Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 370: Don’t ask the common people, ask the ghosts and gods

When the emperor of a country issues an edict of repentance, do they, as his subjects, deserve to be put to death?

If An Taixuan were to issue a self-criticism edict, the officials would have no chance of having a good reputation in future historical records.

Not to mention the future, all the countries in the world will laugh at them.

"Your Majesty, you must not!"

"Your Majesty, why has it come to this? It is not your Majesty's fault!"

"Your Majesty, no!"

……

All the officials in the court suddenly changed their expressions and tried to persuade An Taixuan earnestly.

An Taixuan said calmly, "The country and the world have reached this point, and the people are living in misery. I do not blame myself, so what do you want to do?"

A Confucian and Taoist official stood up and said, "The suffering of the people is due to the incompetence of local officials. I ask Your Majesty to send people to monitor the local areas and implement benevolent policies..."

After one person finished speaking, another said, "I heard that the people in Hongzhou are praising the new policies. Perhaps other places can follow suit..."

All the officials gave advice and suggestions, and no longer mentioned that the emperor or themselves were guilty.

An Taixuan listened to the words of the officials with an indifferent expression, but he sneered in his heart.

Before, he wanted to reduce the grain tax, but everyone stood up to stop him.

Now that the knife is at our necks, do you all know what to do?

But no matter what people say, if these people really implement the orders at the local level, they will probably just do a perfunctory job.

As the emperor of a country, how could An Taixuan not know the moral character of these officials from aristocratic families?

But he had no way to deal with many things. The court had to employ people, and sometimes there was no choice. Where could he find so many honest and upright officials?

If all the officials were good, Anguo would have unified the country long ago.

After the officials had spoken for a while, An Taixuan slowly said, "You all have a point. Not long ago, someone proposed a new policy to me. You should take a look at it too!"

The eunuch next to him quickly took out more booklets and distributed them to the officials.

These are some policies that were obtained from Lu Zheng and then revised.

An Taixuan said, "Take them back and read them slowly. Each department and each division will come up with a set of rules! Also, take those poems back and savor them slowly. I have ordered the new collection of poems to be distributed for people to appreciate."

All the officials had different expressions when they heard this. Most of these poems criticized the powerful and wealthy. Wouldn't it be bad if they spread it out?

An Taixuan thought that he had hidden some of his poems. He couldn't bear these poems. Did they really touch everyone's heart?
An Taixuan said calmly, "You should take this as a warning and avoid becoming the corrupt officials and wealthy families described in poems..."

When the officials heard what An Taixuan said, they seemed to have no words to say even if they objected.

"Retreat!"

An Taixuan stood up and left.

When the officials saw An Taixuan disappear, they left the hall in twos and threes.

As they walked, they were whispering to each other, wondering who had compiled such a classic poem that caused such a stir in the country.

Some people also realized that An Taixuan was taking this opportunity to reform the country.

It is not easy to implement reforms and new policies, and few people in history have been able to succeed.

However, at this critical moment, when the emperor is furious, it would be inappropriate for them, as ministers, to stand up and oppose.

Someone was already flipping through the new policy brochure and muttering, "Hey, who came up with this idea? At first glance, it looks pretty good..."

Someone else was surprised and asked, "There are so many new policies. Whose advice is this? When did our Anguo produce such talents?"

The officials looked at each other and said that it was not their idea.

"Minister Zhao, what did you just say about the new policy in Hongzhou?"

"This, Zhao also heard it from hearsay. It is said that..."

……

An Taixuan returned to the imperial study with his hands behind his back, his face still full of dissatisfaction as he said, "There really isn't a single minister in this court who I can trust or satisfy. Can I implement the new policies by letting them do it? I still have to choose the ones who can be used."

An Taixuan immediately thought of Lu Zheng, but unfortunately Lu Zheng didn't want to be an official. He wanted to do more important things than being an official, and now he didn't know where he was having fun.

An Taixuan couldn't help but look at the eunuch beside him and said quietly, "Zhongliang, who else do you think I can use?"

There were too many things to consider, and An Taixuan couldn't think of anyone worthy of trust and appointment.

The eunuch known as Zhongliang whispered, "Your Majesty, that Xiaoshan has traveled to Yuzhou with his disciples."

An Taixuan immediately recalled this old minister, who had served as an official in Tai'an for several years. Later, he seemed to have been marginalized and resigned to return to his hometown to teach.

Not long ago, he also heard An Jing mention this person. It was said that Xiaoshan intended to serve as an official in the court again, and was now taking his disciples to travel around the country to understand the people's sentiments.

"Xiaoshan and Lu Zheng are from the same county," An Taixuan murmured. "Yuzhou isn't far from Tai'an either. Send someone to pick him up and have him take up a position at the Ministry of Revenue."

"But it seems that there are no vacancies in the Ministry of Revenue right now. You can go to the Ministry of Revenue and find a vacancy."

"Yes, sir." Zhongliang agreed and turned around and left quickly.

An Taixuan sat down on the jade chair, tapping his fingers on the armrest. "According to the time, An Jing should be back soon. She's very familiar with these new policies, so we can ask her to supervise..."

"If you don't think about change, you will perish. Some people need to be disciplined. There are too many termites, which is not good for the country or the people." ...

Chu State, Yingdu, Imperial Palace.

In a magnificent palace built of jade, a burly man dressed in brocade clothes and exuding a sacred and majestic aura sat on a wide jade couch. He was the Emperor of Chu.

There are also charming maids serving on both sides.

In the seats below, there were several handsome men and women with extraordinary temperament and emitting Shinto golden light.

The King of Chu was holding a stack of poems in his hand, flipping through them slowly, his brows slightly furrowed, a hint of displeasure on his face.

"In the Xuanshi Hall, seeking talents and visiting exiled officials, Jia Sheng's talent was unmatched.

It's a pity that in the middle of the night, the table is empty, and instead of asking about the common people, I ask about ghosts and gods..."

The Emperor of Chu spoke quietly, "These scholars always like to write articles like this. I have long said that scholars should not be given important positions! Moon Goddess, have you found out who is responsible for this?"

The Emperor of Chu glanced at the goddess below who had a serene temperament and a stunning appearance.

The Moon Goddess exhaled like an orchid, "I have deduced it hundreds of times, but I haven't found the source."

The King of Chu couldn't help but ask, "You can't find any of the writers who wrote these poems?"

"The secrets of heaven are murky and cannot be glimpsed," the Moon Goddess said softly. "There must be a powerful being hiding them. Perhaps if I ask the two Sima Xing to use their great magical powers, they can reveal a little."

Even with these complete poems, we cannot deduce any clues.

Even the Moon Goddess herself found it incredible, as she had never encountered such a situation before.

Apart from the fact that there was a being beyond her power who was using some means to conceal the secret, the Moon Goddess really couldn't think of any other reason.

The Emperor of Chu raised his eyebrows. Even if he asked the two Si Ming to use their great magical powers, there might not be any results?
"Forget it." The Emperor of Chu said leisurely, "People like this will reveal their true colors sooner or later. It's best if they're not from Chu..."

"Speaking of such classic poems, the scholars of our Great Chu are not yet capable of compiling them. Let's pay attention to other countries."

"Also, these poems are forbidden to be circulated in the State of Chu. No one is allowed to discuss them. Anyone caught discussing them will be severely punished!"

They have compiled classics and pointed at their noses to criticize them. How can these poems be spread?

Moreover, this book of poetry directly caused the national fortune of the Chu State to decline by a hundred years. It is absolutely impossible to allow it to be spread at will. Do you think the national fortune is not good enough?

When the country's fortune was shaken before, the Emperor of Chu thought that something big had happened.

The result was the turmoil caused by the birth of a classic, which really surprised him and was beyond his expectations.

A spirit quickly said, "Your Majesty, rest assured. Aside from the strange phenomena that occurred in Yingdu following the publication of this book, the book has not spread elsewhere. Furthermore, we acted swiftly, and even the Confucian and Taoist scholars in the capital were unaware of the emergence of this classic of poetry."

"Very good." Emperor Chu nodded slightly.

The King of Chu suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, how is the matter with Mi Gu being handled?"

Not long ago, he received an impeachment about Mi Gu. He heard that Mi Gu had caused some trouble in Yongzhou and actually spent his own money to build projects that benefit the people. However, the projects were named after Mi Gu, thereby competing for the people's incense and luck, which aroused the dissatisfaction of some gods.

This kind of thing was indeed not a good thing, so the Emperor of Chu sent someone to stop it. You can build whatever you want, but you cannot name it privately.

Considering that Mi Gu was a relative of the royal family, the Emperor of Chu did not impose any punishment on him. After all, since he was located in Yongzhou, the impact was not that great.

Upon hearing this, a spirit spoke up, "The Yongzhou City God is already undergoing renovations. It's said that the idea came from a scholar named Lu Zheng. Lu Zheng, a Confucian and Taoist scholar from Anguo, was once blessed with literary talent by the Anguo sage..."

"During the Double Ninth Festival in Yongzhou, he presented a book and was blessed by heaven and earth..."

The god slowly told what he had heard.

"Ok?"

The Chu Emperor's expression changed slightly. "Haha, so he was bewitched? It sounds like this Lu Zheng has some ability. Why did he come to our Great Chu?"

The spirit replied, "I heard he was traveling in the State of Chu, but I don't know where he is now."

"Traveling? Alone?" asked the Emperor of Chu.

The spirit said, "Two, and a little girl. No guards have been found yet."

The Emperor of Chu raised his eyebrows slightly. "A scholar who has received divine gifts has come to the State of Chu to travel and caused such trouble. Is this boy really here to travel? Go, send someone to keep an eye on him."

The spirit asked, "Should we bring him to Yingdu?"

The Emperor of Chu said calmly, "After all, he is a Confucian scholar who has received divine gifts. Let him be. As long as he does not violate the rules of our Great Chu."

After all, the other party is just a young man. Don't make it seem like the emperor of a country is bullying a junior.

The god took note of what he heard and prepared to select someone to find out about Lu Zheng's situation.

The Emperor of Chu waved his hand and said lazily, "Alright, everyone, go down!"

The gods stood up, bowed and said goodbye, then floated out of the hall.

The King of Chu slowly flipped through the poems in his hand again and read them all at last.

"The poetry is good, but it's a pity... If you want to change the world, it's not as simple as writing poetry."

Emperor Chu shook his head slightly, and a little starlight appeared on his fingertips.

The manuscript paper in his hand turned into smoke and dust in the blink of an eye and disappeared.

(End of this chapter)