Next, Le Shu became very busy.

Children need care and guidance, and Yinzhen and Leshu attach great importance to this aspect. Even if their career progress is a little slower, they cannot slack off in this regard.

Of course, this emphasis is not the kind of high-pressure education advocated by Emperor Kangxi, but rather a balanced approach that focuses on character development in all aspects.

Children's education can't stop, and one's career also needs to be kept in close watch.

In short, I'm very busy.

In the sixth year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, Yinzhen officially established two new departments.

The College of Agriculture and the College of Physics.

The two departments were under the emperor's jurisdiction and had an alternative examination method that differed from the eight-legged essay system for selecting officials. They did not have a requirement for official rank. They would first take a simple exam to filter out most of those who came to try their luck, and then increase the difficulty. Based on the results, they would then take a final subject-specific exam.

The agricultural institute is specifically responsible for researching how to increase crop yields and how to enrich the variety of foods on people's tables...

The Institute of Gewu (格物院) is specifically responsible for studying the origins of all things in the world. Yue Shu has proposed many "topics" and allows members of the institute to propose their own...

These two departments were under the emperor's jurisdiction, but Yinzhen entrusted them entirely to Le Shu.

These two departments, due to their unconventional assessment methods, sparked considerable opposition. However, since the staff of these two departments were not required to attend court or participate in government affairs, the opposition quickly subsided.

Le Shu's appointment to manage two departments was met with opposition from almost the entire court. They were willing to acknowledge a woman's strong earning ability, since managing the inner quarters included the money-making department, and as beneficiaries, they naturally wouldn't object.

Even if they were not valued by them, they were still two departments, directly under the emperor's jurisdiction, and at the same level as the Six Ministries.

Although they felt that the official positions inside were flashy but impractical, they were still officials!

They felt ashamed to be led by a woman.

Amidst the opposition, one voice caught Le Shu's attention.

"How did the Kong family get involved?"

Yinzhen's face was grim. He thought of the terrible things the Kong family had done in his previous life, and his eyes showed disgust: "Their family is rotten to the core. They are afraid of change. The land tax reform caused heavy losses to the Kong family, and they can't sit still anymore."

Who would have thought that the biggest landlord in the world was not the emperor, but the Confucius family!

The "honor" of being granted the title of "Descendant of the Lord" is not something any family can "earn".

The Kong family has become corrupt and filthy, with all sorts of sordid affairs going on inside. Although Yinzhen has changed a lot in his life, he still has a strong sense of love and hate at heart.

He can forgive some of his political enemies from his past life, as long as they are still useful. He doesn't mind using even some capable people whose character doesn't meet his requirements. There are some things that people with outstanding virtue really can't do.

But not the Kong family. The thought of seeing the Kong family groveling before the invaders in his previous life made Yinzhen feel utterly disgusted.

The maritime trade association excluded the Kong family.

The Kong family began to pay taxes based on the amount of land they owned, which greatly reduced the profits they made from the land. They were no longer involved in maritime trade, so they naturally felt resentful.

He couldn't do anything about the strong-willed Emperor Yinzhen, and Empress Le Shu wanted to interfere in the court affairs. Wasn't this just giving them the opportunity?

By leveraging their prestige among the common people, the Kong family incited scholars to verbally and in writing condemn Yue Shu, and those in the imperial court naturally followed suit.

That's the Kong family! Although many people know what kind of family the Kong family is, their ancestors were incredibly capable! No one thought the Kong family would fall or lose to a woman in the harem, not even if she were the empress.

This resulted in a near-unanimous opinion in the court.

Yinzhen also had to consider the opinions of the court. He could forcefully push it through, but then Yue Shu would become a wicked empress. Yue Shu didn't care about the reputation of a wicked empress, but if this reputation spread, it would be detrimental to her future actions.

The Agricultural College and the Institute of Natural Sciences are currently almost entirely male; the world is still a male-dominated world.

Le Shu: "What do you plan to do?"

Yinzhen: "I actually have an idea, but since I wasn't ready yet, it seems quite suitable to bring it up now. Shushu, why don't you guess what it is?"

She thought for a moment about how she would resolve the current predicament if she were in that situation.

Compromise with the Tuo family and concede profits? That's impossible; the Kong family can't be satisfied.

Having stood for a thousand years, they probably don't even have the concept of imperial power in their eyes. In their current view, only the imperial power recognized by them is the legitimate imperial power.

They didn't lack the money from taxes, but the emperor's reduction of their profits was seen as an offense.

Bowing my head is impossible.

Since we cannot back down, we have no choice but to fight to the end.

To deal with someone, you must know what they rely on.

What did the Kong family rely on?

It is Confucius, the Sage Confucius.

Because Confucius was a sage, and because imperial power needed Confucianism to maintain its rule, the Confucius family regarded themselves as the embodiment of a sage, using the name of a sage to forge an indestructible golden body for themselves.

Only by breaking their golden armor can we completely suppress their arrogance.

Industrial reforms are about to begin, and the innovation of new "tools" will inevitably bring about new systems. The Confucian concept of governing the country should be abolished.

"Newspaper!" That was Le Shu's answer.

The name of Confucius could rally scholars across the land, and the Confucius family called themselves the family of a sage, thus influencing scholars everywhere.

Yinzhen smiled: "Shushu and I are of one mind! Shushu, where do you think we should start?"

Le Shu: "The Kong family has been a den of iniquity and corruption. No one investigated it before because no one dared to. The Kong family has long been integrated with Confucianism. Let's start by investigating the Kong family. How about we make the first issue of the newspaper titled 'Down with the Kong Family Shop, Save Confucius'?"

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