Chapter 231 The candidates for the two servants, the court turmoil
Deng Xunwu and Gao Xun were both shocked by the meaning revealed in Cai Jing's words.
This...what does this mean?
Deng Xunwu hesitated for a moment, and then said: "What your Excellency said is absolutely true, but..."
Facing Cai Jing's gaze, he suppressed the second half of his words. Gao Xun on the side saw this and didn't dare to say anything.
Cai Jing then turned his head and looked outside the sedan.
Deng Xunwu and Gao Xun stopped talking, but lowered their heads, their eyes flickering.
If there is a major change in the court, Mr. Cai may be able to maintain his current status or even advance to a higher level, but what about them?
How should these people deal with themselves?
~~
In the next two days, Cai Jing was like a wild boar that escaped from its cage, with its reins and collar separated from its body, and it ran wildly through the capital, causing quite a disturbance.
The aftermath of the Han Mulu and Song Qiaonian incidents were forcibly dealt with, and a large-scale banquet was held for Cai Party officials in the mansion...
In the eyes of many people, this is another sign of the Tsai Party's revival.
Although they have lost two ministers now, this is only temporary. As long as Mr. Cai is still there, the Cai Party will not decline.
But in the eyes of others, this turned out to be Cai Jing'an's performance.
"Why is Cai Jing so cautious?"
Qin Hui frowned and stared at the pieces of information in front of him, with confusion on his face.
Perhaps in the eyes of others, Cai Jing was already extremely arrogant. Merely entertaining officials publicly in the palace was enough to violate some of the court's sensitive prohibitions, but in Qin Hui's eyes, this was nothing.
Because so far, everything he has done has been to sort out the internal affairs of the Cai Party, and he has not made any external troubles at all, nor has he made any more moves to retaliate against others.
This is already very honest for Cai Jing.
"This person must have other agendas." Qin Xi interjected in a low voice.
Qin Hui ignored him. He naturally knew that he had other intentions, but the key was what Cai Jing was trying to do.
Is it for the two vacant positions of ministers?
Not only Qin Hui thought so, but many people in the court thought so, including Li Qian.
"It seems that our Lord Cai wants to take back the positions of these two ministers."
The sun was shining brightly, and Li Qian looked out the window at the flowers and trees that had begun to sprout, with a relaxed smile on his face, obviously in a good mood.
"Your Majesty, what are the chances of Mr. Cai taking back the positions of these two ministers?"
One of Wu Meiniang and Lu Zhi was sitting at the table, sorting out officials who might become ministers, while the other raised his head and looked at Li Qian.
At this moment, the two of them have a more mature and steady temperament than when they first entered the palace.
Just sitting there sorting out the documents, sitting upright, and acting in a leisurely manner... this made people feel a sense of solemnity inexplicably, and this mature temperament had already begun to take shape in the two of them.
Of course, when putting solemnity and young girls together, it will always feel a little inconsistent, but today's two women have no such feeling at all.
"How big?"
Li Qian turned around and looked at the two of them with a smile: "It's very big."
Lu Zhi was startled, and raised his head from the paperwork on the table. He opened his bright eyes and looked at Li Qian with confusion: "Your Majesty, didn't you say that many adults are interested in these two positions?"
"Now that Cai's party has just suffered a big change, Cai Jing should want to stabilize his party members rather than expand..."
Lu Pheasant expressed his guess in a gentle voice.
Wu Meiniang pursed her thin red lips and said nothing.
Although she also felt that Lu Zhi's words were reasonable, the relationship between the two was not very harmonious. At this time, she would not agree with Lu Zhi's words out loud.
"This is indeed the case under normal circumstances. Even if Cai Jing tries his best to take back the positions of these two ministers, others will definitely not agree... At least Qin Hui will definitely stop him."
Li Qian smiled and said: "But this time is different, because I will help him."
Help him?
Help Cai Jing?
Both Lu Pheasant and Wu Meiniang had a look of disbelief on their pretty faces.
Li Qian is naturally not looking for balance, and he doesn't need to do this to Cai Jing.
In fact, the best balance would be to drive Cai Jing out of the court, but Li Qian can't do it now.
"The Indestructible King of the Great Village"
"His Majesty……"
Wu Meiniang straightened her slender and white neck, with a look of confusion on her goose-egg face: "If Cai Jing is allowed to recover, what if it becomes a situation where the tail is too big to fall off..."
Li Qian shook his head: "What I said about helping him is not what you think."
He is not that stupid. With Cai Jing's ability, he will surely guess sooner or later the relationship between the Gongyuan scandal and him, the emperor.
In other words, the two sides are almost at loggerheads. How can Li Qian help his enemy?
"I want to promote Cai Bian to the rank of minister."
Cai Bian?
The memories of both women are beyond ordinary people, and they quickly matched up the numbers in their minds.
"Cai Jing's younger brother?"
Lu Pheasant was still flipping through the documents and confirming them again.
Li Qian also came to the table, looked at Cai Bian's resume and said: "Although this man is Cai Jing's half-brother, he and Cai Jing are not very harmonious."
He recalled the news that Lu Bu had inquired about, and said thoughtfully: "The two people's mansions are adjacent to each other, but even on New Year's Eve, the two of them have never met. At most, they only have the servants below to pay each other New Year greetings."
"And every year on the Qingming Festival and the death anniversary of their father, Cai Bian always goes to worship after Cai Jing..."
The two women nodded thoughtfully. It seems that the brothers have indeed broken up to this extent.
"But they are two brothers after all."
Wu Meiniang hesitated and said: "What if Cai Bian thinks of his brother again after he becomes the minister..."
This is not unreasonable. Human beings are very complex animals. One moment they may be filled with hatred, but the next moment they may be inseparable from each other.
Li Qian pondered for a moment and then said: "Cai Bian was tricked by Cai Jing before he fell into the position of official promotion. Logically speaking, he should hate Cai Jing."
This should be the main reason why the two brothers broke up.
It is understandable that they have different political views, because even if they are brothers or father and son, they may not have exactly the same ideas.
But the problem is that Cai Jing cannot tolerate others.
This person seems to be magnanimous and has a mind as big as the sea. He has made many friends abroad and has connections all over the world, but in fact he is a person with a rat's belly and a chicken's intestines.
He can't tolerate even his own brother's different opinions. Isn't this considered a coward?
Wu Meiniang and Lu Zhi also fell into silence. The feeling of being betrayed by a close relative was completely different from the feeling of being betrayed by an outsider.
Perhaps the former is more... unforgettable?
"Of course, I also know that even if there is a great blood feud between the two, there is still the possibility of easing it."
Li Qian spoke again: "Most people in official circles put interests first, but I am still willing to believe in Cai Bian and give him a chance."
Both women nodded thoughtfully.
Li Qian sighed, and then continued: "And this can be regarded as a gamble. Even if I get rid of the two ministers of the Cai Party, I am not sure that I can win Cai Jing for the time being."
"But no matter how hard a pass is, it is always soft on the inside. If Cai Bian can really become the core of Cai's party, and he is still hostile to Cai Jing, or Cai Jing cannot tolerate him, cracks will appear within Cai's party."
"At that time, Cai's party, which is as unbreakable as an iron pill, will have a flaw."
"Your Majesty is Holy Ming."
Lu Pheasant's beautiful eyes lit up, and he obviously felt that Li Qian's approach was very reasonable.
But Wu Meiniang on the other side had a hint of worry on her face. If Cai Bian turned to Cai Jing after becoming a minister, wouldn't Cai's party have an extra minister?
No matter what, she made the most malicious assumptions about these ministers outside.
Li Qian leaned down, picked up the pen and wrote Cai Bian's name on the paper. This meant that one of the positions of ministers had been reserved for him.
Under the gazes of Wu Meiniang and Lu Zhi, Li Qian picked up the paperwork on the table again, turned over a few pages, and was stunned by a name on it.
Wang Anshi.
The relationship between the two is also very simple and clear. Wang Anshi is Cai Bian's father-in-law.
The two had this kind of relationship in Li Qian's previous life. Unexpectedly, they still maintained this kind of relationship in Da Qian.
But today's Wang Anshi is not as violent as Li Qian in his previous life. Because he failed in the party struggle and was frustrated in officialdom, he was demoted to a small and remote place as an official.
Li Qian fell in love with Cai Bian partly because of him. If he could be reintroduced to the court, it would be a help...
Both women saw the dignity of His Majesty the Emperor. Although they did not know what he was thinking, they still did not disturb him.
It wasn't until Li Qian put down the documents that Lu Pheasant said tentatively: "Your Majesty, there are only two positions for ministers available. Now one is reserved for Cai Bian. There is only one left. Who should be divided among them?"
Li Qian also fell silent after hearing this.
This is indeed a problem.
Although he set up the situation this time, there were many people besides him who contributed.
Especially Qin Hui and Zhongshu Sheng at the beginning. They fought with the ministers of the Sixth Ministry for a long time at the request of Li Qian, but in the end they got nothing.
Now that the matter has come to an end, and it has ended with Li Qian's staged victory, you can't just say nothing at this time, right?
In addition, people from Hedang and Yandang also contributed, Wu Shenglan’s cooperation and show of goodwill, Guan Peng’s role in it, and the role of the two assistant ministers in the province...
Even Wang Mang helped Li Qian a lot.
There are also the roles of Wei Zheng, Li Yuan, and Yushitai in the investigation...
Although some of them had no idea beforehand that they had done things for Li Qian, some were even completely used by him, the emperor.
But those who can hang out in the imperial court are all human beings, and they will be aware of it sooner or later. How can he, as the emperor, not express his feelings now?
It is really not an easy task to satisfy so many forces.
Fortunately, in addition to being a minister, Li Qian also has a lot of leverage. He may not be able to satisfy everyone's appetite, but he can still make most people have no complaints.
~~
The next day, there will be a morning meeting.
Today Li Qian got up a little earlier than usual. After having breakfast at Qianyuan Palace, he got on the sedan and walked safely to Qianyang Palace.
Today's morning court was destined to be unstable. After the ministers finished their salutes, Wang Mang was the first to speak: "Your Majesty, I have something to report."
"Uncle Zong said it doesn't matter."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Wang Mang said in a deep voice: "The fraud in the examination has been delayed for a long time. I think it is not appropriate to cancel the examination. I also ask your majesty to order the Imperial Palace to hold it as soon as possible on a good day."
Li Qian first looked around at the many ministers in the palace, taking in their reactions, and then said: "I will deal with this matter as soon as possible."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Wang Mang did not sit back, but continued: "Your Majesty, I have one more thing to report."
"In fact, there have been clues about the leaked question in the examination. As the minister of the Ministry of Rites, I did not pay attention to the incident. This is a dereliction of duty."
At this point, his tone gradually became lower: "With such a big omission, I am no longer suitable to hold the position of Zhi Gong Ju. I beg your Majesty to choose another good minister to serve as Zhi Gong Ju."
As soon as these words came out, many ministers suddenly became uneasy and turned to look at Wang Mang.
Especially Cai Jing, a gloomy look flashed in his eyes.
There were four chief officers in the examination, but now only he and Wang Mang are left.
Now that Gongju has requested to be removed from his post, does he, the examiner, still have the nerve to continue working?
Li Qian also seemed a little surprised and confused by Wang Mang's reaction.
"Uncle Zong, why are you doing this?"
He straightened up and asked puzzledly: "Now that the culprit of the fraud has been identified, it has nothing to do with Uncle Da Zong, why do you need to suffer for other people's mistakes?"
Wang Mang shook his head: "Your Majesty, it is not anyone else's fault, I am also at fault."
"It is the greatest dereliction of duty and fault for me to not notice the actions of the culprit when I know that Gongju presided over the examination."
"Wang Zongbo..."
Li Qian wanted to persuade him again, but Wang Mang's attitude was extremely firm and he never wavered.
In the end, Li Qian had no choice but to agree.
"Forget it, since the eldest uncle insists on this, then let's choose someone else for Zhigongju. After the next examination, the eldest uncle can take up this position again."
Wang Mang moved his lips, took half a step back, and agreed: "Yes, Your Majesty."
In this way, the matter is settled.
Cai Jing watched silently from the side, saying nothing at all, as if the matter had nothing to do with him.
As long as I have no morals, you can't kidnap me.
Although his idea is good, others will not let him get what he wants.
"Your Majesty, since the eldest uncle is retiring from his post as Zongju, shouldn't the deputy examiner also be replaced?"
An official from the Zhongshu Ministry of Education suddenly said: "Not all the leaked questions in this examination are the fault of the outer officials. There are more faults among the inner officials!"
There is a reason why they say this. After all, there are only two prime ministers in the capital, Cai Jing and Qin Hui. If Cai Jing stops being the examiner, Qin Hui is very likely to take over.
But compared to this, Wang Ciweng and Wan Qixi seem to be less active...
If Qin Hui really becomes the examiner, it is absolutely impossible for the two of them to become deputy examiners again, even if it is to avoid suspicion.
However, Wang Ciweng did not seem to think so much, and said decisively: "Your Majesty, I also think that this is the case. Even if Wang Zongbo and Mr. Cai did not make any omissions, this interview should avoid suspicion!"
Wan Qixi's lips twitched at the side, but now he was at the court meeting, and under Qin Hui's nose. If he didn't say anything, how would he explain to Qin Hui afterwards?
Therefore, he also cupped the wat tablet in his hands and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, please also change the examiner!"