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

The Great Yu Kingdom is currently in a very interesting state, namely, the operation of power over all affairs is under two subtle modes of operation.

One was the central government officials in the outer court, who handled various matters according to regulations; the other was the imperial court meeting, where the emperor summoned the relevant officials to the imperial court.

Before Chu Ling returned to the palace from Shanglin Garden, the Great Yu had never experienced such a situation, and it was precisely because of this that many ministers had doubts.

When Chu Ling first ascended the throne, the handling of affairs of the world was done by the three empresses convening a grand court session, attended by all the officials in the central government. Any problems that arose during the session were clarified by the three empresses, and the relevant officials implemented them according to their decrees. Of course, there were also instances where memorials were sent directly to the three empresses, as there were too many things involved behind the scenes, and it was hard to guarantee that there would be no disagreements or schemes.

This state of affairs continued until a rebellion broke out, at which point things began to change.

With the increasing frequency of grand court sessions, the handling of affairs of the realm, the suppression of rebellions, and the supply and demand of the wartime front were all addressed by the three empresses, with the Grand Empress Dowager Sun Li as the most respected figure. The central government was mainly composed of the three provinces, which then resolved various problems and difficulties encountered.

Power may appear to be centralized, but that is not actually the case.

As the one bearing the greatest pressure, Sun Li's starting point is closely centered on the integrity of the Great Yu territory, the continuation of the country, and the unchanging supreme imperial throne. This means that when solving the problems and difficulties she faces, Sun Li needs to weigh the pros and cons, satisfy the demands of all parties, and make corresponding concessions when necessary, so as to ensure that her starting point does not deviate.

During this period, Sun Li represented the Emperor of Dayu in a sense, but this was only in reality. The nominal Emperor of Dayu was Chu Ling, who was supported by Sun Li and then left the center of the vortex to retreat to Shanglin Garden to lie low.

The grandfather and grandson understood each other perfectly.

Because Sun Li's performance was so realistic, for a long period before Han Qing suppressed the rebellion of the rebellious princes, many groups in the court and the public believed that the Empress Dowager really wanted to depose the emperor, which caused a lot of turmoil before and after that time.

But everything changed with Chu Ling's forceful return to the palace.

The current delicate situation is precisely what Chu Ling intentionally promoted. Chu Ling wanted to put all the civil and military officials in the central government under the control of the game, keeping them in their positions with wavering minds, so that they could face the turmoil and influence caused by the central government.

The most dangerous period of this model is the time before the Phoenix Palace and the Linghua Palace issue the selection edicts. If Chu Ling's plans are interrupted and the people he appoints and promotes fail to take charge, then the overall situation will be out of Chu Ling's control, which will put Chu Ling in a very passive position.

However, this did not happen.

"This Qi Sheng is running out of ideas."

Yu Palace, Daxing Hall.

Leaning against the soft cushions, Chu Ling reviewed the summary report submitted by the Secretariat and said with a half-smile, "What his faction has been doing is all about the Bao Yuan. They keep trying to smear the Bao Yuan, question the credibility of the Censorate, and drag some ministers in the court into it, trying to muddy the waters."

"I thought Qi Sheng would have some clever methods to counter the momentum of Bao Tietou and his group's impeachment, but now it seems that I overestimated them."

At this point, Chu Ling closed the memorial and casually tossed it onto the imperial desk.

“Your Majesty, what Qi Sheng and his men did still had some impact on the central government,” Li Zhong, who was serving the emperor, said with his head bowed.

"As far as I know, some officials in the central government are colluding in private and taking advantage of this trend to push things forward."

"Among them were some incidents targeting the Customs Administration, the Yudu Prefecture, and the Jingji Circuit Governor's Office. These incidents occurred both inside and outside Yudu and in the Jingji area, but they have had a certain impact."

"They are not the key."

Chu Ling waved his hand and said, "Under this trend, as long as Xu Chu, Wang Rui, Xiao Jing, Sun Miao and other important officials from the three provinces do not make any moves, it will not affect the overall situation."

"What the Great Yu has in abundance is selfish people who want to take advantage of the muddy waters to seek their own benefit."

"Unfortunately, they are not the key. Moreover, the Great Yu of today is no longer the Great Yu of the past. What applies to the past does not apply to the present."

Li Zhong lowered his head and remained silent.

As the chief eunuch serving the emperor, Li Zhong had a clear understanding of his role: to be absolutely obedient to the emperor and, when necessary, to skillfully offer his opinions for the emperor's analysis and insight.

"I underestimated this Ironhead."

While Li Zhong remained silent, Chu Ling smiled and said, "If I'm not mistaken, what he and his ministers are doing right now is all about creating an atmosphere."

"This is both to get Qi Sheng's faction moving to find out what they might do, and to get the ministers in the court, especially those few, to move under these circumstances."

"Now it all comes down to who loses their composure. Whoever loses their composure will inevitably lose their footing, and at that point, they will have to play a crucial card."

"And this card will produce vibrations!!"

Li Zhong was startled, which also made him very curious about what kind of tricks Bao Yuan and his group had prepared that could cause such a commotion in the central government.

It’s getting really interesting.

Seeing Li Zhong's change, Chu Ling's lips curled up slightly. When dealing with the ministers of the outer court, one cannot simply use the concept of ruler and subject to suppress them. There is a difference between ruler and subject, but that does not mean that the ruler can suppress everything and the subject will submit to everything. Putting aside the concept of righteousness, the ruler and subject are more like two different professions. The former is an individual, and the latter is a group. It is because of the support of righteousness that the individual can rise above the group.

Therefore, a ruler cannot afford to make any mistakes, even once, as it would significantly diminish the righteousness of the state. When the damage is too great, the ruler loses his authority!

……

"Chief Censor, this can't go on. The current political climate is too chaotic. Too many people are watching and waiting, and some are even fanning the flames. If we don't do something, the Censorate will lose its authority!"

"Yes, Chief Censor, some people are fabricating baseless accusations to smear you and some of your colleagues in the Censorate. This is an attempt to incite suspicion of the Censorate among other officials in the central government, making some people think that the Censorate is unfair and has no bottom line."

"Your Excellency, I think we should go to Chengtian Gate to make our stance clear so that the impeachment of Qi Sheng and his gang for violating laws and regulations can proceed."

"The current situation clearly shows that the Censorate and Qi Sheng's group have started a power struggle. His Majesty and the three provinces have yet to make any statement. This is..."

The Censorate, main hall.

The officials of the Censorate gathered here each displayed different expressions, and they spoke their minds about the current situation and predicament.

Bao Yuan, seated in the main seat, listened calmly to what his colleagues were saying.

Gradually, fewer and fewer people spoke up.

The fact that Bao Yuan remained silent throughout the entire incident caused many people to have doubts.

What exactly does "our own general secretary" mean?

"Why are not you talking?"

Bao Yuan glanced around and, seeing that no one spoke and everyone was looking at him with complicated expressions, he lifted his robe and spoke without any expression.

This……

The more violent the kite acted, the more silent the officials gathered there became.

"Alright, since you won't tell me, then I will."

Bao Yuan flicked his sleeves, leaned forward, and scanned the officials in the hall. He said in a detached tone, "Just as you all said, the current situation is that the Censorate has become the target of everyone's criticism, just like Qi Sheng and his group."

"Many ministers in the central government are only interested in watching from the sidelines, and some are even taking advantage of the chaos to do things that benefit themselves in private."

Bao Yuan's words caused many people to frown slightly.

This is the current situation!

"There are some things I've been thinking about for a long time."

Bao Yuan slowly stood up, his expression changing slightly. "Today, I will also tell you something."

Wow~

Everyone who was sitting stood up.

They looked at the raging kite with serious expressions.

"When the Censorate was first established, Emperor Taizu Gaozu once said that ministers who were treacherous and evil, petty men who formed cliques and abused their power to disrupt the government, all officials who were corrupt, greedy and violated official discipline, and all those whose scholarship was improper, who submitted memorials to change the established laws, and who hoped to be promoted!"

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Bao Yuan raised his hand to the sky in a gesture of respect and said in a firm and powerful tone: "Since the establishment of the Censorate, it has always adhered to this principle in its existence. But I don't know when it started, whether in the central government or in the local areas, the atmosphere has gradually changed."

"Sometimes I wonder, what exactly caused all of this to change?"

"After much thought, I often feel confused. Every time I think I've found the answer, something happens that makes me confused again."

Bao Yuan's words caused many people to have complicated expressions.

They had all experienced this confusion.

Especially during that turbulent period, this confusion was intense, but no matter how confused they were, they could not easily express their opinions.

Because at that time, the country was in a perilous situation!

"Until the last six months, or even longer."

What Bao Yuan said next made many people's expressions change: "Benxian's confusion has lessened, and now, it can be said that he has no confusion at all."

Because of His Majesty?!

Some people thought to themselves.

"I know what you're all thinking," Bao Yuan said calmly, flicking his sleeves and pointing at the crowd before him.

"I do not know what you are thinking, but I will speak only what I know in my heart, Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

"You are all well aware of the amount of questioning and criticism this department faced when it was first established, aren't you?"

Many people nodded.

"To be honest, I was initially very pessimistic about the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

Bao Yuan continued, "A bunch of immature kids. At their age, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they're our generation's offspring, would it?"

"Not too much."

One person nodded.

"Our generation hasn't been able to properly resolve the problems and situations we've encountered. Do you think they can solve them?" Bao Yuan said with a smile.

He then pointed to himself, "This was what I initially thought." At this point, Bao Yuan paused for a moment, then continued, "But what happened next was truly shocking."

"Many things that people wanted to do but couldn't, they accomplished. Yes, although the controversy and criticism they faced before and after doing these things never stopped."

"But one thing is undeniable: these kids got things done, and more importantly, they did it beautifully. Honestly, no one would question that, right?"

The people standing there looked at each other after hearing what Bao Yuan said. Although their expressions varied, no one raised any objections.

"Do you know why?"

Bao Yuan placed his hands on the table, looking at the group of people before him. "Because they have a sincere heart, and it is precisely this sincerity that makes them fulfill their duties in their positions. Don't think that fulfilling one's duties in one's position is a simple matter. If it were simple, the Great Yu Dynasty wouldn't be in its current state!"

Some people understood what Bao Yuan was trying to say.

"Chief Censor, you don't mean to use the power of the Censorate alone to force Qi Sheng and his group to submit a memorial of apology, do you?" One person looked at Bao Yuan with a look of surprise and doubt.

"You're right about that."

Bao Yuan raised the corners of his mouth slightly, pointed at the man and said, "This is what I wanted. I have been waiting for this, and now the time is almost right."

"This is something that some of Qi Sheng's men did in the capital region. It wasn't a big deal; they just evaded a few hundred thousand in commercial taxes."

Thump!

When Bao Yuan held up a file, many of the people standing in the hall were startled, and their faces showed expressions of shock.

"Of course, besides what Qi Sheng's subordinates did, there is also irrefutable evidence that Qi Sheng's close relatives smuggled goods to the northern frontier under various pretexts!"

In this atmosphere, Bao Yuan picked up another file. "This one is more, it's in the millions, maybe three million, maybe four million, maybe even more."

"I do not wish to dwell on the past of the Censorate, but at this moment, I must say this: I will impeach ministers who are treacherous, petty men who form cliques, and those who abuse their power and disrupt the government; I will impeach officials who are corrupt, greedy, and violate official discipline; and I will impeach those who are academically unethical, submit memorials to disrupt the established laws, or seek advancement!"

"I simply want to see whether the Great Yu Dynasty will improve or worse when the Censorate begins to uphold the law, take charge of supervision, rectify conduct, and impeach illegal activities!"

"This censor should have Qi Sheng submit his own memorial of guilt. That way, when the Censorate arrests and interrogates him, there will be nothing that the world can criticize him for!!!"

This is going to turn the world upside down!!

Everyone present was shocked; they never expected that their Chief Justice would choose the most difficult path.

But it is precisely this most difficult path that, if it can be traversed, even if only one step is taken, will have an unimaginable impact on the entire Great Yu.

"This humble official is willing to join in!"

"This humble official is willing to join in the petition!!"

After a brief moment of calm, shouts and cheers erupted. Bao Yuan looked at the officials before him, each one bowing and saluting with great enthusiasm. A faint smile appeared on Bao Yuan's face. This was the Censorate he remembered.