Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress -
Chapter 925 - 922: Deliberately Creating Confusion
Chapter 925: Chapter 922: Deliberately Creating Confusion
Bai Qingyan didn’t feel regretful; though they couldn’t become a married couple for the moment, their hearts were in tune... and they could still compete together in the world. Even if they couldn’t stay by each other’s sides, they would never be lonely.
"Moreover, it seems the Rong side is also willing to seek peace. The Rong envoy arrived first in Dadu City, claiming... that their ghost-faced Prince would come before the enthronement ceremony to personally congratulate His Majesty." Dong Qingping, unaware that the ghost-faced General of the Rong was A Yu, spoke calmly.
Bai Qingyan tightened her palm. She knew A Yu would definitely return...
Only this time, she wasn’t sure if there would be an opportunity for A Yu to meet her mother privately. Nonetheless... even if they couldn’t meet privately, it was fine. As long as her mother could see A Yu safe and sound, that would be heaven’s blessing for her mother.
"There is also another matter, which His Majesty might not know yet. I will inform His Majesty in advance: some people from the Bai family Shuoyang Clan have arrived early in Dadu City to set up residences under the guise of being imperial relatives... secretly accepting bribes from officials in their mansions."
Lu Jin frowned, placing detailed records of which Bai Clan elders received bribes and who bribed them on the table before Bai Qingyan: "These are merely the large items that Bai Clan elders openly accepted. The rest... are still His Majesty’s clan, so I have not dared to investigate thoroughly."
"King Yan Li Zhijie of Xiliang arrived early and, knowing Bai Clan elders were setting up residences in Dadu City, lent a hand and even gifted many Xiliang beauties to Bai Clan elders..." Shen Jingzhong sneered, looking up at Bai Qingyan, "After all, Bai Clan people are His Majesty’s relatives. His Majesty’s determination to rectify them is not difficult! But King Yan of Xiliang has not been very well-behaved after arriving in Dadu City!"
"Jingzhong, you’re too rigid..." Prime Minister Lu stroked his beard with a light smile, "In the initial establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, the royal relatives of the Jin Dynasty, who had previously been joined with other nations, were unusable. Now... King Yan Li Zhijie of Xiliang comes to Dadu City openly, not as a spy, naturally seizing this opportunity to make connections with royal relatives for future dealings, which is reasonable enough!"
Shen Jingzhong sighed; he understood Prime Minister Lu’s words, but his heart was unsettled.
"This time, Li Mao and other rebellious ministers who fled with King Liang to Luohong City have already been brought back and handed over to Master Lu Jin for detention. If any family members wish to visit, Minister Lu may allow it..." Bai Qingyan said.
"Is His Majesty intending to show leniency?" Lu Jin asked.
"Since we need to use severe measures to weaken the vassal kings, we also need to employ conciliatory methods to appease people’s hearts. I believe there must be a balance... to prevent the court from becoming unbalanced." Bai Qingyan looked at Prime Minister Lu, sitting upright, nodding towards him, "If Bai Qingyan’s words are improper, please, Prime Minister Lu, enlighten me."
Prime Minister Lu looked at the humble Bai Qingyan in front of him, first surprised, then suddenly realizing that Bai Qingyan, the Empress of Zhou, was different from the Emperor of Jin, his tense spine slowly relaxed, he bowed in return toward Bai Qingyan, his moist eyes smiling, nodded: "What His Majesty said is indeed correct, whether governing the country... or handling matters, there must be a balance... relaxed externally and tight internally! His Majesty is thorough in her thinking, and I deeply admire that!"
"Since His Majesty wishes to forgive, let Jinxian keep an eye on these officials in the future, and ensure they don’t hold important positions." Prime Minister Lu looked at his son.
Lu Jinxian quickly straightened up and bowed deeply to Bai Qingyan, "Rest assured, Your Majesty, with me in the Ministry of Personnel, I will not allow these people to occupy significant positions."
"Thank you..." Bai Qingyan nodded to Lu Jinxian and then asked, "How is Wei Bugong doing with disaster relief?"
"The major effort has passed, and it’s still thanks to His Majesty’s keen eye for talent, personally promoting Wei Bugong to Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Revenue to lead the disaster relief effort, granting him the power to act first and report later. This person acts decisively, and with Your Majesty appointing General Wang Xiping to lead troops in support, he has backed him up with strength and momentum. He has issued IOUs all over, requisitioned stored grain from all regions for disaster relief food provisions, truly an iron-fisted approach, which has prevented a situation where the land is filled with starving people. This time, it can be said... not a single disaster victim starved to death!"
Prime Minister Lu finished speaking, laughed again, and intentionally defended Wei Bugong: "However... we’ve also received memorials from below, showing Wei Bugong’s somewhat bad temper; others only see his abilities and regard him with disdain."
In the past, in the Jin Dynasty, such people were destined not to be heavily relied on or promoted, yet coincidentally, the court most needed such individuals.
"Strong-minded and capable, people like him are lacking in the court!" Bai Qingyan nodded, relieved upon hearing that the disaster-affected people didn’t starve, she looked at Lu Jinxian, "How is the new policy implementation progressing in Hancheng these days?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the implementation is going smoothly, but it’s labor-intensive for Master Shen and officials from the Ministry of Justice..." Lu Jinxian looked toward Shen Jingzhong, "Following the reform outline given by Your Majesty, based on Jin laws, it needs to be rewritten and amended, first implemented in Hancheng, with Dadu City gradually releasing some news to test the waters, intending for official promulgation at Your Majesty’s enthronement ceremony. Although it has worn out the Ministry of Justice, thankfully... this time Li Mingrui played a significant role, and the new laws were expedited to Hancheng five days ago, presumably... the small portion of new laws brought by Chen Zhaolu and Lu Yuanqing has been mostly implemented, and the remaining ones sent over will fit in nicely."
"From the memorials sent back by Chen Zhaolu and Yuanqing, it’s clear... implementing new policies on former Liang lands is relatively easy, as everyone knows the nation of Liang is extinguished, so implementing new policies there is easier than in Zhou!" Lu Jinxian furrowed his brows, "As for Zhou..."
He looked up at Bai Qingyan, although Bai Qingyan hadn’t inquired about how the new policy implementation was progressing within Zhou’s borders, but Lu Jinxian, appointed by Bai Qingyan to implement the new policies, naturally needed to report back to Bai Qingyan.
Lu Jinxian thought for a moment, straightened his spine and bowed deeply to Bai Qingyan, speaking earnestly, "I fear this may be offensive, but implementing new laws benefits the common people, although it is bound to harm the interests of imperial relatives and old aristocratic families. Strictly speaking... during the Jin Dynasty’s transition to Zhou, if Your Majesty’s grandmother wasn’t the Eldest Princess of Jin Dynasty, had Your Majesty dealt with the former imperial relatives before going to Luohong City, perhaps implementation would be easier."
Without waiting for Bai Qingyan to speak, Lu Jin addressed Lu Jinxian, "His Majesty refrained from taking action against the former dynasty’s imperial clan in the early control of Dadu City precisely to avoid alarming and provoking the vassal kings. Before leaving Dadu City, His Majesty had already commanded the officials to begin compiling and organizing the misdemeanors committed by the imperial clan of Jin Dynasty over the years, waiting for the decimation of vassal kings to settle, then they will be dealt with all together. Minister Lu need not rush."
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