Di Renjie, the minister of Dali Temple, Li Qiao, the official of Yushitai, Yao Chong, the minister of the Ministry of official affairs, and Wang Xiaojie, the minister of the Ministry of punishment, were sitting together in a painting boat on the Luoyang River. At this moment, they were sitting together with serious expressions.
Apart from the four of them, there was not even a single servant in the whole room. The four of them each occupied one side of the Eight Immortals table. Their hands were either stroking the edge of the steaming tea cup, or gently touching it on the table. The atmosphere in the room seemed particularly heavy at this moment, giving people a feeling of anxiety and depression.
From time to time, Di Renjie either glanced at Li Qiao, or Yao Chong glanced at Wang Xiaojie, the Secretary of the Ministry of Justice. The four of them looked at each other, but in the solemn atmosphere, no one was willing to speak first.
They had already known what happened in Luoyang City during the day today. Even when they first learned of the news, the first subconscious reaction of the four of them was to immediately send someone to persuade him, hoping to be able to solve the problem before His Majesty arrived in Luoyang. Let these people disperse. Don't act so rashly, lest you make His Majesty Long Yan furious, and eventually the situation will become uncontrollable and lead to a lose-lose situation for both parties.
And just when they heard the news and were about to send someone to persuade them, or were planning to go there to persuade them in person, they received an order from the palace. There was only one sentence: "My lords, please rest in your mansion for a while. If it is true, For the sake of the stability of the court, you might as well think about how to deal with this matter."
Everyone received the same order. The moment they received the order, everyone completely understood that this was a real decisive battle between His Majesty and the five surnames and seven nobles. This battle The war will depend on who will give in first, between forcing the palace and reforming.
But having said that, in this silent war, as long as either side wins, the benefits will be unimaginable. After all, this war will affect the foundation of the country and the major powerful families. A matter of benefit for a century.
Therefore, they were not surprised at all that the wealthy nobles headed by Qi Wang, the fifth surname, would use all the connections that the entire Tang Dynasty could muster, and would risk their lives to admonish His Majesty.
"Are these data accurate?" Li Qiao, the doctor at Yushitai, looked at the thrilling numbers on the note and felt a chill running down his back.
"The governor of Luoyang just handed the memorial to His Majesty and hurriedly came out of the palace and gave me such a list. There must be no mistake. So many officials were involved, obviously because they thought that in our Tang Dynasty, Now your Majesty will definitely not enforce the law and punish the public. After all, it involves five hundred people in the officialdom of the Tang Dynasty. If your Majesty wants to stabilize the officialdom of the court and prevent local government affairs from stagnating, naturally you cannot give arbitrarily. These officials who risked their lives to remonstrate were punished. But... have they ever thought about His Majesty's face when so many people gathered here to remonstrate with him? Are they trying to force His Majesty to submit, or are they trying to express to His Majesty that they would rather die than die? What a determination." Di Renjie shook his head and said, then he picked up the tea cup and wanted to take a sip. However, because of the seriousness of this matter, he picked up the cup and took a look at the green tea, and sighed in a loss of mood. Then he put it down.
Seeing Di Renjie's actions, Wang Xiaojie, the Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, still kept his mouth shut and said nothing, while his eyes were focused on Yao Chong, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
This incident is not something that can be solved by just one official department in collaboration with His Majesty. In view of the fact that the number of officials involved in the court has exceeded their imagination, and those who have the title of meritorious service in the Tang Dynasty, I am afraid that this time This is the most dangerous thing that Your Majesty has encountered since he ascended the throne than the famine of the previous two years. If it is not handled well, it may put the entire court or the Tang Dynasty in a state of eternal disaster.
Yao Chong, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, looked at the three pairs of eyes that were all fixed on him. He also sighed before opening his mouth, and then said unhurriedly: "The noble and wealthy family headed by the five surnames and Qi Wang went too far in this incident. How can His Majesty not be angry when he is forced to marry you like this? Those of you sitting here must have some understanding of His Majesty's temperament. Evaluation, but it is because of this that from the time when His Majesty was established as the Crown Prince to the time when he became the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, he has put all his thoughts on the well-being of the people in the world and has never had any bad habits! Although the East Palace could not be said to be frugal in those days, His Majesty never did anything unworthy of great virtue from the time he took charge of the Ministry of Household Affairs until he succeeded Emperor Taizong as the powerful and heroic Minister of the Secretariat. During the years when he was in charge of the country, Your Majesty always exercised strict self-discipline and never indulged in extravagance or debauchery. Please don’t forget that when it comes to the richest person in the world, except for Your Majesty, there is probably no one in the world who can compare with him. Right? I’m afraid that the Tang Dynasty’s treasury doesn’t have as much money as Taiyi City, right? But your Majesty spent all this money on yourself? During the famine in the past two years, Your Majesty did not hesitate to ask Miss Bai to pay for it from the wealthy families in those places. After buying high-priced grains, even though there is not much money in the national treasury, His Majesty has put all the money into the Tang Dynasty, and has not wasted a penny extravagantly. And... the most important thing is that Your Majesty has spent all these years. Whether it was during the period when he was the crown prince or the superintendent of the country, or in any of his decisions after he ascended the throne, have there ever been any major deviations? The contribution that the noble family headed by Wang has made to our country is simply incomparable to His Majesty... I think such comparison is an insult to Your Majesty. They have now gathered nearly three thousand people to risk their lives to remonstrate. , whether it is for the stability of the Tang Dynasty or for the interests of their own families, I believe everyone knows it well... "
"What Master Di, Master Li and I mean is that at this critical moment, how can we, the ministers, help His Majesty overcome the current difficulties and the possible misjudgment of His Majesty by the people of the world. Your Majesty has always been wise, All the ministers above the court know this, but not all common people in the world are above the court and can understand His Majesty's wise achievements like we do. Moreover, His Majesty and the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes are not willing to deal with these noble and wealthy families. What we need to consider now is how to prevent these people from taking the opportunity to throw dirty water on His Majesty and stain His Majesty's wisdom..." Wang Xiaojie, as the Minister of Punishment, interrupted Yao Chong's unhurried flattery to Li Hong. After the words, he said with some dissatisfaction.
On the other hand, Yao Chong was not angry. He still picked up the tea cup and took a sip. He listened quietly to Wang Xiaojie's words. It wasn't until the three of them turned their attention to him again that they continued to say slowly: "Master, I'm worried." In the past few years, I, Lord Di, and Lord Wang have all followed His Majesty on expeditions east and west, and they all understand His Majesty's temperament. Now I just want to say that Your Majesty has always behaved. He is wise and decisive, and has never made any mistakes in decision-making. Therefore, since we, the ministers, want to relieve His Majesty's worries, we must have no doubt that Your Majesty will support His Majesty in any decision-making, not now..."
Yao Chong paused slightly when he said this. Seeing the calm expressions on the faces of the three people, without any signs of dissatisfaction, he continued: "As ministers, we must not doubt His Majesty's decision-making at all. On this basis, , Your Majesty all received your Majesty’s oral instructions as soon as the incident occurred. It is obvious that this time your Majesty has completely had a showdown with the wealthy nobles headed by Qi Wang, even if it is in the officialdom of the Tang Dynasty. There are more than five hundred officials from top to bottom. Your Majesty must resolutely eliminate the source of the officials headed by Qi Wang who recommend others to become officials. Therefore, I think that what we, as ministers, can do now is... "
Yao Chong's eyes began to sparkle, with a hint of sneer at the corner of his mouth, and his tone became more and more sharp as he continued: "Everyone is the right-hand man that His Majesty relies on in the court. At this moment, I will choose to speak and plead for the noble family headed by Wu Xingqi Wang, so I will not hide my next plan from you... "
"Oh? Lord Yao, please tell me directly, so that we can also refer to it, so that we can solve your majesty's worries at this critical moment and fulfill our responsibilities as a minister." Li Qiao's eyelids twitched and he grabbed the hand of the tea cup. He asked Yao Chong, who looked a bit enigmatic and had a sharp and tough expression.
Yao Chong smiled confidently, looked at the three of them and said: "I am the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. All I can do for Your Majesty at this time is... Check the evaluation data of the Ministry of Personnel in previous years and look for it. Today, more than 500 people are Officials, did they plan for their own affairs when they were in office, and did they fulfill their responsibilities when they were in office? In this way, if I can find some people who only eat royal salaries and eat vegetarian meals, wouldn't it be possible for Your Majesty to do this? When deciding to deal with these people, will His Majesty be less likely to be slandered by others? "
At the end of the sentence, Yao Chong's face flashed with a smile of successful conspiracy. In the eyes of the three of them, his whole face looked like the face of a cunning and treacherous old fox.
Di Renjie was the first to react. He licked his beard and looked at Yao Chong's proud smile and started laughing. Before Yao Chong said his plan just now, Di Renjie had already thought about this in his mind, just because he didn't want to. The Ministry of Officials' understanding of these officials is naturally relatively poor compared to Yao Chong's, so when making decisions in this area, there must be a trace of ideological hesitation.
Now that I saw that Yao Chong, who was the head of the six ministers, was the first to make such a suggestion, my heart suddenly became enlightened and relaxed.
(End of chapter)