Fu Shanhe

Chapter 539 Imperial Examination
The coronation ceremony went very smoothly. Although the young emperor was not the most ideal choice, he was the one that could best quell the factional strife.

Everyone shared the credit for joining the emperor, and no faction took the lead, so the situation in the court remained unchanged.

After successfully installing the new emperor, the court officials couldn't wait to change the era name.

According to past practice, the reign title would only be changed the following year after a change of dynasty.

This time the situation was special. After Emperor Fu'an was killed, the rebels in Liaodong brought out Emperor Yongning.

To legitimize the coup, the period of Emperor Fu'an's ascension to the throne was deliberately erased, and the interrupted Yongning era was reconnected.

What the enemy supports, we must oppose.

After the Liaodong rebels were quelled and the imperial court restored order, it was natural to revert to the old ways.

The new emperor ascended the throne from Emperor Fu'an, not from Emperor Yongning.

This concerns the imperial legal system, and this order must not be disrupted.

The denial of Emperor Yongning's restoration was essentially a way to legitimize the earlier uprising to support the emperor and the legitimacy of the Nanjing court.

Emperor Fu'an died last year, and the new emperor ascended the throne this year and changed the era name, which is entirely in accordance with the old precedent.

The officials were in agreement on the general direction, but when it came to choosing the reign title, the various factions in the court started arguing again.

"We've been unable to reach an agreement on the reign title for a long time. I think we should just draw lots!"

Seeing everyone arguing, Shi Qingchen said irritably.

If emperors can be chosen by drawing lots, then reign titles are naturally no exception.

However, this time is different. Although everyone seems to be fighting for the reign title, they are actually fighting for the right to speak in the imperial court.

All the cabinet ministers, whether willingly or unwillingly, were drawn into it.

When core interests are involved, no one wants to make concessions.

"Lord Shi, please don't make such jokes."

The reign title is of great importance, indicating the governing philosophy for the future; how can it be chosen so hastily!

Bai Jinwen immediately denied it.

Different reign titles represented the different governing philosophies of various factions in the court.

It involves both personal interests and represents everyone's political aspirations.

The emperor was unable to govern, thus granting his officials the greatest possible autonomy.

No one who reaches the position of cabinet minister doesn't want to make a name for themselves and leave their mark on history.

When it comes to choosing an era name, everyone is desperately trying to curry favor with their own ideas.

"Taiping", "Hongkang", "Xuanwu", "Jianyuan", "Xianning", "Yuanguang"...

The officials in the imperial court, along with the local governors, proposed more than thirty reign titles.

Regardless of whether it works or not, ministers with any real influence are all promoting their own governing philosophies.

Whoever wins this round of competition will have their governing philosophy stand out.

"I'm not joking!"

"If we keep arguing like this over a reign title, how can the court possibly get anything done?"

"The Liaodong rebels have been quelled, but the mess they left behind still needs us to clean up."

"If this drags on any longer, the imperial court will lose all its authority, and its orders will no longer extend beyond Nanjing. Will you be satisfied then?"

Shi Qingchen immediately rebuked.

His righteous indignation wasn't due to any great selflessness, but simply because he had already lost ground in this round of the game.

While it is true that the Minister of War holds a high position and wields great power, in terms of governance philosophy, he inevitably has to consider the political stances of the military officers below him.

In order to consolidate his base of support, he had no choice but to propose the reign title "Xuanwu" to appease the people below.

Without a doubt, the Great Yu Dynasty must avoid militarism as much as possible.

The reign title "Xuanwu" is not bad, but the timing of its appearance is wrong.

If we wait until the nation's strength has recovered and the new emperor has assumed power, the effect will be ten times greater than it is now.

Unsurprisingly, after the proposal to "Xuanwu" was put forward, apart from a few military generals who supported it, the civil officials almost unanimously opposed it.

Even Shi Qingchen himself did not want to lead the court toward a militaristic and aggressive stance, so his efforts to push for change were very limited.

Aside from using it to gloss over arguments, they're too lazy to even promote their political ideologies to the outside world.

If you can't be a winner yourself, then you have to find a way to sabotage things so that no one can be a winner.

"You're exaggerating!"

Bai Jinwen said with a disdainful look.

When it comes to labeling people, everyone's a professional.

The Great Yu Dynasty certainly had a lot of mess to make, but it was by no means so bad that its orders could not even leave Nanjing.

The local governors and viceroys had objections to the distribution of power, not that they really wanted to rebel against the Great Yu Dynasty. In terms of the overall strategic situation, they still supported the imperial court.

If things really come to the point where the imperial court is ignored, then no one will participate in the struggle for the reign title.

"enough!"

"Haven't you had enough of arguing in court? Now that you're behind closed doors, are you going to keep arguing?"

"The Marquis of Hanshui submitted his resignation and led his army south."

Without his involvement, we would have been left with the complete mess!

Wan Huaijin couldn't help but rebuke.

These past few days, everyone's been almost obsessed with arguing over the era name.

They even ignored the memorial sent by the Marquis of Hanshui.

Although everyone had expected Li Mu to leave, it still came a little too soon.

Anyone with a modicum of political acumen knows that without Li Mu, the chief minister, standing in the way, things would not have been easy for anyone.

Faced with opposition from both the government and the public, it will be difficult to maintain the same level of strength as before.

The mess in the north, in particular, is a problem that seems almost unsolvable.

Wan Huaijin is the most experienced when it comes to cleaning up messes.

Three years ago, when he was appointed Minister of Revenue in Nanjing, he was responsible for going south to collect overdue taxes from the gentry in Jiangnan, which caused a series of problems.

If he hadn't fooled a hot-headed nobleman, dragged the noble group into the mess, and launched a major attack on the Jiangnan Group, his grave might be overgrown with weeds by now.

Even now, recalling the political struggles of the past, he still feels lingering fear.

The failure of the Jiangnan gentry group was not due to their defeat in the imperial court, but rather because their opponents were too reckless.

No one expected that before the matter was settled, someone would dare to raise a butcher's knife and start a massacre.

By the time they realized the situation was dire and tried to launch a counterattack in the imperial court, their clans had already been wiped out.

When asked, the official response is always the same: "It was done by the White Lotus Rebels." Whether they believe it or not, that's the straightforward official answer.

Enraged, they were planning a major uprising when the Liaodong army suddenly rebelled.

With the imperial court gone, the official power that the Jiangnan gentry group was so proud of vanished without a trace.

After the Southern court was established, it seized on the fact that the gentry of Jiangnan had colluded with the rebels in Liaodong. All sides took advantage of the situation and only by using physical elimination methods could this problem be solved.

The main reason why the mess in Jiangnan could be cleaned up was because there were a lot of interests involved, and everyone was motivated to participate.

The noble generals who spearheaded the purge made a fortune.

Those who followed suit and kicked him while he was down also reaped a great reward.

In the north, the situation changes.

Compared to the ubiquitous rebels, border troubles and natural disasters are the real killers.

Once these regions are recovered, the imperial court will not only bear a heavy economic burden, but also face enormous military pressure.

To solve these problems, a large amount of money, food, and supplies will inevitably be invested.

Unfortunately, the internal situation of Dayu was unstable, and the governors and viceroys of the southern provinces began to treat the imperial court perfunctorily.

"Lord Wan, these are all things that were expected."

At this point, it would be the best choice for all parties involved for the Marquis of Hanshui to retire after achieving his goals.

If we stay and clean up this mess, how will His Majesty face the consequences?

He Zhengze said without changing his expression.

Times have changed.

Emperors kill powerful ministers, and powerful ministers kill emperors; the rules of the political game are broken time and time again. As things stand, the level of trust between the emperor and his ministers has plummeted to an all-time low.

Even the slightest action could be misinterpreted politically, triggering a series of problems.

After suppressing the Liaodong rebels, Li Mu's prestige was already at its peak. With the addition of a host of other merits, the court was unsure what to reward him with.

If one stays in the court to clean up the mess, one will encounter a powerful minister who holds immense influence after the new emperor assumes power.

Unfortunately, this powerful minister was not very old and was at the peak of his political career.

At that point, it's either the emperor who kills the powerful minister, or the powerful minister who kills the emperor; there's no third option.

In fact, this is still the most optimistic estimate.

More likely, the country will change hands before the new emperor can assume power.

The matter was suddenly brought to light, and everyone's expressions turned very ugly.

Lies can't hurt people; the truth is the sharpest knife.

Compared to the prime minister, the performance of these cabinet ministers was truly appalling.

Having been in power for so long, besides dealing with the aftermath of purging the gentry in Jiangnan, he also supported the enthronement of a new emperor.

Aside from these two achievements, they haven't done anything else worthwhile.

More often than not, he acted as a mouthpiece, carrying out the tasks assigned by Li Mu.

"Okay!"

That's all for today. Everyone go back and think it over carefully. We'll finalize the reign title first thing tomorrow morning.

If no agreement can be reached, then vote together.

If the votes are tied, then we'll draw lots!

Wan Huaijin said in a heavy tone.

Reason told him that he had to do something now.

According to the court's custom, after the chief minister steps down, the deputy chief minister will take over the position.

Once he becomes the Grand Secretary of the Empire, there will be no one to shield him from the wind and rain anymore; he will have to shoulder the responsibility for the fate of the Great Yu Dynasty.

If he continues to slack off and do nothing, it won't be long before he's ousted by his colleagues.

Losing one's official position is a minor matter; the real problem is that one's reputation, both before and after death, will be completely ruined.

What the Great Yu Dynasty needs now is not a rubber-stamp prime minister, but a prime minister who is willing to take on responsibilities and can solve problems.

Only by achieving results can we gain the trust of all parties.

Looking back on the history of the Great Yu Dynasty, he suddenly realized that the position of chief minister was poisonous. In the last twenty years, there have been very few chief ministers in the Great Yu Dynasty who have been able to retire unscathed.

Apart from Li Mu, who voluntarily stepped down, the other chief ministers didn't seem to have fared very well.

They will either be disgraced, die suddenly in office, or suffer an accident.

Thinking of this, Wan Huaijin secretly groaned.

Given the current situation, if he fails to achieve results, his fate will not be much better than that of his predecessors.

For a moment, he envied Li Mu, who had stepped down from his post.

To retire gracefully at the height of one's success is the mark of a true winner in life.

……

The fleet on the return journey was much larger than the one that had come from there.

In addition to ships transporting prisoners of war, many more ships were added to carry valuables.

However, these valuables were not seized directly from the battlefield, but rather obtained through personal relationships within official circles.

If others dare to offer it, Li Mu dares to accept it.

It's not that he lacks integrity, but rather that people in officialdom are often powerless to control their own destiny.

In a world rife with corruption, to remain untainted by the mire is the greatest original sin.

There's a common saying in the officialdom of Dayu: accepting gifts doesn't necessarily mean someone is one of your own, but refusing gifts definitely means someone isn't one of your own.

While corruption is rampant among officials, they don't accept just any gift.

Officials will only accept gifts if they are included in the circle and the risk is deemed low.

If you don't know the right connections and just foolishly go to someone's door to deliver gifts, you'll only get kicked out by the doorman.

The concept of cliques does not apply to Li Mu.

At his level of status and position, it's terrifying that he's so indifferent to desires; he could easily be seen as a second Wang Mang.

The decision to accept gifts was merely to appease the officials.

The effect was very obvious; the whole show went on without any mishaps until the very end.

Li Mu felt embarrassed after accepting the gift from the person who gave him it.

Fortunately, he did not choose to stay in the imperial court; otherwise, he would have been too embarrassed to take action against corruption later.

The first thing I remember when I thought about it was that after arresting someone, the first thing they said during interrogation was that they had bribed him.

When the censor presented evidence of bribery to the court assembly for discussion, the scene was truly shocking.

There's no need to worry now; once you're out of the central government, bribery becomes just another normal social interaction.

No matter who investigates, the final conclusion will be the same.

Neither the various factions in the court nor the princes and nobles would allow his reputation to be damaged.

If someone is spouting nonsense, it's definitely slander.

Looking at the land ahead, a long-lost smile appeared on Li Mu's lips.

Compared to previous expeditions, this one was relatively short, taking less than a year from departure to return.

Time passed slowly, and the fleet gradually entered the port.

"Congratulations, Lord Marquis, on the resounding victory in the campaign to defend the Emperor!"

……

"All this empty talk!"

"Next, I will test your results. If you fail to govern this area well, you will be in for a world of trouble!"

As soon as he set foot on land, he received blessings from a group of officials, to which Li Mu reprimanded them in an annoyed manner.

Despite being pleased by the praise from the crowd, he remained serious on the surface.

Reason told him that if he showed even the slightest hint of joy, he would only end up with more and more vanity projects in the future.

When it comes to currying favor with their superiors, bureaucrats are naturally gifted.

There's nothing they can't do, only things they haven't thought of.

"Please rest assured, my lord, we wouldn't dare come to report to you if we didn't have some confidence."

Wei Xinzhi's answer immediately eased the tense atmosphere.

Since the welcoming ceremony turned into a work report, there was naturally no question of flattery.

This smooth-talking behavior not only failed to reassure Li Mu, but also made him realize that internal restructuring was of utmost urgency.

Over the years, the Annam Protectorate has been developing rapidly.

Many social problems have been masked by rapid economic development.

Due to a shortage of talent, there are no strict requirements for the development of the official ranks.

Over time, the Annam Protectorate also established its own talent training system.

The students who were trained in the early stages are now nearing graduation.

Calls for establishing an imperial examination system are growing louder within the Protectorate General's office.

"Let's talk about it when we get back!"

Li Mu said with a smile.

The problem of reforming officialdom cannot be solved by making decisions on a whim.

Even when problems arose, compared to the officials of the Great Yu Dynasty, the officials of the Protectorate were still considered to be quite dutiful.

Putting aside everything else, just looking at the speed of territorial expansion in recent years shows how much pressure it has put on the bureaucracy.

Moreover, while expanding rapidly, the Annam Protectorate was also carrying out large-scale immigration, yet no major problems arose.

The fact that they were able to do this is enough to prove that the people below did put their hearts into it.

(End of this chapter)