Liu Chengyou's first palace meeting when he returned to the court lasted for nearly three hours. Even lunch was prepared by Liu Chengyou and served with the ministers. In addition to the summary of the Northern Expedition and the discussion of the aftermath, there are also some important military and political affairs during Liu Chengyou's departure from Beijing, plus the next national policy and strategic direction of the Han Dynasty...
Liu Chengyou had already considered these things. In fact, there was not much that was worthy of controversy, except for the words "kill the troops, stop fighting, and recuperate." After such a war, the Han Dynasty could no longer withstand more severe hardships.
Fortunately, the emperor had a clear understanding of this. Liu Chengyou expressed his views on the outline of the agreement, and then the civil and military officials expanded the discussion and expressed their opinions.
After the discussion was over, the courtiers dispersed in twos and threes. The military generals held their heads high and the civil servants were relieved. Only Fan Zhi and Xue Juzheng, the two powerful men in the political affairs hall, looked slightly depressed.
Among the ministers, Tao Gu seemed to have the most relaxed attitude, but when he glanced at Fan Zhi, there was a sense of schadenfreude in his old eyes. Speaking of which, Tao Gu took refuge with Liu Chengyou relatively early, especially in the early days of Liu Chengyou when his subordinates lacked talents, so he served as a lurking staff member.
Tao Gu is absolutely smart, and his literary talent is not bad, but he is too smart, which sometimes makes Liu Chengyou unhappy. In the early years, because Liu Chengxun was named King of Wei and Prefect of Kaifeng, there was a little half-heartedness. Later, there were cases of accepting bribes. When he went to Jiangnan as an envoy, he acted in his true colors and made a great contribution, but he also left behind the allusion of "sleeping alone in a lonely house", which is still laughed at. During the pacification of Huainan, he shared a lot of common affairs for Liu Chengyou, and then began to bend the law for personal gain...
It can be said that Tao Gu is not a good person, but he does have some talents. In addition, Liu Chengyou remembered some affection from his early years and used it smoothly, so he was always placed as a senior official in the central government. .
As for Tao Gu himself, when he was at the height of his power, he was once close to becoming the prime minister. It was not like Liu Chengyou had never thought of supporting him, but he finally gave up on him because of his actions.
That is to say, during the years when he was placed in the Xuanwei Department as deputy envoy, Tao Gu restrained himself and did not dare to speak nonsense again. In those years, Tao Gu was quite depressed because of Zhao Shanggao, whose son was still a close minister who was very trusted by the emperor.
It was not until Zhao Shangjiao was implicated in the corruption case involving two students in Hunan that he was demoted and released. Tao Gu finally came forward and was remembered by Liu Chengyou again and appointed as the Minister of Rites.
In the past two years since his re-emergence, Tao Gu has also been very self-disciplined, or rather cautious, and still has some concerns about aspects. This time, Liu Chengyou asked him to take charge of public sacrifices. For him, it was another opportunity to show his talents.
In my mind, I am already planning the specific regulations for the festival. In terms of legal system, he is already familiar with it and will not have any problems. What is worth thinking about is what the emperor's intention and purpose are. This is the most important thing. When it comes to "reading the emperor's mind", there are few people in the dynasty who have more experience than Tao Gu.
Of course, what made him happy was the dark cloud that gradually shrouded the political hall. Tao Gu's political sense was extremely keen, and he was completely aware of the emperor's aloof attitude towards Prime Minister Fan Zhi.
Combining some previous news and Fan Zhi's historical behavior, Tao Gu had a premonition that the emperor's tolerance for Fan Zhi, who was becoming more and more powerful, was about to end, and that the Han Dynasty was likely to undergo another major change.
Just now in the Chongzheng Hall, he was participating in political discussions and listening to the holy teachings, but Tao Gu's mind was completely focused on this aspect. For Tao Gu, he saw an opportunity. Just like at the beginning, the downfall of Zhao Shanjiao was due to Zhao Pu's vigilance and investigation, and Tao Gu's efforts behind the scenes. However, he originally wanted to drive Zhao Shanjiao away, and the official position of Xuanjiao was his, and he did not He wanted the emperor to directly promote him to the position of Minister of Rites.
Over the years, Liu Chengyou has spent a lot of energy on reshaping the issue of his official position not being worthy of its name. So far, except for the independent financial power in the three departments, the power of other ministries has been consolidated. This is Liu Chengyou’s official position. One of the results of the reform.
As far as Tao Gu is concerned, the current situation is the same. If Fan Zhi and the others are allowed to occupy their positions, how can they have a chance to take over? Tao Gu had already seen clearly that Fan Zhi was a stubborn and stubborn man who often fought against others for the sake of so-called morality. He even refused to give face to the emperor. He often disagreed with the emperor's ideas and made him angry.
Even under such circumstances, Tao Gu was surprised that the emperor could tolerate him for so many years after being fooled by the phase for ten years. Considering how Li Tao resigned as prime minister in the first place, and thinking about the rumors some time ago, and the attitude of the emperor in the palace just now, Tao Gu believed that it was Tao Gu's turn.
Of course, even if Fan Zhi is dismissed as prime minister, it may not be his turn to be Tao Gu. However, Tao Gu doesn't think so. In his opinion, in today's Han Dynasty, in terms of qualifications and abilities, there is no one else who is more qualified than Tao Gu.
The Prime Minister can't get along, but the Second Prime Minister and the Emperor can always think of him. In fact, Tao Gu has always regarded people like Wei Renpu, Fan Zhi, and Xue Juzheng as his descendants, but the reality is that no one is doing well in their lives, and they cannot compete for fame, so there is no way they can avoid jealousy.
In these years, Tao Gu also suffered a lot from Fan Zhi, so when he noticed that Fan Zhi's phase was unstable, he naturally took pleasure in his misfortune.
However, enjoying the misfortunes of others will not benefit oneself in the end. What is more worthy of Tao Gu's thinking is how to please the emperor. In this regard, after years of observation and summary, Tao Gu also has some experience.
That is, compared to those ministers who always like to teach the emperor what to do and what they think should be done, Liu Chengyou prefers those who obey his will and execute his orders faithfully and efficiently. People who like to express their own will and will in governing the country will not last long.
In other words, although the emperor has been promoting talents and employing people on their merits, he needs a group of capable executors rather than a group of thinkers. In this imperial country, perhaps one brain is enough.
In the early years, there were Yang Bin and Wang Zhang, who were typical examples of imposing their will on the emperor and the country. Therefore, a "rebellion case" is still going on in Jingzhou. Wang Zhang retired quickly, but he also died of depression.
Later, Feng Dao was an old fox who was extremely oily. His position was the most stable and his life was the most nourishing. If it hadn't been for the fact that he was old and not feeling well, he would have been able to work for a few more years.
From Li Tao to today's Fan Zhi, the fundamental problem is still the same. His personal thoughts are too strong and he is unwilling to be completely suppressed by the imperial power. His performance in governing the country has always rebounded.
There are many smart people among the prime ministers, such as Wei Renpu. Although the emperor often treated each other as a teacher, he never regarded himself as the emperor's teacher. Instead, he talked a lot about governing the country and taught Liu Chengyou what to do. I just tried my best to check for leaks and fill in the gaps, clear up doubts and doubts, and at the same time work conscientiously and fulfill my duties. I did this, so Wei Renpu's position in the court became more and more stable.
Tao Gu was smart enough to figure this out, and he felt that he was qualified and capable to stay in phase. It has been almost thirteen years. It can be said that he was the first civil servant to take refuge with Liu Chengyou. Mr. Conglong had been around for so many years, but he did not even have a seat in the main office of the political affairs hall. Tao Gu was really burdened with this, and he was almost mentally ill.
In his opinion, if you can worship the prime minister before the age of sixty, you will have no regrets in this life.
With his shrewd eyes and keen sense of smell, Tao Gu was able to detect changes in the political situation. As a person involved, Fan Zhi also had deep feelings in this regard. The emperor's smiling eyes and gentle tone made him feel heavy to death.
Xue Juzheng and Fan Zhi walked together. The two may have a good personal relationship, but they are more close on matters of right and wrong.
Seeing the heaviness on his face at this time, he couldn't help but call out: "Brother Fan, Your Majesty, he..."
After coming back to his senses, Fan Zhi couldn't help but sigh, but he didn't show any more emotions and said calmly: "It's better to do what His Majesty ordered first!"
