The Wuying Palace became quiet again, and it was time for the Prime Minister and the First Assistant to express their stance. Since the Prime Minister and the First Assistant stood in the palace, they had to speak at the critical moment. It was impossible to pretend to be deaf or dumb or shrink back from the crowd like Li Zhongshu did. Not to mention studying for college.
It was he who raised the issue of the vacancy of scholars first.
Everyone, including the Queen Mother, thought that the old chief minister would shelve his own issue and postpone the discussion until later.[]
The situation is obvious. After Li Zhongshu and this group of dark horses who are not dark horses have come forward to disrupt the situation again and again, the situation is now beginning to develop in an unfavorable direction, and it is not as sure as it was at the beginning.
Although it is not yet known who will win, but if Xu Tianguan loses, he can still wait for the emperor to make a comeback after he reaches adulthood. The emperor with some political savvy knows how to express himself. If the Empress Dowager Cisheng and the seventy-four-year-old chief assistant lose, then
There is really no day to turn around.
Therefore, the best choice for Zhang Shoufu, who cannot afford to lose, is to avoid the enemy's edge, wait and find new opportunities. You must know that Xu Tianguan, Mr. Yuan Ge, and Jin Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites were not so harmonious in the past, especially Li Zhongshu and Yuan Ge
Lao Kan can be called an old enemy, and they have had several public quarrels and false accusations against each other. Without this sudden special atmosphere, the so-called "imperialist party" in Wuying Palace might have parted ways and disbanded.
But taking back his words is tantamount to a slap in the face. Words like putting down your self-esteem and compromising with the enemy should be the dogma of young people. Taking a step back will lead to a brighter future. Zhang Shoufu, who has already reached this age, doesn't think about it much.
no future.
Zhang Shoufu fell ill, and his eyes suddenly became clearer. He glanced at the ministers a few times, turned to the Queen Mother, and said: "If you are stupid and have been ill for a long time, the secondary assistant will be vacant, causing the central nervous system to be blocked. If you are stupid and not talented, boldly recommend someone for the Holy Examination."
." The Queen Mother nodded and said: "Old sir, please speak."
There are two routes for civil servants in the Ming Dynasty to enter the cabinet and advance to the throne. One is through the recommendation of the minister, and the other is through the emperor's special slip.
The monarch has great discretionary power in this regard. This is one of the greatest means for the emperors of the Ming Dynasty to control the government. At present, it is probably the greatest reliance of the old chief minister and the queen mother.
Everyone from either side watched Zhang Shoufu in silence. As soon as the name came out of his mouth, the palace would be filled with smoke and flames of war. It is very likely that the direction of the imperial court's personnel in the next ten years will be decided today.
Li Gui stood in the train, lowering his head like a statue. He had tried his best to reverse the extremely unfavorable situation. Now it was up to Xu Tianguan to see what he could do.
In the tense and suffocating atmosphere, Zhang Shoufu calmly said in a hoarse voice: "I recommend Xu Daohong, the official secretary, to be promoted to the Grand Bachelor of Jianji Hall!" Xu Daohong, the official secretary, is also respectfully called Xu Tianguan by ordinary people...
What was he talking about? The whole Wuying Hall was shocked. If they heard correctly, Zhang Shoufu was recommending Xu Tianguan as the second assistant?
Even an old fool can't talk nonsense like this. If the old chief assistant has this attitude and wants to send Xu Tianguan to the throne, then what was he trying to do with Xu Tianguan for several rounds of swordplay just now?
Some people even felt weird and wondered how the old man learned from Li Zhongshu, who specialized in taking strange and weird routes, and had such a nonchalant manner...
Empress Dowager Qian was stunned for a moment. Although she didn't know what Zhang Shouxu was thinking, she still chose to trust him based on his firm expression. She did not consult the ministers for their opinions. Qian Gang said arbitrarily: "Yes! The cabinet will draft an edict!"
"
All the ministers were still in shock. No one bothered to come forward to object, and they didn't know how to object. Could Xu Tianguan's side be able to prevent Master Tianguan from joining the cabinet as a secondary minister? No one on the old chief minister's side had the courage to come forward to refute.
Mr. Chief Assistant, the other people who are so concerned about the matter are watching indifferently.
Mr. Xu is a little confused. No matter who encounters this kind of situation, it is not easy to calm down. Could it be that happiness comes so suddenly? Without having to work hard on your own, you can be promoted to the Grand Bachelor of Jianji Palace?
It's too simple to be so simple. But this is what he has been striving for for a long time.
Youhuo, the second assistant in the current dynasty, is really extraordinary. He is a top-notch person among the bachelors, and he is the natural successor to the first assistant.
Concern leads to chaos, and Xu Shangshu, who has always been shrewd, doesn't know how to deal with it. He can't make up his mind for a moment. No matter what, he will not suffer a loss if he becomes the second assistant...,
If there is anyone who is most disappointed at this time, it is the two opponents, Yuan Gelao, a bachelor of Wenhua Palace, and Peng Gelao, a bachelor of Wuying Palace.
Mr. Yuan Ge also felt it just now. If the two armies faced each other, Xu Tianguan would probably give up his own opportunity and instead push him to be the second assistant. As a result, he, a bachelor of the Wenhua Palace, was ranked high and was promoted to the second assistant.
The difficulty is low and it is morally defensible. Secondly, it is better for him to take office than Mr. Peng Ge or Mr. Xu Ge. Recently, Xu Tianguan has a certain tacit understanding with the eldest princess behind him.
The possibility of success is quite high, but unfortunately, it was inexplicably messed up by Zhang Shoufang. What did the old chief minister think? Mr. Yuan Ge thought depressedly.
Mr. Peng Ge was even more depressed. He knew that Zhang Chief Fu would try to keep his ally in power today in order to avoid criticism because of Mr. Xu Ge's lack of qualifications. But how did it end up that Xu Tianguan was appointed as his secondary assistant?
It's a lot to say, but it actually only lasted a short moment. Zhang Shoufu didn't give others much time to react, and he didn't even wait for Xu Tianguan to decide Lou's intention before he started moving again.
He searched for a few times in the train, but his old eyes were blurred and he couldn't see where the secretary of a certain ticket was in the crowd. He could only continue to tell the Queen Mother: "The design of the ticket is that the cabinet has no leader.
, the assistant ministers are fighting each other. Now if there is a second assistant in the cabinet, this job will be redundant and useless, and it is easy to cause troubles in many branches of government, just like the mistake of receiving orders at the same time as the old man. Therefore, you can give up this position.
Invite the Holy Judge!" Everyone understood this clearly. Zhang Shoufu's second move was to remove Li Gu's post of secretary of the sub-ticket committee. They all expressed their understanding of this. Mr. Li
With that ferocious performance, Sheng Sheng single-handedly reversed the great situation carefully planned by the old chief assistant. It is normal to be hit and retaliated, but a person cannot bear to encounter him like this.
The Empress Dowager still did not hesitate: "Yes! Dismiss the appointment of the secretary of the branch of the vote. Li estimated that he had acted out of order several times, slandered ministers, was dismissed from his post, and was dismissed from the capital!"
There were all discerning people in the palace, and Mr. Xu Daohong did not stand up to protect him. This does not mean that he has given up on Li Ai, and besides, Li Ai is indeed not suitable to continue to be an official in the inner court.
If he is going to be a minister in the cabinet, can he still keep the vote-sharing letter to restrain him? Besides, this treatment is relatively light and acceptable. Therefore, there is no need to argue based on the reason and anger the Queen Mother again, which will lead to unforeseen and more serious consequences.
Probably because the Queen Mother could not find a bigger crime such as murder and arson for the time being, she only sentenced Li Gui to be "dismissed from his position" and "deposed."
Each word here has a specific meaning. First of all, it means that Li Gui is removed from all positions and assignments. It does not mean that Li Gui's dismissal still retains his status as an official, but he has to be re-elected. Secondly, deposed means that Li Gui will be removed from office.
The adults are released from the capital, but cannot be upgraded.
I would also like to explain that in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, because Beijing officials were noble, the removal of Beijing officials could be regarded as a punishment as long as they were not promoted.
But such punishments also vary in severity. The lighter one is deposed, which means that your character or talent is not enough to stay in the capital, and you are demoted to the local area. For example, the seventh-rank censor is demoted to the local government to serve as the seventh-rank county magistrate, which is the punishment of demotion. The heavier punishment is demotion.
Some of them were demoted for their crimes and directly demoted to the rank of minor miscellaneous official. The famous Yang Shen and Wang Yangming both experienced such experiences.
Li Gui's punishment by the Empress Dowager was obviously the first of the two situations mentioned above. When others think about this guy, he is only nineteen or twenty years old. Even if he is demoted to the sixth rank, he will be very jealous. He will really have a bright future.
It’s been a long time, so I don’t want to give him a try, so I’m too lazy to speak for Li Ai. And considering Li Ai’s background, there are currently no good yamen in the capital where he can be placed. It’s really better to go to a local yamen to work as an official in one of those third-rate Qingshui yamen.
The qualifications of the Zhengyintang official.
Even Mr. Li was fully mentally prepared for this and was not surprised or saddened.
If the Chief Assistant and the Queen Mother are determined to do so at all costs, he will definitely not be able to retain his position in the inner court.
After all, the inner court is an inner court, not an external court. If the Queen Mother Bingzheng and the Chief Assistant can't even deal with the inner court officials, then they can retire as soon as possible and come out to engage in court disputes. In the past, the Queen Mother could look at Xu Tianguan's face, but now
Not all, it is normal to be kicked out of the palace.
Therefore, Li Gui has already realized the sacrifice and hopes to choose a good position through re-election. Anyway, with a solid foundation, he will be promoted sooner or later. It is not in vain that he has gained the qualifications and connections in the capital.
Why do you still feel a little flattered? Could it be that the old chief minister did not hesitate to push Xu Tianguan to the top in order to get rid of him, the top vote-getter? How much the prime minister in his dying years must hate himself... What an extraordinary honor.
Li Gui was thinking about his situation and was about to step forward to apologize, but saw that Zhang Shoufu did not stop and continued to play, so he had to stop and listen.
"I beg you to retire and become an official." The old chief minister kowtowed slowly, his tone no longer fierce, but very calm.
Although there were a lot of shocking thunders today, this one was definitely the loudest, and everyone was moved, no matter whether they were friends or foes. He has been in the government for nearly forty years, has been in the cabinet for seventeen years, has served as the chief minister for twelve years, and has been appointed as the assistant for five more years.
After six years and more than two years of recuperation, will the Optimus Prime of the generation finally return?
Could it be that he was hit hard today and finally surrendered to his old age, so he first ruthlessly recommended Xu Shangshu as his second assistant, then retaliated against Li Gui, and finally resigned?
The Empress Dowager Cisheng was so shocked that she stood up from the throne and lost her composure. She was originally just a concubine in the palace, but after the death of her husband, she had no choice but to come to the court to take charge of the government. It was with the support of Mr. Zhang, the chief minister, that she stabilized the court situation.
And it's safe to this day.
Li Gui was the only one in the palace who didn't express any emotion. It would be too fantasy to expect someone like him to have any feelings about the old man they met for the first time.
Something out of the ordinary is a monster. The suspicious Mr. Li suddenly came up with an idea. If at this time,
If the old chief assistant recommends Mr. Peng Ge or Mr. Xu Ge to succeed him as the first assistant, how valuable is the second assistant Mr. Xu gets?
Originally, the first assistant was absent from the cabinet due to old age and illness, so becoming the second assistant was almost the same as the first assistant. Now suppose that before Zhang Ruoyu left, he elected Peng and Xu Zhong to succeed the first assistant, then there would be no situation where the first assistant is not in the cabinet. There is a chief assistant. With the assistant, a man who always keeps his word, Master Xu's second assistant still looks at people? And if he doesn't deal with the first assistant, life will probably be difficult.
It's not just a hypothesis, the more Li Gui thinks about it, the more likely it is. From the first step of recommending Mr. Xu as the second assistant, the old chief assistant is already making plans!
The Empress Dowager Qian directly allowed the Lord to join the cabinet as a secondary assistant without consulting any opinions. It seems that she simply took advantage of it, but it is also the first of its kind today.
Next, if the old chief minister recommends Peng Xu to succeed him as the chief minister, and the queen mother is an arbitrary leader and approves it, who can say anything? Even if Xu Tianguan has opinions, can he easily object?
Is it only possible to allow you to join the cabinet and be promoted as a secondary assistant, but not to allow others to take the throne?
No wonder the old guy inexplicably recommended Xu Tianguan as the second assistant. It turned out that it was not only to paralyze the opponent, but also to block the crowd at this time! This step left Master Xu speechless!
Li Gui thought of the second move of the old chief minister, which was to get rid of the vote-splitting secretary. Without the vote-splitting secretary, who in the cabinet could control the chief minister and the bachelor? If he was still the vote-splitting secretary, how could he be the same as Xu? The adults may not be able to compete with the chief assistant if they join forces, but he was dismissed!
I originally thought that the old chief minister was just trying to retaliate against him! It seems that it is not that simple. Through this step, there is no power in the cabinet that can restrain the chief minister! Mr. Xu has no way to protect him!
The third step is definitely to resign first, and then naturally recommend one of your own to succeed the chief minister!
This old man really has some tricks up his sleeve, and he is considered a thief even if he is too old to die! Li Gui almost wanted to curse.
A person who dares to give away the most powerful official position in the world is so powerful! If he were fifty years younger, he would look like a different version of himself!
In order for Mr. Xu to take over as the first assistant minister, he charged into the battle to turn the tide and made huge sacrifices to break the situation. Not only did he lose the votes in the inner court, but he was also kicked out of the capital. In exchange for this second assistant position, which was dependent on others?
Seeing that many people are still lamenting the departure of the prime ministers of the two dynasties, lamenting the departure of an era, Mr. Li is angry! I really feel that the whole world is filthy and I am alone, everyone is drunk and I am sober. He hates scheming but others still eat it. The feeling of great loss! Especially when you have made a huge sacrifice!
Don't think that I don't have a golden finger. No one will have an easy time today! Mr. Li, who was full of enthusiasm, took three steps in two steps at a time, rushed to the front of His Majesty, and shouted loudly: "I have this report!"
Zhang Ruoyu was about to continue saying something, but was interrupted. Now he did not underestimate this young man. He turned around and shouted: "You have been dismissed by the imperial court. What qualifications do you have to stand in the palace! Why don't you quit!"
After hearing the words of the first assistant, Queen Mother Qian also found an opportunity to vent her anger and issued an edict: "Arrogant and rude, repeatedly violated the court ceremony, and took down the imperial staff for thirty years!"
Court staff? Before Li Gu could react, the royal guards on duty jumped up to him and grabbed him, dragging him forcefully towards the door of the palace.
The ministers watched Mr. Li being escorted out of the palace, feeling very sorry for him. Anyone who knows anything knows that in today's Ming Dynasty, the opportunity to be beaten by the court is too precious. If Mr. Li was beaten for committing a crime, it would be a great honor.
He will leave his name in history! But it is a pity that he was rude because of the collision.
While shaking his head and sighing, he suddenly heard Mr. Li shouting outside the palace (he must be raising his arms): "The Holy Mother and the First Assistant are too guilty to listen to the murder case of the supervisor! I will investigate the matter to the end!"