Chen Yan was extremely good at figuring out Emperor Chongzhen's thoughts. The reason why he was able to serve as prime minister and become a bachelor of Wuying Palace was not because he had accomplished many great achievements or how capable he really was, but because he was worldly and tactful.

He is good at understanding the emperor's heart and is good at catering to his wishes.

Emperor Chongzhen's behavior after Yang Sichang's death allowed him to see just how important Yang Sichang's position was in Emperor Chongzhen's heart.

In this case, recommending a candidate who has a close relationship with Yang Sichang and has been recommended by Yang Sichang has a high chance of gaining the emperor's approval.

Fan Fucui had already written twice requesting to be appointed official, which made Chen Yan eye the position of the next chief minister of the cabinet, so everything was done to cater to the emperor's preferences.

As for what Ding Qirui's abilities and talents are, and whether he will mess things up, he doesn't care at all, and he doesn't care.

Among the people who fit the mold of Chen Yan, Zhang Sizhi and Wei Zhaocheng are the so-called cabinet elders who fill their positions by cheating and mediocrity. They have no fundamental party members in the court. Since they joined the cabinet, the government and the opposition have exchanged impeachments. What is the role of them?

's never happened.

Emperor Chongzhen originally brought the two of them into the cabinet to assist in the administration, originally to let them occupy their seats so that Yang Sichang would not be constrained, and at the same time, he would not be constrained by cabinet ministers with ideas and partisanship.

And they also know how much they weigh, and they act based on the emperor's face and never express their own opinions.

As for Chen Xinjia, Minister of the Ministry of War, although he had his own thoughts and ideas, and at the same time had a bad impression of Ding Qirui and wanted to oppose it, he did not speak out in the end.

He knew that any one of Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting would be more suitable than Ding Qirui.

But at this time, Hong Chengchou was outside the customs and could not move lightly, while Sun Chuanting had been kept in prison because he offended the emperor.

Moreover, the reason why the emperor was angered was because he did not deal with Yang Sichang and opposed the emperor and Yang Sichang's strategy of suppressing thieves.

If I now suggest that the emperor release Sun Chuanting and ask him to clean up the mess left by Yang Sichang, wouldn't that be a slap in the emperor's face?

Chen Xinjia would not dare to do this kind of thing.

Thinking back to the beginning, even if Yang Zhen, who was in the emperor's heart, repeatedly asked people to explain, Emperor Chongzhen was not moved at all, which made Chen Xinjia dare not speak at all.

Therefore, he finally followed Zhang Sizhi and Wei Zhaocheng and agreed with the proposal of the great scholar Chen Yan.

Therefore, among the important court officials kneeling in the palace, only Fan Fucui, the chief minister of the cabinet, did not express his position.

"Mr. Fan Ge, you are the chief minister of the cabinet and asked Ding Qirui, the governor of the three sides, to take over the vacancy left by Mr. Yang Ge. What do you think?"

"minister--"

"If you have a more suitable candidate, can you bring it up for discussion?"

Emperor Chongzhen saw that Fan Fucui was hesitant and hesitant to speak. He knew that Fan Fucui had different opinions on the choice of Ding Qirui, so he immediately asked him.

However, to his disappointment, Fan Fucui immediately made up his mind when he asked.

At this time, Fan Fucui kowtowed calmly and said: "Your Majesty, I don't have a more suitable candidate here. This matter is of great importance, so it would be better for your Majesty to be decisive."

"Hmph, Gan Gang is dictatorial, Gan Gang is dictatorial, if everything must be done by me, Gan Gang, what use do I need from you?!"

Faced with Fan Fucui's behavior, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly became angry, snorted coldly, and bluntly rebuked Fan Fucui.

However, Fan Fucui seemed to have made a major decision at this time, and no longer cared much about Emperor Chongzhen's face-to-face rebuke.

He was not optimistic about Ding Qirui, the governor of the three sides. He knew that Ding Qirui was too bookish, similar to Yang Sichang, and he might not be able to hold a big position in the chaotic situation.

However, several figures in the pass that he was optimistic about, such as Sun Chuanting, Zheng Chongjian, and Fu Zonglong, were all imprisoned at this time.

Moreover, the reason for being imprisoned was almost all related to their disagreement with Yang Sichang and their impeachment by Yang Sichang.

At this time, Yang Sichang had just died, and Emperor Chongzhen was lamenting and mourning him. He suggested that one of them should succeed Yang Sichang, which would probably offend the emperor and harm them.

Therefore, after much deliberation, Fan Fucui simply did not mention it to anyone. Instead, he took out a memorial from his sleeves, held it high above his head and said:

"I am guilty. I am old and feeble. I am not qualified to serve as the chief minister of the cabinet. This is my official memorial. I ask the Holy Spirit for permission to return to my hometown."

"Fan Fucui! You——"

Fan Fucui's response made Emperor Chongzhen furious. He suddenly stood up from the throne, pointed his finger at Fan Fucui who was kneeling on the ground and wanted to scold him.

Suddenly, the situation in the main hall of Qianqing Palace changed and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

Everyone else held their breath, bowed their heads and knelt on the ground, and no one came out to speak.

Emperor Chongzhen hoped that someone would stand up and be a peacemaker at this time and persuade Fan Fucui to put away the memorial.

But Emperor Chongzhen was disappointed again.

Emperor Chongzhen had repeatedly ordered his ministers not to interfere in the affairs of the state, so at this time, several eunuchs in charge of rituals, including Wang Chengen, strictly abided by this rule and everyone dared to speak.

Correspondingly, several cabinet ministers present today have their own small thoughts. They are eager for Fan Fucui to step down and become an official to vacate his seat, so that they can take a step forward.

Therefore, no one was willing to step forward to give Emperor Chongzhen a step forward, whether it was Zhang Sizhi, the second assistant who was immediately behind Fan Fucui, Chen Yan, Wei Zhaocheng, or Chen Xinjia, who was eager to join the cabinet.

In this way, Emperor Chongzhen held his fingers for a long time, and finally sighed and sat back on the dragon throne.

"That's it, that's all. If that's the case, then that's all. You go, go, I'm OK, I'm OK for you to become an official."

Emperor Chongzhen was already looking haggard. After Fan Fuchui gave up his job on the spot because of his disagreement, he suddenly lost all energy and energy. He muttered to himself and waved his hand for Fan Fuchui to leave.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"

Seeing Emperor Chongzhen's expression, Fan Fucui seemed to be unable to bear it. He first kowtowed to the leader to thank him, then took a deep breath, continued to raise the official certificate in his hand, and said to the emperor:

"Although the old minister has asked himself to take up the official position, this news is that the old minister was appointed as the chief minister of the cabinet before taking up the official position. I would like to ask your majesty to take a look at it and make some suggestions. I hope your majesty will take note of it!"

Originally, Fan Fucui's request to become an official at this time was basically the same as quitting the job when things came to a head. Emperor Chongzhen's impression of him suddenly became extremely bad.

However, when Emperor Chongzhen had just appointed Fan Fucui as the chief minister of the cabinet, he still had high hopes for him.

Moreover, when Li Zicheng captured Luoyang and King Fu died, and when Zhang Xianzhong captured Xiangyang and King Xiang died, Fan Fucui stood up to take the blame for Emperor Chongzhen and took the initiative to share the responsibility for Emperor Chongzhen by inviting himself to serve.

He still recognized this affection.

So when he saw Fan Fucui holding up the fold in his hand, waiting for his response, Emperor Chongzhen softened his heart and said, "Okay, bring it."

When Emperor Chongzhen spoke these words, Wang Chengen, who was kneeling on the side, stood up, quickly took the booklet from Fan Fucui's hand, and ran over to the emperor with a small step.

Emperor Chongzhen got the hefty memorial and saw that it was a thick stack. He didn't bother to read it at the moment. He threw it on the table in front of him and said:

"If you have anything to say, just pick out the most important ones. I'll keep this for now and look at it in detail another day!"

Faced with the emperor's request, Fan Fucui certainly did not dare to refuse, so he thought about it and said:

"The current military and state affairs, whether they are outside the customs or within the customs, since the veteran has not made any suggestions just now, naturally they are not mentioned in the report, so your majesty does not need to rush to read it.

"But since Your Majesty asked me to talk about the most important thing, I believe that the most important thing for the court after I take office is to appoint the chief minister of the cabinet and appoint the right person.

"The old minister is stupid and incompetent. He has been in the cabinet for more than a year. He has been unable to bring peace to the country through literature and power. He has not been able to accomplish anything important for your Majesty. I deeply feel that I have betrayed your majesty's great trust. If I can't leave my post, I will not be able to rest at night."

—”

"Fan Fucui, are you going to recommend someone to replace you?"

"I'm brave. If Your Majesty agrees, I do have this intention."

"Well, since you want to become an official, the position of chief assistant cannot be vacant. Since you have a candidate, let's talk about it!"

As the saying goes, a person's words are good even when he is about to die. Although Fan Fuchui only became an official and did not die, becoming an official meant the end of his official career.

To Emperor Chongzhen, that was almost as good as death.

In this case, you might as well listen to his last words as an official. Maybe at this time, this chief minister who is cautious in his words and deeds will be able to tell the truth.

Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen actually nodded in agreement.

"Old minister, I would like to thank Your Majesty for your kindness!"

Fan Fucui was betting on Emperor Chongzhen's approval, so as soon as he heard what the emperor said, he immediately kowtowed to the ground and thanked him, and then said:

"I am about to take up my official post. What I say below is not selfish at all, and it is just a suggestion. Whether it is useful or not depends entirely on the Holy Judgment. I dare you to ask Your Majesty to reject others!"

"His Majesty!"

Fan Fucui's words immediately aroused objections from other important ministers present.

If Fan Fuchui suddenly asked himself to take office just now, and other important ministers present were still indifferent, then when he said that he wanted to recommend candidates to succeed him as chief minister before taking office, it has already aroused the dissatisfaction of many people.

These so-called important ministers may not be good at anything else, but when it comes to fighting for power and profit, they are all as shrewd as ghosts.

For example, the second assistant, Zhang Sizhi, had already scolded all eight generations of Fan Fucui's ancestors in his heart at this moment.

He knew that Fan Fuchui looked down upon him, and he also knew that Fan Fuchui's purpose of offering an official position in exchange for advising the emperor on the candidate to succeed him was to prevent him, Zhang Sizhi, from succeeding him as the chief minister as usual.

This was simply a slap in the face of Zhang Sizhi in front of the emperor and everyone present.

Therefore, as soon as Zhang Sizhi heard that Fan Fucui had asked the emperor to exclude everyone else, he immediately seized the opportunity.

"Your Majesty, no! The position of chief minister of the cabinet is a public instrument of the imperial court. All the important officials of the imperial court are present. How can they not hear about it?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, as the saying goes, a gentleman is magnanimous and can tell others everything he wants. Since he is dedicated to serving the public, why should he withdraw from the right and left?"

"I second the proposal!"

After Zhang Sizhi took the lead to speak out against it, Chen Yan also stood up to oppose it, and Wei Zhaocheng, who kept saying "I second the proposal", once again resorted to his old trick of not offending anyone.

As a result, Emperor Chongzhen, who was about to oust everyone when they objected, immediately gave up the idea of ​​​​repelling everyone, and instead nodded and said:

"What Mr. Zhang Ge and Mr. Chen Ge said makes sense. Fan Fucui, since you have something to say, say it here! If it can be settled today, let it be settled today!"

"this--"

Emperor Chongzhen's strategy suddenly disrupted Fan Fucui's plan, but he hesitated and said:
To be continued...