At the sa ti, Chu Changge looked at the mountain-like morial twice as high as yesterday. He pondered for a long ti before asking, "Are you people retaliating against ?"
"Your Majesty should refer to yourself as 'Zhen'." The Minister of Rites did not mind taking all the trouble of correcting him for the eighty-ninth ti.
Chu Changge also ignored it for the eighty-ninth ti, asking, "Did you dig out all the morials from hundreds of years ago?"
"Back to Your Majesty, these morials were not yet reviewed by the late Emperor."
Chu Changge impatiently flipped through the elentary one with his hands. His brows raised higher over ti, and finally, he threw the copy in his hands onto the table, bellowing, "Burn it, burn them all!"
As soon as everyone heard that Chu Changge wanted to burn all the morials, they all panicked and unanimously advised, "Please don't, Your Majesty!"
"In ancient tis, there has never been an Emperor who burned a morial in the presence of all. Your Majesty is defying world opinion by doing sothing that everyone regards as wrong. Please think twice, Your Majesty." The Minister of Rites once again took up his official stance and advised. The translator advised reading this chapter at xinshou blogspot com.
"These morials were presented to the late Emperor. If they are not burned, how can the late Emperor read them?" Chu Changge asked rhetorically.
In one sentence, the ministers were left speechless. They knew that it did not make sense, but they did not know how to refute it. If they said they would not show it to the late Emperor, it would be treacherous; if they said they would show it to the previous Emperor, there was no other way but for them to burn it.
Seeing no objection, Chu Changge slowly picked up a morial with two fingers and threw it into the brazier, saying, "Find out the morial related to plague and how to stable territory, and burn all the other morials."
"Yes." The Minister of Rites imdiately acted as a eunuch with the pen and sorted the morials.
The rest of the ministers lanted in their hearts that the Emperor seed cynical but was willing to do the right thing. As the saying went, all things could be categorised as either slight or important, urgent or nonurgent. In doing so, he was trying to address the most pressing issues first. All those stale matters, such as water conservation and tax increases or reductions, were nothing compared to the plague and war.
In the end, the mountains turned into small hills. All the others went into the brazier, except for Old General Liu's four morials about the frontier war and one about the control of plague by the Governor of Jinling that were spared.
Chu Changge first looked at the Governor of Jinling's morial. After reading it for less than a minute, his face changed dramatically. Before, it was only cool in early autumn, but now it was snowing in winter, as the air around him dropped eight degrees with the coldness emanating from his face.
True Dragon, Son of Heaven referred to Liu Bang.
"Long ago, there was a poor farr who lived in a wild and rugged land, far from the great cities of China. One day when he was coming ho from the fields, he ca to a pond. There he stopped and stared in amazent. On the banks of the pond lay his wife, fast asleep. A great scaly dragon lood above her. Clouds blackened the sky, lightning flashed, and the air shook with thunder. Months later, when the farr's wife gave birth to a beautiful son, the couple was filled with joy. This boy grew up to beco Emperor Gaozu, the first ruler of the Han dynasty."--adapted from a story recounted by Chinese scholar Sima Qian in Shiji (Historical Records), c. 109-91 BC, via Arican Museum of Natural History
Image Credit | Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikidia Commons
When the ministers saw that sothing was wrong, they all held their breath for fear of angering this great god whom they had a hard ti inviting to sit on the Dragon Throne. Even if he were not the Emperor, no one would dare to breathe loudly at this mont. The Sect Leader of the Mojiao Sect was even worse than the True Dragon, Son of Heaven. Between the dark and white paths, the forr was always more frightening. The ministers suddenly began to worry that the one they had gone to so much trouble to request to return with them was a tyrant......
"Take the Governor of the Jinling, drag him out and chop him up!" Chu Changge threw the morial fiercely to the ground and instructed coldly.
All the ministers were so shocked by this order that their hearts skipped a beat. They all looked at the new Emperor, who had given the first decree to kill a minister even before the enthronent ceremony had even taken place. And they were at a loss as to what to do next.
In the end, the Minister of Rites picked up the morial and glanced at it before placing it on the table. Under the eager gaze of the crowd, he uttered his words which did not contradict Chu Changge's, "This person should be killed."
The people, puzzled, looked at each other and began to take turns reading the morial carefully. The last one to read the folds was Old General Liu. Whenever he had to write a report to the court, he always asked his military advisor to do it for him.
He didn't want to read the morial. Who the Emperor wanted to kill was the Emperor's business. But the cabinet would decide whether that person was worth being killed or not. He was only responsible for fighting the war. Thus, he didn't care about such things. But seeing that everyone was silent after reading it, he didn't want to be the only one who didn't know the truth of the matter. That was why he absentmindedly opened the morial.
Just after reading the first line, Old General Liu's face changed. The more he read, the worse his expression beca, and finally, in a fit of rage, he threw the morial into the brazier and roared, "Keeping such people is a waste of national food. Death is not enough for him!" How dare a small governor to take the lives of millions of people as a child's play, saying things like 'burning Jinling to suppress the plague'!
"This small official was a jinshi of the sa Imperial Examination with the Governor of Jinling. As far as this small official knows, this man is loyal and honest. Although he has no great talent, he has never gone beyond moral bounds. He has been working hard in governing Jinling even if he has never perford any ritorious deeds. Apart from this one plague, there has been no major disturbance. It is not like him to say such things as 'burning Jinling' or 'sacrifice sothing of lesser importance to preserve sothing crucial'." The Minister of Revenue said.
Chu Changge's anger diminished slightly at his words. "Then, in your opinion, there is sothing else going on here?"
"Yes. This small official requests Your Majesty to allow this small official to investigate this matter. If the Governor of Jinling truly puts the lives of the people at risk by fighting the plague passively, it will not be too late to kill him as an example to others."
"Alright. I'll give you a day. At this ti tomorrow, I will wait here for you to report your findings."
Minister of Revenue: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Your Majesty should refer to yourself as 'Zhen'." The Minister of Rites corrected for the ninetieth ti.
Chu Changge also ignored it for the ninetieth ti and said to Old General Liu, "Since you are here, I don't need to read these morials......"
The Minister of Rites interrupted Chu Changge and corrected him for the ninety-one ti, "Your Majesty should call yourself 'Zhen'."
The corners of Chu Changge's eyes twitched as he gave him a sidelong glance and said, "If you could be so persistent in your official duties, you wouldn't just be a minister right now."
"I am doing my official duties." The Minister of Rites responded in one strong beat and one weak beat in a asure of music.
Chu Changge was dumbfounded. He had forgotten that correcting the Emperor's faults was the proper job of the Minister of Rites. This stubborn old man, who seed to only talk about etiquette and law, had a bit of wisdom and courage in his head. Let's be done with it. It was just a matter of ti before he had to change the way he addressed himself anyway, and it was the sa if he changed it early or later. "Zhen, Zhen......" Chu Changge said it twice in a row and cleared his throat again before speaking to Old General Liu. "Zhen will not read your morials. If there is anything you want to say, say them directly."
"Yes!" Old General Liu said, "Now that Emperor Tian and Emperor Ye, who are far away from Yanzhou and Western Shu, have started a war. The war has not yet reached our dynasty. Still, no matter who wins or loses in the end, Emperor Tian and Emperor Ye will be content with things as they are and sooner or later, they will launch a war against our dynasty. Therefore, in my opinion, Your Majesty should consolidate the army, strengthen the border defences and actively prepare for war. Once either one between Emperor Tian or Emperor Ye is defeated, we should imdiately launch an attack and reap the benefits from their fight."
"What my dear courtier said is very true." When Chu Changge uttered 'my dear courtier', he clearly saw the Minister of Rites was about to open his mouth before closing it again. "Since Zhen has decided to change Zhen mind, Zhen will not let my dear courtier catch hold of Zhen again. My dear courtier can focus on other things." [ ]
A mont later, the corners of the Minister of Rites' mouth twitched a few tis ruthlessly. "It is this small official's duty to urge Your Majesty to observe the rites and laws."
"Yet Zhen thinks you're addicted to catching Zhen in the act."
"Your Majesty is overthinking. Even if this small official had the guts to do so, this small official would not dare to cross Your Majesty deliberately."
"Is that so?" The corners of Chu Changge's mouth slightly curled up. He suddenly found that being the Emperor was not as boring as he thought. At least fighting with the ministers was a challenging and fun thing to do. After looking at Minister of Rites with a smile, Chu Changge said to Old General Liu. "Although what General Liu said is reasonable, has anyone ever thought that it's impossible for Emperor Tian and Emperor Ye not to understand the concept of once the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold? They know that no matter who wins, the Daye Dynasty will benefit in the end. So why do they still insist on fighting to the death?"
General Liu: "Your Majesty is right. About this issue, this General has also thought about it but could never figure it out."
Chu Changge returned the four morials to him and said, "Then co back to Zhen when you have figured it out."
Old General Liu took the morials back. "Yes."
"Do all my dear courtiers have anything else to present?" Chu Changge asked.
All heads bowed in silence.
"Since there is nothing else to discuss, then let's disperse." Chu Changge languidly said as he sat on the armchair and waved his hand.
"When does Your Majesty intend to return to the capital?" It was still the Minister of Rites who spoke.
Chu Changge curled his lips into a smile and asked, "When does my dear courtier intend to control the plague?"
"This minister......doesn't know."
"Then Zhen also doesn't know."
Even the Minister of Rites, who had teeth made of copper and iron, was defeated. Hence, the rest of the ministers naturally would not make a fool of themselves by going against the wishes of the new Emperor, who ruled with the power of a thunderbolt and the speed of lightning.
As soon as the ministers left the 'Imperial Study', they began to talk.
"Lord Nie is indeed right. The Emperor looks unconventional and unrestrained, but he is a master at doing practical work."
"Yes. He handles the affairs of the state in an orderly manner. Although he complains a lot, he does not shirk from his responsibilities after all."
"The Emperor has been dominated by the Empress. So how can he have no complaints? He will be fine after a while, though."
"Talking about the Empress, she's truly admirable too! She's the first person I've ever t who has nothing to do all day but doesn't get depressed."
"It's a skill to be idle to that extent."
"When she returns to the capital later, she will have her hands full. I'm afraid she'll be too busy with all the big and small matters of the harem."
"Speaking of the harem, Lord Yang, isn't it ti to prepare for the selection of concubines for the Emperor to fill the harem?"
The Minister of Rites smiled coldly and said, "If you want to choose, you can go and choose yourself. I won't put my hand on this matter."
"This is the responsibility of your Ministry of Rites!"
The Minister of Rites: "You can go to the Emperor and accuse of dereliction of duty."
"Lord Yang, just now, you never gave up on speaking about etiquette in front of the Emperor. Why are you now deflated when the matter of the harem is ntioned?"
The Minister of Rites did not answer. He just pretended not to hear the question.
At this mont, Old General Liu suddenly rembered sothing. After a clap, he leaned close to the Minister of Rites and whispered, "Yang Lian, did Nie Qing remind you to stay out of the matter of choosing a concubine?"
Yang Lian, the Minister of Rites, was slightly startled and asked in a low voice, "How did you know?"
Old General Liu chuckled. "I rembered the ti the Empress said that I had a bad relationship with Nie Qing. Your relationship with Nie Qing has always been close. He must have warned you what things can be said and what cannot be said, right? You can't say anything about choosing a concubine, can you?"
Yang Lian nodded. "Nie Qing said that no matter when or where never ntioned the selection of concubines in front of the Emperor and Empress."
"Did he say what would happen if you ntioned it?" Old General Liu asked.
Yang Lian shook his head. "He didn't say. However, his expression at that ti was solemn, as if only ntioning the matter of choosing a concubine would lead to chaos in the world."
Old General Liu repeatedly nodded with his heart palpitating at Yang Lian's words. It was best for him not to ntion it, even if the others beat him to death. It seed that if there was anything he needed to speak with the Emperor in the future, he must first ask Nie Qing whether he could say it. Otherwise, if he accidentally stepped on the minefield, with such an unpredictable character of the Emperor, he might do sothing to retaliate against him back.
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