You have truly caused me great suffering!

The bright moon hung in the window outside the straight-lattice window, its glow reflecting the pale yellow light from the red candles inside.

The crimson gauze made the calligraphy and paintings on the wall even more poetic and picturesque, creating a tranquil and warm atmosphere in the summer palace.

Chen Shao rested his head on his arm, thinking about the candidates for Guangyuantang.

There was indeed one person he was considering.

That was Yang Yizhong.

This kid is quick-witted and eager to improve himself. It's also important that he's not a direct descendant of the Dingnan Army.

Most of the officials in the court were former bureaucrats and military officers of the Dingnan Army.

If they were to find one of their own people to supervise the officials, it would be difficult to guarantee that they wouldn't turn a blind eye.

Because at this time, the Dingnan Army was still very united.

Having the sons of meritorious officials who helped quell the rebellion supervise all the officials is tantamount to letting them supervise themselves, which is utterly useless.

Yang Yizhong came from the Bianliang New Army trained by Gao Qiu. This background was considered very bad in the Great Jing Dynasty, so people like Wang De, Liu Qi, and Yang Yizhong were all talented young men, but they were not given important positions.

However, for Chen Shao, this background was quite good.

He had no power base; he was his only backer and was promoted through force, so he could only rely on the imperial power.

Liu Qi and Wang De were fiercer in battle, but in some matters, they were not as meticulous as Yang Yizhong.

Let them remain in the army to prepare for the western expedition, and recall Yang Yizhong and put him in Guangyuantang.

Then there's Zhe Yanye from the Zhe family. He seemed quite clever back then, and he was very loyal to me.

Most importantly, he is from the Zhe family, which is another awkward background.

The Zhe family was among the first to cooperate with the Dingnan Army. They had been helping Chen Shao support him when he attacked Xiazhou.

Later, when the troops marched out of Nuanquan Peak and entered the Song-Jin battlefield, it was the Zhe family who provided cover.

This wasn't because they had a good relationship with Chen Shao, but rather because their interests happened to align at the time.

The Zhe family's territory, Fugu, was located in Hedong. After Chen Shao took control of Hedong, they did not voluntarily submit to him.

These were not the most fatal flaws. Later, when Liu Guangshi sent troops to defend the emperor, Zhe Keqiu revealed his ambitions in the Taihang Mountains, and that was the root of the problem.

Now, the Zhe clan has made numerous military achievements in developing Taiwan and attacking Mayi, and is close to being cleansed of their past.

However, they were never among the most trusted nobles.

If there are suitable candidates among the newly recruited scholars, I can train them myself.

Whether it can be used or not, we'll see when the time comes, depending on how well they each cultivate.

"Why aren't you asleep yet?"

Li Shishi asked, her eyes still heavy with sleep.

Chen Shao shifted his body, reaching his right arm under her neck to embrace her slender shoulder, letting her head rest on his shoulder.

My left hand couldn't help but reach out and pinch it again.

But he said nothing. Such matters of state could not be discussed with a woman, not even once.

Chen Shao has never broken this precedent.

There are no plans to make an exception.

Li Shishi also gently placed her hand on Chen Shao's waist. A subtle movement was enough to perfectly express her acquiescence. She was the kind of person who was both reserved and knew how to act appropriately.

Officials themselves are somewhat aware of the "eyes and ears" hanging over their heads, but not many know the full extent of it.

Anyone would feel uncomfortable under such surveillance, so Chen Shao and Wang Yin tried their best to keep the officials from noticing.

Unlike Zhu Yuanzhang, who was very straightforward, there was an official in the Ming Dynasty who complained at home because he had to get up early every day to attend court. One of the lines was, "At the fourth watch, I get up and get dressed, and I still feel late for the court audience at the Meridian Gate."

The next day, Zhu Yuanzhang said to him, "I didn't 'dislike' you; 'worry' would be a more appropriate word."

One sentence was enough to scare the official to death.

Of course, when the other officials found out, they were also sweating profusely.

Chen Shao didn't want to maintain the same strained relationship as in the early Ming Dynasty, so he certainly wouldn't do such a thing.

Because Zhu Yuanzhang set this precedent, the relationship between the emperor and his subjects in the Ming Dynasty was never good from then on.

The founding emperor of a typical dynasty, regardless of what he did before, at most had witnessed the chaos of the previous dynasty.

Therefore, after the founding of the nation, lessons from the previous dynasty will be learned and reforms will be carried out.

Chen Shao was different; he could learn from the lessons of later dynasties.
He often used the Ming Dynasty to his advantage, thus avoiding some major pitfalls.

For example, the salaries of officials in the Ming Dynasty were extremely low, and they could barely support themselves on their salaries.

Even if one becomes the Grand Secretary, one may still live in dire straits. For example, Li Tingji, the Grand Secretary during the Wanli era, lived in the Zhenwu Temple in Beijing for five years because he had no money to rent a house. He relied on his colleagues for help or free meals to get by.

After resigning from his official post and returning to his hometown, he had only 44 taels of silver left in his home, not even enough to buy a decent coffin.

When he passed away, his funeral was paid for by local officials and gentry, which shocked the literati of Quanzhou.

He repeatedly submitted memorials requesting to retire, but because Emperor Wanli neglected state affairs for a long time, his memorials were kept in the palace and not issued. As a result, although he was still the Grand Secretary in name, he had long since left the capital and retired, and was in an awkward state of "being in office but not in post". However, he never received any gray income other than his salary.

As a result, almost every official in the Ming Dynasty was corrupt, and the corruption became increasingly outrageous.

The Great Jing Dynasty learned from this lesson and treated its officials extremely well.

It gives officials with ideals and ambition the confidence not to be corrupt. It also reduces the reasons for those with weak wills to be corrupt.

In recent years, Guangyuantang has investigated and dealt with many major cases and a number of corrupt officials, but none of them have expanded their crackdown.

Moreover, most of these cases were investigated and prosecuted through other government offices.

When Li Tangchen resigned as prime minister, he used the "Heaven and Earth Live Together" technique, which thoroughly established a system for overseeing all officials.

This also significantly diminished the presence of Guangyuantang.

Lost in thought, Chen Shao fell asleep without realizing it, his hand still on the soft spot.

Li Shishi smiled and took it down for him. Although it was a hot summer day, the nights in the mountain summer palace were still cool, so she snuggled up to Chen Shao and fell asleep.

When Chen Shao woke up, it was bright outside the window; it was already daylight. He turned around and saw that Shishi was not beside him; she had already gotten up.

Chuntao was still lying in bed.

After breakfast, the palace maids brought him a yellow robe to help him dress.

Chen Shao wrote down several names and handed them to the eunuch, instructing the eunuch department to send someone to summon these people to the capital.

It will probably be about a month before they arrive.

At this time, at the mountain gate of the Summer Palace, there are two old birch trees by the roadside. People who are able to have an audience with the emperor usually gather in groups of three or five under the two trees to chat and wait.

Thus, these two originally very ordinary trees became quite famous in Da Jing's officialdom.

If someone who had been transferred from Nanjing to a local post casually mentioned at a banquet, "This Japanese official was with so-and-so under a tree at the entrance of the Summer Palace," it wasn't modesty. Beneath the feigned ease lay extreme boasting, implying that this official was someone who reached the ears of the emperor and was exceptionally powerful. Standing under the tree today were Wei Daqi, the Vice Minister of Rites, and his old friend, the Korean Choi Soon-jeong.

The two were friends when they were in Baozhou. Of course, Cui Shunting was able to make a fortune by currying favor with Wei Daqi.

Later, Wei Daqi gained direct access to Nanjing through a memorial submitted by Cui Shunting, and he always remembered this favor.

Therefore, I specially brought Cui Shunting to meet the Emperor today.

"Don't worry, His Majesty will definitely see you." Wei Daqi comforted him, but he found it very frustrating that this Goryeo man kept repeating the same thing after getting anxious.

Even if it's a huge deal, just say it once, and I'll hear you.

Sure enough, a short while later, a young eunuch dressed in blue palace robes came over, and the two of them immediately stood up straight and straightened their clothes.

"My lords, His Majesty requests your presence."

"Don't dare."

Following the young eunuch, the two arrived at a valley, where they saw two people, one tall and one short, sitting under a yellow parasol, fishing.

"Greetings, Your Majesty; Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"No need for formalities," Chen Shao said with a smile. "Let's just sit down and talk."

"I'd better stand here and observe Your Majesty's fishing skills, and perhaps learn a trick myself," Wei Daqi chuckled.

Chen Wang looked up and glanced at him with some confusion, as if he couldn't quite understand.

Father's fishing skills are so terrible that sometimes he can't catch a single fish even after half a day. He's not even as good as me. What's the point of learning from him?

Cui Shunting broke out in a cold sweat, her voice grew even hoarser, and she spoke faster.

Chen Shao, growing impatient, said, "Someone, bring him a bowl of sweet soup. Sit down, moisten your throat, and then speak slowly."

Cui Shunting was quite frightened, but seeing that His Majesty did not seem angry, she gradually calmed down.

A palace attendant brought over a bowl of sweet soup, which was actually sour plum soup, made by simmering dried plums, licorice root, and osmanthus flowers to relieve summer heat and quench thirst.

After drinking half a bowl, Cui Shunting let out a long sigh, cleared her mind, and calmed herself down.

He finally got down to business, his voice no longer noisy, and recounted the entire rebellion in Xijing from beginning to end, in great detail.

Although Chen Shao asked him to elaborate, he went on to explain in far too much detail. Wei Daqi, listening from behind, frowned and felt a pang of worry for his old friend from Goryeo.

Why can't you just get to the point and cut to the chase?

Fortunately, Emperor Chen Shao was a very responsible emperor, otherwise it would have been difficult to hear everything.

But Chen Shao listened attentively, without urging or interrupting.

If you were to actually send troops to fight and conquer Goryeo, it would be far more laborious and time-consuming than this.

"From what you're saying, if my garrison doesn't intervene, Kaesong can't do anything to Seokyong?"

Choi Soon-jung nodded and said very decisively, "The army under Kaesong is no longer capable of fighting."

That's true. Chen Shao knew that Goryeo had been established for over two hundred years, and there was no precedent for an imperial guard that had been in service for two hundred years.
At this point, it would be an understatement to say that the military officer system has been completely corrupted.

The Song Dynasty had only been established for a hundred years; just look at what the Imperial Guards were like to know.

In recent years, the truly capable troops have been the border armies that the treacherous minister Li Ziqian organized to fight against the Jurchens.

Qu Duan quelled the rebellion of Li Ziqian, but also caused Goryeo to lose its last elite force.

Therefore, the reason why treacherous officials are treacherous is simply because their desires are too great; such people are often capable.

Otherwise, it would be very difficult to get this business started.

Historically, King Wang Gae of Goryeo persuaded General Tak Jun-kyung, an accomplice of Yi Ja-gyeom, to surrender with his army, which led to the defeat of Yi Ja-gyeom.

Tuo Jun-kyung's surrender gave Goryeo this elite border army, and also gave Goryeo the strength to quell the two subsequent Xijing Rebellions.

Now, due to the butterfly effect, Wang Kai did not try to persuade Tuo Junjing to surrender, but instead directly ordered Jing Jun to take action.

It did indeed quell the rebellion more quickly and thoroughly, but it also deprived Tuo Junjing and his troops of the opportunity to clear their names, and they were purged along with Li Ziqian.

After clarifying the situation in Goryeo, Chen Shao did not immediately draw a conclusion, but said, "Alright, I understand. This matter is of great importance, and I cannot make a decision unilaterally. I must discuss it with my ministers before making a decision."

"You shouldn't leave either. Just wait here. I'll send someone to summon all the ministers so we can discuss what to do together."

When you have an absolute advantage in strength, resorting to force should always be the last resort.
-
The main hall of the Imperial Palace's government affairs office was always located in the outer city of the imperial city, also known as the Zhongshu Menxia (Secretariat).

Although Chen Shao has left, there are still quite a few people in the capital.

This place is not much smaller than many of the main halls and chambers of the imperial palace, but it doesn't feel as spacious and grand as a palace when you enter. This is probably because there are too many things placed here. There are mostly tables, chairs, and many bookshelves. The constant flow of people makes the space feel a bit crowded and cluttered.

When Cai Jing was in charge of government affairs during the Song Dynasty, he built a lecture hall, which was similar to this place.

Some people were writing furiously, while others were using abacuses, making a "clattering" sound. This place seemed even busier than the main hall of the Six Ministries.

This was also a result of Chen Shao relinquishing power, which further concentrated power in the Secretariat and Chancellery.

Liu Jizu is inside. If you continue walking in, there is a separate small cubicle.

Yuwen Xuzhong, Zhang Run, and Cai Xing are all here.

As for powerful officials like Zhang Chunxiao, Xu Jin, and Yang Cheng, they worked in their respective government offices.

Working here does not necessarily mean that your prestige, status, or even rank is higher than that of officials outside.

But you are indeed the one who truly manages this vast empire.

Liu Jizu was busy with the important matter of holding special imperial examinations in various places, which was related to the selection and appointment of talents in the next few years.

The process involves taking the exam locally, but not being able to take up the post locally. The allocation, choices, and arrangements involved are very complicated, and it is really not easy to do it well.

There's a reason why this position is only held for three to five years; it's simply very tiring.

Unless you're like Cai Jing, who has become so skilled that you can do whatever you want, you won't succeed.

Liu Jizu clearly didn't have that ability. He scratched his head, feeling a buzzing in his head.

Just as I was about to stand up and rest, the people from the Imperial Household Department arrived.

"Lord Liu, His Majesty summons you."

Liu Jizu felt inexplicably relieved. A trip to Zhongshan might help him recover.

Chatting with His Majesty is not tiring at all.

Even dealing with state affairs requires less mental effort than such cumbersome tasks.

Since ancient times, the key to governance has been nothing more than two words: 'patience'.

Several other people were also summoned, and they all rode together in a carriage to Zhongshan Summer Palace.

The Summer Palace is much closer than the Hot Spring Palace, and the road is also smoother and wider.

Inside the carriage, everyone whispered about the reason for the Emperor's summons. (End of Chapter)