Chapter 64: The First Year of Yong'an
Since the Beijing Incident, the number of people visiting the Jixiang Theater has suddenly dropped by half.
The reason was simple: the poetry competitions held at the Jixiang Theater alone were enough to cause the place to be raided a hundred times by the Imperial Guards. Not to mention the fact that there were also scholars who recited poems satirizing the current emperor.
Now the truth is revealed to the whole world. It turns out that everything was a trap set up by the emperor who pretended to be incompetent.
Those scholars were trembling with fear for a while, fearing that the emperor's Jinyiwei would come to question them. Rumors came from somewhere that the Jixiang Theater would be confiscated and closed soon, and the boss behind the scenes had been thrown into prison.
"Puff..." Yan Xuanyu, the boss behind the scenes who was supposed to be in prison according to the rumors, almost spit out a mouthful of tea after hearing Su An's recent rumors. He coughed twice and said, "I didn't expect the outside world to have such a big misunderstanding of me."
Su An was the first minister used by Yan Xuanyu. Compared with his fate in his previous life, in this life he not only cultivated the useful organization Jinyiwei for Yan Xuanyu, but also gradually developed an intelligence network to serve as Yan Xuanyu's eyes and ears in the world.
Seeing Su An's ability becoming increasingly off track, Yan Xuanyu sighed inwardly. In fact, Su An's ability is quite suitable for being a father-in-law...
He remembered something and looked at Li Zhongxian beside him. Li Zhongxian was puzzled by his gaze and said after a while, "Your Majesty, what did this servant do wrong?"
Yan Xuanyu thought about the feminine and ruthless portrayal of the East Depot Master, played by a male celebrity in his past life. Then he looked at Li Zhongxian, a plump and fair-skinned man. Eunuch Li usually smiled at everyone he met in the palace, and was very friendly. He really couldn't imagine what it would be like if Li Zhongxian had established the East Depot and become a powerful master.
He shook his head, bringing his wandering thoughts back to reality.
"Su An, now that the Jinyiwei has been established, I plan to transfer you back to the capital. What do you think?" Yan Xuanyu said after thinking for a while.
Su An stood up and saluted: "Your Majesty, no matter what happens, I will do my best."
Yan Xuanyu waved his hand: "No, no."
He explained his thoughts to Su An - Su An had done too much for him, so he had to give him a break, right? Now that the position in the capital was vacant, with Su An's contribution to the Great Zhou, it was more than enough to temporarily give him a sinecure.
After listening to this, Su An thought for a moment and said with a smile, "If Your Majesty summons me back to the capital, I will definitely come back. However, I have an idea. Why not hand over the Jixiang Theater to me? The Jixiang Theater has a lot of guests coming and going, and it is also a very famous place in the capital. We can build an intelligence network here."
He didn't show it on his face, but he was thinking a lot in his heart.
Their Majesty is always so simple and frank in employing people that it shocks people.
Su An still remembered that His Majesty once casually said, "Don't employ people if you doubt them, and don't doubt people if you employ them." His Majesty said that this was a saying of his ancestors that he saw in an ancient book. Su An felt that His Majesty had taken this saying to the extreme.
Everyone has selfish desires and suspicions, especially the emperor who stands at the highest position in the world.
However, Your Majesty actually gave them the greatest trust, allowing them to do their work.
From the day he realized this, Su An knew that he would be loyal to a monarch for the rest of his life.
Yan Xuanyu didn't know that Su An had thought so much. He was thinking that when he built the Jixiang Theater, he had never thought that it could be used as an intelligence station. Now that Su An brought it up, it was a very good idea. Using the Jixiang Theater as a cover would prevent others from thinking that the bustling Jixiang Theater was actually the "headquarters" of the intelligence network organization.
It also provides a foothold for Su An's men to expand outward.
He said without hesitation, "Yes."
Su An smiled. The future of the Jixiang Theater was settled, and Su An turned to talk about other things: "I still remember the time when I saw Your Majesty in the Jinyu Tower. When I think about it today, it seems like yesterday."
Yan Xuanyu said: "You are busy running around for me outside, so you naturally feel that time passes quickly."
"Yes." Su An said, "At that time, I never thought that I could train Jinyiwei for Your Majesty. Some of the children I adopted at that time are now included in the Jinyiwei candidates."
"It's only in its infancy now, but it will develop even better in the future." Yan Xuanyu raised the jade chopsticks beside him. "Let's not talk too much today. Let's have dinner together, king and minister."
...
Yan Xuanyu also felt the feeling of being busy. Just as he finished lunch with Su An, Han Shidong came to the palace to ask for a meeting.
After he took over the military academy, he managed it very well. Yan Xuanyu found that everyone was surprising him. In his previous life, their abilities seemed to be greatly underestimated. The characters who were only mentioned briefly in the original history of the previous life could actually have played a greater role.
For example, Han Shidong. People in the world only know that he is the eldest son of the Han family who has never entered the officialdom. Han Yuan once detained him in the Han Mansion on the grounds that he "only knows book theory, does not know how to adapt, and has difficulty in entering the officialdom." The original owner's memory does not know what Han Shidong's final outcome was.
At that time, the situation forced them to use Han Yuan's son as a legitimate reason to open a military academy. They could have just ignored it, but Han Shidong actually took the initiative to manage the Beijing Military Academy and served as a teacher in it.
And now, he often goes to the palace to ask for an audience regarding matters concerning the military academy. For example, today, Yan Xuanyu had just finished his meal and went to Chengtian Palace to handle business when Han Shidong came to the palace to ask for an audience.
Yan Xuanyu sat up straight and said to Li Zhongxian, "Let him in."
Han Shidong came in and bowed respectfully. Yan Xuanyu said, "Sir Han, what do you want to see?"
Yan Xuanyu thought that his time was very precious now, as the entire Great Zhou was in his hands.
However, even if Han Shidong didn't say it, he could guess a little that they were here for the group of students in the military academy, and it was probably related to the test questions he casually gave to the students.
As expected, Han Shidong's next sentence mentioned the second volume: "I came to the palace to seek an audience today to learn about Your Majesty's future arrangements for the students of the military academy."
If it were his father Han Yuan, or his father's student Lin Fu, they probably wouldn't ask so directly.
However, Yan Xuanyu also liked this personality. He said, "Don't worry. Since I have built a military academy and invested so much manpower and material resources, I don't mean to make fun of them. If you don't come in the next few days, I will send someone to talk to you about this matter."
"I want the students of the military academy to conduct a practical exercise."
To put it simply, it is labor practice. When Lin Fu and I were marking the papers together that day, we found a problem. These students grew up in the capital, or at least were the sons of wealthy families in the capital. Their knowledge of the outside world was only from books, and the people they met were very limited. Therefore, even the best answer sheet selected that day had some empty problems.
If the test is about poetry and classics, others may not be able to beat the sons of the aristocratic families in the capital, but if it is related to people's livelihood, imagination alone will not tell the answer.
Yan Xuanyu gave a brief account, and Han Shidong was silent for a while. "Your Majesty is right."
But Yan Xuanyu's words made Han Shidong even more excited. This meant that his students would be put to good use!
"Lord Han, do you care so much about the students at the military academy?" Yan Xuanyu asked jokingly, "I remember that they were all playboys in the capital, and there were many with bad behavior among them."
Han Shidong straightened his expression, "Your Majesty, do you still remember what you said to me back then? There is no distinction between the two in education. If you can truly change them through education, that is the true meaning of being a teacher."
"I remember this till today."
Yan Xuanyu had said so many things, how could he remember what they were? He frowned and recalled the scene when he met Han Shidong... He seemed to have said something to him, but his original intention was to comfort him, hoping that he would not do anything to disrupt his plans. He didn't expect that he was judging others by his own meanness. After hearing his words, Han Shidong immediately transformed...
Yan Xuanyu said solemnly: "You did a great job."
"Actually, they are also teaching ministers." Han Shidong sighed.
Scholars have their own ideas. Yan Xuanyu did not continue the conversation with him. He had a premonition that if he continued the conversation, Yan Xuanyu's literary attainments would not be able to support him to complete the conversation.
Then he brought up something that Han Shidong was very interested in: "I remember that there are still 130 students in the military academy in the capital. I can give you this privilege. You can assign them to where in the Great Zhou to take the 'practical exam'. You only need to assign them, and I will provide everything else."
"You must explain the rules to them. This isn't a joke; it affects their future after leaving the academy. Once they arrive at their assigned training location, they can only be low-ranking officials—temporarily, of course, and their names won't be remembered by the government. Each person will have an assessor who will assign or subtract points. Those who violate the rules will be expelled from the Capital Military Academy."
After saying that, Yan Xuanyu changed his mind and thought, what if someone really wanted to leave the military academy by violating regulations?
Well...that's exactly what he wants. On the bright side, this is another "purification".
Yan Xuanyu assigned a task to Han Shidong - to assign the 130 students to various places in Da Zhou and then have them reviewed by him first. After his approval, they would be handed over to the students. After the preparation time, the students would set off.
Han Shidong came to Chengtian Hall anxiously and left after receiving orders.
After this exam, this group of people will graduate. Yan Xuanyu thought, they must be special students, right? Since this is the first batch of students, the composition of the students is also very unique. They are all dandies or young masters who once had a sense of insignificance in various families in the capital.
In the future, admission to the military academy in the capital will require an examination, and it will accept not only children of officials but also children of civilians.
...
Yan Xuanyu understood Han Shidong's anxiety. After all, the students in the military academy were all descendants of nobles or officials in the capital, and Yan Xuanyu had just carried out a large-scale purge of the capital without much bloodshed. According to Yan Xuanyu, those who did not commit serious crimes would be exiled to remote areas of the Great Zhou to open up wasteland.
He was also a very benevolent monarch. He prepared accompanying doctors for the exiles, distributed clothes and other cold-resistant items to those going north, and gave tools and food to those going south.
After all, the places they go to need to be cultivated with their own hands.
Although the Great Zhou was a fictional dynasty, its basic territory was similar to that in Yan Xuanyu's previous life. For example, the territory of the Great Zhou to the east of the Southern Kingdom had not yet been developed. According to Yan Xuanyu's reasoning, whatever could be grown in the Southern Kingdom, could also be grown on that land. He also named the territory of the Great Zhou to the east of the Southern Kingdom, Hyde City, and would try to grow the specialties of the Southern Kingdom in the future.
This also evacuated the population originally gathered in the capital and realized population mobility. Yan Xuanyu gave himself a thumbs up in his heart.
As for whether they move voluntarily...ahem.
Of course, Yan Xuanyu was not afraid that they still had evil intentions, because the escort personnel would not come back after they went there. He selected a group of people to follow the exiles. After arriving at the place designated by Yan Xuanyu, they would build a reform site there and be strictly guarded every day. They had to work indoors from sunrise to sunset. The schedule was absolutely full, and the biggest desire in their minds at the end of the day was to lie down and rest.
This plan will not only fully accommodate the exiles, but also allow the reformed areas to develop slowly...
Yan Xuanyu also issued an imperial decree that anyone could register with the government to participate in the development of Hyde City, Heihe City and other places - of course, they would be given corresponding rewards.
...
In the 32nd year of Changping in the Great Zhou Dynasty, the emperor issued an edict to promote agriculture and encourage people to engage in farming and sericulture. At the same time, he encouraged the development of commerce and began to implement the policy in various places. He changed the reign title to Yong'an, and this year was the first year of Yong'an.
As a result, the Great Zhou Dynasty, which had shown signs of decline during the previous emperor's reign, was revitalized.
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