Chương 547: Who made this ridiculous rule?

Within just one month, the imperial court dismissed more than 1, 300 redundant officials and clerks...

Previously, a single task required approval from more than a dozen departments, with official documents being sent back and forth, and it would take several months to complete.

Now one department can handle it all, increasing efficiency by more than tenfold.

Liu Ce used all the money saved from the annual fiscal expenditure to repair water conservancy projects, build schools, and provide disaster relief. The people applauded and praised His Majesty as a wise ruler.

Those corrupt officials who were laid off slunk home.

In the past, they relied on their official positions to act arrogantly, bully the people, and run rampant.

Now that they've lost their official positions, they even dare to confront street vendors.

"Oh, isn't this Lord Zhang? No, we can't call him Lord Zhang anymore, we should call him Old Zhang."

"What, didn't you go to the government office for tea today? Oh, I forgot, you got laid off."

"You... you..."

"What's wrong with me? Am I wrong? You used to be so arrogant when you accepted bribes. Why are you so deflated now?"

The dismissed officials were so ashamed that their faces turned bright red, wishing they could disappear into the ground.

Some became depressed and stayed indoors; some returned to their hometowns to farm and became farmers again; some went into business and engaged in small-scale trading.

Inside the greenhouse, Liu Ce looked at the report on the achievements of the new policies sent by Fang Xuanling and nodded in satisfaction.

"That's great. The problem of the imperial clan is solved, and the problem of redundant officials is solved too." Liu Ce said to Lu Bing with a smile, "From now on, the court's money can finally be spent wisely. We don't have to support those idle people anymore, and things will be much more efficient."

Lu Bing smiled and said, "Your Majesty is wise. Now the atmosphere in the court has been completely renewed. Officials dare not slack off anymore, and they are all vying to work, afraid of being laid off. The people all say that they have met a good emperor."

Liu Ce laughed heartily: "Alright, alright, stop flattering me."

Then, Lu Bing went outside.

Inside the greenhouse hall, Liu Ce stood up and walked to the window.

Outside the window, the sunlight was perfect, shining on the flowers and plants in the Imperial Garden, creating a vibrant scene...

In the distance, the city of Luoyang is bustling with activity, a vibrant and prosperous scene.

He took a deep breath and smiled slightly.

...

On the tenth day of the tenth month of the first year of Shenwu, in the Deyang Hall of the Luoyang Imperial Palace.

At five in the morning, the sky was still as dark as the bottom of a pot. The autumn wind swirled the paulownia leaves against the palace walls, making a rustling sound.

The sound was exceptionally clear in the quiet morning, like someone beating a muffled drum in the distance.

Inside the hall, a gilded bronze incense burner emitted wisps of smoke, which rose slowly around the nine golden dragons coiling around the ceiling. However, these smokes could not drown out the yawns and coughs that rose and fell below.

The sounds rose and fell, as if they had planned it together, one after another, forming a continuous chorus.

Yang Biao, standing at the very front of the civil officials' line, leaned on a dragon-headed cane, his eyes narrowed to slits, his head bobbing up and down like a chick pecking at rice.

His official hat was askew to one side, but he was completely unaware of it.

Suddenly, he slipped and almost fell to the ground. Kong Rong, who was next to him, quickly reached out to support him and whispered, "Old Yang! Wake up! His Majesty is about to speak!"

Yang Biao suddenly woke up, as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water, and shuddered.

He wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, coughed awkwardly twice, secretly straightened his crooked official hat, glanced left and right, and breathed a sigh of relief when he found that no one was paying attention to him.

Cheng Yaojin, standing in the ranks of military officers, was even sleeping standing up with his eyes closed, almost snoring, like a dozing tiger.

He drank with some old friends last night to celebrate the birth of his big, healthy grandson, and they didn't disperse until midnight.

Qin Qiong pinched him hard from behind, jolting him awake. He looked around blankly and asked groggily:

"Huh? It's over? Who won? Did I win?"

The sound was quite loud, and the surrounding officials chuckled quietly, their shoulders shrugging.

Zhang Fei, trying to suppress his laughter, turned red in the face and almost burst out laughing.

Sitting on the dragon throne, Liu Ce looked down at the civil and military officials below, all with dark circles under their eyes, and sighed inwardly.

During the years he traveled back in time, he had to get out of bed at three in the morning every day. He was shivering from the cold in winter and nodding off from sleepiness in summer, almost developing neurasthenia.

At that time, he thought, "Who made this ridiculous rule?"

If I ever become emperor, the first thing I'll do is change this inhumane early morning court system.

From then on, I was determined to change this inhumane early morning court system.

What kind of "rise at dawn, with a myriad of affairs to attend to" is this? What nonsense! People aren't even awake yet, how can they possibly come up with any good policies? Making decisions in a daze is bound to lead to mistakes.

Later on, as time went on, he almost got used to the Eastern Han Dynasty's concept of time, and almost thought that he was born to get up at three in the morning. Fortunately, he was saved in time.

"Alright, stop yawning, everyone. I have something to announce first," Liu Ce cleared his throat and began.

"Starting today, regular court sessions will be held twice a month, on the first and fifteenth of each month, while grand court sessions will be held every three months. Most importantly, the court sessions will be held at nine o'clock in the morning."

The hall erupted in chaos. The officials snapped back to reality, staring wide-eyed at Liu Ce, thinking they had misheard.

Several senior officials even picked at their ears, wondering if they were getting hard of hearing due to old age.

"Your Majesty! Absolutely not!" Kong Rong was the first to jump out, so agitated that his mustache bristled, his two white whiskers trembling like two angry snakes.

"The ancestral rule of holding court at dawn is a tradition passed down through generations! It is meant to remind the emperor and his ministers to be diligent in their duties and not to slacken their efforts! How can it be changed arbitrarily! The laws of our ancestors must not be lightly abandoned!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Yang Biao stepped forward, leaning on his cane, his voice trembling, the cane thumping loudly on the ground.

"When the late emperor was on the throne, although... cough cough, although he was not very willing to be diligent in his duties, he still held court every ten days without fail. Now Your Majesty has changed it to twice a month. Isn't that neglecting state affairs? If word gets out, what will the people of the world think of Your Majesty? What will the historians write about Your Majesty? How will future generations evaluate Your Majesty?"

"Nine o'clock still to go!" an elderly official called out, leaning on his cane and shakily stepping forward.

"The sun is already high in the sky at nine in the morning! What kind of court session is this? What kind of decorum is this! It's unheard of! In my sixty-three years of life, I have never heard of a court session this late! If our ancestors in heaven saw us holding court at nine o'clock, they would probably jump out of their tombs in anger!"

Liu Ce looked at his excited old ministers, secretly amused, but put on a pained expression, even squeezing out a few tears. Of course, it was all fake.