"Can this manuscript be published?"
The Imperial College News received several submissions, all of which were veiled insults to the current emperor.
Everyone in the editorial department was in a panic, their heartbeats were more than twice as fast as usual.
The worst thing is that the people who submitted their articles are just sitting outside, waiting for a reply.
They are all officials appointed by the imperial court. You can't afford to offend them. You can't afford to offend them.
But even a small "Imperial College Newspaper" cannot afford to offend His Majesty.
What should I do?
"These court officials are really capable of making a fuss! Do they really think that publishing a few articles in the newspaper can change the situation?"
"Those civil officials always say Your Majesty is a tyrant, but common people like me don't feel that way. Your Majesty hasn't increased taxes or labor service, and the large-scale construction projects in the palace were all funded by the Empress's private funds. You can't be called a tyrant."
"It's mainly because Your Majesty insisted on dismissing Lord Liu, which caused controversy."
"Whether Lord Liu is dismissed or not has nothing to do with us."
"You are a typical example of someone who doesn't care about anything that happens to him."
"So, according to you, these articles should be published?"
"Let's ask the Lord Chief Liquor and hear his opinion. If the Lord Chief Liquor agrees to publish it, we will publish it. If the Lord Chief Liquor disagrees to publish it, we have reason to reject it."
"This is a wise move!"
…
Liu Shi, a descendant of King Jin, currently serves as the chief academic officer of the Imperial College.
He read the manuscript submitted by the Imperial College Newspaper and immediately cursed loudly: "Absurd! Such a manuscript cannot be published. Do you think the Newspaper Bureau is a vegetarian?"
"Is it really impossible to publish?"
"Nonsense!" Liu Shi was almost furious. Did he even need to be asked about this? Wasn't this an obvious fact?
"In accordance with the advice of the Lord Jijiu, all these manuscripts are returned."
"Hurry back. These bastards, who only want to unleash chaos on the world, think they can be fearless just because they have the pen in their hands."
The chief academic officer was very angry, and the editorial department of the Imperial College News decisively rejected the manuscript.
The court officials whose manuscripts were rejected were so angry that they jumped up and cursed.
"Shameless and depraved! If you can't speak for the people, what qualifications do you have to run a newspaper?"
"You are an official, not a commoner. You alone cannot represent the common people, and the common people feel that their current lives are pretty good."
"Ridiculous! Living from day to day is no different from rotting meat."
"Your Excellency, if you wish to curse, I beg your pardon. The Imperial College Newspaper will not welcome your words. It would be better for you to find a place where there are people willing to listen to your words."
The official was so angry that he trembled all over and left in anger.
This year is the imperial examination year, and candidates from all over the country gather in the capital.
The scholars are a group of people who are eager to create chaos in the world. If you go to the inn where the scholars complained, you will definitely find many like-minded people.
The official made up his mind, left the Imperial College and headed towards the inn.
Scholars are indeed easily instigated.
A group of scholars who "care about the world" talked about the affairs of the court and cursed them.
Your Majesty is incompetent and the court is in darkness. This is a disaster for the Great Zhou!
As a scholar, I will definitely become an official in the future, so how can I not care about this matter?
It is better for everyone to be willing. I hope His Majesty can hear our voices and bring order to the court.
The scholars had money and free time, so a group of angry young people ran to the palace gate to sit in silence and petition.
This matter has obviously become a big deal.
The court officials submitted memorials one after another, expressing deep sorrow and vexation, urging Liu Zhao to change his ways and withdraw his troops. He should immediately revoke his order.
Liu Zhao kept all the submitted documents and did not send them out.
As for the scholars who sat in silence at the palace gate to petition, they were all surrounded, given water and food, and were not allowed to leave.
Aren't we going to petition?
Until the matter is concluded, all petitioners are not allowed to leave the palace.
The Shaofu was in charge of everyone's food and drink.
As for defecation, urination and sleeping, just do it on the spot.
If you can't solve it, then just hold it in.
Even if the smell is bad, you have to hold it in.
At the same time, he ordered the Jinwu Guard to thoroughly investigate Lord Liu.
The dismissal of Lord Liu has caused such a big uproar, there must be a conspiracy behind it.
We are afraid that someone is secretly plotting a rebellion and conspiring to overthrow the Liu imperial power, and we must investigate thoroughly.
How could a mere Lord Liu have the ability to cause such a big disturbance? A thorough investigation will not be enough to appease the public anger.
Qian Xiang, the newly appointed Right Guard of the Jinwu Guard, personally rushed into Liu's mansion with a ferocious look.
The entire Liu family, regardless of age, was imprisoned and tortured.
The court was shocked!
Lord Liu cried out in pain: "What grudge do I have against you ministers? Why do you want to harm me like this?"
If you want to make a commotion or petition, that's your own business. Why do you have to use my name?
I feel so wronged!
Your Majesty, I am wronged!
The court officials' unrest and petitions have nothing to do with me.
I am innocent.
Liu Zhao could not hear Lord Liu's calls.
He decisively started the second fire and cleaned up the court.
Usually, the new emperor will only start to deal with this kind of thing one or two years after he ascends the throne.
Liu Zhao was more anxious than any other new emperor, and his methods were direct and ruthless.
The Jinwu Guards were mobilized in full force, and officials were imprisoned one after another.
Establish a big prison?
No official has a clean record.
It would be fine if I turned a blind eye to it on weekdays, but you still dare to act rashly and make trouble. Sorry, all your past dark histories will be dug up and you will all be sent to prison. Not a single one will be spared.
Liu Zhao's methods were cruel, and the Jinwu Guard's notoriety became even worse, causing panic and shock among the court officials.
No one submitted a petition to impeach Liu Zhao. Instead, some officials who were imprisoned in the imperial court submitted a petition asking Liu Zhao to show mercy.
If this continues, the court will be in chaos!
"The people of the Great Zhou are not in chaos, and the country is stable. What does it matter if the court is in chaos? In my opinion, there are too many people in the court who are just sitting there doing nothing and it's time to clean up the mess."
"Your Majesty, everything is excessive or insufficient." Lord Lu said solemnly.
Liu Zhao's face was stern. "I know my limits!"
Lord Lu was very suspicious.
Liu Zhao was obviously more cruel and bloodthirsty than Emperor Chengzong Wende.
Lord Lu was very worried about whether the officials who were imprisoned could come out alive.
Liu Zhao raised an eyebrow, "Lord Lu, are you worried that I will order the death penalty for those in the Imperial Prison?"
"I am indeed worried."
Liu Zhao laughed heartily, "Don't worry, Lord Lu. We can't kill all of them."
Lord Lu's heart trembled, "Your Majesty, please consider this carefully."
"I heard that there are many vacancies for Jinshi candidates in the Ministry of Personnel every day? There's a lot of room for every position in the court. If we pull a few out, at least we can give those behind us a chance to serve the court."
Lord Lu was speechless.
I remember that he was also waiting for a vacancy in the Ministry of Personnel. Fortunately, he met the late emperor who was then the Prince of Ning, and this gave him the opportunity to serve as an official.
"Don't worry, my dear Lord Lu. I know my limits and will not be able to shake the court."
The nobles and generals hadn't caused any disturbances, and the civil officials and scholars alone hadn't stirred up any real disturbance. At most, it would have made Liu Zhao's reputation even worse among the officials.
He never cared about fame.
If he cared, he would learn from Liu Yi and be a good and likable prince.
He never bothered to please others, and now that he is the emperor, he disdains to please court officials and historians even more.
Write whatever you want!
If I blink, my surname will not be Liu.
Liu Zhao's willfulness obviously surprised the court officials.
Don’t you really care about the reputation you have before and after your death?
He is indeed a tyrant!
The court was in chaos, but "Da Zhou Life Show" started a bold move, which immediately aroused the anger of the court officials.
"Da Zhou Life Show" also received submissions from civil servants. Cui Qi rejected them without any hesitation.
He knows exactly whose bowl he is serving and whose food he is eating.
It's not like he's tired of living if he's allowed to publish an article in the newspaper insulting his boss.
No matter how the officials scolded him, he remained unmoved.
Immediately afterwards, he received the task and a large stack of information.
Ma Xiaoliu said cheerfully to Cui Qi, "Boss Cui, this information is all evidence of officials' corruption and bribery, seizure of civilian land, forced slavery, and illegal brewing and mining. The Empress said that the Life Show will have a special feature called "Officialdom Unmasked." It's perfect to coincide with the publication of Mr. Zhou Shi'an's book, and to hype it up and build momentum for Mr. Zhou's book."
Cui Qi looked through the information, which was very detailed.
He asked curiously, "Do you have any information about my life?"
Ma Xiaoliu laughed, "Boss Cui, as a shareholder of Sihai, should have a file created."
"What's recorded in the file? How many concubines did I take, how many sons did I have, what ridiculous things did I do? Are they all recorded in there?"
Ma Xiaoliu laughed and said, "If Boss Cui is really curious, why not ask the Empress in person some other day?"
Cui Qi put away the information and said, "Your Majesty, I will do my best to handle this special issue and will not let you down."
"That's great! We're waiting for good news from Boss Cui."
The latest episode of "Da Zhou Life Show" goes all out, lambasting the officials who caused the riots. It digs up all their dark histories and asks: Are they making such a fuss for the people, or for their own selfish gain?
I'm afraid that 90% of the officials in the court are acting for their own selfish interests!
Those who truly speak up for the people will never sit idly by and watch the court fall into chaos and disorder, nor will they encourage scholars to petition at the palace gate.
They seek personal gain by abusing public interests and taking advantage of the sincerity of scholars, causing chaos in the court. These people all deserve to die!
After the article was published, the common people watched with great interest.
The court officials were so angry that they jumped up and down, their faces turning pale.
"What a shameless life show!"
"You are shameless in flattering His Majesty!"
"Life Show is becoming more and more degenerate, and Cui Qi is even more worthless."
"What nonsense! We are dedicated to the public good, yet we are being accused of acting for our own selfish interests! This is slander and defamation."
"He openly insulted an official appointed by the imperial court. What is the Newspaper Bureau doing? Why doesn't it intervene in this matter?"
"How could there be evidence of corruption on a lifestyle show? Could it be instructions from above?"
He pointed to the palace and assured the ministers, who were terrified.
"This must be the Queen's handwriting. The Queen always likes to use the power of others to defeat others! The ultimate purpose of this article is to dismantle us and at the same time make the people misunderstand my officials."
"Her Majesty, what a vicious method!"
His Majesty Liu Zhao was openly acting like a hooligan, while the Empress was plotting and scheming together, catching everyone off guard.
The court officials wanted to cry!
In the past, you only had to deal with the emperor and you could rest assured.
Now we not only have to deal with the emperor, but also the empress behind the emperor.
And it seems that the Queen's fighting ability is higher.
How tragic it is.
What the court officials did not expect was that Wenqing Bookstore would soon publish "Officialdom", a legendary fantasy novel about officialdom that Zhou Shi'an had spent several years creating.
Wenqing Bookstore is very good at creating momentum. It first aroused everyone's curiosity through a lifestyle show.
After "Officialdom" was published, it took only one day to top the book sales list.
Zhou Shi'an's literary talent is naturally not comparable to that of Yan Ci and others who write vernacular novels.
The words used are sharp and pungent, and the naked darkness of officialdom is exposed, which makes people applaud and exclaim with excitement.
Even illiterate people were willing to pay storytellers to tell them stories about officialdom.
Common people in Beijing, as long as they have some savings at home, are willing to spend money to buy a copy of "Officialdom" for their collection.
Every civil and military official in the court had a copy.
It’s just that their mood is completely opposite to that of the common people.
The common people were more and more pleased as they watched, and they all exclaimed, "Well done!"
The officials became increasingly frustrated the more they read, "What nonsense!"
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