Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 339 Everyone Wants to Curse_1

Chapter 339: Chapter 339 Everyone Wants to Curse_1

Zhou Shuren had grand ambitions, he only wanted to stay at the Hanlin Academy, but when he heard the news, he wanted to swear!

Not just the top three of the first tier were dumbstruck on the court, even the officials from the second and third tiers were taken aback—they were being directly appointed as well?

Let alone Zhou Shuren and the others, this thunderbolt had flipped the court upside down, except for a few officials who were the Emperor’s close confidants and already knew the content of the imperial decree, the rest were left in a daze.

The Emperor watched the reaction of the court with amusement, even leisurely gesturing to the Crown Prince standing beside him to take a good look at the ministers’ responses below.

The Crown Prince, "....."

He was also blown away, okay? He knew his father the Emperor was about to make a big move, but he didn’t expect it to be such a grand stroke; however, seeing the discomfiture of the major ministers below as they were caught off guard, he felt quite thrilled too.

Zhou Shuren thought to himself that among the historical dynasties he had studied, including the two fictional ones, it must be said that the Emperor of this dynasty was ruthless, thick-skinned, with low morals, skilled in manipulating people’s hearts, and now he could add being extremely shrewd to that list.

Today the Emperor issued four decrees in one breath. The first was to officially commence the construction of Pinggang and establish the Maritime Affairs Administration, creating the position of Minister of Maritime Affairs, a third-rank official position, with two assisting roles of third-rank official positions on either side, along with numerous other official positions, with the smallest being an eighth-rank official position.

The second decree established the Maritime Affairs Inspection, with the Inspection Minister as a third-rank official; the ranks of the other official positions are the same as those of the Maritime Affairs Administration.

The third decree was about appointments; the officials of the newly established departments were all called back from the prefectures.

Zhou Shuren, with his head lowered and using his peripheral vision, scanned the bewildered ministers on both sides. The Emperor was indeed cunning. The dynasty had not been established for long, with complex and interwoven factions, constantly wrestling and probing the Emperor’s bottom line for greater power.

Among these factions, the biggest struggle was between the cheapest in-law families who initially revolted with the Emperor, and now with Princes joining the fray in the court, the struggle had intensified even more.

At the beginning of this year, the Emperor released the juicy prospect of building Pinggang, successfully drawing everyone’s attention there. In pursuit of benefits, they needed silver to vie for the throne as well; the more they fought, the more they exposed themselves. Perfect, the three decrees caught all the major factions in the prefecture cities and threw them into Pinggang.

The two administrations were designed to check and balance each other, and with people from all the factions mixed in, the Emperor did not have to worry about them joining forces to embezzle money, but could have them check and balance each other, thus depleting the various factions. Moreover, with Pinggang under the jurisdiction of the military defense, there was no fear of any upheaval, and they were directly in the Emperor’s grip, making it too easy to crush them.

The final decree dispatched all the degree holders of this session who had not yet been roped in by the court’s powers to take over the factions elsewhere. Those without a base could only rely on the Emperor, while those with a base were probably dispatched to create checks, and as for those who relied on the Emperor but still played themselves to death, well, it only showed that they lacked ability. After all, the imperial examinations were held every three years, with plenty of people to fill the gaps.

Those sent out without a base, even relying on the Emperor, were risking their lives for a chance at a better future.

Zhou Shuren felt like swearing. No wonder there were only eighty people in this session, and he thought all of them were quite scheming. He took another careful look at the list and then confirmed that not one of the pure scholars he favored made it onto the list!

He had to admit—the Emperor had put everyone into the scheme with these moves, impressively done. He couldn’t help but admire this, now that’s what you call a grand vision.

Zhou Shuren was speechless indeed, feeling it difficult for the Emperor to have chosen so meticulously. But damn it, shouldn’t the first tier at least stay in the capital? Why was he also sent out? Moreover, he was dispatched to Lizhou City. Even though he was given a third-rank official position to start as the prefect, he would have rather stayed at the Hanlin Academy!

He recalled that he seemed to be the highest-ranking official among those dispatched. But although the rank was high, the destination was the poorest place. Lizhou City was still in the throes of selling children for food. Spring planting was coming, and the entire prefecture city was fretting over seeds. His intuition told him that if he did well, he’d rise quickly, but if not, his head might not be safe. Starving refugees could riot!

Being a third-rank official is not as good as being a county magistrate in Jiangnan!

Zhou Shuren truly envied Wu Ming. Wu Ming was indeed out of favor with the Emperor, but he got a good place to go—being the county magistrate of Hong County in Shuangzhou City. Although Shuangzhou City was further north than Pingzhou City, nearly at the border, the land nearby was fertile, and it was rich in furs. There were many merchants coming and going, and in three words: there was silver!

Zhou Shuren looked at Wu Ming, the top scorer of this session who was the first to be dispatched, a top scorer with a not-so-high rank, and moreover, he was sent to the frontier. The guy was pretty calm. Damn, there was nothing to envy; he too was dispatched to the frontier, and as the second-place scholar at that, with the most challenging conditions to boot.

Zhou Shuren had memorized the map of the dynasty. Although those available on the market were approximate, he could still deduce, from his modern knowledge, roughly where the rich resources were, and therefore, determine the wealth of the regions—ugh, his area was the poorest.

The third-rank scholar was quite handsome, yet now he had a bitter face. He, too, was in dire straits, all aimed for the Hanlin Academy, yet ended up being sent away.

Emperor Zhang Yu didn’t pay much attention to how the ministers turned ashen-faced; he had anticipated it and found it uninteresting. His focus was more on the top scorers of this session. He was not one to adhere to conventions; all this talk of not entering the Hanlin Academy or the Cabinet was nonsense.

He valued capability and, after lessons learned from previous sessions, he still preferred those who were hands-on. These ministers had not gone down to the ground; their reports were filled with excessive nonsense. Every time he read a report, he had to recite the Heart Sutra to calm his mind, for fear that he might not be able to hold back from using his knife. It was quite a struggle for him too; these ministers could continue living and writing nonsense, thanks to him being Emperor for a long time, making his temper quite mellow; otherwise, haha!

Zhang Yu squinted his eyes—he had triple benefits in one move; in the end, it was not only about consolidating power but also about tempering the first batch of hands-on officials. If they couldn’t do well in the excellent conditions he had painstakingly planned, he would be angry.

Emperor Zhang Yu looked at the top three of the first tier with interest. The top scorer, hmm, his essays were sharp, resulting in him regretting his very guts. Not worth mentioning it further. The third-rank scholar had abilities that were not particularly outstanding, but a distinguished family was good enough; he was sent to Jiangnan to create checks. With not many sole heirs left at home, they would fight tooth and nail to protect them!

And he looked good too, suitable for a third-rank scholar!

As for the second-place scholar, he had detailed information about him, from Pingzhou all the way to the capital!