"I must emphasize once again, if you continue to write nonsense in future memorials, please resign and return home as soon as possible. I do not support idle people."
After Xu Jing came to power, he used his iron-blooded approach to intimidate the ministers. Many of his former compatriots became prisoners. No one dared to show their heads, fearing that they would touch the emperor's reverse scale and be eliminated as an example.
What else could the ministers say? They could only admit defeat.
Minister Lan wept silently. "Your Majesty, no matter how busy you are, you must resolve your lifelong affairs. Without an heir, what good is the kingdom? It will be handed over to someone else."
"Prime Minister Lan, the six ministers will stay."
Feng Bao understood and said, "Dismiss the court."
After Xu Jing finished his court session, he asked the others to go to the Purple Palace and wait there. He had breakfast first and then rushed to the Purple Palace.
When Lan Xiang and others saw Xu Jing coming, they stopped talking and stood up to salute.
Xu Jing said, "No need to be polite. Please take a seat."
Prime Minister Lan said bitterly, "Your Majesty, it's time for you to appoint a queen and select concubines. Offspring are the foundation of a country."
Forget about having children in this life. He likes men, and how can men give birth to children? If I mention making Zhou Siheng the queen to Old Man Lan now, he will be scared to death.
Xu Jing said, "We'll discuss this later. However, the princes left behind by the late emperor can now be relocated. Prime Minister Lan, have the cabinet draft an edict. Prince Kang will go to Chaozhou, Prince Zhao to Lingnan, and Prince Zhuang will remain in the capital for now, and we'll discuss this later."
"Yes, I obey your order."
"Oh, right." Xu Jing suddenly thought of something and asked, "Does King Kang have any offspring?"
Prime Minister Lan said: "Yes, what does your majesty mean?"
"King Kang, the legitimate son of King Zhao remains in the capital as a hostage. Grant Qinghe Palace to the hostage."
"Your Majesty is wise." Prime Minister Lan breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that His Majesty had finally done something serious. Leaving the hostage in the capital would prevent the princes from rebelling.
"Fill the vacancies in the Ministry of Personnel with suitable individuals, Chen Song."
"I am here."
"Prepare the questions for this special examination and distribute them to all provinces. The provincial, prefectural, and academy examinations will all be held a month in advance. This imperial examination is of vital importance. Do you have suitable examiners?"
Chen Song said, "I recommend Hanlin Academy scholar Zhou Ji as the chief examiner."
Isn’t Zhou Ji Zhou Siheng’s father?
Xu Jing's mind was working rapidly. He remembered that Zhou Ji was too pedantic and didn't know how to adapt to circumstances. It would be inappropriate to appoint him as the chief examiner.
"Replace Zhou Siheng, the Minister of Personnel."
Chen Song was stunned and said, "Zhou Siheng lacks experience and vision, and I'm afraid he won't be able to take on such a big responsibility."
Xu Jing said, "Then choose Feng Cong, a scholar from the Hanlin Academy, as the chief examiner, and Zhou Siheng as the deputy examiner. Have the cabinet draft an edict and pass it down."
"Yes, I will do it right away."
In addition, Xu Jing also thought about the many things that were confiscated during the house search a while ago to fill the national treasury.
At present, the national treasury is still relatively full, so we can implement appropriate policies to benefit the people and reassure them.
Xu Jing said, "Prime Minister Lan, have the cabinet draft an edict to reduce taxes by 30% for one year to reassure the people."
Prime Minister Lan was particularly excited. "Your Majesty is wise. I, an old minister, thank you on behalf of all the people of the world."
Don’t thank me, just don’t force me to get married.
The most urgent task now is the lack of manpower. A group of people have been killed but no suitable replacements have been found.
Xu Jing said, "Each ministry should employ suitable personnel first, and then replace them after the imperial examinations are over. The Ministry of War has too many soldiers and is burdened with expenses. We will remove a number of veterans and grant them silver to return home. The Ministry of Revenue will compile a national population inventory and register any refugees. The Ministry of Works will suspend construction of the imperial mausoleum and focus on people's livelihoods. Report any earthquake disasters immediately. The Ministry of Justice will liaise with Ling Xiao, and if they find anything, report it to me immediately and I will handle it. Okay, I'm tired too, please kneel down and pay my respects."
"Yes, I will take my leave."
He spent the whole night reviewing memorials, and then had to work non-stop in the early morning after attending a morning meeting. Even the emperor couldn't stand this.
Xu Jing was deeply afraid that he would collapse before he could manage the legacy left by the late emperor.
No, he needs to rest for a while.
Xu Jing ordered, "Feng Bao, tell your men not to bother me unless it's important. I'll take a break and recuperate."
"Yes, I will be on guard here. Your Majesty, please sleep soundly."
Xu Jing had no strength left and fell asleep on the couch reserved in the Zichen Hall.
I was half asleep when I heard someone shouting outside, and the person shouting became more and more irritated.
Xu Jing rubbed his eyes and asked, "Feng Bao, who's outside?"
"It's His Royal Highness Prince Zhuang." Feng Bao carefully helped Xu Jing up and said, "His Royal Highness Prince Zhuang is here because of what happened last night."
last night?
Xu Jing recalled meeting Xie Liangchen last night, who had exposed many people, including the concubines of Prince Zhuang. He immediately ordered Ling Xiao to arrest the people according to the list.
King Zhuang was probably coming to him to question him because of the concubines in his mansion, right?
"Send someone in."
"Yes, I will pass it on right away."
Xie Yunxiu strode in and knelt down upon seeing Xu Jing. "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. May the Emperor be well and safe."
"Get up." Xu Jing rubbed his eyebrows and regained some consciousness.
Xie Yunxiu's eyes welled with tears as he spoke, "I am deeply loyal to the Emperor and would not dare to disobey him. Last night, Lord Ling Xiaoling broke into Prince Zhuang's mansion with an imperial decree to arrest someone, and I didn't dare to stop him. I just want to ask them what they did wrong."
"Are you here to call for justice?"
"I dare not. I do not believe they would commit the crime of treason. I beg Your Majesty to investigate."
"I don't believe it either, but it did happen." Xu Jing said calmly, "When I was still the crown prince, I went to your house to drink and was assassinated by a dancer. I almost died. I believe that you, my ninth brother, would not kill me, but there are so many evil people in your house that I really can't trust them."
"His Majesty……"
Xu Jing interrupted him and continued, "I warned you to pay more attention to the people around you, but you just wouldn't listen. Isn't it too late to regret it when disaster strikes?"
Xie Yunxiu knelt on the ground, his expression dejected. "Brother Your Majesty, I refuse to believe they are spies. They bore me children, and we have developed feelings for each other. How could they be involved in such a conspiracy?"
"It's all about interests." Xu Jing believed nothing was groundless. Xie Liangchen might be using personal revenge to deceive him, but if he hadn't done it, how could he know what was going on? It was just greed.
"You ignored my warnings. If someone murders you in your bed one day, will you still defend the murderer?"
"Brother Emperor, you know that everything you do is for my consideration, but they..." Xie Yunxiu choked up and said, "Jiaojiao has been with me since I opened my mansion. I really can't bear to leave them."
"You're still flirting with other women because you can't bear to let her go? Are you worthy of Cao, the woman you married?"
Xu Jing's words hit Xie Yunxiu right in the gut. He said, "My brother and Cao are just husband and wife. We don't have any real feelings for each other."
Xu Jing sneered, "Your legitimate son was born to Cao, but have you ever thought about him in the slightest? You favored your concubine over your wife, and allowed Shen to rise above Cao. Even Shen's illegitimate son wears better clothes than Hong'er. Have you ever thought about how Hong'er will cope in Prince Zhuang's mansion?"
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