Zheng Yuan could understand Zhao Cheng's arrangement, but at this critical moment, he couldn't act rashly.
Zheng Yuan looked at Zhao Cheng and Sima Yue who were silent for a while and said, "Su Qian's impeachment has been an uproar in the entire capital since he left Xizhou and entered the capital. But you haven't noticed that our majesty, apart from being furious at the beginning, has a lot of trouble later. Any other actions?”
"I think His Majesty is waiting for Su Qi'an to return to Beijing and find a time to rectify the situation. During this period, there have been too many impeachment memorials. His Majesty is probably still suppressing his anger towards Su Qi'an. After all, before anyone arrived, he was It’s useless to get angry.”
It was Sima Yue who spoke, and his argument was not groundless.
They are all Dukes of China and have been with Su Xuanyong for many years, so they understand Su Xuanyong's temperament to some extent.
According to the past practice, when dealing with local princes and frontier officials who are about to fall, they wait until they return to Beijing, and then release the anger in their hearts together with the piles of evidence of their crimes.
This time, there was no big problem in misappropriating it to Su Qi'an. At least for so long, they didn't see that Su Xuanyong meant to show mercy to Su Qi'an.
Zhao Cheng also added at this time, "I think Old Man Sima is right. What Su Qi'an did in Jiao and Xi Prefectures, killing the prefectural pastors, is irrefutable proof."
"No matter what Zhou Mu's fault is, it is not his turn as a third-level waiter who is qualified to take action. Just because of this, Su Qian's vitality will be severely damaged."
"What does it matter if you add fuel to the fire at this time? I said, Zheng Zaifu, you are a little too cautious."
"I see that your position as prime minister is not that easy. Are you being checked and balanced by those second-grade ministers in the cabinet? Why are you so hesitant in doing things? This is not your past style."
Zhao Cheng's words seemed to poke a sore spot in Zheng Yuan's heart. He glared at Zhao Cheng and said angrily, "I just want to remind you, don't be ignorant. As for the cabinet affairs, it's not your turn to make irresponsible remarks. Are they worthy of being my opponent?"
"If you are confident, then deal with Su Qi'an by yourself. It's okay. I'll take my leave."
Zheng Yuan suddenly turned against him, which surprised the two of them. They quickly reacted and quickly comforted Zheng Yuan and admitted their mistake to him.
After being comforted by the two of them, Zheng Yuan, who turned to leave, felt his anger calm down a little.
The more Zheng Yuan said this, the more Zhao Cheng concluded in his heart that Zheng Yuan's position as prime minister was not so secure.
Who would have thought that the prime minister, who was originally the number one person in the cabinet and had supreme power, would change the rules before Chu Xiong took office.
In addition to promoting Sima Yue to the rank of first-rank official, the court left more than ten second-rank officials who originally supervised the six ministries. At Chu Xiong's suggestion, they all joined the cabinet.
The six departments are directly connected to Tianting. They are no longer under the supervision of the cabinet and the second-level public. They can directly report to Su Xuanyong.
It was this rule that not only brought Zheng Yuan's help, but also weakened the power in the hands of the second-rank Duke and strengthened Su Xuanyong's jurisdiction over the six tribes.
Originally, the number of ministers in the cabinet was lower than that of one person, and more than ten thousand people. All memorials from the six ministries had to be submitted to the cabinet. After being approved by the ministers, they were forwarded to Su Xuanyong.
But with such a change in the rules, memorials from officials in the six ministries will still be handed over to the cabinet.
However, since the Six Ministries had direct access to Heaven, the cabinet's opinions were weakened a lot.
But with the addition of Erpin Gong, this is nothing.
The inclusion of all the second-rank officials in the cabinet will truly weaken the power in the hands of Zaifu and act as a check and balance on Zaifu.
This kind of checks and balances seems to be of little significance. In the end, it is the Prime Minister who makes the final decision in the cabinet. However, at a critical moment, once the second-level public rebels collectively, it will be very difficult for Zheng Yuan, even as Prime Minister, to push forward one thing.
At first, the second-ranking public servant's rights over the six tribes were weakened, which made the second-ranking public servant somewhat unhappy.
But when they heard the crowd entering the cabinet, the discomfort disappeared in an instant.
According to the past political structure of Great Liang, it would be very difficult for a second-grade Duke to join the cabinet, not because their status was not high enough.
Rather, the number of cabinet members is fixed, and one can only be filled when one becomes vacant when someone takes office.
This kind of waiting, to put it harshly, may mean that there is no hope of entering the cabinet for the rest of my life.
But Chu Xiong's collective entry into the cabinet gave them so much hope.
Don't underestimate the power of being in the cabinet. In terms of power, it is indeed incomparable to Zaifu. They are self-aware of Zaifu.
But once he joins the cabinet, even the so-called empty-handed cabinet elder who only has executive power and no proposal power will have a much higher status and identity than the average second-grade official.
This is not only good for individuals, but also for each family to reach a higher level again.
Therefore, compared to the few rights assigned to the six supervisory departments, no one is as tempted as joining the cabinet.
Once they join the cabinet, even if they are empty-handed cabinet elders, they are only half a level lower than Zaifu in terms of status.
Moreover, after joining the cabinet, you can see reports from all places in Daliang. This kind of right is enough to make all the powerful families in Daliang come to curry favor.
As long as you cooperate properly, you can check and balance Zheng Yuan on certain things. This feeling of satisfaction is much better than before when you could only look at Zheng Yuan's face.
This is true for both the subordinates and the superiors. Su Xuanyong has also strengthened his direct control over the six ministries, and can also appropriately beat several members of the cabinet, especially the prime minister who has monopoly power.
Therefore, Chu Xiong's proposal was passed without any resistance.
In the hearts of Zhao Cheng and Sima Yue, they were thankful more than once. Fortunately, they did not join the cabinet. They could just be their first-rank officials and do what Su Xuanyong told them.
Others, especially the cabinet disputes, have nothing to do with them. In some ways, there are gains and losses.
Joining the cabinet and becoming a virtual cabinet elder has invisibly improved his status and the glory of his family.
But at the same time, he has to endure the disputes between the two sides of the cabinet. He is tired enough from arguing about certain things in the court, and he is probably tired from having to worry about confronting Zheng Yuan.
But they saw the formality clearly. No matter how the cabinet was arguing, there would only be one person in power in Great Liang in the future. Whether he was the second prince or the fourth prince could only be left to God, and they only had to stand up when that day came. Just a good team.
After Zheng Yuan calmed down a little, he said to the two of them with a cold face, "Perhaps this is my caution, but it is not a bad thing to be cautious. We all know your Majesty's temperament, so we should wait for His Majesty to summon Su Qi'an and then confront him. The court, this time, no matter how much it costs, he will be severely damaged."
"By the way, I heard that Feng Zheng has returned with him. Feng is a popular person around His Majesty. If you are really smart, you should send someone to inquire carefully. You can get some information from him, which is much better than the so-called gossip in Kyoto."
"Okay, just calm down for the next few days. That's all I have to say. I'll take my leave."
After saying this, Zheng Yuan turned around and left, disappearing from the back door under the gaze of the two of them.
The two looked at each other, with some answers in their minds. They slowly stood up and left the private room under the protection of their respective men.
At this time, the Hanlin Academy and Wenxuan's private courtyard were filled with bursts of laughter.
Looking in, there were only three people in the small courtyard except Su Qi'an, Xie Cang and Wenxuan.
There are also three people who were arranged by Su Qi'an when he left Kyoto three years ago: Sun Wen, Xu Tangtang, and Liu Meng.
These three people are the most important informants arranged by Su Qian in Kyoto.
Although they have not played any role against Su Qian in three years, the existence of the three of them cannot be denied.
In the three years since they left Kyoto, Sun Wen and the others, with the secret support of Wenxuan, have controlled nearly 70% of the ten main streets outside Kyoto.
Don't underestimate this achievement. Under the emperor's feet and under the eyes of countless powerful officials, it is quite good to be able to expand the intelligence organization to 70% of the territory.
As for the area in central Kyoto where the powerful princes lived, as well as the inner imperial city, Su Qi'an had no hope.
In Kyoto, being able to control the inconspicuous ten external streets already has enough self-protection capabilities.
When Su Qi'an went to the Hanlin Academy, Wenxuan received the three people to the Hanlin Academy in advance, which facilitated the meeting between the two parties.
The three of them looked at Su Qi'an with excitement. Without the help of Su Qi'an and Wen Xuan, let alone expanding the intelligence power by 70%, it would be difficult to even gain a foothold.
The three of them were very happy when Su Qi'an returned, and they all asked Su Qi'an to fight, hoping that they could help Su Qi'an.
After waiting for three years for this day, Su Qian can understand the mood of the three of them.
Su Qi'an did not agree to the three people's request for a fight. It was not because the three of them were incompetent.
On the contrary, being able to expand the intelligence organization by more than 70% externally, relying on the restaurant business, would be a considerable help to Su Qi'an.
But Su Qi'an didn't intend to use it. The back-up card originally deployed in Kyoto was a trump card that would only be used when it was absolutely necessary, extremely dangerous, and to save one's life.
But three years have passed, and they are not the only ones who have become stronger, but Su Qi'an has also made a comeback.
In Su Qian's view, this trip to Kyoto was not the time to use them.
Su Qi'an said this, in addition to his own confidence, it also revealed to them a very strong self-confidence.
That kind of confidence makes people convinced and unable to refute.
It was hard for them to imagine how strong Su Qi'an would become in three years, and they could look forward to it.
"Qi'an, I was quite worried about you in the past three years, but now it seems that you are going to give us a big surprise."
The propaganda man on the side seemed to know some obscure news. He touched his gray beard and looked at Su Qi'an with a smile.
Su Qian nodded and said softly, "Don't worry, teacher, it's impossible for these old guys who only fight in the court to get rid of me in this life."
"This time, it's time for students to prove their strength."
Su Qi'an's voice was very soft, but it was filled with a bit of domineering power. It was hard to imagine that this kind of domineering voice came from a talented man. Instead, he sounded like a general who had led troops in wars for many years.
In this scene, Wenxuan didn't have any anger at all, but his face was filled with a little bit of relief.
