Crown Prince of the Empire, I quit!

His Majesty the Emperor used such cruel means to deal with two meritorious border army commanders. His determination to enforce discipline and eradicate malpractices is obvious and chilling.

……

At the same time, the implementation of the new "Kaocheng Law" was like another silent storm that swept through the entire empire's bureaucratic system.

The Ministry of Personnel was busier than ever. The previously vague assessment criteria of "cleanliness, diligence, prudence, and integrity" were completely abandoned, replaced by a set of extremely strict and meticulous quantitative indicators.

The governors and county magistrates of each state and county, as well as the heads of the six ministries, all received a thick copy of the "Detailed Rules for Performance Evaluation".

Tax collection: not only the total amount is considered, but also the completion progress, comparison with previous years, and comparison with peers. Those who exceed the amount will be rewarded, those who fall short will be punished, and those who fall short continuously will be dismissed directly.

Criminal and judicial affairs: the number of backlog cases, the settlement rate, the appeal rate, and the rate of wrongful convictions are all listed and ranked and announced regularly.

River Engineering and Water Conservancy: Project progress, budget execution, and quality acceptance are all audited by dedicated personnel. The chief officer will be held accountable for delays, overspending, and poor quality.

People's livelihood education: household registration growth, number of reclaimed land, establishment of schools, public security situation...even the introduction of undercover inspections and assessments of "public sentiment and public opinion".

……

Each item has specific numbers, and each item is related to official positions, or even people's lives.

The censors of the Metropolitan Censorate were energized, armed with the "Detailed Rules for Performance Evaluation" and the special authority granted by His Majesty to "report rumors and execute them first and report them later," and they went to various places to conduct open and secret investigations. They no longer just focused on corruption, but also on "inaction" and "incompetence."

The leisurely days of "a cup of tea, a pack of cigarettes, and reading a newspaper for half a day" are gone forever.

The atmosphere in government offices across the country suddenly changed. Buck-passing and procrastination decreased dramatically, and officials at all levels were forced to leave their offices and go deep into the fields, the marketplace, and the workshops to collect taxes, hear cases, supervise river works, and care for the people. Although there were many complaints and many people accused the emperor of being "harsh," the empire's administrative efficiency was improving at an unprecedented rate.

A group of capable officials who were frustrated under the old system were promoted as an exception because of their outstanding test results; an even larger group of mediocre officials who could only do official work were demoted, exiled, or even dismissed from their posts and investigated.

Qin Ming's daily review of memorials was dominated by secret reports on the success and problems of the "Performance Evaluation System." He meticulously scrutinized every figure and case, frequently writing cold, red-tipped comments like "Excellent, promotion," "Bad, dismissal," and "Indolence, caning."

He seemed tireless, and with his extraordinary energy and cold rationality, he firmly controlled the storm of change that penetrated every capillary of the empire.

……

However, the tree wants to be quiet but the wind keeps on.

Just when the attention of the court and the public was attracted by the "Performance Evaluation Law" and the border general case, a secret report from Jiangnan Road was presented to Qin Ming's imperial desk by Tingfengwei at the fastest speed.

The content of the report was shocking.

The Jiangnan Canal, the lifeline of the empire, had seemingly resumed its smooth sailing after the previous crackdown, but undercurrents were surging. Previously, those investigated and punished were mostly mid- and lower-level officials. The true tycoons lay deeper in hiding.

With the Grain Transport Governor's Office at its core, they colluded with officials from prefectures and counties along the river, local tyrants, and even high-ranking officials in the capital, forming a vast network of interests. They manipulated every aspect of grain collection, transportation, and storage, embezzling vast sums of national treasury and public funds under the guise of "lost," "waste," and "discounts." The sheer magnitude of the embezzlement far exceeded that of the previous Ministry of Revenue corruption case! Even more alarming was the depth of their influence and deep penetration, even threatening to manipulate grain prices in Jiangnan and influence the political situation!

At the end of the secret report, the commander of the Tingfeng Guard wrote a personal note: "Your Majesty, this case involves a wide range of people and is deeply rooted. It may shake the foundation of the country. If we investigate, it will surely cause a huge uproar. If we don't investigate..."

Qin Ming looked at the secret report, his eyes as cold as ice that had lasted for thousands of years.

He slowly put down the report, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the dragon table.

The Jiangnan Canal Gang… He had long heard of this network, but he hadn't imagined it had become so corrupt. The previous crackdown on the Ministry of Revenue and the Canal Transport Administration was merely a warning shot, but it seemed the tiger hadn't been deterred and had, in fact, become even more hidden.

The "Performance Evaluation Law" was just being implemented, the border general case had just been concluded, and the political situation was not stable... Was it too hasty to open another major case at this moment?

But...if the rotten flesh is not removed, the whole body will eventually fester!

A cold light flashed in Qin Ming's eyes, and he had already made a decision.

He picked up his red brush and wrote four large, murderous characters on the secret memorial:

"Get to the bottom of it."

The four words "investigate thoroughly" written by Qin Ming in red ink were like a huge rock thrown into a deep pool, stirring up a turbulent undercurrent beneath the seemingly calm surface of the empire.

The Postwar Audit Office was instantly elevated to the highest level of authority. Elite officials from the Censorate, Privy Council, Ministry of Revenue, and Ministry of Justice—nearly every core government office—were secretly transferred under various pretexts to form a massive, yet hidden, investigative force. The true command center remained Qin Ming's direct subordinates, the "Tingfeng Guards." Like the emperor's tentacles, they silently extended their reach to the empire's southeastern wealth region—Jiangnan.

The investigation was conducted in complete secrecy. All operations were publicly conducted under the guise of "reviewing the effectiveness of the new canal transport regulations" or "inspecting the implementation of the local performance evaluation system," but secretly they were directly targeting the core of the long-standing problems of the canal transport system in Jiangnan.

Yet, the Jiangnan region, a land of abundance and rice, the lifeblood of the Grand Canal, has long been entangled in an invisible yet resilient web. This web, centered around the Grand Canal Governor's Office, connects the provincial governors of the prefectures and counties along the river, the leaders of the Grand Canal gangs who control the grain ships and their own soldiers, and the local tyrants who monopolize the grain market. Its tentacles even reach into the government offices of the capital. These forces, operating for years, have become entangled, their success and failure all intertwined.

Officials dispatched by the "Auditing Department" were greeted with extreme warmth and deference wherever they went. Accounts were clear and well-organized, procedures were rigorous, granaries were plentiful, and the grain transport fleet was bustling, creating a scene of peace and prosperity. Banquets, gifts, and even subtle bribes were pervasive. Officials who attempted to inquire about "old affairs" or conduct in-depth investigations often encountered various "accidents"—witnesses suddenly changed their stories or disappeared, key account books were "accidentally" burned, and they themselves were even embroiled in unclear romantic affairs or old criminal cases, leaving them in a state of embarrassment.

The covert "Tingfengwei" operations also faced significant resistance. Jiangnan, with its complex dialects and dense networks of personal connections, made outsiders easily identified and followed. Repeated attempts to reach low-level grain workers, warehouse clerks, or small grain merchants who had been exploited were inexplicably interrupted or warned off. Two skilled Tingfengwei members even fell into the water while investigating a suspicious grain ship late at night, their bodies never to be found.

The investigation has reached a stalemate. The enemy's strength, cunning, and rigorous organization far exceeded expectations. They seem to have an astonishing ability to foresee and respond to the court's movements.