Zhou Miao left the palace quietly without disturbing anyone.
It was not until the Shangshenjian was replaced by a new director that the palace people realized that Eunuch Zhou Miao was missing.
Many people felt sad and thought that Zhou Miao had committed a crime and was executed.
There are big moves in the court.
Officials who were imprisoned by imperial decree were either dismissed from office and their property confiscated, or exiled.
However, the place of exile surprised the court officials.
Overseas islands?
When did the Great Zhou have islands overseas and they became places of exile?
"May I ask your Majesty, where are the overseas islands located?"
"Overseas, of course."
"When did the Great Zhou own islands overseas?"
"If I say yes, then yes. If you don't understand the situation overseas, why don't you look for information to update your knowledge? You only ask me about everything. Am I your teacher, dedicated to answering your questions?"
Liu Zhao scolded him harshly.
The court officials looked embarrassed.
"This incident happened too suddenly. I have never heard of it happening on overseas islands before."
"Just because you haven't heard of it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. My dear ministers, many of you have families that cooperate with maritime merchants. Go ask those merchants and don't think that overseas is a barren land. How can maritime merchants make money without a population overseas? The fact that maritime merchants can make money proves that there are not only islands overseas, but also land, a large population, and countries and ethnic groups that we don't understand. Don't stare at my harem all day long, look at the world more. It's shameful for a minister of the great Zhou Dynasty to be like a frog in a well."
The four words "shameful" were a slap in the face of all the court officials.
Every courtier felt a burning pain on his cheek.
Looking at the Great Zhou, they were the group standing at the top, yet they were being denounced as frogs in a well, a disgrace. This was intolerable.
It's just overseas. Apart from some rare treasures, what else is worth paying attention to?
"Your Majesty, isn't it inappropriate to exile these criminals to overseas islands? It's difficult to survive overseas. Exiling them to these overseas islands is worse than just sentencing them to beheading."
Liu Zhao chuckled coldly, "Why don't you go to the Imperial Prison and ask those officials sentenced to exile whether they would rather be exiled overseas or beheaded?"
A bunch of idiots!
Don’t you understand the importance of population?
Don’t you understand the scarcity of management talent?
These officials sentenced to exile overseas were all Jinshi graduates, highly talented, and had many years of experience in government offices, so they had a set of management methods.
He is talented, understands management, and is in his prime.
Even if a huge sum of money is spent, there is no way to recruit such talents who are willing to go overseas voluntarily.
The imperial court sent officials to serve overseas?
The officials assigned to this position would probably resign on the spot, and then they would even curse the imperial court for being a piece of shit.
People are only sent overseas to treat criminals.
This is the simple idea of the people of the Great Zhou.
As long as the common people have enough to eat, they are unwilling to go out to sea.
What's more, he was a Jinshi who passed the imperial examinations twice and was an official appointed by the imperial court.
Now there is a group of ready-made officials, or two Jinshi who have committed crimes. It just so happens that there is a shortage of such talents overseas, so exiling them overseas is a perfect match!
In Liu Zhao's view, the official who proposed beheading and throwing him into the market was a complete idiot who would ruin his overseas plans.
"Withdraw from the court!"
Liu Zhao left angrily.
He was very worried that the officials' vision could not keep up with his plans.
He went to Gu Jiu to complain and asked him to assign students from Shanhe Academy to serve him.
Gu Jiu said, "This year is the imperial examination year, and there are nearly forty people from Shanhe Academy who have made the list. Your Majesty, please take your time to select."
"I want not only candidates who have passed the imperial examinations twice, but also those with a wide range of interests and hobbies, and excellent grades in other subjects."
"Any student from Shanhe Academy who can pass the two imperial examinations is not bad, and they have excellent grades in at least two elective subjects. I will have the academy prepare a file for you. You can choose the talent you need."
"I need Yang Ji."
Gu Jiu rolled his eyes and said, "Yang Ji is going to Jiangnan, so I can't leave him to your service."
For this purpose, she specially sent Zhou Miao to Jiangnan to be a troublemaker and serve as Yang Ji's thug.
Liu Zhao was very depressed.
"Then let Sanyuan Gong serve me. He can still be of some use."
Gu Jiu stared at Liu Zhao, "Are you really short of people? I remember you have a lot of talented people you can use."
"I do have some people, but not enough."
Gu Jiu thought for a moment and said, "If you can convince Ren Qiu, I won't compete with you for the talent. If you can't convince Ren Qiu, I'll find a few more suitable talents for you."
The talent Liu Zhao really needed was Renqiu, not Sanyuan Gong.
Sanyuan Gong was very good at teaching and studying, but when it came to the overall view and understanding of officialdom, Renqiu was still a step ahead.
However, Renqiu was in a bad mood, refusing to go out or talk, and all he wanted was to resign from his official position.
Liu Zhao simply gave Lord Lu a task, "No matter what, Renqiu must remain in the court. I can promote him to the Secretariat, but only if he works diligently for me."
Lord Lu is under tremendous pressure; this task is too difficult.
"I'm not sure I can convince Renqiu."
"Then find a way to convince him."
"Your Majesty, why don't you ask the Queen to come forward?"
Liu Zhao was furious. "The Empress has to handle everything. What's the point of having you officials?"
As soon as Gu Jiu shows up, there is a ninety-eighth chance that Ren Qiu will be tricked into teaching at Shanhe Academy.
And Gu Jiu also said that he had to convince Ren Qiu on his own.
Liu Zhao was absolutely unwilling to say such an embarrassing thing out loud and let others laugh at him.
Lord Lu had no choice but to go ahead with it.
He returned to the mansion and knocked on Renqiu's door.
"It's me, let me in!"
Renqiu was humming a little tune while painting a picture for the girl in the brothel.
Renqiu was the most popular figure in the brothel, known as the Great Talented Man Ren.
The prostitutes in the brothels came to him and asked him to paint. If he could just roll in the sheets, his life would be perfect.
He was naturally unhappy about being interrupted, and shouted at the door, "I'm busy!"
Lord Lu was furious. "I have something serious to discuss with you. If you don't open the door, I'll send my servants to break it down."
"If you dare to smash the door, I will go back up the mountain and never come down again."
Lord Lu was almost mad with anger.
"I have something very important to discuss with you. It concerns your resignation. Will you open the door or not?"
After a long silence, the door opened from the inside.
A gust of fragrant wind blew towards Lord Lu.
The brothel girl's eyes were as charming as silk, "Master Lu, come and sit in the building when you have time."
After saying this, he left gracefully.
Lord Lu was furious and pointed at Qiu, "You actually invited a prostitute into your home. How ridiculous!"
Renqiu rolled his eyes, "If you're just here to scold me, I'm sorry I won't accompany you."
As he said this, he was about to close the door.
Lord Lu held the door open and said, "Let me in. I have something important to discuss with you."
"What's the matter? I'm all ears."
"Your Majesty agrees to Li's resignation as Director of the Imperial Observatory."
"But?" Renqiu knew very well that there was no free lunch in the world.
Lord Lu rubbed his brows and said, "His Majesty hopes that you will serve in the Secretariat, preferably in the Council of State."
"I'm so young, and I want to enter the government hall? Your Majesty, don't you worry about the criticism from the court officials?"
"Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, hasn't there been enough criticism from the court officials? Your Majesty doesn't care about their opinions at all. Are you willing to join the Secretariat and the Council of State? With just a nod, you can enter the core of power in the Great Zhou. And judging by Your Majesty's intentions, he's placing increasing importance on the Council of State. It's very likely that in the future, the Council of State will replace the Three Departments and become the true core of the court."
Renqiu pinched his chin in thought.
Lord Lu was thirsty after talking so much in one breath. He sat down and poured himself a glass of water.
He noticed the portrait on the table and commented, "The portrait is more beautiful than the real person! That prostitute just now is not worth the time you spent painting her. Your painting is worth a fortune!"
Lord Lu reminded Renqiu to recognize his own value.
A genius like Renqiu certainly has many aliases.
One of the aliases was a great painter, known as a genius in the art world. His paintings were worth a fortune, and even money couldn't buy them.
Many people have been trying to find out about this mysterious genius in the painting world, but to no avail.
No one could have imagined that the cynical Director of the Imperial Observatory would be the legendary genius of painting.
No one could connect the two men.
Renqiu put away the painting and threw it into the wastebasket without a care. "I just drew it casually, but you took it seriously."
Lord Lu, please save the painting quickly, you prodigal son!
It's rare that I'm willing to put pen to paper to create a complete painting, only to have it thrown away as trash.
spendthrift!
Renqiu rolled his eyes in disgust.
"Do you like that prostitute from the brothel? I'll introduce her to you. Just mention my name and it's free."
Pooh!
"I like your paintings, not that woman."
"This painting is based on that brothel girl."
"Not entirely." Lord Lu admired the painting. "Obviously, there are other emotions in it. Are you seeing someone else through her?"
"Nonsense! You're thinking too much!" Ren Qiu denied it flatly, his eyes full of disgust.
Lord Lu collected the painting and placed it in a painting tube, treating it as a treasure.
"Remember to title it, using your painting pen name, and don't forget to stamp it with your seal. When I retire and return home and have no money to spend, I'll sell this painting for a fortune."
Renqiu yawned impatiently.
Lord Lu rubbed his hands together, unable to conceal his excitement. "Have you considered it? The conditions His Majesty has offered you are very generous. With your talent and knowledge, you should shine brightly in the court."
Renqiu Taotao's ears were filled with laughter. "I'm not interested. Being an official is tiring and boring. It's boring!"
"Don't you have any ambition?"
“Eating, drinking and having fun are also ambitions.”
"Absurd! His Majesty values you so much, you shouldn't let him down."
Ren Qiu looked lazy and said, "His Majesty has given you so much benefit that you can force me like this."
Lord Lu rubbed his brows and said, "I didn't get any benefit at all, and instead I got scolded. If you refuse to serve as an official, with Your Majesty's violent temper, my career will also come to an end."
"Don't worry. You wrote the imperial edict to succeed the throne. His Majesty will keep you in the court no matter what."
"Your Majesty never plays by the rules. Don't use the old stereotypes to predict His Majesty. By the way, the punishments for those officials imprisoned by the imperial court have been announced. With the exception of a few individuals, most have been exiled overseas."
When Renqiu heard this, he became interested.
"Are you sure it means exile overseas?"
Lord Lu nodded, "This is absolutely true. In a few days, these convicted officials and their families will sail south."
"Exile abroad is quite interesting." Renqiu laughed. "Tell His Majesty that I'm going out for about ten days. When I return, I promise to report to the Secretariat. Remember to save a good position for me. I don't want to be a pawn, I only want to be a decision maker."
Lord Lu was in a dilemma. "Where are you going? What needs ten days to handle?"
"Leave me alone. Mark my words, I want to be the decision maker."
Renqiu put on his clothes and shoes and ran out.
Lord Lu chased for a few steps and then gave up.
Because he couldn't catch up at all.
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