The Immortal Seeker: Legend of Bronze Mirror

After Yan Shan met Su Lianqing, he was restless for several days. Especially last night, he even dreamed of the Court.

The Court even knew about today's court meeting discussing the Emperor's southern tour.

Yan Shan truly believed the Court was dead this time, how else could it appear in his dream?

He is currently not only an Assistant Minister of War, but the old Emperor, in a moment of whimsy, also gave Yan Shan the title of Hanlin Attendant Scholar. Normally speaking, Yan Shan's rank is not high enough for the title of Hanlin Attendant Scholar, but there's no strict rule about it; what matters is the Emperor's favor.

With the identity of a Hanlin Attendant Scholar, although Yan Shan's influence in the Cabinet cannot compare to that of an Elder, he is still in the first tier below the Elder.

It is equivalent to recovering the power originally cut off from the Assistant Minister of War from elsewhere, with some extra.

Yan Shan also understood that the Emperor's reward was purposeful.

Perhaps the Emperor wanted him to replace the Court's ecological niche?

The term "ecological niche" was taught to him by the Court, a very exquisite term.

The Emperor overestimated Yan Shan too much!

What virtue or ability does he have?

Yet the Court had said, "Do things beneficial to the country, regardless of success or failure, as long as you have a clear conscience."

Since the Emperor added responsibilities, Yan Shan could only try his best to carry them out.

Also, he received a dream from the Court last night, which gave him some insight into today's court meeting.

Today is a court meeting, so many civil and military officials attended, but fewer than usual. Yan Shan knew the reason; since last evening, several Academic and Supervisory Officials were taken away by the Embroidered Guard and Inner Factory.

The capital is indeed large, but news cannot be hidden from people.

Last night was chaotic, to say the least.

But only those Imperial Censors with exceptionally strong connections could be rescued.

Now many are trapped in the Imperial Prison.

Don't be fooled; although ordinary officials are eager to receive a court cane, no one wants to enter the Imperial Prison.

Receiving a court cane is an honor, they are paraded through the streets, and in terms of prestige, it is comparable to being in the top three ranks. Moreover, for an average Third Rank Scholar, receiving the cane is equivalent to improving one's Innate Spirit Root, allowing them to match the foundation of a Second Rank Scholar directly.

But if one enters the Imperial Prison.

The Embroidered Guard doesn't care what kind of scholar you are; if you don't pay enough, even an official of the fourth or fifth rank will be dealt with in the same way.

Even if you make a comeback, it's hard to retaliate.

Because the jailers in the Imperial Prison are all connections, staunch Royalists; they don't align with the Civil Servant system. To arrest these people, neither Shuntian Prefecture nor the Ministry of Justice are qualified; it is all internal investigation.

In short, the power systems in the bureaucracy are closed off from each other; to wield influence across these systems requires a high position or very potent skills.

Why was the Court so formidable?

It could adapt to each system, how could it not be formidable!

Yan Shan thought about these matters as he attended the meeting, and no other civil officials came to greet him.

Even though he is now the second-in-command of the Recovery Society, since the news of the Court's death spread, Yan Shan seemed like the plague in the Court, with people avoiding him.

Elder Liang's attitude remained the same, but many could see that without the Court, what would Elder Liang use to fight Minister Wang?

Even though Elder Liang is the current Grand Secretary, everyone also thinks he's not particularly impressive.

It is rumored in the Worldly Society, provoking Elder Liang is like provoking cotton!

In the previous dynasty, there was a paper Elder. Now, Elder Liang is nicknamed "Cotton Elder."

Cotton is still more precious than paper.

In civilian weddings, if the bride could bring several quilts as part of her dowry, she would hold considerable prestige.

Especially now, with winters being so cold, even though the capital is supplied with Immortal Coal, having quilts for warmth is incredibly comforting.

Fortunately, now with the Ministry of Industry, aided by the Fang Immortal Dao, the weaving machines have been improved, and textile factories near the capital have increased their output significantly, gradually lowering quilt prices.

If everything goes smoothly, in the future, more and more ordinary families will have quilts to cover them during winter.

These are matters that officials do not see, but they truly impact the nation and its people's lives.

Behind it all, the Court was driving these changes.

Because of the newspapers and Recovery Society's propaganda, people in and around the capital have some awareness of Xu Qing's role in it, leading many to feel gratitude for Xu Qing's benevolence.

Regarding Xu Qing's death, the members of the Recovery Society are more confused about the future and less saddened; instead, peddlers and common folk are more sincerely grieved.

Although within the South Zhili Hall, the couplet of the Recovery Society's capital branch reads:

"For advancement and wealth, seek elsewhere; fear death and love life, do not enter this door!"

This is also what the Court often said, ideology is ideology, business is business.

Yan Shan sighed in his heart, how could the Court, so knowledgeable in the Heavenly Human Dao, foolishly confront the Black Mountain Demon? It was incomprehensible.

He remembered again the words from the Court's dream last night,

"Nowadays, reading for the imperial examination doesn't make people smarter; it's just a platform to trade for. A person's achievements mostly come from opportunity. You now have this platform, so naturally, you can display your talent. What I did was not difficult. Relax your mind and do your best."

This was also encouragement from the Court for him.

After a bout of random thoughts, Yan Shan began the court meeting.

Soon, several from the Inspection Bureau's Pure Stream impeached yesterday's affairs with the Embroidered Guard and Inner Factory arresting people.

Today's agenda was the Emperor's southern tour, but no one is foolish enough to bring it up.

But why were those Academic and Supervisory Officials arrested yesterday? Wasn't it because they were about to submit to stop the Emperor's southern tour?

Impeaching this matter would then lead to addressing the Emperor's southern tour issue.

And they could save their colleagues.

The old Emperor said indifferently: "Chen Zhong, what was last night's situation?"

Chen Zhong: "Last night we arrested twelve corrupt officials."

"Oh, so they were corrupt and lawless individuals."

An official immediately stepped out and countered, saying those arrested officials were all incorruptible and could never be corrupt and dishonest.

But Chen Zhong immediately compared the accounts and claimed these officials each had a few hundred taels of unexplained silver at home.

The officials laughed in exasperation, a few hundred taels could be called corruption?

Indeed!

This is the law established by the Grand Ancestor of the Great Yu Dynasty, clearly stating that embezzling forty taels or accepting bribes are punishable by death.

Well, if you calculate it this way, few from the entire Court of civil and military officials would survive.

The old Emperor thus asked Elder Liang for his opinion.

Elder Liang said, "This punishment is too harsh; how can eighty taels result in a death sentence?"

The old Emperor said sarcastically, "The ancestral laws are hard to change."

All the officials were left speechless.

You, sir, have changed so many ancestral laws, surely you must be aware.

The old Emperor, in order to elevate his own father into the Imperial Temple, even expelled his great-great-grandfather from it!

Truly, filial piety beyond words.

At this moment, Yan Shan stepped forward.

He eloquently spoke, saying the money of these officials was not of unknown origin but from fire taxes and charcoal tribute. Yan Shan also brought up the Cabinet's proposal to return the fire taxes to the public, and on this opportunity, mentioned the minting of coins.

Now that silver is gradually increasing, it is a chance for the Country to mint coins anew.

Not copper coins, but silver coins.

Because Western Ocean people favor silver coins.

And the Country's tea, silk, and other highly sought-after goods are greatly loved by the Western Ocean people. This is also the most important profit in maritime trade.

Sovereign minting has always been a major affair; if not handled well, it could lead to suffering among the populace.

Furthermore, silver coins are more valuable than copper coins and more likely to cause trouble.

In reality, the Great Yu Dynasty also lacks copper, hence the frequent chaos in the circulation of copper coins among the people.

Of course, part of the reason for the copper shortage is that many copper coins have been buried in the tombs of nobles and Emperor and Generals.

The matter of minting silver coins is clearly a trial but is limited to maritime trade and official salaries, considered a tentative attempt.

With Yan Shan's intervention, the topic deviated.

Originally, everyone intended to bring up the matter of the Emperor's southern tour, but with Yan Shan's diversion, it became about returning fire taxes to the public and minting coins.

Moreover, the penalty for corruption could also be changed.

Overall, it was to the benefit of the officials.

Everyone indulged in corruption, but the laws and regulations were there, causing some discomfort, as on this occasion.

The key was that the old Emperor had not relented on this matter, leaving it uncomfortable for everyone.

But now, the old Emperor finally relented.

This was actually also an exchange of interests.

The southern tour matter need not be discussed further; salaries could be raised, and laws amended.

The officials detected a hint of a familiar taste in this maneuver.

Huo Jing, the Left Imperial Censor of the Inspection Bureau, and Wang Gong, Minister of Personnel, exchanged glances.

It was as if they saw a ghost, a ghost named Xu Qing lingering in the Court.

Utterly lingering.

If the officials agreed to Yan Shan's proposal, it would be hard to continue opposing the Emperor's southern tour. Doing so would be shameless.

However, it was only the overt opposition that disappeared.

The southern tour was a long journey; navigating the waters, mishaps with dragon boats, unplanned incidents at the Palace, blockages in the Canal...

These issues existed objectively.

The officials had to make concessions at this time, but many had reached a tacit understanding within.

Without Xu Gongming stirring things up, it was time to show Your Majesty the strength of everyone.

Why was Xu Gongming detestable?

Because he was born to be the leader of the Civil Servant Group, but betrayed them.

Many matters were manipulated by Xu Gongming, and everyone could only suffer in silence.

The key was that Xu Gongming had high Combat Power, many followers, and support from the old Emperor and former Grand Secretary. Moreover, he loved to form brotherhoods and was generous with money.

With such a setup, why not rebel directly!

Let the world see his true colors.

Yet, the reality was both pleasing and disappointing; Xu Gongming not only did not rebel, but also sacrificed himself righteously.

He became the Bai Yueguang in the hearts of people everywhere!

Now, even the shameless Academic and Supervisory Officials couldn't criticize Xu Qing at this time.

They could only wait until Prince Yu ascended the throne.

This kind of smearing required long-term fermentation.

This practice, the Civil Servants were adept at.

…

…

After the Court session, Yan Shan was summoned by the old Emperor.

"Yan Shan, you did well today. I was planning to start a purge but didn't expect you to handle things so well; there's a hint of Xu Qing in you."

"In reply to Your Majesty, I dare not claim credit. It was Lord Xu who taught me in a dream last night..."

Yan Shan honestly spoke of Xu Qing's guidance in last night's dream.

To serve the ruler with sincerity, nothing will go amiss.

This was a principle Yan Shan figured out on his own.

He lacked the talent for scheming, so he should be an honest man.

"Xu Qing appeared in a dream?" The old Emperor's demeanor, lofty as the Nine Heavens, suddenly descended to the Mortal World.