After Master Shu finished speaking, the emperor nodded. Even if he had other thoughts in his mind, it was impossible to say anything else at this time. Because of Fan Xian's troubles with the Ministry of Criminal Justice last year, the imperial court dispatched Zuodu Censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate to Jiangnan Road far away.
Naturally, what the emperor Jinkou said could not be swallowed up now. It's just that at that time, the emperor wanted to appease Fan Xian, but now the emperor wanted to use Guo Zheng's memorial to do something, and when he was blocked by Master Shu, he couldn't help laughing at himself, wondering if he dug it himself Pit, jump in by yourself
"Isn't there another father-in-law who went to Jiangnan?" The prince jumped out at this time to show his stupidity, and said with a smile: "Father, although I can't believe the one-sided words of Yu Shi Guo Zheng, but when the father-in-law comes back and says it, he will know who Jiangnan is. What's going on."
This statement seemed to be sound, but in fact it was a bit sinister. How the father-in-law would slander Fan Xian was not just a word from the queen mother in the palace. The prince had confidence in this matter.
The emperor glared at him, and said in a cold voice, "How can you believe the eunuch's words? Here are the instructions from the ancestors, don't forget!"
The crown prince was cowardly and did not dare to speak again, while Eunuch Yao who was serving at the side remained silent, his expression unchanged.
"Wait for Xue Qing's memorial." The emperor closed his eyes and took a heavy breath.
Everyone in the imperial study room nodded, thinking that what the dignified governor said would naturally be more credible.
Hu Dashi, who had not made a statement until now, finally spoke at this time, and said: "In this case, let's put aside the Jiangnan matter for now. If there is such a thing, I... I really can't believe it, just as the Second Highness said earlier. In other words, if someone secretly transfers state funds to the south of the Yangtze River for profit, it is really close to treason. I believe that Fan Shangshu is definitely not such a crazy person. However, since the Jiangnan Road Yushi and some local officials have written a memorial, the court can't ignore it. Don't ask, the investigation of the Ministry of Household Affairs should indeed be carried out, firstly, to convince the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, and secondly, to clear up the accusations against Fan Shangshu."
Emperor Qing still maintained his superficial respect for the senior scholars who were under his sect. He nodded after a little pondering, and then laughed at himself: "Even if you do such a thing, you can't be considered insane... It's just that I'm a little Out of curiosity, have you ministers thought about how to check?"
Although there was a faint self-deprecating smile on the corners of their lips, the hearts of everyone in the imperial study room felt uncontrollably cold. They could tell that His Majesty really had a big opinion on Fan Shangshu, but everyone didn't understand it, and he had always been favored by the emperor. Why did the Fan Mansion suddenly become a place His Majesty didn't like to see? Fan Jian, where did he offend His Majesty
And the last sentence the emperor asked made the ministers dumbfounded, and they didn't know how to respond.
The court of the Qing Dynasty used two systems to supervise the administration of officials, one was the officials, those who were used to the censors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the other system was of course the extremely powerful Supervisory Yuan.
The Metropolitan Procuratorate is a corruption prevention agency and has the power to make rumors and rumors. That's why Guo Zheng, the censor of Jiangnan Road, dared to impeach Fan Xian for privately embezzling state funds and putting them into the treasury without any real evidence. Compete for profit.
The Overwatch Council, on the other hand, is an after-the-fact investigation agency with great power. After being authorized by His Majesty, it can interrogate all civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty.
Under normal circumstances, if there is a problem with any of the six departments, the Overwatch Council is of course the one to investigate the matter. Officials below the third rank can invite them to drink tea in the square gray and black building. , it will ask for the privilege again, and check it up level by level.
If there is a deficit in the household department, logically, it should also be handled according to this strategy.
The issue is…
Today's Overwatch Council has the dean at the top and eight departments at the bottom. The bad-behavior Chen Pingping, who frightened all the officials, has not personally handled the case for several years, and in the past year, he has basically stayed in Chen Yuan outside Beijing, no longer taking matters seriously. But now, between the dean and the eight divisions, there is already one more position, a very powerful and special position.
Supervisor of the Overwatch Council, Fan Xian.
Fan Xian now has the power to mobilize the entire Overwatch Council, except for the appointment and removal of personnel, the power is almost the same as that of Chen Pingping. If the Overwatch Council were to investigate the deficit of the household department...
The ministers in the imperial study shook their heads, thinking that they wanted their son to investigate Lao Tzu, and if they could find out the problem, it would be hell! If this matter gets out, I'm afraid that Northern Qi Dongyi and the common people in the world will regard this matter as the biggest joke in the officialdom of the Qing Dynasty.
Master Shu said with a wry smile: "It seems that this time the Overwatch Council will avoid suspicion. It's just for a while. I don't know how to arrange the investigation of the household department."
The old ministers beside him nodded repeatedly. Since they wanted to check the household department, they had to do it seriously. Whether they wanted to overthrow Fan Jian or clear up the doubts about Fan Jian, they had to be taken seriously. It cannot be a child's play.
At this moment, the emperor sneered and said, "Why don't you keep the old rules?"
"This..." Master Shu groaned again and again, thinking about something so obvious, why do you have to pretend to be confused, Your Majesty? After hesitating for a moment, he finally summoned up his courage and said, "Your Majesty, after all, Mr. Fan is the full-power commissioner of the Overwatch Council. If the Overwatch Council is asked to investigate the Household Department and this matter gets out, I'm afraid the impact will not be very good."
"Let the Overwatch Council investigate." The emperor said coldly: "At the same time, the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Dali Temple will send personnel to assist you. You can choose another leader to lead the matter. Since you want to investigate the deficit of the household department, how many people are there? things that can be done.”
The ministers in the imperial study understood that the so-called assistance was just to monitor the Overwatch Council, but everyone really didn't understand, since His Majesty has already confirmed in his heart that the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Ministry of Punishment and Jiali Temple will investigate the household department, why must the Supervisory Council The courtyard dragged it into the pool of water.
As for the candidates for the head of the household department, the ministers were also muttering. They knew that this mission would offend the Fan family and related officials, but they also knew that if the problem could be found out, it would have a huge impact on their reputation in the world. It was a heavy memorization and a balance between the two. In the end, no one dared to take the risk to pick up this hot potato.
Even the Minister of the Ministry of Officials and the Second Prince, who were enemies of the Fan family, were silent.
The emperor's mood could not be seen, he smiled, his eyes slowly passed over the faces of the minister and his son, and finally fell on the face of Hu Dashi.
Hu Dashi secretly sighed, knowing that he could not escape this difficulty. I entered Beijing at the beginning of the year, and was promoted by His Majesty to be a cabinet scholar who walks under the door. Although he had the title of Bao a few years ago, he has been a leader in various official positions these years, but he has no clear achievements in the central area. , His Majesty only cares about himself because he has been in Beijing for a short time and has not been entangled with various forces. On the other hand, he also wants to use the matter of checking the household department to establish authority in the court.
Senior Majesty Hu is grateful for His Majesty's trust and reuse, and he secretly resents His Majesty for allowing him to offend the Fan family.
At this moment, the eldest prince who only sent one sentence and then replied silently said coldly before Senior Hu Dashi: "Father, my son is willing to be the one who offends this person."
The emperor chuckled, waved his hands and said, "You...you can't."
"Why?" The eldest prince frowned and said, "If I dare to use my head as a guarantee, I will definitely investigate and deal with it fairly, and will never be biased. Father, please believe in my son's loyalty."
The smile on the emperor's face gradually faded, and he said: "I said, if you can't do it, then you just can't do it. You are the commander of the imperial army, but you go to check the household department. Do you want to set an example of the military interfering in politics!"
The last sentence, the emperor said extremely harshly. The eldest prince was bored, and it was hard to continue to refute anything. Although the emperor always liked his personality of talking one and one, but today, since he was given such a heavy label of military meddling in politics, he had no choice but to retreat back.
Hu Dashi left his seat and asked for orders: "Minister, I hope the commander-in-chief will investigate the matter of the household department."
The emperor nodded, then turned back to look at the prince and said indifferently: "The prince is also going to study with Master Hu. For the investigation, Master Hu will take the lead, and you will be an errand."
"My son obeys the order."
The prince's face was calm, but he couldn't help but be overjoyed in his heart. Although he was just an errand runner in name, who wouldn't be afraid of himself, the prince of the East Palace, when he sat in the yamen of the household department? The so-called commander-in-chief, besides Bachelor Hu, originally had his own share. The prince was a little happy. It seemed that after the Xuankong Temple, his father's indifferent attitude towards him finally changed.
The officials and sons led away, and the imperial study returned to tranquility. The emperor took a sip of tea with a stern expression, got up and left the bed.
Eunuch Yao quickly put on a windbreaker for him, seeing that His Majesty is not in a good mood, Xiaoyi asked: "Your Majesty, go back to the palace to rest?"
"No." The emperor walked out of the imperial study and said, "Go to the small building."
Eunuch Yao was startled, and hurriedly followed, without saying anything, but he felt strange that in recent days, His Majesty has been going down to the small building more and more times.
※※※
Outside the palace gate, several uneasy ministers of the DPRK and China bid farewell, proudly preparing to go back and announce to his party members that His Majesty is going to attack the household department, and worried to return home to think about how to face the future situation of the court , some confused people are still confused, wondering why His Majesty's mind has turned a corner in a day
"Little Hu, go to my house and have a drink or two." Shu Wu didn't shy away from anything, and said directly as he pulled Hu Dashi, who was about to leave first, at the gate of the palace.
Hu Dashi was in the midst of a lawsuit at the moment, where he could eat and drink, he repeatedly begged for forgiveness: "Old Shu, did you see that I have good luck today? How can I even think about making poems to fight against you?"
These two people like literature, and they are the heads of civil servants, and His Majesty does not strictly forbid ministers to communicate with each other in private, so they have a very good friendship. Although there is a big difference in age, they often mix together.
Master Shu made a look, and Master Hu agreed with his heart.
…
…
"The Sacred Heart is unpredictable."
Shu Wu's mansion is also in Nancheng. It is famous for its tranquility, and it is not very spacious. However, at this time, the two drunken people are talking under the pavilion, so there is no need to worry that the spring breeze will blow the taboo topics they talked about outside the wall, and be caught by others. hear.
Shu Wu sighed, and said, "I'm afraid this job will be a little difficult for you, and it's really good for my brother's love and disappointing for my sister-in-law's."
In these words, comparing His Majesty to a brother and the Fan family to a sister-in-law, it is a bit nondescript. Master Hu laughed loudly and said, "What nonsense? Your surname is not Hu, maybe you drank too much?"
"It's not nonsense." Shu Wu said seriously, and said in a low voice: "What do you think you can do? See what your majesty means, you must find out that there is something wrong with the Ministry of Accounts before you are willing to let it go, but if the Ministry of Accounts really goes wrong If there is a problem, what should Fan Shangshu do?"
"The key question now is whether there is any problem with the Ministry of Household Affairs." Hu Dashi said with a sad face, "You have explained to me Mr. Xiao Fan's temperament in detail, and he is three points ruthless in his sobriety. Judging from the bold and arrogant style hidden under the gentleness, in order to stabilize Jiangnan and increase taxes, he mobilized money from the household department to go to Jiangnan... Maybe it is true!"
"I don't care if it's true or not. Anyway, Xue Qing, the governor of the south of the Yangtze River, doesn't say anything for a day, and it's impossible for the court to know the situation there. As for the deficit of the household department..."
Shu Wu sneered and said: "The Ministry of Households is the yamen that manages money. We need money for wars, money for river repairs, money for disaster relief, money for garden repairs, and money for opening springs... Everyone in the world is reaching out to the Ministry of Finance. Debt collection is generally required, plus the prince and officials occasionally borrow some, it is really a mess! Throughout the dynasties, there is no account department that is completely clear about the accounts!"
"The household department is doomed to be impossible to be clean." He continued in a cold voice: "Our Daqing dynasty Fan Shangshu started as a lower-level official in the household department and has been working in the household department all his life. To be fair, he The household department under the administration is already the cleanest and clearest household department since the founding of our dynasty, but that's it, if you really want to pick a thorn in it, how can you not pick it out?"
Master Hu nodded slowly. Unlike his predecessor, Lin Ruofu, and Fan Xian, who is arrogant in the south of the Yangtze River, this Household Minister, Fan Jian, although his hands may be a little dirty, he acts very low-key and simple. In terms of ability, there is no difference, and a good official voice is rare in the Manchu Dynasty.
If such a minister of the household department fell in this political struggle, the two great scholars would feel extremely sorry.
But this time, it was His Majesty who revealed the intention of letting Fan Jian go.
why is that
"Why is that?" Shu Wu frowned his old brows, and directly asked the question that had been haunting the officials of the imperial study for a long time.
Hu Dashi was silent, raised his wrist and poured a glass of strong wine produced in the inner library into his lips, and did not speak for a long time.
Shu Wu stared into his eyes, knowing that the judgment of this colleague who was much younger than him was quite trustworthy in certain aspects.
After being stared at by the other party for a long time, Master Hu sighed, and said slowly: "When no one thought of it, His Majesty moved this idea, it is really..."
He couldn't seem to find any adjectives to describe the Ninth Five-Year Supreme, so he said with a wry smile: "It's really admirable. Your Majesty's investigation of the household department seems to be due to rumors in the officialdom and doubts in his heart, but in fact, this is One move kills three birds with one stone."
"Which three little birds?" Shu Wu's beard was full of wine, and he asked inarticulately.
"The first bird is of course the household department, Fan Shangshu. If the investigation of the household department is effective, Fan Shangshu has no choice but to resign and return to his hometown."
"The second bird is... the official of the eldest princess family who initiated this matter." Hu Dashi said with a wry smile, "Fan Jian resigned after the household affairs incident, how could Fan Xian be willing to let go? Don't worry, Your Majesty is Fan Xian will never be allowed to be implicated in this matter. Fan Xian will still be the commissioner of the Overwatch Council afterwards. In this way, the Overwatch Council will naturally retaliate against the officials of the eldest princess. And at this time, His Majesty will also I will no longer be a mediator under the pressure of the palace, but will watch all this happen, and even act as a gesture to appease Fan Xian, and be forced to dismiss several senior officials."
"The pressure in the palace?" Shu Wu sighed, "Why can His Majesty ignore the pressure in the palace afterwards? Don't continue to be a mediator?"
"The reason is very simple. Your Majesty can blame the resignation of Fan Shangshu and Fan Xian's anger on the officials of the eldest princess. As an emperor, the most important thing is to maintain the balance between the officials in the court. Fan Xian's side Injure the Prime Minister first, then Fan Shangshu, in order to maintain balance, Your Majesty must also cut off a large part of the group of people on the opposite side."
Hu Dashi continued: "This rhetoric, this kind of emperor's heart, is the best way to convince that old man in the palace. Everything... is for the Qing Dynasty, isn't it?"
He smiles, he laughs at himself.
Shu Wu continued to sigh and asked, "What is the third bird?"
Master Hu looked at him with a half-smile: "The third bird, of course, is me and Lao Shu."
Shu Wu was startled, and said, "What kind of argument is this? You have received this order, and all my discussions in the imperial study are for the public. Fan Xian is not a fool, so why would he complain to us? Heart?"
"What you said is exactly what I want to say." Hu Dashi said: "Who made us reveal at the court today that we want to pull Fan Xian into the cabinet? Your Majesty's established policy has been set early, and in the future court situation , you and I are on one side, and Fan Xian's Overwatch Council is on the other side. Since we have other thoughts, His Majesty will naturally break our thoughts. Even if Fan Xian doesn't hate us because of this, how could he not? Do you hate this civil official who submitted letters to impeach Fan Shangshu? Once this happened, Fan Xian would definitely give up the idea of pursuing a serious official career, and there would be no possibility for you and him to sit under the door with him."
"It's just speculation." Shu Wu laughed and said, "Even if the Sacred Heart is unpredictable, don't think so complicated."
Master Hu sighed helplessly: "You say what you want to say, and you make fun of it in the end. These words are enough for the two of us to have our heads chopped off ten times. Don't go around talking about it after drinking."
"Why, I'm also a bachelor." Shu Wu said with a chuckle, "It's just a drink."
Suddenly he was stunned, and asked with a frown: "No, the first bird you mentioned is wrong, you have to explain to me clearly why your Majesty doesn't want Fan Shangshu to continue to manage the household department, why did you force Fan Shangshu to resign himself?" .”
Hu Dashi sighed quietly: "The reason is actually very simple, it is because His Majesty doesn't want to look up at Fan Shangshu's face every day."
The two leaders of the civil servants of the Qing Dynasty fell silent at the same time, sighing in their hearts, they are not worthy of Fan Jian, it seems that creatures like Longzi should not be adopted casually.
※※※
Before the two academicians complained for Fan Jian, Shangshu of the Household Department, they also thought about whether they should quickly inform the Fan House of the imperial court's plan to investigate the Household Department. There is a reason that I don't know, so I lighten this thought.
Indeed, shortly after the meeting in the imperial study room, Fan Jian, who had returned home due to illness, had already received word that His Majesty would formally investigate the Ministry of Household Affairs at the court meeting tomorrow.
But he wasn't too worried, that solemn face had long lost the flamboyant aura of the past, it was just calm and calm.
"It's not killing three birds with one stone, it's killing four birds with one stone." Fan Jian smiled and said to the other side: "As a subject who has been loyal to His Majesty for nearly thirty years, my admiration for His Majesty has never been weakened. It's really... admiration, admiration."
No matter who came before or after, when His Majesty was mentioned, Fan Jian always raised his brows and looked at him in admiration. Today, the two voices of admiration in the study...but they were disrespectful.
"What's the fourth bird?"
Fan Jian stretched out the palm of his right hand, spread it out in front of him, and bent his thumb, as if he had learned a wonderful palm technique from somewhere, and pointed his four fingers to the sky firmly and unyieldingly.
"The fourth bird is the Overwatch Council."
"Your Majesty wants to see if he can still command the terrifying institution of the Overwatch Council as smoothly as he did in the past years, instead of being controlled by Fan Xian as he feared. hands."
"Xian'er's progress is too fast." Fan Jian thought of his son far away in the south of the Yangtze River, and sighed, "If His Majesty can't even command the Overwatch Council, then the power in the hands of my Fan family is too great."
The corners of his brows suddenly raised frivolously, and he said with a smile: "And your majesty also wants to see what the real relationship between Chen Pingping and me is. For so many years, your majesty has always trusted me and the old cripple, and you know that Why, because before Fan Xian came to Beijing, the old cripple and I had always been at odds, what he wanted to do, I resolutely refused to do, and what I wanted to do, he resolutely opposed."
Fan Jian's expression darkened: "Now that I think about it, it should be that Chen Pingping and I are both suspicious of each other, wondering whether the other party played a disgraceful role in that incident many years ago."
"But Xian'er entered Beijing." He continued to explain softly: "The suspicion between Chen Pingping and I has decreased a lot, and naturally, His Majesty's suspicion of us has increased. And the most important thing is that Xian'er Now it is getting more and more glorious, every time Xian'er is more glorious, His Majesty thinks about what happened back then, and the current scene will make me even more displeased."
"Your Majesty is jealous."
"So I'm leaving."
Fan Jian, Minister of the Ministry of household affairs, finally came to a conclusion.
But he immediately sneered with a frivolous expression that is extremely hard to see on his face nowadays: "But...you know me, I have always been silent and good at acting, but deep down, I am a very stubborn person. He wanted me to follow Lin Ruofu's example and ask to resign, so as not to embarrass everyone... But I refused to resign, anyway, the emperor always cares more about face than his officials."