Regarding Li Hao's job transfer, Li Hao's two old bosses still regretted it. For this reason, Song Chaozhong and Bi Zhongyou specially hosted a banquet for Li Hao.
Of course, while entertaining Li Hao, he also invited Yang Wenyuan over.
After all, he was the next person to take over Li Hao's position. With his rank of fifth rank, he became the former Sidu Yuhou of Quanfaqian Palace.
In addition, the power of Duke Ling's Mansion was still there, and Song Chaozhong and Bi Zhongyou also wanted to maintain a good relationship with him.
Yang Wenyuan was not a flamboyant person to begin with, so with Li Hao's help, the three of them basically reached a consensus.
So the ensuing banquet was naturally enjoyed by both host and guest.
A few days later, after Li Hao received his official certificate again, he came to the Third Division again, but this time Li Hao already had an independent office space.
There is an exclusive Salt and Iron Department office in the courtyard, and all of Li Hao's subordinate officials have already arrived.
But when Li Hao walked in, he realized that these were old acquaintances.
I couldn't help but feel that it was really easy to enjoy the shade with my back against the big tree, and it was easy to do things when there were people in the yamen.
In order to facilitate himself, Ouyang Xiu really tried his best to help, and moved the group of people he had brought to Huainan, including Sheng Hong, to the Salt and Iron Division. For a time, Li Hao's men and horses were also strong.
Although these people may not all be reliable, at least they are acquaintances, and they are guaranteed to be obedient and do things well.
And after experiencing what happened in Huainan, these people have more or less understanding of the salt tax issue.
So Li Hao told them to first find and propose ways to improve the policy. The focus was to consider the salt introduction system and the salt review system to see if they could combine them to find a way out.
In addition, in view of the current problem that the price of official salt is too high, in order to reduce the price of salt, it is necessary to ensure that the salt tax will not be reduced sharply.
Therefore, Li Hao could only send more manpower to conduct on-site inspections at the salt field to see if there was any way to reduce the cost of salt production, thereby lowering the price of salt.
After receiving the order, everyone got busy, especially Sheng Hong.
Li Hao still remembered the incident when Sheng Hong wanted to pass the blame on him, although Li Hao was indeed responsible for that incident.
But Li Hao still doesn't approve of this kind of behavior. Anyone who blames him is not a good person.
Therefore, Li Hao specially arranged tiring work for him, ensuring that he would leave early and come home late every day. He would not even have time to accompany his wife, although he may not be willing to accompany her.
After arranging for others, Li Hao first ran to Ouyang Xiu and thanked him deeply.
Then he also stepped into the busy team. Of course, this is not just about respecting his duties.
On the other hand, Li Hao also wanted to avoid Zhao Ceying effectively, lest he come to ask about the situation and he didn't know how to answer.
But what Li Hao didn't expect was that during this busy month, Zhao Ceying really didn't come to see him again.
This made Li Hao very strange. Could it be that Zhao Zongquan and the others had changed their minds.
Before Li Hao could figure this out, a piece of news came from Luoyang, completely disrupting Li Hao's plan.
He hurried to Ouyang Xiu's place, but he wasn't there yet, so Li Hao had to wait outside.
After finally waiting for Ouyang Xiu to come back, Li Hao hurriedly stepped forward and asked: "I just heard the news that Mrs. Qin Guotai, the mother of Grand Prime Minister Fu Bi, the first-grade lady of the country, passed away. Does my uncle know about this?"
Ouyang Xiu replied: "I have heard about this matter. I just went to see Mr. Fu for this purpose.
The news from Luoyang was that Mrs. Qin Guotai's health had been deteriorating since the year before. She had wanted to inform the wealthy husband for a long time, but she suddenly felt better for a while, so she was not in a hurry to report her.
But I didn't expect that just after the New Year, my health would suddenly become worse, so I sent someone to come from Luoyang. "
Now that the authenticity of the matter was confirmed, the first thing Li Hao thought of was Ding You's problem. After all, Fu Bi was a strong supporter of the New Deal. Once Ding You returned home, Fu Bi would.
Han Qi was left in charge of the power, and he had many questions about his conduct as a person.
After Ouyang Xiu's reminder last time, Li Hao didn't dare to trust it.
So he quickly asked: "Then the Grand Prime Minister has said what he is going to do? Will the officials take advantage of the Grand Prime Minister's love and bring him back?"
Ouyang Xiu also understood Li Hao's worries, and sighed and said, "I don't know what the official family means yet, but I think they are not willing to let the rich prime minister go.
It's just that I think the wealthy husband means that he himself is preparing for Ding You. "
After hearing this, Li Hao said: "It's been three years since Dingyou. Now the New Deal has just begun. There is no way to get rid of the rich husband. My uncle didn't even try to persuade him."
Ouyang Xiu said: "I don't know what you said, but the rich husband is the most filial person, so he naturally wants to fulfill his filial piety for his mother.
Moreover, once the love affair comes back, the government and the public will inevitably discuss things, and the wealthy husband will also have to consider this issue. "
Li Hao disagreed with this. If there was no reform, it would not matter what Fu Bi did.
But now that the reform has begun, as one of the leaders, how can he retreat at this time?
He refused to imitate Zhang Juzheng, and directly resurrected his emotions for the sake of reform. He walked on firmly and created Wanli Zhongxing.
Of course, his ending was a bit miserable, but the Song Dynasty was not the Ming Dynasty, and preferential treatment for civil servants here was guaranteed.
Moreover, the Song Dynasty had a long history of seizing the love of a prime minister, so he said: "When a ruler suffers a loss, he will rise again. This is a long-standing precedent. There is nothing worth discussing."
Now that the New Deal has just begun to take shape, the salt tax has also been investigated, and the square field equalization tax law has also been implemented on Yongxing Military Road.
Is it true that if we throw all these aside just to keep filial piety, then being loyal to our country is not important? "
Upon hearing this, Ouyang Xiu said: "Don't talk nonsense, these are two different things, and even if the wealthy husband leaves.
Not only is Prime Minister Han still in charge of the New Deal, but everyone else is still here, so there won't be any problems.
In addition, I will go to the Grand Prime Minister’s house tonight, and we will discuss the details tomorrow. "
Li Hao could only nod helplessly now: "Okay, then I'll wait for news about my uncle first."
After finishing speaking, Li Hao returned to the office of the Salt and Iron Division, thinking about what would happen next.
After all, things have changed, and the reform of the New Deal may directly reduce one pillar. Then Li Hao will have to consider how to tighten the pace and wait and see first.
In the evening, at Fu Bi's house, Ouyang Xiu and Han Qi visited respectively.
The two first comforted Fu Bi, and then talked about Ding You's incident. At the same time, Ouyang Xiu talked about the common practice of revolt after being in power, and hoped that Fu Bi would take the overall situation into consideration and stay in the court.
In this regard, Fu Bi bluntly said: "To regain love is to change the golden revolution into ritual," which is a workaround during times of war.
Now is a time of peace and prosperity, and observing filial piety for three years is what we must do.
And you say this is a common practice, but this is wrong. In the future, if a powerful official harms the country, this example can be used to continue to harm the country and the people.
It is up to me to break this example today, so as to ensure that people in the future will not use this example to do evil. "
What he said was reasonable and reasonable, but considering the current situation, Ouyang Xiu wanted to persuade him again, and was preparing to talk to Han Qi who was standing aside.
But at this time Fu Bi said: "Furthermore, I have discussed this matter with Mr. Han on a daily basis, and he also believes that this is not a model of the prosperous age of the imperial court.
Moreover, both of you can preside over the new coup and legislation in the government. Even if I leave temporarily, it can still be carried out. "
Upon hearing this, Ouyang Xiu didn't know what to say, mainly because he didn't expect Han Qi to support Ding You.
If I try to persuade him again now, wouldn't he have to argue with Han Qi face to face?
As for Han Qi, he probably didn't expect Fu Bi to say that directly, and it was difficult to answer for a while.
Because if he said he supported Duoqing, it would be a slap in his face; but if he said he supported Ding You, there would be no problem in theory, but he was afraid that it would make Ouyang Xiu think too much, and it would be inappropriate no matter what.
So when neither of them spoke, the place suddenly became quiet. After that, the three of them said a few more words and then went their separate ways.
left.
But both Han Qi and Ouyang Xiu understood that after this incident, a rift had developed, and it would be difficult for them to imagine working together as seamlessly as before.
When Li Hao learned of the situation the next day, Fu Bi's documents requesting Ding You had already been handed over to the palace.
Regarding this, Li Hao was really surprised. He did not expect that Han Qi would become the main force in persuading Fu Bi and Ding You.
But after thinking about it, it makes sense.
After all, Fu Bi is now the prime minister of Zhaowen and Tong Zhongshu, while Han Qi is the prime minister and privy envoy. After Fu Bi leaves, Han Qi can naturally take over from Fu Bi and become the prime minister.
And thinking more about it, Han Qi's parents have passed away now, and he has already passed his worries, so naturally he doesn't need to worry about himself.
However, Li Hao was still a little unwilling, so he went to Ouyang Xiu and said, "Then my uncle is not going to persuade him any more and will let the rich prime minister leave the court."
Ouyang Xiu sighed: "No matter how much I try to persuade you on this matter, what the wealthy prime minister said makes sense. Plus, Han Da Xianggong agrees, so what I say won't have any effect."
So far, we can only rely on the officials' ability. The officials certainly don't want the wealthy husband to leave at this time, and they will definitely dissuade him again and again.
Next, it depends on the determination of the wealthy husband. If he wants to leave, it is impossible to force him to stay. "
After hearing this, Li Hao no longer had any expectations: "Okay, then I'll go back and wait for the news."
And from that day onwards, Fu Bi closed his doors and did not go to court, waiting for the court's decree.
Zhao Zhen really didn't want Fu Bi to leave the court at this time, so he made a decree to get Fu Bi back from his love.
But this decree was not accepted by Fu Bi, so he followed up with a second document requesting Ding You.
Zhao Zhen still refused, and wrote in his own hand a list of court issues, hoping that Fu Bi would stay in the court and continue to serve.
Of course, Fu Bi still didn't agree. Instead, he sent a third letter, earnestly saying that he wanted to go home and fulfill his filial piety.
Then as expected, Zhao Zhen's third love letter was delivered to Fu Bi.
But Fu Bi had already decided to leave, so he sent a fourth letter asking for Ding You.
In the past two days, several documents went back and forth between the palace and Fu Bi's house, which also affected the hearts of many people in the court.
And these thoughts were finally settled on this last document.
On this day, Zhao Zhen approved Fu Bi's move to Ding You and asked him to return to his hometown and observe filial piety for a total of twenty-seven months.
As a result, Fu Bi temporarily left the political center, and Han Qi was about to step into the position of prime minister.
On the day Fu Bi left Beijing, many officials from the DPRK and the Central Government were grateful for Fu Bi's selflessness, purity and filial piety, so they went outside Bianjing to see the former prime minister leave Beijing. Among them, Li Hao was also with Ouyang Xiu.
But at this time, Li Hao's attention was not on Fu Bi, but on Han Qi.
Thinking about it now, Han Qi was the one who ultimately benefited the most from Fu Bi's unexpected departure from Beijing.
And thinking about Han Qi's previous attempt to seize property and power against him, Li Hao felt more and more that Fu Bi's departure from Beijing might also be part of his plan.
Of course, Li Hao did not think that Han Qi was responsible for the death of Mrs. Qin Guotai, but Han Qi should have known the news and been prepared.
Apart from Han Qi, Zhao Zongquan should be quite happy about this. After all, having the support of the prime minister is much more important than a privy envoy.
As for others, it is not without benefits. At this level, the official position in the court is a carrot and a pit.
The top position has moved, and there are many people sitting in rows below who want to take a step forward. How can it make people unhappy?
For a time, in Bianjing City, those civil servants who hoped to advance further were gearing up to show off their talents.
Of course, for Li Hao, there is nothing to look forward to. After all, he has just been promoted. No matter how he adjusts this time, it will not be his turn.
Now that Han Qi's progress is inevitable, Li Hao only cares about who will pick up Han Qi's class.
But what about this person Li Hao?
He never expected that Ouyang Xiu would become the Privy Councilor.
Seven days after Fu Bi left Bianjing, Han Qi officially became Zhao Wenxiang and Tong Zhongshu's subordinate Ping Zhangshi and took charge of the Political Affairs Hall, while Ouyang Xiu became the Jixian Prime Minister and Privy Councilor and took charge of the Privy Council.
As for the responsibilities of the three envoys, they are temporarily vacant. The three departments of Yantie, Duzhi and Hubu are temporarily in charge of their respective chief officials.
Although this promotion is reasonable, from the third envoy to the privy envoy, from the prime minister to the second prime minister, it is a normal promotion in itself.
But for Li Hao, this exchange means that Li Hao has lost his most direct supporter in the salt tax reform.
Even with Zhao Zhen's support, if the third envoy who takes over does not agree, then Li Hao will not be able to do anything.
And since Ouyang Xiu left, Li Hao could feel that there had been some turmoil within the Salt and Iron Division, but Li Hao could still suppress it for the time being.
At the same time, the vacancy of the position of Third Secretary has also attracted everyone's attention. Unlike the previous vacancies in the Political Hall, many people had no hope.
There are many people who can take charge of the three divisions in a single round of qualifications.
Especially now that the power of the Third Division has greatly increased, it is even more fat in the eyes of others. For a time, the police in Bianjing City used all kinds of tricks to compete for this position, and they just pushed the Third Division to the forefront.
There was no other way, so Li Hao could only put aside the salt tax reform for the time being, and wait until the dust settled on the new Third Chief of Staff, and then look at how to proceed.
However, the new Third Secretary did not come, but the Duzhi Envoy and the Hubu Envoy found Li Hao and said that they would form an alliance with Li Hao to advance and retreat together.
Li Hao naturally agreed to this. As for whether he will sell these two people when the critical moment comes, it depends on the situation.
Of course, Li Hao believed that these two people probably thought so too.
But for the time being, through the joint efforts of the three of them, at least the internal affairs of the Third Division have been stabilized.
Soon, the candidate for the new Third Division Envoy had been selected, and Li Hao knew this candidate.
