Chapter 54 Chapter 54
These demoted civil servants were not taken seriously by the emperor. After the emperor demoted them, as long as these officials no longer appeared in his sight, the emperor naturally would not think about where these civil servants had gone.
As for the officials who stayed in the court, some of them were worried about these officials, but the emperor trusted treacherous ministers and villains, and they could not protect themselves if they stayed in the court. Naturally, they had no way to pay more attention to where these civil servants went.
As for the officials who paid special attention, even if they found some problems, they did not dare to do anything. They could only observe secretly. When they found that these people were sent to Anyuan Prefecture, they were all very relieved.
They didn't think that Xiao Jingzhao was in Anyuan Prefecture. The Wei family took these civil servants away to use them to govern the prefecture, just as the Wei family was as prosperous as before, to clean up the aftermath of the emperor's absurd behavior.
After all, if these civil servants were really exiled according to the emperor's arrangement, there would definitely be a lot of them dying of illness on the way or after arriving at the place of exile. Going to Anyuan Prefecture is still an extra way to survive.
In the past, Anyuan Prefecture was also a cold and harsh place, but in recent years, in the eyes of Kyoto people, Anyuan Prefecture has changed from a cold and harsh place to a good place where, although the environment is cold, there are many good things.
It is said that wealthy families from the prefectures near Anyuan Prefecture often go there to play, because Anyuan Prefecture has prepared all the places for eating, drinking and having fun. Everyone who goes there has a great time and takes away a lot of new products before leaving. Some of them sell in large quantities, and if they happen to buy products that some people need urgently, they can resell them on the way back and earn back all the money they spent on eating, drinking and having fun along the way.
Of course, not every product can be purchased at a high price, which requires the buyer to have a keen eye and guess in advance which products will be the best-selling ones.
At first, only a few individuals did this, but when they made some money and advertised it widely, many people who visited Anyuan Prefecture chose to buy more to take home. However, some people whose family wealth was not so rich and who were a little timid only dared to buy a little more. If they really couldn't make it, they could use it for themselves. Even so, Anyuan Prefecture still made more money.
Not to mention the rich, they buy even more because they buy not to make money, but to show off their good taste.
These news were directly transmitted to Kyoto, making many people in Kyoto envious. Unfortunately, Anyuan Prefecture was too far away from Kyoto, and ordinary people had no way to get there. Only some caravans went there frequently. As for the wealthy families, even if they were interested in Anyuan Prefecture, few of them would make a trip there unless they were really willful.
But in this way, Anyuan Prefecture looked a little different in the eyes of the people in Kyoto.
Because of this, when officials were demoted later and noticed that someone had tampered with the situation, the officials who knew the situation secretly helped and covered up the flaws so that no one could find out that anything was wrong. Unless someone who knew the official investigated the matter in depth and followed him to the place of exile, they would not be able to discover the truth.
However, how could the ministers promoted by the emperor in the court be willing to waste time and energy to track down these losers? In their view, these were useless people who were despised by the emperor. No matter what their ideas were, as long as their connection with the emperor was cut off and the emperor could no longer see them, these people would have no ability to turn over.
Even if some cautious people discovered problems, if they investigated, others would not investigate and would attack them, so the investigation could not continue and they had to focus all their energy on the struggle in the court.
After three years, the officials who provided help unexpectedly discovered that their previous actions actually helped themselves, because some of them also became among those who were exiled and excluded.
There were fewer and fewer people staying in the court to work. Even if some people were not demoted or exiled, they lost their official positions and were unemployed at home.
In just over three years, if Wei Xuan returned to Kyoto, he would probably be surprised to find that there were fewer familiar figures in the court, and those who stayed either just acted like wooden men in the court, not expressing their opinions on anything and just burying their heads in work, or rested at home from time to time because they were angry.
The officials who stayed in Kyoto didn’t understand how the emperor could change so quickly. Looking back at what happened four years ago, it seemed like a lifetime ago.
Four years ago, they all thought that the emperor was just deceived, or was just being indulged for a while. Even though the Wei and Jiang families suffered heavy losses in this indulgence, the officials still respected the emperor despite the discussion.
But looking back now, four years ago was the best time, and every year since then has been worse than the last.
The capable colleagues around him were attacked by some villains, and some were demoted and exiled, or returned home unemployed. Those in worse situations even lost their lives. But now, the criminal officials who were packed up and taken away to Anyuan Prefecture are in a better situation.
The officials who stayed in Kyoto and still had some conscience and knew the situation in Anyuan Prefecture even wished they could go to Anyuan Prefecture. Although Anyuan Prefecture was remote, it was only slightly worse than Kyoto. There, at least they could do some practical work, which was better than staying in Kyoto and suffering from humiliation and condemnation of their conscience.
However, the emperor was happy to demote officials for three years, and now he found that the court was full of officials who flattered him, and there were fewer officials who did practical work. Although the words of these officials who did practical work made him unhappy, he could not keep all of them, nor did he demote them too much, so that those officials who wanted to leave could not leave.
As for resigning directly and then going to Anyuan Prefecture, these officials could not do it. What's more, they were also worried that if they really did so, the emperor would find out and Anyuan Prefecture would be exposed.
At the beginning, when Anyuan Prefecture did this, they thought that the Wei family was cleaning up the mess for the emperor. But now, many capable officials in the court have been taken away and arranged by Anyuan Prefecture, and are really doing practical work in the government. They can't say so even if they want to.
Although it was unclear whether the Wei family wanted to rebel or had other intentions, other officials had already tacitly agreed that something must be wrong in Anyuan Prefecture, and this abnormal situation naturally could not be brought to the emperor's attention.
Of course, some people already had some vague guesses in their hearts, but no one dared to say it out loud. They just kept speculating in their hearts whether the prince was in Anyuan Prefecture. Otherwise, how could the Wei family dare to accept so many civil servants. You must know that if the Wei family did this, unless Wei Xuan really intended to rebel, no matter who would succeed to the throne later, as long as this matter was discovered, the Wei family would naturally be feared.
No emperor could tolerate his officials having received favors from a military general. This was not just one or two officials, but so many officials, plus the military power of the Wei family. Even if Wei Xuan did not have too many ideas, it would easily shake the foundation of the country. But if the prince was there, then it would be explainable.
What's more, those civil servants are working safely in Anyuan Prefecture. They are far away in Kyoto and don't know the situation. These people are in Anyuan Prefecture, and they might have discovered some clues.
But why did no one say a word and reveal any information? This made those in Kyoto nervous and could only make wild guesses.
The officials who stayed in Kyoto were a little annoyed, but they also knew that this news could only be kept in their minds and could not be put on paper. Even if someone was to pass on the message, who knew if there would be any problems when the message was transmitted? If it was discovered, it would be a big trouble. After all, although the emperor had paid some attention to Anyuan Prefecture in the past four years, it did not seem like he had guessed this.
They couldn't even imagine what would happen if this was exposed due to leaking information.
Now, they can only wait and see what action Anyuan Prefecture is going to take, and act quickly so that they can know what Wei Xuan is trying to do sooner rather than later. It is too painful to speculate like this.
Xiao Jingzhao and Wei Xuan were not aware of the anxiety of these officials, but after lying dormant for so many years, it was time to take action. After Wei Xuan and Xiao Jingzhao finished chatting about other official matters, they talked about this matter.
Now is the best time. After years of attacks, the barbarians on the grassland dare not move. Some even choose to move to the northwest to avoid being beaten by the Ding'an Guards every year. Even if some tribes are strong and can plunder other tribes, they can't bear the beatings again and again.
Rather than being beaten by the Great Zhou, it is better to go northwest, although it is more bitter and cold there, but it is even more difficult to go south. There are two roads, one is a complete dead end, and the other is difficult but still a way to survive. These people still have their own judgment on how to choose.
Without the existence of such a barbarian tribe, Wei Xuan dared to conclude that the emperor would definitely want to reduce the military force. Even though Xiao Jingzhao was still one of his own in the eyes of the emperor, and the emperor had given a lot of food and grass to support Xiao Jingzhao over the years, the benefits brought by Xiao Jingzhao were not enough for the emperor to continue to tolerate Anyuan Prefecture having so many troops.
The reason why we were able to have these troops before was thanks to the fact that Anyuan Prefecture had been constantly talking about how brutal the grassland barbarians were and how they would invade the border every year. In addition, these grassland barbarians really had a hard life on the grassland and always went south to plunder. The emperor was really worried that these barbarians would invade the Great Zhou. After all, although Anyuan Prefecture was far from Kyoto, there were not many checkpoints. Once they were broken through, with the speed of the grassland barbarian cavalry, they would reach Kyoto very quickly.
For his own safety, the emperor ordered Anyuan Prefecture to station troops to fight against the barbarians. However, if the news of the barbarians heading northwest spread, even if only a part of them went, the emperor would definitely reduce the troops, or disperse these troops to other places.
If they still want to maintain their outward respect for the emperor, then this matter can only be delayed for a while, but they cannot directly oppose it, so the choice now is very critical.
Should I continue to lie dormant and accumulate enough energy, or should I prepare to turn the table?
"It has been more than four years since the prince rebelled." Xiao Jingzhao suddenly said.
Wei Xuan didn't understand, but nodded anyway. It had indeed been more than four years.
Xiao Jingzhao closed his eyes, and the scene of the East Palace being engulfed in flames flashed through his mind. At the same time, a sentence that Jiang Huai once said also flashed through his mind: Five years later, the prince will ascend the throne and the Jiang family will be vindicated.
He did not believe it at the time, not only because he did not believe in dreams, but also because he felt that five years was too short. Even if the emperor did something absurd, the probability of him succeeding in a rebellion in five years was extremely low. But who would have thought that in just over four years, the emperor had already destroyed his own Great Wall, and Anyuan Prefecture had accumulated enough strength.
The time is indeed almost up, it's time to take action.
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