RPAGF Chapter 7199 The Final Solution
Chapter 7199 The Final Solution
Chapter 7199 The Final Solution
"What happened that all of you came to see me?" Chen Xi was enjoying the snow and drinking tea in the front yard. Before he could even taste the tea, Jia Xu, Guo Jia, Li You, and Fa Zheng appeared together. To be honest, it would be more like Liu Bei. If it were anyone else, people would have to wonder if the civil officials were conspiring to rebel. After all, these five are all superhuman!
"Can't I come to see you even if there's nothing wrong? I was planning to call Ziyang along, but when I got there, Ziyang said he still wasn't coming. He just asked me to pass on a message to you." Guo Jia looked at the tea that Chen Xi had poured, reached out and took it without thinking, took a couple of sips to warm himself up, and then teased Chen Xi.
"What's wrong? Do you guys think there's something wrong with my actions again?" Chen Xi pointed to the seats next to him, gesturing for Jia Xu and the other two to sit down. He then pushed the dried fruit, almonds, and mooncakes in front of them, indicating that they should eat and chat. He knew exactly why this group of people had come.
“It’s not that I think there’s a problem with the operation, it’s just that I feel this matter needs to have a procedure, a set of rules. Wenru is ruthless when it comes to doing things, but this time you signed the document and staked your reputation, so you have to consider some things when you take action.” After Jia Xu took his seat, he naturally moved the plate of multi-flavored peanuts that Chen Xi was using for tea to his own side. These were snacks made by Chef Chen Ying. Although they looked simple, they were definitely top-notch tea snacks.
"Ziyang means that we should let him keep the document you signed," Li You said with a hint of coldness. Liu Ye's actions were simple and brutal, but extremely effective in solving the problem. Moreover, Liu Ye did have the authority to keep such a thing, since the job of the Secretary of the Imperial Archives was to manage the major aristocratic families and vassal states, and this matter happened to involve the major aristocratic families and vassal states.
Therefore, Liu Ye believed that there was a problem with the documents issued by Chen Xi, so he directly confiscated the documents that Chen Xi had signed. That's all.
As for what to do with Li You without Chen Xi's documents, that's up to him to decide. Li You can still work even without documents. At most, it might be a bit illegal, but so what? You can just settle scores with Li You later. Li You would be more than happy to do that!
With Chen Xi's hands and feet restricted, if the aristocratic families were to take the initiative to settle scores with Li You, Chen Xi would not be able to continue to hold Li You back and let the aristocratic families settle scores with him. After all, there are always people of different degrees of closeness and distance.
So when the aristocratic families wanted to settle scores with Li You, Li You took the initiative to defend himself, but then went too far in self-defense. Chen Xi really didn't have any good solutions. After all, the Han aristocratic family had started the trouble and was killed by Li You, so Chen Xi really had no reason to cause trouble for Li You.
If this kind of brawl between big shots doesn't involve ordinary people or the construction of the national system, then the "big shot brawl law" that Chen Xi has been implementing applies. In other words, you can fight all you want, and if someone dies, I'll arrange for someone to collect the body. The laws and regulations don't apply at all, and I won't pursue the matter!
As for what will happen to the central government after Liu Ye withheld the document, that depends on what outcome Chen Xi wants.
If things escalate, we could fight Liu Ye, even escalate it to a head-on confrontation between the leaders of powerful families and the royal guards. If things escalate, we could simply deny it altogether. Liu Ye could be stubborn for a bit, and Chen Xi could be stubborn for a bit too, turning a big issue into a small one, and a small issue into nothing, and then the matter would be over.
After all, the powerful families of Jingchu could play the game of tacit understanding with the ragtag bunches of Kushan, and Chen Xi could only play the game of tacit understanding with Liu Ye.
To reiterate, since you've all been playing these games and Chen Xi hasn't pursued the matter, and Chen Xi has been exploiting loopholes in the same way you've been doing, you should just face reality and stop making baseless accusations.
"What message did Ziyang ask you to convey? It can't just be a simple sentence, and he can't just withhold the documents I signed," Chen Xi asked Guo Jia, ignoring Li You's question.
“It’s highly unlikely that the document can be confiscated. After all, this is the first document signed by the Prime Minister. If this can be confiscated, what kind of Prime Minister would he be?” Guo Jia sighed and said, “Ziyang’s idea is that there’s no need for this. Since things have come to this, it would be better to let the Jingchu aristocratic families make peace with the Kushans.”
Chen Xi raised an eyebrow upon hearing this and looked at Jia Xu, "Wenhe, what do you mean?"
"I didn't really want to come, but these three guys dragged me here. They think my words might have some effect. Plus, my wife at home is sexually frustrated, so I just went with the flow." Jia Xu didn't say anything, but it was as if he had said everything.
"You rascal!" Chen Xi looked at Jia Xu and chuckled twice. Jia Xu's words meant that he completely agreed with Chen Xi's opinion, but now that he was here, he decided to eat and drink and go with the flow.
“Normally I would say that, but I just said a while ago that I wanted to do something meaningful, so let me give you my suggestion.” After Chen Xi finished teasing, Jia Xu, who was holding dried fruit, paused for a moment, then sat up straight and looked at Chen Xi with a solemn expression. Chen Xi’s expression also became serious upon hearing this.
“I’ve been in Ganges for a while, so I know the situation there quite well. The Jingchu aristocratic families have married many men to veterans, that’s the first point. Secondly, the Jingchu aristocratic families have also tried their best to send people to join the army to assist General Guan. Thirdly, to what extent can we be considered as our own people?” After stopping, Jia Xu looked at Chen Xi and asked calmly.
“I don’t mind granting titles to those from the Jingchu aristocratic families who participated in the war, since they truly fought. But I cannot allow the Jingchu aristocratic families to sell out the front lines and cooperate with the Kushans.” Chen Xi said calmly. “Individuals and classes can be completely separated. Of course, how to calculate the merits and demerits of veterans who are willing to return to the Jingchu aristocratic family is a matter for the front lines.”
“Okay, then I suggest that Wenru take swift and decisive action,” Jia Xu gave his answer directly.
“The problem now is that Master Li can’t cut the Gordian knot. If he takes Zichuan’s document over, how can he execute him? If Zichuan gives the document, it means that the guilt must be determined. Those who should be arrested should be arrested, and those who should be executed should be executed. Even if there are ‘wrongful deaths,’ how many people can be ‘wrongfully killed’? How can we execute him?” Fa Zheng glanced at Jia Xu and said helplessly.
“The official documents bearing the seal of the emperor, coupled with the moral system that Zichuan has cultivated over the years, make it imperative for Master Li to uphold this rule. The losses caused by breaking the rule would be far more serious than this current problem,” Fa Zheng said with a hint of coldness.
"If you ask me, Zichuan, you shouldn't have signed that appointment document. I can understand that you are protecting me and preventing me from going, but everyone knows very well that this is a problem that has been built up layer by layer!" Fa Zheng made no attempt to hide his emotions at this point.
The problems of the veterans on the front lines, the special envoys from Chang'an, the aristocratic families of Jingchu or Bachu, and Zhong Yao's mistakes, all piled up and made it impossible to solve them all at once.
To be honest, it's not entirely impossible to deal with it all at once. For example, we could sacrifice Zhong Yao and then start the rebellion suppression mode, then no problem would be a problem.
Because of the problems of the veterans on the front lines and the Bachu family, it is indeed a big deal, but at least on the surface, it is definitely not as big as the death of the Chang'an investigators sent by Guo Jia in the Ganges!
What does it mean to be weighed? This is what it means to be weighed. The problems of the Bachu family and the veterans on the front lines—to be honest, these problems haven't even exploded yet; they're still in the bomb defusing stage. Everyone knows the problems are huge, but before these two things completely explode, we need to follow the rules and handle them according to regulations. The problem now is that, no matter how we try to handle it according to the rules, this matter will not be resolved.
At this point, the solution needed is exactly what Jia Xu described as "cutting the Gordian knot": handle the situation according to the standards for suppressing rebellions, and resolve the problem directly and completely.
After all, everyone present knew that Chen Xi planned to completely resolve the Kushan issue by the end of the thirteenth year of Yuanfeng at the latest. In other words, this was five years earlier than the timeframe anticipated by the major aristocratic families. This time difference was enough to allow them to quickly resolve the issue and move directly to the next stage, preventing the potential problems caused by the swift resolution from erupting. The benefits that would arise from eliminating the Kushan would leave the major aristocratic families with no time to get entangled in these matters!
Considering Sun Qian's actions in the Indochina Peninsula, which directly caused two major incidents, the already crippled Bachu family was probably unable to even gain a voice during that period, and it also posed a hidden danger.
Do you even understand what it means that the process of social development will naturally eliminate many problems? Instead, you can directly eliminate the potential threats from the Bachu aristocratic families by suppressing the rebellion. Before Li You's actions could escalate, the Han Dynasty would already be on the countdown to the destruction of the Kushan Empire. At that point, what time would the surviving Bachu aristocratic families have to make a fuss about those who died?
At this crucial moment, instead of rushing in to grab a slice of the pie and seize the benefits, what kind of idiot would sit there chanting sutras? Revenge can wait, but the destruction of the Kushan Empire is a once-in-a-lifetime event. After this, the subsequent benefits will be nothing more than scraps compared to this!
So the matter was simply dropped. Then, with the death of the Kushan Emperor, the various powerful families were bound to fight fiercely in the court to divide the spoils. Sun Qian took advantage of this time to quickly repair the roads in Indochina. According to the wrangling in the rear, it would take at least three years. But with Sun Qian's repair of the roads in Indochina exposed, it would take another two or three years of wrangling. In this way, seven or eight years would have passed, and the dead would have turned to dust...
Okay, it's not that exaggerated, but at least it's a different era now, so it's quite unrealistic to try to cause trouble for Li You again.
The only problem is that if the death of the Chang'an special envoy in the Ganges is used as a pretext, Zhong Yao will be severely punished, and Zhao Yun will not fare much better. Because if this is the starting point, it will be treated as a rebellion, and Zhong Yao and Zhao Yun will be clearly involved in the case.
Even though they were all marquises, and held high positions of power, either army commanders or regional governors, they still had to give an explanation for this incident. Zhao Yun might still be able to maintain his dignity, but Zhong Yao's best outcome would probably be exile.
Even if Chen Xi could manipulate things here, as long as this is the starting point, the problem would be enormous. Of course, if this is the starting point, Li You, with Chen Xi's documents, could also act according to the rules for suppressing the rebellion.
However, Chen Xi had reached out and pressed down on it from the beginning, preventing the option from being selected.
After all, there are still many things that are unclear here!
Zhong Yao hasn't returned since he went to the Ganges. He was able to return to Chang'an this year, so he should know the extent of the matter involving the death of the Chang'an special investigator in the Ganges. This is also why Chen Xi made it clear to Zhong Yao after they met that the investigation would not proceed in that manner.
Because if you follow this method, you can simply click on the coordinates to quell the rebellion. There's no need to explain anything else; it's always been this way.
"Xiaozhi, do you mean to take down Zhong Yuanchang and then investigate this matter as a suppression of a rebellion? Just ignore what the Ganges front and the Bachu family are up to, and investigate it as a top-level case, with both overt and covert investigations, as if it were the death of the imperial envoy?" Chen Xi leaned back, activated his mental talent to completely seal off the front courtyard, and asked with a heavy heart.
"Yes, what's the point of investigating frontline veterans? What's the point of investigating the Ba Chu family? Whatever their problems are, we clearly have the right solutions. Why get bogged down in this?" Fa Zheng said in a deep voice. "Investigating frontline veterans is like cutting off our own rotten flesh. But to say that this flesh isn't rotten yet, we still need to examine it. So why cut it off now? It's better not to cut it off at all and directly investigate the death of the imperial envoy. This major case gives us enough reason to replace the person directly!"
"And what about the Bachu family? What are they? The imperial envoy died in the Ganges, we'll investigate directly. I don't believe that Jia Shi, who's been in the Ganges for so long, didn't know which family to investigate. Similarly, I don't believe that our lord doesn't know which people on the front lines have problems." Fa Zheng's expression at this moment even had a touch of coldness. "In my opinion, investigating the death of the special envoy from Chang'an directly is the best solution to the problem."
“Yes, investigating this case can be expanded indefinitely, and it is indeed within the rules. In addition, if we know the answer and investigate, we can solve any problem, right? As long as we are willing,” Chen Xi said.
“The only problem is that we might need to sacrifice Zhong Yao, but we can protect Zhong Yao, let him lose his official position and go into exile, and then reinstate him in a few years. Forget it, there’s no need to reinstate him. He’s too old. Let him live out his days in peace!” Fa Zheng’s face revealed a coldness, a coldness that showed he was willing to pay any price to solve the problem. Chen Xi couldn’t help but sigh when he saw this.
"Hey, Fengxiao, tell me," Chen Xi asked Guo Jia.
"What did I say?" Guo Jia looked bewildered.
"Xiaozhi, have you considered this?" Seeing Guo Jia's state, Chen Xi didn't ask anything further, but sighed and looked at Fazheng.
"What's the problem?" Fa Zheng was puzzled, but his heart skipped a beat. He had vaguely sensed something, and his intuition was frantically warning and hinting at a certain possibility.
“When a lot of very difficult, even unsolvable, things pile up together, and there just happens to be a way to completely solve all of them, you should consider why this method exists,” Chen Xi said very seriously, and Guo Jia paused for a moment while holding his teacup.
At this moment, Jia Xu and Li You both looked at Guo Jia. They hadn't considered that Guo Jia was behind this, but they had considered that there might be a problem in Chang'an. The investigators sent from Chang'an had disappeared at the Ganges River. Besides the problem at the Ganges River, there was another possibility.
However, they hadn't considered that from the very first day Guo Jia mentioned it, it was all part of Guo Jia's scheme, or to put it more directly, that from the very beginning, this was Guo Jia's plan to quickly resolve the situation later.
"Fengxiao, aren't you going to tell us?" Chen Xi asked Guo Jia very seriously.
"Don't you already know? To be honest, I even suspect that you knew from the beginning that this was a setup by me. Otherwise, this matter, which should have been handled by me, shouldn't have inexplicably fallen to Xiaozhi's shoulders." Guo Jia neither denied nor tried to defend himself, but simply said calmly.
"What?" Fa Zheng was stunned. Even though at the last moment, his heart was pounding wildly under Chen Xi's question and he had vaguely guessed a certain possibility, he was still shocked when Guo Jia spoke.
“There’s nothing to be shocked about. All the problems Ganges is facing can be solved by Fengxiao’s deceptive move.” Chen Xi leaned back in his chair, indicating that Fazheng didn’t need to be so shocked. “At first, I didn’t suspect anything, but when I realized that this event could solve all the problems Ganges is currently facing, I couldn’t help but suspect that this was a scheme you set up.”
"So there's no need to ask what my stance is," Guo Jia said calmly. "Sacrificing two problematic special envoys and creating a powerful card that can solve all problems, Zilong's subordinates are probably all conducting self-examinations now. Even Gao Xiang and Zhang Zhu, who have problems, and Xue Shao, who may have problems, should no longer be in the mood to cause trouble."
What to do? What should we do in this situation?
To put it bluntly, if Li You went down to interrogate these three people at this point, they would have no grounds for complaint and would have to accept their fate. After all, there were clear records of the people sent down from Chang'an, and the investigator who was on a heavy mission was indeed dead. The people involved in the case were interrogated for two or three years, but they weren't put to death. They just missed the decisive battle between Han and Gui. Was that a problem? Of course not. In fact, they should be grateful for the benevolence of the Prince of Jin!
Almost all problematic middle-level managers in Ganges can be replaced using this reason, because they really have problems. Guo Jia believes that for all the problematic middle-level managers, there must be others who know that those people have problems, but the problems have not been exposed and they do not know how serious they are. However, since they have been interrogated by Li You, those who know will naturally say something to confirm that Chang'an is not arresting people randomly.
In this way, the Ganges Legion's problem is no longer a problem.
Similarly, the problem of the Bachu family can be solved in the same way. After all, it is a means of suppressing a rebellion. If Li You, who is free to act, cannot solve it, what a joke!
The death of the Chang'an investigator is one of the very few cases that could be handled at the highest level in any era, without any backlash. Normally, for the sake of stability, it would be suppressed before being dealt with, to prevent it from escalating. But what if the intention from the beginning was to escalate it? If the intention was to escalate it, then problematic individuals could be eliminated unconditionally, and no one would have any reason to stop them.
(End of this chapter)