Food Fairy Lord

Chapter 548 Zi Chen (Part )

Yuanzhao bowed again and stood up, the edge of his vision touched the yellow silk hem.

He paused immediately, stopped looking up, and returned to his seat with his head lowered.

In fact, this figure never showed any kind of oppression. He was neither moody nor cruel and tyrannical. He often liked to be quiet, but what he said was always clear and understandable. He was not as particular about etiquette as the previous emperors. He would summon court officials to his bedroom late at night, and would also change into casual clothes to visit the residences of his officials, but no one dared to overstep his authority in front of him.

It has been nearly thirty years since he came to this position with a halberd and a sword. The huge empire has been revived in his hands. He looks to the south of the sky, the north of the earth, and the vast and dark sky above the infinite clouds... and in front of the throne, there are already many prostrating ministers.

Yuan Zhao knew that it was too late for him to reach a position where he could see this figure. Unlike those old ministers who knew the past of this monarch, he always approached and faced him with extreme caution and awe. Some of the previous emperors in those history books often did not hold such authority. Yuan Zhao could clearly sense that this figure had absolute control over the empire, and even the five surnames were wary and fearful of him.

Even though he had been the Shangshu for nearly ten years, this was only Yuanzhao's sixth visit to the Purple Palace.

The dark yellow brocade, the carved bronze beams, the high-hanging curtains, and the peace and quiet that should be found in the most central and supreme place of the Tang Dynasty are all isolated far away on windy winter nights. Being able to come here at night and have a chair is the highest honor in this empire.

The people who had taken their seats were all familiar figures. Yuanzhao only took a quick glance at them - the philosopher of the Tianliyuan Academy, the Minister of the Central Secretariat, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, the Chief Censor, the Minister of Rites... Li Du.

The man in purple sat on a soft chair due to his old age. His clear face looked quietly at the ground, and he slowly counted a string of rosary beads in his hand.

"I have received more and more memorials recently, and the official titles are getting higher and higher. The scholars are the backbone of our government. Today, thousands of scholars came to the imperial city. I have read the "Ten Requests" they submitted. What rules should be followed? I would like to hear your opinions." There was a sound of stacking memorials from the top. "You all have discussions and letters. I have also seen several insightful remarks, such as Zheng Qi's "Reform of the Imperial Examination System", Zhuo Yulun's "Scholars and the Five Surnames in the Temple", and Guan Zhiyi's "Law is Above the Ministers". They are all very profound. Here, I will show them to you."

With light footsteps, a eunuch handed them several copied memorials one by one.

Yuan Zhao took it with his eyes lowered and opened one at random - in fact, he didn't need to read it at all, he already knew what these three people would write.

Today's scholars' protests appear to be outraged at the violence committed by Wang Jiazi, but fundamentally they are protesting against the low status of scholars and the oppressive rule of the Five Surnames. Scholars study to advance themselves and take the imperial examinations. Wang Jiazi may not be brought to justice, but the imperial examination system must be reformed.

But the reform is not just about the New Imperial Examination System.

Although the literati were already in an uproar, the government was generally calm. There were a few people in high positions who were the leaders of their own factions and it was not obvious which side they were on. There were also many people from smaller families who had more moderate views on the matter.

Besides, if the [ban on recommendations] is not lifted, will the scholars be unable to survive?
Of course not. This is how the Tang Dynasty survived the past few hundred years, and there are many stories of people recognizing a great talent through public recommendation.

However, the carefree ruling class will tend to increase their oppression by inertia, and it has become even worse in recent years, thus sparking resistance again - this is probably a new cycle, and whether the aristocratic families adjust themselves, or the emperor Kirin or even foreign wars intervene, the aristocratic families' unscrupulous branches will be reined in.

However, the New Imperial Examination System was intended to fundamentally deprive the aristocratic families of the power to control the scholars and even to govern the civil service, and return it entirely to the scholars.

Zheng Qi's "New Law Reform for Imperial Examinations" probably meant this. He had been working on revising Xu Xiang's "New Law", removing some sharp contradictions and trying to change it into a more moderate version that both sides could accept. Although this old minister was born in the Zheng family, he was indeed a court official who had both a good reputation and was familiar with worldly affairs. After several revisions, this "New Law Reform" could indeed be implemented, and Yuanzhao was almost certain that the aristocratic families would accept it. Even if the literati were not satisfied, some would be satisfied, some would sigh, and they would begin to be turbulent and divided... Once people's hearts were scattered, they would actually be defeated by 90%.

He told the woman that he “couldn’t wait” and wanted to facilitate this imperial defense today. This book “New Law Reform” was actually one of the reasons.

He closed the book. No one in the hall spoke. He silently turned to the next one.

Zhuo Yulun is an up-and-coming young man in the court. This young man indeed always has a higher and deeper perspective, and is extremely determined to stand on the same side as the figure on the throne.

In this memorial, he skipped over the dispute over the imperial examination system, saying that the century-long rift in the Tang Dynasty was not in the imperial examination system, but in the courts of scholars and the five surnames. The relationship between the two factions was naturally antagonistic and had always been deformed, so reconstructing the relationship between the two sides' power in the courts was the key to curing the chronic disease.

His suggestion was to retain the privilege of the Five Surnames to select scholars, but to have them withdraw from the court to the greatest extent possible and give way to scholars from all over the world. This was because the Five Surnames originally had unicorn blood and were chosen by heaven. They had coexisted with the Tang Dynasty and would always maintain a transcendent status. The right of selection was enough to prevent them from becoming disconnected from the Tang Dynasty.

The scholars, however, had no land or soldiers, and often had no accomplishments. Even if they gained power, they would not protect the country. Moreover, the ideal that the scholars pursued was to accomplish great things rather than to indulge in pleasure. They were obviously better at governing the country than the people of the five surnames.

This is a more radical and drastic vision, even surpassing the so-called "New Imperial Examination System". To some extent, it really "has the best of both worlds". In addition to a long time, the real core to achieving this vision is the determination of a powerful monarch... Yuanzhao paused for a moment, trying to guess the intention of the figure above him, but he didn't raise his head to peek.

The manuscript of Guan Zhiyi, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, was much simpler. His vision was actually more grand and reasonable, but also more distant and unattainable.

He neither talked about the imperial examination nor the scholars and the five surnames. Instead, he hoped that the emperor would infinitely elevate the authority of "law", because the root of the contradiction was privilege. Then, if the scholars, the five surnames, and even the entire Tang Dynasty were all under the "Tang Law", 90% of the problems would naturally be solved.

Unfortunately, this vision may be opposed by the Five Surnames and may not be welcomed by the scholars.

Yuanzhao closed the three booklets and remained motionless and silent, because he knew someone would say something.

The next moment, there was a trembling sound of a chair being pushed from above. It was Li Du who stood up with the help of the armrests, then fell to the ground and said in a hoarse voice, "I am ashamed that I failed to discipline myself and failed the trust of Your Majesty."

Pale hair draped across the ground.

Although the three memorials had different directions and arguments, they all pointed to one thing in an implicit way - the debauchery of the five surnames must be curbed.

"Mr. Li, your words are too serious. Please stand up." A calm voice came down.

Yuan Zhao lowered his eyes and looked at his hands. In his eyes, Li Du had always been like the giant jade tree in the center of the Xuanzheng Hall, a noble and detached waste.

He holds the position of Prime Minister and has direct blood of the Li family, but he just sits in his position and does nothing. He lives in the Fantasy Tower and Buddhist temples every day. He has no talent for spiritual practice, so he tries to prolong his life by force.

But Yuanzhao admitted one thing. The duty of the Secretariat was to execute government orders, but what to execute and what to reject were not decided by the prime minister. He could only push power downwards and had no power to argue upwards.

Li Du stood up from crying, and spoke in an old and low voice: "Your Majesty, the New Law Reform was jointly drafted by Minister Zheng and I, but there are some differences on the 'public recommendation' system. Minister Zheng wants to change the 'recommendation by famous scholars and wise men', and let the public recommendation funds be issued by the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial College. In my opinion, 'public recommendation' is originally for selecting talents from all over the world. Once it is restricted, it will lose its essence. It is better to submit all the public recommendation quotas to Your Majesty for your approval. Apart from this, I think this 'New Law Reform' is enough to solve the problems of the scholars. If my colleagues have any doubts, Minister Zheng and I can revise the many details."

It was the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Wang Jiu.

Li Du stood before the emperor and bowed his hands. The hall was quiet, and the atmosphere was a little tense. This was the retreat and answer of the noble family. They were also silently worried about the text on the other two memorials. Compared with the impact of thousands of scholars, the sudden determination of the figure above might be more terrifying.

The person above did not answer for a moment, and seemed to flip through the memorial: "Zhuo Yulun and Guan Zhiyi's opinions both hit the nail on the head. I have some ideas to accept. I will discuss it with the heads of the five surnames when I have time, but I will not involve them in the recent imperial examinations."

The voice was very faint, but the somewhat tense atmosphere in the hall was dispelled - the five families shared the world with the emperor, and most of the time they were the most solid allies. The emperor was a wise ruler with a long-term vision, and he would not suddenly cause trouble within the Tang Dynasty.

Li Du bowed and returned to his seat, and Wang Jiu also bowed again and shut up.

The person above flipped through the memorial for a while and said calmly, "The New Law Reform is indeed a good remedy. What do you think, Imperial Envoy?"

Ji Zheng was a middle-aged man with prominent cheekbones and a cold face. He and Di Jiu were as hard as two stones in the court. At this moment, he bowed and replied, "I am not good at politics, so I have nothing to criticize. I think it is OK. But Your Majesty just said that today we will not talk about 'the law is above the ministers'. I would like to ask, is the case that Wang Jiazi whipped the Imperial Academy student Qi Se to death also not within the law?"

The voice above replied calmly: "This matter has been handed over to the Jingzhao Prefecture Criminal Court, Di Jiu is the judge."

"In this case, I have no doubts." Ji Zheng bowed again and shut up.

Yuan Zhao gently rubbed his folded hands and looked straight at the ground.

"The Minister said that the New Law Reform covers six of the Ten Requests, and he thinks it is appropriate... What does the Ministry of Rites think?" His holy eyes moved to the Minister of Rites, who had a clear temperament. "The reform of the imperial examination system still falls on Xiao Qing. Are there any difficulties in its implementation?"

Xiao Zezhang raised his hand and bowed: "The Ministry of Rites has submitted all its opinions on the improvement of the imperial examination system to Your Majesty. There are no other questions or difficulties."

"In that case," the person above looked at the last figure to arrive, and paused for a moment, "What do you think, Yuan Qing?"

Yuan Zhao stood up woodenly and bowed: "I think it is not possible."

There was a moment of silence in the hall. Several indifferent gazes fell on him. Yuan Zhao lowered his head, and the edge of his vision touched the hem of the yellow silk dress.

He paused there and didn't look up anymore.

There is only the sound of my own breathing.

……

"I have all the moves in the court in my mind." Yuan Zhao was chewing a bun at the table by the window in the early morning, staring into space. "The only thing that worries me is your Majesty's inclination... Young Master."

"The emperor's will is definitely in favor of the New Law Reform, Lord Yuan, there is no doubt about that." The woman said calmly, looking at him with clear eyes, "But as long as you say no, it will not be implemented."

"..."

"Just trust me." The woman's face seemed expressionless as she lowered her eyebrows and drank tea. Her voice was almost identical to the person above, "He won't be angry with you for this - since we have the two heavens' opinions in our hands, we must implement the "New Imperial Examination Law."

……

Yuan Zhao stood alone in this quiet purple palace. The woman did not tell him the reason. He just followed her will at this moment. The feeling of waiting for the verdict must be more heart-wrenching than that of Li Du just now... but in fact, it only took a few breaths.

The person above said calmly: "Wait."

Yuan Zhao spoke woodenly, as if reciting from memory: "'Public recommendation' must be banned, there is absolutely no room for retreat. The so-called Ministry of Rites and the Imperial College determine the qualifications, within 20 years, there will be only one private pond for the aristocratic family; the so-called imperial review, today I have a wise ruler, the world is peaceful, tomorrow my ruler dies and is replaced by a foolish ruler, the government will be in chaos again. It is said, 'If you want to make Tang Cang, one person cooks it, and a hundred people fan it, it is useless, it is better to cut off the firewood.' Only by selecting talents not based on personal feelings but on their articles, not on their likes and dislikes but on their knowledge, can we revive the imperial examination and become a monument for our Tang Dynasty."

The hall was silent for a moment. Li Du looked at the ground indifferently. Wang Jiu said slowly and solemnly: "Yuan Zhao, the power of the Tang Dynasty is granted by heaven."

Yes, the power of the Tang Dynasty was granted by Heaven.

This is the core of everything. Yuanzhao's intention is to completely uproot the soldiers and build a completely independent system from the bottom up. However, if you don't know how to do it, how can you touch the authority of the Tang Dynasty?

This is not a conflict between the scholars and the five surnames; it is the foundation of the Tang Dynasty.

Yuan Zhao said indifferently: "Yes, the power of the Tang Dynasty is granted by heaven, and the fate of life is also in our hands."

No one would argue here, the saint nodded calmly: "In that case, it still depends on what the 'two heavens' say - Mr. Lu, what is the Tianliyuan's opinion on this?"

Lu Chunshui had been sitting quietly and upright in the corner. He came here today, seemingly only prepared for this question.

The man bowed straight and said in a serious tone, "Your Majesty, Zhu Wenzhe in the court is studying this theory in depth and intends to produce results within a month."

The saint nodded and said calmly, "Then let's wait for the Tianliyuan to come up with something that can stand up to scrutiny."

The hall was silent and Lu Chunshui sat back in his chair.

"The discussion between the two heavens is a big deal. If there is progress, we will hold a grand discussion in Hanyuan Hall." The yellow-robed figure stood up and said calmly, "That's all for tonight. Please go back. As for the imperial examination, there's nothing wrong with arguing about it. Don't always see bloodshed."

Yuanzhao and Wang Jiu both knelt on the ground and bowed.

(End of this chapter)