No one expected that this time things would happen so suddenly.
Even if everyone had seen some clues before, they could not have expected that His Majesty the Emperor would publicly launch an attack on Cai Jing at the court meeting.
The current situation is extremely serious.
Almost all courtiers could see that this was not only a debate over the selection of examiners before and after, but also a declaration of war between the two camps.
At this time, standing in line is the most important thing.
If you stand on the right side once, you will save ten years.
If you stand wrong once... your life may be over.
Some ministers who saw the risks and did not want to get involved subconsciously held their breath for fear of being noticed.
But there are also speculators who are short of breath and see opportunities.
In the tense atmosphere, several ministers kept their heads silent, and the courtiers more or less looked at the other ministers of the six departments, as this was related to their direct interests.
The atmosphere was a little heavy for a while.
Cai Jing was still sitting calmly in his seat, seemingly not anxious at all.
Li Qian was not in a hurry because he knew that sooner or later someone would come forward.
Although no ministers other than Cai Jing's party members have spoken yet, the ministers of the Sixth Department are already whispering and arguing in low voices...
"Yu Qing, you'd better be more cautious."
"Brother Xuanzhen, you don't need to persuade me anymore, I have already made up my mind." Lu Yin's eyes were firm: "How can things that were discussed before be changed so easily?"
Ignoring the dissuasion of Pei Ji, the left minister of the Ministry of War, he stood up and cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, I also think that Master Cai's words are reasonable. It will be safer to choose the deputy examiner after the year."
Li Qian stared at him and nodded expressionlessly, saying nothing.
Later, Yan Lide, the left minister of the Ministry of Industry, also got up and followed Lu Yin. He was also anxious about the number of deputy examiners.
After these two people, there was another brief silence.
Suddenly, Wang Mang, the Minister of Rites, stood up and said to His Majesty the Emperor who was sitting on the Dragon Throne: "Your Majesty, Mr. Cai is a veteran of the imperial dynasty and has presided over many general examinations. I feel that since Mr. Cai insists on waiting until the next year for election, There must be a reason for Mr. Cai."
"Your Majesty, please consider it again."
The sound was not loud, but it was as shocking as a stone falling from the sky, and it was like thunder in the ears of many people.
Uncle Zong actually supported Cai Jing?!
Qin Hui couldn't hide the shock in his eyes, and suddenly raised his head and looked at His Majesty the Emperor above.
What's going on? Doesn't the winning point lie in the Ministry of Rites?
What is going on now?
However, Qin Hui found that His Majesty the Emperor's face was equally ugly, with shock and confusion on his face as he looked at Wang Mang behind him.
Qin Hui's heart sank.
Miscalculated!
The Vice Minister of Zhongshu and the Yan Party officials who just expressed their stance are not as desperate as him. In the eyes of these people, since the Ministry of Rites is one of the six departments, it must be wearing the same pants as Cai Jing.
They were just a little surprised by the Ministry of Rites' resolute attitude, but that was all.
After Wang Mang, Sima Guang also followed closely: "Your Majesty, I also think that Master Cai's words are reasonable, and please consider it carefully."
A smile flashed in Cai Jing's eyes, and it disappeared in an instant.
At this moment, the Minister of Rites and the two ministers of the Ministry of Rites expressed their stance, and the people in the other departments were convinced!
I was originally worried that something would go wrong on the part of the Ministry of Rites, but now that the Ministry of Rites has taken such a firm stance, how can we still lose?
Those who were still somewhat vacillating in their stance were gradually confirmed by the gazes of other ministers.
First, it was Pei Ji, the left minister of the Ministry of War, and then Su Ling'a, the right minister of the Ministry of Industry. Even Wang Danwang of the Ministry of Personnel stood up first. Then Wu Shenglan looked reluctant, but still stood up and stood on Cai Jing's side.
Facing the threats from Zhongshu Province and Menxia Province, the six ministries must advance and retreat together. Even the Ministry of Personnel cannot fight against the rest.
At this time, all the ministers of the six departments had chosen sides, except for Guan Peng, the left minister of the household department.
After his eyes flickered for a while, he also stood up and said with cupped hands: "Your Majesty, I also think it is best to choose after the new year."
After the words fell, Qianyang Palace fell into silence.
The candlelight danced, and His Majesty the Emperor's face seemed particularly gloomy in the light and shadow.
Below, a total of twelve crimson-robed ministers and a majestic minister stood silently and erect, which put a lot of pressure on people.
The generals watched this scene silently, most of them kept silent, as if they were watching a good show.
Only the leaders Li Yuan, Yang Jian and Zhao Kuangyin frowned and looked thoughtful.
"good……"
Li Qian nodded, and there was no emotion or anger in his voice, but the ministers faintly heard that the Emperor seemed to be gnashing his teeth...
"In that case, let's put it aside for now and discuss it later."
He stood up and was about to leave.
"Your Majesty, I have something I don't know whether to say or not." Cai Jing suddenly spoke.
He didn't wait for Li Qian to reply, but stood up directly and said seriously: "I don't think that a mere deputy examiner for the general examination is worth the trouble."
"Your Majesty, who is rich in gold, should give top priority to the important matters of the court. There is no need to worry about such things. Let such small matters be left to the ministers."
Li Qian took a deep breath and smiled with unknown meaning: "Cai Qing is really considerate of me."
He looked around expressionlessly at the many ministers in the palace, turned around and walked away, coldly saying: "Retreat from the court."
The ministers watched His Majesty the Emperor's figure disappear into the darkness, and the footsteps gradually faded away, and they fell into a moment of confusion.
Everyone knows that he will not give up.
This year will probably be difficult...
Phew~
The door of Qianyang Hall was opened at some point, and a gust of cold wind blew in, and the candlelight in the hall kept swaying.
The sky outside the door was dark and starry, and eunuchs holding lanterns were already waiting outside, preparing to take the adults back to the Yamen.
The Censor's Platform is on the south side of the imperial city. As we walked, Wei Zheng, the two Censors Zhongcheng and the eunuch in front were the only ones left on the road.
Under night, the red palace walls on both sides look extremely solemn.
Bao Xuan suddenly asked: "Master Wei, why didn't you say anything at the meeting just now?"
The other censor, Zhongcheng Lou Shide, was a few steps slower and fell behind the two of them, as if he had not heard what he said.
Wei Zheng paused for a moment, looked directly at the eunuch in front of him who was about to leave, and said: "In previous years, the examiners were determined after the year. This rule has never been wrong, and there is no need to change it."
"No matter what your Majesty is doing, there is no need to spend too much energy on this kind of thing."
Bao Xuan looked at him with some surprise: "What if your Majesty really has an ulterior motive? In the current situation, he is no match for Mr. Cai. Aren't you afraid that your Majesty will be overpowered?"
Wei Zheng stopped, turned to look at him, and said solemnly: "Bao Zhongcheng, you don't need to test me like this, you just need to understand two things."
"Your Majesty is your Majesty. He will only make mistakes and be corrected by our ministers, but he cannot be overpowered by his ministers."
"Second, no matter what your Majesty's purpose is, I don't need to forcefully agree with it."
"I will follow the court's laws. If it is beneficial to the court and the scholars, I will naturally do it. If it is not beneficial to both, I will not do it."
After saying that, he strode directly forward.
Bao Xuan was stunned on the spot until Lou Shide came up from behind and patted him on the shoulder with a smile: "Why are you stunned? Bao Zhongcheng?"
"It's winter. It's not good to stand here and feel the cold wind. Let's go back to the Yamen quickly."
Bao Xuan came back to his senses, nodded silently, and followed Lou Shide towards the light in the darkness ahead...
In the Shangshu Yamen in the imperial city, the ministers of the six departments also gathered together to discuss how to deal with this sudden change.
After the deliberation, everyone came up with only five words: Don't mess up.
The deputy examiners of the general examination have the initiative. As long as the six departments can stabilize themselves, no matter the emperor, Zhongshu or subordinates, they can't interfere too much.
After such a confidence boost, everyone left with satisfaction, convinced that the deputy examiner would definitely stay in the Sixth Department.
However, Song Qiaonian, Han Mulu, Deng Xunwu, and Gao Xun, the four closest friends of Cai Jing, did not leave in a hurry, but stayed with Cai Jing.
"Master Cai, what's going on with Your Majesty today?"
Han Mulu was still a little surprised: "He actually openly pointed out this matter directly at the court meeting..."
"What else could it be?" Song Qiaonian sneered: "I want to use my power to overwhelm others!"
"Before, people from the Yan Party had been making trouble against Zhongshu Province, but now they are trying to win over them, and they are suddenly gone. They want to use people from these two provinces to persuade us to submit!"
Gao Xun also regained his composure, and said with a laugh: "It's just a simple trick. He calculated against all odds, but he still didn't realize that your Excellency had already gotten through Wang Zongbo's side."
"You could say that you were extremely ugly at the court meeting just now. Compared with Mr. Cai, you look like a three-year-old child."
Cai Jing stroked his beard with a smile and said modestly: "No matter what, you still have to be careful."
"After all, he is Zhongshu, the subordinates and the province have joined forces, and His Majesty is also involved. We must take it seriously."
He originally wanted to take this opportunity to reach into the three departments controlled by He Shen and unify the power of the six departments.
Unexpectedly, His Majesty the Emperor would give him this opportunity to openly make such a radical move similar to declaring war at the court meeting.
Cai Jing almost woke up laughing while sleeping.
Deng Xunwu said worriedly: "Sir, I'm afraid that the hearts of our six tribes are not unified."
He frowned: "People like Guan Peng, the left minister of the household department, and Wu Shenglan, the right minister of the official affairs department, are all outsiders. If they get the chance, they might turn against them..."
The few ministers fell silent after hearing this, and the smile on Cai Jing's face also faded a bit.
"People in Heshen shouldn't have to worry too much..." Heshen's foundation is in Liubu, so he won't do things like cheating and ruining his reputation.
But the other person is different.
"We must keep an eye on Guan Peng, lest he ruin our affairs."
Cai Jing said calmly: "There is also Yan Song, and He Shen's actions in Xingyang must be reported back as soon as possible."
"Yes, sir." The four of them responded in unison.
Cai Jing nodded slowly. A little threat is not a bad thing. Only with threats can the six departments have a sense of urgency and they will rely more on themselves...
The Duke's Mansion of the Tang Dynasty.
Li Yuan was sitting in the study. On the table were a large bowl of steaming soy milk, a roasted lamb leg that was burnt brown, overflowing with oil and exuding a rich aroma of oil, three large meat buns, and a baby fist.
Big garlic.
This is Tang Guogong’s breakfast.
With a crunch, the people in the study were pushed away, and the cold wind picked up a corner of the precious "Ten Thousand Valleys and Mountains Picture" on the wall.
"Dad, I still haven't found any evidence."
Li Jiancheng, with two dark circles under his eyes, said helplessly: "Our people have searched all over the river and almost dug three feet into the ground."
"But those people looked like veterans at first glance, and they didn't leave any traces."
Li Yuan put down the leg of lamb that was extremely clean and had only one bone left. He picked up the silk handkerchief and wiped his oily hands: "It's normal that you can't find it."
"Those who do this kind of thing are all veterans. If you can catch the tail at once, then they don't have to mess around."
"Dad, I think it was the man named Zhao who made it."
Li Jiancheng looked vaguely ferocious, gritted his teeth and said: "How many such veterans are there in the entire capital? At that time, except for General Yang's people, they were their people!"
"They must have seen a conflict between our people and the people in the General's Palace, so they kidnapped our people to ask for news about Zhuge Liang. After the incident was completed, they killed people and silenced them and put the blame on the people in the General's Palace!"
Li Yuan picked up a bun with his big hand and ate half of it in one bite. After finishing the meal, he frowned and said, "Why can't the people from the General's Mansion silence our people and then put the blame on Marshal Zhao?"
Li Jiancheng was stunned: "Dad..."
Li Yuan shook his head, as if he didn't want to discuss this topic further: "This matter has become a bad debt, let's not worry about it for now."
"As we continue to pursue the case, the person behind the scenes must be very nervous and try not to leak anything. But if we expose it first, once he relaxes his vigilance, he will naturally jump in front of us."
Li Jiancheng's eyes lit up and he hurriedly responded: "Yes, Dad."
Li Yuan swallowed a whole bun, then frowned and said, "Has the Ministry of Household Affairs come to the house to ask for money recently?"
Li Jiancheng was startled: "How can they ask for money from us? We don't support their household department!"
Li Yuan put down the bowl and frowned even more: "You didn't come? How could you not come?"
He turned to look at Li Jiancheng: "Is there still money in the internal funds?"
"It's gone a long time ago." Li Jiancheng shook his head.
"Then where does the money for the Great Chao Hui come from?" Li Yuan didn't even bother to eat, wondering.
"It should be the Ministry of Household Affairs..." Li Jiancheng got stuck mid-sentence.
Hu Bu didn't have a few pieces of dry food in his pocket, so it was difficult for him to advance money to His Majesty the Emperor.
"Shouldn't..."
Li Yuan's eyes were blank and he kept mumbling.
In his opinion, His Majesty was so out of character at today's court meeting because he was young and energetic and could not bear to be wronged, so he broke up with Cai Jing and made such an irrational move.
But now it seems that is not the case.
He knew that the emperor had always wanted to get back his internal funds. Shouldn't he take the opportunity of the imperial meeting to legitimately ask for money and make some attempts?
If he had acted out of control at the meeting today, he would have sent someone to ask for money long ago!
Isn’t that true? What hidden secrets are there?
"Dad?" Li Jiancheng looked at Li Yuan tentatively, wondering why he suddenly acted like this.
Li Yuan suddenly raised his head: "Go to the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Rites to find out how the imperial court's Zhengdan Dynasty will be held."
"Yes, dad." Li Jiancheng accepted the order and walked out quickly.
At the same time, Qin Hui also came to Dongnuan Pavilion of Ziwei Palace and met with His Majesty the Emperor.
Now, he has a lot to say and wants to talk to His Majesty the Emperor...