My Wife is Unbeatable in the Whole World, Touch Me If You Dare!-Chapter 418 - 280: Joy for Some, Sorrow for Others

When both King You and King Han fell, those people fell into Li Xuanjing's hands, didn't they become lambs ready for slaughter?

With so many nobles executed, the remaining circle of nobles in Chang'an, however, maintained an unusual silence.

Even though among them were some high-ranking Commandery Princes and Dukes, not one dared to speak up for the others.

In just three days, three Commandery Princes were killed; at such a time, who would dare to stick their neck out? If they were tagged as accomplices, they could be the ones executed the next day.

Another significant reason no one spoke up was King You's unchecked misbehavior, which Your Majesty said nothing about.

Such a significant matter could not have been unknown to Your Majesty, but facing Li Xuanjing's massacre of royal kin and nobles, Your Majesty did not intervene, which essentially clarified your stance.

The term "purging the imperial side," sounds righteous as if it were a just action, yet it fundamentally has no difference from rebellion; both forcefully coerce Your Majesty to compromise with his subjects.

Over the years, Your Majesty has focused on cultivation, seldom appearing in public, causing many to forget how you ascended to the throne.

After this event, probably no one would dare force Your Majesty to act in the name of "purging the imperial side."

Always daring to give frank advice, the Imperial Censorate did not remain silent on this matter but symbolically submitted a few petitions without blocking the Ministry of Justice or the palace gates.

On the one hand, possessing the Vast Righteous Qi is not a Death Exemption Token, and Li Xuanjing dares to kill officials who have it.

Even though they are not afraid of death, they don't want meaningless death.

For the people and for all under heaven, they are willing to sacrifice.

But to sacrifice themselves for the nobility, the Censors are straightforward but not foolish.

Moreover, the harm caused by the nobility far exceeds that of a power minister.

Li Xuanjing is just one person; upon his death, everything returns to dust.

But the titles of the nobility can be passed down through generations.

For a Commandery Prince, his seven generations of descendants are all nobles; for a Ducal Prince, even eight generations, but if they are executed for treason, their titles would be reclaimed by the court, unable to be passed down.

A momentary crime, with its effects lasting a hundred years.

This is something the three provinces, the Ministry of Justice, and the Imperial Censorate are unable to achieve.

Only Li Xuanjing can.

Inside the Secretariat, two Prime Ministers were playing chess when Scheeren Du Yu walked in and placed a paper on the table, saying, "This is the list of nobles and officials executed by the Ministry of Justice today..."

The Right Prime Minister picked up the paper, glanced at it, then set it down, murmuring softly, "Chief Left Minister, Left Minister, Right Assistant Minister of Revenue, Right Minister of Revenue, Right Assistant Minister of Personnel... This moment, he must have waited for a long time, hasn't he?"

Not every noble and official participating in the "purging the imperial side" was killed by Li Xuanjing.

Commandery Prince of Ruyang, Commandery Lord of Dingping, Commandery Lord of Xingyang, Commandery Lord of Dongping; three of them were executed for treason, while the Commandery Lord of Dingping, verified to be unrelated to the case at the Eastern Palace, was released by the Ministry of Justice.

Duke of Le'an, Duke of Jinyang were beheaded, while Duke of Xiping and Duke of Linru returned safely to their mansions.

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Two Scheeren of Secretariat, Minister of Zongzheng, some officials from Nine Si not only lost their positions but also their heads. However, a portion of officials was merely dismissed from their positions according to Your Majesty's will.

Who the Ministry of Justice chose to execute seemed entirely based on mood.

But if one carefully studies this list, they would discover some patterns.

In a widely implicated treasonous case from the past, Commandery Princes of Ruyang, Xingyang, and Dongping had participated—Dukes of Le'an and Jinyang were among the main orchestrators.

Twenty years later, they all died in another case of conspiracy.

At that time, those who pushed the conspiracy case forward, including the Wang family, the officials on the execution list, were all backed by the Wang family.

Within just a few days, Daxia's court—which had been operated by the Wang family for decades—was ruthlessly purged.

And the Wang family was thoroughly kicked out of the power center of Daxia's court.

The Left Prime Minister did not answer his question, but said, "So many officials have died, and it has already affected the operation of the court. Let the Ministry of Personnel quickly promote some qualified senior officials. The Assistant Minister Zongzheng, the Capital Governor, and the vacancies above standard fourth-rank should also promptly nominate candidates to submit for Your Majesty's approval…"

The Right Prime Minister nodded and said, "With so many vacancies, it's hard to fill them all. We might have to hold an extra Imperial Examination next year to recruit more Advanced Scholars in case of emergency…"

…

These days, the Ministry of Justice has been very busy.

Officials from the Ministry of Personnel also worked tirelessly overnight.

Officials who participated in the purge that day unfortunately encountered Your Majesty; all were stripped of their titles, their decades of arduous efforts in officialdom reduced to mere illusions.

The Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was even implicated and had just been beheaded at the vegetable market.

With so many vacancies in the court, the Ministry of Personnel must fill these positions in the shortest possible time.

Despite the busyness, many officials felt exhilarated.

After enduring years of hardship in the court, they finally saw a glimmer of hope.

While capability is crucial for a court official, having support from influential backers is even more important. For a long time, the key positions in various departments had been occupied by descendants of famous families, which were difficult for others to reach.

Now that they had all died, the positions were naturally vacated.

Take Zhanggu Fang, for example, who diligently worked in the Archives for twenty years as a ninth-rank Zhanggu. He thought he would never be promoted in his lifetime, but suddenly, he was promoted three levels, directly from ninth-rank to standard seventh-rank.

Normally, unless one had accomplished a monumental feat, such a rapid promotion was rare.

But the court had no choice; too many mid-level officials died this time, and many critical positions became vacant, especially in the counties near the capital regions. Some County Magistrate's Offices, from the County Magistrate to the County Governor down to the County Magistrate, needed urgent replenishment.

Their vacated positions were temporarily filled by junior officials, waiting for the court's next arrangement.

The Ministry of Personnel, responsible for promoting lower and middle-level officials, certainly provided some preferential treatment to its own staff.

Many officials from the Ministry of Personnel received promotions this time.

It was just unfortunate for Zhanggu Zhao; had he still been alive, he would have at least secured a seventh-rank official position.

Of course, these low-level officials, even if promoted, could only rise to seventh or sixth-rank.

But those originally holding not-so-low mid-level positions could truly soar to new heights.

The Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was beheaded, and news came from the three provinces; it was said that Minister Song was about to take over his position.

A standard fourth-rank position truly entered the core of the court.

Minister Song was already quite fortunate, but some were even luckier than him.

This time during the purge, the officials of the Zongzheng Si were almost entirely deployed, except for the Assistant Minister Zongzheng who had lost his son.

It was not unreasonable for others to be in mourning for losing a son during their middle age, asking for extended leave and not participating in such matters.

Thus, he was the only high-level official in Zongzheng Si who survived this incident.

Furthermore, since the Si Minister of Zongzheng was killed for conspiracy and another Assistant Minister implicated, he was the most suitable candidate to assume the position of Si Minister of Zongzheng.

This was not the only good news for him.

It was rumored that his concubine was already pregnant, and the Imperial Physician determined there was a ninety percent chance it was a boy.

"What brings fortune may bring disaster, it's hard to tell clearly."

The death of a failing son, but avoiding a fatal calamity, ascending to the rank of the Nine Ministers, and adding a member to the family, it was hard to say it was a bad thing.

Perhaps it was precisely the death of the previous son that had brought him this good fortune.

Regarding this matter, the three provinces had already made it known throughout the city; that case had other hidden machinations, and the Assistant Minister Zongzheng was merely an innocent victim of misfortune. This exceptional promotion by the court might also have some consolatory considerations.

In any case, Chang'an in recent days demonstrated a trend of polarization.

Those who were in mourning did so, and those who were celebrating did so as well. Many courtiers verbally condemned the Minister of Justice for his reckless and tyrannical actions, yet at night, they hugged their promotion decrees and chuckled under their covers…

The students from the major academies were also thrilled.

They had confirmed from the court a piece of good news; due to the large number of officials deceased, the court was understaffed and had to increase an extra Imperial Examination next year, and the number of recruits would also significantly exceed the past…

This meant more opportunities; some students, who normally could not have become Advanced Scholars, now had the hope of entering the court as officials…

This left them unsure whether to curse or thank Li Xuanjing…