Thief Emperor

Chapter 1109 Zhang Wu's Ten Memorials
In terms of the average age of the startup group at that time, Li Yun was relatively young, about five to ten years younger.

For this reason, Li Yun can actually be considered a young and promising figure within the entire Jiangdong Entrepreneurship Group.

Previously, this age gap was not particularly noticeable, because within the Jiangdong Entrepreneurship Group, people of all ages could say they were completely convinced of Li Yun's abilities.

Even when Emperor Li was in his twenties, people in their forties and fifties within the Jiangdong Group didn't dare to provoke him.

Emperor Li ascended the throne at the age of thirty. After he took the throne, no one dared to disobey him.

Therefore, the age difference had not caused Li Yun any trouble before, but instead had become one of his great advantages.

Because of his age advantage, he didn't need to do anything to purge the group of meritorious officials or pave the way for his descendants. He could outlive the first generation of leaders of the Jiangdong meritorious officials on his own. As for the second generation, people like Meng Qing, Xu Kun, and Zhang Sui, he cultivated and promoted them himself.

Emperor Li had both the time and the ability to manage the relationships between these people, his successor, and the court.

Everything seemed perfect.

But at this moment, the drawbacks of this age relationship are finally becoming apparent to Li Yun.

He didn't feel anything about Tao Wenyuan's death. After all, although Tao Wenyuan was also a member of the group of meritorious officials, he was an old stubborn man whose thoughts might not be the same as Li Yun's.

With him gone, Emperor Li was able to handle his funeral arrangements very calmly.

However, Zhou Liang's death left Li Yun feeling quite uneasy.

Zhou Liang can be considered the founder of Jiangdong Army and a veteran of Jiangdong Entrepreneurial Group.

Moreover, he was an elder who watched Li Yun grow up.

The death of such a close person was a great blow to Li Yun, and... Li Yun knew very well that Zhou Liang's passing was not the end.

It's not just a beginning.

There are now many old brothers in the imperial court who are over sixty years old.

Needless to say, those in the anti-theft team are also included. Among the civil officials, Zhuo Guangrui, Yao Zhong, Xu Ang, and others have all almost passed the age of sixty.

Among the military generals, Su Sheng is already approaching sixty years old.

There are also a large number of generals who are actually between fifty and sixty years old, with many over sixty.

It is foreseeable that in the not-too-distant future, Li Yun will inevitably have to say goodbye to many people.

After an unknown amount of time, Emperor Li turned around, looked at his third son behind him, and said quietly, "You will set off tomorrow to represent your father and go to the Ningguo Duke's mansion to offer condolences. After you arrive in Qingyang, tell your Uncle Zhou Bi."

Emperor Li slowly said, "Tell him to accept the loss and move on. The line of the Duke of Ningguo will be passed down through generations, with the title being hereditary and unalterable."

“After he has finished dealing with the funeral arrangements at home, he does not need to observe three years of mourning. He can rest for a while and then return to Luoyang. I will grant him the title of Duke of Ningguo.”

“All expenses for General Zhou’s funeral will be covered by our Li family.”

His Majesty the Emperor pondered for a moment, then said in a somber tone, "The imperial edict will be issued soon, posthumously granting him the title of Prince."

Li Cang also sensed the sadness in his father's words. He immediately knelt on the ground, bowed his head and said, "Your son obeys. Your son will go back and make some preparations, and set off immediately."

"Ah."

Emperor Li said, "When we arrive in Qingyang, don't put on airs like a prince. The Ningguo Duke's lineage belongs to our Li family."

"From now on, we'll be family friends."

Li Cang bowed his head and replied "Yes," then carefully left Ganlu Palace to go home and prepare to set off.

The following day, the official document from the Duke of Ningguo's residence announcing the death was delivered to His Majesty the Emperor, who ordered a three-day suspension of court proceedings to mourn General Zhou.

This imperial edict left the Tao family in Luoyang somewhat embarrassed.

Their family was also holding a funeral, and His Highness the Crown Prince was present in person, which was already quite a show of respect. However, it was clear that Minister Tao did not have nearly as much face as General Zhou.

The document announcing the suspension of court for three days did not even mention Tao Wenyuan.

Actually, this is something I could mention casually, just to give the Tao family some face.

However, Emperor Li was not always very shrewd, and he didn't bring a single word with him.

In the blink of an eye, three days had passed. On the fourth day, Prime Minister Du, along with Prime Ministers Yao Zhong, Guo You, and Xu Kun, came to the Ganlu Hall to meet the Emperor.

All four prime ministers bowed respectfully to His Majesty the Emperor. Emperor Li, looking somewhat haggard, looked up at the four men and then silently pressed his hand down, saying, "Sit down."

After the four people sat down, Li Yun looked at them and said in a daze, "Among the Grand Secretaries, it seems that only Brother Xu is missing."

"What brings you four here together?"

Minister Du bowed his head and said, “Your Majesty, Brother Ziwang has been ill since he left court some time ago and has not returned to the capital. The duties of the Censorate are being handled by two Vice Censors. I sent my son to visit him, and Brother Ziwang’s condition is quite serious.” “I’m afraid he will not be able to return to court for some time.”

Upon hearing this, Emperor Li was taken aback for a moment, then frowned and said, "Such a big matter, why didn't anyone tell me?"

He called out, "Gu Chang."

Eunuch Gu immediately jogged into the Ganlu Hall, knelt on the ground, and said, "Your Majesty."

"You, go to the Imperial Hospital immediately and dispatch an imperial physician to Mr. Xu's house to examine him."

Gu Chang bowed his head and responded, then carefully went away.

After he left, Li Yun turned to the four prime ministers before him and said, "Now, can we talk about what we're going to discuss?"

Minister Du lowered his head and remained silent. Minister Yao hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Your Majesty, the four of us have discussed this and believe that the new learning Your Majesty has been promoting has already achieved great success. Therefore, we should abolish the Lizheng Academy and establish a new academy."

"From now on, the Ministry of Rites should also take the lead in promoting new learning."

Lizheng Academy was the premier academy in Guanzhong, or more precisely, the capital of the old Zhou Dynasty, which is now Chang'an. It produced many famous scholars and Confucian masters, and its reputation spread throughout the world.

Tao Wenyuan was previously the headmaster of Lizheng Academy.

After the world fell into chaos, he led a large group of students from Lizheng Academy to Jiangdong, where he was taken in by Li Yun, who was eager to find talented people. Li Yun then handed over the entire Ministry of Rites of Jiangdong to Tao Wenyuan for establishment.

After that, Tao Wenyuan became the representative of the Jiangdong Group's "learning".

Even now, Lizheng Academy still exists, and it followed Li Yun all the way from Jinling to Luoyang.

Although many people from Lizheng Academy were suspected in the cheating scandal of the seventh year of Zhangwu, and it was never clear which side they were on, it was because of that defection back then.

Even today, Lizheng Academy still holds a significant place within the Tang Dynasty court.

Hearing Yao Zhong's words, Emperor Li looked at the four prime ministers with a half-smile and said indifferently, "Are you four really here to ask me to abolish the Lizheng Academy?"

The two newly appointed prime ministers both lowered their heads and dared not speak.

Du Xianggong openly stated, "Lizheng Academy is no longer suitable for the times."

"Forget it."

Li Yun waved his hand and said in a muffled voice, "It's just that Tao Wenyuan went, and you're worried that I'll start purging the entire Lizheng Academy."

"So I came to sound them out."

Emperor Li glanced at the four people with a half-smile, shook his head and said, "Even if I were that terrifying, would I need all four of you to come along just to test the waters?"

All four of them kept their heads down and remained silent.

Emperor Li stood up, put his hands behind his back, and said, "Since the beginning of Jiangdong, I have never denied the teachings, moral character, and literary achievements of the sages."

"There is one thing to be sure of: the teachings of sages can teach how to be a person, but not how to do things. That is why we advocate the practical learning of doing things."

"By now, the debate between the old and the new has been settled."

His Majesty the Emperor glanced at the four prime ministers and said calmly, "Gentlemen, there's no need for you to overthink things. Lizheng Academy will continue to exist, only with different divisions of labor."

"If you're going to do scholarship, then focus on doing scholarship."

Emperor Li said in a deep voice: "When doing things... just focus on doing things."

The four prime ministers bowed to His Majesty the Emperor in turn.

"Your Majesty is holy."

Emperor Li glanced at the four prime ministers, walked to the entrance of the Ganlu Hall, looked at the sky, and then turned back to the four of them: "I have not mistreated Tao Wenyuan, so why are you making such a fuss?"

Prime Minister Du took a deep breath, took out a thick document from his sleeve, and handed it to Li Yun with both hands: "Your Majesty, this was delivered to the Secretariat by the Tao family this morning, asking us to pass it on to Your Majesty."

Emperor Li frowned: "What is this?"

"The last memorial of Master Tao".

"A total of ten memorials."

Du Xiangong glanced at Li Yun, then lowered his head again.

"All of these are matters of interest to the Zhangwu Dynasty."

(End of this chapter)