Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 367 Joint Investigation by Three Judicial Offices: Eradicating Evil Completely!
September 11th, the second year of the Han Dynasty.

A procession bearing the banners of the Minister of the Imperial Clan Court, the Censorate, the Court of Justice, and the Ministry of Agriculture, marched into Chen County in a grand procession, braving the whistling autumn wind.

Upon entering the city, the leaders immediately straightened their clothes and went straight to the Chen King's Palace to pay homage to the emperor.

"Your subject, Liu Yu, Minister of the Imperial Clan Court, pays homage to the State!"

"Your humble servant, Zhang Zhao, Imperial Censor, pays his respects to the State!"

"Your humble servant, Guo Tu, the Chief Justice of the Court of Justice, pays his respects to the State!"

"Your subject, Zhang Hong, Grand Minister of Agriculture, pays his respects to the State!"

"Your subject, Feng Fang, Prefect of Chen Commandery, pays homage to the Emperor!"

"Your humble servant, Imperial Censor Huan Dian, pays his respects to the State!"

Liu Bian sat upright on his throne, his gaze slowly sweeping over the kneeling officials. A gentle smile appeared on his lips. He rose and descended the steps, personally helping the six officials to their feet one by one. Then he waved his hand and said in a calm tone, "No need for formalities, please take your seats."

"Thank you, nation!" the ministers responded in unison.

Liu Yu straightened his sleeves and took a step to sit down at the seat to the right of the emperor.

In terms of status, he was an elder member of the royal family.

In terms of official rank, he was one of the Nine Ministers with a salary of two thousand piculs of grain.

Only after he sat down could everyone else take their seats in turn.

Several people had already arrived inside the hall. To the left of Liu Yu, Wang Yun sat upright, while Yang Qi, the newly appointed governor of Yuzhou, sat next to him.

Upon seeing Liu Yu take his seat, the two men simultaneously bowed in greeting.

Liu Yu nodded slightly in acknowledgment, his gaze lingering briefly on the two of them.

The procedures for Wang Yun's transfer to the position of Attendant-in-Ordinary and Yang Qi's appointment as Governor of Yuzhou had already been completed at the Ministry of Personnel. The Ministry of Personnel had issued new seals of office to the two men, and they had completed the handover procedures. Liu Yu was aware of this matter.

At the same time, Feng Fang, the former Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, was also transferred, and the emperor appointed him as the governor of Chen Commandery.

In terms of etiquette, compared to the clasped hands and bows of officials of the same rank in the capital and officials of the same rank in the provinces, Liu Yu, a mid-ranking official of the second rank, only needed to nod slightly.

As for the rest of the people in the hall, those whose official rank was below the level of two thousand shi did not need to pay too much attention to etiquette and could simply nod to each other. However, Feng Fang, who was transferred from the position of Minister of Civil Affairs to the position of Prefect of Chen Commandery, was greeted with a bow by almost everyone, except for one person.

The atmosphere inside the hall froze subtly for a moment.

Feng Fang's daughter, Feng Yu, has been formally appointed as a palace maid with a rank of 1,000 shi (a unit of grain measurement) in the Emperor's harem by imperial decree issued by the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager has already sent a tutor to Feng Fang's residence to teach Feng Yu palace etiquette, in preparation for her formal entry into the palace after the Emperor returns from his campaign.

In other words, Feng Fang would later be considered part of the maternal relatives' faction.

Most of the people in the hall were former officials from the emperor's former residence when he was still a prince, meaning they were all members of the emperor's faction.

We don't need to become friends, but there's no need to easily become enemies either.

Unless the conflict is irreconcilable, bowing to Feng Fang is nothing unusual.

However, some people were unwilling to give Feng Fang this face.

Oh, it's Huan Dian. That makes sense.

Huan Dian was born into the Longkang Huan clan of Pei State and had a deep-seated grudge against Feng Fang.

The Huan family of Longkang had almost always served as imperial tutors. Huan Dian's great-grandfather, Huan Rong, was the tutor of Emperor Xiaoming and was appointed as the Minister of Ceremonies; his great-great-grandfather, Huan Yu, was the tutor of Emperor Xiaohe and was appointed as the Minister of Ceremonies; and his grandfather, Huan Yan, was the tutor of Emperor Xiaoshun and was appointed as the Grand Tutor.

Only Huan Dian's father, Huan Shun, was imprisoned due to the partisan struggle.

Feng Fang was born into the Feng clan of Fucheng, Yingchuan County, and was a direct descendant of Feng Yi, one of the Twenty-Eight Generals of Yuntai. Although his ancestors had lost their titles, they had long been a prominent family in Yingchuan.

Before entering officialdom, Feng Fang married the daughter of Cao Jie, a eunuch, and became Cao Jie's son-in-law. He was then recommended as a filial and incorruptible official and entered officialdom as a secretary.

At that time, Feng Fang and Huan Bin were both officials in the Ministry of Personnel, but Huan Bin made friends with Liu Xin, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Du Xi, the Right Vice Minister, while excluding Feng Fang.

Enraged by this, Feng Fang, with the support of his father-in-law Cao Jie, submitted a memorial impeaching Huan Bin, Liu Xin, and Du Xi for forming a clique under the guise of drinking parties.

Liu Meng, the then Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, protected Huan Bin and suppressed the matter without taking any action. Cao Jie, Feng Fang's father-in-law, was furious and impeached Liu Meng and Huan Bin for being "drinking buddies." As a result, Liu Meng, Huan Bin, and others were dismissed from their posts and imprisoned.

Huan Bin was confined to his home and became depressed. He died at home in the first year of Guanghe (178 AD) at the age of forty-six, without any children.

Huan Bin and Huan Dian both came from the Longkang Huan clan of Pei State.

Huan Dian's great-grandfather, Huan Yu, had six sons: Huan Pu, Huan Yan, Huan Yan, Huan Jun, Huan Feng, and Huan Liang.

Huan Dian was the grandson of Huan Yan, the third son, while Huan Bin was the grandson of Huan Feng, the fifth son.

The mutual suppression in the imperial court was nothing serious; it was just a political struggle. It didn't warrant enmity between the two clans; it was merely a personal grudge between the two parties involved.

Moreover, the various branches of a prominent family are not necessarily harmonious, but Feng Fang's political suppression unexpectedly led to the extinction of the fifth branch of the Longkang Huan clan in the family genealogy. This unexpected extinction of the fifth branch of the Longkang Huan clan was a taboo, even if it was not Feng Fang's intention.

The Longkang Huan family needs to give an explanation; it concerns the family's reputation.

Cao Jie, who took over as Minister of the Imperial Secretariat in the second year of the Guanghe era, was naturally unwilling to back down.

This matter involves more than just two families. It's a small matter that the son-in-law suffers a loss. As a eunuch serving as the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, he has already been the subject of much criticism. Naturally, he cannot back down now. Feng Fang's father's family, the Feng clan, will not allow the family to lose face.

The result was that your father, the Feng family of Cheng, was a descendant of the Twenty-Eight Generals of Yuntai, but my Longkang Huan family was also a descendant of the tutors of three emperors. The two families fought for many years.

During his lifetime, Cao Jie relentlessly suppressed the Huan clan of Longkang, and imprisoned Huan Dian's father, Huan Shun, at home for the second time.

After Cao Jie died in the fourth year of Guanghe, the Longkang Huan clan launched a counterattack, constantly reporting the illegal activities of Cao Jie's clansmen and the Feng clan of Fucheng, and initiating a campaign of righteous people to denounce them. Many members of Cao Jie's clansmen and the Feng clan of Fucheng were also arrested.

Even the partisans who were imprisoned due to the Second Party Proscription were working hard behind the scenes, so much so that the eunuch group also fueled the flames from behind. The struggle between the two sides turned into a proxy war between the eunuchs and the partisans, resulting in bloodshed.

The two families had been fighting for nearly ten years, losing many members on both sides, which caused their hatred to grow deeper and deeper, almost to the point of irreconcilable enmity.

Liu Bian took all of this into account, but pretended not to know, and looked at Feng Fang with a smile, saying, "Feng Qing, I have no complaints about my decision to transfer you from the Ministry of Personnel to Chen County as its governor."

Huan Dian's eyes were almost fixed on Feng Fang, his fingers unconsciously stroking the edge of his sleeve, and a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

He was waiting for an opportunity to make his move.

If Feng Fang dared to utter even the slightest word that revealed a hint of dissatisfaction, he would immediately impeach him for the crime of disrespect.

He knew that this kind of impeachment wouldn't do much damage to Feng Fang, but it would at least disgust her if it didn't kill her.

If the emperor dislikes that palace maid Feng, who hasn't even officially entered the palace yet, because of Feng Fang, well...

Feng Fang naturally noticed Huan Dian's menacing look and cursed inwardly. At the same time, he hurriedly rose from his seat, bowed, and sweated profusely, explaining, "I have absolutely no such intention! The state is going to take my daughter as a palace maid, which is already a great favor. How could I possibly want more than I have?"

Despite this, Feng Fang still felt somewhat disappointed and aggrieved, but dared not show it at all.

It should have been a joyous occasion for his daughter to be selected for the imperial harem, but she was suddenly transferred away from the Ministry of Personnel.

The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, whose official rank was 1,000 shi, was transferred to the position of Prefect of a County with a rank of 2,000 shi. Although it was a promotion, anyone could see that it was a demotion in disguise.

However, Feng Fang also understood that she was only of average appearance, and the position of Minister would inevitably have to be vacated for those younger people.

It is unknown how the emperor managed to recruit such talented individuals, but almost all the former officials from the Crown Prince's former residence were promising talents.

Liu Bian pointed at Feng Fang from a distance and said irritably, "Alright, don't pretend to be innocent after getting the benefits. The position of Prefect of Chen Commandery is enough for you to make the contribution to return to the Nine Ministers."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall trembled and exchanged glances.

The emperor's words undoubtedly confirmed their previous suspicions.

The Emperor is about to make a big move in Chen Commandery!

The officials in Luoyang were skeptical about the so-called "rebellion against the emperor to investigate the crimes of powerful families in Chen County." They wondered how such a good thing could fall from the sky.

But surely the Emperor's summons of them was not merely for the purpose of judging the traitors of the rebellious faction?
Therefore, although everyone had some guesses before they arrived, it was only now that they were certain of their suspicions.

Restoring the livelihood of the people in Chen County is simply a wonderful task.

The imperial court only cares about the results, not the process.

Chen Commandery was ravaged by war due to a rebellion, so the imperial court would naturally allocate funds and provisions to help Chen Commandery restore its people's livelihood and economy. Therefore, in the year-end evaluation, Feng Fang would at least get a first-class grade.

However, the political achievement of restoring the livelihood of the people in Chen County was not enough to allow Feng Fang to return to the ranks of the Nine Ministers. Therefore, the source of this merit naturally came from these lawless and powerful families in Chen County!
Otherwise, why would the emperor have gathered the Minister of the Imperial Clan Court, the Court of Justice, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Censorate all in Chen County?

Those who came to Chenjun this time were naturally not just the few people in the palace. There were eighteen people, including Cao Huandian, the Imperial Censor and concurrently the Director of the Imperial Censorate, and other minor officials of the Imperial Censorate; Wu Zheng, the Left Judge of the Court of Justice, Man Chong, the Attendant Clerk of the Court of Justice, and ninety-six other minor officials, including the Censor of the Imperial Censorate, the Clerk of the Imperial Censorate, the Literary Clerk of the Court of Justice, the Clerk of the Court of Justice, and prison officials and doctors; and Zao Zhi, the Assistant Minister of Agriculture, and fifty-nine other officials, including the Calculator.

Countless eyes turned to Chen County once again. The powerful families and noble clans of various prefectures and counties in the Central Plains were watching closely, while the powerful families and noble clans of Chen County were filled with anxiety and unease.

In stark contrast, the courtiers inside the hall were excited and thrilled.

A major undertaking implies a great achievement, and some people in the hall either wanted a share of it, or were upright and honest officials like Zhang Zhao and Huan Dian.

Liu Bian took in everyone's reactions, waved his hand without making a sound, and Du Xi, who was standing by his side, immediately took out a silk scroll from his sleeve, walked into the hall, and read aloud: "The decree reads: I, the Emperor, have inherited the great throne and govern all the lands. I am cautious day and night, and my only concern is to ensure the safety of the ancestral temples and the stability of the state."

Recently, those who have defied the emperor's favor and instigated rebellion have secretly formed cliques and plotted to endanger the imperial throne; their crimes are heinous. Therefore, we hereby appoint Liu Yu, Minister of the Imperial Clan Court, a close relative of the Han dynasty, whose virtue is exemplary and whose abilities are vast, whose heart is loyal and upright, and whose reputation is widely praised. He is now specially granted the authority to wield power and lead the relevant officials to thoroughly investigate and punish these traitors. The Court of Justice, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Censorate shall all be subject to his command, and the three departments shall jointly investigate without any division of responsibilities.

Wang Yun, the Chamberlain of the Palace Attendants; Shen Pei, the Gentleman Attendant at the Palace Gate; and Lu Cui, the Attendant in Charge of Imperial Documents, are all upright and intelligent men. I hereby order you to inspect cases on my behalf, supervise the administration of justice, and impeach those who have committed transgressions.

In accordance with my personal resolve to eradicate evil at its root, I will cut off its roots and make clear distinctions. Those who have committed acts of collusion with the rebels, even if they are of high rank, will not be pardoned; those whose cases are doubtful or uncertain will also be thoroughly investigated and reported.

You have many followers, each of whom respectfully submits.

Imperial edict issued on the eleventh day of the ninth month of the autumn of the second year of the Hanxing era!

(3142 words)
(End of this chapter)