As long as there are no secrets in the officialdom, there are basically no secrets, and countless gossips fly all over the capital in an instant.
Except for Yan Song and Zhang Bangqi, the rest of the cabinet ministers still did not go to Cisheng Palace to express their feelings. The impatient Empress Dowager Zhang sent another eunuch to convey the message to the cabinet.
This eunuch's name was Li Fang. He was in his twenties and worked in the clerk's office of the Supervisor of Ceremonies. He was an educated young eunuch. In a TV series five hundred years later, Li was changed to Lu.
During the recent period, Li Fang was ordered to be on duty at Cisheng Palace, specifically responsible for delivering edicts to the outside world. Such things as delivering edicts could not be done by eunuchs who were not culturally inclined.
After Li Fang arrived at the cabinet with the decree from Queen Mother Zhang, the cabinet ministers came together to receive the decree. They said it was a decree, but in fact they were asking questions on behalf of the Queen Mother.
Li Fang asked: "The Holy Mother previously had a decree to release Zhang Yanling, why didn't she go to the cabinet to handle it?"
Yan Song, Chief Minister Yan, responded on behalf of the cabinet: "The cabinet vote failed to pass half of the vote."
Li Fang scolded the Queen Mother on behalf of the Queen Mother: "The Holy Mother has something to say, if the first assistant cannot be arbitrary, what is the use of coming!"
Yan Song replied: "I am incompetent and have failed to live up to the expectations of the Holy Mother!"
Li Fang asked again: "The Holy Mother asks again, even if Zhang Yanling is guilty, he has been deprived of his title and imprisoned for eight years, which is enough to atone for his crime!"
Therefore, Zhang Yanling should be released now. The Holy Mother’s will is here, does the Chief Minister intend to resist?”
Yan Song seemed helpless and said: "How dare I disobey the order!"
The other cabinet ministers stood slightly behind, squinting at Yan Shoufu secretly, "Are you, Yan Song, and the Queen Mother playing a double act for everyone?"
Do you want to use the pressure from the Queen Mother to break the voting system in which the chief minister only has one vote and restore the authority of the former chief minister?
Li Fang conveyed the message on behalf of the Queen Mother. She said nothing else and went back to Cisheng Palace to resume the performance.
Then Li Fang asked someone else to take over the duty, and he went to Wuyi Hall in Xiyuan to report the situation to Eunuch Qin, the eunuch in charge of the eunuch and the superintendent of Dongchang, who had moved to work here.
Although Li Fang's current job is to guard Empress Dowager Zhang's residence in Cisheng Palace, he is definitely not a close associate of Empress Dowager Zhang, but was sent there by the Supervisor of Ceremonies.
Queen Mother Zhang had been regent for more than half a year. She was not able to cultivate her power quickly, so she could only make do with the "old people" in the palace.
Qin Fu Qin Eunuch was a little surprised after hearing the report. Unexpectedly, at this time, Queen Mother Zhang jumped out to make trouble for Zhang Yanling again.
Zhang Yanling was imprisoned in the twelfth year of Jiajing, and it has been eight years now.
At that time, Eunuch Qin was still the eunuch in charge of the Qianqing Palace and the eunuch in charge of the royal horse. Qin Dewei was still a young man who was chased and beaten by the angry court bosses by the Jinshui River.
I always thought that Zhang Yanling had lost all value and could just be imprisoned in the prison to wait for the final outcome. I didn't expect that Zhang Yanling could become the focus of a court battle.
Eunuch Qin asked Li Fang casually, "What do you think?"
Li Fang replied: "Although the Holy Mother loves and protects her brother very much, she involves her brother in a court fight for fear that he will die soon? It seems that he wants to save people, but in fact the effect is to harm them."
Eunuch Qin laughed a few times. This young man named Li Fang seemed to have some discernment.
Qin Dewei was right when he said that the Queen Mother was a politically stupid woman.
In order to free a mere prisoner, using the reward of the title of Grand Master as a threat, isn't this asking for death?
However, this time Empress Dowager Zhang fell ill suddenly, and the inside story was probably not that simple. Eunuch Qin also speculated that Empress Dowager Zhang might have been taken advantage of by Yan Song.
Just as the Qin eunuch thought, after Yan Song returned to the middle hall of Wenyuan Pavilion, he said to the other ministers: "I want to write a post and send it to the Ministry of Punishment together with the Queen Mother's decree."
Mao Bowen, the Minister of Punishment, was a member of the Strict Party and a native of Jiangxi, so once Yan Song's post and the Queen Mother's decree reached the Ministry of Punishment, they would definitely be implemented.
This creates a "legitimate" example of the chief minister's will bypassing the cabinet's different opinions, directly transmitting it to the ministry, and then being implemented.
The collective cabinet decision-making system that has been maintained in the past month or two has been opened up.
Zhang Chao snorted coldly and said: "The chief minister doesn't want to follow the vote? He didn't even go through the six subjects and directly issued the decree to the outside?"
Yan Song showed his toughness and said: "I don't want to argue with you. If you think it's inappropriate, you can stop it."
Zhang Chao was not a master of fighting, so he had no idea what to do, so he sent someone to Xiyuan to ask Wang Tingxiang of the Military Aircraft Department for advice.
At this time, the Military Aircraft Department was also in Wuyi Hall in Xiyuan, and occupied the east and west wings of Wuyi Hall with the Supervisor of Ceremonies.
After Wang Tingxiang thought for a while, he sighed helplessly, got up and walked towards the Supervisor of Ceremonies opposite.
It is very rare for a minister to take the initiative to visit the eunuch.
Although the Military Aircraft Department is face to face with the Chief of Ceremonies and has a tacit understanding of cooperation, Wang Tingxiang has never visited the Chief of Ceremonies.
Eunuch Qin received Wang Tingxiang very politely and calmly. He did not put on any airs and did not feel flattered by the minister's initiative to visit.
After sitting down, Wang Tingxiang said: "The Holy Mother's decree to pardon Zhang Yanling is really a mess of fate, and it is simply a disorder of the imperial court!"
Eunuch Qin said expressionlessly: "So what?"
It is the duty of your ministers to maintain the imperial court, not their eunuchs' responsibility.
Wang Tingxiang also hinted: "In fact, the source of all evil lies in Zhang Yanling!"
As a top-notch old yinbi, Eunuch Qin instantly understood what Wang Tingxiang meant.
If the combination of the Queen Mother Regent and the Chief Assistant were to forcibly implement the will, it would be difficult to overturn it from a legal and institutional perspective. Therefore, we could only adopt some unconventional means, which is commonly known as "dirty work."
However, Eunuch Qin still pretended not to understand and said casually: "Zhang Yanling is indeed a hateful person. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is the source of all evil. What does the Great Sima have in mind?"
When Wang Ting saw no one around, he whispered: "Qin Banqiao told me before he went to Zhejiang that if it was determined that dirty work needed to be done, he would directly ask Eunuch Qin to do it!
Qin Banqiao also said that Eunuch Qin is the most professional in this regard, so you are right to choose Eunuch Qin!"
Qin Fu: "."
This son is so filial, so filial! I am so lucky to have such a son!
When Yan Shoufu's post and the Queen Mother's decree were sent to the Ministry of Punishment, the officials of the Ministry of Punishment basically knew everything.
It should be said that the officials of the Ministry of Punishment have been psychologically prepared for this. Zhang Yanling is being held in the Sky Prison of the Ministry of Punishment. When it comes to Zhang Yanling, the Ministry of Punishment must be involved.
After the cell leader on duty named Wei heard the news, he came to the Tianyao Prison and told Zhang Yanling.
"Hahahaha!" Zhang Yanling first looked up to the sky and laughed wildly, and then said excitedly: "I have been through all the hardships, and I have been waiting until I can see the light of day again!"
Wei Laotou also congratulated and said, "I'll go find some food and wine to congratulate the old Marquis!"
The civil servants could ignore Zhang Yanling, a former national relative who had fallen into disgrace, but the jailer still treated Zhang Yanling well and hoped to get some benefits from Zhang Yanling.
Now that Zhang Yanling is about to be pardoned and released from prison, perhaps the harvest season has arrived.
At this time, an old servant of the Zhang family happened to come to give Zhang Yanling a new quilt.
There are still three pounds of nails in the broken ship, not to mention the huge Zhang family, it is not surprising that there are several loyal servants who have persisted to this day.
Zhang Yanling waved her hands happily and said: "There is no need to bring it in, I probably won't need it! I might go out after a while!"
Instead, the old loyal servant sighed sadly: "I just want to remind you that it's best not to go out."
Zhang Yanling frowned and said, "What do you mean? Why don't you hope for my recovery?"
The old loyal servant has been in the capital for decades and is considered well-informed, so he analyzed it again: "Sir, when you were in the prison, you were harmless, so you were safe and there was no danger of your life;
But if I still want to be pardoned under the current situation, I don’t know how many people have been affected! When you get out of the prison, you will not be safe!"
Zhang Yanling heard this very unpleasantly and said angrily: "You are such a naughty slave! What depressing words can you say to intimidate me?"
The old loyal servant continued calmly: "First of all, I don't have the ability to protect myself now, and Our Lady doesn't have the power to protect you outside the palace.
Secondly, I have no actual use value, and no one in power will sincerely protect me."
Finally, the old loyal servant said cruelly: "If the problem can be solved by getting rid of the master, and there will be no further troubles, and no one will seriously investigate, then it is not impossible for the master to die on the street!"
"Bah!" Zhang Yanling spat, then pointed to the cell and said, "Who wants to linger in this small space? Even if you die vigorously outside, it is better than living here!"
Speaking of this, the old loyal servant really had no choice but to stand outside the prison door worriedly, hoping to use more strength to wait for the unreliable master of the family.
Wei LaoTou came back with several jailers and was very happy, carrying several large food boxes and wine bottles.
Immediately, they set up a table in the prison, waiting for Mr. Zhang to change cups and cups, and started playing guessing games.
The next morning, it seemed like it was the coldest day since the beginning of winter this year.
Wang Tingxiang, Minister of the Ministry of War and acting director of the Military Aircraft Department, walked out of the house and immediately felt a chill. He quickly hugged the hand stove and got into the sedan chair.
Arriving outside the right gate of Chang'an, Wang Tingxiang reluctantly got off the sedan chair and prepared to walk into the palace in the cold wind.
At this moment, a close official from the Ministry of Punishment suddenly walked over quickly and whispered to Wang Tingxiang: "Zhang Yanling suddenly suffered an old illness in the prison last night and died suddenly!"
Sima Wang was stunned for a moment, with shock and anger on his face! He didn't care about waiting for a carriage, and hurriedly entered the palace, and then went around to Wuyi Hall in Xiyuan.
Qin Fu, the eunuch and admiral of Dongchang, the Chief of Ceremonies, was warming up a brazier in the main room of the west wing of Wuyi Hall, with his eyebrows furrowed and thoughtful.
Wang Tingxiang opened the door curtain, broke in, and said angrily to Eunuch Qin: "Qin Banqiao said that you are the most professional in dirty work, but I didn't expect that even Qin Banqiao would make mistakes sometimes!
How could Zhang Yanling die at this time? How could he die in the sky prison? You are not so reckless when doing dirty work, it is simply stupid!"
Everyone knows that no matter from historical grudges to actual power disputes, the Qin Party strongly opposes Empress Dowager Zhang’s pardon of Zhang Yanling, but it seems that it cannot stop the first assistant from helping Empress Dowager Zhang!
At this time, Zhang Yanling died suddenly and appropriately in the prison. I am afraid that everyone including the Queen Mother Zhang thought that it was the Qin Party who killed Zhang Yanling!
Eunuch Qin raised his eyelids and said coldly: "I can only say that I didn't do it!"
Wang Tingxiang said in shock: "Who else could it be if it wasn't you?"
"I am also considering this issue!" Eunuch Qin looked calm, but his heart was boiling and rolling like volcanic lava, as if it was about to erupt at any time and destroy the world.
Wang Tingxiang still had some political acumen. At this time, he also thought of the consequences and said with a little arrogance:
"No matter who did it, after this incident, I'm afraid the Queen Mother and Yan Song will be completely bound! From now on, the Queen Mother will do her best to support Yan Song at all costs!"
Eunuch Qin suddenly stood up, kicked the brazier hard, gritted his teeth and said, "I'm afraid we will all be fooled by Yan Song!
I dare say that the person who killed Zhang Yanling in the prison must be Yan Song!"
Wang Tingxiang: "."
After all calculations, I never expected that Yan Song would be able to do dirty work, and would even attack his own people on the surface!
All opponents, including Eunuch Qin, thought that Yan Song was just taking advantage of Empress Dowager Zhang's eagerness to pardon Zhang Yanling.
But I really didn't expect that Yan Song could be so vicious that he would take the opportunity to kill Zhang Yanling and completely bind the Queen Mother Zhang to his chariot.
And the biggest problem is that even if she told Empress Dowager Zhang directly that Zhang Yanling was killed by Yan Song, the stupid and stubborn Empress Dowager Zhang would not believe it! Yan Song also fully calculated the people's hearts!
"The matter has come to this, and Qin Banqiao is not here, what should we do from now on?" Wang Tingxiang murmured to himself.
When Qin Banqiao was around, there was always the illusion that Yan Song was a weakling with limited experience. Now that Qin Banqiao is gone, he has truly realized how terrifying Yan Song is!
Eunuch Qin rolled up his sleeves and put on his cloak, his face even colder than the weather outside.
After putting on his hat again, he walked out without looking back and said, "Don't worry! I'll show you what true professionalism is!"
At this time, in the middle hall of Wenyuan Pavilion, the atmosphere was very quiet. The four cabinet ministers who entered the palace were all quiet. At first glance, it seemed that the years had passed peacefully.
Taking a closer look at the expressions of several cabinet ministers, only Yan Song, the chief minister, was really quiet, while Zhang Chao and Zhang Bi were a little anxious, and Zhang Bangqi was beaming with joy.
People coming and going in Zhongshushe know that this is a very sensitive moment and dare not take a breath for fear of becoming the target of anger.
After Yan Song looked at the sky, he stood up and said to the others: "I'm going to see the Holy Mother. Will you all go with me?"
Still only Zhang Bangqi was willing to stand up and accompany him, while Zhang Chao and Zhang Bi remained motionless.
It's already this time and you're still stubborn? Yan Song snorted, pointed at Zhang Chao and said, "This is your last chance!"
Empress Dowager Zhang is a person who attaches great importance to family ties. This can be seen from the fact that she has allowed her family members to do mischief for many years. Zhang Yanling is the closest brother to Empress Dowager Zhang. The older a person gets, the more she cherishes family ties.
When she was about to be released from prison, Zhang Yanling suddenly died suddenly in the cell. Empress Dowager Zhang was afraid that she would go crazy.
A crazed supreme regent who is willing to do whatever it takes, even if he is imaginary, but with the cooperation of Yan Song, the chief assistant, it is conceivable how destructive the power will be.
To take an extreme example, if during a court meeting, the Queen Mother pointed at someone and yelled at someone, or even started fighting with someone, what else could that person do except resign?
Zhang Chao didn't even raise his head, flipping through the memorials in his hand, completely ignoring the aggressive Yan Shoufu.
If you lose, you lose. What else can you do? It's a pity that the Qin Party's foundation entrusted to you by your disciples can no longer be maintained.
"You don't know what is good and what is evil!" Yan Song sneered a few times, turned around and walked out, going to Cisheng Palace to appease Empress Dowager Zhang.
However, as soon as Yan Song turned around and went out, he met Qin Fu, the Chief of Ceremonies, coming towards him in the courtyard.
Yan Song glanced at Qin Fu and asked: "What is the purpose of eunuch Qin coming to the cabinet? Does he have any purpose?"
Eunuch Qin had a sad look on his face and said in a hoarse voice: "I am here to apologize to you gentlemen. The Holy Mother is already old and in poor health. After hearing the news of her brother's death, she was so sad that she followed the late emperor."
Yan Song: "."
How could the Queen Mother collapse like this?
In an instant, Yan Shoufu felt the world spinning, and his body was shaking like a candle in the wind.
Suddenly, I heard Eunuch Qin shouting: "No! I'm afraid the chief assistant is also too sad. Quickly help him to the porch to see if he is still breathing!"
Agitated, Yan Shoufu forced himself to wake up again. He could not be "overly sad" too!
When Wang Tingxiang came over and saw this scene, he suddenly felt that it seemed to be colder today.
As expected, Qin Banqiao's eyes were as bright as fire, and he would never be mistaken when looking at people. It was too dark for Eunuch Qin to do dirty work. Oh no, he was too professional.
Wang Tingxiang has been in politics for decades and has never experienced such a dark day.
Compared with the two black-hearted gangsters in front of him, even Qin Dewei, who does not use physical destruction as his main method, is much cuter.
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