Be an emperor from drawing cards

Chapter 166: Examination, seeking talents, and imperial examination, three-pronged approach!
Feng Datong, who was ready to bury some nails in the Chu State, thought he had seen the true face of the young emperor of Chu State clearly. Seeing the other party's persistence, he reluctantly agreed, but he also emphasized that this matter was of great importance. The envoy of the state is only responsible for conveying Chu's attitude and conditions to Qi. As for whether the peace talks can be successful, he cannot guarantee.

Zhao Yu was too lazy to argue with the Jin envoy who "wanted both." He directly asked He Bayun and Zhuge Jin to take charge of the negotiations.

The reason why the Ministry of Rites was not allowed to take charge was that just now, Zhao Yu received the news that the Burmese envoy was less than a day's journey from Shenjing City.

The Ministry of Rites has long been finalized and is mainly responsible for negotiations with Myanmar.

After the Jin envoys headed by Feng Datong paid their respects, Zhao Yu immediately ended his morning court and returned to Zihuan Hall to handle government affairs.

In the hall of Honglu Temple, Feng Datong, He Bayun and Zhuge Jin sat opposite each other, with their respective officials beside them.

The negotiations have been tense since the beginning.

He Boyun and the two wanted the Qi State to compensate the Chu State 100 million taels of silver while sending the princess to get married, but Feng Datong insisted on 50 taels of silver and refused to let go.

The two parties were pulling back and forth, and nearly two hours had passed in the blink of an eye.

The two parties were so thirsty that they had to stop temporarily to drink water and rest.

At this moment, Zhuge Jin walked over to the Jin delegation with a smile on his face.

"Brother Ziyu, what are you doing here?"

Seeing Zhuge Jin, Feng Datong's expression suddenly became tense.

Feng Datong was quite familiar with this gentle and elegant Chu official.

During the few days he stayed at the Huitong Hall of Honglu Temple, he often saw the other party coming here to chat with the officials. In order to fulfill His Majesty's instructions, Feng Datong, who planted nails in the Chu Kingdom, "inadvertently" met Zhuge Jin. Had a face-to-face meeting.

Zhuge Jin was always good at dancing, and Feng Datong deliberately got close to him. After going back and forth, the two became familiar with each other.

Feng Datong admired Zhuge Jin's talents, so he often treated him with courtesy.

Seeing Feng Datong so nervous, Zhuge Jin couldn't help but smile and said:
"Brother Feng did this, which made me quite sad. I came here at this time, but I just have some questions in my mind and want to ask Brother Feng for some advice."

"Isn't it for negotiation?"

Feng Datong asked with a puzzled look.

"If you say it doesn't matter, it would seem that I'm not honest enough with Brother Feng."

Seeing Zhuge Jin's frank confession, Feng Datong couldn't help but secretly praise the uprightness in his heart. He pondered for a moment and then said: "In this case, Tzuyu might as well speak up. If I really can't answer the question, I will let you know." .”

"Thank you Brother Feng."

Zhuge Jin bowed his hand towards Feng Datong.

"The thing that makes me confused is that Brother Feng is the envoy of the Jin State. Why do you want to work so hard for the Qi State?"

As soon as these words came out, not only Feng Datong, but also other members of the Jin delegation were stunned.

Yes, they are Jin envoys. They only need to convey Chu's conditions to His Majesty, who will then pass them on to Chu. Why bother to negotiate conditions for Qi?

Damn it, I subconsciously thought I was negotiating for Jin!
Feng Datong reacted with a slightly embarrassed look on his face.

But in front of Zhuge Jin, a native of Chu, he couldn't admit that it was their mistake. He just laughed awkwardly a few times and said nothing more.

Seeing Feng Datong holding on to his face, Zhuge Jin turned his head and glanced at He Bayun and others not far away, and then said with regret:

"Brother Feng doesn't know that 100% of the 50 million offered by Pavilion Master He Ba is actually a thank you gift to Da Jin. If Brother Feng waits to hold on to [-], it will only be [-]%. Otherwise, we will It’s not easy to explain to His Majesty. This is what I took the risk to tell Brother Feng. Brother Feng must not let Master Heba know about it. But now, alas..."

At the end, Zhuge Jin looked helpless and sighed heavily.

Is there a share of my Dajin in this?
Feng Datong did not expect that Chu State would do this.

It seems that the emperor of Chu State made great efforts to bring peace to Qi State.

Thinking of this, Feng Datong rolled his eyes and whispered:
"Brother Ziyu, if you hadn't reminded me, I would have missed a big deal! In this way, you tell Pavilion Master Heba that as long as he agrees to increase the 100 million to 200 million, and Jin and Chu will share it [-]-[-], then I will fight for my brother Your Majesty will punish you after you return home, and you must agree to this matter."

200 million divided into two and a half, Jin will get 100 million.

He did nothing and got 100 million for nothing. If His Majesty finds out, he will definitely praise himself for his ability to do things. As for making a joke in the Chu court, he can also brush it off easily.

He might even be able to get promoted to a higher level with this merit.

As for Qi’s feelings?
who cares?
This Jin State is too greedy, no matter what, after this incident, in the end, the one Qi State hates most will definitely not be our Chu State.

Zhuge Jin secretly smiled in his heart, but on the surface he bowed his hand to Feng Datong politely.

"Brother Feng's intention, I will inform the Pavilion Master immediately."

Soon, the two parties returned to the negotiating table, and with a tacit understanding, they each got what they wanted, and soon reached a consensus that Qi needed to marry a princess to the Lord of Chu as his concubine, and pay 200 million taels of silver as compensation.

Two days later, the Jin delegation returned.

On the day of his departure, Zhao Yu held a banquet in the postal pavilion in the north of the city to entertain Feng Datong and his party. All important civil and military ministers attended to see him off. After the banquet, Zhao Yu specially presented gold, silver and jewelry to express Chu's feelings.

Feng Datong and his party thanked him again and again, and then returned north to the Jin Kingdom.

Looking at the Jin delegation leaving, Zhao Yu smiled in his heart.

Originally, the State of Qi wanted to use the power of the State of Jin to force the State of Chu to negotiate peace. Now, although the State of Chu agreed, it set extremely harsh conditions. When the Lord of Qi heard the news, he didn't know what the expression was on his face...

But what Zhao Yu can be sure of is that when the other party scolds Chu for being shameless, he will also scold the kings and ministers of Jin!
Returning to Zihuan Hall, a chamberlain came to report that Cao Huan, the Minister of Rites, asked to see him.

"Your Majesty, this is the result of the negotiation between me and the Burmese envoy. Your Majesty, please take a look at it."

Cao Huan said as he took out the memorial from his sleeve.

Gao Lishi took the memorial and respectfully placed it in front of Zhao Yu.

Zhao Yu opened it and browsed it carefully.

This time Burmese took the initiative to send people to sue for peace, and the lion of Chu naturally opened its mouth.

After several days of negotiations, the result was finally achieved.

As the price of the peace negotiation, the Burmese State had to compensate the Chu State for a large amount of gold and silver property, including 5 taels of gold, 270 million taels of Burmese silver, and a total of 20 taels of silver such as silk, ivory, jewelry, and mahogany.Added together, these amounted to a total of 340 million taels of silver.

"Cao Qing has made a great contribution this time. He actually got 40 taels more than I expected."

Zhao Yu looked up at Cao Huan with a rather surprised tone.

Because the compensation amount he had previously set for Cao Huan should not be less than 200 million taels of silver, which was equivalent to one-fifth of the fiscal revenue of the Chu State.

Even if Myanmar is rich in silver, this figure is equivalent to one-eighth to one-tenth of the annual tax revenue.But he didn't expect that the Ministry of Rites headed by Cao Huan would be so powerful and directly produced an extra 40 taels.

"Your Majesty, the Burmese country seems to be preparing to go to war with the Yue Kingdom. They are afraid that I, the Chu, will hit me hard again, so they reluctantly agreed. If I had known this, I should have asked for a harsher price."

Thinking of the Burmese envoy's extremely painful expression, Cao Huan felt a little regretful.

This kind of opportunity to rip off someone is really rare.

Zhao Yu motioned for Gao Lishi to return the memorial to Cao Huan and said with a smile:

"Cao Qing, there will be opportunities in the future. This time, the Ministry of Rites did a really good job. It should be rewarded! Pass on my decree and take out the gold ingots from the inner treasury. Each of the officials of the Ministry of Rites will reward you with one ingot as a reward."

He earned an extra 40 taels for the court, which must be rewarded.

Although gold ingots are not a rare thing to these courtiers, the significance of the gold ingots taken out by the emperor from the inner treasury is different.

Cao Huan quickly stood up to thank him and said at the same time:

"This success is all due to His Majesty's previous power. I dare not take credit."

"This is what you deserve, just accept it with peace of mind! Remember, after the contract is signed, Cao Qing needs to ask the Ministry of Household Affairs to treat you." Compared with the extremely corrupt Ministry of War,
With an extra 40 taels of silver, Zhao Yu was in a good mood and rarely joked.

Seeing that there is going to be a drought this summer, although these 40 taels of silver are not much, it is enough for emergency relief.

"I respectfully accept the imperial edict!"

After Cao Huan said this, he and Zhao Yu laughed at the same time.

…………

As the envoys from Myanmar and Jin left Shenjing City one after another, the people of Shenjing once again focused their attention on daily food, rice, oil and salt. But then, the shock in the court made them eat to their fullest.

"Pull out the carrots and bring out the mud. I never thought that a little Chun Yuqing could involve so many people!"

At the court meeting, Zhao Yu's tone was gloomy, like the biting cold wind in winter, making people feel a chill in their hearts.

Facing the furious Zhao Yu, all the ministers in the palace did not dare to express their anger, for fear that if they said something wrong, they would offend His Majesty and involve themselves.

Zhao Yu glanced at the ministers and said calmly:

"Are you going to stand up and surrender, or are you going to let me pick you out one by one and strip you of your official clothes in public?"

Although the tone was calm, the killing intent in it made people feel numb.

But even so, no one came forward to surrender.

"Okay, okay, I have really opened my eyes today. It seems that you will not shed tears until you see the coffin today, Zhang Qing!"

Zhao Yu laughed angrily, turned his head sharply, and stared at Zhang Xiu with eyes as sharp as an eagle.

When Zhang Xiu heard this, he was excited, walked out quickly, and said loudly:

"Your Majesty, here I am!"

Zhao Yu shouted coldly:
"Let the palace guards seal the palace gate!"

"Here!"

Soon, amid the sound of armor leaves clashing, heavily armed guards filed in, tightly surrounding the entire Tai Chi Hall.

Zhao Yu said coldly:
"I am reading one, and you will catch one and strip him of his official clothes in front of everyone. If he dares to resist, he will be killed without mercy! Do you hear me clearly?"

hiss!
Hearing Zhao Yu's words, many officials in the hall were shocked.

If you are really stripped of your official clothes in public, your dignity will be completely lost...

But in the face of the extremely angry Zhao Yu, no one dared to dissuade him, for fear that his majesty would be the first to take action on him.

As for Yu Fan, with his upright personality, he fully agreed with Zhao Yu's approach.

This is what should be done to those corrupt officials!
They don't deserve the word "decent"!
"Wu Tianliu, a member of the Ministry of War!"

As soon as Zhao Yu finished speaking, he saw a middle-aged official among the officials falling to the ground with a "plop", and a smell of urine filled the air from under him.

"Your Majesty, I am wronged!"

Hearing the other party's cries, Zhao Yu narrowed his eyes in disgust.

Gao Lishi on the side saw this and quickly winked at the guards.

Several guards came forward. Two of them grabbed Wu Tianliu's arms and lifted him up. The others knocked off his official hat and took off his official robe, as if he was dragging a man. He was dragged out like a dead pig.

It can be said that this process did not leave him any face at all.

"Zheng Zan, the head of the Ministry of War!"

"Feng Yunlan, the head of the Household Department!"

…………

One by one, names came out of Zhao Yu's mouth, and one by one the officials were stripped of their official clothes by the guards and dragged out of the palace.

In just a short moment, there were only three or five people left in the Ministry of War.

Seeing this scene, many courtiers felt sad that the rabbit had died.

An old minister with white beard and hair could not help but come out to advise:

"Your Majesty, although the crimes of these criminals are extremely heinous, if too many people are dealt with at once, I am afraid that the court will be empty and the government will be difficult to carry out. I am bold, your Majesty, please think again."

Zhao Yu nodded thoughtfully and said with a smile:
"Although what Chen Qing said has some truth, there is a saying among the people that without him, Zhang Butcher, we would not eat mixed pigs. I have thousands of talented people in Chu. Could it be that without them, the court cannot function?"

The veteran minister hesitated when he heard the words and didn't know how to answer.

At this moment, a guard's voice sounded outside the palace.

"Your Majesty, Feng Yunlan was so frightened that he recruited someone, Chen Daojing, the head of the Household Department!"

When the old minister heard this, he was suddenly shocked, because his name was "Chen Daojing"!
Feeling the emperor's half-smiling gaze on the steps, Chen Daoming rolled his eyes and fainted to the ground.

This guy fainted just in time!

Zhao Yu, who was too lazy to care whether the other party was really dizzy or fake, waved his hand, and soon a guard came forward and dragged Chen Daojing out of the hall.

Zhao Yu looked around at the ministers and said in a deep voice:

"In addition to the people just now, the Jishi Office detained several people led by Chen Yan, the right minister of the Ministry of War, dozens of days ago. I did say that I will not investigate anything that happened before Huang Jingming, but this does not mean that some people You can continue to take bribes and pervert the law with peace of mind! Speaking of which, this time I would also like to thank Chun Yuqing. If this idiot had not been reported by the master of suffering in southern Xinjiang, I would not have known that some of you actually did this without telling me. Something like this happened! It seems that on that day, I killed the monkey, but failed to restrain some chickens who claimed to be smart!"

"From now on, the Ministry of Punishment, the Supervisory Yuan, Dali Temple, and the Editorial Office will review this case together. All officials involved in the case will be severely punished and will not be punished severely!"

Han Fanghai, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, Chu Ziwen, the censor of the Duchayuan, Zhang Chao, the minister of Dali Temple, and He Bayun, the head of the editorial office, all came out and said yes.

They all knew in their hearts that His Majesty was going to take action this time.

The "severe punishment" His Majesty talks about is, at the very least, confiscation of family property and banishment to Lingnan.

When the four of them returned to the queue, Yu Fan came out holding a scepter and played:
"Your Majesty, your Majesty is wise, this move will definitely turn the tide of the imperial court in one fell swoop!"

Zhao Yu looked at Yu Fan who was singing praises to him and didn't react for a moment.

Did Yu Zhongxiang change his gender today?

However, before he could speak, Yu Fan continued:

"It's just that I ask Your Majesty to plan the affairs of the government and not punish those who are guilty of lesser crimes."

Sure enough, it still smells familiar.

Zhao Yu coughed slightly and stopped Yu Fan's words.

"What Yu Qing said is indeed mature and prudent. However, I have been prepared for this matter for a long time. I am ready to use this matter to recruit talents and enrich the court. First, based on the story of my accession to the throne, let everyone The governor recommends talents to the imperial court. This is for inspection; the second is to post a list in the sacred city to recruit talents. Anyone with talent can be posted on the list. If after assessment, he is indeed talented, he can be hired at his discretion. This is for the purpose of seeking talents. Thirdly, I want to select talents by subject and accept the talents from all over the world for my own use. This is for the imperial examination!"

Following Yu Fan's words, Zhao Yu used the three combos he had prepared.

At the same time, a purple card exuded a faint purple light in the void.

[(Purple) Ceka: Edict for seeking talents]

[Card description: It has extraordinary merit and must treat extraordinary people.Regardless of one’s origin, only talents are needed! 】

[Card effect: After the edict for seeking talents is promulgated, in July every year, talented people in the field will be used to reveal the list of officials and have a chance to obtain famous ministers.The average attributes of talented people in the wild are no less than 65. After recruitment, ambition +10 and morality -10. 】

(End of this chapter)