"For all matters within the Ministry of Justice's duties, even if Prime Minister Li doesn't mention anything, Fan still fulfills his duties!" After thinking for a while, Fan Zhi said calmly.
He noticed Fan Zhi's expression, his face was calm and his eyes were calm, but when he heard his words, his heart was blocked. His eyes rolled around for a moment, and Li Tao's smile became more friendly, and he complimented softly: "Wen Suxiang is known for his integrity and courage in doing things. Of course I believe it!"
As he spoke, his smile faded, and Li Tao's expression quickly changed, becoming serious, even a little dignified. Looking directly at Fan Zhi, Li Tao hesitated for a moment and said: "I have often thought about it recently. Although the chaos in Guanzhong was caused by many reasons, including improper use of local administrative services and unfavorable imperial supervision, we and others are in the position. The Prime Minister, who was in charge of the affairs of the country, failed to observe the disadvantages, which led to this chaos. The people in Guanzhong suffered from it more often, and the government and people suffered heavy property losses. It is really difficult to escape his responsibility.
Lately, I've been feeling anxious and worried, and it's hard to feel guilty. Fortunately, God blessed the Han Dynasty and the generals were able to suppress the chaos quickly. However, even so, His Majesty returned to Beijing and was speechless. I intend to repair my watch and go to the camp to apologize to His Majesty. I am ignorant of literary skills. Could you please sign on? "
After hearing what he said, Fan Zhi looked Li Tao up and down and replied: "Prime Minister Li is very public-minded and does not shy away from responsibilities. Fan admires him. I will write a letter to report to His Majesty!"
Anyway, that's what it means, everyone handles his own business and takes his own blame.
Finally, there was a hint of displeasure on his face, and after a moment of silence, Li Tao smiled again, changed the subject, and said, "After the turmoil in Guanzhong, there have been many changes! The chief envoy was replaced by Duke Shou, and Duke Hu sadly left office. The inspector-general Shen Yu even died of illness in his post due to an incident. His Majesty's intention is not only to reward merit, but also to punish and correct mistakes. How does Wen Su view this matter?"
The meaning revealed in Li Tao's soft words at this time made Fan Zhi's heart skip a beat. Looking at his scheming look, he began to guess what he was thinking.
As prime ministers and assistants, they all took the initiative to take responsibility for the chaos in Guanzhong, which was worse than the officials who were directly responsible for the military and administration of Daozhou. The influence of the Shu rebellion in Guanzhong is really bad, and it even affects the strategy of conquering Shu. It should not be treated lightly, and someone must bear the responsibility.
Hu Yanke, who had great qualifications and was old, also resigned from his position. Shen Yu has already died in office. The deceased is already dead, and it is difficult to hold him accountable. Of course, Shen Yu's death may not be necessarily related to the incident in Guanzhong, and Li Tao also intends to escape responsibility for it. After all, Shen Yu belongs to him, Prime Minister Li.
Yan Jinqing, the transshipment envoy, was mainly responsible for the finances of the army and the logistics for the southwest and northwest frontier armies. He also controlled some Shu prisoners, but he managed them very well, and after the chaos occurred, he also controlled it well enough to prevent chaos. Therefore, it is never Yan Jinqing's turn.
Then, among the Taoist officials, there is only one Zhao Hongyin left...
"When this chaos broke out, Zhao Hongyin actively mobilized troops and horses to maintain law and order, defend Chang'an, and eliminate the rebels. It can be said that he did his best and deserved credit!" After thinking about it, Fan Zhi said.
Li Tao seemed very calm and said: "Gong is merit, fault is fault. It is the duty of the capital to ensure public security in Guanzhong. This turmoil has affected ten counties in a few days, and many cities have been destroyed, and all officials have been killed or injured. , it is really difficult to escape the suspicion of dereliction of duty. Furthermore, the ones who destroyed Wang Shun’s traitor army were the Southwest Frontier Army and the Yongxiang Army..."
"It seems that Mr. Li has already made up his mind!" Fan Zhi said.
"This time, the one who suffered the most from the chaos was Jingzhao Mansion. Those under Jingzhao Mansion should also bear the responsibility." Li Tao added.
After hearing this, Fan Zhi's expression finally changed, much more than when Li Tao blamed Zhao Hongyin. The person who now serves as the governor of Jingzhao is Li Song, and Li Song is the tutor of King Yong Liu Chengxun, and his role is to assist King Yong in guarding Chang'an.
His eyes were slightly focused, and he looked at Li Tao seriously, but seeing his confident and fearless face, he took a deep breath, Fan Zhi regained his composure, and reminded him in a warning tone: "Prime Minister Li, I think that the matter in Guanzhong , Your Majesty, there should be an agreement. There are some things that we should wait for the edict to do, and don’t act on your own!"
After saying that, he stood up and bowed, saying: "I still have some matters to deal with, so I'll take my leave now!"
After saying that, he walked away steadily. Looking at Fan Zhi's back, Li Tao couldn't help but frown. There was also a little solemnity between the gods, but more of it was displeasure. Talking with Fan Zhi, I felt very unhappy.
On Fan Zhi's side, he left the Political Affairs Hall and went directly to the Ministry of Punishment to investigate matters without stopping. Thinking about Li Tao's reaction all the way, I couldn't help but sigh in my heart: "Prime Minister Li, Prime Minister Li, under the rule of the emperor today, if you take power for yourself, you will bring disaster on yourself sooner or later, so take care of yourself!"
Over the years, although Fan Zhi repeatedly made offending words and actions that angered the emperor, he always adhered to one point and fought based on control and reason. Many things never cross the line, but after several years as prime minister, especially the two years in power, Li Tao has become somewhat unbalanced...
"Ms. sir!" Shen Wenbing, the minister of official affairs, entered the political affairs hall and found Li Tao.
"Guohua! What's the matter?" Facing Shen Wenbing, Li Tao's face was full of kindness.
Shen Wenbing said: "The Ministry of Official Affairs has received a memorial from Huaidong. Regarding the successor candidates for the governors of Chu and Si Prefectures, Wang Shijun has made recommendations and asked the Ministry of Official Affairs to approve the appointment!"
The king of Sizhou Zhizhou was transferred to Xuzhou, and the Chuzhou Zhizhou following Zhang Yanqing was also transferred. Two important positions in Huaidong were suddenly vacant, and a lot of people were watching.
"Oh?" Li Tao's face changed slightly. He took the list and quickly pressed it hard on the case, saying in a cold voice: "Who are these Gao Bi and Zhang He?"
"Both of them are surrendered ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty. According to Wang Shijun's wishes, they are experienced in government affairs and familiar with the people of Huaidong. Since they surrendered to the Han Dynasty, they have been loyal to the king and can take charge of the two states!" Shen Wenbing replied.
"This is unreasonable!" After hearing what he said, Li Tao became furious and scolded: "What does this Wang Pu want to do? Does Huaidong belong to the imperial court, or does he belong to Wang Pu? Huaidong is full of people from his Wang Pu, and why? If you are not satisfied, you want to interfere in the affairs of Chu and Si. What is your motive?"
During the years when Wang Pu was in charge of Huaidong, he promoted many officials, especially old officials from Huainan. Moreover, when he discovered talented people, he recommended them to the imperial court for official appointments. With Liu Chengyou's favor and care, many of them were allowed.
However, in the past two years, Li Tao has become somewhat dissatisfied with Wang Pu's "nepotism" and "domineering power grabbing" in Huaidong, and has vetoed many of his requests.
But who is Wang Pu? He has always been tough. He believes that he is devoted to the public good and has never shown any favoritism. Last year, thousands of miles apart, he and Li Tao were arguing over the appointment of personnel in Huaidong, and they got into trouble in front of Liu Chengyou. As a result, they lived a miserable life and each had fifty hits, but Li Tao became even more disgusted with Wang Pu. This time, Wang Pu intervened in the appointment of Chu and Si. How could he feel better?
Seeing that Li Tao was furious, Shen Wenbing stayed a little cautious and asked for instructions: "In my opinion, how should I reply?"
"No!" Li Tao said directly.
Shen Wenbing showed hesitation: "In this case, I'm afraid Wang Shijun will not give up!"
"Hmph!" Li Tao snorted lightly and said: "In the name of the prime minister, I reply to Wang Pu and tell him that the appointment and transfer of officials are subject to the court's consideration, so I won't bother him, otherwise it will be suspected of overstepping his authority. Let him manage the government affairs of Huaidong well! There are so many capable officials in the world, and he is not the only one who has a keen eye for discovering talents!"
"Your Majesty has decreed that all ministers, both internal and external, can promote virtuous people for the country. Wang Shijun is trusted by your Majesty. If he is unwilling to give up and makes trouble to your Majesty again, I'm afraid it will be detrimental to the husband!" Shen Wenbing reminded.
"Your Majesty, I will take care of it!" Li Tao said with a bit of sourness in his tone: "I see, your Majesty favored Wang Pu too much, so that he became arrogant and took advantage of his favor. Huaidong continues to be like this. , something will go wrong sooner or later!"
Shen Wenbing did not comment on Li Tao's remarks, but asked for instructions again: "Then, will I reply according to your wishes?"
"That's it!" Li Tao said.
In fact, Li Tao's reaction was not purely selfish, and his concerns were reasonable. During the years when Wang Pu governed Huaidong, the various prefectures quickly recovered from the war, the people's livelihood was stable, people's hearts were attached, finances and taxes were abundant, and great governance appeared.
But at the same time, Wang Pu's authority in the local area was growing day by day, and he promoted a large number of talents. Even though it could be explained by promoting talents and assuming the responsibility of being the leader, there were still many criticisms from the ministers in the court. Moreover, Wang Pu's strong character made it difficult for the court to suppress him, and there were many conflicts. Of course, what is more important is the emperor's excessive favor.
Regarding these situations, Li Tao, as the leader, was both jealous and unwilling. This time, I don't intend to give in to it anymore. No matter what, Huaidong is governed by the imperial court, and the authority of the imperial court cannot be blasphemed and disrespected. Even if Wang Pu is trusted by the emperor again, he will have something to say when he comes to the imperial court.
On the other hand, after so many years, is Wang Pu so "rampant" and favored by the emperor, still the same as before?
