Chapter 79 Students Enter the Capital
Baili Hong tilted his head and asked Chu Jiubian, "Sir, what is the Edict of Grace?"
Qin Xiao also asked, "Yes, sir, what is the Edict of Grace?"
Chu Jiubian: "..."
He glanced at Qin Xiao.
They seem to have gotten a little too familiar lately, and Qin Xiao is talking to him in an increasingly inappropriate manner.
A few days ago, they had talked before bed about how to deal with the vassal kings. Chu Jiubian mentioned the Edict of Grace and how to implement it.
He still remembered the look in Qin Xiao's eyes when he looked at him; it was intense, deep, and sent chills down his spine.
He withdrew his gaze and looked back at Baili Hong, asking, "Why does Your Majesty believe the vassal kings are so powerful?"
Baili Hong said, "Because they have soldiers in their hands, and people and grain on their fiefdoms."
“That’s right, this is all a result of their absolute power on their fiefdoms.” Chu Jiubian’s voice was gentle. “So, what should be done to make them less powerful?”
“Naturally, we should weaken their rights.” Baili Hong’s voice was still childish, but his tone was surprisingly steady. “But sir, how can we weaken their rights? What if they decide to launch a rebellion?”
Chu Jiubian nodded: "Your Majesty's concerns are valid. Therefore, we must first enhance our own strength and gain greater power and influence before we can issue the decree to reduce the power of the vassal states. Moreover, this decree must be accepted by the people of the whole country, and we must stand on the moral high ground."
Baili Hong's eyes lit up, and he said, "The master said that this is called an open strategy."
“That’s right,” Chu Jiubian said with a smile.
As he stated, this plan to weaken the power of the feudal lords consisted of two steps.
The first step was to replace the powerful figures within the court, allowing Baili Hong to occupy an absolutely dominant position in the court, that is, "the emperor's power is supreme."
In this way, they have a voice in the court and soldiers to use in the army, so they no longer hesitate to do things, and no one dares to stop them from issuing decrees.
The second step is to issue government decrees.
Now, after the drought and floods, and with the spiritual sustenance of the deity Chu Jiubian descending to earth, coupled with the imperial examination system which gave all people the opportunity to change their social class, this faction representing the imperial power enjoyed extremely high prestige and status among the people.
In this situation, they need to maintain their image even more, as this is beneficial to their rule.
Therefore, the decrees issued must be under the guise of "for the good of the vassal kings".
"Sir, I still can't figure it out." Baili Hong frowned. "What kind of open scheme could leave these vassal kings speechless with bitterness, while the world still praises us?"
Chu Jiubian laughed and asked, "Does Your Majesty know about the descendants of these vassal kings?"
“I know,” Baili Hong said, counting on his chubby little fingers. “Prince Anhuai, Baili Ming, is not yet married and has no children. The Prince of Nanjiang has a queen and no concubines, so he only has two legitimate sons and a princess…”
The King of Southern Xinjiang, needless to say, was a devoted lover, quite different from the powerful men of this era.
Prince Baili of Anhuai is still young, but he is of marriageable age.
It's just that he was in mourning for the old prince, which is why he hasn't even had a concubine yet.
Apart from these two princes, the other princes' residences all had one queen, two concubines, and several maids.
They had more and more children than the last.
For example, Baili Zheng, the Prince of Pingxi, who was on good terms with the King of Southern Xinjiang, had a relatively simple household, with only three principal wives and two concubines.
However, he had many children: two sons and one daughter from his principal wife, four daughters and three sons from his two concubines, and three sons and two daughters from his two concubines, for a total of eight sons and seven daughters.
Other princes had no fewer than five concubines in their harems. Even the youngest prince, Dingbei, had six concubines in addition to his three principal wives.
However, unlike the Prince of Pingxi, he only had three sons and one daughter, all born to different concubines.
This may also be because three of his six concubines were men.
The most notorious concubines, such as the Prince of Dongjiang, the Prince of Huguang, and the Prince of Zuiliang, had dozens of concubines, and at least a dozen, and their children numbered no fewer than twenty.
Such complex relationships cannot all coexist peacefully.
The reason they had so many children without any scruples was not only because their families needed to grow and they needed more people, but also because the princes wielded considerable power.
Even their own children dared not disobey them.
The throne is hereditary and the system of primogeniture is used. So even if the father dies, the remaining sons of concubines will still obey the rule of the legitimate son. If the legitimate son is unwilling to support them, they will be no different from ordinary servants.
However, among these illegitimate sons, there are many who are more talented and ambitious than the legitimate sons. How could these people really be willing to become the legitimate sons' vassals and forever be subordinate to others?
Chu Jiubian patiently explained these points to Baili Hong, saying, "These illegitimate children are only suppressed by the system, which is why they dare not rebel. But if they are given a chance to compete with the legitimate son, they will definitely seize control."
Baili Hong was still young, and although he understood the reasoning behind Baili Hong's words, he was still somewhat confused and did not know what to do.
But he seemed to have vaguely grasped some of the key points.
Chu Jiubian continued, "What we need to do is give them the same inheritance rights as the eldest son."
Baili Hong's eyes lit up: "Sir, I understand!"
"In this way, even if those princes and their legitimate sons are unwilling, they will have no choice, because their illegitimate children will definitely unite to support this decree, and their families will be in chaos."
Unless the princes kill all their illegitimate children, they will have to accept this decree. Even after accepting the decree, their private quarters will still be in turmoil, as everyone wants to inherit the throne and become the new prince. The princes will be in a real bind.
Chu Jiubian nodded with a smile: "Your Majesty is right, but there is one more thing to prepare in advance."
Qin Xiao's gaze remained fixed on Chu Jiubian, watching him speak gently to the children and noticing the subtle light in his eyes.
Those were no longer the lifeless eyes they once were; now they were bright and sparkling.
Chu Jiubian glanced at Qin Xiao out of habit, only to meet his smiling eyes.
Gentle, tolerant, and with some things that Chu Jiubian couldn't understand.
He almost instinctively avoided eye contact and immediately banished certain thoughts, preventing himself from overthinking.
"What else do we need to prepare, sir?" Baili Hong urged.
He felt that it was good enough to let these vassal kings fight amongst themselves.
Chu Jiubian composed himself and continued, "The illegitimate children, when united, can indeed cause unrest in the harems of the princes, but given their long-standing power, the illegitimate children dare not openly challenge their authority."
Baili Hong nodded.
Indeed, powerful vassal kings like the Prince of Dongjiang and the Prince of Huguang were so formidable that even their legitimate sons dared not argue with them, let alone their illegitimate sons.
Therefore, once this decree is issued, there may be unrest in their private quarters, and there may be frequent mutual attacks and assassinations, but the status and power of the vassal kings will not be weakened.
“Therefore, we need to issue another decree afterward,” Chu Jiubian’s eyes darkened slightly, “to force the vassal kings to distribute their power to all their children, and not just to their eldest sons.”
Thus, even if the vassal kings were not completely eliminated more than ten years later, their power would be divided into many scattered parts.
In the next generation, these rights will become increasingly fragmented and eventually cease to hold sway.
When the emperor issues such decrees, he can justify it by saying that it is for the benefit of the descendants of the vassal kings, thus demonstrating benevolence and magnanimity.
This was the Edict of Grace.
"Wow!" Baili Hong's eyes lit up. "That's amazing!"
The Edict of Grace was indeed a complex and difficult-to-understand scheme.
Chu Jiubian looked at Qin Xiao again, and the two locked eyes, both knowing the truth.
This policy is good, but it will take a long time, and who knows what changes might occur during that time, which is not what they want.
What they wanted was simply to use the "Decree of Grace" to pressure those vassal kings, to let them know that if they did not rebel, they could only wait for their power to be divided up.
That's right.
They wanted to force these vassal kings to rebel.
In this way, the imperial court could openly and legitimately mobilize troops against these vassal kings, lest the young emperor be portrayed as a cruel ruler who disregarded blood ties.
Baili Hong's little head seemed a bit overwhelmed by all this information, and he kept drifting off into his own thoughts, as if he was analyzing and processing the information and then imprinting these ideas and thoughts into his mind.
When similar situations arise again in the future, he will be able to learn from them and make the most appropriate response and decision.
Chu Jiubian then looked at Qin Xiao and asked, "Is there any news about the Gu worms?"
Previously, the King of Dingbei had secretly brought the Gu worms into the palace, and Chu Jiubian cooperated with Si Tu Anli to kill them all at the banquet. However, it is unknown whether the King of Dingbei released any other Gu worms on his way to the palace.
So he ordered his men to find the sedan chair bearers and palace servants who had previously been in contact with the Prince of Dingbei, as well as other people who had been in contact with these palace servants, totaling several hundred people.
Then Qin Xiao invited Si Tu Anli into the palace to check each person one by one, and they actually found a Gu worm on one of the palace servants.
Chu Jiubian was always worried that there might be other people in the palace who had been controlled by the Gu worms.
Because the Gu Master behind this Gu worm does create powerful Gu, but there is a drawback: the Gu in his hands cannot be used a second time.
Once activated, it can only affect one person, and the toxins will all fall on that person.
However, while it is a drawback, it is also powerful in another sense, because once this kind of Gu is activated and loses its toxins, it is very difficult to detect.
Previously, when Cheng Shuo was controlled by the Gu worm, Chu Jiubian and Qin Xiao went there together, the system did not warn of any poison.
This indicates that the Gu worms had already been activated and bound to Cheng Shuo's body, rendering them no longer poisonous to others.
Therefore, the system is unable to detect any abnormalities in people who have been controlled by the Gu worms.
Therefore, Chu Jiubian couldn't use the system and could only ask Si Tuanli to find it.
However, Si Tuanli also said that the person who created the Gu used special methods, and the Gu worms could be perfectly hidden inside the donor body after being activated, so even she could not find them.
The reason they were able to extract the Gu from Cheng Shuo's body before was because the Gu was a large enough centipede, and its aura was more obvious than that of the transparent little spider.
But neither she nor the little green snake noticed that the little spider had entered the human body.
It was only after Chu Jiubian gave her a hint that she allowed the little green snake to taste the special herb on her fingernail, which briefly improved its ability to distinguish and finally allowed it to find and eat all the Gu.
Once the spider enters the human body and activates its power, no matter how many herbs are consumed, the little green snake cannot be found.
The reason they were able to find that one who had slipped through the net among the palace servants was because the Gu poison had not yet been activated.
Chu Jiubian and Qin Xiao both suspected that there were other Gu poisons that had been activated, but they didn't know whose body they had fallen into.
We don't know what the Prince of Dingbei might do with other possible Gu, so we can only be more vigilant and protect Baili Hong.
He also instructed everyone in the palace to pay close attention to any unusual behavior from those around them and to report any abnormal actions immediately.
At the same time, Qin Xiao also sent Qin Chuan to send his men to investigate and find the hidden sects in the martial arts world, hoping to find the person who created the Gu poison and cut off the possibility of the other party using Gu poison to cause trouble at the source.
"There's no news yet." Qin Xiao frowned slightly.
This feeling of knowing there's danger lurking in the shadows but being unable to find a solution is truly unsettling.
Seeing his reaction, Chu Jiubian was no longer in a hurry and said, "It's alright. In any case, the Gu worm can no longer harm people. When it makes a move, we will definitely notice something unusual."
Qin Xiao nodded: "I know."
Their eyes met, and once again they fell silent.
"Get to work." Chu Jiubian looked away and glanced at the folded document in his hand.
Qin Xiao smiled silently and looked down at the memorial.
The backlog of official documents from the holiday season has been mostly approved, but now there are many new ones.
What Chu Jiubian is looking at right now is what Han Yuandao, the current prefectural governor of Hexi County, wrote.
This person was personally chosen by Chu Jiubian. He was originally just a minor agricultural official, but now he has the demeanor of a high-ranking local official.
The other party must have known that this memorial would go through several layers before reaching Chu Jiubian, because the content was very cryptic.
For example, the sweet potatoes that Chu Jiubian had instructed him to plant were planted last year. He said that the planting time was too late, but he built a greenhouse according to Chu Jiubian's method and planted some, which indeed yielded a high yield.
So this year he will ask all the people in Hexi County to set aside a few acres of land to grow sweet potatoes.
He wasn't afraid the people wouldn't agree, because after the flood, he remeasured the land and treated all the land that had been concealed by the local gentry and landlords as their own. He issued documents, affixed the government seal, and distributed the land to the people.
They will no longer have to work as tenant farmers for others; they will have their own land.
These wealthy landowners naturally wanted to cause trouble, but Han Yuandao produced tax records from previous years.
These people were happy when they hid their land and evaded taxes, but now they're dumbfounded.
If they want the land, they will have to pay back all the taxes they have hidden for the land over the years. They will also be fined three times the amount of the evaded taxes according to the Da Ning Law for "tax evasion," and will be given twenty strokes of the cane.
Therefore, these people had no choice but to suffer this loss in silence.
It's not worth losing so much money for the sake of land.
In the future, they will find another way to "steal" that land from the people; they have done this countless times before.
But what they didn't know was that with Han Yuandao around, and the six new students who entered the civil service exam's criminal justice subject, they would "amend the laws," making it much harder for them to have such wicked thoughts.
Han Yuandao spoke of these things in a very veiled manner, and only Chu Jiubian, knowing what task he had given him, was able to guess what he meant.
"He really is a good candidate for officialdom," Chu Jiubian exclaimed.
Further on, Han Yuandao said that some students had already passed through Hexi County, and he ordered his soldiers to meet them at the border of Hexi County and escort them all the way past the boundaries of Hexi County before letting them go.
After passing Hexi County, we will soon arrive at the capital. I imagine the students will arrive one after another in a few days.
Besides students, people from all walks of life also came to the capital to join in the fun.
Now that they were out on the streets, it was even more bustling and lively than before. An Wuji was so busy that he barely had time to breathe. All the city defense troops and imperial guards were mobilized, which ensured order in the capital.
However, while it is safe in the capital, the journey to the capital may not be so safe.
No force would allow Chu Jiubian and Qin Xiao's plan to proceed so smoothly; they would certainly cause them some trouble.
If just one or two students die, and the news gets out, even more students will be afraid to come to the capital.
The deaths of these students would also cause the court to lose all its authority, and no one would be willing to risk their lives for the court anymore.
However, given Qin Xiao and Chu Jiubian's deep minds, they must have sent people to protect these students long ago.
Therefore, although the various forces did not contact each other, they all chose to send their strongest assassins to carry out the assassination.
On this bright, clear day, they had not yet reached the territory of Hexi Commandery.
Lu Yao and his servant A Chuan sat inside the carriage, with a coachman driving outside. There was another carriage with luggage behind them, and a dozen or so Lu family guards were also on their way. The group traveled in a grand procession.
He moved slowly because Lu Yao was delicate and could not be jostled.
However, Lu Yao wasn't reading the book at the moment; instead, he was staring intently at the servant opposite him.
"What's up?" Qin Chuan asked.
Lu Yao asked curiously, "I haven't asked you why you disguised yourself?"
"I'm afraid people will find out my identity," Qin Chuan said.
Lu Yao became even more curious: "Are you very famous?"
Qin Chuan chuckled lightly and said, enunciating each word clearly, "Extremely famous."
Lu Yao was satisfied and ignored him, lowering his head to read.
Qin Chuan: "......"
People with such sharp minds can be really inexplicable at times.
He crossed his arms and leaned against the carriage wall, closed his eyes, and as the carriage swayed, he actually felt a little sleepy.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes, his sharp gaze fixed on the carriage curtain, or perhaps looking out through it.
Lu Yao paused slightly and looked up at him.
The car was still swaying as if nothing was wrong.
"Someone's come to kill me?" Lu Yao asked.
Qin Chuan raised an eyebrow: "Are you scared?"
"Are you scared?" Lu Yao asked back.
Qin Chuan: "What am I afraid of? They're not going to kill me."
"I'm asking if you're afraid of my death," Lu Yao said seriously. "If I die, your mission will fail. Even if your superiors don't blame you, you'll lose face, and you might have to live in disguise from now on."
Qin Chuan thought about it seriously for a moment and said, "You're right, so..."
The car suddenly stopped.
The sound of servants drawing their swords echoed around the carriage as they surrounded it, warily watching their surroundings.
On their perimeter, dozens of masked assassins, wielding long knives, charged forward without a word, and in an instant, the sounds of clashing weapons filled the air.
Qin Chuan raised his hand and lifted the car window curtain, turning his head to look outside.
A faint smile curved her lips as she said, "So, I don't lose face so easily."
In less than a quarter of an hour, the carriage was back on the road, swaying precariously, and none of the accompanying guards were injured or killed.
Their tense nerves relaxed considerably along the way.
For no other reason than that before they had even engaged the assassins, a group of men in black appeared out of nowhere and quickly wiped them all out.
Then, the men in black disappeared from the spot, leaving only afterimages in the distance, which showed that their lightness skills had reached an extraordinary level.
However, before leaving, one of the men in black left a message for Lu Yao in the carriage: "His Majesty has ordered that the students be protected. Please rest assured."
This scene was playing out in various parts of Daning.
Without exception, all the assassins returned empty-handed.
The Qiu family had deep ties with the martial arts world, and they even hired two sects that were skilled in using hidden weapons to assassinate these students. However, before they could even leave the mountain gate, they were blocked by other nearby sects.
"The Alliance Leader has decreed that no one in the martial world may participate in matters of the imperial court," the Sword Sect leader said coldly.
The leader of the Moon Breath Sect, which was known for manufacturing hidden weapons, narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Aren't you all interfering in the affairs of the imperial court by blocking our way?"
"We stopped you because we didn't want you to break the rules. Sect Master, don't misunderstand."
After chatting for a long time, the two sects that had received the mission from the Qiu family were ultimately unable to take action and could only return all the good stuff they had acquired.
Thus, the Qiu family did not suspect that the so-called leader of the martial arts alliance was actually entangled with the imperial court. They simply believed that this was the rule of the martial arts world and that they had no choice but to stop following this path.
Besides the Qiu family, other aristocratic families and feudal lords also sent waves of assassins.
Given Lu Yao's top-ranking academic performance, he must be under the most stringent protection. Moreover, he comes from a good family, has some wealth, and is accompanied by guards, making it indeed difficult to harm him.
However, while they couldn't kill such individuals, they still had a chance against other simple farm boys and students with poor grades.
But no matter who they point their fingers at, no one is hurt.
In the end, not only did they fail to achieve their goals of killing people and ruining the reputation of the court, but they also enhanced the court's prestige and increased the people's trust in the court.
If the imperial court can protect these students, it will surely be able to protect ordinary people like them in the future.
Those students who personally felt protected felt even closer to and more admiring of the imperial court and Baili Hong and others, and were even more determined to serve them wholeheartedly.
It's anyone's guess how the various factions will react to this news, but they're all bound to feel bad.
However, the Lu family is somewhat different.
Minister of War Lu Youwei held a thin piece of paper in his hand, on which various information about a person was written in dense writing.
This person was none other than Lu Yao, Lu Zicheng, who ranked first in this imperial examination.
“This Lu Zicheng actually has some connection with my Lu family.” Lu Youwei handed the paper to his strategist Lu Tong.
Lu Tong looked at it and said with a smile, "In that case, when he comes to the capital, we, as the host family, should also hold a welcoming banquet for him."
The purpose of the event, ostensibly to welcome the guest and cleanse them of their dust, is actually to cultivate good relationships with them and bring them into one's own camp.
Lu Youwei truly did not expect that Qin Xiao and Chu Jiubian would be so careless as to give a member of the Lu family first place and even admit him to the Imperial Academy.
It's unclear whether they thought Lu Zicheng wouldn't have any connection with the Lu family, or if they genuinely hadn't discovered Lu Zicheng's relationship with the Lu family.
Regardless, the Lu family is determined to have this person.
However, the methods can be more discreet. Even if Lu Zicheng is invited to the banquet, one must be careful not to let anyone discover it.
If they are discovered, they should pretend that they have not reached an agreement, so that Qin Xiao and Chu Jiubian can rest assured and continue to use Lu Zicheng.
And so, the days passed one by one.
On the second day of the second lunar month, the dragon raises its head.
The students finally all arrived in Beijing.
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