Chapter 421: Reform (2)
Several days later.
The Hall of Supreme Harmony within the Forbidden City in Beijing.
At the center of the hall, where the emperor and high-ranking officials had gathered, a man whose appearance could not have been more out of place in the Hall of Supreme Harmony was kneeling as he paid his respects to the emperor.
Watching the scene from beside the emperor, Mujin had to forcefully suppress the laughter threatening to burst out.
'Khhup.......'
The man paying his respects to the emperor was none other than Mugung.
Thanks to Mukyeong’s explanation, Mugung had finally grasped the reality of the situation and accepted the imperial edict, coming all the way to the Forbidden City.
With his bandit beard, savage face, and enormous build perfectly suited to a bandit chief, Mugung looked utterly bizarre dressed in the silk official robes normally worn by high-ranking officials.
Of course, men with such fierce appearances did occasionally enter the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
However, they were invariably military officials, and men who boasted faces and physiques that intimidating usually held positions such as general, provincial inspector, or governor.
Yet the official robes Mugung wore were not those of a military official, but a civil official.
His appearance and clothing clashed so violently that Mujin found it difficult to hold back his laughter.
Even so, Emperor Jianping’s solemn voice continued without pause.
“For these reasons, We hereby bestow upon you the position of Bureau Director, of the senior fifth rank!”
Mugung, who had gone from being an ordinary monk to doing something that could not quite be called either serving as a bandit chief or acting as Party Master of a road-building party, had now been appointed Bureau Director of the Ministry of Works.
Although the position was only of the senior fifth rank, there were effectively only three people above Mugung within the Ministry of Works: the Minister of Works(senior second rank) and the two Left and Right Vice Ministers of Works(senior third rank).
Since the Ministry of Works handled not only forests, but also roads, construction, and handicrafts, they could hardly place Mugung, who only knew how to cut roads through mountains, in the top positions of Minister or Left and Right Vice Minister.
In the end, Mugung was appointed Bureau Director, the third-highest rank within the Ministry of Works, and would oversee matters related to forests and roads by making use of his experience with the Foolish Old Man Road Party.
A bastard who had changed professions from an ordinary monk to a bandit chief had risen overnight to the fairly high office of senior fifth rank.
After Emperor Jianping finished praising him, Mugung, now a Bureau Director of the Ministry of Works, bowed deeply and began to rise. As he did, he subtly shifted his gaze toward Mujin, who stood in attendance beside the emperor.
- My wife asked me to tell you that she is grateful.
Mujin smiled faintly at Mugung’s voice transmission.
The Forbidden City was not a place just anyone could enter. Mugung was the one who had received an official position, so his wife, Baek Garyeong, could not come here.
Thus, Mugung had conveyed her thanks in place of his wife, who was unable to enter.
- Seeing how well you listen to your wife, you should do well as Bureau Director too.
- Of course. She is smart, unlike me.
Despite meeting again after such a long time, the two exchanged only that brief greeting before returning to their respective places.
***
After taking up the position of Bureau Director, Mugung began his duties in earnest.
He recalled the members of the Foolish Old Man Road Party, who had scattered after the previous attacks by the military and the Eastern Depot, then granted some of them suitable ranks or hired them as low-ranking officials similar to constables.
Of course, even then, the Foolish Old Man Road Party numbered only around two hundred members.
That was nowhere near enough manpower to conduct construction and cut roads throughout the vast lands of the Central Plains.
Thus, the existing Foolish Old Man Road Party members took on roles similar to site supervisors and work-crew foremen, while the severe labor shortage was filled by hiring commoners in large numbers.
And all the money used to hire those commoners came from the enormous amount of black money seized during the recent purge.
Since the original intention had been to use the black money to save the people, it was only natural that they would carry out work that provided both money and employment.
Roughly one month after Mugung began his duties in earnest.
Despite various construction projects proceeding simultaneously throughout the Central Plains, no particular problems arose.
And Mujin knew very well where that astonishing administrative ability had come from.
'That bastard Mugung really was unbelievably blessed when it came to finding a wife.'
Mujin could not understand why a man like him had ever become a monk.
Well, Mujin himself was not much different, but he felt somewhat wronged.
Unlike Mugung, Mujin had not become a monk by choice. He had simply opened his eyes one day and found himself a child monk.
After casually skimming the report on Mugung, Mujin began reading through another stack of letters.
“Hmm. It has only been one month and fifteen days since they were slaughtered in droves, yet there are still this many fools who have learned nothing.”
The letters were both reports and death lists, compiled from information jointly investigated and uncovered by the Zhengmu League, the Southern Heavenly Society, and the Beggar Union and Hao Gate under their respective affiliations.
The death lists were filled with the names of men apparently desperate to die, who had already begun siphoning away the money distributed for the people exhausted by war.
The relief projects currently ordered by Emperor Jianping were not limited to those overseen by Mugung.
Minimum relief grain was also being distributed throughout the Central Plains for people who had nothing to live on, while other projects involved constructing weirs, buildings for the people’s welfare, restoring collapsed fortresses and reservoirs, and more.
Commoners were hired for various tasks and paid relief grain as daily wages.
And because an enormous amount of money was being spent throughout the Central Plains, countless madmen were appearing everywhere, trying to embezzle it.
“Give that to Us.”
At Mujin’s muttering, Emperor Jianping, who had been attending to other matters beside him, held out his hand.
Mujin bowed and handed the letter he had been reading to Emperor Jianping. After checking its contents, the emperor furrowed his brow.
“Tsk. For now, deal appropriately only with the low-ranking officials of junior eighth rank and below.”
“Would that not be too many?”
“As the Commander said, are the Central Plains not overflowing with people anyway? They are not high-ranking officials. If they are merely low-ranking officials, replacements can be found at any time.”
It was an expression that treated people like replaceable parts, but Mujin did not particularly care.
These were men who had siphoned away the relief grain granted to people who had starved during the war. Mujin likewise saw no reason to show them mercy.
What concerned him was something else.
“It may be presumptuous of me to say this, but it is also dangerous to believe everything one’s subjects say, Your Majesty.”
It would be troublesome to blindly believe a trusted subject’s words. Of course, it was convenient that the °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° emperor believed Mujin at present, but Mujin had no intention of holding the position of Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard for the rest of his life.
'I have no private life!!'
For more than a month now, Mujin had been forced to remain beside Emperor Jianping all twelve double-hours of the day.
Only a little over a month had passed since Emperor Taiping had been driven out. Although they had carried out a purge, reactionaries were surely still lurking.
From Mujin’s perspective, since Emperor Jianping absolutely had to remain alive, he could not leave his post under any circumstances.
As a result, Mujin had not even been able to lift iron, and it had been more than a month since he had seen his beloved family.
He was one step away from going insane.
Therefore, once Emperor Jianping’s reign was fully stabilized, Mujin intended to cast aside the position of Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and flee, just as he had once fled Shaolin.
However, it would also be troublesome if Emperor Jianping attacked the martial world like Emperor Taiping the moment Mujin fled, or if he allowed corrupt officials to manipulate him.
That was why Mujin had offered such bizarre advice.
It was the strange counsel that the emperor should doubt even Mujin’s own words.
At Mujin’s advice, Emperor Jianping smiled with satisfaction and said,
“As expected, the Commander is different. Are there not countless men who speak nothing but lies and attempt to deceive Us, yet coat their tongues in honey as they beg Us to trust them?”
“Ahem.......”
Mujin had only said it while thinking ahead to after his escape, but when the emperor treated him as though he were the most loyal subject in the world, Mujin cleared his throat in embarrassment.
As though he had noticed Mujin’s true thoughts, Emperor Jianping gave a faint chuckle and added,
“Moreover, We did not issue those orders merely because We naively believed the Commander’s words. This matter is only intended as a warning. It will serve as an example to those whose names are written above, and also allow Us to observe how the martial artists respond.”
Understanding the emperor’s intentions, Mujin lowered his head.
'Right. The Eastern Depot was not completely gone.'
Although the Eastern Depot’s principal experts had been massacred during Mujin’s previous rampage, the Eastern Depot itself had not been abolished.
If lies ever appeared in these reports sent by the martial world, the Eastern Depot could eventually uncover them.
And the fact that Emperor Jianping had told Mujin this openly was also a warning that the martial artists should not dare report lies to their emperor.
Once Mujin’s thoughts reached that point, he had to make an effort to hide his satisfied smile.
'Once imperial authority is stable, I should be able to leave immediately.'
With an emperor this meticulous and unlikely to be manipulated by treacherous officials, the world would probably remain peaceful even if Mujin abandoned his position.
'I want to hurry home and lift iron together with my lovely wife and children.'
Mujin’s muscles twitched merely from imagining it.
Watching Mujin sink into thought while his muscles repeatedly twitched, Emperor Jianping maintained a calm expression as he thought,
'Did We say something unnecessary.......'
Seeing those enormous muscles twitching beneath official robes too loose to conceal them made Emperor Jianping’s blood run cold for no apparent reason.
***
When the low-ranking officials who had embezzled the relief grain meant for the people were dismissed in groups, beaten with canes, and stripped of their property, songs praising the emperor rang out throughout the Central Plains.
And it served as more than enough warning to the high-ranking officials.
According to later investigations by the martial artists, the number of people attempting to accept bribes or embezzle taxes had decreased exponentially.
Of course, they had not disappeared completely.
'Hmm. It is astonishing that there are still bastards who have learned nothing even now.'
Mujin expected that, once enough time passed and people judged the mood safe again, the number trying to siphon away money would rise once more. As the saying went, old habits died hard.
'We plan to replace them all again once things stabilize to some extent anyway, so for now, it should be enough to secure the evidence.'
Just as Mujin finished reading all the letters sent by the Zhengmu League and entertained that thought, shouts came from those guarding the entrance.
“Your Majesty. The newly selected members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard have arrived with a letter from the Zhengmu League and request an audience with the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.”
“Let them enter.”
The moment Emperor Jianping gave permission, the doors opened and four men entered.
All four came from the Zhengmu League and had been carefully selected by Mujin and Zhuge Muhuan before being transferred into the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
They had been chosen to give Mujin at least a little breathing room from having to remain beside Emperor Jianping all twelve double-hours of the day.
In other words, whenever Mujin needed to leave his post, they would guard Emperor Jianping in his place.
At the arrival of the men he had waited and waited for, Mujin’s mouth stretched into an enormous grin.
So wide that he failed to control his expression despite the emperor standing beside him.
Yet for some reason, Mujin was not looking at the four men.
Nor was he interested in the letter they had brought.
Mujin’s gaze was fixed on a single place.
'Finally! I can finally lift iron!!'
The doors that had briefly opened as they entered.
Beyond those doors lay countless pieces of iron they had set down outside.
They were exercise tools the four newly selected Embroidered Uniform Guards had brought with them on their journey from the Zhengmu League to the Forbidden City.
Mujin had spent nearly twenty years lifting iron every single day.
Moreover, because he had obsessively repeated his diet and iron lifting in order to maintain the effects of the Jade Vajra Art, Mujin was an addict who had reached the very pinnacle of exercise addiction.
For such a man to go nearly two months without lifting iron had left his mind wavering like someone suffering from drug withdrawal.
“Ahem.......”
At the sight of Mujin looking completely deranged, as though drool might spill from his mouth at any moment, Emperor Jianping cleared his throat and thought,
'He did not look that happy even when he was with his wife.'
For some reason, Emperor Jianping was beginning to feel sorry for Mujin’s wife, Liu Xuehua.