Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 370 Call Guo Tu! Call Guo Tu!
September 26th, the second year of the Han Dynasty.

In the palace of Prince Chen.

Liu Bian leaned back on the throne, one hand resting on the jade armrest, feeling utterly bored and increasingly idle. Finally, he let out a long sigh, raised his hand to rub his temples, and said self-deprecatingly, "I'm probably just destined to be a busybody. I usually spend my days reviewing memorials in the Yuntai Pavilion, working hard on my desk, and I always feel exhausted. Now that I have nothing to do, I'm not used to it."

Empress He ruled as regent, Grand Tutor Lu Zhi assisted in governing, and the Attendant-in-Ordinary advised on government affairs. In the past two months, there have been no memorials that required the personal approval of Emperor Liu Bian.

As for the loss of imperial power?

Although he dared not compare himself to the Tang emperors and the Ming emperors, as a powerful monarch who commanded nearly 50,000 elite troops, even if he was away from court for two years, no one dared to touch the power that belonged to the emperor, let alone for a mere two months.

As more and more young people he discovered and promoted gradually entered the court, his control over the court was far greater than when he first became regent. He no longer needed to rely on pardoning the powerful families to curry favor with them and barely raise the military funds for the army's conquest.

However, this sudden leisure gave Liu Bian a strange feeling, as if the vast Han dynasty could still function smoothly without him.

The earth can keep turning no matter who leaves it, but the Han Dynasty is not yet that stable.

The current situation is only because he, with the perspective of a newcomer, has managed to support it and uphold the dignity of the Han Dynasty.

Without him in charge, the excellent situation in the court would collapse instantly, returning to the chaos that existed before his regency.

He didn't want to become like Erzhu Rong, with four "Taizu" figures emerging under his command at once.

Gao Wang, who was standing by, was unaware of the turmoil in the emperor's heart, but he smiled and nodded in agreement.

Let alone the emperor, even he himself felt uneasy after not dealing with the trivial matters of the palace for a long time.

People who are used to being busy suddenly feel uneasy when they have free time. A nameless anger rises in their chest. Liu Bian's mood also became a little irritable. He said to Du Xi, "Zixu, go and ask Zhang Zibu and Zhang Zigang. Why is there no progress on such a big case for almost half a month? Are they planning to stay in Chen County for the New Year?"

While these words were partly due to his irritable mood, they also revealed genuine doubt.

Although the good families of Sanhe and the soldiers of the prefectures and kingdoms have been sent back to their respective places, the central army of more than 40,000 men is still sharpening their swords in Chenjun.

With the joint investigation by the three judicial departments and the supervision by the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and with that indictment in hand, what kind of resistance could they possibly encounter?
After receiving the order, Du Xi quickly left the main hall to find Zhang Zhao, Zhang Hong, and the others.

The guards of the Left Guard Camp naturally recognized Du Xi's identity. They proceeded without hindrance, passing through several side halls, and arrived at a side hall that had been temporarily used as the office for the Censorate, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Court of Justice. There, they saw a burly man in armor guarding the door. They stepped forward, cupped their hands, and smiled, saying, "So it is Commandant Xu on duty today."

Xu Ding quickly returned the greeting with a fist and palm salute, a smile plastered on his face, and said, "Greetings, Clerk Du. Are you here on official business?"

In terms of rank, Xu Ding was a heavy armored captain with a rank of 2,000 shi, while Du Xi was just a clerk with a rank of 600 shi. Why should they return the gift?
However, Xu Ding dared not neglect Du Xi in the slightest.

Everyone knows Du Xi's special status.

Everyone knows that Du Xi comes from the Yingchuan Du clan. He is not only a confidant of the emperor and in charge of confidential matters, but will also become the emperor's brother-in-law.

Even without imperial favor, Du Xi's connections with the Yingchuan Du family alone would have been enough to propel him to great heights. Moreover, Cai Jieyu's aunt was the wife of Zhang Wen, the Minister of the Imperial Stud, and Cai Jieyu's younger brother, Cai Mao, was also an assistant military officer in the Right Martial Guard. With these extended networks of relationships, his future was destined to be limitless.

Du Xi nodded slightly, exchanged a few pleasantries but said nothing more, clearly not intending to have much interaction with Xu Ding, and walked straight into the hall. It wasn't that he was ignorant of social etiquette, but rather that, given his status, it was inappropriate for him to have close ties with the central army commander.

Inside the hall, Wang Yun, Zhang Zhao, and Zhang Hong sat facing each other in silence. Du Xi happened to enter, stepped forward, bowed to the three men, and said in a slightly deep voice, "Greetings, Attendant-in-Ordinary Wang, Vice Censor-in-Chief, and Vice Minister of Agriculture. The state has ordered me to come and inquire about the progress of the case."

Zhang Zhao and the others exchanged glances, their faces showing difficulty, unsure of how to begin, and none of them answered. However, Wang Yun, who was also from the Attendant-in-Ordinary Court with Du Xi, took the initiative to step forward, coughed lightly, and stood up to reply, "This matter... will still take some time."

Du Xi's brows furrowed slightly as he glanced at the three men and asked, "Please speak freely, gentlemen, so that I may report to the state and offer my explanation on your behalf."

After a moment's hesitation, Zhang Hong took over and said in a low voice, "The elders of those powerful families took the blame, all insisting that everything was done on their own initiative and claiming that their heads of families were unaware of it."

Zhang Zhao also sighed and added, "Many powerful families are involved, and we were afraid of giving people something to talk about, so we dared not use torture lightly, lest we invite criticism..."

Du Xiyue's brows furrowed more and more as he listened, and his gaze toward the three men became increasingly strange. He scrutinized their faces and asked suspiciously, "Are you saying that the crime of treason was taken on by a few elders? And that you didn't even dare to use torture because you were afraid of criticism?"

Seeing that the three men remained silent and bowed their heads, Du Xi realized that they were not joking with him. His face darkened, and his tone suddenly turned stern as he said, "Since when has the crime of treason been able to be taken away by a mere elder?"

"Even if it was truly the elders acting on their own initiative and the head of the family failing to supervise, their entire clan should be exterminated. You gentlemen are all high-ranking officials of the court, how could you not know this?"

Du Xi stepped forward, staring intently at the crowd, and rebuked, "As for torture, I remember that the Court of Justice has methods that leave no external wounds. Where are the people from the Court of Justice? Why aren't they here?"

The men were at a loss for words. Could it be that Guo Tu had taken the initiative to assume the task of sentencing, and they, in order to gain more credit, were unwilling to hand over the interrogation to the Court of Justice?
Although Wang Yun, Zhang Zhao, and Zhang Hong all held higher official ranks than him, and Wang Yun was Du Xi's superior, Du Xi was now acting as an "envoy" on behalf of the emperor, questioning him and had to issue a reprimand, especially for such an absurd reason.

To be honest, if Du Xi didn't know these people's character well, he would almost suspect that they had accepted bribes from powerful families and were deliberately delaying the process.

Seeing that everyone was speechless, Du Xi said no more, turned around abruptly, and left.

Upon returning to the main hall, Du Xi reported everything he had seen and heard.

Liu Bian listened quietly, initially expressionless, but later his eyes flashed with a chilling light.

Ultimately, they lacked experience gained from working their way up from the bottom, and the Censorate was also a department focused on abstract matters, lacking practical skills.

The Ministry of Agriculture was too pragmatic and inflexible.

Although Wang Yun had experience serving in remote areas, his methods in dealing with powerful and influential families were too gentle, even somewhat weak.

"Where is Guo Gongze? The dignified Chief Justice of the Court of Justice is not responsible for interrogation and investigation, but only for judging cases and sentencing. It's absurd! Summon him to see me!"

Liu Bian was already in a bad mood, and now he was even more furious. Upon hearing Du Xi's report, his face instantly darkened. He slammed his hand on the imperial desk, causing the writing brush and inkstone to jump. His chest heaved violently as he shouted, "Summon Guo Tu here—!"

"Summon Guo Tulai—!"

(End of this chapter)