It was raining non-stop outside, and the sound of clattering was also resounding in the imperial study room. Although the people present did not even take a breath, it gave people an extraordinarily noisy, even deafening feeling.
Because at this time, they all got amazing news.
Especially Wu Yingqiu and the others were almost dumbfounded.
Zhu Feng was sitting behind the table, the fluttering candlelight shone on his face, showing a bit of uncertainty, and even more unpredictable depth.
He said: "You all heard what I said just now."
Everyone hesitated for a long while before saying in unison: "Listen clearly."
Standing in front of him, in addition to the aging Duke Wu Yingqiu, his son Wu Ding, Zhongshu Sheng Zuocheng Heyi, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, Counselor Gu Tingqiu, General Xu Shifeng, Yushi Zhongcheng Li Ziyun.
Behind them, there are two figures, because the light is dim, the light is not very bright.
But it can also be seen that one is Chen Yiliu, the second brother of the Chen family who has no official position, and the other is Liu Yueze, the head of the Ministry of Criminal Justice.
This group of people looked at Zhu Feng cautiously.
On weekdays, these officials seldom get together, except in the early court when they will be in front of the class, at other times, they rarely communicate.
After all, the emperor doesn't like to form parties for personal gain.
But this time, it was the emperor who called them and said those words.
It was already autumn, and no matter how heavy the rain was, there would be no thunder and lightning. But at this time, they all seemed to be shocked by the thunder, with constant rumbles in their ears, and shock in their hearts.
Wu Yingqiu's mood was more complicated.
He bent down, rolled his eyes calmly, looked at the expressionless He Yi beside him, and then at Gu Tingqiu with a dignified expression on the other side.
And there were quite a few people looking at him.
Although these people have different official positions, they all serve in key departments of the imperial court, and they are all trusted by Zhu Feng or have made great contributions.
Since the fall of Jian Ruocheng, all the officials in the court have been staring at the official position of Zhongshu Sheng Youcheng, but Zhu Feng has not made a statement for a long time. Even if he went south to Jinling, he put most of the work on Heyi alone. I heard that , This "Prime Minister of Taoism" was so tired that he vomited blood, and he never wanted to set up another Prime Minister of Zhongshu Sheng Youcheng.
Everyone, is waiting.
They are also expressing it openly and secretly, hoping to enter the emperor's eyes.
However, the emperor still didn't move, as if he was hanging a fish, making cats like them stare out their eyes.
Tonight, they suddenly received a secret decree, asking them to enter the palace overnight and come to the imperial study.
At this moment, everyone thought that they had been chosen, some were happy, some were panicked, but when they saw that everyone was there, they were all stunned.
Then, Zhu Feng told them his decision.
Starting tomorrow, the imperial court will no longer have the two official positions of Zhongshu Shengzuo and Youcheng.
He wants to create a new institution called the Cabinet.
All the officials present tonight, except the young Liu Yueze, who is in charge of drafting and recording as the cabinet secretary, are all cabinet ministers.
only-
Zhu Feng turned his head to look at Wu Yingqiu, smiled and said, "Master, I originally intended to belong to you, but you have been ill a few days ago, and I don't want you to be too tired, so look, this position in the cabinet is To you, or to your son."
What he said is also very clear.
The ministers in the cabinet all have great power. In order to avoid forming a party for personal gain, there can only be one member of the Wu family.
If the father is on it, the son cannot.
Hearing this, Wu Yingqiu hesitated for a moment, then looked at his young son again, gritted his teeth, and apologized with a smile: "Your Majesty, this old minister is old, and it's embarrassing to use. It's hard for the emperor to still think about this old minister. Difficult to report to the emperor!"
Said, knelt down.
Zhu Feng stepped forward, held his thin arm with one hand and helped him up, and said, "What is the Duke doing?"
Wu Yingqiu said: "Our Wu family is determined to be loyal to the emperor. It's just that the old ministers are embarrassing."
"..."
"The emperor should let this unfilial son practice and practice."
Zhu Feng smiled and said, "That's what I mean too."
After finishing speaking, he turned his head to look at Wu Ding who was on the side: "You can hear me."
Wu Ding immediately knelt down, kowtowed heavily to him a few times, and said in a deep voice: "My minister is determined to share the emperor's worries, and I will die after death!"
Zhu Feng nodded.
He slowly walked back to the table and sat down, his face sank again, and he said seriously: "The formation of the cabinet is tentatively so. He Yi."
He Yi immediately took a step forward: "The minister is here."
"As Zhongshu Sheng Zuocheng, you are also the one with the most business affairs here. This cabinet still needs you to lead it. I appointed you as the chief assistant of the cabinet. If you have something to do, you should discuss it with them."
"yes."
Hearing this, Wu Yingqiu couldn't help frowning again.
He was already the Duke of the state, so in order to avoid the emperor's suspicion due to too much power, he "give up" the position of cabinet minister to his son. Who knows, once he gave up, Heyi became the most authoritative among them. The person who made him the chief minister of the cabinet.
If you-
Thinking of this, he couldn't help gritting his teeth.
It seems that the chief assistant of the cabinet has been decided by the emperor long ago, and there is no room for him to choose.
At this moment, Zhu Feng looked up at Chen Yiliu, who had been silent in the crowd, and said, "Yiliu, do you have anything to say?"
Hearing his roll call, Chen Yiliu raised his head.
Compared with his elder brother Chen Zixiao who left the palace a few days ago and went to the northwest to take up his post, and his younger brother Chen Xuan who was already working for Zhu Feng in Jinling, he appeared to be more gentle and taciturn. However, standing among this group of dignified courtiers , it's not surprising at all.
He thought for a while, and said: "Caomin has no merit, and if he is a cabinet minister, he is afraid that people will not accept him."
Zhu Feng looked at him.
The eyes of the people around him also had the same suspicious light.
Zhu Feng said: "There is no merit, so I let you do meritorious service."
"..."
"Being a cabinet minister seems to be a good thing, but if you don't live up to your name, I will immediately dismiss you from office, and there will be no mercy."
"The humble minister leads the decree!"
Zhu Feng looked at Xu Shifeng on the other side again, and saw that he was also looking at him with flickering eyes, and said, "Shifeng, you are the only general here, work hard."
He didn't speak much, but every word was like a big stone, weighing on people's hearts.
Xu Shifeng lowered his head and said in a deep voice, "I understand!"
Only then did Zhu Feng brush off a corner of himself, and said: "Right now, the general arrangement is like this. Every day before and after the court meeting, you all come to the inner palace. I asked someone to tidy up an attic in the southeast corner of the imperial garden. discussion."
"yes."
As soon as the words fell, suddenly, there was a sound of fighting outside.
(end of this chapter)