"What do these people want to do? They come to me for trivial matters. Do you think I am too idle?" In the Chongzheng Hall, Emperor Liu looked sulky and pushed down the two piles of memorials piled on the imperial desk, because Some memorials even fell to the ground due to excessive force, and the white inner pages were densely filled with words.
These memorials were compiled by Lu Yin and submitted to Emperor Liu for review. From these chapters from various ministries, we can see how busy Emperor Liu has been recently and what direction the wind is blowing in the court.
Seeing that Emperor Liu was a little irritable, Lu Yin lowered his head slightly and remained silent. He just personally picked up the memorials scattered on the ground. Yan Tuo, who was next to him, saw him and took the initiative to help.
After packing up and restoring the arrangement of the memorials, Lu Yin calmly raised his hands and said: "Your Majesty, although state affairs are complicated, there are no secular affairs. This chapter and memorial are all important affairs of the court, related to the national economy and people's livelihood. I hope your Majesty will learn from this!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Liu immediately wanted to retaliate, but he noticed Lu Yin's neither humble nor arrogant attitude, and forcibly restrained himself.
How should I put it? Lu Yin's current position as a bachelor in the cabinet was not awarded by Emperor Liu, but was recruited by him on his own initiative. Originally, according to Lu Yin's idea, he did not intend to accept the appointment, and even the governor of Kaifeng planned to resign.
It was not because he was afraid of suspicion, but because he was old and in poor health. It was only because Emperor Liu insisted on his invitation and talked to him many times that Lu Yin reluctantly succeeded Li Fang.
As the saying goes, no desire leads to strength. Under such circumstances, Lu Yin naturally adhered to his own principles and followed the court's system whether he spoke or acted.
Emperor Liu also knew this, so he naturally couldn't vent his nameless anger on Lu Yin, lest the old guy give up his job. Although Emperor Liu could not be controlled by a mere minister, even an important minister, Emperor Liu had to show some respect to an upright minister like Lu Yin, of course in order to avoid unnecessary trouble.
After calming down, Emperor Liu pointed at the memorial on the imperial case and said: "I am not neglecting these state affairs, but I have to think more about the intentions behind these ministers' memorials!
Everything is reported to my case, so what will Zhao Pu and the others do? Is the political hall just a decoration? How could the prime ministers be embarrassed? Behind these active actions, how many people are really focusing on these matters! "
Lu Yin was not an ordinary person, and of course he understood what Emperor Liu meant. However, he could not express his opinion rashly on this matter. In the past many years, he had been serving in the local government and did not have a deep understanding of the disputes at the center of the imperial court, but even some rumors were enough for him to adopt a cautious attitude.
On the one hand, there is the gentry bureaucracy group represented by Zhao Pu, and on the other hand, there are those nobles who occupy a large number of important positions in the military and government. Although the two are only a general distinction between the factions within the court, the internal battles have continued for a long time. It does revolve around the collision between these two parties.
Recently, it is obvious that the nobles have begun to exert their efforts, and there is no doubt that the target is Zhao Pu. As for Emperor Liu's "diligence", it is just an introduction.
Picking up a memorial on the surface, Emperor Liu read it for a while, then quickly shook it in his hand and threw it directly on the case, saying: "Why does Pan Mei come to join in the fun? The officers and soldiers are paid, and their autumn clothes are changed." , you want to ask me this? He has been the Minister of the Ministry of War for so long, and he can't even handle this little thing, so he needs to ask for instructions?
Why haven't I seen him take such initiative in the past few years? Is it Zhao Pu who doesn’t approve? Is it because the Financial Secretary does not allocate funds? Or is it that the staff at the Ministry of War can no longer command him? "
No one could give an answer to Emperor Liu's series of almost heart-wrenching questions, but it was obvious that Emperor Liu was very dissatisfied with the undercurrent and strange atmosphere in the court recently.
His eyes were indifferent and shifted from the memorial to Lu Yin. Emperor Liu raised his finger and ordered: "You personally draft an edict to remove Pan Mei from the post of Secretary of the Ministry of War and transfer him to the Yunqian Inspection Envoy."
Upon hearing this edict, Lu Yin was slightly startled subconsciously. He really didn't expect that Emperor Liu would even think of replacing Pan Mei because of such a "trivial" matter.
Who is Pan Mei? Duke Fan Yang, Minister of the Ministry of War, a powerful nobleman in the court. His current status was achieved with one sword and one sword. More importantly, in the past, he was deeply trusted by Emperor Liu. of.
In the past, among the many young generals of the Han Dynasty, Yang Ye was probably the only one who could surpass Pan Mei in terms of favor and trust. But just like that, Emperor Liu said that he should masturbate. As soon as he thought about it, he asked Lu Yin to draft the edict.
Regarding this, Lu Yin was shocked and at the same time couldn't help but speculate a little more. Was this an emotional decision made by the emperor in anger, or was he already planning it?
If it is the former, then the current emperor is too willful, and Pan Mei is too unlucky, just to offend the emperor. If it is the latter, then it is not unreasonable. Pan Mei has been in the position of Minister of the Ministry of War for a long time. It is normal to move around. However, being sent to the southwest all at once, for Pan Mei, But it was a big blow.
After a slight hesitation, Lu Yin took the initiative and said: "Your Majesty, is this transfer too hasty? After all, Pan Shangshu is a national hero and an important minister of the imperial court. If he is replaced rashly, the impact..."
Glancing at Lu Yin, Emperor Liu stopped being polite and asked: "Why, in today's court, I can't even make the decision to replace a minister?"
"That's not what I meant!" Faced with Emperor Liu's eyes, Lu Yin was startled and said quickly.
Emperor Liu continued: "Tell Pan Mei that the southwest region has been unstable recently. Since he can't handle the affairs of the Ministry of War, let him go to Jing'an and Suiyuan! It's not like his ability to lead troops has deteriorated!" "
"Yes!" Lu Yin sighed silently in his heart.
Emperor Liu did not give up and continued to give instructions: "Also, prepare another edict to transfer Shi Shouxin to the northwest to replace Guo Jin and suppress the local area.
In recent years, he has been too comfortable as a privy councillor. Cao Bin has been worrying about everything, and he is not justified in supporting the government.
As for Shi Shouxin, at such a young age, how could he spend his old age in the capital and go out to lead troops for me? "
Another big move, another court prince, a distinguished general, and his position is still Shi Shouxin, who is in charge of military affairs. With Pan Mei in front of him, Lu Yin did not voice any objections. At the same time, he was convinced that such an adjustment was not a decision made by Emperor Liu out of anger, but had been planned for a long time.
However, the move to seize the real power of two county princes and exclude them from the center of power was enough to shock the court. In an environment where the Duke of the State is declining day by day or reclusive in the background, the Duke of the County is already the mainstay of the imperial court.
Although Pan Mei and Shi Shouxin do not completely represent the Xungui Group, in terms of status and class, many people will subconsciously differentiate between them.
Emperor Liu's move to remove the two men undoubtedly released a message to the outside world that Emperor Liu was dissatisfied with the recent actions of his nobles.
As for the impact this matter will have on the court, Lu Yin has no idea for the time being, and it is difficult to predict, but one thing is certain. The recent rumors that Zhao Pu is unstable are just rumors, and Zhao Pu's career as prime minister will continue. .
Emperor Liu's next words seemed to support this. Emperor Liu pointed to the pile of memorials on the imperial case and ordered: "Transfer these memorials to the Political Affairs Hall and let Zhao Pu handle them! In addition, he will discuss with the prince and other ministers about the selection of the Minister of War!"
"yes!"
It is obviously impossible to say that Emperor Liu had no suspicion of Zhao Pu at all. In the past few years, he had been somewhat affected by various criticisms against Zhao Pu.
Especially among them, Emperor Liu was also concerned about Zhao Pu's abuse of power and cultivation of private parties, and once deliberately suppressed Zhao Pu's power.
Among the previous prime ministers, Zhao Pu held the greatest real power. This was not only due to Zhao Pu's ability to govern, but also mainly due to Emperor Liu's delegation of power.
However, although Emperor Liu decentralized power, the challenges faced by Zhao Pu were not small at all. In the political affairs hall, there are also princes who supervise the country and participate in political affairs. There are also several princes and princes and relatives in various ministries. Among the important officials of the bureaucracy, there is Song Qi in the front and Wang Pu in the back. These are all a kind of containment.
As for Zhao Pu's restrictions on nobles, either due to his own governing policy or forced and guided by Emperor Liu, it even caused Zhao Pu to lose the hearts of most of the nobles.
Based on the above factors, Zhao Pu's phase cannot be said to be very stable. As long as Emperor Liu reveals a little bit of meaning, many people will pounce on him.
In terms of real power, Zhao Pu does have a lot of power, but if he wants to monopolize power, it is obviously unfair to him. There are too many constraints from above and below, and there is not much room for monopolizing power.
Originally, Emperor Liu felt that after these years, coupled with the restrictions on Xungui after the Huazhou Hegong corruption case, the influence and strength of the Xungui Group had shrunk, and the bureaucratic group headed by Zhao Pu had been able to do to suppression.
But judging from the uproar caused by Emperor Fan Liu's sudden intervention in the government affairs, it is obvious that the influence of the Han heroes and nobles on the court is not so easy to eliminate. In the past, it was just dormant temporarily. When there was a little wind, you could take advantage of it.
In view of this, Zhao Pu, the prime minister, must continue to be in front of him.
As for Pan Mei and Shi Shouxin, they were just expressing a political attitude. After these two are released to the outside world, how many powerful nobles are left in the court?
Needless to say, there are countless people at the middle level, as far as the descendants of honorable nobles are concerned, but at the upper level, especially the positions close to the center of power, you can count them on your fingers, and most of them are such as Yang Ye, Gao Huaide, Wang Quanbin, and Murong Cheng. Tai, Zhao Yanjin, An Shouzhong, etc. have a strong influence, but most of them are limited to the military, and their identity sources are also complicated.
The only ones who really hold real power and exert influence in the government affairs are Cao Bin, who is supporting the government, and Zhao Kuangzan, who is in charge of the vassal court.
