Emperor Deqing had been fighting with Zhou Shangjing for many years, and he also knew Zhou Shangjing thoroughly. He knew that Zhou Shangjing's move to impeach Xue Gui and Zhang Bochong was by no means that simple. I'm afraid it was just a way of retreating to advance, playing hard to get. On the surface, it was to impeach Xue Gui and Zhang Bochong, but
In fact, they were secretly excusing the two of them. If Zhou Shangjing were allowed to continue talking, with Zhou Shangjing's clever excuse, I am afraid that Xue Gui and Zhang Bochong would soon be "unable to escape the blame and the circumstances are excusable." In the end, Xue Gui
The result of the punishment with Zhang Bochong was that the thunder was loud and the raindrops were light.
Therefore, Emperor Deqing still looked angry and did not give Zhou Shangjing a chance to explain his thoughts in detail. Instead, he asked directly: "Neglect of oversight and dereliction of duty? This crime can be minor or major, and the punishment can be lenient or severe, that is,
You can fine them a salary, or you can dismiss them and seize their posts... So, according to Mr. Zhou Ge, should Xue Gui and Zhang Bochong settle the matter with a fine? Or should they be dismissed and seize their posts?"
Emperor Deqing's rhetorical question can be said to be very particular. He took advantage of the current situation and pretended to be furious. He only gave Zhou Shangjing two choices, one was to fine him a salary, and the other was to be dismissed from office. When Zhao Junchen was assassinated,
The nature of the attack on the West Factory was extremely bad. After Xue Gui and Zhang Boxhong were implicated, it was obviously impossible to just fine them with salaries, otherwise they would not be able to convince both the government and the opposition. In this way, Zhou Shangjing had only one choice left.
.
Zhou Shangjing seemed completely unaware of Emperor Deqing's language trap. He only heard his old face full of serious expression, with a business-like look, and said slowly: "As your Majesty said, yesterday, the minister of household affairs, Zhao
Junchen was assassinated, and then Xichang was attacked. The assassin of Zhao Shangshu was also intercepted and silenced. The nature of this incident was so bad that it was rare in a century. The prestige of the court was also greatly damaged because of this. Xue Gui was the Yin of Shuntian Prefecture.
, the occurrence of such a major case in the capital was entirely due to his dereliction of duty. If he was not severely punished, it would not be able to show the determination of the court. Therefore, I believe that Xue Gui should be deprived of his post of Shuntian Prefecture Yin.
For the sake of diligence, he can be temporarily appointed as the Tongzhi of Shuntian Prefecture to assist the new Shuntian Prefecture Yin. After all, Xue Gui has been the Shuntian Prefecture Yin for eight years and is most familiar with the situation in the capital. Now is an extraordinary period. Yesterday
Several major cases must be solved as soon as possible. The new Shuntian Prefecture Yin has just arrived, which may delay a lot of opportunities. We also need to rely on Xue Gui's rich experience."
After a pause, Zhou Shangjing changed the topic and said: "However, the situation of Zhang Boxhong, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishments, is a little different. He has only been in the position of Minister of the Ministry of Punishments for more than five months. During this period, he still has four months to follow His Majesty on his southern tour, even with the Ministry of Punishments.
I haven’t had time to familiarize myself with the details of the situation, let alone control the Ministry of Punishment. If we insist on holding him accountable, I’m afraid it would be inappropriate. I think a fine and a warning would be enough.”
After hearing Zhou Shangjing's suggestion, Emperor Deqing pondered for a moment.
It seems that Zhou Shangjing wanted to make a deal with Emperor Deqing, at the cost of giving up the important position of Shuntian Prefecture Yin, in order to preserve Zhang Bochong's position as Minister of Punishment.
After thinking about this for a while, Emperor Deqing felt that the deal was still acceptable.
After all, as Zhou Shangjing said, Zhang Bochong has only taken over the position of Minister of the Ministry of Justice for a short time. If Zhang Bochong is held accountable forcibly, it may be difficult to convince the officials. With Zhou Shangjing's full protection, it will be difficult for Emperor Deqing to remove Zhang Bochong.
Given his official position, it would not be a bad idea to let Zhang Bochong go once.
Comparatively speaking, although the position of Shuntian Prefecture Yin is not as prominent as that of the Minister of Punishment, this position can promptly control and participate in all changes in the capital, and he is also qualified to undertake complaints from all over the country. It is equivalent to a small Punishment Ministry and is of great importance.
But it is no less impressive. Being able to seize the opportunity to take away Xue Gui's position as Shuntian Mansion and make Zhou Shangjing lose control of Shuntian Mansion is a good result.
Although Emperor Deqing originally wanted to remove Zhang Bochong and Xue Gui from their official positions, that was only the most ideal result. With Zhou Shangjing's precautions, Emperor Deqing could barely accept half of the goal.
So Emperor Deqing nodded slightly and asked: "Then, who should take over the position of Shuntian Fuyin?"
Zhou Shangjing replied: "The position of Shuntian Prefect is quite important. Who should take over should naturally be decided by Your Majesty's Sacred Heart. I dare not interfere."
After hearing Zhou Shangjing's answer, Emperor Deqing's eyes flashed with satisfaction, feeling that Zhou Shangjing still knew how to advance and retreat.
Then, Emperor Deqing swept his eyes towards the officials, trying to find the next candidate for Shuntian Prefecture among the officials, and was waiting for the recommendations of the important ministers.
However, under Emperor Deqing's glance, all the officials were looking at their noses, noses and mouths, and their mouths were watching their hearts. They were all silent, as if they had no idea of Emperor Deqing's thoughts. Not only were there no officials
Mao Sui recommended himself, and no important official in the court even recommended his disciples.
For a moment, Huangji Hall suddenly fell into silence.
If in normal times, there was a vacancy of third-level real power in the court, it would inevitably be a scene where the major factions would not give in to each other and hundreds of officials in the court would fight to the death. However, today's situation is completely the opposite. Regarding the position of Shuntian Fuyin, various
Not only did the major factions and officials in the DPRK not compete for it, but they seemed to avoid it. They all shrank their heads, fearing that Emperor Deqing would notice them and allow themselves to take this position.
Seeing this situation, Emperor Deqing was slightly startled, but in a flash he figured out what the officials were thinking.
The situation in the capital city has always been complicated, and all forces are intertwined. Any small matter will involve many powerful people. Therefore, although the position of Shuntian Prefecture Yin is important, it has always been a crater. If you are not careful, you will offend people.
, the slightest mistake will attract countless attention and accusations. If the ability is insufficient and the backing is not strong, Shuntian Fuyin will be a thankless position, and it will even affect his career, connections, and reputation. Officials will naturally
It's impossible to avoid.
If this were the case, considering the importance of Shuntian Mansion, although officials would avoid it, the major forces in the imperial court would still fight for it.
But today is different from the past. The case of Zhao Junchen's assassination and the attack on Xichang is complicated and confusing, and it seems to be very involved. The day of solving the case seems far away. No matter who sits in the position of Shuntian Prefecture, he must take over the case.
, if the case is still unable to be solved, he will be reprimanded by Emperor Deqing. At that time, the official position of Shuntian Fuyin may not be popular yet, and he will have to be replaced again.
In this way, the position of Shuntian Fuyin has completely become synonymous with affecting official career. All the officials are smart people who seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, so how can they compete for it?
In fact, it was precisely because Zhou Shangjing saw this clearly that he voluntarily gave up his position as Shuntian Prefecture Yin.
Although Emperor Deqing knew the importance of Shuntian Prefecture, he still did not appoint any of his cronies after getting the vacancy of Shuntian Prefecture. Instead, he looked for suitable candidates among hundreds of officials. It was with the same intention.
I want to wait until this hot potato cools down a bit before eating it, otherwise I will only burn my tongue.
However, Emperor Deqing did not expect that all the officials had thought of the pros and cons, and no one was willing to be taken advantage of.
As a result, the atmosphere is inevitably a bit awkward.
A trace of anger flashed in Emperor Deqing's eyes, and he felt that no one among the officials was willing to share his worries.
But just when Emperor Deqing was about to force the assignment, Zhao Junchen suddenly winked at the great scholar Huo Zhengyuan.
Then, Huo Zhengyuan suddenly came out and said: "Your Majesty Huo Zhengyuan has volunteered himself and is willing to serve as the Yin of Shuntian Prefecture!"