The verdict has been handed down: exile abroad.
Lord Liu, the former big boss of the Political Affairs Hall, felt that he was totally wronged.
He does everything and has accepted his fate of being dismissed.
As a result, he was put on the spot by a group of villains who were eager to create chaos in the world. They made a scene in the court in his name and then forced the emperor to abdicate in an attempt to force him to step down.
And then nothing happened.
All of them were imprisoned and exiled!
Lord Liu shed a few bitter tears for himself.
Who is as unlucky as him?
The day of returning home to retire seemed just around the corner, but he was exiled overseas instead.
This day is so fucking sad.
Unlucky year!
It must be because I didn’t go to the temple to burn incense and worship the Buddha during the New Year, so I offended Tai Sui.
The clay statue of Buddha is like a brick and can be moved wherever it is needed.
If you don't burn incense on weekdays, you will cram at the last minute.
Scholars are 100% hypocritical towards Bodhisattvas.
I believe the Bodhisattva has already seen through the true face of the scholar.
These scholars are so bad that this Bodhisattva refuses to bless them.
Lord Liu was in tears.
As he was about to embark on a journey of exile overseas where his life and death were uncertain, he wondered if he should just die first.
Lord Lu brought some wine and came to the imperial prison to visit Lord Liu, the former head of the Council of State.
All the past grudges have disappeared.
"Lord Lu is so righteous that he still remembers to visit me at this time. Whether you are here to offer condolences or to take advantage of my misfortune, I will be grateful for your visit!"
"It's just a token of sympathy, no intention to retaliate."
"Very good! The conditions are simple, I hope Lord Lu doesn't mind."
The conditions are indeed very simple.
The damp ground was covered with a layer of straw.
The straw had become moldy and rotten, giving off a pungent smell.
There was a wooden board in the corner, which was padded with a piece of wood and could barely serve as a bed.
Of course there were no stools in the cell.
Lord Lu didn't care and just sat cross-legged on the straw.
Lord Liu laughed, "Lord Lu is straightforward."
Lord Lu poured the wine himself, "I toast you a glass!"
Lord Liu took the wine glass and said with a smile: "This shouldn't be a wine that penetrates the intestines."
"I am not so vicious as to poison the wine, nor does Your Majesty allow anyone to treat you in this way."
Lord Liu drank the wine in the glass in one gulp, wiped the corner of his mouth, and felt very happy.
This was the most enjoyable day since I was imprisoned in the imperial prison.
He said, "I am not a great man, but a prisoner."
"Lord Liu, there's no need to belittle yourself or feel guilty. His Majesty has a deep meaning behind his exile."
Lord Liu shook his head repeatedly. "Lord Lu, there's no need to comfort me. Exile is just exile, there's no deeper meaning to it. It's said that the population of Lingnan has exploded, and it's become very prosperous. It's no longer the barbaric land people used to call it. Criminals like us certainly can't be exiled to such a wealthy place. Exiled overseas, to fend for ourselves, I understand."
Lord Liu looked resigned to his fate.
Lord Lu smiled and said, "What I said is not a consolation, but the truth."
Lord Liu was stunned on the spot, squinting his eyes, "I don't understand."
Lord Lu considered it for a moment and said, "I don't know the details of the matter, so I can only offer my humble opinion."
"I am all ears."
"Emperor Chengzong Wende had already begun engaging in maritime trade when he was still the emperor in his private residence. At that time, they mainly cooperated with major maritime merchants and collected profits. When Emperor Chengzong Wende ascended the throne, His Majesty and the Empress changed their strategy and took the initiative to organize fleets to go out to sea for maritime trade."
"What does Lord Lu want to say?" Lord Liu asked curiously.
Lord Lu continued, "Your Majesty and the Empress have invested many years in this effort, and preliminary estimates indicate that over ten thousand people have already gone overseas to explore the land. It's said that overseas resources are abundant, with countless minerals, fertile fields, forests, and even unyielding indigenous peoples. Overseas bases are already taking shape, but they suffer from a lack of talent. Your Majesty's decision to exile you must have a deeper meaning."
Some things should be done in moderation.
If you say it too deeply, it will not be beautiful.
Lord Liu was stunned and took a long time to digest the news.
"Lord Lu, what you mean is that His Majesty and the Empress began operating overseas many years ago, established bases, and stockpiled a lot of supplies?"
Lord Lu nodded, "This is all just my speculation."
No no no!
This is by no means mere speculation.
This must be true.
If His Majesty and the Queen really have bases overseas with a population of tens of thousands, it makes sense that they were exiled overseas as criminal officials.
Lord Liu drank one glass after another, his mind a little confused, with too many conflicting thoughts.
Lord Lu poured him a glass of wine and whispered, "Lord Liu, please take good care of yourself. You will surely achieve great things overseas. When you return home in glory, your name will surely be remembered in history and praised by future generations."
"I'm already old, and it's still a question whether I can survive and reach overseas."
Lord Liu sighed repeatedly.
It's not that he doesn't strive for success, but his age is there, and sometimes he has to accept his fate.
"I believe that you will be able to turn things around. In terms of official rank, you hold the highest status among all the criminals. Once you are overseas, you will shoulder the heavy responsibility and promote the great power of our Great Zhou!"
Lord Liu nodded subconsciously, then asked, "Will there really be such a day?"
"That day will come, my Lord, you must have faith."
Lord Liu smiled bitterly, "Thank you for visiting me and giving me hope. Even if the situation overseas is not what you said, my life is worth it!"
"You should have more faith in His Majesty and the Queen."
"Look again!"
Lord Liu didn't dare to hold too much hope, for he was afraid that he would be disappointed in the end.
Before reaching overseas, everything is false!
A few days later, the convicted official and his family set out south on a ship, heading towards another starting point of their destiny.
They spent a long time at sea, fearing the sea and overseas islands.
When they walked out of the cabin and stepped onto the ground, everyone looked at what they saw in disbelief.
I thought it was a barren land.
Who would have expected that a small city had been built near the harbor, which seemed quite lively and prosperous.
People come and go on the streets, speaking various familiar and unfamiliar dialects, or the common Mandarin.
Those people were all burly and fierce-looking, with some even having tattoos on their faces, clearly criminals.
Some of them had foreign faces and tattoos on their faces, and were obviously captives.
Most of them are men, and there are very few women.
These exiles, many of whom had female family members, immediately attracted many covetous glances as soon as they walked onto the street.
Just when everyone was getting nervous, a group of soldiers marching in neat rows appeared and escorted them to the government housing.
This group of convicted officials were warmly welcomed by everyone in the yamen.
In the following days, the criminal officials headed by Lord Liu began to take root and grow in this small port city, bringing unexpected changes to this isolated city overseas.
…
His gaze returned to the capital.
The common people in the capital gradually lost interest in the verbal battles between officials and Zhou Shi'an because there was something new to watch.
For a long time, the most popular thing for the common people was to go to the construction site outside the city and watch the clean-cut officials digging ditches.
All the coolies were shirtless.
It's dirty, tiring and hard work, and you can't do it without going shirtless.
Wearing clothes in this weather is just a burden.
As soon as the clothes are taken off, the arms are exposed...
Hey, the contrast is so fucking obvious.
On one side was a dark and sturdy man, and on the other side was an official as white as porcelain.
"Look at that official, his skin is whiter than that of a brothel girl."
"Have you seen a brothel girl?"
"She's even whiter than my wife."
"Not only is he white but he's also fat. He must eat meat every day."
"Look, he only dug a few times before he couldn't dig anymore. I bet his hands and feet are covered in blisters. He's about to cry..."
"Hahaha……"
Everyone burst into laughter.
The officials who were punished to dig ditches were ashamed and angry and wanted to die.
Being pointed at and compared to a prostitute is the greatest shame in life.
“Kill me!”
Killing someone is not enough, why humiliate him like this!
"Sir, you keep saying you want the people to petition. Now I'm just letting you experience their suffering. It's only been a few days, and you can't stand it? Could it be that all your talk about serving the people is just empty talk?"
"Not only are you fooling ghosts, you're also fooling the emperor." The people on the shore laughed in laughter.
The official protested, pointing at the people on the shore, "They are all ordinary people. They don't need to dig ditches. I want to experience the suffering of the people, why do I have to dig ditches?"
"Your Excellency may have misunderstood! Every one of these common people standing on the shore has to perform corvee labor every year. Do you know what exactly this corvee labor involves? It involves repairing city walls, digging ditches, clearing blocked rivers, and so on. You also have to bring your own bedding and food, and take care of your own food and drink. It's ten times harder than what you're doing now."
"That's right, that's right. We do corvee labor for a month every year, and it's much harder than this."
"Gentlemen and officials who are ignorant of the suffering of the people should be digging ditches."
"Ridiculous! I am a Jinshi (imperial scholar) from the imperial examinations. Those who work with their minds rule over others, and those who work with their hands are ruled by others. Hard labor like digging ditches should be done by common people like you. Who told you not to study and take the imperial examinations?"
"Beat him to death!"
Someone in the crowd shouted something, and the crowd became excited.
Everyone picked up clods of earth from the shore and threw them at the fat, white official.
"Kill him, kill him!"
One person's shout was too weak, and a hundred people shouted at the same time to beat him to death. The scene was really scary!
The guards had to work extremely hard to control the situation and rescue the fat official.
Now the fat official doesn’t have to dig ditches, but the price is that he has to lie in bed for at least three to five months.
The whole story was published on "Da Zhou Life Show", sparking heated controversy.
The Shanhe Academy News followed up on the incident, wrote a commentary, and also wanted to see how the court would deal with it.
This kind of thing is neither big nor small, it all depends on the attitude of the people above.
Emperor Liu Zhao was very angry.
"How can he still have the nerve to live after embarrassing himself in front of thousands of people!"
Liu Zhao issued a soul-searching question, and all the ministers in the Golden Palace remained silent.
In fact, what the fat white official said is the universal value of this era. Studying makes you successful, and you have both money and power.
I can't afford to study, I can't take the imperial examinations, I'm sorry, I'll be poor all my life. I deserve to be forced to do hard labor.
If the fat white official said this outside the capital, no one would hit him with clods of earth. He might even win the approval of the crowd, saying, "That makes sense!"
The fat official should never say this in front of the people of the capital.
Why?
More than ten years have passed since the first issue of "Da Zhou Life Show" was publicly released.
The biggest benefit for the common people in Beijing who have experienced the bombardment of all kinds of magical articles and the outlandish operations of intellectuals is that, gradually, their confused minds have become clearer.
Coupled with the promotion of free education, the people of Beijing are now at the forefront of the world in terms of intelligence.
Although the common people still follow blindly, they can distinguish between good and bad.
The common people of Beijing are confident, optimistic and calm. Their increasingly affluent lives have taught them that if they work hard, they may be able to change their fate.
Shanhe Academy opens its doors to everyone.
As long as you work hard to take the exam, you will have the opportunity to become a disciple of the emperor.
What a blessing this is!
This is an era of change, an era of violent conflict between the old and the new.
Some people are actively updating their knowledge reserves to prepare for major changes.
Some people cling to old ways and stick to rules and traditions that have been passed down for hundreds or thousands of years.
Who wins and who loses, we will have to wait and see.
At this moment, Emperor Liu Zhao was very unhappy.
He glanced fiercely at every official, and all kinds of thoughts flashed through his mind.
Should we drive all these officials out of the city to dig ditches?
If he really wants to do this, there will definitely be a more intense palace coup.
Liu Zhao tapped the table, weighing the pros and cons.
Not worth it!
Officials digging ditches was neither pleasant nor pleasing to the eye, and was inefficient.
The cost-benefit ratio is so hurtful!
Forget it, forget it, I want to spare these officials.
However, the fat white officials who dug the ditches must be severely punished.
"Order the Dali Temple and the Jinwu Guard to conduct a thorough investigation into this matter. No excuses will be made!"
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