Chapter 420 Who is the King and Who is the Minister

Li Xuanjing looked at the names on the tablets and said, "Back then, there was a group of young people who were ignorant of the immensity of the world. They read a few books by sages and were lucky enough to pass the imperial examination. When they first entered the court as officials, they wanted to do something for the country and the people."

"They want to implement the land reform so that those who till the land can own the land and no one in Daxia will starve to death."

"They wanted to reform the imperial examination system so that it would no longer be exclusive to wealthy families, and that all poor students would have the hope of changing their fate through the imperial examination."

"They want to abolish the silver ransom system, remove the privileges of the rich and powerful, abolish the inheritance of titles, and create a Great Xia where everyone is equal and where nobles who break the law are punished the same as common people."

"them……"

……

Li Xuanjing stroked the tablets and said, "Later, they failed. Among the seventeen people who initiated the reform, sixteen were executed for treason. Only one person managed to survive. He made a promise to those seventeen people that he would complete their unfinished work during his lifetime."

He turned to look at Li Nuo and said, "This is the origin of your name."

Li Nuo breathed a sigh of relief.

In fact, he had understood all these things since he first felt the trace of noble energy in his father's body in the Dali Temple.

However, this was the first time his father talked to him about it in person.

Li Xuanjing looked out the window with deep eyes and said, "What they wanted to do back then was almost realized..."

Li Nuo was very clear about the second half of the sentence he didn't say.

Over the years, he had killed officials from aristocratic families so many that they were terrified. Only one in ten of the powerful people in Daxia was left alive. Without the obstacles to the reform, the implementation of those policies naturally became very smooth.

The dreams of those young people back then are about to come true.

Daxia is only one step away from the Daxia they are building.

But now, because of the appearance of a certain person, this one step away has become an insurmountable chasm.

The world that those young people want to create is possible, provided that power is truly concentrated in the hands of the people, or in the hands of those who are willing to stand on the side of the people.

In that world, there is no need for totalitarians, nor can there be emperors.

Li Xuanjing put his hands behind his back and said softly, "Over the years, that person who lived in disgrace has gradually figured out some things. In order to completely fulfill their long-cherished wish, Daxia and the entire continent need a thorough reform. The people do not need an emperor, and the world does not need an emperor either. The reform must start with the emperor..."

Li Nuo's eyes moved slightly.

It turns out that my father had already thought of this. However, the emperors of the five dynasties were originally the most powerful people on the continent. After annexing a large amount of territory from Wei and Qi and Chu, the power of the current emperor has expanded to the extreme. And he is in Chang'an, so I am afraid that even a saint cannot do anything to him.

Li Nuo looked up at him and said, "Father, please come back to Zhao State with me first. I will definitely fulfill the wishes of you and these uncles. I promise that it won't take too long..."

Li Xuanjing looked at him with a rare smile on his face.

He patted Li Nuo's shoulder gently and said, "You have your mission, I have mine, and you have a more important responsibility. Don't worry, I can handle these things."

Li Nuo wanted to say something else, but suddenly turned to look at his father's hand on his shoulder.

The aura he felt from this hand was unmatched even for him now.

That is, Confucianism, Legalism, Yin-Yang School, Diplomacy School...

Any one of these forces is stronger than I am now.

At this moment, he understood everything.

It turned out that he had underestimated his father from the beginning to the end.

The person who controls everything behind the Emperor of Daxia turned out to be him...

The top strategists have calculated everything and have ways to deal with every unexpected situation. What's more, at that moment just now, what I felt from him was far more than just the power of a strategist.

He breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Is all this still within my father's plan?"

Li Xuanjing walked to the door, put his hands behind his back and looked up at the sky, saying: "If we want to reshape this world and break the historical cycle of thousands of years, it is far from enough to rely on us alone. We must plant this fire in the hearts of the people of the world. Even if we fail in the future, as long as the fire is there, one day, a prairie fire will ignite on this continent..."

Li Nuo looked at his back and only then realized that this figure was much taller than he had imagined.

It must have been very hard for him to bear all this alone for so many years...

At this time, two auras descended from the sky and landed in the yard.

It is the left and right phases.

Feeling the breath coming from Zuo Xiang, Li Nuo showed a smile on his face.

But at this moment, there was only one person in Zuo Xiang's eyes.

Li Xuanjing walked up to him, clasped his fists and bowed, saying, "Teacher."

The left prime minister held his wrist tremblingly and said in a trembling voice: "I know, I know!"

He looked at this familiar face, tears rolling down his cheeks: "You've worked hard over the years..."

……

Changan.

In just a few days, nearly a hundred students from the academy entered Confucianism. This was a happy event for Confucianism, but no one was in the mood to celebrate.

This was the first time since the founding of Daxia that Confucianism and imperial power had come into direct conflict.

In the past two years, the various reforms proposed by Li Nuo, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, have been implemented thanks to the practice of a group of Confucian officials. All Confucian officials feel that they are very close to realizing the ultimate ideal of Confucianism.

However, several imperial edicts from His Majesty forced them to face the cruel reality once again.

As for the various struggles in the court, the people always just listened to the excitement.

Which party prevails or which group benefits has little to do with them.

But this time the turmoil is closely related to them.

I heard that although your majesty's imperial edict to abolish the reform was issued, it was not successfully implemented due to the obstruction of the left and right prime ministers.

The two prime ministers stood on the side of the people.

On this day, countless people prayed at home.

They desperately hoped that His Majesty would suddenly die, even at the cost of their own lives.

In the past two years, they have finally been able to live a normal life, and they really don't want to suffer a second time...

royal palace.

Royal study room.

Emperor Xia leaned on the dragon couch, suddenly threw a report to the ground, and said angrily: "Rebellion, all rebellion!"

Due to the obstruction of the two prime ministers, his imperial edict could not be implemented at all.

Traitors, Confucians are all a bunch of traitors!
What frightened him even more was that he could already feel that his lifespan was slipping away rapidly.

The Chu State has already ceased hostilities. Something must have gone wrong in the Qi State, as Daxia is still rapidly occupying Qi's territory.

Expanding territory is the dream of every emperor, but as the territory of Daxia continued to expand, he could not be happy at all.

He had been eroded by the country's destiny for too long, and every state and county added to Daxia became his death warrant.

If he could unify the world in an instant and advance to the Saint Realm, not only would he not have to worry about his lifespan, but no one in the world would be his opponent, including that old ghost from the Seventh Realm Zongheng family!

Right now, he could neither stop nor continue.

Even if he ordered the army to stop, he would not survive this year unless Li Xuanjing extended his life.

And if he continued to attack, he would die even faster.

Although giving up the large amount of territory annexed by Da Xia can slow down the consumption of his lifespan, his strength will also be greatly reduced. By then, he will not have the confidence to face Li Xuanjing's family.

Unable to advance, unable to retreat, unable to stop... Damn Li Xuanjing, damned strategist!
At a certain moment, Emperor Xia's eyebrows suddenly moved, and he said in a deep voice: "Come out."

Three figures emerged from the hall.

The State Master of Chu smiled and said, "We guess that Your Majesty may not be a match for that strategist. We are here to help Your Majesty on the orders of our teacher..."

Emperor Xia narrowed his eyes slightly. With the help of these three people, the court can be stable.

The State Master of Chu said: "Your Majesty will not live long. Zhao will be handed over to Qi and Chu. After they conquer Zhao, they will surrender to Daxia and help Your Majesty unify the world and enter the realm of a saint..."

Emperor Xia nodded slightly, with no expression on his face, but murderous intent was already in his heart.

When he unifies the world and enters the seventh realm, the first thing he will do is to kill all these strategists without leaving any alive!
These people are afraid of chaos in the world, and their threat to the royal family is second only to that of Confucianism.

However, what he couldn't understand was that Confucianism was not like this before. Although they cared about the people, they would not disobey the king. Since when did the Confucianism of Daxia become such a group of traitors and rebels...

A moment later, three strategists gathered in a hall of the imperial palace.

After setting up the soundproof barrier, Wei's state teacher said, "The Emperor Xia has murderous intentions towards us."

Qi State Master looked disdainful and said, "He is just a mediocre person with good luck. If he didn't have the help of the strategists behind him, how could he have come this far?"

The State Master of Wei was still upset about this and said in a deep voice, "If that person hadn't helped, the Xia Kingdom would have been the first to be destroyed, and he would have been the first to die. 'I have walked on thin ice all my life, and I have come to this day entirely by myself', bah, a piece of trash like him is also worthy of walking on thin ice?"

The emperor of the most powerful dynasty on the continent could only be described as "mediocrity" and "waste" in their mouths.

In the history of the mainland, there have been countless emperors with extraordinary talents, but they were all controlled by the strategists. Emperor Xia was far inferior to them.

And their teacher is the only saint on the continent. Whether the continent is divided or united is just a matter of his thought.

Naturally, they would not take the so-called Emperor of Daxia seriously.

The State Master of Chu heaved a sigh of relief and said, "However, I really want to meet the strategist behind him. If the Xia Kingdom really unifies the world, I'm afraid he will become the same as my teacher..."

The reason why the teacher became a saint is because he single-handedly split that huge dynasty and created the Warring States Period that lasted for hundreds of years. The current situation on the mainland was also laid by the teacher.

If there is a strategist who can do the opposite and restore the unification of the world, he can naturally become a sage.

In fact, if they hadn't woken up the teacher and stopped it in time, the man might have succeeded.

This kind of tactic is extremely humiliating for a strategist.

All three of them were defeated by the mysterious strategist of the Xia Kingdom. They had no resentment towards him, only admiration.

The strategists should stand at the top of this continent, even if they are not the ones standing at the top.

Besides the strategists, the noble families, the emperors, or the Confucianists and Legalists were nothing more than toys that they manipulated at will...

……

The thirty-seventh year of the Holy Spirit.

New Year's Day.

This year, countless people in Chang'an lived an extremely depressed life.

Your Majesty wants to abolish the new law and restart the old law. The left and right ministers have joined forces. Your Majesty's edict is no different from waste paper. He has frequently met with officials from aristocratic families in recent days. A tangible storm has been brewing over Chang'an.

Many major events are bound to happen at this year's grand court meeting.

The latest important officials from various states of Daxia arrived in Chang'an a few days ago.

The past year has been a year of rapid changes in the situation on the mainland. Wei, one of the five dynasties, was completely destroyed, and the other two were also facing the crisis of national extinction. Daxia seized the opportunity and became the overlord of the mainland. There should be a lot to say at the grand court meeting at the beginning of the year.

However, this year, the court meeting was extremely quiet.

The Chief Justice of the Dali Temple, who had been in the emperor's favor for twenty years, has fallen out of favor, and the two prime ministers on the left and right sides of the court have openly disobeyed Your Majesty. I'm afraid that these things will be settled today. Even the Minister of Rites, who presided over the grand court meeting, was suffocated by the solemn atmosphere.

After taking a deep breath, he was the first to stand up and said in a deep voice: "I, the Minister of Rites Du Yuan, respectfully report to the heaven. I humbly wish that your majesty will be so virtuous that you can rule the world with ease; your majesty will be so cautious that you can comfort the people..."

After opening with a long speech praising the merits of His Majesty, he stepped aside and said, "Next, please invite the Secretariat to report to the Emperor."

Every year at the Grand Court Meeting, all departments in the court must present their duties to the Emperor. This is also the longest and most tedious part of the Grand Court Meeting.

After the Minister of Rites Du Yuan finished speaking, Emperor Xia, who was sitting on the throne, waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about reporting your work. I asked you to abolish the new law and restart the old law. How is the Secretariat doing?"

As soon as the words fell, the whole hall fell silent.

Everyone knows that in the past few days, the conflict between the two prime ministers and Your Majesty has become irreconcilable. The Secretariat has completely ignored Your Majesty's orders. How should we respond now?
Finally, the left prime minister stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the new law benefits the whole world and is well received by the people. The old law has accumulated many problems and has been criticized. It is not appropriate to restart it. I think Your Majesty should think twice before acting..."

Emperor Xia was silent for a moment, then said calmly, "I have thought it over, the Secretariat will act according to my order, there is no need to discuss this matter further. If you can't do it, I can replace you with someone else. Where is Jingzhao Yin?"

The officials in the Golden Palace were terrified when they heard this. Although His Majesty's tone was calm, it was obvious that he could no longer suppress his dissatisfaction with the Left Prime Minister.

The position of Jingzhao Yin is extremely special. He is in charge of the entire capital area. Although his official position is the third rank, his power is much greater than that of the six ministers and nine ministers of the same rank. However, in recent years, under the grace of Your Majesty, the power of the Dali Temple Minister is too great. Although the previous Jingzhao Yin Lin Fuzhi is also a giant in the court, he has been suppressed by him from beginning to end...

The current Jingzhao Yin is named Zhang Shang. He was originally a Zhongshu Sheren. Because the former Jingzhao Yin Lin Fuzhi was involved in the murder of the crown prince and died, he took over the position. After that, he acted quite low-key in the court, and many court officials did not even have any impression of him.

It was a long time after His Majesty finished speaking, but no response came from the palace.

Many officials were wondering if the Jingzhao Yin had missed the grand court meeting.
Impossible. In such an occasion, even if he was too sick to get out of bed, he had to come to the Golden Palace and stand.

At the front of the hall, the officials’ eyes were all directed towards a figure.

Jingzhao Yin Zhang Shang was just standing there, but he didn't respond at all, as if he didn't hear the emperor calling him just now. Could he have fallen asleep?
Just as someone was about to whisper a reminder, a majestic voice came from above again: "Where is Jingzhao Yin?"

Zhang Shang stood there, still motionless.

An awkward atmosphere began to spread in the hall.

Just when Emperor Xia was beginning to lose face, another voice suddenly rang out from inside the hall.

"Master Zhang, His Majesty is calling you."

Hearing this, Jingzhao Yin Zhang Shang took a step forward, holding his tablet and saying, "I am here."

Emperor Xia's pupils shrank slightly as he looked towards a figure in the hall.

The court officials also looked at the person in front of the hall in horror.

The Jingzhao Yin turned a deaf ear to what Your Majesty said, and only responded to Your Majesty after the Dali Temple Minister spoke... This, this is going to be a big uproar!

Emperor Xia slowly stood up from the dragon throne and asked, "Didn't you hear what I said just now?"

Jingzhao Yin raised his head and said, "Your Majesty, my ears are not working well, so I didn't hear it just now."

Emperor Xia looked at him with burning eyes, and after a long silence, he sat down again and said, "Jingzhao Yin is an important position in the court. Since your hearing is not good, let someone else take the seat. Where is Jingzhao Shaoyin?"

There were two Jingzhao Shaoyin. One was Pei Zhe, the former Chang'an Ling, who also benefited from the "Rebellion of the Two Kings" and was promoted twice from the position of Chang'an Ling to become Jingzhao Shaoyin. The other Shaoyin was named Lu, who had a similar experience to Pei Zhe and was also a beneficiary of that incident.

These two people are really lucky. I'm afraid one of them will be promoted twice today.

However, after His Majesty finished speaking, the hall fell into a long silence.

It's exactly the same situation as before.

Finally, it was Li Xuanjing, the Minister of the Dali Temple, who spoke up: "Lord Pei, Lord Lu, it's time to reply to His Majesty's words."

Pei Zhe and Lu Xun, the two Jingzhao Shaoyin, then stood up, bowed to Emperor Xia, and said, "I am here."

Emperor Xia, who was sitting on the dragon throne, did not speak for a long time.

The ministers below were almost frightened to death.

Not only were His Majesty's imperial edicts ineffective, but even the officials named at court meetings had to obtain the approval of the Grand Court Minister before they could respond.

In front of all the officials in the world, they trampled on Your Majesty's face.

At this moment, they even had a feeling of confusion in their hearts. Who is the emperor and who is the minister in this court?

(End of this chapter)