Never Expected to Have a Moment's Peace!
Jinling, Wuying Hall
The situation in Southern Chu had changed so quickly that Great Liang was at a loss to understand what was going on.
Emperor Liang looked at the memorial in his hand and asked Chief Minister Liu excitedly, "My dear Minister, tell me: most of Southern Chu's regional officials have been lost, and the Southern Chu Emperor has even moved against the local noble families. Don't you think this is a golden opportunity for us to take Southern Chu?"
Chief Minister Liu glanced awkwardly at Emperor Liang, whose ambitions remained undimmed even in his twilight years, then forced himself to advise, "Your Majesty, after what happened in Southern Chu, officials throughout Great Liang are also trembling with fear. They're all repenting for their past mistakes and taking the initiative to make amends to their victims. There have already been several cases that I know of."
Emperor Liang had been pacing excitedly before the dragon throne, but after hearing Chief Minister Liu's words, he stopped in his tracks and asked in disbelief, "You're not joking with me, are you? Great Liang's officials are pillars of the state whom we selected ourselves. How could they be as corrupt as Southern Chu's?"
Chief Minister Liu awkwardly stole a glance at Prince Yu. Prince Yu had controlled the Ministry of Rites for ten years, and many of its officials were his men. Their character was certainly questionable, but Chief Minister Liu couldn't expose these matters outright. Doing so would completely offend Prince Yu.
So he could only force himself to say, "Perhaps power has made their hearts less pure."
Emperor Liang wasn't completely ignorant. The Xuanjing Division gathered information for him, so he could guess what was going on. He looked at Prince Yu with