Chapter 58: Rip Open the Ancestral Grave! Part Three
“As for that chiliarch, since he loves money so much, bury him before the silver storage of the Ministry of Revenue. He will be able to see countless silver taels but couldn’t even grab a single cash coin. Send all the males in his family to the borders as slaves, and send the females to the Textile Department as slave laborers. They will be paid one cash coin a month, and their slave status will be removed when they earn the amount of money equal to the bribe.”
Everyone who heard this tensed up a little, and they thought, “Being buried in front of the gate of the silver storage? That chiliarch will be stepped on by people every day. As to one cash coin a month… How can those members of his family earn enough money in their lifetime? Several generations will be needed at least!”
The Emperor leaned back against the wall, rubbed his furrowed brows, and continued, “Great General Li Yuanshan of Right Valiant Guard breached the laws and tried to fool me. This crime is unforgivable. However, since he earned so many counts of military merit, I will punish him lightly. Lower him to a rank 5 military official, cut his salary for three years, and reduce the family count in his feudal state by 300.”
“Major Li Xiaozong of Fangu battled hard, but he ditched the city and escaped, and he also tried to hide his defeat, bribing the officials of the Ministry of War. There were way more enemies, so I don’t blame him for the defeat. How can I reprimand a general who battled until his last soldier died? When arresting Li Xiaozong, ask him why he had the courage to face the enemy who had 20 times more soldiers but didn’t have the courage to face me!”
“I paid attention to Li Xiaozong when he was still in the Martial Arts Academy.”
The Emperor flipped open the thick Talent Ledger on his table, found a page, and crossed out Li Xiaozong’s name using a red inkbrush.
“Too bad… I lost a general who has a bright future.”
“Hand him to the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review. Charge him with whatever crime is suitable.”
The Emperor placed down the red inkbrush and said to Yu Donglai, “Go back and investigate who accepted money from Li Yuanshan. Not only this time and Li Yuanshan’s money. Since they dared to accept money from Li Yuanshan, wouldn’t they dare to accept money from others? This isn’t the first time; I don’t have the patience to have a fresh start. After your investigation, create a name list. Some people held their positions for too long and forgot the respect that they should have toward their positions. Since this is the case, I don’t need to hesitate about using the butchering knife.”
“As you wish!” Yu Donglai quickly replied.
“Wait, I’m not done!” The Emperor looked at the Talent Ledger and flipped through the names that he recorded while saying, “Yu Donglai, demoted from the position as the Head of the Ministry of War and will become the Deputy of the Ministry of War and perform the old duties. Go back and reflect on yourself for one day; I want to know what you can get from this reflection. Also, deduct three years of your salary.”
“Calculate how much money Li Yuanshan used to bribe those in the Ministry of War and tell me, and I will ask him to hand over this much money to the empire. Together with the bribery that were accepted and your deducted salaries, I will send people to Fangu to build a grand graveyard for those soldiers and residents. The rest of the money will be given to the families of those border soldiers as compensation.”
“They were the most loyal and bravest soldiers of Great Sui, and they conveyed this with their lives. In the end, I’m ashamed, and I feel guilty as well. When Hou Wenji reported this incident, I especially looked up the salaries of the border soldiers. It is so low that my heart ached! Since they were paid so little when they served the Empire, how can they not be buried in a grand fashion?”
“Also… Yu Donglai, go back and calculate the total number of border soldiers of Great Sui. I want the real number. There are those who are border soldiers in name but don’t do anything other than taking their salaries, so don’t let me know about them. After I get the number, I will talk to the Ministry of Revenue and see if we can double the salaries of the border soldiers. They protect the borders of the Empire, so I can’t let them be cold and not have enough to eat.”
At this moment, the Emperor suddenly looked up and said coldly, “If I learn that some people dare to take a bit of these silver taels, I will kill their entire families including their relatives! If there aren’t many people in their families, I will rip open their ancestral graves!”
[TL Note: In China, digging open others’ ancestral graves is the most disrespectful thing that one could do.]
Everyone who heard this tensed up a little, and they thought, “Being buried in front of the gate of the silver storage? That chiliarch will be stepped on by people every day. As to one cash coin a month… How can those members of his family earn enough money in their lifetime? Several generations will be needed at least!”
The Emperor leaned back against the wall, rubbed his furrowed brows, and continued, “Great General Li Yuanshan of Right Valiant Guard breached the laws and tried to fool me. This crime is unforgivable. However, since he earned so many counts of military merit, I will punish him lightly. Lower him to a rank 5 military official, cut his salary for three years, and reduce the family count in his feudal state by 300.”
“Major Li Xiaozong of Fangu battled hard, but he ditched the city and escaped, and he also tried to hide his defeat, bribing the officials of the Ministry of War. There were way more enemies, so I don’t blame him for the defeat. How can I reprimand a general who battled until his last soldier died? When arresting Li Xiaozong, ask him why he had the courage to face the enemy who had 20 times more soldiers but didn’t have the courage to face me!”
“I paid attention to Li Xiaozong when he was still in the Martial Arts Academy.”
The Emperor flipped open the thick Talent Ledger on his table, found a page, and crossed out Li Xiaozong’s name using a red inkbrush.
“Too bad… I lost a general who has a bright future.”
“Hand him to the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review. Charge him with whatever crime is suitable.”
The Emperor placed down the red inkbrush and said to Yu Donglai, “Go back and investigate who accepted money from Li Yuanshan. Not only this time and Li Yuanshan’s money. Since they dared to accept money from Li Yuanshan, wouldn’t they dare to accept money from others? This isn’t the first time; I don’t have the patience to have a fresh start. After your investigation, create a name list. Some people held their positions for too long and forgot the respect that they should have toward their positions. Since this is the case, I don’t need to hesitate about using the butchering knife.”
“As you wish!” Yu Donglai quickly replied.
“Wait, I’m not done!” The Emperor looked at the Talent Ledger and flipped through the names that he recorded while saying, “Yu Donglai, demoted from the position as the Head of the Ministry of War and will become the Deputy of the Ministry of War and perform the old duties. Go back and reflect on yourself for one day; I want to know what you can get from this reflection. Also, deduct three years of your salary.”
“Calculate how much money Li Yuanshan used to bribe those in the Ministry of War and tell me, and I will ask him to hand over this much money to the empire. Together with the bribery that were accepted and your deducted salaries, I will send people to Fangu to build a grand graveyard for those soldiers and residents. The rest of the money will be given to the families of those border soldiers as compensation.”
“They were the most loyal and bravest soldiers of Great Sui, and they conveyed this with their lives. In the end, I’m ashamed, and I feel guilty as well. When Hou Wenji reported this incident, I especially looked up the salaries of the border soldiers. It is so low that my heart ached! Since they were paid so little when they served the Empire, how can they not be buried in a grand fashion?”
“Also… Yu Donglai, go back and calculate the total number of border soldiers of Great Sui. I want the real number. There are those who are border soldiers in name but don’t do anything other than taking their salaries, so don’t let me know about them. After I get the number, I will talk to the Ministry of Revenue and see if we can double the salaries of the border soldiers. They protect the borders of the Empire, so I can’t let them be cold and not have enough to eat.”
At this moment, the Emperor suddenly looked up and said coldly, “If I learn that some people dare to take a bit of these silver taels, I will kill their entire families including their relatives! If there aren’t many people in their families, I will rip open their ancestral graves!”
[TL Note: In China, digging open others’ ancestral graves is the most disrespectful thing that one could do.]
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