Chapter 43
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Luckily, the cave was spacious, easily accommodating the twenty or thirty people present.
Worried that the Emperor might be hungry, Tian Fusheng had ensured that each team carried well-wrapped pastries. Heqin Wang’s guards were meticulous; when they brought out the pastries, they were still intact.
Gu Yuanbai wasn’t hungry, so he instructed the guards to share the pastries among themselves.
Coincidentally, just as the guards finished eating the pastries, the rain outside began to lessen. Within moments, the sky brightened again, the sun’s strong rays pierced through, and the storm ceased.
Gu Yuanbai was the first to step outside. The ground was muddy and slippery, staining his dragon boots. Heqin Wang hesitated, considering whether to help Gu Yuanbai, but Xue Yuan had already taken action. He held Gu Yuanbai’s hand with one hand and, hovering the other near his waist, said with a smile, “Your Majesty, watch your step.”
Gu Yuanbai walked steadily with each step, his sturdy clothes brushing against the ground, already splattered with some mud from walking.
Xue Yuan found these mud stains quite displeasing. He simply bent down and lifted the hem of Gu Yuanbai’s robe behind him. Gu Yuanbai glanced down at the mud stains, then quickly averted his gaze back up to Xue Yuan’s face, unwilling to look for even a second longer. He didn’t even offer a smile to Xue Yuan.
He was still angry.
The horses were led out, and the rainwater and fur on their backs were wiped off with a clean cloak. Gu Yuanbai mounted the horse, and out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Xue Yuan beside him. With a malicious undertone, he looked pointedly downward at Xue Yuan, his mouth curling into a sneer, and muttered under his breath, “Filthy beast.”
Only Xue Yuan heard this.
Xue Yuan sharply looked up, meeting the Emperor’s condescending gaze.
With a flick of the reins, Gu Yuanbai’s lips curved maliciously as his horse turned, splashing Xue Yuan with mud. Xue Yuan closed his eyes, sighed, and looked at his robe. The part of him that Gu Yuanbai had insulted as “beastly” had started to stir.
“…” Xue Yuan muttered to himself, “Why does your scolding arouse me?”
The hunting grounds were wet and slippery, making hunting impossible, but the Emperor’s appeasement activities were not yet complete.
The camp had been cleared, and suitable game for roasting was placed in one area. Among the game, the bear Xue Yuan had killed was particularly eye-catching. Passersby couldn’t help but take a look.
The bear paws Xue Yuan had cut off were gifted to him by the Emperor to take back to Xue Manor. The rewards were given, the officials were appeased, and the imperial kitchen was busy preparing the food, with the aroma wafting far and wide.
Gu Yuanbai washed his hands himself and had a simple barbecue setup made. The charcoal was lit, and everyone eagerly gathered around the Emperor, learning to barbecue.
“My ministers,” Gu Yuanbai said with a light smile, “you’ve worked hard recently. Take this day to rest well. Once we return, it will be back to the grind.”
The ministers humbly expressed that it was their duty to relieve the Emperor of his burdens, and this was nothing.
Gu Yuanbai smiled, and as an imperial cook took rice to wash, he called him over, grabbing a handful of rice and sighing, “Good rice, good fields. But how many people in the world can eat such good rice?”
Hearing his words, the ministers also sighed, quietly agreeing. They pondered the Emperor’s words, seeing them as a final warning before an anti-corruption campaign.
Gu Yuanbai personally grilled a skewer of meat, enjoying a brief moment of camaraderie with his ministers before leading the large group back to the capital just before dusk.
Xue Yuan, carrying the bear paws, returned to Xue Manor. After a session of broadsword practice with General Xue, he set the broadsword aside and sat down, lost in thought.
General Xue asked, “What is my son thinking about?”
Xue Yuan frowned, “I feel something’s wrong with me.”
“What’s wrong?”
Always thinking about Gu Yuanbai—that’s what’s wrong.
From the hunting grounds to now, except during broadsword practice, his mind was filled with thoughts of Gu Yuanbai.
Thinking of his angry face, his smile, and even wanting to undress him.
Xue Yuan said, “I keep thinking about the Emperor.”
General Xue was startled, then burst into laughter, “Hahaha, that’s the heart of loyalty to the Emperor. As a subject, you naturally have to think about the Emperor all the time.”
Loyalty to the Emperor? Xue Yuan sneered.
“When I think of him, my heart races,” Xue Yuan narrowed his eyes, “Is this loyalty?”
General Xue nodded affirmatively, patting Xue Yuan’s shoulder with satisfaction, “This is precisely the desire of subjects to achieve great deeds for the Emperor.”
Xue Yuan fell silent.
Could he really have such a thing?
After the spring hunt, the officials began closely inspecting their family industries. Especially those whose families were not in the capital, sending urgent, stern letters home, instructing them to clear any corrupt practices.
Hidden lands, tenant farmers—none should risk their positions for minor gains!
After a few days, at the morning court, Gu Yuanbai, wearing his intricate and heavy dragon robe, solemnly issued a nationwide anti-corruption order.
On that day, the thoroughly purged Censorate and newly established Donglingwei began their work.
No officials across the country knew that the anti-corruption efforts would come in two waves. Gu Yuanbai aimed to use these two distinct groups, one overt and one covert, to root out all major corrupt elements!
Fast riders, protected by Donglingwei soldiers, headed towards the nearest granary to the capital.
Among the personnel of the Imperial Censorate, aside from the previously well-established officials with clean backgrounds, the newly added individuals were all talents specially trained by the Supervision Bureau. They transitioned from the shadows to the forefront, and now the Imperial Censorate was completely under the control of the Emperor.
Kong Yilin and Qin Sheng, who had just entered the Donglingwei, were among them.
Kong Yilin knew that this was a test of his abilities by the Emperor. He remained calm and determined to achieve outstanding results. Leading the way ahead was an Imperial Censor from the Supervision Bureau, also a loyal supporter of the Emperor. The Imperial Censor dismounted in front of the granary without paying attention to the officials sweating profusely around him who wanted to come forward to greet him. Instead, he directly ordered someone to open the granary door.
The yield per mu and the harvested grain from various regions were recorded in registers, which the Ministry of Revenue had handed over to the Censorate and the Supervision Bureau. The Censorate officer looked at the register in his hand and solemnly said, “Begin.”
He ignored the officials’ words and the statistics they provided, standing straight at the granary door, continuously recording the data reported by his subordinates.
“361 bags of old rice, 156 bags of new rice.”
“Upon randomly inspecting 20 bags of old rice, seven bags contained a mix of insects and dirt.”
The clear and steady voices of reports echoed throughout the granary. The officials waiting to take over were sweating profusely and their legs grew increasingly weak.
This anti-corruption effort was terrifying!
It was as if the entire granary was being turned inside out!
Meanwhile, radiating from the capital, Censorate officials, accompanied by other officials, began investigations. Those preparing for the first wave of anti-corruption officials were also drenched in sweat.
No one expected the supervising officials to be this thorough.
If any storage granary had issues, the surrounding officials would face thorough investigations by the Censorate. If any hint of corruption was found, there would be no leniency.
Everything would be handled according to the law—embezzle a certain amount of silver, and the law would impose the corresponding punishment. If the local people accused an official of more than just embezzlement, then it would be a major issue, and escape would be impossible.
The court’s anti-corruption campaign was in full swing. When news reached the provinces, officials everywhere restrained themselves. Corrupt officials panicked, attempting to make amends by secretly returning embezzled funds and buying back items they had sold from various storage granaries. Some, lacking sufficient funds, had to dig into their own savings, hoping to recover these losses after dealing with the inspectors.
The common people, unaware of the intricate maneuvers, began to rejoice. Honest officials, even more concerned about corrupt ones than the Emperor, decided to take proactive measures, capturing corrupt officials and presenting them to the Emperor for justice.
Rolling up their sleeves, they aimed to rid the land of these parasites and possibly earn a commendation that might lead to a position in the capital.
The capital, the heart of political power in the entire Great Heng Dynasty.
To some, this opportunity seemed like a stepping stone to higher positions.
Sun Xiaoshan was a minor official in the Supervision Bureau.
He was born during a heavy snowfall, abandoned by his parents at the base of an old tree. Picked up by others, he lived a life worse than a pig or dog, scavenging for food underfoot.
The wealthy frequently beat and berated him. When the pain became unbearable, Sun Xiaoshan would lick their shoes. They would laugh, then place their feet down for him to clean, allowing him a moment without pain.
At times like these, when it wasn’t so painful, if Sun Xiaoshan could lick it clean, he could get a bowl of food that was like pig feed. The aroma of that food made his mouth water just thinking about it, so he licked even more vigorously.
The wealthy called him an animal, saying he was worse than a pig or dog. Sun Xiaoshan thought he envied pigs—they got to eat many meals before being slaughtered, didn’t get beaten, and didn’t have to lick shoes. How wonderful that seemed. So, as a child, his dream was to become a pig.
Years passed as he survived this way. As he grew, a single bowl of thin soup no longer filled him, and he would bite his own flesh in hunger, sometimes drawing blood. It was disgusting, yet he desperately sucked on the wound, wishing he could eat himself, but fearing the pain. He salivated at clean dirt, his stomach cramping at the smell of food.
One day, a wealthy family brought guests to have Sun Xiaoshan lick their shoes. Thinking he would get a meal, he eagerly rushed to please the guests. One guest kicked him so hard that he nearly died, calling him “disgusting.”
Afterward, the disgusting Sun Xiaoshan was wrapped in a mat and thrown into a graveyard during another snowy day.
Starving and freezing, Sun Xiaoshan thought he would die there.
Death would be a relief, he thought. Was such a desperate, starving life worth living?
But on that snowy day, he was picked up by people from the Supervision Bureau.
Sun Xiaoshan initially thought it was another place where he would lick shoes, but the people there provided him and others with warm clothes and, on the first day, a bowl of fragrant, thick porridge.
The porridge had pickles and crunchy radishes. It was the best meal he’d ever had, filling him up for the first time in his life. He ate so ravenously that he nearly swallowed his own tongue.
He cried as he ate, tears falling into the porridge, leaving dirty marks on its surface.
The person serving them laughed, “Eat slowly, there’s a big pot. You poor things, you can only eat porridge for now. In a few days, we’ll have fish and meat!”
“Fish and meat?” someone next to Sun Xiaoshan asked in a daze. “Can we eat that too?”
The Supervision Bureaur chuckled, “If not for you, then who? You’ll enjoy it in a few days.”
After being bathed and taken to their sleeping quarters, Sun Xiaoshan, lingering at the end, asked eagerly, “I can lick shoes. Do you need that?”
The official, startled, gently patted his head. Sun Xiaoshan still remembered the warmth of that hand.
“Don’t worry. With the Emperor, no one will make you lick shoes.”
Sun Xiaoshan was scared. He knew he was useless. How could he deserve a full meal?
But they really did feed them.
After many full meals, they were served bowls of meat. The first time Sun Xiaoshan saw this meat, his eyes turned red.
That was the most delicious meat in the world. Sun Xiaoshan had to suck on his chopsticks a dozen times for each piece of meat he ate, feeling like he was defiling the meat with his consumption. He felt sorry for the meat, but couldn’t help but crave it, eating large mouthfuls of it one after another.
That day, he ate meat until he was full. The next morning, Sun Xiaoshan woke up to another hearty meal.
Before joining the Supervision Bureau, he had never dared to dream of such days.
When Sun Xiaoshan began learning to read and acquire various skills, during the first lesson, a senior member of the Supervision Bureau had said something memorable.
Standing by the window, bathed in the sunset’s glow, the senior said, “There are always some people in this world who mistreat the common folk, preventing them from having enough to eat.”
“But the Emperor is the only one who cares for us. He wants to protect the people, ensuring they have enough to eat and wear.”
“However, some people seek to destabilize the Emperor’s rule. They don’t want the common folk to live well.”
Sun Xiaoshan wholeheartedly agreed.
The Supervision Bureau’s loyalty to the Emperor was beyond outsiders’ comprehension.
Founded early in the dynasty, the Supervision Bureau was essential to the Emperor, who was short of personnel. Thus, everyone worked hard, striving to build strong bodies and serve the Emperor diligently.
Sun Xiaoshan studied fervently, wanting to repay the Emperor. When he was finally able to serve, he encountered many people attempting to destabilize the Emperor’s rule.
Corrupt officials were the main culprits.
As his horse crossed the border of Lizhou, the soldier behind him said, “Lord Sun, we have arrived.”
Sun Xiaoshan snapped out of his reverie. Looking with pity at the farmers by the roadside, he said, “Let’s hurry and find out why those bandits turned to banditry.”
Indeed, while the Emperor was working hard to govern, some were undermining his rule.
The common folk of the Great Heng Dynasty lived under the oppression of corrupt officials.
Under the Emperor’s rule, they should have been able to eat their fill and enjoy meat, but this good situation was ruined by these parasites.
The goal of everyone in the Supervision Bureau was to eradicate these parasites threatening the Emperor.
No one could stop the Emperor from making the Great Heng Dynasty better.
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