Yang Zhen, Cui Junyong, Ji Guoliang, Han Wei and Hou Xie had been sitting in the hall for half an hour, feeling anxious. Although he was specially congratulated on victory and victory, he was not at ease in his heart.
How can I say this? Yang He and his son occupied Dongxiang for a long time, which made Fuzhou and Nanchang uneasy.
Linchuan and Hongdu counties were cut off from tax revenue, and the officers and soldiers huddled in the city shivering. Officials reported with a gloomy look all day long that "the thieves are so powerful that they cannot be controlled."
But Zhao Chongbi actually took action and won the battle, and in the blink of an eye, he had regained the fifth county seat that he had lost! Two thousand officers and soldiers plus two thousand regiments seemed to be in a deserted place, and it was dazzling to see.
Yang Zhen really didn't know whether to congratulate the emperor or lament that his official career had come to an end. His mood was complicated and contradictory, and he couldn't help but secretly look up at Ji Guoliang opposite him.
"This man is so proud now, huh! He must be waiting for me to step down so that he can naturally take over as the first assistant!" Yang Zhen was secretly annoyed.
Ji Guoliang's face was so excited that his face shone brightly. After Yu Qian's victory, he recovered five cities in a row. This couldn't help but make him, the Minister of War, happy. This was the most important moment for the Ministry of War to show its face!
At this moment, he was twirling his white beard in his hand, looking at the ceiling somewhere and wondering what he was thinking. It seemed that his mind was not on Yang Zhen at all.
"My lords, I've been waiting for a long time." Eunuch Liu suddenly came out from the aisle behind the throne. His appearance made several veterans stand up. The emperor is here.
"My dear friends, I've been waiting for a long time. I was in a hurry to write a letter to a minister, so I'm sorry for the delay!" Zhao Tuo always spoke politely to the elders of the cabinet.
"I dare not bother Your Majesty to apologize. Your Majesty has many things to do every day, so I should wait a little." After Yang Zhen and others had finished saluting, he took the lead and said.
"Respecting the elders is the right thing to do." After Zhao Tuo finished speaking, he motioned for everyone to sit back in their respective seats: "Dear ladies, why are you here...?"
"Oh, I'm here to report the victory to Your Majesty. Thanks to Your Majesty's great blessing, I received the victory message from Jiangxi today. First, I told you about the recovery of Jinxian, Dongxiang, and Yujiang. Later, a messenger reported that Jinxi had also trained Yang Envoy for Li Dan's Anren Regiment. Yi conquered.
The enemy defenders were caught off guard and were attacked in the dark night, beheading more than 400 people and taking 400 prisoners. Since then, Yang He has been surrounded from the front and back, his path has been cut off, and his destruction is not far away! I congratulate Your Majesty on this victory...! "The other four cabinet members also stood up to congratulate him.
"I am also very happy and would like to share my joy and congratulations with you all."
Yang Zhen's heart skipped a beat after hearing this. He felt that the emperor's words were warm on the surface, but actually they were cold underneath. It was obvious that he had already received the news, so he didn't show any expression of joy upon first hearing it.
He couldn't help but glance at the emperor, but he couldn't see any clues from the young emperor's face, so he couldn't help but feel anxious.
"My lords, I am very happy and gratified that you have come to report my victory. I have finally heard some good news after such a long time. It seems that the Yang family and his son are just mediocre. As soon as the general is changed, he can no longer handle it. Ha. , I am looking forward to him being wiped out, and I heard the news that this thief will be beheaded!"
Zhao Tuo said as he picked up a memorial from the tray in Eunuch Liu's hand: "This is the secret memorial I received from Jiangxi Chief Envoy Shi Hao when I was on the way to Qiande Hall, saying that six thousand officers and soldiers have been arranged to gather in Fengcheng. , cut off Yang He's escape route to the north, and set up an ambush outside the mountain, waiting for him to get into the cage!
Zhao Chongbi was chasing after him, and Li Dan was blocking him from the south. They worked together to drive this trapped beast into the cage of the army, and then closed the door to see how long he could continue to be rampant! "
"Your Majesty is wise!" Yang Zhen followed the crowd and realized in his heart that the emperor knew about this matter after receiving a secret message from Shi Hao.
"But gentlemen, I am not happy in my heart." The emperor stood up and walked to them: "Think carefully about why the officers and soldiers could not do anything to deal with Yang He and his son before, but now they are able to move forward step by step and everywhere. Where is Kaige?"
This sentence made the veteran cabinet ministers unable to sit still, and they immediately fell to the ground to apologize.
"It's Yang Tao who ruined the situation. The enemy is in the first place and is helpless. This person is incompetent!" Cui Junyong said.
"I second the proposal. I impeach Yang Tao. As a high-ranking official in a feudal territory, he is indulged in drinking, sex, singing, and singing. He is unable to deal with a strong enemy. He is really a traitor to the country!"
Han Wei said as he took out a memorial from his sleeve and held it above his head. Eunuch Liu hurriedly stepped forward to pick it up and brought it to the emperor. Zhao Tuo tilted his head and looked at it but didn't take it.
"I think it is inappropriate to just pass the responsibility to Yang Tao. Don't we all here have no responsibility?" Ji Guoliang suddenly said sadly:
"I think the cabinet should reflect on its own problems! Confucius said, 'Reflect on yourself three times a day.' Only by reflecting on ourselves can we point out the mistakes of others. Otherwise, how can we convince the public and lead the ministers?"
"Well, Sir Ji's attitude is very correct, I appreciate it very much!" The emperor stretched out his hand to help them up from the ground, sat down again, and then continued:
"What Lord Ji said is a gentleman's attitude towards doing things. You are all veterans, people who were used by the late emperor. Even if you are wrong, how can I really investigate it?" He waved his hand to stop the veterans from speaking. go on:
"Our monarch and his ministers get along well with each other. The difficult thing is the word 'knowledge'. The ministers know the emperor, and the emperor also knows the ministers. Only in this way can the stability and harmony of the court be maintained." After he finished speaking, he looked at several old ministers.
At this time, Yang Zhen was sweating. He thought to himself, what does this mean? Is it urging me to stand up and take responsibility, and then step down like this?
Yang Zhen did not want to end up like this anyway. He also looked forward to the emperor's decree to serve in the future and then return home with money.
In any case, it is much better and more glorious than taking responsibility for failure and improper employment like this, right? His intuition told him that the emperor was expecting someone to stand up and take on all this, but he was unwilling.
Yang Can felt his heart beating wildly, and cold sweat flowed like ants on his back. He wanted to swallow, but his mouth was dry. The teacup was there, but he didn't dare to move it. He was like an old turtle, with his head in his shell, motionless.
The emperor seemed to sigh, maybe he heard it wrong, Yang Zhen wasn't sure.
He wanted to take a gamble and see if he didn't say or do anything. Can the emperor remove himself as the 'chief assistant of the Supreme Pavilion', or drive out the late emperor Gu Ming's old minister in a rage? He felt that the emperor might not dare to do this.
"Okay, if you want to reflect on the lesson, you can go back to the cabinet to talk." The emperor really didn't have such determination, so he continued:
"I just don't want the situation in Jiangxi to happen elsewhere! Let me remind you that the Hunan army has entered Jiangxi to fight, so will the Miao and Yao barbarians take this opportunity to cause chaos?
The army left the country, it was so empty, I would have been unable to hold it back long ago. When you go back, don’t just think about the experience and lessons, but also take precautions before they happen! "
"I obey the order!"
Yang Zhen walked out of the palace door and took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead and cheeks. He stood on the steps and looked at the backs of his colleagues, and then he sighed and walked out of the palace.
Today we passed another level, but what about tomorrow and the day after tomorrow? He knew in his heart that the emperor wanted him to step down on his own initiative, but after having tasted power for so many years, how could he be willing to give it up so easily?
The chief minister didn't know that the emperor kept staring at his back through the window lattice from the time he walked down the palace steps until Xiaoshi was outside the palace gate. Zhao Tuo sighed softly: "Is power so delicious that it's hard to part with it?"
Among the five people, none of the five veterans took the initiative to resign or took all the responsibilities. Even Ji Guoliang, who was so impassioned, said nothing.
Huh, this old fox, he wants others to charge, but he still has to stay in the camp and strategize!
Zhao Tuo closed his eyes and rested his mind, and once again considered the candidates for the future cabinet in his mind. The three people most likely to be replaced are Yang Jin, Ji Guoliang and Hou Xie.
Zhao Tuo knew that Wu Ren's thoughts were best guessed. They just wanted someone who would not despise Wu Ren too much to take over Hou Xie's position.
For example, Gu Lin, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy and the left minister of the Ministry of War, came from a Wu Xun family, or he could be promoted directly from among the military men, such as Fan Dayuan, a former military governor and a bachelor of the Xuanwei Academy.
Both of these people were from the North, so if Hou Xie goes down, it is almost certain that his position will still be taken over by someone from the North.
The literati are in much more trouble. Yang Jin is from the North, Ji Guoliang is from the south of the Yangtze River, Han Wei is from Jinghu, and Cui Junyong is from Liaodong. There are three people from the North in this cabinet.
The most fierce competition now is from Anyang, Henan Province, the Minister of Punishment Yi Zhongsheng; from Zhuji, Zhejiang, Xie Minhong, a bachelor of Tirenge and the right counselor of Zhongshu; three people.
Yizhongsheng has good qualifications and good character. He is also the oldest among the three. He is forty-seven years old this year, so he is in the prime of life!
However, Xie Minhong and Zheng Shou represented the Jiangnan Clan and Sichuan-Hu Clan respectively, and Zhao Tuo was very dissatisfied with the open competition for positions in the court, so he was reluctant to allow them to join the cabinet to avoid the fight being brought into power. the highest level.
But if one of them is not chosen, who else can be put in the cabinet? Zhao Tuo has never thought about this matter. Therefore, he has not yet made up his mind to change the cabinet.
But today he changed his mind. Rather than replacing three of them at once, why not do them one by one! And he also wanted to see that after he started to act, the two major groups Chuanchu and Jiangnan would be shocked. Zhao Tuo was curious about how far these two guys could go in fighting each other?
In the evening of that day, a piece of news rolled like thunder from the sky, making everyone anxious and anxious: The emperor decreed that Gu Lin, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy and the left minister of the Ministry of War, would take over as Minister of War and join the cabinet.
At the same time, the emperor dug out the previous information about Ji Guoliang's request to become an official and granted it. He also gave him money, a son, Yin Guozijian, and chariots and horses to send him back to his hometown. Such honor and favor made Ji Guoliang cry so much that he almost fainted to the ground!
The little emperor's move was beyond everyone's expectation, and even the old-fashioned Yang Zhen was shocked. Only then did he realize what he had passed by in the hall. It turned out that the target of His Majesty's attack was not him, but the proud Ji Guoliang!
Seeing his father sitting on pins and needles, the youngest son Yang Di hurriedly stepped forward to serve tea and advised: "Father doesn't have to be like this. He is just going to the field. If His Majesty wishes this, it is better to grant his wish."
"If I leave the country, who will support you?" Yang Zhen glared: "Do you think you can do whatever you want without me in the capital?
Hum, let me tell you, when those powerful scoundrels see you, they will immediately swarm up, not only will they fill the study room with impeachment papers, but they will also eat your three brothers until their bones are left!
Haha, do you think it’s as simple as me rolling up my sleeves and going back to my hometown to fish? "
"Then this, this is really... If I had known this, why did I do it in the first place?" Yang Di muttered impatiently.
"Presumptuous!" Yang Zhen patted the table, but Yang Di was not afraid of him. Yang Jin had a son at an old age, and Yang Di was only nineteen this year. He had been doting on him since he was a child, so he knew that his father only threatened him, but never really acted to anger him.
The wonderful thing is that Yang Di is tall, fair-skinned, has bright eyes and white teeth, and lives in a small yamen with jade trees facing the wind. In addition, he is famous in the capital for poetry, calligraphy, chess and painting, so this year he has been appointed by the emperor as the lecturer of Linyuan Pavilion of the Hanlin Academy, which is not bad for his size. A noble official.
He is not afraid that his father will use the family law to punish him as a doctor. If nothing else works, you can still run to the madam! When he heard his father shouting, he just pursed his lips and stopped hurting him.
"Oh, I'm not greedy for power. It's just that it's hard to get out when you get to this point!" Yang Zhen frowned: "If you are not careful, it will be difficult to have both loyalty and filial piety! Maybe your grandmother will have to give away the white-haired person to the black-haired person, then It’s too late to regret it!”
Yang Di was stunned for a moment: "After all, my father is a veteran of three dynasties, so it shouldn't be like this, right?"
"No? Hey!" Yang Zhen pointed at the door with his hand: "Look, isn't Ji Guoliang a veteran of three dynasties? Isn't he the same as me who cared about the fate of the late emperor?
When Your Majesty is not serious, it will be useless to read many books to ask for the bones. But if you are serious, you can just pull out a book and make some comments, and decades of prosperity will be over. Who would have thought? He lowered his voice and told his younger son:
"On the day Xie leaves Beijing, you go see him off on behalf of my father, and give me three hundred taels of Cheng Yi to express your feelings. Alas, I'm afraid this is all we can do."
"Only three hundred taels?" Yang Di frowned: "Father, although you two were always noisy in the past, your friendship is not only worth three hundred taels, right?"
"Nonsense!" Yang Zhen sneered: "I have been officials in the same dynasty for decades, what more? But it can't be too much. Someone will see it and remember it in their heart.
If you don’t believe me, just watch carefully that day and look at the faces of the people who saw them off, and then we’ll see how they behave after the tea has cooled.
Only then will you know why your father is afraid of leaving this position. It is better to cultivate yourself and die in office, and be praised for your dedication and dedication. If only I could be like him, I would feel at ease! "
Yang Di still couldn't fully understand his father's thoughts, but he still nodded solemnly: "Yes, my son will go see Uncle Ji off when the time comes, and he will do as his father said!"
