"After discussing for so long, all the ministers are exhausted. Li Qing will stay temporarily, and everyone else will return to office!" The sky outside the palace became colder and colder, and Liu Chengyou showed a little fatigue on his face as he looked around and gave orders.
"Your Majesty, please leave!"
Li Tao didn't move. After the others left the palace, he raised his hand to Liu Chengyou and said doubtfully, "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"
"After Jing Fan returned to his hometown for funeral, the post in Kaifeng government was vacant, and there was no one to take charge of the affairs. He left the subordinates to do it, and eventually slacked off. Li Qing is in charge of the personnel department, does he have anyone in mind?" Liu Chengyou pondered for a while and asked.
Yin Jingfan of Kaifeng Prefecture has been feeling unwell since this year. According to him, he is plagued by illness, but he still fulfills his duties with all his heart and self-restraint. In view of this, Liu Chengyou donated medicines to doctors and gave him more leave, but he still could not recover.
Jing Fan has always been strict in enforcing the law, and he offended many people when he was in Luoyang. After Kaifeng, he was still strict in his law enforcement, and even offended a number of powerful people. Because he had been ill for a long time and was difficult to cure, it caused a commotion. Some officials made fun of it in public in the government office. They made fun of Jing Fan because he was angry and resentful. He had insufficient moral character and could not be cured when he was ill. Even the kindness of the emperor could not wash away the darkness on him. Evil spirit. He also made a bet with others on when Jing Fan would die of illness in the government office.
When such remarks reached Liu Chengyou's ears, he was naturally indignant. He even ordered the bold man to be deprived of his position and thrown into prison in Kaifeng, and all those who participated in the bet were punished with twenty canes. It’s useless. One of the sons of the late Yan Guogong Feng Dao is also among them.
What made Liu Chengyou even more angry was that there was a censor who advised Liu Chengyou not to accuse him of his words, but he was scolded by Liu Chengyou. Those kinds of remarks have constituted making fun of the government office, slandering the ministers, and contemptuous of the emperor. It would not be a pity to punish him with death.
Liu Chengyou demoted the censor to the northwest on the spot and ordered him to copy "Han Xing Tong" ten times. At the same time, he summoned Zhao Li, the censor of Zuodu, to reprimand him and asked him how he selected his subordinates. Regarding this matter, Liu Chengyou gave Jing Fan a sigh of relief and put an end to the rumors and criticisms against him in the court. It also let everyone know how much the emperor valued Jingfan.
Also affected by illness and rumors, after the summer, Jing Fan submitted a petition to resign as Kaifeng Prefecture governor, but Liu Chengyou refused directly and asked him to take a temporary leave of absence at home. But Jingfan was a man who pursued his own affairs in his position. Even if he was not feeling well and lacked energy, he still did not neglect government affairs.
Later, because his old father was ill, Jing Fan once again asked to leave his job and return to his hometown to serve decoctions. Liu Chengyou hesitated a little, but still did not agree. Instead, he ordered the local government to allocate medical resources to treat his father.
Until August, news came that Jing Fan's father had died. This time, Liu Chengyou could no longer force him to stay and asked him to resign and leave the court temporarily to return to his hometown to deal with his father's funeral affairs.
Since then, the location of Kaifeng Mansion has been vacant.
Of course, with so many talents in the imperial court, it is not difficult to choose a governor of Kaifeng. The difficult thing is to be able to handle the task, and the difficult thing is to make Liu Chengyou feel at ease. Before, he had been reluctant to let go of Jing Fan, and he also felt that besides the trouble he wanted to choose a more suitable person, Jing Fan's illness didn't seem serious at the time.
At this time, when the emperor asked about the issue of Kaifeng Mansion, Li Tao looked suddenly surprised and responded: "To be honest with you, Your Majesty, I have been thinking about this matter recently!"
"Tell me who you have in mind!" Liu Chengyou stretched out his hand to signal without even blinking his eyes.
"Shen Wenbing, a member of Zhongshushe, has worked hard in various ministries and is well-versed in world affairs. What do you think, Your Majesty?" Li Tao said.
Hearing this, Liu Chengyou almost didn't think about it and replied: "Shen Wenbing has a gentle temperament, I'm afraid he won't be suitable!"
Seeing Liu Chengyou's straightforwardness, Li Tao pondered for a while and then said: "Wang Min, the Minister of Punishment, is cautious and prudent and manages affairs strictly. How about it?"
"Wang Minzhen has another appointment!" Liu Chengyou said directly.
At this time, Li Tao came to his senses, raised his head and glanced at Liu Chengyou, and felt convinced that the emperor probably already had a candidate in mind. Without hesitation, he asked wisely: "Your Majesty's ability to recognize people and his wisdom in employing people have always been admired by his ministers. May I ask who your Majesty prefers?"
Looking at Li Tao, Liu Chengyou said leisurely: "Hebei transfer envoy Li Gu, what do you think?"
Li Tao frowned when he heard the emperor proposed this candidate. Although his expression did not change much, he was obviously hesitant. He was also thinking in his mind that Li Gu was also a famous official of the contemporary era, and his talents and abilities were well known to the whole court. More importantly, he was also an old man of the emperor.
After the Battle of Luancheng, he was conquered and entrusted with general affairs to assist in the aftermath, and quickly gained Liu Chengyou's approval. By the time Liu Chengyou returned to Beijing from Hebei, he had been sentenced to political affairs in the four prefectures of Chengde.
After that, he successively held many important positions in Hebei, and cooperated with the imperial court to reduce vassals and centralize power, until he became the steward of the entire Hebei. He was also a transit envoy. Because of the tens of thousands of garrison troops in the north, Li Gu controlled their supplies, making him more powerful.
Of course, Liu Chengyou had no intention of being afraid. After all, he was not in charge of troops and was quite satisfied with his work. During these years in the court, Liu Chengyou repeatedly praised Li Gu in front of ministers and expressed his appreciation. He also said that Li Gu was a talented prime minister and had wronged him by keeping him in Hebei for many years.
But this time, Liu Chengyou obviously wants to make compensation. Li Tao had some scruples about this. Li Gu was no better than others. He started out as the governor of Kaifeng when he returned to Beijing. With his accumulated achievements over the years and the emperor's trust, it was only a matter of time before he became prime minister. Once it involves the political hall and phase, it is a change of power, which involves one's own interests and has to be considered more.
Of course, among the many Daozhou officials in the Han Dynasty, only Li Gu and Wang Pu could make Li Tao feel fearful. Once transferred to Beijing, there will definitely be a situation of grabbing the class and power. After all, the central government only has so much power. One more person means more competition.
Liu Chengyou looked at Li Tao curiously, almost watching the changes in his face, and he was confused. A slight cough made Li Tao come back to his senses from weighing the pros and cons. Liu Chengyou looked at him and asked with a smile: "Does Li Qing have any concerns? Or do you think Li Gu will be embarrassed to be appointed to the Kaifeng Mansion?"
Upon hearing the question, Li Tao showed a humble smile and responded: "Everyone knows that Li Weizhen is talented and virtuous. Even if the affairs of the Kaifeng Mansion are heavy and the responsibilities are heavy, he can still manage them. However, in the past three years, Li Weizhen has not only managed the two provinces in Hebei The finance department is also responsible for providing supplies to the armies in the north. If it is suddenly transferred, it will only cause trouble. If something goes wrong, the frontier army will be unstable..."
Obviously, Li Tao did not want Li Gu to be transferred to Beijing.
"Could it be that without Li Gu, Hebei's finances and military supplies would not be able to operate normally? Without Li Gu's dispatch, would the armies in the north be in chaos?" Liu Chengyou still had a smile on his face.
But that smile only made Li Tao feel chilled in his heart, and he hurriedly said: "Your Majesty said something serious, I didn't mean it that way! I think that the successor can be decided, and when the handover is complete, Li Weizhen can return to the capital to take office. In addition, Now that Hebei is divided into two divisions, the transportation function should also be divided into two divisions!"
Hearing what Li Tao said, the smile on Liu Chengyou's face just disappeared, which also made Li Tao feel a little more at ease. After much consideration, Liu Chengyou said: "Hebei is in a special situation and faces great military pressure. The transfer and supply of military supplies should be coordinated and coordinated for the time being. As for Li Gu's transfer, he should be succeeded by Wang Min. He was born in Hebei and also served in the Ministry of War. Familiar with supplies and logistics!"
After saying that, he glanced at Li Tao and asked Wang Min to take over, also intending to appease him. After all, successive proposals were ruthlessly rejected, and Liu Chengyou could also feel a little depressed in his heart.
Sure enough, feeling the comfort conveyed by the emperor, Li Tao looked slightly relaxed and respectfully said: "Yes!"
"As for the Kaifeng government appointment, after you return to the Yamen, you can inform and discuss it with the ministers. If there is nothing wrong, just issue it!" Liu Chengyou said.
"Yes!" Li Tao bowed again.
He smiled bitterly in his heart, informing first, then discussing, the emperor's attitude was so obvious, why discuss, and he had to implement the matter himself.
Leaning lightly on the imperial desk, Liu Chengyou looked at Li Tao's back, his eyes gradually deepening. For a long time, he sighed in his heart, how can there be a pure minister who is dedicated to the public good? Liu Chengyou could clearly feel that Li Tao's desire for power and selfishness were obviously worse than a few years ago. Perhaps it was because he had been the "Prime Minister" for a long time.
