Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors-Chapter 511 - 268: Limited Edition Cheat_3

For those old ministers of Emperor Yingzong of Qi, especially those from the pacifist faction, they had a lot more they could do.

For instance, they could support the restoration of Emperor Qihui, or collude with the Jin people to force the current official family to revert to the old ways of seeking peace.

In short, the only value these officials had was to negotiate peace with the Jin, betray their country with the support of the Jin, and seek benefits for themselves.

Thus, it wasn’t just Qin Huizhi alone in the Qi Dynasty.

There were plenty of officials willing to act like Qin Huizhi, Wang Shiyong being one, and Zhang Jingbang too. It was just that Qin Huizhi’s actions were too extreme and his reputation too foul, so the histories eclipsed the "achievements" of these men.

Therefore, when Emperor Taizu of Sheng left the capital, it also conveniently gave these people room to maneuver and operate.

Although the outcome of the battle between the Western Army and the Jin soldiers hadn’t been decided yet, these officials, whether they wanted to support Emperor Qihui, Emperor Yingzong, or any other prince’s restoration, or were preparing to collude with the Jin in advance, all needed to do a lot of preparatory work.

Such as, discreetly visiting officials with aligned interests to discuss; using their own channels to inquire about the battles outside the city; covertly attempting to flip centrist officials; trying to stretch their hands into certain key departments, and so forth.

And Fan Cun had, in advance and in accordance with Emperor Taizu’s wishes, agreed with Zhong Pingyuan to have the Wude Bureau keep a close watch.

And now, it was about time to close the net.

Of course, relying on these actions alone wasn’t enough to convict someone, after all, an imperial official simply visiting the home of another wasn’t grounds for a conviction, even if it was known that they were plotting something.

But, for an emperor, finding a reason to convict someone was always easy, with so many laws and regulations, there’s bound to be one that fits.

...

In the swaying prison cart, shackled and chained, Wang Shiyong struggled to turn his head toward Zhang Jingbang, who was being transported with him to be executed in the public square.

At this moment, the state of mind of these two unfortunate men was quite similar.

Reflecting on the events after His Majesty personally went to battle and returned to the capital, only the words "sudden and dramatic changes" could describe it.

The common people were elated, lining the roads to welcome him.

Immediately following that, the emperor ordered the execution of Jin soldiers in the public square. Every day a hundred Jin soldiers were killed, capturing several thousands in total, the executions were to last two months without end.

Heads rolled in the public squares.

The commoners flocked to spectate, packing the streets; with every execution, they clapped and cheered.

However, what the officials didn’t expect was that this was just the beginning, not the end.

Next, the Imperial Censorate began to impeach officials in court, including those who had been dismissed or relieved from office; none were spared.

Wang Shiyong knew that many of these officials, during His Majesty’s personal campaign, had secretly convened with others, waiting for the emperor to lose the war so they could either set up a new monarch or conspire to negotiate peace with the Jin.

Looking back now, these officials’ actions appeared utterly foolish, effectively signing their death warrants.

But from the perspective of these officials, their actions were inevitable.

First, they thought that their small actions were inconsequential, if the emperor won the battle, they did nothing, and the emperor was unlikely to pursue it further; but if the emperor lost, the situation would be out of hand, and naturally, he wouldn’t be able to touch them.

They just didn’t anticipate that this emperor would not be so magnanimous.

The reasons given for their execution were varied, from corruption and bribery to academic examination fraud, from being superfluous to moral incompetence... In short, if the crimes weren’t sufficient, more were piled on, so that the actual punishment matched the nominal crimes.

In some sense, they were wrongfully killed.

But then again... were there any good officials who had been pushed out during the Qi Dynasty’s political struggles who had not been wrongfully treated?

Discussing whether it was injustice in the political struggles... It was in itself a very naive act.

As for Wang Shiyong, he, as the Minister of Personnel, indeed diligently completed the tasks delegated by the emperor.

Whether it was the elimination of nepotism or the reform of official positions, His Majesty had provided very clear plans, and he had no choice but to enforce them.

Yet even so, he still could not escape death and ultimately was thrown into prison and charged.

However, compared to other officials, he and Zhang Jingbang were the beneficiaries of imperial leniency.

Only they were executed, unlike other hardliners who were executed with their entire families, and even extended family were implicated.

Whether this could be considered lucky or unfortunate was hard to say.

On the execution ground, an official was disheveled, while the executioner stood by with the blade raised high, awaiting the appointed time.

Wang Shiyong, waiting in line, recognized him; it was Geng Xidao.

He was significant too.

Tang Qin and Zhang Jingbang were among the high-ranking officials of the pacifist faction, and although Geng Xidao was a bit less prominent, he was often overlooked. But the "good deeds" he did were no fewer.

Geng Xidao was a true native of the capital, a graduate of the imperial examinations, who had held local government positions in various places before gradually holding central government positions. Later, he spent a decade in the Eastern Palace as a tutor to the Crown Prince, and thus he was immediately favored upon the ascension of Emperor Yingzong, you could say he was part of Emperor Yingzong’s old guard.

However, ever since Geng Xidao was promoted to be the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and the Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, he hadn’t done much good.

First was his strong advocacy of ceding Taiyuan and two other towns to the Jin to seek peace; then, on three different occasions, he sabotaged Li Boxi, continuously pushing him out, causing Li Boxi to be driven from the capital; immediately following was his rejection of Zhong Pingyuan’s proposed defense line along the Yellow River with a large army stationed on both sides, using the excuse of "if the Jin Army doesn’t come, the enormous military expenses will be wasted"; and just a few days after the first Jin Army’s siege was lifted, he misled the emperor to order the disbandment of the loyalist army, which directly led to the situation where no forces were available during the subsequent Jin Army siege...

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