After Lu Duan left, Emperor Liu's expression changed immediately. He didn't want to express his nameless anger, but he felt like there was a backlog of bad energy in his chest that he couldn't express. His expression changed several times, and his eyes changed from cold and ruthless to extremely complex, showing resentment, murderous intent, helplessness, and finally even turned into a look of dejection.
His cold eyes moved down and fell on the memorials on the imperial case. Still unable to hold back, he pushed them hard and swept them to the ground. His strength was indeed weak, and he seemed unable to even vent his anger, unable to clear it out.
Faced with Emperor Liu's sudden action, Yan Tuo, who was waiting at the side, was frightened again. He looked at Emperor Liu, hesitated for a while, called to a chamberlain, carefully picked up the memorials scattered on the ground, and placed them neatly. good.
However, as soon as he put it away, he was knocked down by Emperor Liu again. This time, Yantuo did not dare to put it away anymore. He noticed that the panting Emperor Liu was a little at a loss, but he did not dare to breathe.
Emperor Liu adjusted his posture slightly, his old face becoming more and more distorted and uglier. After a long time, he pointed to the memorial on the ground and scolded Yan Tuo fiercely: "What are you doing here in a daze? Pick it up!"
"Yes!" Yantuo didn't dare to neglect, he immediately bent forward and started to use his hands without any help.
Looking at Yantuo who was kneeling on the ground to clean up, Emperor Liu closed his eyes slightly and sighed softly. What Emperor Liu has seen recently is not just what he discussed with Lu Duan.
There was a reason for his anger. In the past year, especially in the past six months, everything he saw and heard seemed to remind Emperor Liu that the official movement he launched and the anti-corruption and evil activities he carried out were all Wrong, useless, even ridiculous.
Inside and outside the capital, up and down the court, endless situations and all kinds of personnel seemed to be mocking Emperor Liu. If we don't act like a good autocratic emperor and a dictator and a traitor to the people, what will happen to fight against corruption and get rid of powerful bullies? What will be the result? It’s not that we have compromised, we are seeking stability, and we don’t dare to dig deep into the foundation of the empire.
Regardless of what happened in Henan, Liaodong, or other states, the chaos was like a slap in the face, a slap in the old face of Emperor Liu, without sparing any effort.
The administrative problems such as confusion and inefficiency seemed normal to many bureaucrats. They had sufficient reasons, as if to say that their previous suggestions were correct and Emperor Liu's decision-making was wrong. , after all the troubles, it is the court and the country that is in chaos, and it is you, Emperor Liu, who is troubled. In fact, if the "Double Ninth Edict" had not changed its course last winter and stopped the expansion in time, the current situation might have been more serious.
For Emperor Liu, it was really uncomfortable, but in the face of this situation, there was not much he could do. As an emperor, he also felt powerless from time to time. This increasing sense of helplessness made Emperor Liu feel Full of hostility.
However, no matter how angry you are, what can you do? Killing a few people to vent your anger will be of use? Having killed so many corrupt officials and illegal honorees, no matter what the result, the Han Dynasty has not changed much. If the problem is not fundamentally solved, the Han Dynasty will never have real changes, and Emperor Liu obviously will not and cannot dig it. People with their own roots.
What he did was like a self-righteous and self-willed struggle. In the end, he found that everything seemed to be in vain. He just threw a stone into the calm lake water, causing ripples, and then quickly regained his balance. , if you want to maintain this "vitality", you can only keep throwing stones. Thinking about it carefully, he did this when he was young, but as he got older, he no longer had so much energy or strong will.
Take this official movement as an example. Although the Han Dynasty had many shortcomings beforehand, and there were too many places where Emperor Liu looked unhappy and felt melancholy, at least it was stable and peaceful on the surface. Even if it is a castle in the air, it is still beautiful. All the dirt and grime are still maintained from top to bottom, and the noble bureaucrats also know how to do some superficial work.
But after Emperor Liu's rule, all peace and balance were destroyed, and the prosperity of the past seemed false and too fragile to be believed. The ruling class seemed to be telling Emperor Liu with practical actions that some things cannot be done or changed whenever you want. They may not dare to blatantly confront Emperor Liu, but their ability to subvert and circumvent the situation seems to be innate and they are very familiar with it.
In the past, the country was led by Emperor Liu. He was a well-deserved helmsman and navigator. Everyone up and down, either forced by authority or lured by interests, were willing to follow Emperor Liu's footsteps, step by step, and brought out today's The Han Empire.
But now, the situation has obviously changed. When Emperor Liu's ideas conflict with the interests of nobles and bureaucrats, they still say that they will unswervingly follow Emperor Liu's footsteps and obey his will, but in fact , but have already begun to seek ways to resist.
Anti-corruption and criminal gangs are politically correct, and no one disagrees with it, but don’t blame them, especially on such a large scale and without mercy.
In the past six months or so, the chaos that has occurred in various parts of the country, in the government and among the people, and how many vested interests are behind it, even Emperor Liu cannot fully know. Some floated on the surface of the water, while others flowed under the pond, making Emperor Liu unable to grasp them.
Sometimes, Emperor Liu felt that he was quite pathetic.
No matter what his original intention was, his goal was definitely good, but not many people understood him now, including his prince, brother, and son. Some expressed their dissent directly, while others thought so in their hearts. , I just dare not say it.
As for the ministers in the court, Emperor Liu had long distrusted people like Li Fang and Zhao Kuangyi. Even Wang Zhu, who had always taken loyalty to the emperor as his motto, Emperor Liu also had doubts. In his opinion, Wang Zhu He was not loyal to Emperor Liu, but to the emperor he expected. Like Lu Duan, his conduct was excellent and he was always fair and conscientious in his work. However, Emperor Liu no longer had any extravagant expectations regarding his attitude toward Emperor Liu's policies.
The feeling of loneliness, as far as Emperor Liu was concerned, was getting stronger. In the past, his loneliness came from his lofty status and supreme power, which allowed him to trample everyone in the world under his feet. Now, from a mental point of view, I feel a loneliness that makes people desperate and even crazy.
What about time travellers? He can change everything, but many times, he can't actually change anything!
Before the official movement, the bureaucracy was generally balanced and stable even though it was full of filth and dross. But now, if the old man has fallen and a new man has replaced him, what will they develop into? Judging from the current results, Emperor Liu Be pessimistic.
Under the system of the Han Dynasty, power was limited. If someone lost their job, there would be others standing on their corpses to look for food. Not to mention anything else, in Henan Province, after this great movement, nearly 30% of the officials were promoted or recommended by the Chief Envoy Shi Dejun or were directly or covertly involved with him.
Is this situation what Emperor Liu wants to see? Obviously not! And when he thought that his rectification actions would only make room for others and give them the opportunity to absorb more power and increase their influence, Emperor Liu could not contain his murderous intention!
Do you want to kill some more people? Emperor Liu suddenly had such an idea in his mind. Thinking like this, he couldn't help but take out a thick memorial. It was from the Wude Department. Regarding the current power structure of various states and the situation of officials, Henan Dao Shi Dejun was Ranked in a more conspicuous position
Perhaps Shi Dejun did not deliberately cultivate party members and expand his power. He even tried his best to be loyal to the court and wanted to help Emperor Liu manage Henan, appease the people and stabilize the local situation.
But judging from the results, it fell into the eyes of Emperor Liu that the expansion of power and influence there had sinister intentions.
kill! At this point, Emperor Liu would have this word pop up in his mind from time to time, even though he knew in his heart that this would not solve the problem, but other than this method, he could no longer come up with any feasible solution.
As for laws and systems, at least for the ruling class, they must always be viewed dialectically and not taken too seriously.
"Look away." Emperor Liu suddenly said this, and then slowly, step by step, walked out of the Chui Gong Hall under Yan Tuo's confused eyes.
(End of chapter)
