Chapter 465: "Your Majesty, please make Madam Mingzhu your queen"

The Qin Emperor's Palace is a place where all the world comes together.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. May your Majesty live forever."

In the early morning, the golden sunlight was released by the white sun at dawn, falling impartially on the magnificent Sihai Guiyi Hall, making this palace, a symbol of imperial hegemony, even more sacred and majestic. The civil and military officials who were qualified to attend the court entered the hall in order of their official rank.

At the end of the Four Seas Return to One Hall, Zheng Ge, dressed in a pitch-black dragon robe and with a heroic figure, was already waiting. A gentle yet sharp gaze flowed from his eyes as he sized up his civil and military officials.

"No need to pay tribute."

Zhao Gao, the Imperial Chariot Officer, used his signature hoarse voice to ask all the civil and military officials in the court to stand up.

"My dear friends."

After all the ministers stood up, Zheng Ge picked up a memorial that had been delivered last night from the dragon table in front of him, his handsome face full of interest.

"Last night, I received a joint memorial from Fusu and Tianxuan. They hope to make certain changes to the Jixia Academy."

"In the past three years, the empire has been in urgent need of a large number of talents to help it govern the world as it is trying to unify the world. Therefore, the empire has recruited all the talents recommended by the Jixia Academy. They have been placed in different positions according to their schools of thought. It is inevitable that the talents selected in this way are of varying quality."

"After the change of the position of Jijiu, all talents who come out of the academy must take the exam, and the examination venue is closed. This is the only way to select the most outstanding talents, so as to prevent those who are not qualified to be officials and harm the people!"

"The military strategists were tested on their martial arts and military tactics; the Gongshu and Mohist schools had them make a certain mechanism within a certain time limit; the famous scholars were given a topic and had a debate, etc. The disciples of the Confucian, Miscellaneous, Taoist, and Legalist schools were tested on current affairs, which meant they were given a problem to solve, and then the empire organized people to copy the test papers and send them to the imperial court for review."

"My dear ministers, what do you think of Fusu and Tianxuan's suggestions?"

Zheng Ge summarized the contents of the memorials sent by Tianxuan and Fusu in the simplest words, and consulted the opinions of civil and military officials in the court.

After the empire unified the world, Zheng Ge felt that the legalist method was only applicable to troubled times and was not suitable for peaceful and prosperous times. In the past few years, Zheng Ge modified the system created by Shang Yang's law and tried his best to ensure the combat effectiveness of the Qin army under the premise of changing the imperial system.

The Legalists were no longer the only school in power in the imperial court, and scholars from all schools of thought still existed.

"Your Majesty, I think what the eldest and fourth sons said is very true." After a few breaths of silence, Imperial Censor Han Fei stepped out, holding a tablet in his hand and bowing, "The talents who came out of the Jixia Academy are indeed elites, but they still need to be measured."

"I second the proposal."

"Your Majesty, this can be done."

……

This memorial by Tianxuan and Fusu placed Confucianism, Miscellaneous School, Taoism, and Legalism above the schools of diplomacy, name school, military strategy, Gongshu school, and Mohism. The ministers who could stand in front of Zhengge included those who harbored evil intentions, those who relied on the influence of their ancestors, and those who were corrupt and accepted bribes, but they all had one thing in common:

That is, they are not mediocre and incompetent people!

As Han Fei raised his arm and called for action, ministers came out one after another and agreed with the memorial submitted by Tianxuan and Fusu.

"Issue an imperial edict, ordering Fusu and Tianxuan to begin implementing these measures after they have presided over the replacement of the chief priests of the Jixia Academy." Zheng Ge said calmly when he saw that all the ministers agreed with the memorial.

"Your Majesty, I dare to volunteer to go to Linzi to assist the eldest and fourth princes in implementing this system in the Jixia Academy." Han Fei spoke again, using the most plain words, which made the ministers in the hall change color.

Standing beside Han Fei, Li Si, who was both a fellow student and a political enemy of Han Fei, looked at Han Fei with eyes wide open, as if he had just met him today. Not long ago, the elderly Left Prime Minister Wang Wan submitted a memorial to Zheng Ge to retire and return to his hometown, following the footsteps of Wang Jian, and the position of Left Prime Minister of the Empire was vacant. Although Zheng Ge did not say it explicitly, it can be seen from some details that Zheng Ge intended to make Han Fei the Left Prime Minister.

Unexpectedly, Han Fei would leave the central government just when he was about to ascend to the position of Prime Minister of the empire.

Following Han Fei's words, everyone looked at him as if he were a monster. Zheng Ge, who was the first to be hit, uttered a word after a long while:
"allow."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After getting Zheng Ge's permission, Han Fei was overjoyed and didn't care at all about the position of the Left Prime Minister of the Empire that he had already missed.

"Your Majesty, I have a report to make, ..."

"Your Majesty, the Longxi area..."

"Your Majesty, a flood broke out in Jiujiang..."

…………

The empire is so vast and the government affairs are so numerous.

After the first memorial was processed, ministers continued to come out to report to Zheng Ge on the major and minor events that happened in the empire. The four seas returned to the one hall, and the words echoed one after another. Every word symbolized the lives of countless people. Once the disposal method was determined, someone would immediately deal with it without any delay.

"Your Majesty, I have something to report."

After more than a dozen government affairs were handled, an old Chu official walked out of the train and bowed to Zheng Ge.

"Your Majesty has been the emperor for several years and is in the prime of life, but the position of the head of the harem is vacant. I, a humble minister, risked my life to advise you that Madam Mingzhu is virtuous and has been in charge of the harem for many years. She has managed all the affairs of the harem in an orderly manner. She should be promoted to the position of the head of the harem and be the mother of the country!"

"Make Madam Mingzhu the queen?"

Since the rebellion of the brothers Changping Jun and Changwen Jun, the Chu faction in the imperial court has been severely damaged. If it were not for the protection of Prince Fusu, most of them would have disappeared from the imperial court. Although this Chu official stayed in the court, he was usually taciturn. Who would have thought that when he spoke today, he did such a shocking thing.

For a moment, these words echoed in the minds of all the civil and military officials in the court.

"Your Majesty, I second the motion. The position of the Queen Mother of our Great Qin has been vacant for a long time, and Madam Mingzhu is the most suitable candidate."

"Your Majesty, although Madam Mingzhu is in charge of all matters in the harem, she is not legitimate after all, and she should be canonized as the queen."

"Your Majesty, I also think that Madam Mingzhu is the most suitable candidate for the position of Queen."

……

Although the struggle for the position of heir to the throne of the empire was mainly between Tianxuan and Fusu, the eighteenth prince Hu Hai, on the one hand, was the son of the first favorite concubine, Lady Mingzhu, and on the other hand, he worshipped the leader of the Luowang: Zhao Gao, the Minister of the Central Chariot House, as his teacher, and he also had some supporters in the court.

After hearing this Chu official's request to Zhengge to make Lady Mingzhu his empress, some courtiers who supported Hu Hai ignored everything else and all spoke out in support of Lady Mingzhu's ascension to the throne of the empress. As for Lady Mingzhu's status as the concubine of King Han An, no one cared at all. After all, Zhengge's mother, Zhao Ji, was a kabuki girl and was given to King Zhuangxiang of Qin as a gift by Lü Buwei. However, after King Zhuangxiang of Qin succeeded to the throne, he still made Zhao Ji his empress.

Once Lady Mingzhu became the queen, Hu Hai would be the legitimate eldest son and would have the legal right to compete with Fusu and Tianxuan for the throne.

(End of this chapter)