Chapter 139: Ten thousand nations come to court, shadows in the forbidden land

Zhao Wenyuan still had a certain deterrent power in the morning court.

He hadn't made any major mistakes, and those who wanted to impeach him to take the position indeed restrained themselves.

This didn't mean they didn't want to be Prime Minister; they just hadn't grasped the handle sufficient to let Zhao Wenyuan step down.

The newly appointed Minister of War returned to his position with joy, and Pang Jin stood out: "Your Majesty, this commoner has a matter to report!"

On the dragon chair, Li Chen said: "Speak."

In his view, Pang Jin was indeed a talent. Whether it was cultivation or ability to handle things, he could be considered a top-tier type in the Tian Ce Dynasty.

Arranging him in this position was indeed very suitable.

Hearing Li Chen speak, Pang Jin stated the hypothesis of yesterday.

That was to establish the Sect Affairs Department, with authority equal to the Six Ministries, managing the major sects within the Tian Ce Dynasty.

For cultivators within the territory of the Tian Ce Dynasty, anyone who wanted to open a sect and establish a faction must go to the Sect Affairs Department to apply and get permission before they could open it.

For the sects that already existed, let them register. If there were any who didn't obey, they would be listed as evil sects immediately and a suppression order would be issued.

As for the person in charge of the Sect Affairs Department, Pang Jin recommended Lin Yue'e, who had recently had high prestige in the Imperial Capital.

As soon as these words came out, the entire court began to fluctuate, and everyone discussed it.

Li Chen didn't stop it either, letting the court officials say their opinions.

Opening a new department meant increasing many establishments, which could be considered a big matter. Li Chen let the court officials worry about it themselves; anyway, he was responsible for integrating opinions.

Relying on himself to think about everything, or only listening to a certain minister, indeed there was no need for that.

There were so many ministers, all of whom were people who had been rolling in the Tian Ce Dynasty for so many years, and more or less would have some reliable views.

The first to speak was the Minister of Revenue, Liu Minghan, who was also known as a child prodigy.

"Your Majesty, this commoner believes that the opening of the Sect Affairs Department can indeed solve the sect problem, but the authority should not be equal to the Six Ministries, and it should not possess law enforcement authority, but as a functional department, responsible for issuing the imperial court's policies to the sects."

According to Liu Minghan's statement, the Sect Affairs Department couldn't become the next Ministry of Justice.

If the Sect Affairs Department had law enforcement authority, the head of the Sect Affairs Department would obtain the same authority as the Ministers of the Six Ministries, which was law enforcement authority.

If the Sect Affairs Department had law enforcement authority, it would conflict with the authority of other departments in some aspects, leading to unnecessary trouble.

Besides, if the scale of the Sect Affairs Department expanded, it would definitely accumulate many powerhouses, and these powerhouses would even include people elected from the sects.

That was the so-called "stationed dispatchers."

These people didn't necessarily listen to the imperial court; they were just for the development of their own sects.

Just treat the Sect Affairs Department as a registration office. This way, it only needed some people with low cultivation to testify, and there would be no authority, and no one would want to stuff people in.

Liu Minghan glanced at Li Chen and continued: "There is one more thing this commoner wants to mention. I have heard of the head constable Lin Yue'e recommended by the Minister of Justice, but although her work efficiency is high, she is young and has shallow qualifications."

"Rashly promoting her to a relatively high position is hard to convince the public, and she doesn't possess the ability to manage a department. This commoner feels that she can be appropriately sent for further studies, and wait until she possesses management ability before transferring her to the Imperial Capital."

He had managed the Ministry of Revenue for many years and knew very well about things like the promotion of officials.

Some officials were promoted too fast, leading to no ability to handle things, which would lead to two situations.

First, relatively self-righteous, handling things according to their own ideas, but lacking experience, leading to things being messed up.

Second, choosing to listen to experienced subordinates, and over time, lacking the ability to think independently.

So Liu Minghan's method was to let Lin Yue'e go to more grassroots places to train, which was to send her to the countryside.

Serving in important positions in some cities, this way one could see her ability and also let her obtain management experience.

And during this period, she would also recruit a batch of subordinates belonging to herself, and it would be relatively easy to handle things when she came back.

Besides, having grassroots experience would also make others convinced when she came back.

This was the opinion provided by Liu Minghan in the morning court.

Before anyone else could speak, Prime Minister Zhao Wenyuan stepped out and said: "This commoner seconds the motion. The selection of officials for the Six Ministries is all promoted layer by layer. If the Sect Affairs Department's authority is equal to the Six Ministries, it will lead to chaos in the authority of the Imperial Capital. This commoner suggests that the Sect Affairs Department be temporarily managed by the Ministry of Revenue, and wait until Lin Yue'e comes back from further studies before making other plans."

Successively, many court officials also seconded the motion, feeling that the Sect Affairs Department could be established, but it couldn't be mentioned to such a high position at the beginning.

Li Chen listened for a while and felt it was also a reasonable principle.

Perhaps Lin Yue'e was loyal, but some things weren't something that loyalty could solve.

Once the Sect Affairs Department was established, it would draw personnel from other Six Ministries. These were all old qualifications of the Tian Ce Dynasty; how could they be convinced by Lin Yue'e?

It should indeed let Lin Yue'e go to more grassroots places to train.

Since the Sect Affairs Department was only a department for sect registration, let the Ministry of Revenue manage it.

Besides, Li Chen hadn't handled the three major alliances completely, and the Sect Affairs Department couldn't achieve unified management either.

The Nine Abyss Sacred Domain was just a pilot place for policy implementation, and it had to see the preliminary results before saying anything.

It was mainly like this. As for those details, let the subordinates think about it themselves; Li Chen was just summarizing.

"Fine, then let's do it this way."

After Li Chen said this sentence, the matter was already settled, and no one raised any more opinions.

Pang Jin also returned to his position. He felt that it was indeed his own simple thinking. If it were really done according to his own ideas, the powerhouses accumulated by the Sect Affairs Department might be more than the Ministry of Justice, which would be difficult to control.

However, the trouble was

The Minister of Revenue, Liu Minghan, was originally outstanding in his abilities; having him manage it was indeed a good choice.

Liu Minghan did not decline either; to him, this was not much of a trouble.

Next were some routine reports on state affairs.

The newly appointed Minister of Rites stood out, his voice steady and powerful: "Your Majesty, in a while, it will be our country's annual national celebration. This is a grand event to showcase the prosperity and flourishing of our May Tian Ce Dynasty. At that time, envoys from vassal states and vassal kings from all over will come from thousands of miles away to pay homage to the Emperor, to gaze upon Your Majesty's holy countenance. This is the tradition of all past dynasties and cannot be abolished, but how should this Prince of Zhennan be handled?"

The day the ancestors of the May Tian Ce Dynasty proclaimed themselves emperors was the day of the celebration.

This kind of celebration is also to proclaim to the world, to let all nations come to court, and to manifest the might of our great nation.

There is no need to call the Northern Royal Court; they are already fighting.

The Minister of Rites had already spoken very tactfully; everyone knew that the Prince of Zhennan had intentions of rebellion.

If the Prince of Zhennan were notified of such a grand event and he did not come, it would indeed damage the Emperor's face.

Now that there is a war in the north, the May Tian Ce Dynasty's garrison can only prevent the Prince of Zhennan from moving north. If the Prince of Zhennan is provoked and he truly raises an army to rebel, the May Tian Ce Dynasty will surely fall into chaos.

Not knowing whether Li Chen did not take the Prince of Zhennan seriously or if the Prince of Zhennan could not pose a threat to Li Chen, Li Chen directly said: "Just notify him."

With just such a simple sentence, the Minister of Rites could only comply.

People in the court were all guessing what Li Chen's thoughts were.

Actually, his thoughts were very simple; he naturally knew that the Prince of Zhennan had rebellious intentions.

But for this kind of headache-inducing matter, why shouldn't the Prince of Zhennan be the one to consider it? Why should I care about his feelings?

If he comes, or sends a representative, it means he still acknowledges me as the Emperor, and I can temporarily not deal with him.

If he doesn't come, that is not giving me face. Should I still indulge him?

Li Chen does not think with the mindset of a victim; he judges with the mindset of a strong person.

Don't ask me if I'm afraid of the Prince of Zhennan rebelling; you go ask him if he's afraid of being dealt with by me.

Li Chen's judgment is fast, he can listen to the words of his ministers, and he won't say ambiguous things to make his ministers guess his meaning, so everyone is very relaxed during the morning court.

Then his reputation for wisdom will slowly spread. Actually, Li Chen is just clocking in for work and also wants to get off work early.

When the court was dismissed, Li Chen asked Pang Jin to come to the Imperial Study.

Pang Jin understood it was about yesterday's matter, so he went to the Imperial Study in advance to wait for Li Chen.

Just as Li Chen left the court, he saw the Commander of the Imperial Guard, Li Sixing, waiting on the side; there should be something to report.

Seeing Li Chen appear, Li Sixing walked over and whispered in Li Chen's ear: "Your Majesty, last night, traces of an unknown powerhouse appeared in the Imperial Forbidden Land. Their intentions are unknown, and they fled after exchanging blows with our clan's powerhouse."

Li Sixing is of the direct royal line; maintaining the stability of the royal family's status is his job.

The Forbidden Land hides many secrets of the royal family, and even Imperial Weapons are inside, as well as some special personnel being held there.

"Can you tell the origin of this person?" Li Chen said.

Generally speaking, as long as the cultivation technique used is identified, the school can be figured out.

A person who can retreat unscathed from the Imperial Forbidden Land should not be a nobody.

"The cultivation technique this person used is different from our dynasty's traditional cultivators; it looks like a cultivator from another country, but the suspicion of disguise cannot be ruled out," Li Sixing replied.

According to past cases, there have been powerhouses from other countries who learned the cultivation techniques of another country and caused trouble in the Imperial Capital.

This made Li Chen thoughtful. In a while, it will be the national celebration. At this time, a cultivator from another country comes to cause trouble? Who could it be? What is the purpose of their exposure?

Unable to figure it out, Li Chen couldn't be bothered to think about it. If they have the guts, let them try to find trouble with him.

After letting Li Sixing continue his work, Li Chen returned to the Imperial Study.

Just as he reached the door, he saw Pang Jin waiting there.

Li Chen entered the Imperial Study, sat on the dragon throne, and said: "Continue investigating the Crown Prince's murder case. Tell me whatever you find. The Empress Dowager also wants to know who did it."

Letting Pang Jin continue the investigation is actually also the Empress Dowager wanting to show that she stands with Li Chen.

The Zou clan is a great family, and the Empress Dowager is a member of the Zou clan; fratricide also doesn't sound very good.

This move can also use Pang Jin's hand to make the clansmen more obedient and let them learn a lesson.

Having lived deep in the palace for a long time, the clansmen probably only remember her when they need her.

Hearing Li Chen say this, Pang Jin immediately kowtowed to show that he would go all out.

Li Chen patted his shoulder and said: "Don't take this matter too much to heart, but there is one thing you need to pay close attention to."

!

Then he recounted the matter of the mysterious powerhouse appearing in the Imperial Forbidden Land, and asked Pang Jin to monitor the people from other countries mixed in the Imperial Capital—not to arrest and screen them, just to monitor them appropriately.

"Your Majesty, this is a major matter. Your subject will certainly get to the bottom of it." Regarding investigation, Pang Jin still had confidence; this was also his job.

After Li Chen gave two instructions, Pang Jin left the Imperial Study.

After finishing his work, Li Chen came to the place where Xia Qing lived.

Just as he arrived, he saw a beautiful figure practicing in the courtyard.

Her sword techniques were perfect in every move, making the palace maids on the side clap and cheer.

Seeing Li Chen appear, Xia Qing immediately performed a sword-sheathing stance and came before Li Chen to pay her respects.

"Is there anything you are not used to?" Li Chen was still very caring toward her.

"Replying to Your Majesty, everything here is fine, but I am a worldly person. It is uncomfortable to have strength in my body but nowhere to use it. I don't know when I will be able to take up a post at the Xinhuo Combat Academy," Xia Qing replied respectfully.

Whether it was the tone of her voice or her movements, everything was very spot-on.

"I have already arranged the matter; I will take you there today."

For this kind of small matter, Li Chen could just casually let a eunuch notify the Dean of the Xinhuo Combat Academy to come over, and it wouldn't be any trouble.

It is a small matter for the Emperor to arrange for one person, not to mention that this person also has a certain ability and is not considered to be occupying the teaching qualifications of the Xinhuo Combat Academy.

It just so happened that Li Chen was free today, so he took her along by the way.

However, before that, Li Chen had to go back to check Li Sining's homework and change into a set of clothes by the way.

Just as Li Chen arrived near the sleeping palace, a strand of hair seemed to be sticking up on Li Sining's head. Sensing Li Chen coming, she immediately got up to welcome him.

"Brother, are you done with your work? Eh, is this a new consort who has entered the palace?"

When Li Sining saw Xia Qing, she naturally regarded her as Li Chen's consort.

"No, no, you misunderstood. I am not His Majesty's consort."

Xia Qing had been misunderstood like this more than once. Whether it was Chu Ruoyan, Li Sining, or some other women she met yesterday, they all regarded her as Li Chen's consort.

Even those palace maids and eunuchs called her 'Your Ladyship'. It was really troublesome for her to explain.

Hearing Xia Qing explaining, Li Sining understood. Just like when she first saw Chu Ruoyan, she was 'temporarily' not one yet.

"This person is very powerful in her sect. If you have anything you don't understand in cultivation, you can ask her." Li Chen began to promote Xia Qing.

Xia Qing also hurriedly indicated that she was just practicing blindly and had no real skills. If Li Sining wanted to learn alchemy, she could bring Li Sining into the fold.

Just hearing this, Li Chen felt that Li Sining would definitely refuse. Alchemy is a very troublesome thing; Li Sining is a bit lazy, how could she possibly learn it?

But unexpectedly, Li Sining was actually very interested in alchemy. In her view, alchemy seemed to be no different from 'cooking', and it felt like it would be fun.

Hearing that she wanted to learn, Xia Qing took a book from her bosom for her and began to give serious guidance.

Her main goal in coming to the Imperial Capital was to teach, so she took Li Sining as her first student.

She could never have dreamed that the first poison-pill cultivator in the continent in the last hundred years would be someone who learned from her.

After Li Chen changed his clothes, a eunuch walked over and said that the Dean of the Xinhuo Combat Academy, Qu Heng, had already been summoned to the Imperial Study in the palace and was waiting for Li Chen to go over.

Qu Heng was over sixty years old. Being able to serve as the Dean of the Xinhuo Combat Academy, he not only possessed the strength of the Heavenly Abyss Realm but had also rendered meritorious service for the May Tian Ce Dynasty and was a general who had come down from the border.

Only when such a person serves as the Dean of the Combat Academy can the Emperor feel at ease.

Because they have guarded the May Tian Ce Dynasty, they are very loyal to the May Tian Ce Dynasty.

The talents they cultivate will naturally be the same as them.

Qu Heng was woken up by someone during his nap at noon today.

In this small territory of the Xinhuo Combat Academy, who dared to disturb his nap? That would be asking for a scolding!

But before he could get angry, hearing that it was the Emperor summoning him, he ran over in a hurry.

Just kidding, that was the Emperor's summons; how could he dare to be angry?

Along the way, he was still asking the eunuch if he had made any mistakes for His Majesty to summon him.

Or rather, whether His Majesty's expression was angry or serious when he summoned him.

Because Qu Heng was also someone who had heard the ghost stories of the Imperial Study, and he had heard rumors that few who were summoned into the Imperial Study could walk out normally.

Qu Heng was also puzzled; he hadn't made any mistakes recently. Could it be that his descendants had caused trouble?

But what kind of trouble could make His Majesty summon him personally?

Even though the eunuch kept telling him not to worry, he still arrived at the Imperial Study with fear and trepidation.

This was not the first time Qu Heng had come here. The late Emperor attached great importance to education. When he served as the Dean of the Xinhuo Combat Academy, he had also been summoned here to be instructed on some matters.

Thinking about it, that was all more than ten years ago.

Scenes from that year floated in his mind, and his thoughts had even returned to that time; his memories flashed by like a revolving lantern.

Qu Heng, who suddenly came back to his senses, was terrified. How could he think of these things for no reason? Could it be that his time was up? Is today my death day?

Just as he was letting his imagination run wild, Li Chen brought Xia Qing here.

This was the first time Qu Heng had gazed upon Li Chen's holy countenance.

Before seeing Li Chen, Qu Heng had also heard that this Emperor was martial and extraordinary, with a holy countenance that was peerless.

But he didn't take it to heart, thinking it was just words of praise. Who doesn't praise the Emperor like that when they see him?

But seeing him today, he realized that this, damn it, was the truth.

Let's put it this way: Xia Qing is a peerless beauty of a celestial, and no matter where she goes, she will attract attention. In the past, appearing alone in some cities would even cause a sensation.

But Li Chen could overshadow her, making her follow by his side like a little transparent person.

"Your subject Qu Heng, pays respects to Your Majesty, pays respects to Your Ladyship," Qu Heng said, kneeling and kowtowing.

As soon as Xia Qing heard Qu Heng's tone, she figured this person probably regarded her as Li Chen's consort again.

How many times does one have to explain this in a single day?

She no longer wanted to explain. Believe whatever you want to believe.

"Rise. I have something to discuss with you today."

Li Chen certainly wouldn't explain, and his purpose was also very clear.

After Qu Heng thanked him, he followed Li Chen into the Imperial Study.

Li Chen introduced Xia Qing, saying that this was the Dean of the Xinhuo Combat Academy, and then told Qu Heng about Xia Qing's desire to teach at the Xinhuo Combat Academy.

It also needed to be made clear here that Xia Qing is a cultivator of the Lingyan Dao Sect. This time, the imperial court and major sects are strengthening their connections to facilitate management, and Xia Qing is the person who came here for exchanges.

Xia Qing also greeted Qu Heng, and Qu Heng immediately responded respectfully.

He roughly understood the Emperor's purpose in calling him over. So it was for this matter; I thought I had made a mistake and was almost scared to death.

Qu Heng sorted out a complete line of thought in his mind.

That is to say, in order to better manage the sects, His Majesty took the sect cultivator Xia Qing into the harem.

This kind of sect cultivator cannot stay idle and wants to find something to do. Coupled with being an alchemist with dual wind and fire attributes, she wanted to come to the Xinhuo Combat Academy to teach.

He had just learned about Xia Qing's strength, and it indeed met the requirements for teaching at the Xinhuo Combat Academy. Since His Majesty came personally, he would certainly cooperate.

Being able to conduct alchemy exchanges with sect cultivators is also a new experience for the academy.

Anyway, Xia Qing's status as a consort was considered confirmed.

(End of chapter)