Thief Emperor

Chapter 1164 Old Learning, New Path
Consort Liu was indeed ill, and when Li Yun went to see her, she looked quite haggard.

Princess Li Ling was at Yongshou Palace with her mother when she saw Li Yun arrive. She quickly came out of the palace to greet him and bowed to the Emperor, saying, "Father."

The emperor helped her up and said with a smile, "Afu is here too."

The Third Princess was not yet married at this time, but since she was no longer a child, she was not always in Yongshou Palace. Occasionally, she would go out to other places. With the Empress's permission, she would even go out of the palace to play with Princess Lujiang.

The third princess sighed, "Mother is ill, and I'll stay here to take care of her."

She tugged at Li Yun's sleeve and led him inside.

Li Yun looked at her and asked, "Afu, your mother is sick. Did someone say something to her?"

The third princess shook her head: "I don't know."

She looked at Li Yun and said, "The imperial physician came to examine her and said that she had caught a cold. He also said that Mother's body is a bit weak and that she needs to take good care of herself after she recovers."

Emperor Li nodded without saying much, but asked, "A few days ago, your mother mentioned Afu. Do you want to stay in the palace to stay with your parents for a few more years, or do you want to leave the palace to get married?"

The emperor said, "If you leave the palace, your father will build you a princess's residence."

The Third Princess smiled and said, "I don't want to get married so early. I went to see my eldest sister, but she didn't seem interested. I want to stay in the palace and spend more time with you and Mother."

Upon hearing this, the emperor was in high spirits and walked into the bedroom of Yongshou Palace with a smile. Inside the bedroom, Consort Liu was lying on the bed.

She was tall and rather thin, and now that she was sick, her skin appeared even whiter. Although she was over forty, she had a kind of sickly beauty about her.

The third princess led her father into the bedroom and then left without asking.

His Majesty the Emperor sat on the edge of the bed, took Consort Liu's hand, and sighed: "It was the Empress who told me that you, Su Mei, were ill. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known. Why didn't you send someone to tell me?"

Consort Liu propped herself up and sat up, shaking her head: "It's just a cold, nothing serious."

She looked at Li Yun, hesitated for a moment, then her eyes reddened, and she asked with tears in her eyes, "Your Majesty, did Erlang really kill many people?"

"He's such a well-behaved child..."

Li Yun remained silent.

It seems that Liu Su's illness was indeed due to the King of Qin, but not because the King of Qin had his hereditary privileges abolished. Rather, it was because she heard that her son had left Luoyang and was killing people indiscriminately in Chang'an.

During the reign of Emperor Zhangwu, except for the princes and princesses who were entrusted to others for upbringing because their biological mothers were too ill to take care of them, the rest of the princes and princesses were basically raised by their own biological mothers. In other words, the Prince of Qin was raised by her from childhood.

In her mind, although the King of Qin liked martial arts, he was still a very well-behaved child, and in any case, he had nothing to do with a thug who killed people at the drop of a hat.

She simply couldn't understand how the obedient child who always stood before her could... how could...

The emperor held her slightly cold hand, remained silent for a while, and then didn't know what to say.

To tell the truth, I was afraid of hurting her feelings.

After a while, he managed a forced smile: "Who told you about these things?"

Empress Liu's eyes were filled with tears, but she shook her head slightly, indicating that she did not want to talk about it.

The emperor held her hand and said quietly, "Su Mei, Zheng'er was excellent when he was in Luoyang, and he also made great contributions on the Liaodong battlefield."

"After arriving in Chang'an, perhaps due to the absence of parental constraints and the excessive flattery from many people, his character developed some problems."

Empress Liu looked at Li Yun: "Your Majesty, is it true that he massacred tens of thousands of people in the Northwest?"

The emperor remained silent.

Upon seeing this, Empress Liu's eyes filled with tears. She murmured, "Even Zhao Cheng back then didn't massacre the entire city of Qiantang..."

Upon hearing this, the emperor was greatly shocked.

He had always subconsciously felt that more than 20 years had passed, Liu Su had started a family and had children, and had even become a grandmother. She had probably forgotten most of what happened back then.

At least... a lot of it should have been forgotten by now.

Now, she blurted it out, clearly indicating that the events from over twenty years ago had been lingering in her mind like a nightmare.

The emperor pulled her into his arms, gently patted her back, and comforted her, saying, "The Northwest has rebelled again and again. We must use swift and decisive measures. You can't blame him for this."

Empress Liu leaned against Li Yun's chest, heartbroken: "His Majesty has never ordered anyone to massacre a city."

Li Yun sighed, pulled her into his arms, and said quietly, "I've already disciplined him, and he's admitted his mistake and repented. This kind of thing won't happen again."

Seeing that Consort Liu remained silent, Li Yun smiled and said, "Our daughter-in-law is quite good. I stayed at Erlang's house for a few months, and Fei came to pay her respects almost every day. She also arranged everything in an orderly manner."

"Our grandchildren are all very cute."

He looked at Liu Su and said softly, "After a while, I'll send someone to Chang'an to bring my granddaughter here so you can take care of her for a while, okay?" Empress Liu didn't speak, but simply hugged Li Yun and wept bitterly.

The emperor sighed and said nothing more, simply embracing Consort Liu and gently patting her back.

Men and women are different, and so are parents.

Li Yun was furious at the King of Qin's actions, but since he had been punished, he let it go.

However, Consort Liu was genuinely saddened by her son's actions.

………………

Time flies, and it's already March of the seventeenth year of Zhangwu.

That day in the Ganlu Hall, Minister Du handed a document to Li Yun, bowing slightly as he said, "Your Majesty, this is the detailed case file of last year's corruption case, as well as the proposed handling opinions of the three judicial departments."

The emperor reached out and took it, but before he could even unfold it, he shook his head and said, "I've been busy with other things lately and almost forgot about this. Come to think of it, this matter has been going on for more than half a year since I first heard about it. Why is it taking so long to come to a conclusion?"

Prime Minister Du sighed and said, "Last year, the Crown Prince was in power, and since this matter involved the Eastern Palace, we couldn't investigate it further. Those old fellows in the Secretariat were unwilling to put in any effort, and it wasn't until I returned that we started to deal with this matter."

He looked at Li Yun and continued, "Your Majesty Xu and I spent several months first interrogating the criminals involved in the case, and then went to the Ministry of Rites to retrieve last year's spring examination papers, especially those of the people who reported the crimes, and carefully reviewed them."

Minister Du paused for a moment, then lowered his head and said, "These people have made such a great name for themselves in the official gazette, so they must have literary talent, especially that scholar surnamed Luo, whose writing is gorgeous and whose learning is remarkable."

"Unfortunately."

Du Xiangong shook his head and said, "He was involved in the practical affairs section. His articles are ornate, but when it comes to specifics, they are somewhat empty. I and a group of officials from the Ministry of Rites read them several times and we all agree that they are neither accepted nor rejected."

His Majesty the Emperor grunted, glanced through the case file, and then said calmly, "Those involved in the fraud shall be dealt with according to the precedent set in the seventh year of the Zhangwu era. As for Luo Bin and the others..."

The emperor thought for a moment and said, "Since his literary talent is good, why not let him take the internal examination of the Hanlin Academy? If he passes, let them stay in the Hanlin Academy and be assigned to compile the history of the Zhou Dynasty."

"Hasn't the Hanlin Academy always complained about not having enough staff?"

Compiling history is something that every dynasty had to do, and Li Yun's dynasty was no exception. The history of Zhou began to be compiled in the third year of Zhangwu, and the project is still not halfway complete.

Du Xiangong shook his head: "That doesn't seem appropriate."

"If making a scene can lead to an official position, then the imperial examinations will never be peaceful again."

Emperor Li stroked his chin and pondered for a moment, then said with a smile, "Then let him take the exam at the Hanlin Academy first. If he passes, he can be hired as a clerk in the Hanlin Academy, and he can take the imperial examination again the year after next."

Emperor Li paused for a moment, then continued, "From now on, the Hanlin Academy will also be reformed, just like the Agricultural Academy. Those who are proficient in classical learning and literature can directly take the exam for the Hanlin Academy."

“Establish a subordinate branch of the Hanlin Academy.”

The emperor stroked his chin: "After entering this lower academy, you can edit and compile books in the Hanlin Academy, or you can formally enter officialdom after passing the Ministry of Personnel's examination, just like in the Agricultural Academy."

"It can be considered as opening up a new path for traditional learning and literature."

"What do you think, Brother Shouyi?"

By now, the country has a sufficient reserve of practical talents, but there is a significant shortage of talents in the fields of literature and history.

Someone like Luo Bin is just right.

After all, the Hanlin Academy no longer holds its former lofty position. Now, one cannot become prime minister without passing through the prefectures and counties, rather than being a member of the Hanlin Academy.

The Hanlin Academy allows one to focus on literature and history in the future.

Minister Du lowered his head and thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "I think it's feasible. In this way, some of the learned scholars of yesteryear will have a place to go, so they won't have to complain about being unappreciated every day."

The emperor smiled and said, "Then it's settled. The Secretariat and the Hanlin Academy will work together to draft the regulations and implement them as soon as possible."

Minister Du nodded, sighing inwardly.

He knew that in the future, even "old-style" scholars like him could enter the imperial court and obtain official ranks.

However, if you only have knowledge but no skills...

I'm afraid that in the future... I'll only have the status, not the substance.

They no longer have real power.

After being lost in thought for a moment, he bowed to Li Yun and said...

"Your Majesty... I will take care of it immediately."

(End of this chapter)