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"Let us be precise. This committee was appointed by Your Majesty himself to listen to reasoned debate. We have heard many voices. We have heard criticisms designed to obstruct, to delay, to preserve the corrupt status quo. And we have heard criticisms designed to refine, to improve, to strengthen these proposals for the good of the empire."
He paused, letting his gaze rest on each of the intruders in turn. "The committee has the right, and also the duty, to discern which type of counsel or suggestions is worth heeding. Do you truly believe your... concerns... fall into the latter category of what I have just said?"
The question hung in the air, a razor sharp trap. For Minister Deng to claim his objections were for the "good of the empire" would be a transparent lie, easily dismantled. To admit they were for self preservation was political suicide.
Another official, younger and more hot headed, blurted out, "Chancellor Jia Xu, these reforms will throw the administration into chaos! They will empower unqualified ruffians from the countryside! They destroy the wisdom of generations that have been used to built the foundation of our Dynasty!"
It was Zhuge Liang who responded, his voice calm and logical, a stark contrast to the man's emotional outburst. "The only chaos will be for those who have built their careers on something other than merit. As for 'unqualified ruffians,' the Imperial examinations will test for qualification. And the 'wisdom of generations' you speak of has led to the very corruption and inefficiency these reforms seek to cure. The system is sick, and yet here you all protest of the medicine for the system you protect."
The officials stood there, trapped and exposed. Their arguments, which had seemed so solid in their private chambers, crumbled under the cold, public scrutiny of the committee.
They had not barged into a debate, they had barged onto a stage, and they were playing the role of the villains exactly as scripted. Their desperate interruption had only served to highlight their own venality and the bankruptcy of their position.
Pang Tong spoke again, his tone final. "You have been heard. And the committee has discerned the nature of your counsel. You will leave now. Any further disruption will be considered an act of contempt against the Emperor's appointed committee and will be dealt with by the Censorate accordingly."
Defeated and humiliated, the group of officials bowed shakily and shuffled out of the hall, the great doors closing behind them with a thud that echoed like a tomb sealing.
The silence that returned was different now, it was the silence of a battle concluded. The frogs had not just been warmed, they had jumped straight into the fire, and their charred remains had been publicly displayed.
The acted debate within the committee was over. With the opposition now utterly discredited and the full weight of the scholarly world behind them, the path was clear. Chen Qun allowed a faint smile to touch his lips as he looked at the finalized draft of the reform edicts on the table before him. The net was closing. The real purge was about to begin.
From that moment, the collapse of opposition was swift.
The Six State Teachers' endorsement had robbed them of scholarly cover. The staged opposition within the court had shifted sides, isolating them. Their outburst in the hall had made them look not principled, but pathetic.
The tide was irreversible.
Word spread quickly through Xiapi and beyond: the reforms would pass. The Nine Rank System and the Imperial Examination were no longer fragile ideas. They were inevitable realities, already rooted in the soil of the dynasty, watered by the Emperor's will, sheltered by the branches of the Six Pillars of Education.
In tea houses, scholars debated feverishly, not whether the reforms would happen, but how best to prepare their students for them. Parents whispered of opportunities for sons who had once been doomed to obscurity. Young men who had never dreamed of officialdom now dared to dream.
And in the palaces, the ministers looked at one another with unspoken recognition, their Emperor's game had been played to perfection.
The days following the humiliating ejection from the Hall of Heavenly Ministers were an eternity of dread for Minister Deng and his cohorts. The initial heat of their panic had cooled into a cold, hard lump of fear in their stomachs.
The word "inevitable" echoed in the corridors of power, in the whispers of clerks, in the very air of Xiapi. The reforms were no longer a subject of debate; they were a coming storm, and those who had stood against them were now exposed on a barren plain, awaiting the lightning strike.
The morning of the Imperial Court arrived, the "one week deadline" for the deliberation committee. The sun rose as it always did, but for the disgraced officials, its light felt accusatory. They donned their court robes with trembling hands, the fine silk feeling like a shroud. There was no more plotting, no more desperate strategizing. Their momentum was shattered.
They walked into the grand hall not as contenders, but as condemned men, their heads bowed, avoiding the eyes of their colleagues. They knew, with chilling certainty, that a detailed account of their disruption had already been laid before the Emperor by the ever watchful Censorate and of course the Oriole Agents unbeknownst to them. They were not awaiting a verdict, they were awaiting sentencing.
The hall was a sea of solemn faces. Civil and military officials stood in their designated rows, the air thick with a tense silence. The staged reformers, Jia Xu, Chen Qun, Zhuge Liang, stood with an air of quiet purpose.
The former "opposition", Xun You, Mi Zhu, Liu Ye, now stood firmly with them. The Six State Teachers were present as honored observers, their presence a silent, monumental weight of approval. The conservative faction was isolated, a small island of despair in the vast ocean of the court.
The horns blared, signaling the Emperor's arrival. All dropped to their knees, foreheads pressed to the cool, polished stone floor. Lie Fan entered, his dragon robes of brilliant gold and black flowing around him, the twelve beads of his mianguan obscuring his eyes like a veil of divine judgment.
His footsteps were measured, echoing in the profound silence. He ascended the dais, turned, and settled onto the dragon throne, a carved masterpiece of coiled power.
"Rise," his voice rang out, calm and imperious.
As the officials straightened, the formalities of the court began. But Lie Fan did not proceed to the day's agenda. Instead, he let a heavy silence fall, his gaze, though partially hidden, seeming to sweep across the assembly like a physical pressure.
"Before we attend to the matters of the realm," he began, his tone deceptively light, "We have heard a most… curious report." He paused, letting the word 'curious' hang in the air, laden with implication. "It has come to Our attention that several days ago, a group of officials, civil and military, saw fit to disrupt a closed session of the Imperial Deliberation Committee. A committee that We Ourselves appointed."
The temperature in the hall seemed to drop several degrees. Every eye, some gloating, most filled with cold disapproval, turned to Minister Deng and his group. They visibly flinched under the collective weight of the stare.
"Such an action," Lie Fan continued, his voice hardening, "is not merely a breach of protocol. It is a direct insult to this court. It is a slap to Our face, for the committee acts with Our authority. We would hear an explanation."
Minister Deng's knees felt like water. He forced himself to step forward from the ranks, his movements stiff with terror. He sank into the deepest bow possible, his forehead nearly scraping the floor, his cupped hands trembling violently.
"Y...Your M... Majesty," he stammered, his voice a reedy whisper. "This humble servant… begs permission to speak."
"Speak," Lie Fan commanded, his tone devoid of warmth.
"Your Majesty, we… we offer our most profound and groveling apologies!" Minister Deng began, his words tumbling out in a desperate rush. "We never intended disrespect! Never! We were merely… desperate. We sought audiences with the Three Excellencies, we submitted petitions… but our voices, our humble aspirations for the stability of the dynasty, went unheard! We acted out of a misguided sense of duty, a fear that a grave mistake was being made without proper counsel! We only wished to be heard!"
Lie Fan listened, his expression unreadable behind the beads of his crown. When Minister Deng finished, a profound silence held the court for a long moment.
Then, the Emperor let out a loud, disdainful humph that echoed through the hall. "Do you take Us for a fool, Minister Deng?" The question was quiet, but it carried the force of a thunderclap. "You think such a pathetic excuse could satisfy Us? That because your requests for a meeting were denied, a judgment, We note, made by the senior ministers We trust, you therefore have the right to disrupt an imperial committee? To barge in like common bandits?!"
His voice rose with each word, culminating in a roar that made several officials jump. "Is this the discipline of the Hengyuan court?! Is this the respect you hold for your Emperor?!"
Minister Deng crumpled further, unable to form a word. He knew any further defense would only dig his grave deeper.
Lie Fan leaned back on his throne, the anger receding from his voice, replaced by a cold, judicial finality. "Your actions have demonstrated a profound lack of judgment and a disregard for the institutions of this empire. Therefore, We decree thus. You, Minister Deng, and every official involved in that disruption, will have your wages halved for the next six months. Furthermore," he paused, letting the dread build, "the Censorate is hereby ordered to conduct a thorough review of the work quality and conduct of each and every one of you. Should any irregularities be found… the consequences will be severe."
The faces of the guilty officials turned ashen. This was not a simple reprimand. Halving their wages was a public humiliation, a mark of disgrace. But the review by the Censorate, led by the formidable Pang Tong, was a death sentence.
In a system they themselves had corrupted, there were guaranteed to be "irregularities", favors granted, bribes taken, incompetent relatives promoted.
Lie Fan was not firing them outright, he was giving them just enough rope to hang themselves in a legally impeccable manner. They were being ushered towards the executioner's block with bureaucratic precision.
"Return to your place," Lie Fan said, his voice flat. Minister Deng stumbled back into the ranks, his body trembling with shame and fear. The message to the entire court was crystal clear, opposition born of self interest would be crushed, not with rage, but with cold, inexorable law.
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Name: Lie Fan
Title: Founding Emperor Of Hengyuan Dynasty
Age: 35 (202 AD)
Level: 16
Next Level: 462,000
Renown: 2325
Cultivation: Yin Yang Separation (level 9)
SP: 1,121,700
ATTRIBUTE POINTS
STR: 966 (+20)
VIT: 623 (+20)
AGI: 623 (+10)
INT: 667
CHR: 98
WIS: 549
WILL: 432
ATR Points: 0 0