Li Zhi and Wu Mei glanced at the court. One dragon and one phoenix were majestic. The majesty and nobility of the Tang Dynasty royal family were vividly reflected by the two of them.
"It is truly a heinous crime to disregard human life and mint old money privately to seek huge profits. The Wang family of Jinyang has done so harm to the country and the people, and it is entirely their own fault. However, what makes me happy is that in the face of great rights and wrongs, whether they are civil or military officials or meritorious wealthy families, they can stand up to the imperial court For the best interests of the people, especially His Highness the Prince, he joined forces with Di Renjie, Minister of Dali Temple, to find out the case and apprehend the culprit. I would also like to warn other aristocratic families, as the Prince said, not to do anything for their own selfish interests. And in exchange for the glorious achievements of your fathers who donated their blood and lives," Li Zhi said in a deep voice.
As everyone listened to Li Zhi's words, they began to think about it. It seemed that it was imperative that His Highness the Crown Prince be granted the title of Shangshu Ling. Although this position was no longer set up in the past because of the taboo that the late emperor had held it, but Now, if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince holds this important position, I'm afraid no one will make irresponsible remarks or obstruct it, right
"King Cao Li Ming minted old money privately, and he still doesn't know how to reflect on it. He stripped you of your title and demoted you to a commoner. The director Qianjin Gong killed people by his slaves and murdered students from the Imperial Academy and Hongwen Hall. In addition, he was guilty of minting old money privately. He should also be stripped of his title." She was given the title of princess and demoted to a commoner." Li Zhi glanced at King Cao Li Ming, who was trembling and in a daze, having lost the will to resist.
Ever since King Cao Li Ming and Princess Qianjin sent magicians to treat him, and Li Hong exposed those deceptive tricks, Li Zhi began to dislike King Cao Li Ming and Princess Qianjin. Today, he caught Li Hong creating such a good thing for him. If the opportunity is not taken advantage of, he, the emperor, can really just take his place in Li Hong.
Li Hong breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this. He didn't care about Uncle Cao Wang's fate. He only cared about the fate of Princess Qianjin. Now that her father had demoted her to a commoner, what happened to Xue Huaiyi and other officials she recommended, as well as Suo Yuan? The fate of Li can be imagined. At least in the following days, he no longer has to worry about this matter.
All the civil and military officials in the Xuanzheng Palace heard clearly and clearly: His Highness the Crown Prince confiscated the old money of Princess Yiyang and Princess Gao'an. After all, they had not minted old money privately, so they could not be punished. What's more, His Highness the Crown Prince confiscated their forty coins. More than 10,000 yuan was given as punishment.
And now, His Majesty has demoted King Cao Li Ming and Princess Qian Jin to common people and punished them for illegally minting old money.
The two tactics of killing were swung like this. His Majesty and the Crown Prince complemented each other and had a tacit understanding.
The actions of the two men are telling those who hold the old money: The royal family has disposed of it, so what next, whether it is the dignitaries or the meritorious wealthy families, how to dispose of the old money has now become a hot potato. Obviously it is impossible, unless you want to lead your clan into the footsteps of the Jinyang Wang clan, where you will be pushed into the mud by the royal family and never be able to wash away the filth on your body.
Both Li Zhi and Li Hong realized that after today's huge court meeting, the civil and military officials have become much more obedient than before. As for the reason, it must be that some people also hold old money in their hands.
Everyone was beaten by the emperor and the prince in the court hall. At this moment, they no longer dared to scream in front of Li Zhi like before.
With uneasy thoughts, everyone was either thinking about how to exchange the old money in the future, or like those honest and honest officials, they began to think about whether it was time for His Majesty to grant His Royal Highness the title of Shangshu Ling!
Sure enough, after a moment of silence in the court, Li Zhi's voice sounded solemnly: "The principles of the dynasty and the laws and regulations have continued the Tang Dynasty's century-old foundation and created the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. From the time when the late emperor was appointed minister to the successor to the throne, Since then, the minister of the province of Shangshu has held this position, and because it is taboo that the late emperor once held this position, he has put aside his position and no one else can take it. However, today the crown prince Li Hongping has conquered Tubo and Tuyuhun, frightened Tocharo, Baiyi Dashi and other countries. To prevent him from spying on our territory in the Tang Dynasty, this achievement is comparable to that of the late emperor... Today, I appoint Prince Li Hong as the Minister of the Ministry of Finance, the Chief Protector of the Anxi Province, and the Governor of the Jingzhao Prefecture. He will be the Minister of the Ministry of Households. For this position, the Shangshu Provincial Ministerial Order selects talented people to serve as the Minister of Household Affairs."
Before Li Zhi's lingering voice echoed in the court, there were sounds of cold air coming from the Xuanzheng Hall!
The expressions on the faces of the four surnames and six families, the distinguished families, and the royal relatives were mixed. Everyone knew that once His Royal Highness the Crown Prince became the Minister of the Province, it meant that everything in the Tang Dynasty was in charge, and he had the right to intervene in everything.
As expected, the post of Shangshu Ling was taken over by His Highness the Crown Prince. Such words popped up in the minds of civil servants and military generals involuntarily. Although they knew that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would be appointed Minister sooner or later after returning from the Anxi expedition, everyone was still involuntarily shocked when they heard the appointment from His Majesty.
How much power does the Shangshu Ling of the Shangshu Province have? This is clear to everyone present!
If we talk about rank alone, naturally it cannot be compared with His Highness the Crown Prince who has a super rank. After all, in the entire Tang Dynasty, there are only four people who have no rank: the emperor, the queen, the prince, and the princess. They do not need to be included in the rank, and they are also regarded by people. Consider it a super existence!
But when it comes to real power, the power of the East Palace is incomparable to that of the Shangshu Province. The East Palace seems like a small court, and every institution is the same as the imperial palace, but it only exists to train the prince. There are basically no rights that can be truly exercised.
Except for the period when the prince was supervising the country, the officials of the East Palace had the opportunity to be led by the three provinces to show their political talents. The rest of the time, they were just studying with the prince, more like a symbolic existence.
But now that His Highness the Crown Prince is serving as the Minister of Provincial Affairs, it means that His Highness the Crown Prince now has real power and is in charge of all affairs of the country. Only the emperor has greater power than him.
The rank of the second-rank official is two levels higher than that of the third-rank Zhongshu Sheng Zhongshu Ling and Menxia Sheng Shizhong. Naturally, he is one rank higher than his two subordinates, the second-rank servants of the Shangshu Province. , in the true sense of rights, one person is inferior to ten thousand people!
There can be a higher rank than Shangshu Ling: from the first rank to the first rank, they are nothing more than Taishi, Taifu, Taiwei, Situ, Sikong, Prince, and Princess. However, these people are all nominal grades, which is completely impossible. Those who participate in government affairs have only reputations and do not have any real actual power.
If there is a higher rank than Shangshu Ling, and one with real and actual rights, then it is the position of "General Tiance" of the first rank, and this position was also held by the late Emperor Taizong Li Shimin. It has been vacant since then and has never been given to anyone.
From His Majesty's calm and indifferent smile, many officials and noble families, including the royal family, couldn't help but think in their minds: "I'm afraid that sooner or later, His Majesty will award the post of General Tiance to the Crown Prince! "
After Li Hong heard his father's decree from the Jin Dynasty, he had already known that this day would come, and his father had told him personally in his mother's palace a few days ago.
But when he heard his father's announcement in the hall of Xuanzheng Palace, Li Hong couldn't help but felt dazed and excited.
"This is Shangshuling. It was a position that was not held by even my father. It was held by the emperor who was later to become the first emperor of the ages. It has not been held for a long time. Now he is truly crowned by himself. I'm here! If I hold this position, can I really be as wise and powerful as Grandpa Huang? Can I really lead the Tang Dynasty to greater glory?"
Li Hong looked at Li Zhi and Wu Mei with his mouth wide open in a daze, his mind went blank at the moment. He only woke up when he suddenly felt the black lines on Wu Mei's forehead. He had not yet taken the order.
"My son, I accept the order. I will definitely live up to the expectations of my father, my colleagues in the court, and the people of the world. I, my son, are willing to devote myself to the Tang Dynasty and die." Li Hong bowed and said.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who only turned twenty years old after the first day of this year, has accomplished great deeds at a young age and has accomplished something that His Majesty could not have done. It is extremely rare to hold the post of Minister, which was no longer established after the late emperor took over!
After the loud and clear voice of the ceremony official rang out the words "dismissal" in the court hall, Li Zhi and Wu Mei left with smiles and headed for the harem. It was not appropriate for them to stay here now. They had to make Li Hong happy no matter what happened today.
As the new Minister of the Province, I am afraid that Li Hong will have to be busy for a while as the ministers above the court congratulate him. There will also be nobles, relatives of the emperor and others who will also congratulate him.
"I... I am lowering my official rank..."
After the emperor and empress left, Pei Yan, who was the first to congratulate Li Hong, was stuck.
Just now, I was only focused on being shocked and thinking about the problem. Now I am the first one to congratulate His Royal Highness, but I have forgotten to think about how to call myself!
Call me a minister. Your Majesty has just appointed His Royal Highness as the Minister of the Province of Shangshu.
Call me a lower official. Your Highness the Crown Prince has an identity that cannot be ignored. Does it mean that you, Pei Yan, only recognize the Minister's Order and not His Highness the Crown Prince
Di Renjie chuckled, walked up to him, patted Pei Yan on the shoulder, and said easily: "Master Pei, we are in the court, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has now been granted the title of Minister of the Province, making him the head of the hundred officials. How do we call ourselves ourselves? It is decided based on the cause of the matter. If it is a political matter in the court, you should naturally call yourself a subordinate. If it is not related to the political affairs of the Shangshu Province and the Six Ministries, which are in charge of His Royal Highness, we should call you a minister. How about that?"
"What Huaiying said is absolutely true. Your Highness, I was not thinking carefully just now. I hope you will atone for your sins." Pei Yan saw Di Renjie's relaxed and carefree expression, and immediately relaxed, and said with a smile.
(End of chapter)