Why did the emperor rebel?

Chapter 231 Future Positioning of the Cabinet

Why hasn't the last official announcement from the heavenly official been submitted?
Under the bright candlelight, Gao Gu's brows were raised, and he fell into deep thought.

The former emperor added the false title of Taibao to the old heavenly official, which already shows that it is a foregone conclusion for the old heavenly official to become an official.

Moreover, the matter must have been settled years ago.

No matter how long it takes, even with the prestige of the heavenly officials, they will definitely be criticized in Shilin.

Now, there are only more than 20 days left before the New Year's Eve, but there is still no movement from the Heavenly Official.

Both the government and the opposition are guessing that there is still something unresolved by the heavenly officials.

This is actually not difficult to guess.

The old Tianguan has long wanted to become an official, and this is something that everyone in the government and the public know.

This time, with the help of Shi Pu's case, the heavenly official begged for the bones again. Although His Majesty did not agree, he obviously had no intention of forcing them to stay.

One is willing to leave and the other is not forced to stay. Logically speaking, it is a matter of procedure.

The old heaven official was also almost stuck, as soon as the last memorial was approved and received, he handed over the next one, without any intention of love.

But after the second memorial was rejected, the emperor sent a middle official to express his condolences.

After that, the Heavenly Official, who was only one step away from completing the process of becoming an official, suddenly became silent.

Therefore, most of the courtiers felt that there was something for the emperor that needed to be handled by the heavenly officials, so they got stuck at this step.

Only the status of the emperor can stop the old heaven official who wants to go.

However, before Chen Xun mentioned this matter, Gao Gu never thought about linking these two things together.

Thinking about it now, could it be...

Gao Gu pondered and asked: "Brother De Zun, what you mean is that the reason why the old heavenly official has stayed until now is because His Majesty hopes that the old man will preside over this cabinet meeting before he becomes an official?"

Chen Xun nodded, finally put down the tea sets in his hand, and said seriously.

"That's exactly the case. Your Majesty left the heavenly officials behind. There must be things that only the heavenly officials can do. Now the court is smooth, and the ministries and temple supervisors perform their duties. Only the cabinet is newly established, and the system is uncertain. There is no precedent."

"Furthermore, the selection of cabinet ministers overlaps with the right to select cabinet members, so it must be clearly distinguished."

"With Wang Ao's merits in Liaodong, he became the chief assistant, and the cabinet will have a head. Under such circumstances, if he is willing to join hands with you and me, then with Wang Wen, a newly promoted minister of the Ministry of Officials, he may not be able to win The right to choose cabinet ministers."

"In this case, only with the prestige of the old heavenly officials can the cabinet ministers' election right be taken back to the Ministry of Officials from the cabinet that has joined forces."

Gao Gu's expression was a bit complicated, and after a while, he sighed and said.

"So, from the very beginning, His Majesty has held back and clamped down on the cabinet?"

When the second memorial from the Heavenly Official was rejected, there were still a few days before the Winter Solstice.

At that time, they hadn't discussed with Wang Ao about adding cabinet ministers.

In other words, no matter whether Wang Ao mentions this matter or not, the emperor has already made up his mind to hand over the power of selecting cabinet ministers to the hands of the officials.

Chen Xun nodded, and said with regret in his tone.

"That's right. If the old man's expectations are correct, from now on, the cabinet will recruit ministers either through the central decree, or through the Ministry of Officials, and there will be no more cabinet ministers."

But it was only a moment before Chen Xun's face returned to calm, and he continued.

"However, this is not necessarily a bad thing for us."

Hearing this, Gao Gu finally raised his spirits and asked nervously.

"What do you mean by brother De Zun's words?"

Chen Xun didn't answer immediately, but picked up the tea set at the side again and brewed it again.

After brewing a pot of fragrant tea, the fragrance of tea slowly lingered, Chen Xunfang said.

"As Wang Jiugao said, His Majesty has not allowed you and me to recommend cabinet ministers, because he fears that the cabinet will be controlled by you and me, and it will become a sharp weapon to seize power and intensify the conflict between the inner court and the outer court."

"This applies to you and me, and naturally it also applies to Wang Jiugao!"

Gao Gu was taken aback for a moment, then a smile finally appeared on his face, he nodded and said.

"That's right. Although he is the chief assistant, His Majesty has spoken first. All the ministers in the cabinet are assistant ministers, and there is no difference in rank."

"Your Majesty will not allow us to control the cabinet, and naturally he will not allow him to control the cabinet. I am afraid that in the future, the cabinet will still be full of power."

Having reached this conclusion, Gao Gu felt a lot more at ease.

In the past, the reason why he felt worried was actually that he was still worried that if he lost the authority of the Imperial Academy, he would really become a subordinate minister who could only be controlled by Wang Ao.

But when Chen Xun said this, he also reacted.

Although the Son of Heaven wants the court to promote cabinet ministers, these new cabinet ministers may not necessarily be Wang Ao's people.

This is also the reason why Chen Xun said before that Wang Ao is not the same as Wang Wen, but the generation of Jane in the Sacred Heart.

If Wang Wen enters the cabinet, given the emperor's trust in him, I am afraid that other cabinet ministers will bow their heads to him.

But Wang Ao...

At least from the current point of view, the emperor has not shown any preference and trust for people other than Wang Wen.

Therefore, if there is no accident, among the cabinet ministers recommended by the court this time, even if they are not their people, they must be people that Wang Ao cannot fully control.

Only in this way can we ensure the mutual containment among the cabinet.

Chen Xun skillfully ordered two cups of tea from the purple sand pot, and pushed one of the cups to Gao Gu again, with a somewhat proud expression on his face, he opened his mouth and said.

"Then Wang Jiugao thinks he is smart, but after all, he has not been in the capital for a long time, and he doesn't know enough about the emperor. He only saw that the emperor wanted the cabinet to restrain each other. The real intention of the emperor was beyond what he could immediately think of."

His expression calmed down, and Gao Gu didn't bother to argue with this old guy who loves to show off, so he asked directly.

"What's the purpose?"

Chen Xun said seriously: "Of course it is about the position of the cabinet in the court!"

When this matter was mentioned, Chen Xun didn't sit down, but got up, paced back and forth in the room, and muttered.

"Today, although Wang Jiugao didn't say it clearly, what he said was nothing more than blaming the old man. He was blinded by his official position and wanted to expand the power of the cabinet. This aroused the jealousy of the emperor and almost led the cabinet astray."

"But how does he know that the old man has been in power for many years after all, how can he not understand this situation?"

Chen Xun looked through the night, and seemed to see a certain triumphant person, with a trace of disdain flashing across his face, he said coldly.

"At the end of the day, the cabinet holds the power to draft proposals, and the people who join the cabinet are all important ministers in the court, and the cabinet has a special status and does not participate in general affairs decision-making. It is different from Zhongshu and others. Therefore, it is completely in the hands of the emperor."

"Therefore, the potential of the cabinet is far beyond what we can see now. It is conceivable that if there is the unreserved support of the emperor, it is not impossible to dominate the six ministries."

"Now that the cabinet is newly established, every share of power, as long as it can be won, will become a common practice in the future. The reason why the old man is so aggressive is nothing more than to find out, in the heart of the emperor, where is the bottom line of the cabinet's power? .”

Gao Gu's heart moved and he asked.

"Brother De Zun means, about Ting Tui?"

Chen Xun nodded and said: "Yes, the emperor did not stop what we did before. The matter of the old heavenly official is enough to show that your majesty has long been prepared for this. The new cabinet needs to have its own authority, but it is not possible. Unlimited expansion."

"It can be seen from the matter of Ting Tui that, at least in His Majesty's heart, the cabinet must never surpass the head of the six ministries."

Walking two steps back and forth in the room, Chen Xundao.

"Nowadays, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is respected by the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of Households, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate, followed by the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Ministry of Industry."

"My guess is that according to the emperor's plan, the cabinet's status in the court should be higher than that of other ministries, but it is slightly inferior to the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of Households, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate."

"The same is true for the position of Chief Assistant. Although it is comparable to the Seven Ministers, it should be under the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of Households, and the Chief Procurator."

"Other ministers, including Cifu, have the title of Shangshu, but they have little real power. Their influence in the court is roughly comparable to that of the officials, household ministers, or Youdu Yushi, who is released as a governor."

"However, if the Chief Assistant wants to suppress the six ministries with the power of the cabinet, it is absolutely impossible."

"And, according to our majesty's temperament, it is definitely not a temporary solution, but will find a way to completely fix this situation."

Gao Gu frowned, obviously thinking about whether these words were credible.

In the imperial court, no matter how bad the situation is, they are not afraid of it. What they fear most is that they cannot see the situation clearly and make wrong judgments.

Just like today, if they hadn't miscalculated the emperor's thoughts, they wouldn't be so passive.

What is the weight of the cabinet in the heart of the emperor? Naturally, we should be cautious about the general direction in which they should work after this matter is involved.

After a while, Gao Gu said cautiously.

"Brother De Zun, the matter is very important. I definitely don't believe you. However, this is just speculation after all. What happened today is a painful lesson. If I make another misjudgment, I'm afraid there will be no room for recovery."

Chen Xun obviously expected that Gao Gu would ask such a question, a smile appeared on his face, and he said.

"Shiyong is well thought out. After all, this is the old man's guess, but it is not difficult to verify it. However, Shiyong needs you to submit a memorial."

There was an imperceptible vigilance in Gao Gu's eyes, and he asked, "What notebook?"

Chen Xun didn't pay attention to Gao Gu's little anomaly, he took a deep breath, a trace of struggle flashed in his eyes, walked to Gao Gu's side, and said something in a low voice.

Gao Gu's eyes widened immediately after listening.

"Here, Brother De Zun, will His Majesty really agree?"

Chen Xun said with an old look on his face, "Don't worry, as long as the old man's guess is correct, His Majesty will only be happy to see it come to fruition."

Obviously, Gao Guxian was also very hesitant, but Chen Xun's attitude was very firm, so he finally had no choice but to nod his head and said.

"In this case, the old man will accompany Brother De Zun again and take another risk."

(End of this chapter)