Chapter 898 A Dream of Youth 430
The bloodshed in Kyoto was enough to deter some officials from taking what they shouldn't have, and this incident also successfully brought down a large number of incompetent officials, replacing them with people who were willing to work and were more loyal.
The unprecedented performance evaluation system has made most officials no longer indifferent. After all, if they continue to be lazy, they will lose their official positions. They have worked hard to climb to their current positions, and no one wants to be pushed down.
After a major reshuffle in the imperial court, Yan Xi finally felt that he had grasped real power.
The Empress Dowager still ruled from behind the curtain, but she rarely expressed her opinions anymore. Yan Xi had cut off nearly half of the imperial clan, and the Empress Dowager felt that Yan Xi was too cruel.
It is a great taboo for a ruler to be unbenevolent.
However, if Yan Xi is considered heartless, she did not implicate the families of the officials involved, unless their families were also involved and bore the main responsibility.
The homes of the ringleaders were confiscated, but their families were not beheaded along with them. Instead, they were registered and assigned to work as laborers.
In recent years, the imperial court has opened many large workshops, which require a lot of workers, as well as quarries and mines.
There are many places where corvée labor is required.
The Empress Dowager's suspicions about those who opposed Yanxi did not cause any significant trouble, because the infantry under the Xiang family stood behind Yanxi, and in the face of such a massive army, everything seemed so insignificant.
However, this also sowed the seeds of future problems.
Many people fled with their families, or abandoned their homes, to the south, to the Northern Jin, or to other small countries. They might not be very capable in other areas, but they were well aware of the situation in the Great Zhou.
The Northern Jin emperor was grinning from ear to ear.
He was just planning how to attack the Great Zhou when someone was sent here. It was like a pillow being delivered when he was sleepy. It would be a good opportunity for him to learn more about the current situation of the Great Zhou.
Of course, he wouldn't believe them all; who knew if any of these people were spies sent by the Great Zhou?
Therefore, they arranged for people to be observed in the courtyard and interrogated one by one.
Among them, a middle-aged man with fair skin and beautiful sideburns remained remarkably calm, for he held the highest official position among those who had defected to the Northern Jin emperor, and he was also the most ruthless.
I heard that he abandoned his family. You should know that the other party has an elderly mother in her seventies, countless beautiful wives and concubines, and naturally many children.
If news of his treason were to reach his family, they would likely be imprisoned for their crimes. Even if they weren't beheaded, they would be branded and exiled.
Therefore, the Northern Jin emperor trusted him more than others, because the Northern Jin emperor liked ruthless people.
Perhaps he was just like his grandfather at heart, except that the Northern Jin emperor was not so heartless. At least he wouldn't imprison or kill his empress based on one side of the story, and in the end, he wouldn't even spare his own son.
The crown prince was killed by his subjects.
But precisely because of this, the Northern Jin emperor felt that middle-aged men were too heartless.
However, the other party was talented and had a good understanding of the Great Zhou. Recalling the scene of the Great Zhou generals leading the army straight into the Central Plains, the Emperor of Northern Jin was filled with excitement. If it weren't for Cheng Yaojin's unexpected intervention, they would not have suffered such a great defeat.
What pleased the Northern Jin Emperor the most was that the other party had actually served in the Great Zhou's Armory, which would allow him to better understand the Great Zhou's military strength!
However, when he learned that the other party was not very good at making gunpowder, the Emperor of Northern Jin could not help but sigh in disappointment.
But his mood didn't stay low for long. Over the years, he had his craftsmen imitate some of the gunpowder of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and they had achieved some success. Moreover, their craftsmen had made some improvements to make it more powerful.
As for how he was able to obtain gunpowder from the Great Zhou Dynasty, it was simply because money can make the devil turn the millstone.
The middle-aged man chatted with the Emperor of Northern Jin for a long time before leaving. Then, at the door, he encountered a strong old man with sharp eyes, like those of an eagle.
The middle-aged man lowered his head and stepped aside to show his submissiveness.
This is none other than the current head of the Xiao clan, the Prime Minister Xiao, who is second only to the emperor in the Northern Jin Dynasty.
The young man following behind Xiao Xiangguo glanced casually at the middle-aged man and caught a strong scent of honeyed fruit as he passed him.
The young man twitched his fingers hanging down to the side, then followed in Xiao Xiangguo's footsteps.
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