Aunt Chen is back from the world of cultivation

Huiyun was a little surprised to see Chen Qingzhu send Liang Bao away so forcefully, and she was unsure about the success or failure of this matter.

"Master, will he do as we ask?"

"Dealing with a second-rank official is no small matter."

Chen Qingzhu chuckled:

"The timing is right for the court now. For the eunuchs who are in charge of the army, this matter is not that difficult. It all depends on whether he dares to do it."

Emperor Yong'an was a very suspicious emperor.

Rather than the generals with heavy troops under their command, he must have trusted the eunuchs sent out to supervise the army more.

Eunuchs come from poor backgrounds, all their power comes from themselves, and they have no descendants. They are isolated and helpless in the court, so they are naturally more likely to be loyal to the emperor than ordinary ministers.

The fact that Liang Bao was sent to such an important place as Nando City to supervise the army is enough to show that he was very trusted by the emperor.

His words even carry more weight than those of Censor Yuan.

At the same time, Liang Bao had served in the palace for many years and was able to climb to a high position, and he was able to grasp Emperor Yong'an's thoughts better than ordinary people.

As long as he made up his mind to do it, he would be able to bring down Tan Song by hitting Emperor Yong'an's pain points.

"Does he dare?"

Huiyun couldn't help but ask.

Chen Qingzhu said affirmatively:

"I dare. As long as there is enough benefit, these eunuchs have always been very courageous. Throughout history, there have been eunuchs who have brought down emperors, let alone a second-rank official."

By accomplishing this, Liang Bao would not only benefit from Cihang Temple.

It will also be beneficial to his own future.

After all, Emperor Yong'an sent these eunuchs to supervise the army and gave them such great power, not because he wanted them to be friendly with local officials.

In the eyes of Emperor Yong'an, Liang Bao's action against Tan Song, who had a strong background, was a manifestation of his loyalty to his master.

After this incident, he will value Liang Bao even more.

Since Liang Bao was able to climb to his current position, he must have come to his senses quickly and thought about these things.

Therefore, Chen Qingzhu was not worried about the outcome of this matter.

After she showed off several magical methods, it was very unlikely that Liang Bao would not take the bait.

*

The facts were just as Chen Qingzhu expected.

After Liang Bao went back and thought about it for two days, he finally couldn't bear to become a normal person and leave himself the temptation of incense.

I began to consider the benefits of dealing with Tan Song.

Then he soon discovered that, apart from offending the family behind Tan Song, this matter actually had many benefits.

As the saying goes, a meeting brings about a third of affection. As the emperor's close attendant, he has been away from the capital for a year and I am afraid that he will soon be forgotten by His Majesty.

His achievements in the Southern Capital City would also be a good opportunity for him to demonstrate his ability and loyalty to His Majesty.

In this way, not only will he not be marginalized due to his transfer, but he will be reused by His Majesty.

If I return from Nandu, maybe I can make further progress.

Therefore, compared with the huge benefits of accomplishing this matter, those risks are worth taking.

Thinking of this, Liang Bao quickly handed a letter to Cihang Temple, indicating that he had begun to do what the temple master had instructed.

*

While Liang Bao was working hard to mobilize the forces of the Imperial Household Department to collect evidence of Tan Song's crimes, the battle report of Songhu was also sent to the capital.

Minister Pang of the Ministry of War, who was always good at pleasing Emperor Yong'an, naturally kept this victory news at the court.

At the end of last year, heavy snow caused a disaster, freezing many ordinary people to death near the capital.

The disaster was particularly severe on the northeastern border and grasslands.

At the beginning of spring, those damned Hu people rode south on their horses and plundered many towns on the northeastern border.

Now that the war on the northeastern border has not yet ended, Qin Province has once again suffered from drought this year. All the spring seedlings have died of drought and there is no harvest.

The governor of Qin Province failed to provide disaster relief, and the local mobs colluded with the military households to rise up. Now, in just two months, they have occupied more than half of Qin Province.

Unfortunately, the local officials fled in panic and failed to send the military information to the capital in time. By the time Your Majesty sent troops to encircle and suppress the rioters, the rioters had already become a force to be reckoned with and were now in a stalemate with the government troops.

Even more unfortunate was the fact that half a month ago, an earthquake occurred in the capital.

For a time, public opinion was boiling.

Everyone says that it is Your Majesty's incompetence and lack of virtue that has led to the continuous natural disasters.

Tens of thousands of scholars and common people in the capital gathered to petition Emperor Yong'an, hoping that he would offer sacrifices to the gods, issue an edict of repentance, and confess his sins to the gods and the people of the world.

Speaking of his own faults, the first thing that must be mentioned is that Emperor Yong'an abolished the Reform, and executed more than 50 reformist officials by slow slicing for embezzling more than 100 taels of silver per person.

That year, after the empress dowager, who had been committed to reform and placed heavy responsibilities on the reformist party, died suddenly in the palace, Emperor Yong'an and the old dignitaries under him began to liquidate the reformist party.

Most of the members of the Reform Party, like the then Prime Minister Yuan Songbo, came from poor backgrounds and were able to understand the sufferings of the people.

When they arrived at the local level, they all made good political achievements and had a good reputation as officials.

Emperor Yong'an put a lot of effort into eradicating these reformists who were not in agreement with him.

First, some corrupt officials who took advantage of the new policies to make huge profits and harm the people in the local area were labeled as members of the Reform Party, which greatly damaged the reputation of the Reform Party.

Immediately afterwards, all officials of the Reform Party were investigated and punished for the crime of corruption and bribery.

The officials of the Wei Dynasty, except for those like Yuan Songbo who were so honest as to be somewhat pedantic, could hardly withstand investigation.

Even though party leader Yuan Songbo repeatedly stressed the issue, his officials, in order to fit in, were still unable to be as strict with themselves as he was.

It is common practice for everyone to take charcoal and ice, so they will still take some.

Upon checking, there are always dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of taels that do not match their normal income.

According to the laws set by Emperor Taizu, any official who embezzled more than 50 taels of silver would be skinned alive, his tendons pulled out, and then executed by slow slicing.

Emperor Yong'an strictly enforced the law and served the people. He punished these "corrupt officials" with the most severe punishments as a warning to others.

For a time, the Reform Party was completely labeled as treacherous officials who abused their power for personal gain and brought harm to the country and the people.

Yuan Songbo, the incorruptible Prime Minister, was demoted to the position of Censor of the Southern Capital Inspection Office on the charge of "lax discipline of his subordinates" because no evidence of corruption was found in his government accounts.

The people who did not know the truth applauded.

However, the truth is hard to conceal.

Within two years, the accounts of the families of the Reform Party officials who had been killed that year were exposed by the public.

The so-called corrupt officials who brought disaster to the country and the people embezzled a sum of money ranging from five or six hundred taels to as little as fifty taels, which was just enough to be sentenced to death by slicing.

Even if it was the maximum of five or six hundred taels of silver, it was only barely enough for a banquet for the rich and powerful.

The least is a few dozen or a hundred taels.

The annual expenses of those truly corrupt officials to support a concubine or to buy a horse for fun would be much more than this.

The so-called corruption and bribery is a complete joke.

(Of course, this was not without the involvement of the royal family members who were eyeing the throne of Emperor Yong'an.)

But it was also because of the royal family's propaganda that the passionate scholars and common people realized at this time how unjustly the officials of the Reform Party died.

Since then, many people in the society have always been dissatisfied with the Reform Party, missing the new policies of Prime Minister Yuan Shikai and dissatisfied with the reactionary actions of Emperor Yong'an.

There was also a widespread saying that "Emperor Yong'an had no heir for many years because he was too cruel and immoral in the Reform Party, which led to him being punished by heaven."

Nowadays, natural disasters occur one after another without anyone's incitement. Naturally, the first thing people think of is that Emperor Yong'an is lacking in virtue.

Emperor Yong'an always cared about his reputation. When he learned that the people and scholars in the capital were clamoring for him to issue an edict to confess his sins, he flew into a rage and ordered on the spot that all the participants be imprisoned and beheaded.

Fortunately, Yuan Songbai, the former Prime Minister and now the Minister of Rites, dissuaded the incident in time, thus avoiding a bloodbath.

Of course, Yuan Songbo's dissuasion did not come without cost.

He must evacuate these people and scholars who came to ask for mercy within three days, otherwise he will be guilty of the same crime as them.

Although Yuan Songbo is old, he still has considerable influence among the people and scholars.

He tried his best to ensure that the natural disaster had nothing to do with the king.

He also appealed to people's emotions and explained the reasons to people, hoping that they would take care of themselves. Instead of talking about state affairs and harming themselves, their family and friends, it would be better to assist the court and donate more money and effort to disaster relief.

In the end, within three days, all the people and scholars who had petitioned returned home, and the crisis was resolved without bloodshed.

However, even so, Emperor Yong'an was not satisfied.

What he wanted to see was that the people praised him for his wisdom and bravery, and that the people were loyal to him. What Yuan Songbo had done did not meet his expectations at all.

Moreover, since Yuan Songbo entered the court, he has not appreciated the respect he has shown.

As the Minister of Rites, he should have used his literary talent to write brilliant works to sing praises of the emperor, but Yuan Songbo did nothing except completing his job.

For the sake of his reputation, he swallowed his anger, but his face was gloomy for days, making the atmosphere in the court extremely depressing.

I saw the good news sent from Songhu and read the specific content.

Minister Pang, who has always been good at guessing the emperor's mind, knew that the opportunity to make His Majesty smile had finally come!