

The survival rule of these aristocratic and wealthy families is often like this: they don't put all their eggs in one basket; they always bet on two or even several sides.

As for the powerful families like the Song family of Lingnan and the Dugu family of Wushuang Mansion colluding with people in the Hundred Cities of the Great Wilderness, Zhou Chen was not surprised at all.

Zhou Chen had previously killed the main figures of the powerful and influential families of Lingnan, such as the Song family. It would be strange if these families didn't harbor resentment towards Zhou Chen.

Furthermore, given Zhou Chen's suppression and weakening of powerful families, it's inevitable that these families will seize this opportunity to collude with people from the Hundred Cities of the Great Wilderness in an attempt to turn the tables and confront the Great Zhou.

Zhou Chen then looked at Fang Xuanling and the other three.

"Your Majesty, we are also doing well."

“We have investigated and arrested all the officials on the list, and none of them have escaped.”

Fang Xuanling and the other three bowed and gave their reports.

When Fang Xuanling and his three companions went to various prefectures, they claimed to be rectifying official corruption, but in reality, they were there to establish the authority of the imperial court and arrest people.

Jia Xu had already thoroughly investigated the situation of the officials in each prefecture.

Which officials are capable, which are not, and which are merely occupying positions without performing their duties—all of these have long been on the list.

Fang Xuanling and his men didn't need to put in much effort when they went to various prefectures. As long as the Eastern Depot sent over the evidence, they could simply check the list and arrest the people.

Otherwise, Fang Xuanling and his men wouldn't have been able to return to Luoyang so quickly to report back.

After listening to the report from Fang Xuanling and the other three, Zhou Chen's expression didn't change much. "Taking down those officials won't affect the normal operation of the various prefectural governments, will it?"

Zhou Chen asked.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, after taking down those officials, we have already made arrangements and promoted some capable officials."

"Furthermore, the Ministry of Personnel will immediately send people to fill any vacant official positions in the various prefectures and counties."

Fang Xuanling bowed and said.

Zhou Chen nodded; "That's good."

"You've all worked hard these past few days, you can all leave now!"

Zhou Chen waved his hand.

Fang Xuanling and the other four bowed in unison and said, "We take our leave." After they left, Zhou Chen fell into deep thought.

Reforming local officialdom is not something that can be accomplished in a few days or months.

Throughout history, any dynasty has needed a considerable amount of time to clean up and rectify official corruption, sometimes taking several years or even more than a decade to achieve results.

Zhou Chen was well aware of this.

Zhou Chen took advantage of the crisis in the Hundred Cities of the Great Wilderness to rectify the local officials, but he did not expect to clean up the officialdom of the Great Zhou and make the officialdom of the Great Zhou clean and honest all at once.

This requires a long time to settle and mature.

Zhou Chen simply wanted to first harvest a batch of incompetent officials, planting a seed for reforming officialdom.

Even so, Zhou Chen no longer needed to spend too much energy and time on official administration.

The seeds have been planted; now they await the passage of time to settle, slowly taking root and sprouting.
In time, the administration of the Great Zhou will gradually become more transparent and efficient.

……

After leaving the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Xun Yu glanced at Fang Xuanling and the others and said, "This time I went to Shu Prefecture and other places to investigate the local officials. In addition to those on the list, there are also many corrupt officials who are bad apples. I'm sure you, Lord Fang, have also discovered quite a few."

"These corrupt officials are not on the list. Why didn't Lord Fang inform His Majesty just now and bring these slippery fish to justice?"

Xun Yu looked at Fang Xuanling.

Fang Xuanling was the Minister of Personnel and a member of the cabinet. The Ministry of Personnel was responsible for rectifying official corruption and reviewing officials. As the Minister of Personnel, it was Fang Xuanling's duty to find and fill gaps in the system.

A fish that slipped through the net?

Fang Xuanling shook his head; "With the Eastern Depot in existence, what can be hidden from His Majesty? How can there be any fish that slip through the net?"

"Even we can discover the problems of those officials, do you think the all-pervasive Eastern Depot wouldn't know?"

Fang Xuanling glanced at Xun Yu.

Fang Xuanling naturally understood Xun Yu's meaning.

indeed.

In addition to the people on the list, Fang Xuanling also discovered that there were many corrupt officials in various prefectures and counties, and it would not be an exaggeration to call some of them heinous.

But Fang Xuanling didn't believe that the emperor in the Hall of Mental Cultivation wouldn't know these things.

The Eastern Depot was known for its surveillance of the entire realm, infiltrating every nook and cranny.

Within the Great Zhou Dynasty, what can be kept from His Majesty?

To be honest, their efforts to rectify local corruption based on the list were all based on evidence provided by the Eastern Depot.

But since these officials' names were not on the list, His Majesty must have had his reasons, so Fang Xuanling naturally didn't say anything more.

Upon hearing Fang Xuanling's words, Xun Yu said nothing more.

The people present were all intelligent; everyone could see the key point.

However, neither Fang Xuanling and Xun Yu, nor Du Ruhui and Liu Ye could understand why His Majesty had not taken action against those officials.

To put it simply, different positions lead to different perspectives.

For Emperor Zhou Chen, whether an official was corrupt or honest, as long as they could be of use to the court and solve problems for the emperor, they could be kept and employed.

Conversely, if one cannot solve problems for the court, let alone be of use to the emperor, what use is there in keeping an honest official?

King Zhou Zhan, standing beside him, spoke up: "The four of you should not dwell on these trivial matters. Right now, the Eastern Wilderness and Southern Frontier of our Great Zhou are under threat from the armies of the Great Yan and Great Yue dynasties."

"What are your thoughts on the battles in the Eastern Wilderness and the Southern Frontier, Your Excellencies?"

Upon hearing this matter, the expressions of Fang Xuanling, Xun Yu, and the other three all turned solemn and serious.

Although they had just returned to the capital, they had already known about the attacks on the Eastern Wilderness and Southern Frontier by the armies of the Great Yan and Great Yue dynasties.

"Talking as we walk."

As Fang Xuanling and the other four talked, they left the palace together.