"Husband's righteousness is controlled by abstinence; etiquette is determined by reflecting emotions. Therefore, a gentleman acts according to his emotions." [Guanzi Zhuxi]
In the announcement room, the emperor held an arrow without sharp edges in one hand and gently stroked the soft feathers with the other. His mind was not on the arrows at hand at all. He smiled and said sarcastically: "What a bunch of cunning foxes. "
In the middle of the Northern Army, Wang Bin, the commander of the middle base school, was not as confident as the emperor. He didn't know that the emperor had already made full preparations. At this time, he asked nervously: "How about sending soldiers over? If the soldiers cannot be used, the veteran's men The Northern Army..."
"What are you doing?" The emperor was amused by the seriousness of the other party and said with a smile: "They are just gathering at Beigong Gate to discuss government and national policies. They are not rebelling. What is the name of sending troops there? To protect or to expel. ?”
"But they are forcing the palace! Is this what a minister should do!" Wang Bin rarely showed a bit of anger. After learning about this, he rushed to see him as soon as possible. He is always ready to obey the emperor's instructions. As long as the emperor issues an edict, Even if he has a bad reputation, he still wants to give these people a good look.
Even if these people are all ministers with more than 2,000 shi in the imperial court, even if these people are all doctors and scholars who can quote scriptures with open mouths, even if these people are all powerful men who have been around for generations. No matter who they are, they cannot threaten the emperor's nephew. position of power!
Wang Bin even thought that if the emperor couldn't be so cruel, he wouldn't mind being the villain. At worst, he would take the blame and plead guilty later.
Thinking like this, Wang Bin's old and turbid eyes couldn't help but reveal an increasingly murderous intention.
The emperor was shocked. He knew that Wang Bin defended him very much, but he never expected that he would risk the world's disapproval for him.
Both the current emperor and the original Liu Xie were people who valued friendship and loyalty. However, as the emperor's authority grew stronger, his temperament gradually became colder. Even so, the emperor still had a soft and emotional side in his heart. Whether it was for Song Capital or Wang Bin. Even if promoting Wang Bin could still play Dong Cheng's role, he was unwilling to let Wang Bin criticize him because he himself didn't know whether the boat would capsize in the gutter, let alone He said he was protecting Wang Bin.
Seeing Wang Bin's words and deeds, the emperor was deeply moved. When he remained silent, Shi Caiyong, the commander of Lantai on the side, looked up at the murderous Wang Bin and waited for an opportunity to say: "Hundred officials are gathering at Beigong Gate. , gathering a crowd to discuss Taoism, speaking of it... can be regarded as a common practice in the imperial court."
Cai Yong had meritorious service in subduing Li Cheng and was assigned by the emperor the important task of compiling the history of the Han Dynasty and organizing the classics. He stayed in the renovated Tianlu Pavilion almost day and night, ignoring what was going on outside the window. He used the relevant authority granted by the emperor to immerse himself in reading about the imperial family. Archives and important scriptures. He had no time to pay attention to political affairs. If Ma Ri had not invited him in advance, he might still be in the dark.
The emperor calmed down his emotions and instantly regained his former composure. He looked at Cai Yong and asked knowingly: "When did the imperial court have such a precedent?"
"This is called court discussion." Cai Yong quickly replied. The reason why he did not go to Beigongmen to make a fuss this time was mainly because he had experienced too many things and could no longer get involved in political struggles. At this time, he was He was worried that Ma Ri and others would offend the young emperor and cause an irreconcilable quarrel, so he thought of smoothing things over: "Whenever the country faced a major political event, all the wise kings and wise rulers in the past dynasties would summon the ministers or directly order the ministers to discuss the matter."
"How can ministers organize court meetings on their own without my permission?" the emperor retorted.
"Yes." Cai Yong met the emperor's gaze to show his magnanimity. He quoted a story: "When Deng Zhao, Marquis of Luo, was the general, he took the initiative to summon the ministers to discuss the Qianghu issue in Liangzhou."
Wang Bin snorted coldly and said in a bad tone: "It's more than that. Isn't it a matter of deposing and establishing the emperor as a matter of court discussion?"
When ministers take the initiative to initiate a court meeting, either the emperor dies and has no heirs, so a relative, a general, is required to preside over the court meeting and select a branch of the clan to succeed him; or the young ruler is on top and the powerful ministers are strong, and the court meeting is held to coerce public opinion.
The former was okay at first, as Huo Guang helped establish Emperor Xiaoxuan and revitalized the Han Dynasty; but later on, he simply became a relative and only accepted the young king in order to consolidate his power. Cai Yong finally found an example of this.
, at this time, Wang Bin said something, his face changed, and he immediately said: "Your Majesty is the master of the world, and the power is unified, how can we generalize it?"
The emperor's movement of caressing the arrow feathers suddenly stopped, and he commented on the matter with a sullen face: "The Taiwei, Sikong, General Chariot, Guang Luxun, as well as his subordinates Dr. Yilang, Jianyi and others gathered in the north.
Public debates at the palace gate are indeed in line with the rules of court debate. Whether it is Emperor Xiaozhao's "Yalt Iron Wine Official" debate, or the later Emperor Xiao Ai's "coin exchange" discussion, or Emperor Xiaozhang's "Yalt Iron Official" debate
', Emperor Xiaohuan's 'recasting of big money' and other discussions were all for the convenience of the imperial court to formulate national policies in order to benefit all people."
It can be seen that the emperor has done a lot of homework on the definition of this court meeting and has read through many archives of previous dynasties. Cai Yong was listening and nodded, but the emperor changed his subject.
"It's just that" the emperor moved his hands along the smooth shaft of the arrow from both ends to the middle, and said slowly: "They didn't go to the Shufu in advance, and blocked the North Palace Gate to talk. I don't know if there is anything in their eyes.
I am the emperor?"
"Your Majesty!" Cai Yong bowed his head and said, "Rong Chen, to be honest, the Taiwei and others gathered the ministers for public discussion without permission. Although this is not appropriate, your Majesty, please take care of their names.
I am a scholar and have a good reputation, so I will just expose this matter. If it really gets serious, your Majesty's reputation will also be affected."
"Has this been revealed?"
The emperor sneered and suddenly threw out the arrow he had been playing with for a long time. The arrow drew a complete arc in the air and hit the round belly of a copper pot in the courtyard.
There was a clear sound, the arrow fell to the ground, and the copper kettle also fell to the ground. The emperor's aim was really bad, and he still couldn't hit it after taking so long.
Although they were a little embarrassed, neither Wang Bin nor Cai Yong cared about this matter. They stood and knelt respectfully, lined up on both sides, lowering their heads and waiting for what was going to happen next.
The emperor's right hand had no object to play with, and he held it empty as usual. His expression remained as usual and he said, "If I tolerate this matter and let it go, then in the future, they can all go to the meeting in Yeque and discuss all the political issues on their own."
Even though the weather was getting cooler, Cai Yong was still sweating profusely. He took courage for the last time and begged in a weak tone: "I heard that your Majesty often boasts of his ancestor, Emperor Guangwu, so you should have the magnanimity of Emperor Guangwu to do good things."
To portray himself as the second Guangwu Emperor who revitalized the Han Dynasty was his long-standing propaganda campaign, which was to let the people have hope in the Han Dynasty and reunite people's hearts. Unexpectedly, this effect has not yet been seen, but it has been
Cai Yong used your spear to attack your shield.
The emperor gave a dull "hmm" sound, as if he acquiesced or agreed casually.
"Since the Taiwei and the others have to use the court meeting to debate the salt and iron policy, let them discuss it! Uncle!"
"I'm here," Wang Bin replied in a deep voice.
"Go and deliver the edict to Wang Duan, and order him to open the North Palace Gate and invite all the ministers and officials to enter the Chengming Palace. In addition, let the Chuan Shizhong, Huangmen Shilang, Shangshutai, Secretary Supervisor and the following
All the officials rushed there and participated in the debate together." The emperor simply made the matter worse: "Let's just wait here and see what result they will come up with."
Wang Bin, who had long been prepared to lead troops to expel them, received such an order at this time. He was a little confused and didn't understand what it meant. He couldn't help but turn his head and glance at Cai Yong, only to find that the other party's face was pale.
Cai Yong immediately understood that the emperor had already prepared a perfect plan and had foreseen the outcome. Otherwise, how could he sit here calmly and allow them to debate openly and openly!
As expected, the gathering of hundreds of officials initiated by Taiwei Ma Ri, Cavalry General Dong Cheng and others only lasted for two hours in Chengming Hall. At the beginning, it was a series of officials headed by Dong Cheng, as well as some officials from Hedong.
Yilang talked a lot about the disadvantages of salt and iron, but as soon as Ma Ri interacted with Huang Wan and others, the conversation suddenly changed, and the situation took a turn for the worse.
In the end, most people, led by Ma Ri and Huang Wan, unanimously concluded that the salt and iron franchise was beneficial to today and should be concluded with no doubt.
The emperor won the victory unexpectedly and expectedly. These days, he first bypassed the middle stage and went to the battlefield personally, using salt and iron to induce Ma Ri and others to cooperate; then he persuaded Zhao Qian to give in, thereby persuading Yang
He and Huang Wan finally forced Ma Ri to change his stance and sever ties with Dong Cheng.
The three parties finally reached an agreement, but now they are suddenly united and suddenly divided, and there is a gap between them. If they want to communicate with each other again in the future, it will be difficult to resist the emperor.
As soon as the results of the discussion came out, an edict was immediately prepared and issued. The emperor then reassigned the Salt and Iron Office to the Shaofu and put it under the responsibility of Zhang Chang, the Shaofu. In addition, he re-established the Salt and Iron Law.
The next day, Situ Zhao Qian expressed his full support for the emperor's implementation of the salt and iron policy, begged for his bones for the third time, and begged to be dismissed.
The emperor's imperial edict was approved, and he was moved to the position of Taiwei, and recorded ministerial affairs. Ma Ri was appointed as Situ, and recorded ministerial affairs; he worshiped Hussar General Huangfu Song as Taiwei; he ordered Sikong Huang Wan to record ministerial affairs; and he added 2,000 households to the residence of Pihou Zhao Qian.