99. More than just the bones of officials are trampled upon on Heavenly Street... (4K characters, big chapter)_3

Conquering the Divine Capital... was nothing more than a futile effort. This is where Emperor Chongming's political naivety lay. Judging whether a minister was capable based solely on whether they were corrupt or upright...

Did they study hard for more than a decade just to become upright officials? In a feudal society, such a thing is impossible! No matter if they were serving as Capital officials or as local officials, who hadn't embezzled some silver? Even if they hadn't taken gold and silver, using their power to amass wealth was also quite common. Even upright officials with clean sleeves were but rare exceptions.

The civil and military officials felt immensely relieved and quietly breathed a collective sigh of relief after hearing Xu Xing's words. As expected, having once been part of their system, Xu Xing understood their "necessities."

"Emperor Chongming simply treated us like household slaves..."