Chapter 131 The Transition Between Old and New: My Heart's Desire to "Protect"...
The downfall of the Gao and Li families spread throughout Jian'an in no time.
Ten days after Zhao Yunfu issued the order, no matter how many twists and turns occurred in between, the Gao and Li families finally came to an end.
I opened the window, and the river was shrouded in a light drizzle, with a thin mist floating on it.
On the opposite bank of the river, the execution ground was filled with kneeling people from the Gao and Li families, dressed in prison uniforms. Several of their former students and acquaintances had attempted to jointly submit a memorial to the throne, hoping to save their families by arguing that "the law should be fair and just, and we fear that excessive implication may harm the national dignity."
There were even instances where a large number of people disobeyed the imperial edict and refused to attend court. Zhao Yunfu had anticipated this, having already dealt with it by executing several and dismissing others from their posts, after which no one dared to disobey orders again. They had realized the emperor's determination to carry out a bloodbath.
Some local minor gentry who lost their positions as governors or prefects, as well as members of the Gao and Li families, wanted to use their clan power to incite tenant farmers to resist taxes or create disputes to cause trouble for newly appointed officials from humble backgrounds, in an attempt to maintain their local influence.
Fortunately, the late emperor had previously recruited some talented individuals for the court through the imperial examinations. Most of these people had been suppressed by the aristocratic families and were basically minor officials in the provinces. Through this incident, they finally had the opportunity to enter the core of power. Some were transferred to Jian'an by Yang Du, while others directly replaced their former superiors.
There was no bloody fighting involved, but the newly appointed officials from humble backgrounds were backed by the direct military force of the Imperial Horse Administration.
The Li family's original stronghold was completely wiped out by the Imperial Horse Administration due to the disaster.
Following the advice of Gu Xiangzhi in his secret letter, Chang Yushan took a good approach and proposed that Zhao Yunfu return all the land previously seized by the aristocratic families to the common people.
He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world.
As long as internal stability can be maintained, Zhao Yunfu will certainly agree to their proposal and readily accept it.
Not only in areas where the Gao and Li families had significant influence, but also in other parts of Beiye, the "land reform" was implemented, forcing the gentry to relinquish the land they had seized and return it to the common people.
As a result, some people fled abroad with their families. However, in general, these people did not affect the overall situation. Even the Gao and Li families were wiped out, so what trouble could they possibly cause?
To dismantle the Gao family's local power, the Imperial Horse Administration took two paths: appeasement and bloody purges, and they executed both paths quite well.
In this context, any unrest anywhere was seen as a sign of "treason" and was swiftly quelled by military means, with the leading aristocratic families being eradicated.
At the same time, Emperor Zhao Yunfu rewarded those aristocratic families who voluntarily cooperated and relinquished power with honorary titles to appease them.
This completely divided the aristocratic class, and Zhao Yunfu made everyone understand that any further small actions would only lead to annihilation.
However, Zhao Yunfu's method was a high-risk, high-return strategy that was extremely effective in the short term but had huge long-term hidden dangers, which was forced by the situation.
Even so, in Yu Nie's view, achieving this in the short term is enough. As for what comes next, she will resolve all the problems she can observe within her limited lifespan.
This dynasty needs a fresh infusion of blood.
In the drizzle, Yu Nie changed into casual clothes and blended in with the crowd watching the execution, just like everyone else.
In the private rooms of the restaurants and teahouses along the river, windows were all open.
A variety of gazes, some filled with fear, some with gloom, and some with relief, pierced through the rain and stared intently at the execution ground.
These gazes belong to both ordinary people and the powerful.
The execution was presided over by Chen Boxia, the Imperial Censor. Hundreds of lives were taken, and the execution ground was densely packed with kneeling people.
Gao Chou laughed loudly without saying a word, while Li Xing remained silent, whether out of numbness or because he was thinking that he would perish here.
Among the crowd, Li Yunsheng, who was kneeling, saw the Qu family and Yu Nie standing in the front row. He looked at her fiercely and cursed her until a soldier stepped forward and punched him, at which point he calmed down.
Yu Nie simply gazed at him calmly.
The time had come. Chen Boxia sighed, picked up the command token from the table, paused for a moment, then resolutely threw it to the ground, and said in a deep voice, "It's noon, carry out the execution—"
The command arrow landed, the executioner's knife rose and fell, and the sharp sound of the blade rang out.
After the rain, the execution ground was instantly stained dark red with mud, and thick blood meandered down from the execution platform.
More than six hundred headless corpses were densely packed on the ground, and blood flowed into small streams that meandered into the wooden planks and mixed with the soil, a horrifying sight.
In a swift and bloody scene, the moment the command arrow fell to the ground, Li Yunsheng's curses turned into a desperate roar, and everything ended the instant the blade sliced across his neck.
His head was tilted to one side, and his once fierce eyes were staring intently in Yu Nie's direction.
Yu Nie simply watched calmly.
She stared at his corpse without showing the slightest fear.
The air was thick with the pungent stench of blood, mixed with the deathly stillness of life.
The constables began to move forward expressionlessly, dragging away the corpses one by one as if they were stacking firewood.
A thin mist shrouded the execution ground on the river.
Chen Boxia stared at the corpses for a while before getting up from his seat.
His departing figure was somewhat hunched. His former colleague had died just over ten days ago, how could he not feel a sense of shared sorrow for his fallen comrade?
Gu Xiangzhi watched the massacre, his gaze not lingering on the rolling heads of the people, but turning to look at the people around him.
When Yu Nie kept staring at the blood flowing to her feet without ever thinking of moving away, he pulled her away abruptly.
"Don't let his blood stain the soles of your shoes," he said.
Yu Nie looked up at him.
At this moment, a simply dressed couple with sorrow and gratitude on their faces stepped forward.
It was the Qu family.
Upon seeing Yu Nie, Lady Qu burst into tears before she could even speak, and tremblingly knelt down: "Thank you... thank you, Your Highness. If it weren't for Your Highness, I don't know when this villain Li Yunsheng would be brought to justice, and I don't know when my mother's great revenge would be avenged."
Yu Nie reached out to help her up: "Please rise, my lady. Li Yunsheng's execution is due to His Majesty's wise judgment and the strictness of the law. It has nothing to do with me." She said this simply because her status as a princess was sensitive, and she could not be associated with the downfall of any particular family.
Lady Qu looked puzzled, seemingly disbelieving.
Seeing this, Gu Xiangzhi spoke up at the opportune moment: "Your Majesty's wisdom shines brightly. The evidence against the Gao and Li clans is conclusive, shaking the foundation of the nation, and they should be executed according to the law. The princess is kind and cannot bear to see the people suffer injustice, but such important matters of the court should be judged fairly by law, and cannot be swayed by personal grudges."
With a few words, he removed her from the situation without leaving a trace.
Yu Nie smoothly took over the conversation, saying gently, "The exoneration of your family is the result of your family's adherence to justice. There are still many days ahead, and you and your family must take good care of yourselves so that your mother's spirit in heaven can rest in peace."
The son-in-law of the Qu family wiped his red eyes with his sleeve: "Li Yunsheng is dead, we can finally rest easy."
After saying that, hope shone in the eyes of Madam Qu and her son-in-law: "In the future, we plan to set up a small shop and continue to sell steamed buns. If Your Highness doesn't mind, you are welcome to come and visit often."
Yu Nie nodded and said okay.
After exchanging a few more words, the Qu couple bowed deeply to her and then left.
Watching the Qu family members support each other as they walked away until they disappeared at the end of the long street, Yu Nie turned her gaze away and continued walking side by side with Gu Xiangzhi.
Cuiwei and Meinian followed behind them.
The stench of blood in the air gradually faded.
Gu Xiangzhi slowed his pace slightly, turned to look at her, and broke the silence: "A few days ago, you proposed to return the vacant lands of the aristocratic families that had been cleared to the original tenant farmers. After I reported this plan to the Grand Eunuch, I asked him to speak on my behalf, and it has reached the Emperor's ears. After reading it, His Majesty said that this plan 'directly addresses the current problems and understands the root causes.' At present, in several places where it is being piloted, the people's hearts are at ease, and the results are beginning to show."
His eyes held a hint of inquiry as he continued, "I just didn't expect you to get to the heart of the matter so quickly. This 'land reform' policy is extremely interconnected; moving one part will affect the whole situation. How did you come up with such a method in such a short time?"
Perhaps because she had the perspective of someone who had been through it all, she knew how important land was to ordinary people in ancient times.
She paused, then replied, “The common people of the world ask for very simple things. They toil and struggle their whole lives, all for a few acres of land, a place to settle down and make a living. For them, land is not just a means of subsistence, but the lifeblood of their ancestors, the foundation of their livelihood. With land, their hearts are at peace, and their homes are secure. The gentry and their ilk, by seizing land and taking away people's foundations, are tantamount to cutting off their path to survival. This method can directly target their lifeline and destroy their foundation, thus allowing the local people to live a stable life and stabilizing the region.”
Land is the lifeblood of ordinary people and the focal point of all social conflicts. Returning the land to the people would allow them to retain hope for the dynasty.
For her, land reform was merely the beginning of injecting fresh blood into the dynasty.
She looked ahead and continued, "But if we want to prevent future generations from repeating the same mistakes, to form new forces and become new aristocratic families, land alone is far from enough. I want an official career that gives everyone a chance, so that it is no longer monopolized by anyone, and that everyone can study."
Gu Xiangzhi keenly caught the unspoken meaning in her words: "Could it be that you want to reinstate the past examination system and recruit talented people from humble backgrounds?"
"Although the policy examination is a step forward compared to relying solely on family background, the power of recommendation still inevitably falls into the hands of powerful families. In the end, those selected will probably still be people with close ties to the gentry, just a change in name only. Over time, a new circle of powerful elites will form, and the cycle will repeat itself."
Having said that, she stopped and turned to face him directly, her voice firm and resolute: "We need a measure that is fairer than the imperial examination. A measure that allows truly talented people, regardless of their humble origins, to advance through their own efforts."
Gu Xiangzhi: "Fairer? I would like to hear the details."
"I would call it—the imperial examination."
She said, "The core of the imperial examination lies in fairness. It does not require the recommendation of high-ranking officials and nobles. Anyone who is willing to study can register to take the exam at the prefecture or county level. From the county exam, the prefecture exam, the provincial exam to the palace exam personally presided over by the emperor, there are multiple levels of assessment and selection. Finally, the selected scholars are chosen by imperial decree. The whole process takes literary talent as the sole criterion, and the assessment is open and the best are selected."
"Only by allowing everyone to share the hope of promotion can any monopoly be fundamentally broken. In this way, the court can obtain a continuous stream of fresh blood and avoid repeating the same mistakes."
After hearing her words, Gu Xiangzhi remained silent for a long time.
He understood that this was not just a reform of the official selection system, but a reform that would reshape the entire power structure.
He looked at her and realized for the first time that he might never have truly known her.
He had only thought of her as lively, clever and sincere; he never imagined she possessed such talent.
He prided himself on his keen insight into worldly affairs and his mastery of court politics, yet he had never dared to conceive of such a radically subversive measure.
A surge of emotion, a mixture of admiration and worry, almost overwhelmed his usual composure.
He was fond of her, and this feeling made him unconsciously want to protect her under his wings. But only now did he realize that he might never have truly touched her, and that his desire to "protect" her was even—superfluous.
Finally, all thoughts calmed down when he spoke: "If this method is implemented, it may shake the very foundations of the world. Do you know that the difficulties involved are by no means easy to overcome?"
He looked at her no longer as a princess in need of protection, but as a strategist.
Upon hearing this, Yu Nie smiled nonchalantly.
“There are natural barriers, but aren’t roads made by people walking them?” Her tone became lighter. “We just need to keep walking.”
After saying that, she turned her head and asked him, "By the way, when you were in Shuoyang, didn't you meet Lady Dugu? Why didn't she come back to Jian'an?"
She had intended to visit her when she had time, but when he recounted the details of his investigation into the Gao family's crimes in Shuoyang, she learned from him that Dugu Loujun had already left Shuoyang.
When that name was mentioned, Gu Xiangzhi's eyes dimmed slightly: "She said she wanted to continue seeing this world. She only wanted to be a wandering doctor, practicing medicine to help those she could."
He recalled that resolute and dashing figure. He was able to obtain the key evidence against the Gao family so smoothly this time, thanks to her secret matchmaking. It was also she who guided him to meet Gao Ge.
Although she was far removed from any turmoil, she saw things more clearly than many of those directly involved.
Inside the Situ Mansion.
Wang Chang didn't see the execution, but the smell of blood from the execution ground seemed to have drifted over here as well.
"This time, the poor family has truly won." Wang Chang's voice was hoarse as he looked at the rain outside.
He had thought this was just another instance of the emperor's balancing act, but he never expected Zhao Yunfu's methods to be so ruthless.
The son-in-law who consulted him on state affairs was far more ruthless than he had imagined.
He understood that Zhao Yunfu intended to completely replace the aristocratic families with those from humble backgrounds.
Wang Chang slowly turned around and looked at the plaque hanging in the study that symbolized the glory of the Wang family.
"Xu Cai." After a long while, he called to the person standing in the study: "The elite of the Imperial Horse Stables have all been dispatched by His Majesty to various places. As a result, His Majesty will rely more on the Martial Guard Battalion for guarding the capital and the city."
"Seize the opportunity," Wang Chang said. "You want to marry my daughter; this is the best time for you to change yourself."
Although Wang Chang understood that his clan would not suffer the same fate as the other two families, he had no choice but to find new partners for the Wang family due to Zhao Yunfu's unpredictable nature.
Xu Cai lowered his head, his mind filled with everything Zhao Yunfu had done: killing his brother and taking away Langxi. He had to avenge such a grudge.
Seeing that he hadn't spoken for a while, Wang Chang glanced behind him out of the corner of his eye and asked, "Hmm?"
Xu Cai then came to his senses and cupped his hands, saying, "Wenji, please obey the instructions of the Minister."
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