The Sui Dynasty's chess game

Chapter 832 The Cui Family Breaks the Situation
Before long, Chu Suiliang announced at the door, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince's tutor has arrived!"

The Crown Prince's Chamberlain is Cui Hongzhou. Xiao Xia nodded, "Please invite him in!"

Shortly after, Cui Hongzhou hurried in, bowed, and said, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty!"

Xiao Xia had a much better impression of his father-in-law, Cui Hongzhou. He was open-minded and reasonable, far better than his elder brother, Cui Hongsheng, who was too arrogant and had no place in the new court, so he was forced to retire and return home.

"Please have a seat, Your Excellency!"

Cui Hongzhou sat down, somewhat uneasy, and asked, "Did His Majesty summon me for the matter of Wei Commandery?"

"Does the Grand Tutor already know?"

Cui Hongzhou nodded. "I just received a letter from the manor's head steward last night, and that's how I found out that I was also involved in the Wei County case. I really didn't expect that."

Xiao Xia smiled and said, "The matter of Wei County has nothing to do with you directly, so you don't need to worry too much. The Inner Guard has already taken care of it. The most crucial point here is that the head steward of the manor is not the slave owner. It is the Grand Master or his two sons who are. So before you knew about it, all the slaves had already been released by the county government, which is in accordance with the abolition of slavery order and has not caused any serious consequences."

Cui Hongzhou said with lingering fear, "Thanks to the timely handling by the Imperial Guards, otherwise I would have been in deep trouble. So many people broke the rules because of me, how could I bear it!"

Xiao Xia pondered for a moment and said, "That's the problem. Not only will the prefect and the county magistrate be executed, but the censor Hou Liang will also be dismissed. So I hope that the Grand Tutor will handle the aftermath properly and not give anyone any leverage to say that you were given a special treatment because you are a member of the imperial family. That would be meaningless."

"Your Majesty, please instruct me on what to do!"

"First, you should release all your slaves and make them commoners. Then the abolition order will have nothing to do with you. After a few days, you should publish a statement in the newspaper saying that all your slaves have been released and made commoners, and the abolition order will have nothing to do with you from now on. That way, no one can criticize you."

"Your Majesty understands, I will go back and make the arrangements immediately!"

Cui Hongzhou took his leave and left. Xiao Xia watched him walk away, feeling truly gratified. Only with such a wise and righteous father could she have given birth to a daughter who was worthy of being the mother of the nation.

Around noon, the Kyoto Morning Post published a major headline on its front page: "Wei County defies the court and openly disregards the emperor's decree." This news spread throughout Luoyang almost instantly.

Almost every restaurant was talking about it, and almost everyone was laughing at the stupidity of the prefect and governor, who not only lost their positions but also their lives for such a trivial matter.

Of course, some people feel that there must be something fishy going on here. It is rare to see two people doing something so foolish in officialdom, but it actually happened. It would be strange if there was nothing wrong with it.

"The Sui Dynasty hasn't executed any officials for many years. One was a fourth-rank official, and the other a fifth-rank official. These weren't serious crimes; they should have just been dismissed. But they were killed without hesitation. It's truly terrifying!"

Inside the Qingfeng Restaurant, a group of patrons were discussing the Wei County slave case. An old man sneered and said, "You don't know anything. This is to make an example of them and warn officials all over the country that if they dare to disobey the abolition of slavery, they will also face certain death."

"It should be a warning to others, but the emperor values ​​the abolition of slavery very much! The emperor has been on the throne for three years, and the only imperial decree he has issued is the abolition of slavery."

"The abolition of slavery is actually intended to increase the population. After so many years of war, the Sui Dynasty's population of over 50 million has dwindled to just over 40 million, a loss of more than 10 million! If all the slaves are released, at least several million more people can be added. Do you think it's worth it?"

"I heard that many freed slaves have been sent to Liaodong. Is that true?" someone asked.

A middle-aged man nodded. “It’s true. The five slave households I released all went to Liaodong happily. Each household in Liaodong can get a hundred acres of land, and they can get away from me, their original master. Why not?”

“I see. That explains why so many freed slaves wanted to go to Liaodong. It was because they could get away from their original masters.” “It’s not that simple to free a slave. Many slaves are still discriminated against even after they are freed. Their masters still treat them as slaves. They just want to leave far away. Going to Liaodong is perfect. No one discriminates against them, no one knows them, and that’s when they can truly escape their slave status.”

In the afternoon, Xiao Xia returned to the inner palace. He naturally went to his study, which was his habit. He would go to his study first every day and then prepare his meal. As the number of concubines increased, it was no longer possible for the whole family to eat together, but Xiao Xia still insisted on eating with the Empress.

He didn't favor any one woman exclusively; if he had to say which one he liked better, he would slightly prefer Xiaomei.

At this moment, Empress Cui Yu arrived. Xiao Xia knew she would come; her mother had entered the palace that morning and must have mentioned the matter of Wei County.

Cui Yu placed the ginseng tea on the table and whispered, "Husband, has my father gone to see you?"

Xiao Xia smiled and said, "Don't worry, the matter of Wei County has nothing to do with him. I know what's going on. He doesn't know anything about the matter of Wei County at all."

"But I read the newspaper today, and it seems the matter is very serious. The governor and the prefectural magistrate have both been executed."

"Two years have passed since the abolition decree was issued, but the officials below are still outwardly disobeying it and not taking my imperial edict seriously. I need to make an example of them. They have walked into the line of fire themselves, so they can't blame me. This has set a precedent. Next, the Censorate and the Imperial Guard will go to various counties to check the implementation of the abolition decree. It's something that can be resolved in half an hour. If they still refuse to do it, then it can only prove that they want to die."

"Wait a moment," Xiao Xia said with a smile, "Your father has already released all the slaves, so the abolition order has nothing to do with him anymore. You don't need to worry."

Cui Yu smiled bitterly and said, "Actually, what I'm worried about is the Cui family of Boling. My mother said that the Cui family of Boling has at least several thousand slaves. My father advised the family to release all the slaves, but my second uncle firmly refused and said some very unpleasant things."

"Cui Hongsheng?"

“Yes! All the other uncles were willing to listen to Father’s advice, but he stood firm, saying that as long as he was alive, no one could even think of taking advantage of the Cui family’s servants.”

"That Cui Hongsheng really never stops causing trouble!"

“He was resentful. He was jealous of my father, and of me and Xiaomei. His daughter remarried, but the marriage was not good. As soon as she came home, she made a scene with my father, saying that my father had ruined her. Cui Hongsheng then vented his anger on our family. He would resolutely oppose anything my father proposed, and resolutely support anything my father opposed. This caused the Cui family of Boling to decline. For two consecutive years, no one passed the imperial examination. The clan members were extremely dissatisfied with him, but he didn’t care. He is now the head of the family and the most senior. No one can touch him.”

Xiao Xia pondered for a moment and then said, "Do I need to intervene?"

"Why is my husband interfering?"

"Last month, a weaving workshop in Gaotang County caught fire, killing forty-seven weavers. I ordered the Ministry of Justice to investigate the case. According to their feedback, the owner behind this weaving workshop is Cui Hongsheng. Although the fire was accidentally started by a weaver while cooking, as the owner, he must take responsibility. I may spare his life, but the lightest punishment is exile three thousand li."

"what!"

Cui Yu was startled. "The Cui family does indeed have a weaving workshop in Gaotang County. Is Your Majesty sure it's not a family property?"

Xiao Xia shook his head. "It might have been family property before, but it's not anymore. Cui Hongsheng bought it two years ago and made it his private property. It has nothing to do with the family. In fact, I'm considering how to handle this matter. After all, he is the head of the Cui family, and I need to hear your opinion!"

Cui Yu said bitterly, "My father opposed selling the family property, but he insisted on doing the opposite and sold off all the family's assets at a low price. It turns out that he actually bought the largest weaving workshop himself. Heaven's sins can be forgiven, but self-inflicted sins cannot be escaped. I fully support His Majesty's judgment and hope that this scoundrel will stay away from the Cui family."

Xiao Xia nodded slightly. "I hope that after he leaves, the Cui family of Boling will take the lead in releasing slaves. In this way, all the noble families in the world will follow suit. If even the Cui family of Boling is unwilling to take the lead in releasing slaves, then which noble family will be willing to release slaves?"

(End of this chapter)