novelAbuy Chapter 93 Conferring of Titles
Chapter 93 Conferring of Titles
The footsteps stopped behind the screen, and then the screen was pushed open from the side.
Emperor Kangxi walked in front, with Crown Prince Yinreng following behind him.
He was not tall; standing in front of the crown prince, he only reached the prince's shoulder. He looked rather thin and even somewhat inconspicuous.
If he weren't wearing that color that only emperors could wear, no one would give him a second glance if he walked down the street.
The Crown Prince followed behind Kangxi, his back still ramrod straight.
But Yin'e knew that the Crown Prince's life had been difficult ever since the Juxianju incident.
Although Kangxi outwardly protected him, the seeds of suspicion had already been sown in Kangxi's heart.
Everyone knelt down in unison, the hem of their court robes sweeping across the ground, causing the court beads to clink together.
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Crown Prince! Long live the Crown Prince!"
Kangxi walked behind his desk and sat down.
"Get up, everyone."
Everyone stood up, hands at their sides, heads bowed, waiting for Kangxi to speak.
Kangxi leaned back in his chair, tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest twice, and glanced at the faces of the crowd.
"I called you here today to discuss matters concerning Huguang."
When he uttered the words "Huguang," everyone's ears perked up.
His gaze fell on the fourteenth prince, his face showing a mixture of satisfaction and relief.
"Yinzhen did a good job this time." His voice was a little softer than before. He had swept away those officials who disregarded the laws of the court and exploited the people, and handled the matter very cleanly.
The fourteenth prince quickly stepped out of the queue, knelt on the ground, and touched his forehead to the ground: "Your subject is merely carrying out an imperial order and dares not claim credit."
Sharing the burdens of my father and the court is my duty.
Yin'e listened and secretly admired him. This kid had improved his speaking skills after spending a few months in Huguang.
The fourteenth prince used to speak bluntly, like a knife without a sheath.
Now they've shown more restraint, which is very good.
Kangxi nodded, turning his gaze from the fourteenth prince to Liang Jiugong.
Liang Jiugong understood, pulled out a bright yellow imperial edict from his sleeve, unfolded it, and began to read it aloud.
He recited all sorts of nice-sounding phrases in parallel prose, such as "diligent in serving the king," "loyal to the country," and "I am very pleased with myself," while everyone knelt to listen.
Finally, Liang Jiugong raised his voice a few decibels: "I hereby appoint Yinti as a Beile."
The fourteenth prince had no title before, and among the older princes, he was the only one who was still bald.
It wasn't that Emperor Kangxi didn't love him; it was that he didn't want it. He wanted to earn his title himself and didn't want the empty fame that came from his birth.
Now, Kangxi has bestowed this title upon him, which is an affirmation of his abilities, whether he likes it or not.
The fourteenth prince kowtowed to the gold brick, his voice choked with emotion: "Your Majesty, I thank you for your boundless grace!"
He stood up and returned to the queue.
Yin'e stood beside him, turned his head to look at him, and smiled slightly, revealing a sincere smile.
He was genuinely happy for the fourteenth prince.
Among the brothers in the Eighth Prince's Party, the Fourteenth Prince was the only one he felt he could "confide in".
The eighth brother is too cunning, the ninth brother is too wicked, only the fourteenth brother, although sometimes reckless, speaks his mind without hiding anything.
This kind of personality might be a disadvantage in an imperial family, but it makes making friends very comfortable.
The fourteenth prince glanced at him, a slight smile playing on his lips, and nodded.
Kangxi and the others stood up straight again, their gazes becoming profound.
"Huguang is in complete chaos now." His voice turned somber. "The people's livelihood, officials, and social atmosphere have all been ruined by these corrupt officials."
The people were filled with resentment and were living in misery.
The officials whose homes were raided had mountains of silver found, but their treasuries were completely empty.
He paused, his gaze sweeping across the faces of the crowd.
"The total deficit in Hubei and Hunan provinces is more than three million taels of silver."
"I've called you all here today to discuss what to do about the situation in Huguang."
He leaned back in his chair, his gaze sweeping across the faces of the people present.
"Who wants to go first?"
The fourteenth prince stepped out of the queue once again.
"Father, the situation in Huguang is much more serious than described in the memorials."
Kangxi leaned back in his chair, waiting for him to continue.
"I have investigated all the prefectures and counties under the jurisdiction of Huguang, from Wuchang to Jingzhou, from Xiangyang to Changsha, and found that almost none of them are clean."
The officials neglected their duties; some set up gambling dens in government offices, some accepted bribes in court, and some simply didn't even go to government offices, instead staying at home drinking and cuddling with their concubines.
When commoners come to file a complaint, the first thing they look at is the money; if the money arrives, they win the case; if the money doesn't arrive, even if they are in the right, they become in the wrong.
It's not uncommon for a case to drag on for three to five years; sometimes, the case is closed when the plaintiff dies and the defendant flees.
As he spoke, his voice grew deeper and deeper.
"Your subject saw an old man in Huangzhou Prefecture, over seventy years old, kneeling at the entrance of the government office and crying."
His son was beaten to death by thugs. He sued for three years, losing all his money, his wife died of illness, and he even knelt until his legs were too sore to straighten, but no one paid any attention to the case.
Your son asked him why he didn't appeal to higher authorities. He replied, "The gatekeeper wants money, the clerk wants money, the second master wants money. I've sold all my land; I simply can't afford it."
Several ministers in the Imperial Study lowered their heads, their faces looking rather grim.
The fourteenth prince took a breath and continued talking about the drought.
"Since the beginning of summer this year, not a drop of rain has fallen in Huguang. The fields are cracked and the seedlings have withered and died, resulting in a complete loss of harvest for the people."
When I passed through Hanyang Prefecture, I saw that the bark of the trees along the roadside had been stripped off, and the grass roots had been dug up. Many villages were almost empty, and those who could run away had run away, while those who could not run away were left to die.
There was a village with over three hundred households. When I arrived, less than one hundred households remained. The village chief said that most of them had either starved to death, died of disease, or fled due to famine.
His voice trembled slightly.
"I have checked the accounts of the disaster relief funds allocated by the court. The Ministry of Revenue allocated 500,000 taels, and 400,000 taels remained in the treasury of Huguang Province."
Of the 300,000 taels allocated from the provincial treasury to the prefectures, 200,000 taels remained after being allocated from the prefectures to the counties. How much of that was left when it was distributed to the people from the counties?
Your Majesty, I had someone investigate three counties. One county distributed less than three thousand taels, another distributed less than two thousand taels, and the third county had twelve thousand taels in its accounts, but only eight hundred taels actually reached the people.
"Layer upon layer of exploitation, layer upon layer of deduction. Every official involved takes a bite, and some bite so hard that they don't even spit out the bones."
What the people received was not life-saving food, but a worthless piece of paper.
Finally, he talked about the imperial examination.
"Father is already aware of the cheating scandal in the Huguang provincial examination. But what I have discovered is not just this one case."
Each of the last three provincial examinations has had its share of problems. Some people cheated by bringing in cheat sheets, some bought exam questions in advance, some paid others to take the exam for them, and even worse, some of the examiners themselves were selling their official titles.
Liu Dianheng accepted the money and then handed notes to the candidates openly and without any attempt to conceal it.
Your Majesty, I searched the examination hall and found a whole bunch of cheating tools: cheat sheets smuggled in, notes hidden in boots, writings on collars—all sorts of things.
He paused, his voice deepening: "Those officials who rose through the ranks by buying their way into office, once they took office, the first thing they did wasn't to get things done, but to make money."
They spent a fortune to buy their positions, and they're going to recoup that tenfold, a hundredfold, from the people. That's the root of the problem that has corrupted the officialdom in Hubei and Hunan.
Upon hearing this, Kangxi angrily slammed his hand on the armrest of his chair.
Everyone knelt down in unison: "Tong Guowei!"
"Your servant is here."
"Is this the result of your Imperial Study recommending officials and supervising all officials?!"