Chapter 7042: Frontier Officials

Chapter 7042: Frontier Officials
"Lord Xuande, come with me to see Yi Ji." Chen Xi remained silent for a moment before changing the subject.

For Chen Xi, if he didn't continue forward and instead stopped here, many things would lose their meaning. It's not that moving forward is necessarily the right thing to do, but stopping here is definitely the wrong thing to do.

"Yi Ji?" Liu Bei raised an eyebrow. In this life, Liu Bei had not had much contact with Yi Ji, and all he knew was that the other party was a relatively capable and morally upright official, currently serving as the governor of Yanzhou, in charge of the administration of the province, and was a high-ranking official second only to the Nine Ministers.

Unlike the governors who only had supervisory functions in the early and middle Han Dynasty, the central government greatly strengthened the functions of governors starting from the Yuanfeng era, but completely stripped them of their military power. After all, this was a province, and if they were given military power, the governors would have too much autonomy and could easily become independent.

“Yes, Bo Ning is dealing with the Ji Bo incident.” Chen Xi explained briefly, “Right now, it seems that he is explaining to Bo Ning why things are the way they are. Gong You suggested that I go and listen in. I can roughly guess what happened, so I took Xuan De Gong with me.”

"Bo Ning went to deal with Ji Bo's matter?" Liu Bei's face, which had been carrying a gentle smile, turned gloomy after hearing this. What else could it be that the Court of Justice would handle? Naturally, it must be that Yi Ji was also involved in a major case.

“Well, because some things are not easy to explain, Bo Ning is handling them personally. Besides, the Left and Right Supervisors of the Court of Justice are not capable of handling cases of Ji Bo’s caliber, since Ji Bo has not been stripped of his official rank and title.” Chen Xi nodded and said, “Since we have time now, why don’t we go and listen to it together?”

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei's expression turned somewhat cold. The last time he passed through Yanzhou, the major case involving Yanzhou's agricultural grain alone led to the downfall of a large number of people. The governor, the prefect, and the chief administrator were all removed from their posts, and even the garrison in Yanzhou was reprimanded and reorganized. It was as if the entire army had been replaced.

Five years have passed, and when Liu Bei heard that the governor of Yanzhou had gone to the Court of Justice to investigate, it would be a miracle if he looked well.

"Let's go see what kind of big case this is," Liu Bei said with a somewhat gloomy expression. "Is Yanzhou some kind of cursed place? Before going there, everyone was a fearless and renowned scholar, but they were corrupted in no time?"

"It may not be a major case, but rather a clash between old and new ideas," Chen Xi said calmly. He could vaguely guess what had happened, but he still needed to see for himself to confirm the extent to which things had been accomplished.

When Liu Bei and Chen Xi came out of the Wanxiang Divine Palace and were about to head to Man Chong's territory to see what was going on, they encountered Shi Xie and Liao Li, who were completely unafraid of the cold and were riding in an open-top car wearing fur coats.

To be honest, it was really strange to see these two people in Chang'an. Shi Xie usually didn't come to Chang'an to report on his duties. He would only submit official documents and then have his deputy come to Chang'an to explain them. He himself had never come since he took office because of the climate, his age, and work issues.

Liao Li is the same. Before Yuan Feng, he had been in Jiangling, doing everything he could to develop and compensate Jiangling. Now he has made Jiangling one of the most prosperous cities in the world. But before Yuan Feng, he had never been to Chang'an.

Even though Chang'an, with the attitude of making the best use of resources and talents, changed the prefecture of Jingzhou to Jiangling and promoted Liao Li to the governor of Jingzhou, Liao Li never came to Chang'an. He was first seen by Jia Mu and later by Lu Yu. This was the first time in so many years that Chang'an had seen Liao Li.

Therefore, when Liu Bei and Chen Xi saw these two extraordinary people from the south driving a carriage with a canopy—that is, a carriage with a roof on top and half open on both sides—in the dead of winter, they were speechless.

"Greetings, Prince of Jin and Marquis of Chen." Liao Li and Shi Xie dismounted and bowed to Liu Bei and Chen Xi upon seeing them, both of them appearing quite calm.

"It's rare to see both of you come to Chang'an. I thought you were spending the year locally again," Chen Xi said with a smile. "How does it feel to be in Chang'an?"

"Jiangling is far inferior to Chang'an and still needs to continue to develop," Liao Li said indifferently, without any respect or emotion, only the calm indifference of someone who takes it for granted and wants to emulate the virtuous.

"The styles are completely different. Panyu is still in the early stages of development. Although it has far surpassed what it used to be, it is completely different from an ancient city like Chang'an. Moreover, Chang'an is more formal, while Panyu is more about daily life." Shi Xie gave a fairly standard evaluation. After all, they were all experienced people with real expertise, and they could speak frankly about what they saw, good or bad.

"After all, the positions are different. It's clear that you've done a very good job in Jiaozhou and Jingzhou. I've also read your official reports, and the development in these two places has indeed been very rapid in recent years." Liu Bei said to Shi Xie and Liao Li with a smile. The development of these two places is considered to be among the fastest in all the prefectures and counties, which is simply astonishing.

This is also why Liu Bei had a very good impression of Shi Xie and Liao Li. Regardless of what their intentions were in the past, and regardless of what they thought, these two are now really working hard to promote development and social progress, which is a good thing.

"It's alright. Without Chen Hou's example, I wouldn't even know there was such a development path." Liao Li glanced at Chen Xi and felt that the other party was still the same as before, but he couldn't help but marvel at the terror of the guy in front of him. He was a completely different existence.

"You've come here to learn about the Third Five-Year Plan? Are you planning to use it as a reference for your development?" Chen Xi asked tentatively. He didn't think that was the reason, since the two of them had already obtained everything they needed to know. They must have come here for something else.

"That's not the case. I'm here to see how we'll deal with what Ji Bo did." While Shi Xie was still thinking about how to answer the question, Liao Li had already stated the facts very calmly.

These two local holdouts, in order to develop their area, would spend all year paying attention to the situation in other prefectures and counties, looking for anything they could learn from. What Yi Ji did was something they thought was worth learning from, but they weren't sure if they could do it, or rather, how Chang'an would view it!

From Shi Xie and Liao Li's perspective, if they only considered their respective prefectures and counties, then doing this would be absolutely fine, even beneficial in every way. So they had planned to take this as a model. But before they could even do so, Yi Ji had already been arrested and interrogated by the Court of Justice. Although he was not stripped of his official rank or title, there was still no word on how he would be dealt with.

So the two of them figured that since this year was the beginning of the grand court assembly, and they were qualified to participate, instead of waiting for the results locally, they might as well go to Chang'an to see what was going on and then deal with it after they understood it thoroughly.

However, although the two met on the road and came together to find out about the matter, their intentions were completely different. Shi Xie believed that if Yi Ji was taken down, even if he was not punished but instead put on the sidelines, he would give up on doing so.

Liao Li, however, felt he needed to meet with Yi Ji to ascertain the extent of the benefits this would bring to the people of Yanzhou. Once he was certain the benefits were significant enough, he would still have to do it, even if he was punished or sidelined. After all, Liao Li had been in Jiangling for over a decade and had already considered how he could retire.

Now is a good opportunity to leave a huge legacy for the people of Jingzhou, then fall from power and be seen off by the masses, thus completely atoning for the crimes committed more than a decade ago. Isn't that a good thing?

"Is there anything strange about Yi Ji's matter? Why are you all so concerned?" Liu Bei asked Shi Xie and Liao Li with surprise. He really thought that Yi Ji's problem was just something like embezzlement and bribery, but after Liao Li's answer, Shi Xie thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

“Yanzhou is developing very well, and Governor Yi’s work in Yanzhou is quite good. We both think it’s worth learning from, but before we even started, Governor Yi was investigated. We came here to find out what’s going on,” Liao Li said indifferently. Chen Xi chuckled inwardly upon hearing this. He didn’t believe Liao Li’s claim that he hadn’t even started yet.

It wasn't that Chen Xi didn't trust Liao Li, but rather that both Liao Li and Shi Xie were working with the intention of improving Jingzhou and Jiaozhou. Their original intention was to build up these two places, to be worthy of the country and the people. Therefore, they would actively learn from anything that would benefit these two places.

This is not a bad thing; in fact, it is precisely because of this attitude that these two were able to make Jiaozhou and Jingzhou thrive.

"I see." Liu Bei was a little curious about what Yi Ji had done that these two thought was a good thing. "Zi Chuan and I are also going to the Court of Justice. Let's go together. It will also allow me to find out what Yi Jibo has done."

As they were talking, Liu Bei glanced at Chen Xi a couple of times. He sensed that Chen Xi probably knew something, but Chen Xi didn't seem to want to tell him.

“Don’t look at me, I’m just speculating. After all, I’ve seen some official documents about Yanzhou. Although I haven’t paid much attention to them, the current situation in Boning has given me a reminder. It’s probably some kind of ideological conflict.” Chen Xi thought for a moment and said, “I don’t think it’s a bad thing.”

Many things that would be considered bad in the future might be seen as progress in this era. For example, capitalism is often criticized, but it is indeed a step forward compared to feudalism. Similarly, feudalism was a step forward compared to the era of slavery. Therefore, some actions that seem wrong in later generations may not necessarily be considered wrong in this era.

However, Chen Xi was also quite curious about what Yi Ji had done.

Liu Bei led three people to the Court of Justice, but before they even arrived, they saw the Right Supervisor of the Court of Justice, Cui Yan, leading Zhong Yao toward the government office.

"Greetings, Grand Commandant; greetings, Minister of the Imperial Secretariat." Cui Yan bowed to the two men with a silent expression, while Zhong Yao hesitated for a moment before bowing in return.

"No need for formalities," Liu Bei said with a smile. He had a high opinion of both Cui Yan and Zhong Yao, so he greeted them with a cheerful smile. He then introduced Shi Xie and Liao Li to them. Clearly, Zhong Yao and Cui Yan were also somewhat surprised to hear the identities of these two men.

After all, the people in Chang'an knew that the real big shots were the regional officials who didn't come to Chang'an. Among these big shots were Shi Xie and Liao Li, both of whom were capable, virtuous, and hardworking in building up their respective prefectures.

More importantly, both of them rose to prominence by riding the wave of the times and achieved remarkable success, so meeting them here is quite interesting for both sides.

Similarly, Liu Bei introduced Zhong Yao and Cui Yan to Shi Xie and Liao Li. Again, these two were also famous figures, but the difference was that Zhong Yao was a high-ranking official, just like Shi Xie and Liao Li, while Cui Yan was a righteous minister known for his integrity.

Well, Zhong Yao was actually better than Shi Xie and Liao Li, but Zhong Yao was generally not present on the political map of the Han Empire. This guy was usually hiding somewhere studying Cai Yong's calligraphy.

“Speaking of which, Yuan Chang, it’s so cold, why didn’t you go to the Grand Martial Arts Competition? Shouldn’t you be at home studying calligraphy?” Chen Xi said to Zhong Yao with a smile. He was actually quite familiar with Zhong Yao, after all, Zhong Yao’s great-aunt married Chen Shi, so Chen Xi had the seniority.

"I was impeached and the case was sent to the Court of Justice. The Court of Justice heard that I happened to be in Chang'an, so he asked me to come and talk to him." Zhong Yao's expression was relatively normal, but for some reason Chen Xi could sense the resentment in Zhong Yao's heart.

After all, he was staying at home and studying calligraphy. He was already annoyed because the head of the Wei family of Jingzhao was still alive and he hadn't gotten the calligraphy copybook. He was even brought in by the Court of Justice for questioning.

Even though Zhong Yao knew very well that he didn't really have anything to ask, and that if he hadn't happened to be in Chang'an, the letter of complaint would have had no effect on him even if it had been sent to Man Chong.

To reiterate, as long as Zhong Yao is at the forefront, to deal with him, you either need to persuade Guan Yu first, or you need to go through the procedures of the State Council. Otherwise, even if you find him guilty, you can't arrest him. Besides, it's just a mere letter of denunciation. Zhong Yao himself laughed. They're just watching him play dead in the Ganges, completely ignoring them. Fine, fine, let's see who can outwit whom.

"You're really unlucky. Can you guess who did it?" Chen Xi said with a smile. Chen Xi knew Zhong Yao quite well.

"Whoever benefits, that's who it is. But this tactic is more about disgusting me and testing me. There's no need to get entangled with it," Zhong Yao said calmly, not even caring that he was saying this in front of Liu Bei. After all, he earned his living through his abilities, not through nepotism.

Even Liu Bei could only say that Zhong Yao's mind wasn't on officialdom, not that Zhong Yao's work was incompetent. Zhong Yao's abilities, let's put it this way, since he went to the Ganges, he has basically stabilized the middle and lower reaches of the Ganges, preventing any major disturbances, and gradually transformed the occupied areas in the rear into grain-producing areas, ensuring the needs of the front-line operations and providing provisions for the arrival of subsequent armies. To be honest, that's already incredibly impressive. If someone else had gone there, who knows what the Ganges would be like now.

This was a powerful figure who could hold a position of two thousand shi in the government office, but he simply didn't have his mind on officialdom. So when Liu Bei heard this, he just smiled.

"Since you have something to do here, I'll listen in and see what exactly is being impeached against you," Liu Bei said with a smile. "If it's something minor, any further impeachments can be left to the central government."

“The impeachments they can find for Yuan Chang, even if they are minor, are still worthy of being mentioned.” Chen Xi glanced at Zhong Yao. Although he knew Zhong Yao’s character and abilities very well, he still had to say that if those people were to cause trouble for Zhong Yao and dare to impeach him, it basically meant that there was something illegal or unethical about the matter. At the very least, it was something that could be brought up and mentioned in the past.

"Probably." Zhong Yao thought for a moment, then realized that he had already thought of a bunch of things that could be impeached and then dragged out and beaten. He had a bit of a headache. He was working in the Ganges, and because the emperor was far away, he had gone a bit too far.

"It seems you've already thought of a lot of the things you've done." Chen Xi sighed and transmitted his voice to Zhong Yao. "What were you doing in the Ganges? How did you get caught? With your abilities, you shouldn't have ended up like this. Was it because your mind wasn't on this?"

“It’s probably because I’m promoting education, which has taken away a lot of people’s jobs.” Zhong Yao’s tone was full of indifference. “But if they think they can bring me down with this, they’re dreaming. After all, what I do can completely overwhelm them.”

"Promoting education?" Chen Xi frowned upon hearing this. "I didn't hear that there was a clause about promoting education in your official documents. And even if there were, there shouldn't be such a backlash, since I was the one who took the lead."

“It’s completely different from how you run schools.” Zhong Yao said with a sneer, “I’m running girls’ schools, large-scale girls’ schools. This is indeed a bit of a rip-off, but I still have to say that what I’m doing is the real deal. I don’t believe you don’t know that.”

"To set up a girls' school for the local lower and middle-class Brahmans?" Chen Xi was silent for a moment, then looked at Zhong Yao and said, "No, Yuan Chang, do you have that many teachers?"

“What do I need so many teachers for?” Zhong Yao said disdainfully. “I’m not really going to teach these people any scriptures or anything like that. I’m just gathering the girls from these families together, giving them higher value, freeing them from the suffering of Brahmanism, and making them proud to marry into our Han Dynasty. That’s how I’ll eradicate Brahmanism from its roots.”

Chen Xi gasped. In an instant, he understood what Zhong Yao was doing. This guy was sometimes ridiculously strong!
“Li Wenru’s methods are only effective on the surface; they’re meaningless when it comes to family-based missionary work,” Zhong Yao said with a hint of sarcasm.

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