Second Emperor Li ordered the 5,000 Left Golden Guards stationed in Chang 'an to cooperate with Zhangsun Wuji and quickly begin the operation.
Carriages of books were transported out of Chang 'an under their escort, heading toward Qinghe County at the fastest speed.
The purpose of his action was very clear, it was to deter them!
If the Cui Family of Qing River dared to obstruct him, he would kill them without mercy!
His Majesty Li Er had made up his mind!
Even if he had to kill them all, he had to completely suppress the Chui Corporation this time!
That night, countless high-ranking officials and nobles in Chang 'an were alarmed!
Seeing this scene, they were shocked and could not sleep at all.
......
The next morning.
Taiji Palace, Dew Hall.
The ministers went to court early.
Second Emperor Li sat steadily on the dragon throne, looking imposing and imposing.
The ministers could clearly feel that His Majesty was different today.
Thinking back to what happened last night, he had a myriad of guesses.
The Dew Palace was as quiet as water, without a single sound.
"Everyone, do you have anything to report?"
Li Er said in a deep voice.
The ministers all lowered their heads, their thoughts different. No one spoke.
After a moment, Cui Qing, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, stepped forward and cupped his hands.
"Your Majesty, something strange has happened around Guanzhong recently.”
"I don't know who posted the notice without the permission of the government!”
"There are so many of them that they can be seen everywhere in the streets!”
"This move has caused a very bad impact on the people!”
"There's actually such a thing?" Second Emperor Li stared at him with burning eyes and asked," What is written on the notice?”
Cui Qing was a little shocked by Second Emperor Li's gaze, but he still braced himself and replied,
"Your Majesty, the notice is full of slanderous words about the Cui family of Qing River!”
Zhangsun Wuji, who already knew the inside story, looked at him sympathetically.
He actually jumped out by himself. Did he think that he didn't die fast enough?
Isn't this taking the initiative to hand a knife to His Majesty?
As expected, after hearing his words, Second Emperor Li's eyes lit up!
Just as he was worried that he did not have a good excuse to make things difficult, he did not expect this person to come knocking on his door!
"Did you bring the notice?" Li Er asked.
Cui Qing handed over the folded notice.
In order to make the handwriting clearer, he even specially copied it again.
Second Emperor Li held the notice in his hand and pretended to read it seriously.
After a while, he raised his head and said," There are many crimes mentioned here!”
"Is your Cui Family really doing this?"
"Your Majesty!" Cui Qing was shocked." This is pure framing!"”
"What happened to the Cui family of Wuxing has nothing to do with the Cui family of Qinghe!”
"None of what the notice said is true!”
"How could my Cui family do such a dirty thing?!”
"Your Majesty, please judge me!"
"Purely framed?" Second Emperor Li frowned and said," I believe you!”
"The Cui family is a famous family. They would never do something like this.”
Cui Qing was overjoyed when he heard this. However, before he could be happy for long, he heard Second Emperor Li continue,
"However, evidence is needed for everything!"
"Since someone is willing to pay such a huge price to put up this notice everywhere, it's impossible for them to do so.”
"Then he naturally has a huge grievance!”
"Therefore, in order to stop the discussions of the people, I have decided to thoroughly investigate your Qinghe Cui family!”
"What do you think?”
Clang!
Cui Qing lost his balance and fell to the ground.
His face was pale, and large beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead!
How could Second Emperor Li say that he wanted to investigate the Cui family in front of all the ministers?
Although the Cui family had never done anything as stated in the notice, they had been able to stand tall for so many years and become the leader of the five surnames and seven surnames. How could they not have done something in private?
Looking at Second Emperor Li's cold eyes, Cui Qing's mouth trembled, but he could not say a word for a long time!
His Majesty's meaning was already very clear!
In front of all the people in the world, they would investigate the entire Cui family. Everything they had done would be made public!
If that was the case, Qinghe's Cui Family would probably never be able to recover and fall from their pedestal!
Suddenly, Cui Qing thought of something.
His Majesty was so calm. Could it be that he had received the news long ago?
Or was the person who posted the notice secretly arranged by His Majesty?
Thinking of this, Cui Qing felt his scalp go numb!
It was as if a pair of invisible hands were slowly pressing down on him!
" Assistant Minister Cui," Second Emperor Li said," why aren't you speaking?”
"Are you dissatisfied with my method?”
Under Second Emperor Li's intense gaze, Cui Qing could not say a word.
At this moment, he was the highest official in the Cui family!
If he was like this, the others did not even dare to breathe loudly!
Helpless, Cui Qing turned his eyes to the officials from the Lu and Zhao families for help.
He hoped that the five families would stand up and say something.
However, wherever he looked, these people were all resting with their eyes closed!
Cui Qing was puzzled. These people were all well-educated.
Naturally, he understood the principle of the lips dying and the teeth cold. Why was it like this now?
"If you don't speak, I'll take it that you have no objections.”Second Emperor Li said in a deep voice,
"This matter will be handled by Minister Wei Zheng. I want to see the results of the investigation within half a month.”
"Yes, Your Majesty." Wei Zheng cupped his hands.
Upon hearing Wei Zheng's name, all the ministers trembled at the same time!
It seemed that His Majesty was serious this time!
"Assistant Minister Cui is not feeling well, so there's no need to go to the morning court. Go back and rest!”Li Er continued.
Then, he got someone to drag him away.
"Wei Zheng, I'll leave this matter to you. You must investigate it thoroughly with the reputation of the Cui family of Qinghe!”
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty." Wei Zheng cupped his hands.
It was only at this moment that the officials from the other aristocratic families began to speak up.
"Your Majesty, I think that besides investigating the Cui family, we should also catch and punish the person who posted the notice!”
"Otherwise, wouldn't the world be in chaos if we let that person do whatever he wants?”
"Your Majesty, I think so too!”
"Even if the Cui Corporation is cleared after a thorough investigation, the loss of reputation is irreversible.”
"I hope Your Majesty will make a decision!"
The reason why they had waited until now to speak was very simple.
The Cui family's matter was too big to be covered up!
His Majesty's anger had been vented and his anger had subsided.
Forget about this matter!
The matter with the Cui family was already irreversible.
However, he had to stop posting notices!
Otherwise, they would not be able to live in peace every day!
If someone did this again, they might become the next Cui Family!
Seeing the ministers discussing animatedly, Li Er raised his hand and said,
"Zhen has his own plans for this matter. We will definitely investigate.”
"This matter ends here. There's no need to say anything more.”
" There's one more thing." Li Er looked around and said in a deep voice," I've decided to reform the official selection system of the Tang Empire.”
Hearing this, the ministers looked at each other, not knowing why the Emperor suddenly mentioned this matter.
"From this year onwards, the number of officials who enter the official career from the family and those who enter the official career from the outside cannot exceed half of the total number!”
"Cancel donations and applications for official positions!”
"The remaining officials will all enter the imperial examination!”
As soon as Second Emperor Li finished speaking, the Dew Palace instantly shook.
The ministers were shocked!
"Your Majesty, please reconsider!"
"Your Majesty, you must not do this!”
"Your Majesty, I think this move needs to be considered!”
......
Seeing this, Second Emperor Li glanced at Zhangsun Wuji.
The latter nodded in understanding and began to take notes in his heart!
"What do you think is wrong with this method?”Li Er said in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, there are only a few thousand people who participate in the imperial examination every year, and only 10 - 20% of them are accepted!”
"If we do this, our Great Tang will be in dire need of officials!”
" That's right." His Majesty Li Er nodded." Therefore, I have decided to cancel the imperial examinations and increase the time limit for the regular examinations. You can choose at all times!"”
"Furthermore, students who are not from the state and county supervisors can also apply after passing the state and county assessment.”
"With the establishment of the Eastern Examinations, examinees can choose to take the examination in Luoyang. There's no need to go to Chang 'an.”
"Does anyone have any objections to this?"
The ministers all frowned and remained silent. They all felt that they could not keep up with Li Er's pace.
Looking at His Majesty's orders, it was obvious that it was not a last-minute idea!
" There's one last item. The national treasury will allocate funds to set up book printing workshops in the various states and counties to sell books at cost price. Commoners can also buy them.”
Hearing this, the officials from the aristocratic families could no longer sit still!
These new orders were completely directed at them!
The first two conditions were acceptable, but the last one was absolutely unacceptable!
If the Emperor really wanted to spread the knowledge of books, it would be a move on their foundations!
However, just as he raised his head and was about to object, he met Second Emperor Li's cold gaze and immediately fell silent!
They suddenly thought of the Cui family of Qinghe.
He was enlightened!
The Cui Corporation was the perfect example that His Majesty had set for them!!
His Majesty was so swift and decisive. He had definitely planned this for a long time!
If they were to go against His Majesty without any preparation, it was inevitable that there would be other methods waiting for them.
Thus, he could only hold it in for the time being and return to discuss it later!
In any case, even if the government set up a bookstore, the commoners still could not afford to buy books!
In a short period of time, the impact should not be big!
"Since no one objects, then it's settled!”Second Emperor Li waved his hand.
"Retreat!"
Seeing the ministers walk out of the Dew Palace with different expressions, Second Emperor Li was in a very good mood.
He had been waiting for this day for far too long!
Now, with Li Yun's cooperation, he finally got what he wanted!
Delightful!
However, the ministers were not in a good mood. They were all stunned!
His Majesty acted quickly and killed the Cui family of Qinghe before they could react.
Using the power of this matter, he took advantage of the uncertainty of the aristocratic family officials to attack again!
We'll catch them off guard!
Such methods, one after another, were truly brilliant to the extreme!
For a moment, Second Emperor Li's image in everyone's hearts became extremely mysterious!
His majesty was unparalleled, and it made people fear him!!
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。