Mr. Mei had warned Li Mu to be careful of the Zhou family.
Li Mu thought that the assassination in the North County should have been done by the Zhou family. It was not until today that he met the old man in the memory of the assassin that he finally locked onto the mastermind behind the scenes.
Through Wang Wu, Li Mu confirmed the man's identity once again.
Zhou Chen was Zhou Chu's elder brother, but he was not Zhou Ting's son. Among the four brothers of the Zhou family, Zhou Ting was the fourth. Zhou Chen was the only son of the third brother.
Zhou Chen usually kept a low profile and was not as flamboyant as Zhou Chu. He also did not bully the people, so the people of Luoyang did not know much about him.
The old man beside him was his bodyguard. The disciples of the big families in Luoyang all had bodyguards, and these bodyguards were the closest to them.
The fact that the old man appeared in the killer's memory meant that the assassination in Beijun was most likely Zhou Chen's plan.
At that time, Li Mu had just offended the old party. If something happened to him, the old party would be the first to be suspected.
However, Li Mu did not know whether Zhou Chen had acted on his own, or whether the real mastermind of the Zhou family was involved.
The killer was dead, and Li Mu could not accuse Zhou Chen with just his words alone.
Moreover, because of him, the Zhou family had just lost a young disciple. If Li Mu pointed the finger at Zhou Chen now, it might completely enrage the Zhou family and bring about their intense revenge.
However, the revenge for the assassination had to be taken.
As long as he knew the mastermind behind it, he could take his time to plan what to do next.
Li Mu walked to the front of the yamen and saw Zhang Chun walking in listlessly.
Li Mu greeted him, "Sir, you're out of court?"
Ever since he was promoted to Luoyang Magistrate, Zhang Chun's rank had risen from sixth-grade to fifth-grade, and he was qualified to attend court.
Although there were many fifth-rank officials in Luoyang and not everyone had the opportunity to attend court, the Luoyang yamen was different from the six yamens. Above them, there were assistant ministers, doctors, and minister counsellors. If they had nothing to do, they could stay in the yamen.
Zhang Chun was the only official in charge of the yamen. Unlike Li Mu, who could sleep as long as he wanted with Xiao Bai in his arms, Zhang Chun had to wake up early every three days to prepare for the morning court.
Li Mu replied, "Your Excellency left court today, so you're a bit late."
Zhang Chun waved his hand and said, "Don't mention it. The quarrel in the court today was too intense. The guy behind this official almost sprayed his saliva all over this official's face …"
Li Mu asked curiously, "What's the matter?"
Zhang Chun said, "It's all because of the Academy. His Majesty thinks that almost all the officials in the thirty-six counties of the Great Zhou, including Luoyang, are from the Academy. In the long run, it will be detrimental to the country. He wants to give up some of the positions of the officials and directly select them from the people. However, the officials are against it …"
Li Mu said, "That's good …"
Zhang Chun glanced at him and said, "What's good about it? Before the Academy, the morals and abilities of the officials in the imperial court were uneven. Many untalented and incompetent people could also hold important positions in the imperial court. The people suffered unspeakably. After the Academy, the quality of the officials has greatly improved. If the selection of officials goes back to the old days, won't the people suffer that kind of pain again?"
It seemed that Zhang Chun also supported the Academy. Li Mu asked, "Your Excellency, are you also from the Academy?"
Hearing this, Zhang Chun's face showed a proud expression. He said, "Yes. When I was young, I studied in the Myriad Scroll Academy. After I finished my studies in the Academy, I became the county magistrate of Yangqiu …"
Li Mu asked, "Before the Academy, the people suffered unspeakably. After the Academy, the people's lives became better?"
"Uh …"
Zhang Chun's lips moved, but he found that he could not answer Li Mu.
Before Emperor Wen, after the golden age of Emperor Wu, the counties were no longer troubled by the demons and ghosts. However, the people's lives did not seem to be better.
After the death of Emperor Wen, the quality of the officials was greatly improved. Today, the people should be living a better life. However, as far as he knew, the people of the 36 counties of Great Zhou were far from living in peace and contentment.
He looked at Li Mu and asked, "Do you mean that Emperor Wen was wrong?"
Li Mu shook his head and said, "Emperor Wen was not wrong. However, the decrees of Emperor Wen's time are not necessarily suitable for the present. During Emperor Wen's time, the officials in the imperial court were both good and bad. There was a big flaw in the way the imperial court chose officials. Emperor Wen's decisive reform led to the famous rule of Emperor Wen. At that time, the Academy was beneficial to improving the ecology of the imperial court."
"But it's different now. The chaos of the imperial court during Emperor Wen's time has long disappeared. The students of the Academy have almost monopolized the imperial court. The officials are divided into camps based on the Academy. They form cliques and protect each other. The decrees of Emperor Wen's time are no longer suitable for the current imperial court …"
Zhang Chun looked at him with a strange expression and said, "I really should let you attend the imperial court. If you were there in the morning, there would not be no one to speak for Her Majesty …"
Li Mu was very sure that many people in the imperial court must have seen what he saw.
However, they were all from the Academy. If they agreed with the Empress, wouldn't they be standing on the opposite side of the Academy?
They already belonged to their own camp. Naturally, they would not betray their own camp.
Moreover, with the power and influence of the Academy, even the new party and the old party had to rely on it. Who in the imperial court dared to oppose the Academy?
Li Mu could imagine the scene of Her Majesty being opposed by the officials in the morning court. Unfortunately, he was only a minor official and was not even qualified to defend her.
Li Mu did not know much about the Academy. After calling Wang Wu, he had a better understanding of the Academy.
There were four great Academies in the Divine Capital. They were called Baichuan, Qingyun, Wanjuan, and Bailu. They started during the reign of Emperor Wen and had been passed down for more than a hundred years.
Among the four great Academies, Bailu Academy was different from the other three. It was the only academy that was directly under the Ministry of War. The dean of Bailu Academy was the Minister of War.
The purpose of Bailu Academy's existence was to defend against foreign enemies. It had never been involved in political struggles. Almost all the students from Bailu Academy would not stay in the Divine Capital. They needed to go to the borders of the Great Zhou to protect the border counties and prevent the neighboring countries, the Demon Country, the Ghost Region, and the Dragon Clan from invading.
Fortunately, after the Martial Emperor, the Great Zhou had become the most powerful country in the Ancestral Land. Most of the surrounding countries respected the Great Zhou. Those who did not respect the Great Zhou as their sovereign country did not dare to offend the Great Zhou.
The Demon Country and the Ghost Region had always been in a state of internal strife. They did not pose much of a threat to the Great Zhou for the time being. Although the Dragon Clan was powerful, they lived in the sea for a long time and rarely appeared on the mainland. The current situation of the Great Zhou was more of an internal problem than an external one.
Wanjuan Academy focused on teaching the concept of governance and governance. Many of the students from Wanjuan Academy did not know how to cultivate, but they all had unique views on how to govern a country. After graduating from the Academy, those who were more capable would stay in the Divine Capital to take up positions. Those who were less capable would be sent to other places to train.
Qingyun Academy and Baichuan Academy focused more on cultivation. Those who studied in these two academies were all students with a certain level of cultivation talent. After leaving the Academy, they would either take up important positions in the Divine Capital or guard a county. They had the brightest future.
There were 36 counties in the Great Zhou, and at least 90 of them came from these two academies. There were 106 county governors, county ministers, and county lieutenants.
Of course, the academies did not belong to any political party. In terms of cohesion, they were naturally not as united as the new party or the old party.
However, the status of the academies was extraordinary. The students who graduated from the academies all had a deep sense of belonging to the academies. Perhaps they were dissatisfied with the academies when they were studying, but they would never allow outsiders to trample on the dignity of the academies.
Whether it was in the Divine Capital or in the various counties, officials who came from the same academy would naturally have a close relationship. Everything was shown in the imperial court, and they would form a cohesive group.
The imperial palace.
It was already late at night.
The Empress stood in the empty palace. She no longer looked dignified in front of others. There was still anger on her face. She was angry about what happened in the imperial court.
She looked around, trying to find someone to talk to and vent her frustrations. However, she could not find anyone.
In fact, since she was forced to take this position three years ago, there was no one she could talk to.
That person was right. Sitting in this position, she would slowly lose her family and friends. No one would reveal their true feelings to her. Her parents called her Her Majesty and wanted her to pass the throne to a descendant of the Zhou Family. Her former friends only had respect and fear for her now …
She had gotten everything that others wanted, but she had lost everything that she wanted.
She walked out of the palace and looked up at the sky. Suddenly, she thought of someone.
…
The Li Residence.
Li Mu was sleeping soundly with Xiao Bai in his arms. Suddenly, white mist filled his vision.
A familiar figure appeared in front of him.
Li Mu had not seen his other personality for a long time. When he saw her again, he felt a sense of familiarity. He waved at her and said, "Long time no see."
Although the interaction between the two personalities was not very pleasant in the beginning, she did not appear every day. She also did not torture Li Mu every time she appeared. Li Mu was not as afraid of her as he was in the beginning.
The beautiful woman's expression was a little ugly. She did not pay attention to Li Mu.
Li Mu's heart skipped a beat. He wondered if she was on her period. Would her inner demons be on their period?
In order to prevent her from venting her anger on him, Li Mu prepared to slip away.
The next moment, the scenery in front of him changed. The two of them appeared at the peak of a mountain.
There was a pavilion at the peak of the mountain. At this moment, the two of them were sitting in the pavilion. There were a few exquisite dishes in front of them. The aroma of the dishes made Li Mu swallow a mouthful of saliva.
He complained in his heart. Whose dream was this? Why was her control of the dream more skillful than his?
The surrounding scenery was so real. Li Mu could hear the birds, smell the fragrance of flowers, and even feel the mountain breeze blowing on his face. The few dishes in front of him were so delicious that Li Mu began to wonder whether this was a dream or reality …
Legend has it that the powerhouses of the Upper Realm can use a kind of dream transference ability. They can use their consciousness to invade other people's dreams and freely weave the content of the dream. The person who was transfered by the dream would not be able to distinguish between the dream and reality. They would even be trapped in it forever …
Li Mu looked around and could not help but sigh. The legendary dream transference technique was just like this, right?
Li Mu looked at the woman opposite him and asked, "Are you in a bad mood?"
The woman did not answer, but the answer was written on her face.
Li Mu did not know why a heart demon would be in a bad mood. He poured a cup of wine for the two of them and said, "Since you are in a bad mood, I will accompany you to drink a few cups …"
He gulped down the wine in his cup and sighed softly.
The woman looked at him and asked, "What are you sighing for?"
There was nothing to hide from his other self. Li Mu said leisurely, "Unfortunately, I am not Lord Zhang. Otherwise, in today's morning court, I would not have let His Majesty face the officials alone …"
The woman raised her eyebrows, looked at Li Mu and said, "What's so good about that woman? She is just a rebel who seized power and stole the country. Is it worth it for you to protect her like this?"
Bang!
Li Mu slammed the wine cup on the stone table, stood up abruptly, and said impolitely, "If you disrespect His Majesty again, I will go back. You can drink this wine alone!"
The mouth of the person who received it was soft.
After receiving so many benefits from the Empress, Li Mu could not protect her in the court. If he could not even protect her in the dream, then the next time he received benefits from the Empress, his conscience would not be at ease.
The woman did not expect that this sentence would anger Li Mu. Her gaze swept over him, and she lowered her head and said, "Well, I will not speak ill of her. Sit down …"
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