Qiu Zhuqing looked at her and asked, "Is there anything you don't understand?"
He wasn't surprised that Zhu Jiayu had raised doubts. He thought that Zhu Jiayu was exactly that kind of person—someone who, when in unfamiliar circumstances and encountering new things she had never experienced before, would absorb knowledge like a sponge absorbing water. It was precisely this kind of person who possessed so many ruthless methods.
Zhu Jiayu opened the manuscript, pointed out a few places, and said, "I don't understand literature very well, but I know a little about the principles of embroidery. On a piece of silk, what an embroiderer often needs to consider is not what to embroider to make it look good, but the harmony of the layout and the picture."
"I thought writing articles was the same, but after reading my second cousin's manuscript, I found that it seems quite different from what I imagined. So I would like to ask my second cousin what's going on?"
"Suitable?" Qiu Zhuqing asked her in return.
Zhu Jiayu nodded: "Suitable."
Zhu Jiayu figured this out herself, from among hundreds of answer sheets. After the censor asked her to try writing an essay, she submitted a beautifully written piece the next day. The censor read it but said nothing, only telling her to read the essays of candidates who had taken the imperial examinations in recent years before she started writing.
After reading and pondering hundreds of articles word by word, Zhu Jiayu finally understood the censor's intention.
An article may be exquisitely written, but it is not considered top-notch. What makes it a masterpiece is its insightful and thought-provoking reasoning. For an article selected from the imperial examinations, even more important than insightful reasoning is its logical structure and understanding of the emperor's intentions.
Thinking of this, Zhu Jiayu pointed out another article.
The topic of this essay is "On the Impact of Corrupt Officials on the Country." It was the topic of last year's provincial examination, and the examiner was the Grand Secretary Xu Zhizhuo.
Xu Zhizhuo was a staunch royalist. Although he argued fiercely with the officials of the Qingliu faction, in his previous life, he never interfered in the struggle for succession and power until his death. It can be said that at times, his will represented the will of those in power.
Corrupt officials are not uncommon in any dynasty. Even in a prosperous and powerful country like Da Ye, a major corruption case that shocks the court and the public breaks out every few years or even every ten years or so. And the most common thing to see in the imperial examinations is the policy advice on these corruption cases.
After all, every candidate who participated in the imperial examinations had the potential to become an official in the court. This question was used to test their views on officials' favoritism, corruption, and embezzlement. Although it might not actually reveal anything, the final answer would always reassure those in power.
But Zhu Jiayu felt that what that person wanted to test was not the future ministers' views on corrupt officials and cases, but whether anyone shared his ideas.
A ruler doesn't always need ministers with strong opinions; what he needs are loyal ministers who follow his will. That's all.
"Yes, I believe that a thousand-mile dike can be breached by an ant hole. Corrupt officials are to the country what ant holes are to the dike. We must strive to clean them up so that the country can prolong its life and the people can live in peace and happiness." Qiu Zhuqing thought that Zhu Jiayu was interested in this matter, so she said to her.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Jiayu looked up and saw his spirited expression, and sighed silently. If he could only think of this one aspect when faced with this problem, perhaps he would become a good official in the future.
But all he can do now is be a good official.
However, in reality, good officials do very little for the people.
She looked at the koi swimming in the pond: "Second cousin, water that is too clear has no fish..."
Three years ago, why did the Emperor not dismiss Song Baopu, the Minister of Personnel, after learning of his corruption and bribery, but merely demoted him? It was because of this. On the other hand, it was also because Song Baopu was not an incompetent official.
She kicked at a pebble on the road with her toe, and coaxed, "My second cousin Luo Yu from the previous dynasty also knows this. Some people in later generations have commented that Luo Yu was the most corrupt official of all time. Why? Because he sold official positions, had many cronies, embezzled imperial funds, and squeezed the people dry. Did you think Emperor Liming didn't know about all the things he did? But why did he let Luo Yu stay in the court peacefully for decades?"
"Because he has also done many practical things."
"Greed was indeed his weakness, but this weakness also made him an easy person to control. His entire life was bound by this weakness, and all the choices he made were based on this weakness."
Her voice rose, carrying the force of a thunderbolt, as she continued, "He understood perfectly well that the only way for him to amass more wealth was to remain in the position of Prime Minister for a long time. Therefore, he knew better than anyone what he could and could not do. Second Brother, in your policy essay, you wrote that he should have his property confiscated and be exiled, because you only saw his greed, but you didn't see his swift and decisive actions in the matter of cheating in the imperial examinations; you didn't see his efforts to overcome public opinion and build border defenses in important military and political affairs; and you didn't see him stepping forward to defend the country's borders in times of national crisis."
"Later generations have judged him as the greatest corrupt official of all time because he achieved the ultimate in being both a corrupt official and a loyal minister. Throughout the hundreds of years, neither those who came before nor those who came after him could compare to him."
"That person has praised Emperor Liming as the most sage and wise man on several occasions. So, Second Cousin, if he were in Emperor Liming's position, would he treat someone like Luo Yu in the same way?"
"Second cousin, don't forget, the matter of Minister of Personnel Song Baopu is not over yet..." she said quietly.
These words were like a wake-up call to Qiu Zhuqing.
Before this, no one had ever said such a thing to him. Mentioning Luo Yu always seemed to evoke a sense of disdain. But today, someone suddenly told him, "You only see his greed, but you haven't seen how much he's actually done."
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