Thief Emperor

Chapter 1167 Return and Departure

Throughout history, there have been many golden ages, or eras that were hailed as golden ages.

The standards for these prosperous times vary, but basically, a prosperous time can be defined as one where more than half of the people have enough to eat and the majority of the population can afford to eat.

By this standard, Li Yun's Zhangwu Dynasty is almost finished.

Seventeen or eighteen years have passed, and the adverse effects of the turmoil at the end of Wu Zhou have gradually been recovered. In addition, a generation has passed since the restoration of stability, and the large number of babies born in the years following the founding of the country have now grown into adults.

The entire country is in a state of budding spring.

Originally, any country in this period needed a long time to recuperate and recover before it could reach the peak of its dynasty.

After all, population, economy, and other aspects all need time to develop.

However, Li Yun's emergence did indeed break this pattern to some extent. He first preserved the stability of Jiangnan in the early stages of the turmoil, and then pacified the country at the fastest speed, minimizing the damage caused by the war.

As a result, eighteen years later, the overall state of the world has actually surpassed that of the later period of Wu Zhou's rule, and even the middle period of Wu Zhou's rule, approaching the golden age of Wu Zhou.

However, Li Yun himself was naturally not very satisfied with this prosperous era.

However, limited by productivity, he could hardly break through the limits of the feudal dynasty's golden age, which is why he established the Agricultural Institute very early on and is now actively introducing new species.

It's hard to say about other aspects, but when it comes to food and clothing, he still wants to do his best.

Emperor Li shook his head, offering no comment on Du Qian's words. He looked at Du Qian and said with a smile, "Since Brother Shouyi is here, there's no need to make a second trip. I'll call the Hanlin Academician over in a bit to finalize the matter of the lower Hanlin Academy."

Du Qian thought for a moment, nodded and said "okay", then smiled and said, "If I remember correctly, Hanlin Academician Cheng Hao is a Jinshi from Jinling."

When the phrase "Jinling Jinshi" was mentioned, Emperor Li couldn't help but smile: "The seeds that we planted in Jinling back then have already sprouted and grown."

Du Xiangong hummed in agreement and said with a smile, "If you think about it carefully, both Yao Xiangong and Xu Xiangong are Jinshi graduates from Jinling. Those who took the Jinling examination back then now hold quite high positions in the court."

The emperor beckoned to Gu Chang to summon the Hanlin Academician to answer the question. After he finished giving the order, the emperor shook his head slightly and said, "Yao Zhong cannot be counted."

"Although he also participated in the first Jinling Literary Gathering, that gathering was not really an exam for him. It was more of an opportunity to meet me and discuss strategies with me face to face."

The emperor smiled and said, "Facts have proven that Yao Zhong is indeed capable. He has done a very good job as Brother Shouyi's deputy over the years."

Prime Minister Du smiled and did not comment on Yao Zhong. He simply said, "Xu Ziwang's health has been declining these past two years. I am thinking of transferring Cao Yu from his post as Prefect of Zhengzhou to the Censorate as Vice Censor-in-Chief next year, so that he can become Xu Ziwang's student."

Upon hearing this, the emperor sighed.

"Let's do it this way. Next spring, let Cao Yu come to Luoyang to take up his post."

At this point, Emperor Li felt a pang of emotion and couldn't help but sigh.

Like Zhuo Guangrui, Xu Ang was a county magistrate during the Wu Zhou dynasty, but his fate was much worse than Zhuo Guangrui's.

They had all served as officials in the Wu Zhou court for many years, so they were naturally quite old when they followed Li Yun. When Emperor Li was in his early twenties, Zhuo Guangrui was already in his thirties, and Xu Ang was not much younger than Zhuo Guangrui.

Now, Zhuo Guangrui is in his early sixties, and Xu Ang is also approaching sixty.

Xu Xiangong suffered a tremendous blow back then, and it took him more than ten years to recover. He was severely weakened. If it weren't for the fact that he had children after entering Luoyang and had the will to live, he probably wouldn't have been able to hold on by now.

Thinking of this, Li Yun said quietly, "Let's go see Xu Ang together sometime when we have some free time."

Du Xiangong agreed.

While the two were talking, Hanlin Academician Cheng Hao had already run over. He bowed to Li Yun and Du Qian and said, "Your subject greets Your Majesty and Prime Minister Du."

The emperor looked at him, then smiled and said, "Brother Shouyi, you should speak to him."

Du Qian explained the general situation to him. After listening, Cheng Hao was initially surprised, then lowered his head and said, "Since it is His Majesty and Prime Minister Du's arrangement, I and the Hanlin Academy will naturally obey. However, what are the specific procedures..."

Du Shouyi patted him on the shoulder: "Come to the Secretariat tomorrow, and I'll explain it to you."

The Hanlin scholar quickly lowered his head: "Your student obeys."

The emperor then smiled and said, "After you go back, talk to the people in your Hanlin Academy. If they have any different opinions, go to the Secretariat tomorrow and raise them. If the Secretariat can't resolve it for you, then go to the Ganlu Hall to see me tomorrow."

"As long as you enter the palace these next few days, I will see you at any time."

Cheng Hao lowered his head: "Your humble servant obeys."

He was also very sensible, and said with his head down, "Your subject will return to the Hanlin Academy immediately and issue a proclamation."

Having said that, he bowed his head and took his leave.

The emperor watched his retreating figure and sighed, "This Cheng Hao, I remember him. Back in Jinling, he was a skinny young man. How come he's gotten quite pot-bellied these past few years?"

Du Xiangong smiled wryly.

"If His Majesty were to hear these words, he would most likely be heartbroken." At this point, Prime Minister Du also sighed, "Everyone has a youthful time, but time is merciless."

"Gone forever."

…………

Time is like water.

In the blink of an eye, several months have passed, and it is now the end of the seventeenth year of Zhangwu.

On this day, after half a year of refinement, the lower branch of the Hanlin Academy officially issued a proclamation announcing that the Hanlin Academy would begin its external examinations in the eighteenth year of Zhangwu next year.

The time was set for autumn.

From then on, every autumn, the Hanlin Academy would hold examinations for the public. The content of the examinations included classics, history, philosophy, literature, poetry, essays, and policy discussions.

At the same time, the official gazette of the Tang Dynasty, which was printed that day, also carried the news. On the last page of this issue of the official gazette, a poem by Luo Bin, who was known as the "Poet of Luoyang," was published.

There are two lines like these in this poem.

"The scholars of the past who studied the classics are now members of the Hanlin Academy."

On the same day, Prince Zheng, Li Cang, who had been away from Luoyang for almost a year, returned to Luoyang. After returning to Luoyang, he rested at home for a while, and early the next morning, he entered the palace and went to the Ganlu Hall to meet the emperor.

Upon meeting His Majesty the Emperor, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."

The emperor beckoned to him, signaling him to rise, and then asked, "How did things go?"

"Go back to Father."

King Zheng smiled and said, "My cousin is already working on building a fleet of large ships. If we include the large ships from the Jiangdong navy back then, the fleet will be able to set sail next spring."

"Your subject has discussed it with your eldest cousin, and we can take about a thousand soldiers from Jinling to sea. However, it has not yet been decided who will be in charge of this."

The emperor stroked his chin and said, "This person should be chosen either from the Jinling Army or the Luoyang Imperial Guard. He should be someone who listens to advice and has extensive experience in long voyages."

"Don't let anything go wrong."

King Zheng bowed his head and said, "Your subject understands."

The emperor looked at him and said with a smile, "Later, I will send a document to the Ministry of Rites. From now on, you can go to the Ministry of Rites' Department of Foreign Affairs to exchange information with the Ministry and collect rare and exotic items from overseas for our dynasty, especially plant seeds."

"Furthermore, items from Liulichang can also be sold to foreigners through this channel."

“Now, every year there are many vassal lords coming to Luoyang to pay homage. In the future, you should get to know them better. Glass is still a novelty for them.”

The emperor lowered his head and sipped his tea: "They come to Luoyang every now and then to kowtow to your father, trying to take advantage of me. You, for your father's sake, must earn back from them as much as possible."

When foreign countries pay tribute, the imperial court is obligated to bestow gifts upon them as a matter of custom. Since you are a superior nation, the gifts you bestow upon us cannot be meager.

This tributary system is far too merciful compared to the colonial system.

Therefore, many envoys from small countries would come to kowtow to Emperor Li whenever they had nothing to do, and he would have to receive them, which was extremely annoying.

Recently, he has mostly delegated these matters to the Crown Prince for him to handle.

Prince Zheng smiled and said, "Leave these to your son, and your son will certainly fulfill Father Emperor's instructions."

His Majesty the Emperor grunted and said, "You haven't been back for a year. Go to the East Palace later and meet your elder brother to say hello."

"Then, have him come to the Ganlu Palace to see me."

Prince Zheng bowed his head and replied, "Yes." He then left, feeling good, and went all the way to the East Palace. He reminisced with His Highness the Crown Prince for a long time, but in the end, he said that his father had summoned him.

The Crown Prince stood up and said helplessly, "Why didn't you say so earlier, Third Prince, that you wanted to see me?"

Prince Zheng smiled and said, "Am I not talking to my elder brother?"

The Crown Prince left Prince Zheng behind and went straight to the Ganlu Palace. He entered the inner hall without any hindrance and saw the Emperor writing something with his head down. He stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Father, did you want to see me?"

"Ah."

The emperor looked up at him and said with a smile.

"I want to go out again."

Emperor Li spoke calmly.

"You shall remain in Luoyang to oversee the state."

(End of this chapter)