Chapter 238: The Empress Wants to Recruit Female Officials
This ‘painting’ naturally meant taking photos. Jin Sui, afraid of startling Baozhu, told her in advance, “The painting I’m doing uses a special prop from overseas, unique in the world. Don’t be scared, hold the child tight, and listen to my instructions.”
Baozhu looked bewildered, but since the Empress valued this so much and would even personally paint a portrait of her and her son to give to Hei Hu, how could she refuse! She immediately sat up straight with her son in her arms, and Jin Sui took a few photos with her phone.
Baozhu and her son stayed in the palace for lunch. Baozhu was too nervous, trembling. When the child cried or wet himself, she kept apologizing.
This made Jin Sui feel uneasy. She told Baozhu that Shi Erniang would be coming to the border city soon and mentioned Hei Hu’s achievements, which finally helped Baozhu relax a little.
After having the palace servants escort the mother and son back to their residence, Jin Sui immediately went into her space to develop the photos. She picked one to give to Baozhu and another to Gu Changxiao to give to Hei Hu.
She chuckled, “By the time Hei Hu receives this photo, his son will probably be walking.”
Gu Changxiao didn’t think so. “Hei Hu has left a trail all the way through the Western Regions. With hot air balloons to relay messages from the sky and merchants from the Western Regions to guide the way, he will be caught within a year.”
Jin Sui laughed, “But within a year, little Hei Hu will also be able to walk!”
Gu Changxiao thought about it and burst into laughter. He looked at the photos of Baozhu and the child, his expression growing increasingly strange. Jin Sui couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong?”
“Sui Sui has never painted a picture for me.”
Jin Sui was speechless. After a long pause, she said, “If you have time, I can paint one for you now.”
Gu Changxiao quickly replied, “Can we change back into our wedding attire and be in the painting together?”
“Didn’t the imperial painters already do that?”
“It’s different! How can their paintings be as lifelike as the ones Sui Sui paints.”
You want to take wedding photos! Jin Sui pondered for a moment and then said, “Alright, but you have to promise not to ask any questions! Because the tools I use for painting are from overseas, they are quite special, and unique in the world.”
Gu Changxiao quickly replied, “Yes, I absolutely won’t ask.”
Jin Sui immediately went into her space to prepare. She couldn’t ask anyone else to take the photos; she figured anyone else would scare them. She could only use a selfie stick.
What she didn’t expect was that Gu Changxiao brought Liu Yun with him. Liu Yun was now the chief imperial guard and the leader of the Imperial Guards. Other men were not allowed to enter or leave the harem without an imperial decree, but Liu Yun was exempt from this restriction.
Gu Changxiao kept his word. He wasn’t curious at all about the equipment Jin Sui had set up. Following Jin Sui’s instructions, they sat side by side, and Jin Sui pressed the remote button in her hand to take the photos.
Thinking that since she had it out, she might as well take a few more, she took a few more standing photos. She didn’t notice, but Liu Yun had sharp eyes and excellent hearing.
Although he stood to the side, his eagle eyes clearly saw the phone screen.
In that moment, his scalp tingled. This child’s thought process was unlike ordinary people. His first reaction was, “Senior Sister truly has immortal treasures!”
However, Senior Sister has such treasures, and she’s using them to ‘paint’ with His Majesty! What a waste of heavenly resources!
If I had these treasures, I would use them to do many amazing things!
Liu Yun’s gaze at the phone was no different from a puppy looking at a bone or a kitten looking at a small fish.
Gu Changxiao misunderstood, “Does Liu Yun also want to be in the painting?”
Jin Sui beckoned, “Come, Junior Brother Liu Yun, let’s be in the painting together.”
‘Click,’ she took a photo of the three of them together. Not giving them a chance to look closely at the phone, Jin Sui hid it in her space, stating that the painting would take some time to complete.
Liu Yun felt he needed to find an opportunity to have a good talk with his Senior Sister. Even if you’ve become Empress, you can’t neglect your cultivation! Being Empress is nowhere near as good as being an immortal!
He hadn’t found his opportunity yet when Jin Sui and Gu Changxiao embarked on a new round of prosperity. Spring plowing was approaching, and there were already many matters in the imperial court. Then, on the second day of the second month, something major happened.
Yan Jiu had already led a group of Ministry of Works officials to construct the harbor. The imperial court was also drafting new documents for the complete opening of maritime trade, but there was endless debate in the court over this matter.
Some officials believed that there were too many uncontrollable factors at sea, and building a navy and warships would be too costly in terms of manpower and resources. With the treasury depleted due to the capital relocation, the court should focus on stable development.
Instead of implementing too many reforms, merely trading with the Northern Frontier had already made their commerce prosperous; there was no need to open up sea trade.
It would be better to postpone the harbor construction until the treasury was replenished. Gu Changxiao knew very well that this was the viewpoint of the conservative faction in Chang’an. What treasury replenishment? In their eyes, the treasury had never been replenished since the founding of Great Xia!
It was all about vested interests. Because their interests were confined to Chang’an, opening maritime trade would benefit the coastal gentry, especially the gentry of Yandi. As a result, a large number of new nobles would emerge in the coastal regions due to the rise of sea merchants, and they, the old nobles of Chang’an, would truly be old enough to be buried.
They would never again stand at their former peak, so they wanted to obstruct it, using valid reasons: the treasury was empty, and cavalry and infantry alone consumed too much silver, leaving no funds to build a navy!
While the conservatives obstructed, the reformers naturally supported it. Ever since the first day of court after the wedding, when the opening of maritime trade was formally proposed, the morning court had been as chaotic as a marketplace every day.
Jin Sui heard that officials had even fought each other in the Chang’an morning court. She asked Gu Changxiao worriedly, “What if the officials get into a brawl? If those old officials get injured or killed, His Majesty will be scolded, right?”
Gu Changxiao couldn’t help but chuckle. “Sui Sui, don’t worry. With me here, they wouldn’t dare to be presumptuous! I’m not as good-tempered as the Former Emperor.”
The turning point came on the third day after the ‘painting.’ On the second day of the second month, an urgent report sent via an eight-hundred-li express arrived at the border city. It was said that three horses had died on the way, and the messenger’s Meteor Horse collapsed from exhaustion outside the city gate. The urgent report was delivered to the palace by the guards.
“Urgent report from Minzhou! Japanese Pirates have landed, burning, killing, and looting. They killed one hundred and thirty civilians and plundered three villages. We implore His Majesty to deliver justice and protect the coastal populace!”
This news was shouted by the soldiers from the city gate all the way to the imperial palace, startling the entire city’s populace. They thought it was the Great Xia army attacking, but later heard it was from Japan.
They then asked each other if they had heard of this country. They hadn’t. It must be a small country to the south, and they had actually attacked all the way to Minzhou from the sea!
Regarding the death of one hundred and thirty civilians, people from Chang’an were bewildered. When did the death of over a hundred people warrant reporting to His Majesty?
In previous years, whether it was barbarians, Hu people, or Tartars from the Northern Frontier, if they killed fewer than a thousand people at the border, the news wouldn’t even reach inside the pass!
Plundering three villages was considered an urgent report? The people in the border city, however, understood: “Our Emperor once said that for any of our people who die unjustly, the court will deliver justice!”
“For every citizen of our Great Xia who dies at the hands of foreigners, the Xia Envoy will seek justice! The Black Feather Camp army must avenge their fallen comrades! Japan deserves to die!”
Undoubtedly, Gu Changxiao did this intentionally. He wanted to magnify the impact of the Japanese pirates’ invasion to pave the way for building the navy.
He secretly wrote to the Prefect of Minzhou, instructing him that if Japanese pirates landed, even if they killed just one of our civilians, it should be reported to the court immediately via eight-hundred-li express!
Gu Changxiao was furious in court. How dare a small country like Japan offend our Celestial Dynasty!
I will definitely build a navy and let Japan know that the might of Great Xia cannot be challenged.
The officials watched the enraged young emperor and wisely fell silent. They felt that at this moment, proposing any objection would be akin to being a traitor.
However, after the court session, when officials discussed privately, many were naturally still unconvinced. If Japanese pirates landed, sending the land army to defend would suffice; there was no need to expend manpower and resources to build a navy and attack Japan!
Isn’t our Emperor a bit too warlike? When the Former Emperor was in power, the surrounding small countries were unstable, and our Celestial Dynasty focused on appeasement, never initiating wars…
When these messages reached Jin Sui, she found them laughable. These pedantic civil officials only knew how to mouth “Celestial Dynasty.”
When someone has already invaded your backyard, you still want to appease them! Appease your head! They should be beaten into submission!
However, this anti-war sentiment currently held sway with half the court. If Gu Changxiao insisted on building a navy and attacking Japan, with half the people opposing, it would inevitably cause delays.
Not to mention unity from top to bottom, at least seventy percent support would be necessary. Soon, Jin Sui thought of a solution. The Emperor’s pressure was one factor; the second factor to gain the officials’ support was profit.
She released a piece of information, which, with just five words, immediately silenced the opposing officials. That was:
“Japan has silver mines!”
“Really, Sui Sui? Japan has silver mines?” Gu Changxiao looked at the map of Japan that Jin Sui gave him, both surprised and delighted.
Jin Sui pointed to a mountain range on the map. “Absolutely true! Don’t underestimate Japan; it has gold and silver mines, especially silver mines, with extremely high reserves. It can be said that as long as we acquire this silver mine, His Majesty can achieve his grand wish of having no taxes on agriculture throughout the land!”
Gu Changxiao’s breath hitched. Jin Sui wasn’t exaggerating. In her previous life, during the Ming Dynasty, Japan’s Iwami Ginzan produced one-third of the world’s silver annually.
Thus, with the combined force of defending national prestige and the lure of substantial profit, the new policy of building a navy and promoting maritime trade was officially promulgated through a joint document from the Three Departments and Six Ministries. All officials in the court became enthusiastic about this matter.
In February, besides this matter causing widespread discussion, for the common people, maritime trade and the navy were too distant and had little to do with them.
However, another major event had significant implications: His Majesty announced a special examination, with the Imperial Examination to be held in mid-February. Even more unexpectedly, the Empress also announced a special examination to recruit talented women from across the land to serve as female officials.
Special examinations were held for every emperor upon their ascension, but recruiting female officials was a first in history! Previously, Empresses also had female officials, but they were mostly selected through assessments of palace maids, or chosen from the daughters of officials, and some unsuccessful candidates for the imperial harem also became female officials.
For an Empress to openly recruit talented women from across the land to be female officials was unprecedented!
As expected, as soon as Jin Sui issued the imperial decree, she was met with opposition from all the officials. Even with His Majesty’s support, the officials strongly objected.
The harem must not interfere in politics; how could the Empress recruit female officials! It was simply absurd!
Jin Sui directly stated that the female officials would not receive their salaries from the national treasury and would have no connection to the Three Departments and Six Ministries. They would be her personal assistants as Empress. Why should the court object?
She immediately informed the court of her intentions: she wanted to establish public hospitals, which would require a large number of medical personnel. She also wanted to build public schools, which would similarly require a large number of educators.
Should she, as Empress, have to deal with officials or scholars with academic achievements? That would truly be interfering in politics! She would only appoint some female officials and delegate tasks to them. How was that interfering in politics?
She then sarcastically remarked, “Even a small aristocratic clan has thousands of servants who are not registered in the household registry. Yet I, the Empress of the Central Palace, have no staff to assist me. You are obstructing the recruitment of only a few talented women. What are your intentions?”
To the civil officials’ surprise, while they were using old rules to oppose the Empress, the military officials were very supportive and argued with the civil officials in court.
They directly stated that the Empress was the mother of the nation and had the right to do so. They were undermining the Empress’s authority!
Especially the officials from the Black Feather Camp, who treated the Empress as a close relative and defended her. This matter was not debated for long. Due to the earlier naval affairs and the subsequent special examination, the Empress’s recruitment of female officials seemed less important.
With the Emperor’s final decision, the system of female officials was approved. However, as a compromise, the first batch of female officials recruited by the Empress would only be from Yandi. After all, women from distant regions coming to the capital would face many inconveniences.
Once the first batch of female officials was assessed and the news spread throughout the land, by the time of the assessment three years later, women from all the prefectures would be prepared and could come to the capital early to participate in the examination.
Jin Sui agreed. Anyway, she wouldn’t be able to recruit that many people in the first batch. The women from the Sixteen Prefectures of Yandi alone would be enough.
Since there were no restrictions on status and the age limit was thirty-five, anyone with household registration could take the exam. Jin Sui initially worried that not many women would apply, as many parents were unwilling to let their daughters be seen in public.
To her surprise, the number of women who came to the capital to take the female official examination was not much less than those for the special examination and the Imperial Examination! After all, the Imperial Examination had academic restrictions. By the deadline for registration, twelve hundred women had applied, far exceeding Jin Sui’s expectations.
The capital became quite lively. Chen Yunniang was the chief examiner for the female official test. She used the academy as the examination venue and borrowed Grandpa Ling’s Taoist temple for temporary accommodation.
Since the inns in the city could not accommodate everyone, some women who had no relatives or friends in the capital stayed at the Taoist temple.
Grandpa Ling naturally supported his granddaughter’s endeavors and immediately moved the young Taoist priests from the Taoist temple to the Central Plains Hodgepodge eatery. Apart from him and Jin An, the Taoist temple was entirely occupied by female candidates staying there.
The female official examination was different from the special examination. The first test, the written exam, was the same for everyone. This was to filter out women who were illiterate or lacked basic arithmetic skills.
Of course, those with special talents, such as those skilled in embroidery, textiles, or medicine, although they could not become female officials, could stay at the academy, and they were very happy.
Especially some middle-aged women who were illiterate but were skilled embroiderers. Having worked for wealthy families for half their lives, they could now, in their lifetime, become female teachers at the Empress’s academy!
The written exam eliminated more than half of the candidates, with only three hundred women passing. Jin Sui sighed inwardly. Many of the women who applied came from families with good financial standing, and Yandi was more open than Chang’an, placing more importance on women’s education.
Even with this, the number of literate women was so small. Education was monopolized by aristocratic clans, making literacy an extremely luxurious commodity.
Keep in mind that for the written exam, one only needed basic arithmetic skills and to recognize a few hundred common characters to pass, yet only this many people passed.
The cause of education is long and arduous! The second stage of the assessment was a test she personally devised.
