At the tender age of eight, he was hastily dragged out and made emperor!

"Li Zhong, what is the background of this Xiao Jing?"

Chu Ling sat on the throne, silent for a long time, then looked at Li Zhong, who was serving beside him, and asked, "Why are you so young, yet you have already been appointed as a Gentleman Attendant in the Secretariat?"

To be honest, Chu Ling wasn't too sure whether Li Zhong would be willing to answer his questions, even though he had asked Li Zhong to tell him about the deeds of Emperor Taizu in the Daxing Hall, and Li Zhong had told him.

But Chu Ling could sense Li Zhong's hesitation, and that when he recounted the deeds of Emperor Taizu, he had some of his own opinions mixed in. He was a smart man.

A wise person will not put themselves in danger.

This is evident from the events that followed Li Zhong's return from the Shouhuang Palace and his subsequent behavior.

"Reporting to the Emperor."

Li Zhong lowered his head and said, "Xiao Jing is from Yunhai. He was selected as the top scholar in the imperial examination during the reign of Emperor Taizong, the first time that anonymous names were used.

It turned out to be the case.

Chu Ling immediately understood what was going on. The selection of candidates mentioned by Li Zhong was actually the same as the imperial examination he knew, with little difference in meaning, only the name had changed.

This also reminded Chu Ling of Emperor Taizu Gao.

The Kogon selection system was established by him.

Before the Great Yu Dynasty, the selection and recruitment of officials were generally divided into several types, such as hereditary official positions, promotion based on military merit, appointment as an official through accounting, and entry into officialdom through skills. These selection systems, which were followed in successive dynasties, created different vested interest groups in different periods and regions.

These vested interest groups, despite experiencing many dynastic changes, have always existed in various ways to ensure their own interests.

Just like the Sun family of Guanxi, to which the Empress Dowager belongs, they are now imperial relatives, and the current head of the family is even a Duke. However, in the previous dynasty, they were a military clan that rose through the ranks based on military merits. After experiencing some events, they eventually entered the core of the Guanxi clan.

Even now, there are still many people in the Great Yu Dynasty who refer to certain nobles as the "Guanxi Clan," and the Sun family is one of them.

Some ideas, once formed, are actually very difficult to change.

Knowing these things made Chu Ling feel a mix of emotions. The Great Yu was unfamiliar to him, yet it also felt strangely familiar.

Class, regardless of the background, will inevitably exist.

What surprised Chu Ling the most was that the Great Yu Dynasty still had a slave system, and the relationship between slave owners and slaves was protected by the laws of the Great Yu Dynasty.

Therefore, the practice of burying slaves alive with the dead still existed in the Great Yu Dynasty!

Although Emperor Taizong abolished the practice of emperors being buried alive with the emperor during his reign, hoping to set an example for the rest of the country to follow suit, the results were not significant.

Emperor Taizong's prestige in Dayu might not have been as high as that of Emperor Taizu, but when Emperor Taizong was mentioned, no one in the world did not revere him.

"Even so, it's not enough to justify such a high official position at such a young age, is it?"

Thinking of all this, Chu Ling looked at Li Zhong with suspicion and said, "I don't believe that there were no objections in the court when Xiao Jing was promoted to this position?"

"The succeeding emperor is wise."

Li Zhong said with a complicated expression, "But this Xiao Jing is no ordinary person. He wrote an article during the imperial examination selection that year, which led to a new policy in the court."

"What new policy?"

Chu Ling frowned.

To be able to influence the central government of the Great Yu Dynasty with just one article before even entering officialdom speaks volumes about his vision and talent.

Tax law.

Li Zhongyan succinctly stated.

Ok?

Chu Ling was stunned. He subconsciously wanted to ask for details, but seeing that Li Zhong did not intend to continue, Chu Ling knew that Li Zhong did not want to mention this matter.

"So he gained Emperor Taizong's favor?"

Chu Ling thought for a moment and then tentatively asked a question.

"No."

Li Zhong shook his head and said, "Although this person was appointed as the top scholar in the imperial examination, contrary to everyone's expectations, Emperor Taizong sent him to Xiliang as an official, where he stayed for several years."

"Isn't this against the rules?"

Chu Ling frowned.

"That's against the rules."

Li Zhong echoed, "But this man was far from the central government and went to the frontier. It wasn't until that great victory that Xiao Jing was specially promoted to the position of Vice Minister of War for his contribution to the victory!"

Be nice.

Chu Ling sighed inwardly. This was a leap into a key central position. If it were based on the previous promotion and selection, Xiao Jing would never have been able to become a vice minister in just a few years.

As for the great victory that Li Zhong mentioned, it was a national war between Dayu and Xichuan. It was that battle that made Dayu's national prestige famous on the western border, severely damaged Xichuan, and prevented any major conflicts from happening in the western border region that had troubled Dayu for so long. This battle is known as the Battle of Wangting Mountain!

Chu Ling became increasingly curious about what Xiao Jing, as a civil official, had done to receive such a special promotion. What he saw in the Ganlu Hall involved the Battle of Wangting Mountain, but the account focused more on the battle between the two sides and rarely touched on anything else.

"And on the eve of Emperor Taizong's death, Xiao Jing was promoted to Attendant Gentleman of the Palace in the Secretariat." Li Zhong continued as Chu Ling pondered.

"This incident did indeed arouse a lot of opposition, but it was all suppressed by Emperor Taizong. After the new emperor ascended the throne, he summoned him to the palace many times, and gradually, the criticism against him decreased."

No wonder.

Chu Ling revealed a knowing expression. This was the right-hand man that Emperor Taizong left for the new emperor. It was precisely because of this kind of personality that he dared to stand up and question the Left Chancellor Xu Chu in front of the ministers of the Secretariat and the Chancellery.

Can he be used by me?

Thinking about all this, Chu Ling had an idea. Although this was the right-hand man left to the new emperor by Emperor Taizong Wen, that new emperor had already passed away. Now, Chu Ling was the successor emperor of the Great Yu. After the coronation ceremony, he would become the new emperor of the Great Yu!

Ultimately, people have to look forward. When a person dies, even an emperor, it's all in the past. No one can dwell on the past forever.

It seems the successor emperor has some ideas.

Standing to the side, Li Zhong saw that Chu Ling remained silent. He secretly pondered to himself that in the past, he would not have been willing to get involved easily, but the various experiences he had had in recent days made him feel a sense of urgency and threat!

The succeeding emperor was precocious, but not many people know this yet!

This is an opportunity for him.

Li Zhong had previously hesitated about whether to report the matter, but after experiencing some things, he gave up the idea.

His ability to get to where he is today is related to his cautious personality, but more importantly, few people know that he is very insightful.

But in the Yu Palace, the last thing you can have is someone with ideas!

"Li Zhong, have you told anyone about my actions?"

As Chu Ling's voice rang out, Li Zhong broke out in a cold sweat for no apparent reason.

"This servant has none!"

Li Zhong hurriedly said.

"I know you are a smart man."

Chu Ling smiled and looked at Li Zhong, "You know better than I what should and shouldn't be said. I can't guess what you really want, but what I can give you is something that no one else can."

Having said this, Chu Ling stepped down from the throne, gave Li Zhong a meaningful look, and then turned and walked towards the back of the hall.

Although Chu Ling tried his best to act like a child, he also knew that some behavioral habits would be revealed unintentionally.

He can control himself in crowded places, but when there are few people around, especially when asking questions he wants to ask, he may make mistakes.

But Chu Ling did not regret doing so.

After all, he had to do this if he wanted to break the deadlock and escape his possible fate of death. He was saying all this now to see if Li Zhong had any ambitions!

If so, then everything will be easy.

If not, then he would have to find a way to eliminate this hidden danger and risk. After all, he currently has no freedom whatsoever. If he has no freedom, how can he talk about anything else?