Chapter 241: The Grand Court Meeting and Xu Qing's Dream
Chapter 241: The Grand Court Meeting and Xu Qing's Dream (Part 1)
After Yan Shan met Su Lianqing, he was uneasy for several days, especially last night, he actually dreamed of being the master.
The chief minister even knew that today's court meeting would discuss His Majesty's southern tour.
This time Yan Shan really believed that the boss was dead. If he wasn't dead, how could he have appeared in his dreams?
He is not only the Six Departments Secretary, but the old emperor also gave Yan Shan the title of Hanlin Shidu Bachelor on a whim. Normally speaking, Yan Shan's rank is not enough to be given the title of Hanlin Shidu Bachelor, but there are no strict rules and regulations for this matter. In the end, it's all about what the emperor likes.
With the status of Hanlin Academician, although Yan Shan’s voice in the cabinet cannot be compared with that of the elders, he is still in the first tier under the elders.
This means that the power of the Bingke Jieshi Zhong, which had originally been cut by half, was made up for from other places, and there was still some left.
Yan Shan also knew that His Majesty's reward had a purpose.
Maybe they want him to take over the ecological niche of the sitting boss?
The term "ecological niche" was taught to him by the host, and it is very subtle.
Your Majesty, you think too highly of Yan Shan!
How virtuous and capable he is.
It’s just that the president has said that we should do things that are beneficial to the country, regardless of success or failure, as long as we have a clear conscience.
Since His Majesty has added to the burden, Yan Shan can only give it a try reluctantly.
Moreover, he had a dream last night, so he had some idea about today's grand court meeting.
Today was a grand court meeting, so many civil and military officials came, but there were also fewer people than usual. Yan Shan knew what was going on. Since yesterday evening, many officials from the Ministry of Personnel and the Imperial Guards had been arrested by the Imperial Guards and the Imperial Household Department.
The capital is a big place, indeed, but news cannot be concealed.
Last night was a chaotic night.
But only the censors with particularly strong connections could be rescued.
Now many of them are imprisoned.
Even though censors usually wish to be beaten with a stick in the court, no one wants to go to the imperial prison.
It was an honor to be beaten with a stick in the court, and one would be carried on the street for a stroll. In terms of pride, it was comparable to being in the top three. Moreover, for ordinary top three scholars, being beaten with a stick in the court was equivalent to improving the innate spiritual root qualifications, which could directly be comparable to the foundation of a second-class scholar.
If you go to prison.
Those beasts in the Embroidered Uniform Guard don’t care whether you are a Jinshi or not. If you don’t pay enough, they will punish you even if you are an official of the fourth or fifth rank.
Even if you come back to life and make a comeback, it will be difficult to take revenge.
Because the jailers in the imperial prison are all relatives and friends, die-hard royalists, and they are not in the same system as the civil officials. To arrest these people, Shuntian Prefecture and even the Ministry of Justice are not qualified, they are all internal investigators.
To put it bluntly, the power systems in the officialdom are closed, and to exert influence across boundaries requires a very high position or very powerful skills.
Why is the sitting master so powerful?
He can handle all systems, how can he not be amazing!
Yan Shan was thinking about his own things while attending court, and no civil servants came to greet him.
Even though he is now the second-in-command of Fushe, after the news of the death of the leader spread, Yan Shan was a bit like a plague god in the court, and others were afraid to avoid him.
Lord Liang's attitude remained the same, but many people could see that without a seat in the government, Lord Liang would have no chance to fight against Minister Wang.
Even though Liang Ge Lao is the current Prime Minister, no one thinks he is that powerful.
Rumor has it that if you offend Lord Liang, it's like offending cotton!
So there was a paper minister in the previous dynasty, and Minister Liang is now nicknamed "Cotton Minister".
Cotton is still more valuable than paper.
In folk customs, if a girl gets married with a few quilts, the bride would be considered too proud.
Especially now that every winter is very cold, even if the capital has a supply of fairy coal, it is extremely comfortable to have a quilt to keep warm.
Fortunately, with the help of Fang Xiandao, the Ministry of Industry has improved the looms. Now the output of textile factories near the capital has increased a lot, and the price of quilts has gradually fallen.
If everything goes well, more and more ordinary families will have quilts to cover themselves with in winter in the future.
These are major events that the civil servants cannot see, but they actually affect the national economy and people's livelihood.
There are people behind the scenes pushing this.
Thanks to the publicity of newspapers and Fushe, ordinary people inside and outside the capital were more or less aware of Xu Qing's role in the operation, so many of them were grateful for Xu Qing's kindness.
Regarding Xu Qing's death, the people in Fushe were more confused about their future and less sad. On the contrary, the peddlers and hawkers who slaughtered chickens and dogs were more sincerely sad about it.
Although the couplet of the Fushe's Beijing Hall in the Nanzhili Guild Hall is:
If you want to get promoted and make money, please go elsewhere. If you are afraid of death, don’t enter this door!
This is also what the boss often says: ideology is ideology, and business is business.
Yan Shan sighed inwardly. He didn't understand why the master, who was so well versed in the ways of heaven and man, would be so foolish as to seek and fight the Black Mountain Demon.
He remembered what the host had said in his dream last night.
"Nowadays, studying for the imperial examination does not make people smarter, but it can change a platform. People's achievements mostly come from luck. Now that you have this platform, you can naturally display your talents. What I do is not difficult. Just relax and do it well."
This was also the encouragement given to him by the host.
After Yan Shan had some random thoughts, the grand court meeting began.
Soon, a clean official from the Inspectorate impeached the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Neichang for arresting people yesterday.
In fact, today's topic is the emperor's southern tour, but no one is stupid enough to pick this topic.
But why were those censors arrested yesterday? Wasn’t it because they wanted to submit a petition to stop His Majesty’s southern tour?
By impeaching this matter, we can divert the matter to His Majesty's southern tour.
And it can also save colleagues.
The old emperor said calmly: "Chen Zhong, what happened last night?"
Chen Zhong: "A total of 12 corrupt officials were arrested last night."
"Oh, so they are the corrupt officials who are being arrested."
Some censors immediately stepped forward to refute the claim, saying that all of the arrested censors were as clean as water and could not possibly be corrupt officials.
But Chen Zhong immediately compared the account books and said that each of these officials had several hundred taels of cash of unknown origin at home.
The censors were so angry that they laughed. How could an official with only a few hundred taels of silver be called a corrupt official?
It really is!
This is a law made by the Great Yu Dynasty's Taizu, which clearly stipulates that anyone who embezzles 40 taels of silver or takes bribes and perverts the law can be sentenced to death.
Well, if that's the case, few of the civil and military officials in the court would survive. The old emperor then asked Liang Ge Lao for his opinion.
Liang Ge Lao said: "This punishment is too harsh. How can one be sentenced to death for eighty taels?"
The old emperor said sarcastically: "It is difficult to change the laws of our ancestors."
All the officials were speechless.
You have no idea how many of our ancestors' laws you have changed.
In order to carry his own father into the Taimiao, the old emperor ordered his great-grandfather's grandfather to get out of the Taimiao!
Filial piety is beyond words.
At this time Yan Shan stepped out.
He said that the money of these officials was not from unknown sources, but from huohao and tanjing. Yan Shan also mentioned the cabinet's proposal to return huohao to the public, and took this opportunity to mention the issue of coinage.
Now that the price of silver is gradually increasing, it is the right time for the country to re-coin.
Not copper coins, but silver coins.
Because Westerners like silver coins.
The tea, silk and other in-demand goods of the Qing dynasty were very popular with Westerners, which was also the most important benefit in maritime trade.
Coinage has always been a big deal for the central government. If it goes wrong, it will lead to the decline of people's livelihood.
Moreover, silver coins are more valuable than copper coins and are more likely to cause trouble.
In fact, the Dayu Dynasty also lacked copper, so the circulation of copper coins among the people had long been chaotic.
Of course, part of the reason for the copper shortage was that many copper coins were taken to the tombs of princes, nobles, emperors and generals.
The minting of silver coins was obviously a test, but it was limited to maritime trade and officials' salaries and was a cautious attempt.
As soon as Yan Shan made a move, the topic went astray.
Everyone had originally intended to bring up the emperor's southern tour, but after going around in circles at Yan Shan, it became an issue of public revenue and coinage.
It can also change the penalties for corruption crimes.
Overall, all officials benefit.
You know, no matter how greedy people are, the laws and regulations are there, and they feel a little uncomfortable. For example, this time, everyone feels uncomfortable.
The key point is that the old emperor has never given in on this matter, just to keep it annoying.
Now, the old emperor finally gave in.
This is actually also an exchange of interests.
There is no need to discuss the southern tour anymore. We can just give everyone a raise and revise the laws.
The officials smelled a familiar scent in this routine.
The Left Censor-in-Chief of the Inspectorate, Huo Jing, and the Minister of Personnel, Wang Gong, looked at each other in bewilderment.
They seemed to see a ghost, a ghost named Xu Qing floating in the court.
It's just haunting.
If the officials tacitly agreed to what Yan Shan proposed, then it would be difficult for them to oppose the emperor's southern tour. Because if they continued to oppose, it would be shameless.
However, only the overt opposition disappeared.
The southern tour was a long journey. There was a flood, the dragon boat had an accident, there was an accident in the palace, and the canal was blocked...
These problems exist objectively.
The ministers had to give in at this time, but many of them had a tacit understanding in their hearts.
Now that Xu Gongming is no longer causing trouble, it's time for His Majesty to see our strength.
Why is Xu Gongming so hateful?
Because he was born to be the leader of the civil service camp, but he ended up betraying the civil service group.
Xu Gongming manipulated many things and everyone had to suffer in silence.
The key is that Xu Gongming has a high level of military power, a lot of lackeys, and the support of the old emperor and the former prime minister. Moreover, this man always likes to recognize brothers and is willing to spend money.
Now that you have this configuration, why don’t you just rebel?
Let the world see his true face.
However, the facts were both gratifying and disappointing. Xu Gongming not only did not rebel, but also sacrificed his life for justice.
Become the white moonlight in the hearts of all people in the world!
Even the most shameless censor would not be able to criticize Xu Qing at this time.
We can only wait until Prince Yu takes the throne.
Things like smearing take a long time to ferment.
The civil servants are very good at this.
...
...
After the court session, Yan Shan was summoned by the old emperor.
"Yan Shan, you did a good job today. I was planning to start a killing spree, but I didn't expect you to handle things so well. You are a bit like Xu Qing."
"Your Majesty, I dare not take credit for it. It was Lord Xu who came to me in my dream last night to teach me..."
Yan Shan honestly told the story of Xu Qing's dream last night.
If you serve your king with sincerity, you will be successful in everything.
This is the truth that Yan Shan figured out on his own.
Since he doesn't have the talent to be a boss, he has to be an honest man.
"Xu Qing sent me a dream?" The old emperor's expression, as calm and indifferent as the sky, suddenly fell to the mortal world.
(End of this chapter)