The news of Shen Tu Gang's downfall swept across like a strong wind. Before nightfall, everyone in the capital knew about it.
The prime minister and assistant of a country, the pillar of the country's dynasty, suddenly collapsed.
People outside the circle are talking about it. The little people are only responsible for chatting, responsible for brainstorming, responsible for watching the fun and eating melons, and responsible for spreading rumors, because all this has nothing to do with them. They can’t even write the three words Shen Tu Gang, let alone Dare to write. Now that Shen Tu Gang has fallen, not only do they dare to write, they also dare to spread rumors.
People in the circle were either happy or sad, and no one could sit still. In a certain sense, Zaifu was a kind of lubricant. He could represent the emperor and suppress his ministers, or he could represent his ministers and fight against the imperial power.
The emperor felt that a country could not live without a king for a day.
The ministers felt that the country could not live without slaughter for a day.
In every government office, every mansion, every squad room, every study room in the capital, countless dignitaries were analyzing, preparing, excited, and guessing in lowered voices.
Shen Tu Gang's downfall was too sudden, which meant that the emperor had not yet decided who should take over, and his ministers had not made any preparations. They would have to rely on their own methods next.
Normally speaking, the candidates vying for the position of Prime Minister can be counted on both hands.
There is no need to consider the Minister of Jiu Temple. If he is on the same level as Zuo Shilang, then only the Minister is qualified. At most, he can also include people who are very prestigious among the people, such as the Prince, the Young Master, and the Imperial Master. However, there is no such empty title in this dynasty.
If the elimination method is used, one minister needs to be eliminated, not Zhou Zhenghuai, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, but Sun Shouting, the minister of the Ministry of Revenue.
Sun Shouting was in charge of the world's money and food. At that time, Sun was one of the first people to jump out to support Zhou Ke's ascension to the throne. Zhou Ke would not give the position of Minister of Household Affairs to anyone except Sun Shouting.
But Zhou Zhenghuai, Minister of Industry, had some chances because he was obedient.
The throne of Zhou Ke was given to him by Han Bairen, the eldest brother on the list, so there were only three true ministers of Conglong, namely Sun Shouting, Zhou Zhenghuai, and Shentu Gang.
Shen Tu Gang is now finished, and Sun Shouting cannot move. On the contrary, Zhou Zhenghuai, the best of the six, may become the dark horse.
Among the six ministers of Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li, Zhou, and Wu, after excluding Lao Sun, there are still five ministers left. Among the five ministers, Li Zhidao, the minister of the Ministry of War, has to be excluded.
Li Zhidao was in a state of semi-retirement. He suffered from injuries all his life as a soldier and rarely went to court. All the official affairs of the Ministry of War were handed over to his left and right ministers.
Then there are four left. Apart from Zhou Zhenghuai, the one with the least chance is Wu Dingbi, the Minister of Punishment.
Everyone in the country knew that Wu Dingbi was not Zhou Ke's confidant, because this guy's "loyalty to the emperor" was just loyalty to the emperor, and he would be loyal to whoever was the emperor.
In the previous dynasty, the foolish emperor brought disaster to the world, but he pretended not to see it. When Zhou Ke rebelled, he didn't care. He made no difference to whoever was the emperor. He just wanted to be loyal to whoever was the emperor.
This is not considered smart, and it can be said that he has no political IQ, but he is in charge of the Ministry of Punishment, and he is an upright man. He has almost never participated in party disputes in the court. After becoming the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, he just took care of his own affairs.
It's okay for such ministers to meet Mingjun, and they don't have to like him, but such people are indispensable in the court, but only in the court, not in the emperor.
It cannot be said that the possibility of Wu Dingbi becoming Prime Minister is zero. Anyway, the chances are pitifully small.
The Ministry of War, the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the Ministry of Punishment can all be PASSed, and the remaining ones are the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of Work.
Zhou Zhenghuai from the Ministry of Industry is loyal, but if the emperor insists on proposing that Lao Zhou be the prime minister and assistant, he will definitely encounter unprecedented obstacles. It's not that the ministers don't like Lao Zhou, but they don't like a prime minister who obeys the emperor's words.
There were only two people who had the ability and the support of many officials, and at the same time dared to confront the emperor under special circumstances. Qian Ji, the Minister of Rites, and Zhao Tai, the Minister of Personnel.
Zhao and Qian were both veterans of the former dynasty.
Qian Ji, the Minister of Rites, served as the left minister of the Ministry of Rites in the previous dynasty. He was one of the few ruthless characters in the court who dared to make the emperor dislike him and make him unable to kill him.
Qian Ji is an old man, who happens to be sixty this year. He was fifty-nine when Zhou Ke ascended the throne. His predecessor, Lu Jia, the former Minister of Rites, was a staunch loyalist and loyal to the faint emperor. Later, when Zhou Ke "seized the palace", Lu Jia Jia hanged himself in the palace. He was stabbed eight times on the back and hanged himself to death. Qian Ji became the Minister of Rites as the first heir.
This old man Qian Ji is very awesome. Not to mention the fact that he fights with others, the most talked about are two things.
The first thing is to play one ball every three days and one small ball every two days. As the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, he plays the Shangshu and the Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites.
In other words, this guy would impeach his superiors every day, saying that Lu Jia was a sycophant, flattering the emperor every day, and relying on his favor to form cliques and do bad things for personal gain.
Logically speaking, Qian Ji should be killed, either by Lu Jia or Hunjun, but neither of them could kill him.
Because Qian Ji saved the life of the former Hunjun and his father, the country had already begun to decline during Hunjun's father's reign. Foreign enemies were knocking on the door, and Hunjun's father wanted to "defend" him personally, so he took the capital with him. Wei walked north, but when he crossed the ice of the river, more than a hundred people including his entourage and others fell under the ice and could not swim up.
Qian Ji from Donghai, his hometown, was really brave when he was young. He started, sprinted, and plunged into the glacier. He dived in the cold water for half a stick of incense before he was fished out by the emperor, and he was also rescued. Thirteen guards and six young eunuchs.
For saving the driver, he opened a blind box, and his father rewarded him with a gold medal to avoid death.
Although he was rescued, due to this accident, Hunjun's father fell ill and died within a few years. After that, Hunjun ascended the throne.
Or Qian Jimeng, since he got this death-free gold medal, he completely used it as a certain death gold medal.
One day he would be slandering one thing and the other tomorrow, he would be jumping up and down in the court, not only impeaching his superiors, but also burying and burying the ignorant king, who did not dare to do anything to him.
The Han Dynasty ruled the country with filial piety, but if the gold medal for immunity from death was not given by his father, even if it was given by his grandfather, Hunjun would have asked Yidao Wei to kill Qian Ji.
Zhou Ke also fell in love with Qian Ji, a tough guy. It happened that the Minister of Rites "hanged himself", so Qian Ji became the Minister of Rites.
In addition to Qian Ji, the other person with the greatest chance of winning is Zhao Tai, the Minister of Civil Affairs.
Zhao Tai was born in the Zhao family in the South. Other families are said to be wealthy families of various kinds, top wealthy families, but the Zhao family is the top wealthy family in the South, or the top wealthy family in the country.
Zhao Tai's ancestors can be traced back to the Warring States Period. Since the founding of the Kang Dynasty, one of the core children of the Zhao family must be an official in the court. The lowest-ranking one is Zuo Shilang. There have been six ministers and one prime minister. Most of them have empty titles, such as Prince's Young Master, Prince's Young Master, Imperial Master, etc.
When the imperial court wants the Zhao family to serve as officials, it does not need the ability of a certain Zhao family, but the power of the Zhao family.
It can be said that the previous emperor made many mistakes that made all strata dissatisfied with him. If you ask which two mistakes were the most serious, first, he underestimated Zhou Ke's influence in the northern and eastern armies, and second, he offended Zhao family.
Not mentioning Zhou Ke's matter, just talking about the Zhao family, the previous dynasty's tyrannical rule and excessive taxation in the Southland made the wealthy families in the Southland very dissatisfied. As a representative of many aristocratic families in the Southland, the left minister Zhao Tai On the fold.
It was okay the first few times. Hunjun gave me some face and said he would think about it.
In the next few times, Zhao Tai was no longer favored by the faint king. During this period, Shen Tugang, the official minister, also offended the Ma family, and was eventually banished from the capital.
Logically speaking, after Shen Tugang left, the position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel should be given to Zhao Tai, the left minister. Unexpectedly, the former emperor did not like Zhao Tai because of the tax and silver matters in the south, so he just held back, even if the civil and military officials in the dynasty recommended Zhao Tai. Tai, Hunjun still has the vacant position of Minister.
This also caused Zhao Tai and the Zhao family to become disheartened, and finally secretly supported the eldest prince.
Unexpectedly, the eldest prince was killed by Zhou Ke again. Boss Zhou directly put his second son on a weight and called him his younger brother.
However, after Lao Ba came to the throne, he gave the position of Minister of Civil Affairs to Zhao Tai. The Zhao family was very satisfied, and the aristocratic families in the south were also very satisfied on the surface.
Therefore, among the ministers in the court, the six ministers, and the ministers of the nine temples, there are only two people who can really compete for the position of prime minister and assistant: the minister of rites, Qian Ji, the hero of the water, and the minister of official affairs, Zhao Tai, the representative of the top wealthy family.
All of a sudden, the ministers went to different mansions in sedan chairs at night, discussing, preparing, and competing.
Han You never thought that his "private affairs" would cause undercurrents throughout the capital and the entire court.
At this time, Han You was lying on the ground, and Wu Mingyue was massaging his waist.
Han Shaoyin was injured again. This guy was about to throw away his armor. He became so angry that he became anxious. With such force, the bed arch collapsed, his waist was pinched, and his thighs were scratched.
Wu Mingyue pouted and muttered: "You are so useless."
Han You opened his mouth and pretended not to hear anything.
