In March of the first year of Zhiping, the emperor fell ill and was absent from court for several days.
Now that Empress Dowager Cao has not yet returned to power, there was a great discord between the Emperor and Empress Dowager Cao, which is already known to both the government and the public.
The emperor once said in front of Han Qi and other ministers that the queen mother was unkind to me.
These words surprised Han Qi and other ministers. On the day of ascending the throne, everyone could see clearly that although Empress Dowager Cao was somewhat reluctant at the time, she finally nodded and you became the emperor.
But now that the emperor is saying that the Queen Mother is ungrateful in front of so many people, aren't you being arrogant?
However, Han Qi knew the emperor's heartache. There was a maid named Han Chong'er in the palace who was pregnant. The Queen Mother and Ren Shouzhong had been hiding her in the palace to blackmail the emperor.
The emperor was almost driven crazy because of this, and he talked nonsense all day long in the palace. Empress Dowager Cao secretly sent Ren Shouzhong to copy down all the emperor's words and deeds, and finally showed them to Han Qi, with the intention of deposing the emperor.
Unexpectedly, Han Qi burned all the things Empress Dowager Cao gave him after reading it. This move is comparable to Li Hang's burning of Song Zhenzong's edict.
Empress Dowager Cao knew that without Han Qi's support, the emperor could not be deposed, so she gave up.
In July and August, everyone thought Han Chong'er was going to give birth, but it turned out to be false. She was not pregnant at all. .
Others asked Han Chong'er why he lied to others?
Han Chong'er said that she was just greedy for food and clothing, so Empress Dowager Cao did not kill her. In the end, she beat Han Chong'er twenty times and made her become a monk.
However, after Han Chong'er's incident, the emperor recovered from his illness, and the relationship with Empress Dowager Cao also eased.
However, Han Qi was still worried and often found various reasons to see the emperor alone.
When others asked him why he was so cautious, Han Qi said: "I follow Lu Wenjing's example!"
Everyone was stunned.
Because the Empress Dowager Cao still listens to politics behind a curtain, she and the emperor live in the east and the other in the west, both with curtains hanging down. The emperor usually keeps silent and the empress dowager handles military and state affairs, so the ministers cannot see the emperor's true face before court.
So Han Qi was worried.
The same was true when the Empress Dowager Zhang Xian came to court. Once there was a fire in the palace, and all the ministers rushed out to ask how the Empress Dowager and the Emperor were doing.
At that time, knowing that Emperor Renzong and the Queen Mother were safe and sound, all the ministers bowed down, except Prime Minister Lu Yijian.
The chamberlain asked him why he didn't worship? Lu Yijian said that I would like to see the emperor before paying my respects.
So Empress Dowager Zhang Xian opened the curtains, and Lu Yijian bowed down after seeing Emperor Renzong with her own eyes. All the officials praised Lu Yijian for being calm and not surprised by changes. After the emperor ascended the throne, and the palace commander Li Zhang entered the palace, he also insisted on seeing the emperor's true face before bowing down. This was also Lu Yijian's old wisdom.
When the Empress Dowager Cao came to the court, Han Qi repeatedly insisted on meeting the emperor alone, so he was very prudent. Even the Empress Dowager Cao had no power to stop him, and he did not dare to bear the charge of isolating the officials and the Prime Minister.
With Han Qi protecting her like this, all the officials knew that the power of Empress Dowager Cao was not as powerful as that of Empress Dowager Zhang Xian. Listening to politics behind the curtain was not a long-term solution, and officials would sooner or later take charge.
Now it just depends on when Queen Mother Cao will return to power.
Now that Han Qi proposed compiling Renzong's true records, he met the emperor about this matter. Of course, just talking about official matters seemed unreasonable. Han Qi knew that officials loved literature, and would discuss articles with them every day when they met.
It happened that the Anguo Temple Pagoda was built by Han Qi due to the emperor's grace, so Han Qi submitted the article written by Zhang Yue to him.
Sure enough, when the emperor saw it, he saw that it was Long Yan Dayue.
"What a good one. The poem goes, 'There is a noble gentleman, who is like gold and tin, like a gui and a jade.' Where the gold, tin, and gui are, the tiles, stones, grass, and water are illuminated by them."
In the Nuan Pavilion, when the emperor finished reading Zhang Yue's "The Pagoda of Anguo Temple", he praised Han Qi, "What a great story about the Pagoda of Anguo Temple, and a good chapter. I heard that as soon as this article was published, scholars in Bianjing There’s a rush to see it first,”
Han Qi smiled without saying anything.
The emperor continued: "I have read articles over the years and thought that the previous dynasties recommended Fan Gong and Ou Gong for their writings, Cai Gong for their writings, and Zhang Duzhi and Su Zizhan for their talents in this dynasty. Both of them were talented people. It’s rare. I really want to reuse these two people.”
"Especially this chapter, Du Zhi, has the merit of making decisions with the court. When I was secretly aware of it, he made a plan to lead the prisoner. I thought it was a scholar's work on paper, but later it turns out that I really underestimated it. Got him."
Han Qi said: "At first, there were many people in the DPRK and China who didn't take it seriously. Some people thought it was a move to make money and compete with the people. But this time there was a flood in Hebei, and the court had no money to appease the victims, so Jiao Yinjian was released. Fifty thousand guan was sent to Hebei in the name of the imperial court to provide disaster relief for the imperial court! Now the people in Hebei are grateful for the imperial court's kindness."
The emperor smiled and said: "This matter was indeed done beautifully. I remember that it was done by a small official named Cai Jing? I heard that this person is a capable person. The Duke of the country might as well reward him and give him an official position so that he can serve the court more attentively." "
Han Qi was stunned for a moment, and then said: "Yes, Your Majesty. I will draft it when I get back."
The Emperor added: "I heard that during the Shangyuan Lantern Festival, the Daxiangguo Temple put out lanterns. Among them, the lanterns for inducing prisoners were the largest and the most dazzling. I must have spent a lot of money!"
Han Qi said: "I haven't heard of this."
The emperor smiled and said: "I'm just asking casually, sir, don't worry about it."
Han Qi already knew something after hearing this, and said directly to the chamberlain accompanying the palace: "You guys stay away."
The chamberlains could not hear what Han Qi was talking to the emperor, but after hearing what the prime minister said, they all left the palace. The emperor said nothing when he saw this scene.
Han Qi asked the emperor directly: "Your Majesty, who told you this?"
The emperor was silent for a moment, and then said: "Ren Shouzhong said it."
Due to the previous conflict between the Emperor and Empress Dowager Cao, Han Qi and others believed that Ren Shouzhong was in the middle giving eye drops to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor to sow discord between them.
Because everyone knows that before Ren Shouzhong's throne is determined, he is not supporting today's emperor.
Therefore, when Han Qi found out about this, he discussed it with Fu Bi, and Fu Bi simply proposed that Zhang Maoze should return to the court to replace Ren Shouzhong.
Zhang Maoze was the errand boy between Empress Dowager Cao and Fu Bi when Emperor Renzong was seriously ill. Empress Dowager Cao intended to let Zhao Zongshi take the throne at that time, but the matter was leaked and made known to Emperor Renzong.
This incident made Emperor Renzong furious. Before I die, you are already discussing a new emperor.
In the end, Zhang Maoze took the blame for Empress Dowager Cao and Zhao Zongshi and was demoted from the palace. Now in order to ease the relationship between the official family and Empress Dowager Cao, Fu Bi proposed that Zhang Maoze return to the court. This matter was discussed by Han Qi and Empress Dowager Cao. , unanimously agreed by the three emperors.
After Zhang Maoze took up the post of chamberlain, Ren Shouzhong knew that the situation was over.
But Ren Shouzhong was a very powerful person. After knowing that he had lost power, he immediately turned to cater to the queen. Ren Shouzhong took out all the gold and silver he had collected for many years to pay tribute to the queen.
After getting money from the queen, she would blow the emperor's pillow.
Although the emperor hated Ren Shouzhong very much, he was the one who spied on him in the beginning and arranged for Han Chong'er to be the palace maid. When he was the prince, he was deliberately mean in discussing matters. After he ascended the throne, he continued to alienate the relationship between him and the Queen Mother Cao.
But the emperor was very strict about his wife, and he always obeyed Queen Xiang's advice, so he met Ren Shouzhong.
But Ren Shouzhong was good at catering, and the emperor thought that he also lacked a confidant. So Ren Shouzhong became more powerful in the court again.
Han Qi had long heard the elegant meaning of Xian Ge, and now the emperor suddenly asked him to be imprisoned and praised Zhang Yue many times. It must not be without reason. It must be something Ren Shouzhong said.
So Han Qi said directly: "Ren Shou Zhongzhi is a villain and cannot be used! Your Majesty, please give me a clear warning!"
