The Empress Dowager's edict was truly astounding.
Everyone knew that the Empress Dowager was dissatisfied with the late Emperor, but no one expected that her dissatisfaction would reach such an extent that she would directly point out the late Emperor's mistakes in front of all the officials. To put it more seriously, she directly scolded him, which was something that had never happened before.
However, it doesn't matter. After all, what the Empress Dowager said is true. The late emperor's actions were indeed not good. Now that the Empress Dowager is in power, let her scold a few words. The officials can't say anything.
What they cared about was the content of the edict. No one expected that the Empress Dowager would once again threaten and oppress the officials with measures such as confiscating their property and beheading them.
Considering the Empress Dowager's actions last year, her mere laziness and neglect of duty resulted in the confiscation of property, the exile of so many people, and the deaths of quite a few.
Everyone knew that the Empress Dowager was preparing to kill someone again, and she had even put a knife to her own neck, which made the officials feel a sense of fear and resistance.
Since ancient times, officials have been exempt from punishment. Under normal circumstances, except for treason, if a scholar-official made a mistake, he would at most be dismissed from office, and his life, property and family would not be threatened.
Even if Empress Lü, who was as powerful as she was back then, wanted to kill someone, she would find a way to fabricate a serious crime before taking action. She would never threaten officials with confiscating their property or beheading them for failing to do things properly!
Furthermore, everyone knows that this "Five-Year Plan" is extremely difficult; just the population statistics and tax collection by acreage alone are not easy tasks to handle.
What if I can't handle it or don't handle it well? Wouldn't I just die? Wouldn't it be too dangerous to be an official?
"Unreasonable, arrogant, and ruthless!"
For a time, the resentment of the officials in the palace towards the Empress Dowager reached its peak.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
