The opinions are unified here, and the next step is the showdown in Wenyuan Pavilion.
Qi Yongtai knew that his health could no longer delay, so he could only work hard to get the matter done. He summoned Li Sancai and Tang Binyin, and informed him of his plans to take office and adjust the number of ministers in the cabinet.
Not surprisingly, this was firmly opposed by Li Sansan and Tang Binyin.
"Chengfeng, you are in poor health and want to become an official. That is your wish and we respect it. However, this cabinet has not yet expired. I don't think the guests and I need to cooperate with you..." Li Sancai's face was gloomy. There was a bit of anger mixed in, "The position of cabinet minister is not given privately. It is given by the emperor to educate the people and govern the local area. It cannot be taken away by any individual at will. I do not agree with your opinion."
Li Sancai's attitude was firm and his banner was clear. Tang Binyin was even more furious: "Qi Yongtai, do you think that just because you are the chief assistant, you can decide the fate of others? I, Tang Binyin, am not a seventh-grade Sesame Officer. I am also a bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion. , this is not something that you, the chief minister, can deprive you of, Daofu and I have the same attitude, we will never serve without discussion on this matter!"
At this time, Qi Yongtai was calm and graceful, "Well, Tao Fu, distinguished guests, I know you must have opinions and different opinions on this, but it doesn't matter. As a leader of scholars, I don't think we should indulge in it. Confined to the illusory complacency brought by the position of power, I am here to inform you two that this vote was drafted by the cabinet and was unanimously signed by important ministers in Beijing. I don’t want to say anything about what this means. It’s true, so I think we all don’t need to tear our faces apart and make things so embarrassing, it’s more appropriate to maintain a bit of popularity.”
Reacted by Qi Yongtai's casual words, Li Sancai and Tang Binyin both turned red and were helpless for a moment.
The important ministers in the capital are the ministers of the Seven Ministries in the middle of the capital, the deputy imperial envoys of the Ducha Yuan and above, as well as officials of the third rank and above of the five temples and general affairs ministers. This number is not small, close to thirty people, which basically covers the top scholars of the entire Great Zhou Dynasty. , scholars from Beidi, Jiangnan, Huguang, Southwest, and Lingnan all have it. If they all signed it, it would be really shocking.
However, Li Sancai is not a good person: "Chengfeng, using this method of arranging tasks from top to bottom to show off is a bit too underhanded, isn't it? You are the chief minister, and you want to promote such a alliance by naming names like this. Department, who dares to offend your reputation? Also, I don’t understand what you are thinking about recommending Feng Keng to the cabinet. Even if a young man under thirty years old has done something, he can override the court. Above the middle and important ministers, you are in charge of the cabinet? Chengfeng, are you not afraid that these important ministers will poke you in the back? After you retire from office, are you not afraid of the local gentry criticizing you for being too selfish and ignoring the overall situation? Chengfeng, Stop it. As an old friend, I don’t want to see your decades-long reputation ruined in one day. Your behavior may be able to use your power to suppress people from speaking out for a while, but once you come down, you will definitely encounter public opinion. The backlash!"
Li Sancai said these words righteously and sternly. He didn't seem to mind at all that he was about to be pulled down. Instead, he was thinking about Qi Yongtai's reputation.
However, no matter how nice the words are, they are nothing more than child's play to everyone here. No one will change their wishes because of the other person's words or attitude. This can only end on bad terms.
"Daofu, distinguished guests, I accept your wishes. Since I am the chief assistant, I naturally have to shoulder my own responsibilities. If everyone agrees, I will continue to do it without hesitation. If you don't agree, it won't matter if you don't sign. Relations, I will submit this bill to the emperor and then issue it..."
Li Sancai and Tang Binyin stood up with a cold snort and walked away. Before leaving, Li Sancai couldn't help turning his head and said: "Chengfeng, if you insist on going your own way and don't give up until you reach the Yellow River, you will definitely be condemned by the world's scholars. It does nothing to improve your reputation!"
Everyone had expected Li Sancai and Tang Binyin's refusal to cooperate. They had not been expected to admit defeat calmly. If they had honestly signed on to cooperate, Qi Yongtai and the others would have been surprised.
After Li Sancai and Tang Binyin left, Qi Yongtai said a little tiredly: "I guess they hope that the emperor will refuse to approve the seal. In addition, we have to guard against Xiao Ruxun and Ma Chengxun..."
Gu Bingqian was a little nervous, "That's it for Xiao Ruxun, Ma Chengxun, right? Didn't Zhisheng say that Ma Chengxun had just approached the Ministry of War in the early stage, hoping that the uniform change and food and salary guarantee for the fifth military camp would be further strengthened, and the Ministry of War also agreed?"
Guan Yingzhen shook his head: "Xiao Ruxun was promoted by Tao Fu. Without Tao Fu's support, he would not be able to serve as the deputy envoy of Jiedu. Ma Chengxun is a soldier, and the fifth military camp is also the strongest army in Beijing. , Shenshu Camp and Shenji Camp are not as good as the Fifth Army Camp, but Ma Chengxun’s attitude has always been a bit immodest. It stands to reason that he is closer to Fei Bai and will not get involved in these things..."
Huang Ruliang shook his head: "Probably not. Ma Chengxun is a smart man. He should be able to see who controls the situation in the DPRK. He is unlikely to take such a risk. Although the fifth military camp is the strongest, Shenshu Camp, Shenshu Camp, Tu Wenxiu and Ma Jinbao of Jiying are both northwest generals who were promoted when Ziying was there. They can at least restrict the fifth military camp. In addition, the Shangsanqinjun also firmly controls the imperial palace, and Xia Bingzhong is also our recruit. , if Daofu and the guests want to do anything, it will be difficult to bypass..."
"Lu Song is still hesitant. He probably hasn't made up his mind. As long as the emperor continues to reuse Gu Cheng, it's impossible for Lu Song to fall to that side. So his current attitude of being both the head and the rat will not last long after this. Guan, his position should be changed." Qi Yongtai glanced at Gu Bingqian, "Liu Ji, the commander of Long Jinwei must be chosen well, he must be one of ours..."
Gu Bingqian nodded, "I understand that Lu Song must be replaced, and not only the commander, but also the commander, including the Qianhu below, must also have our people."
Everyone agreed with Gu Bingqian's words, but it was difficult to express his position clearly. After all, as a civil servant, he still had to use people like hawks and dogs to control the government. It was a bit embarrassing to say it, but who let an incompatible emperor be on top? Where is my son?
If the Emperor does not take the Dragon Guard into his own hands, the emperor may use the Dragon Guard's power to attack his own side at any time.
****
As soon as Li Sancai left Wenyuan Pavilion, he went straight to a secret house in Yongfang when he was young.
Tang Binyin followed closely.
Now that they have broken up with each other, Li Sancai has nothing to be taboo about.
He roughly knew Qi Yongtai's plan, but Xia Bingzhong was Qi Yongtai's man, and the eunuch who held the seal was from the cabinet. It was no wonder that the emperor was restless and had trouble sleeping.
He was also a little worried, but the emperor assured him that he had already made arrangements, so Li Sancai had no choice but to grit his teeth and believe it.
Qi Yongtai will soon submit this letter to the palace, and it will be Emperor Wan Tong's turn to make a decision.
According to the design, Emperor Wan Tong should have directly vetoed the proposal, and directly approved the vote, appointing himself as the Grand Bachelor of Jianji Palace as the first assistant, Guan Yingzhen as the second assistant, Huang Ruliang and Tang Binyin both. No change, and Zhang Jingqiu will be added to the cabinet.
In this way, I will be the chief assistant, and the two cabinet ministers Tang Binyin and Zhang Jingqiu will be the assistant left.
Guan Yingzhen is the leader of the Huguang scholars, and the conditions offered by Qi Yongtai for being given a secondary assistant are no different from those offered by Qi Yongtai. If the emperor issued an imperial decree, the conflict between Guan Yingzhen and the Huguang scholars would not be so great. After weighing the balance, It should also be acceptable.
I'm afraid it's hard to accept that Qiao Yingjia and Huang Ruliang, as well as the Shanxi scholar group represented by Qiao Yingjia, are themselves Shaanxi scholars after all, and have a decent relationship with Sun Chengzong. People like Cui Jingrong and Wang Yongguang also get along peacefully in Suli, even though they oppose this time Himself, but the emotion should not be too strong.
After all, he can be regarded as a leading figure among the scholars in the North. In any case, Qi Yongtai has set himself as the target of attack. It will definitely be difficult for him to gain the recognition of all the scholars in the North. Moreover, his move to promote Feng Ziying can make everyone Convinced? Thinking about it, I know it’s impossible.
Would people like Han Jing, Sun Juxiang, Sun Chengzong, Cui Jingrong and Wang Yongguang have no emotions at all? I can just give them such an opportunity to vent. Even if they remain silent or have an ambiguous attitude, it will be of great benefit to me in governing in the future.
If I can be more humble in my attitude in the future, or even offer some conditions, I might be able to win over a few people.
Once Qi Yongtai retreats, regardless of whether he dies or not, his influence will decline rapidly. His prestige and ability are still higher than Gu Bingqian's. Li Sancai is still somewhat confident about this. He is confident in controlling the future situation.
The key now is to quickly use the emperor to veto Qi Yongtai's cabinet proposal, and directly issue an imperial decree to form a new cabinet. This is a decree without the consent of the current cabinet or the chief minister. It depends on whether other people agree or not, and more The most likely possibility is that Qi Yongtai and the others will directly refuse to recognize this imperial edict, block the palace, or even undergo a palace coup. At this time, it will be a competition to control the military power in the capital, and in the end it will be decided by the military men stationed in the army. Victory or defeat, this will definitely increase the power of warriors in the future, and even make them uncontrollable.
After all, he was also a civil servant, and he firmly supported the national policy of using civility to control military power. However, in order to retain the power in his hands, he had to take this step. Li Sancai still felt a little sad.
He can imagine all the changes he may face after taking over the government.
As soon as the door of the secret house opened, Li Sancai and Tang Bin Yinji walked in. Several Long Jinwei men had already begun to set up defense at the entrance of the alley, and were responsible for solving possible stalkings for the two.
