Chapter 184 The Emperor Disagrees with Their Marriage!
The next morning, the imperial edict was issued, and the emperor bestowed a mansion upon the top scholar. Coincidentally, the mansion was located right next to the former Li family mansion, separated from the Li family mansion by only one wall!
The Zhuangyuan Mansion was renovated before the new year. It is said that many of the landscaping features were designed by the emperor himself. The layout of the courtyard, the division of functional areas such as the backyard, frontyard, and sideyards were all decided by the emperor.
Everyone said it was a great imperial favor, but Zhou Mujiao and Zhao Yunjing felt a chill run down their spines after learning the truth.
This isn't some act of imperial grace; it's clearly surveillance!
But the imperial decree had arrived, so Zhao Yunjing could only happily move in. He even hosted a housewarming party, and the process of hosting the party and tidying up took five or six days. It wasn't until the seventh day that Zhao Yunjing went to the palace to express his gratitude.
Upon encountering Prime Minister Su on the road, Zhao Yunjing bowed and said, "Prime Minister Su~"
"Hmph!" Prime Minister Su turned his face away. "A treacherous villain!"
The other five Grand Secretaries, as well as the Vice Ministers of various ministries, all greeted him with a respectful salutation.
Zhao Yunjing was completely bewildered until he and Young Master Chen and the others went before the Emperor to express their gratitude, at which point he learned where his reputation as a 'treacherous villain' came from.
"Minister Zhao, Minister Mei, Minister Chen, I have already opened a path for you. Now it is up to you how you walk it."
Of the 388 candidates who made the list this year, the emperor, after reviewing and revising Zhao Yunjing's plan, actually found quite a few vacant spots, and thus admitted them all.
The Emperor asked, "Five years ago, a severe drought struck Great Liang, resulting in a complete crop failure and countless deaths from starvation. Ten years ago, floods ravaged the Jiangnan region, inundating its granaries. The imperial court emptied its coffers, yet this was still a drop in the ocean for the disaster victims. I hope that if such natural disasters are unavoidable in Great Liang in the future, our granaries throughout the country will be full, ensuring that no one else starves. Minister Zhao, I need you to triple Great Liang's grain production within three years!"
"Your subject obeys the decree."
"You can decide when to depart, but I hope it won't be later than June. As for who should come with you, you can make a list. I will agree to all of them, no matter who they are!"
Zhao Yunjing thanked the emperor again, pursed his lips, and suddenly became shy. When Chen Gongzi next to him saw this, his heart skipped a beat. He was about to speak when the emperor spoke first: "Minister Zhao, do you intend to get married before you leave?"
Zhao Yunjing's face immediately turned red: "The date is set for the fifth day of next month. Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."
"I haven't agreed yet, why are you thanking me?"
"Ah? The Emperor doesn't intend to agree?"
The emperor laughed in exasperation: "What if I disagree?"
“Then we’ll have to get married on the way,” Zhao Yunjing said honestly.
"Zhao Yunjing, how come I never realized you had so many thoughts?" The Emperor was speechless. "Only I can tolerate you like this. If it were someone else as emperor, you would have lost your head seventeen or eighteen times over! You lot should take this as a warning and behave yourselves, or you will lose your heads."
Mei Xijie mustered his courage and said, "Forgive my bluntness, Your Majesty, but if you only want honest and obedient ministers, there are plenty in the court. Why do you need to recruit new ones?"
Young Master Chen bowed and said, "I believe that if what Your Majesty says is reasonable, I will obey. If it is unreasonable, I will still obey, but I will do more to make the more reasonable thing seem reasonable to Your Majesty."
"you!"
The Emperor was truly enraged, pointing at the six Grand Secretaries below: "Look at your good students and good subordinates! You should do something about it!"
Grand Secretary Lin protested his innocence: "Your Majesty, those three are directly under your command. We all have to pave the way for them and obey their orders. What virtue or ability do we have to dare to discipline them!"
Chief Minister Su tossed out several letters: "Your Majesty, these are letters from various ministries criticizing our cabinet. Would you like to take a look?"
The emperor's smile vanished.
Those who held positions of power but did nothing, receiving salaries from the court but doing nothing, holding the title of general but never actually going to the battlefield, as well as the imperial relatives, the empress dowager's relatives, the empress's relatives, etc., were almost scattered throughout the six ministries of the court.
Because of the many vested interests involved, he was unable to implement many policies smoothly. Some policies were implemented, but those people did not actively promote them, so they were essentially implemented in vain. Therefore, the emperor had long wanted to deal with this group of people, but he had not yet waited for the right opportunity.
Zhao Yunjing's ideals and his glory of passing the imperial examination six times in a row appeared at just the right time. Now, the people of Daliang regard Zhao Yunjing as a celestial being descended from heaven. The emperor is using him to cut off those troublesome hands and feet in the court. At first, it will definitely cause a lot of backlash.
In fact, since he revealed Zhao Yunjing's plan, no fewer than ten people have come to him crying. After its official implementation yesterday, even more people have come to him. The emperor listened to them all until they had vented their frustrations before passionately delivering his own speech:
"Zhao Yunjing is the top scholar I just appointed. This is the first thing he will do after entering the court. If I don't support him in this first matter, will he still work for the court in the future? The granaries in various places are all waiting for him to fill them. If I protect you but not him, what will happen to the granaries? If there is a drought or a flood, will the people starve to death again?"
"Fine, I may not support him. Then you and your family will be responsible for promoting autumn rice throughout the country. If the national grain yield doesn't significantly increase after a year, I'll chop off your entire family's heads! If you've thought it through, tell me. If you lack the ability and courage, then follow Zhao Yunjing's arrangements."
Some people said they were willing to follow Zhao Yunjing's arrangements, but asked the emperor to give them another chance, promising to work hard and not slack off in the future.
The emperor said, "Of course I am willing to give you a chance. After all, you are all talents carefully cultivated by your respective families. It would be a pity to send you back to get married and raise children. Here's what we'll do: Zhao Yunjing will tour the country on my behalf to promote this. If Zhao Yunjing agrees, you will be included in the team. If you perform well, I will reinstate you to your original positions. Those who are particularly outstanding will be promoted."
"What if Zhao Yunjing doesn't agree?"
“How could we disagree? In your situation, the court has reduced the number of people by two hundred this time. Zhao Yunjing said before that he needs many people, many who can endure hardship but must obey his orders. After all, the territory of Liang is vast, and Zhao Yunjing cannot possibly travel to every place in a short period of time. However, the promotion of autumn rice is imperative, and this is where your opportunity comes from…”
In short, just pin everything on Zhao Yunjing. Anyway, in the capital, probably no one would dare to really touch him. Once he leaves the capital, it's up to his own luck.
He hoped that Zhao Yunjing could live a good life and work with him to develop the Great Liang better and safer, but if he couldn't even get past this first hurdle, then there was nothing he could do.
In the past, the Great Liang Kingdom did not have a top scholar who achieved the highest rank in the imperial examinations, yet it still managed to get to where it is today.
Su and his ilk always say that Zhao Yunjing is a treacherous villain. If they were the emperor's mind readers and could hear his thoughts, they would change their tune.
A ruler is the one who truly possesses profound wisdom and shrewdness!
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