Knight of the Blue Lagoon (The Past of Tao v)

99. Shifting the blame, causing trouble for the king, and stealing the title of hero of the Blue Lake

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There was no wind at all in the Dongfu King's Palace, and it was calm. In the calmness were hearts hanging in the air. These nights, it was harder for everyone to fall asleep than ever before, and they could only stare at the stars silently at night.

That day, the eunuch rushed in and said,"Your Majesty, there is news. Your Majesty has news. There are documents from the Xilu Kingdom."

King Dongfu felt much relieved after reading it, and handed it to the eunuch beside him:"You can also take a look.!"

"Your Majesty, this... there is no mention of ransom, are they not in a hurry? What kind of calculation is this?"The eunuch is still uneasy.

"There's no rush, I think they're very anxious. We have 100,000 prisoners of war in our hands. If they're not in a hurry, we don't have to be in a hurry."What was King Dongfu thinking about? When he walked out of the palace gate, a breeze blew by, and the flowers and plants in the courtyard swayed with the wind.

"Go, quickly go and invite Mr. Yan, Mr. Wen and the Minister of Rites."King Dongfu.

The Minister of Rites rushed to the palace. When he saw the list, he was shocked at first, and then burst into tears.

"What's wrong? What's going on here?"King Dongfu comforted

"Your Majesty, I have been waiting for this day, but I didn't expect this day to be so painful. Most of these ministers are in important positions, they are the eyes and ears of the Xilu Kingdom, and they all own property in the Xilu Kingdom. In the past few decades, the court has been full of filth, and the people have suffered a lot. People who are truly ambitious and care about the country and the nation must die and leave. The old minister is unwilling to leave like this. He has no face to see the late king.."The Minister of Rites looked sad.

The helplessness in the past had hurt the hearts of many people with lofty ideals. This understanding made King Dongfu feel sad and happy, and he felt a little relieved in his heart. King Dongfu slowly walked to the Minister of Rites and slowly He straightened his body and said,"I have wronged you all these years."

"Your Majesty has really been aggrieved for the sake of the people these years. Compared with Your Majesty, this little grievance of the minister is nothing."The Minister of Rites.

The old eunuch beside him was already in tears.

After the Minister of Rites calmed down, he said:"Your Majesty, is there any trap? I once heard Daozhi and others say that it is easy for money to enter the Xilu Kingdom, but it is difficult to get out. , they will not pay the ransom easily"

"Although the Xilu Kingdom is governed by a royal family, it still has talents. It may not be easy to get the money back. After all, the Xilu Kingdom is the overlord of the Blue Lake and directly redeems people. I am afraid that the gang of subordinates will not want to follow him in the future."King Dongfu

"Are they trying to shift the blame?"The Minister of Rites

"The Blue Lake Treaty clearly stipulates that countries are not allowed to interfere in the political affairs of other countries. Although we do not interfere, the Xilu Kingdom still has many imperial courts secretly supervising the administration of other countries. It is natural for them to maintain their dignity. They want face, we want lizi, and they Find someone to take the blame. Let us take the blame. We can afford it."King Dongfu

"Your Majesty, Mr. Yan and Mr. Wen are already waiting outside the palace."The eunuch reported.

After reading the list, Mr. Yan Lao Wen immediately understood the meaning of the Xilu Kingdom. Mr. Yan said:"Your Majesty, their move is considered vicious. After the pacification of the vassal, we no longer have enough officials in the court. There is such a person in their roster. Too many officials will harm the country. They want to disintegrate the imperial court."

Mr. Wen nodded:"I have the same view. If all are dealt with according to this list, the Eastern Capital and various prefectures will be even more short of officials. Although Mr. Yan has trained a lot of talents over the years, if he completely recruits new people, they will have no experience and there will be risks. A county magistrate needs at least three to five years of training. Being an official is to govern the people and manage people, and the human heart is the most complicated. , lack of experience, improper operation, good governance may turn into bad governance, hurt the people, and seriously affect the development of Dongfu Country"

"There is a pustule on the body, whether it is big or small, it is time to squeeze it."King Dongfu

"But it can’t be squeezed out at once. Dongfu medicine emphasizes conditioning, so if you squeeze it out, the gain will outweigh the loss."Mr. Wen

"Although our Dongfu country can resist, after returning 100,000 prisoners of war, there has been a decline. Our Dongfu army is not strong enough. If there is any further adjustment of officials, it will be very dangerous." Mr. Yan

"Things have priorities, and the people on the list may be false or true, and may not all be true. Take Governor Zhai as an example. He was once an old subordinate. He was magnanimous and had good conduct. Xilu Kingdom wanted to win over him at that time, but he couldn't. Moved, the old man did not believe that Governor Zhai would turn to them."Mr. Wen

"I don't believe that Governor Zhai would be complicit with those people."The Minister of Rites

"We need to be careful, first classify and check whether the officials of the Eastern Capital and the local officials, the legal system, the military, or the administrative officials. Once verified, the officials in the army and the eastern capital can deal with it seriously and never tolerate it. These people are also the most harmful to the country. Under the emperor's feet, there will be no big trouble. After this war, many outstanding generals appeared. General Dao brought hundreds of people with them. They had experienced hundreds of battles and were loyal. All of them were generals and could be put to good use. Without them, there would be no problems in the army. question. There are many local officials, and they have close relations with the local gentry. They can cause great harm to the people. They should first give warnings. If there are those who repent, they can be given a chance. If they refuse to repent, they will need to be replaced slowly. Officials in charge of criminal law must be honest and proficient in the law. Naturally, they also need experience in handling cases. If they are not experienced, it will be counterproductive. The people recommended by Yan Lao last time can play a stabilizing role in the court. When they have experience, they will be reused. Local administration is a problem."Mr. Wen

"Local evil must be discovered to serve as a warning to others. In the past, petty officials who were corrupt and violated the law would be punished temporarily if they repaid their stolen money and reformed their past mistakes. If they did not repent, violated the law in disguise and continued to abuse the people, once they were found out, they would be severely punished. Then a set of policies to limit the power of officials were formulated and supervised. From then on, the officials appointed by the imperial court were held responsible until death, and the family was jointly and severally held accountable even if they retired and returned to their hometowns. The wives and children of those who are officials in Dongfu State must be in Dongfu State, and their wealth must be reported to the court. The families of officials, big and small, are not allowed to deal in food, salt, oil and other necessities for people's daily life. If they are found to be arrogant and extravagant, they must be punished. All wealth and official positions must be reported to the court. Those with mismatched incomes will be severely punished. If you want to be a court official, don't even think about gaining wealth. Set up a special agency to supervise officials and their children to eliminate it from the root and leaves." Mr. Yan

"By the way, when we were investigating the riots in the south last time, Dao Zhi ordered Lao Chen to pay attention to the accomplices of the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue. I already have a list for comparison."The Minister of Rites

"Okay, let's do it like this. The Minister of Rites will make a list of the officials who have violated the imperial court, committed the most heinous crimes, and are stubborn. Once verified, they will be convicted of treason with foreign countries. In the name of the Blue Lake Treaty, they will issue a Blue Lake wanted order to all countries to recover the stolen money.."King Dongfu

"Mr. Yan and Mr. Wen, to govern hundreds of officials, power must be locked in the cage of the system. You are responsible for formulating the rules for hundreds of officials and informing the world."King Dongfu

"If 100,000 prisoners of war are returned, will they invade again?"The Minister of Rites

"Now that time has passed, our Dongfu army is fully equipped with soldiers and horses. Although it does not have the strength to conduct an expedition, its close defense is no longer a serious problem." Mr. Yan

~

After receiving the demand documents from Dongfu Kingdom, King Xilu summoned the ministers

"It appears they were not deceived."Left Prime Minister

"Their Blue Lake arrest warrant requires us to help recover the embezzled money from those who are more conservative. The people on it are indeed big worms. They have the most wealth hidden in our country, and some people who are loyal to us are not among them."Prime Minister

"That’s fine, we can cultivate it again."Little Prince

"It seems that there are many talented people in the Dongfu Kingdom's court today."The old prince sighed with emotion.

Only then did everyone realize that King Dongfu had already planned. Dongfu Kingdom is not Luoba Kingdom, let alone Japan Kingdom. The Dongfu Kingdom court is no longer the court of the past.