Wang Zeng had a total of four sons and three daughters. If we include his adopted sons from the underground prince Rong, he had a total of five sons and three daughters.
However, his eldest son, second son, and eldest daughter all died young.
Wang Zeng's third son, fourth son and adopted son all had marriage contracts, and his second daughter also married Shen Weiwen during the Tianxi year.
Shen Weiwen is the grandson of Shen Lun, the prime minister of the early Song Dynasty, and his sister is now Shen Chongyuan.
If Wang Zeng's children hadn't gotten married, Lu Yijian would have wanted to be related by marriage to the Wang family.
In fact, compared to in-laws, the teacher-student relationship is more energy-consuming.
Officially becoming a disciple, Wang Yan was equivalent to half of Lu Yijian's son, and he would be recommended for promotion in the future, which was far more convenient than Weng's son-in-law.
After all, in the relationship between father-in-law and son-in-law, one should avoid suspicion or risk.
Not only that, once Wang Yan becomes a disciple of Lu Yijian, he will naturally inherit the political resources of the Donglai Lu family in the future.
It is no exaggeration to say that Wang Yan's weight within the Lu Yijian family is almost only lower than that of Lu Yijian's sons.
In view of this, although Wang once proposed deposing Qian Weiyan, he did take a lot of risks.
But overall, the Wang family got an advantage.
The Lu family from the east has been a well-known family in the country since Lu Mengzheng. Lu Yijian is now in charge of the affairs of Kaifeng Prefecture, and the next step is to become a general and become a prime minister.
Regarding these, Wang Zeng knew very well.
If the younger son hadn't studied under Lu Yijian, how could he have impeached Qian Weiyan, the Queen Mother's in-law, at such a sensitive moment given his character?
I have to say that Lu Yijian's stab was very accurate.
Although Qian Weiyan was very eager to become a general, he once said, "It is enough for me to press a single word at the end of the yellow paper."
Yellow paper is the jute paper on which edicts are written. According to regulations, all edicts must be countersigned by the prime minister before they can take effect.
The so-called countersignature is a signature.
But ideals are ideals, and Qian Weiyan is not an idiot. The Empress Dowager not only asked him to submit a memorial to the "Changning Festival", but also asked him to submit a letter to propose a new reign name.
In his opinion, neither of these two things is good.
Therefore, when he learned that Wang Zeng had impeached him, not only was he not angry, but he was a little happy.
The situation in the court became increasingly confusing.
It might be a blessing to be able to leave Beijing at this time.
As for Ding Wei, he didn't express anything about it. After all, Qian Weiyan was just an ally, not his die-hard loyalist.
Once Qian Weyan left, the position of Deputy Privy Councilor became vacant.
Nowadays, in terms of seniority, there are only a few people who are qualified to resign, and among them there are only two people at the top.
One is Lu Yijian, who has the power to know Kaifeng Mansion, and the other is Lin Te, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment and a bachelor of Hanlin.
Lu Yijian came from a well-known family, and was the best choice for talent and ability. He had friends and relatives all over the court. If there was a fair competition, Lin Te would definitely not be able to compare with Lu Yijian.
But fair play?
Are you kidding? Ding Wei is the Prime Minister now.
Moreover, Lin Te was not without advantages. During the Tianxi reign, Ding Wei had recommended Lin Te as the deputy privy envoy.
However, Li Di, who was prime minister at the same time as Ding Wei, was opposed to this matter.
Later, Lin Te's promotion to Privy Council envoy was dismissed.
At the time, it was definitely a bad thing that Lin Te failed to enter the two houses, but now, this is actually an advantage.
After all, Lin Te has higher qualifications!
In the Tianshui Dynasty, seniority was still very particular. As long as Lin Te did not make any big mistakes during this period, Ding Wei could definitely recommend him as a deputy privy envoy.
the other side.
Prince's Mansion.
Ding Wei set his sights on Qian Weiyan's retired position, and Wang Zeng also set his sights on the deputy privy envoy.
As the Privy Council is the highest military institution of the country, the more people on its side, the better.
"Tanfu, once Privy Councilor Qian leaves, you might want to move into the Xifu (Privy Council House)."
At this time, although Qian Weiyan had not yet resigned from his post, either Ding Wei or Wang Zeng was almost certain that Qian Weiyan had already left the capital with half his foot.
The laws of the ancestors were there, and even if the Queen Mother was burdened with a legacy, she would not dare and would not protect Qian Weiyan to the death.
Otherwise, the saliva of the scholar-bureaucrats alone would be enough to drown Qian Weiyan.
"I have no intention of entering the West Mansion."
Lu Yijian refused the proposal without hesitation. He did not like the position that others coveted.
Although Xifu and Zhongshu are two mansions, the former is in charge of the army and the latter is in charge of government.
For Lu Yijian, who only ruled the world, the West Palace was not as good as the East Palace.
Next, he would like to enter Zhongshu and learn about political affairs.
Currently, the people participating in politics are Wang Zeng and Ren Zhongzheng. Lu Yijian and Wang Zeng belong to the same lineage. He will definitely not touch Wang Zeng.
Ren Zhongzheng not only had a good relationship with Ding Wei, but also served as the guest of the prince when the official family was in the East Palace. Strictly speaking, he was also a former official of the official family.
Therefore, Ren Zhongzheng is not so restless.
Since you can't move people by participating in politics, then move the people above you.
For example, Deputy Prime Minister Feng Zheng.
As long as Feng Zheng is demoted from the capital, there is a high probability that Wang Zeng will take over as prime minister. As Wang Zeng moves up, the position of participating in politics will become vacant.
If Feng Zheng was impeached, Lu Yijian was already prepared.
Feng Zheng's qualifications are very old. He was a Jinshi in the third year of Taiping and Xingguo in the Taizong Dynasty (978), and he was also the most beautiful man in that list.
Li Hang, Kou Zhun, Wang Dan, and Xiang Minzhong were promoted to Jinshi in the fifth year of the Taiping Xingguo period, and all of them reached the rank of prime minister.
But except for Kou Zhun, the other three people have died.
For a veteran minister like Feng Zheng, it is difficult to find anyone who is more senior than him after searching the court.
Lu Yijian never thought of directly impeaching Feng Zheng and demoting him from Beijing.
Doing so is the last resort.
The best thing to do is to let Feng Zheng take the initiative to ask for an official position.
"That's fine."
Wang Zeng nodded. If he entered the West Mansion, it would inevitably delay Lu Yijian's entry into the East Mansion.
Secondary Prime Minister Feng Zheng is already in his sixties this year, and his health is not as good as before. Perhaps if he waits a little longer, Feng Zheng will ask himself to serve.
By then, the time will come for Lu Yijian to enter Dongfu.
At this moment, Wang Zeng had no idea that Lu Yijian had already plotted against Feng Zheng.
Feng Zheng was successful at a young age and was favored by Zhao Pu, but his family background was not very good. His childhood circumstances made him pay more attention to money, and his daily life style was very extravagant.
This is no secret.
However, lifestyle issues alone are not enough to bring down a current prime minister.
Lu Yijian was not targeting Feng Zheng himself, but the Feng Zheng family. Since Feng Zheng's official position became higher and higher, the Feng family's style in the local area became more and more domineering.
Especially Feng Zheng's sons and nephews, relying on Feng Zheng's power, often roamed the countryside. How did the Feng family's good land Qianqing come from?
This point deserves a special mention.
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PS: Woohoo, RNG is gone, and Brother Chao has also retired. I have liked Brother Chao for so many years. Now I still watch games mainly to watch Brother Chao. Now I see Brother Chao retire. It’s so sad.