Why did the emperor rebel?

Chapter 907 Choice
Strictly speaking, the first assistant and the second assistant are in the cabinet and are in a competitive relationship.

In the past, although Wang Ao and Yu Shiyue lived together peacefully, they never stopped fighting secretly.

Especially after Yu Shiyue concurrently served as Zhan Shi of the Prince's Mansion, his status and prestige in the court suddenly rose a lot. In terms of speaking power, he could almost keep pace with Wang Ao.

In a sense, part of the reason why Wang Ao was persuaded by Jiang Yuan was that Yu Shiyue's rising reputation threatened his right to speak in the cabinet.

Therefore, in the eyes of many people, at this time, Yu Shiyue has every reason to add insult to injury. The worst thing is, as long as he stands on the sidelines, it is unknown who will die in the end.

Theoretically speaking, Wang Ao should be the most nervous right now.

The emperor ordered Yu Shiyue to speak, which shows that Yu Shiyue's attitude is of great reference in the emperor's heart.

But the fact is completely opposite. If it is said that Wang Ao was still uneasy just now, then, following the emperor's move, his heart fell into his stomach.

Gently turning around to look at Yu Shiyue, Wang Ao's eyes at this moment are no longer the composure he suppressed just now, but real tranquility.

The two looked at each other, and Yu Shiyue's face was calm, but without the slightest hesitation, he stepped forward and cupped his hands.

"Your Majesty clearly learned that the affairs of the cabinet are complicated, and the Chief Assistant has the power to divide the votes. It is inevitable that he cannot cover everything. It would be biased to conclude that he used the power to suppress the cabinet ministers. The ministers have been in the cabinet for a long time, and those who see it in their eyes do not exercise power. His Excellency Shoufu never ordered the memorials to be too late to deal with the matter, delaying the government affairs of the court, and there may be friends in the court, but according to what I see, there should be no such thing as forming cliques or forming cliques for personal gain."

Yu Shiyue's tone was calm, but his words were not stagnant at all.

At this moment, everyone was watching him, but he was not in a hurry, as if all the attention was nothing to him.

After these words were finished, the court hall also fell silent. The first emperor looked at him, pondered for a moment, but did not comment too much on Yu Shiyue's statement, but continued to point out people and ask questions.

"What do the other gentlemen think? Does the cabinet have the power to form a party and suppress cabinet ministers?"

The early dynasty was relatively casual, but the one who could be called a gentleman by the emperor was at least at the level of Shangshu.

These elders are all people who have been in officialdom for a long time. If they were replaced by another person, they might not be able to hear the emperor's tone.

After all, the Son of Heaven has never made a statement, and, first, Chen Xun, and then Yu Shiyue, although their attitudes are relatively biased toward Wang Ao.

If you were an ordinary minister, you might feel that the emperor asked them again at this time because he was disturbed by the answers of the first two.

However, if you really think this way, you can only say that you are still not immersed enough in the court.

First of all, and most importantly, Yu Shiyue.

In all fairness, what Yu Shiyue just said was actually a little biased. Wang Ao had been in power for so long, and there was indeed no clique. However, suppressing cabinet ministers still had some points.

However, Yu Shiyue briefly mentioned the mistakes made by Wang Ao, which is obviously biased.

Having been with the emperor for so long, at least they knew something about the emperor.

This Majesty has always been conscientious and has insight into people's hearts. Since the old man asked Yu Shiyue to speak by name, it means that the emperor probably knows Yu Shiyue's position.

Taking a step back, even if the emperor made a mistake in his judgment and what Yu Shiyue said was not what the emperor wanted, then the next step for the emperor should be to find someone more confident to come forward.

For example, a certain heavenly official who has always been able to see the eyes of the emperor, for example, a certain great uncle who has a clever mind and sees the subtleties...

However, the emperor did not continue to point out people, but asked in general. With Yu Shiyue's statement in front, the emperor's intentions were actually obvious.

Thinking of this, the elders couldn't help but feel a little regretful on their faces.

I thought I could see a big show today, but I didn't expect the thunder and rain to be small...

Glancing at Chen Xun, the bosses seemed to be expecting this 'behind the scenes' to make some troubles again, but unfortunately, Chen Xun stood firmly on the spot and didn't move at all.

So, the bosses looked at each other, and Wang Wen stepped forward first, saying.

"Your Majesty, I think that the ministers in the cabinet may have disagreements, but if it is true, as Elder Zhu Ge said, that Mr. Chief Assistant takes over the power of the cabinet by relying on the right to share votes, then how can the two elders be appointed as ministers?" Ting impeaches the Chief Assistant?"

"To take a step back, these cabinet ministers kept their selfish intentions secret during the imperial examination. They knew that someone was cheating for personal gain, but they never reported it to His Majesty. Now that they failed, they started to reveal their 'insider information'. It is really unconvincing. "

The relationship between the bureaucracy and the cabinet is quite delicate. Although there are frictions, there is also cooperation. Generally speaking, they can coexist peacefully.

So obviously, Wang Wen didn't mean to make things difficult for Wang Ao.

Following behind Wang Tianguan, Shen Shangshu from the household department also sighed and said.

"Your Majesty, although the government affairs of the cabinet are complicated and simple, they are all the affairs of the imperial court, and each of them performs his own duties. It is really immeasurable to criticize each other just because of the unfair distribution of votes."

After the words fell, Zhu Jian's face changed obviously.

This Shen Pixiu usually doesn't speak, but when he speaks, he can choke to death.

He seemed to say it simply, and in a tone of exclamation, but this simple sentence was actually a reminder to the courtiers.

Don't forget what this old Zhu Ge did before.

Fighting for power and profit, attacking courtiers, whether Wang Ao is right or wrong, but this old Zhu Ge is really a good hand.

The Ministers of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Punishment are not in Beijing. Obviously, they cannot intervene in such a level of conversation.

Of the other ministries, only Chen Yi from the Metropolitan Procuratorate and Hu Wei from the Ministry of Rites remained.

Logically speaking, Old Shangshu Hu has the oldest qualifications, so he should be the finale, but this time, Chen Yi did not step forward, but waited a little longer.

Hu Wei was a little surprised, but he himself is not a person who sticks to this order. With his current status in the court, it doesn't matter when he speaks. He doesn't need to emphasize his right to speak in this way.

Since Chen Yi was half a step behind, there must be his considerations.

After thinking for a moment, Hu Wei also stepped forward and said.

"Your Majesty, people are not sages, and there is nothing wrong with it. The cabinet has been running smoothly since Mr. Chief Assistant took office. Although there were occasional cabinet ministers' disputes, Mr. Chief Assistant did not intervene, nor did he stop the cabinet. I think that Mr. Chief Assistant Your lord may be inconsiderate, but it’s not an exaggeration to say that you are doing your duty.”

Although it was inadvertent, Hu Wei also vaguely emphasized the previous actions of a certain old man. Generally speaking, he also held a positive attitude towards Wang Ao.

With Hu Wei's words, the overall situation has actually been decided.

Although Chen Yi has not expressed his position yet, under such circumstances, it is obviously impossible for him to raise any objections.

However, his last move was a little surprising.

As Hu Yi's voice fell, Chen Yi finally stepped forward and cupped his hands, but what was surprising was that he didn't answer what the emperor said just now, but brought up another matter.

"I would like to report to Your Majesty, I believe that whether or not Mr. Shoufu is doing his duty is obvious to all, so there is no need to say more. However, the other three cabinet ministers who participated in the palace examination have acted for personal gain, and it is true that we cannot deny it."

"Today's court meeting is about the palace examination fraud case. Now that Jiang Yuan has admitted that he collaborated with Xiao Yi and others to manipulate the palace examination, it should be dealt with."

"In addition to this, the root of this matter is still as Chen Shangshu said just now, the court's atmosphere is not correct, the discipline is not strong, and all the officials only know how to protect themselves, and they cannot uphold justice."

"The case of the imperial examination is just a corner of the officialdom, but you can't be careless if you see a little knowledge. The Metropolitan Procuratorate supervises all officials. If the officialdom is like this, it is difficult to shirk the responsibility of the officials. .”

Ah this...

Chen Yi's words were extremely heavy, causing all the ministers present to look at each other in blank dismay.

It should be said that there is nothing wrong with Mr. Chen's words.

In a sense, he was helping Wang Shoufu by bringing the topic back to the palace examination case.

However, the problem is that...

Why are there still people rushing to take responsibility?

It was a bit far-fetched for Chen Xun to attribute the responsibility to the officials just now, but in the end he was taking the blame for the Son of Heaven and the Supreme Emperor, so forget it.

No one will look into this matter.

But now, what is President Chen doing?
Looking for punishment?

The ministers below couldn't help being a little confused.

However, the faces of the important ministers on the side became a little intriguing.

Especially Wang Wen, looking at Chen Yi's eyes, was a bit unkind...

However, Chen Yi obviously didn't care. On the contrary, after he finished speaking, although he didn't seem to look sideways, his eyes seemed to fall on Chen Xun vaguely.

At the same time, Chen Xun frowned slightly, as if he was thinking about something.

After all, Chen Yi was the head of Fengxian, with his attitude, Zhu Qiyu naturally couldn't be indifferent, his eyes moved, he looked at Chen Yi thoughtfully, but on the surface, he was still very calm, and he spoke.

"The chief constitution does not need to blame himself. The atmosphere in the officialdom is not right. It didn't take a day. In the past, Wang Zhen was in power, and the loyal and upright people were often suppressed and treated harshly. Now, although Wang Zhen's party has been liquidated, it is not a day to change the atmosphere in the officialdom. achievement."

"Recently, the affairs of the imperial court have been relatively smooth, and it is inseparable from the concerted efforts of the ministers, especially the former Qingzhang Tianmu, the rectification of the army, and the joint efforts of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Ministry of War to go deep into various places. know."

After a short pause, Zhu Qiyu's expression turned solemn, and he continued.

"In the imperial examination case, since Jiang Yuan has pleaded guilty, it should be dealt with. As a cabinet minister, Jiang Yuan colluded with Hanlin scholar Xiao Yi, manipulated the imperial examination, disrupted the imperial court's grand ceremony, and should be punished as dereliction of duty."

"Nian Qi did not collude with Cheng Zong and others, accepted bribes, dismissed from office, and exiled Tieling Guards as punishment."

"Xiao Yi, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, is guilty of greed and evil intentions. He thinks that he was framed by others, and he has the intention of repentance. He will be dealt with lightly. He will be dismissed from office and will never be used again!"

Although it is said that during the process of the court discussion, the emperor did not express his attitude very much, but when it came time to deal with it, the emperor was obviously very decisive without the slightest hesitation.

This treatment was also within the expectation of the officials, and it was in line with the emperor's usual lenient style.

Jiang Yuan was lucky, he saved his life, although he was exiled, but because of his way of gaining power over the emperor's head, this treatment is indeed the emperor's kindness.

As for Xiao Ying, he is a bit pitiful, he was calculated for nothing, but this is the way of political struggle, the capable go up and the mediocre go down.

Xiao Ying himself is a master of knowledge, but not a man who is good at maneuvering.

Since he is not good at these tricks, he should do his duty honestly, but he couldn't restrain his greed, and ended up like this, not only losing his official position, but also gaining his reputation for the rest of his life. , can be regarded as self-inflicted.

This matter was so big that even in the end, the court put the main responsibility on Jiang Yuan, but for the scholars below, Xiao Ying, as a Hanlin scholar, was the host of this palace examination.

The imperial examination is unfair, he must be the one to scold first!
So in fact, Xiao Yi's situation is not much better than Jiang Yuan's.

The fate of the two of them has already been decided, but it's just the severity of the treatment. The ministers sighed a little in their hearts, and then quickly restrained their minds.

These two people are no longer worthy of attention, but don't forget that Dali Temple impeached all ten examiners this time.

How to deal with the rest of these people is the most critical.

Among these people, there are cabinet ministers and six ministers. If any one is replaced, it will cause an earthquake in the officialdom in normal times.

Not to mention, there are now ten people.

If they were all disposed of, it would be a major blow to the entire imperial court.

Of course, it may also be an opportunity...

In fact, if you listen carefully, you will find that no matter who it is just now, even the ministers of Qiqing, what they discussed is who is to blame.

However, how to deal with it in detail is basically not mentioned.

Because of this kind of matter, the emperor must first express his position and set the tone before there is room for discussion.

Otherwise, whoever speaks first will be in trouble.

As for how the emperor will deal with it...

Those who have a bright mind have gradually tasted a bit of taste.

When Dali Temple was playing, Jiang Yuan, Xiao Yi, Zhang Min, and Zhu Jian were listed together, but just now, the emperor singled out Jiang Yuan and Xiao Yi.

Does this mean that the Son of Heaven is especially serious about this case?
However, this incident has been going on until now, whether it is Chen Xun, Wang Wen, or later Chen Yi, they have all expressed that this incident is not only a fraud in the palace examination, but also a problem of officialdom.

Under such circumstances, if no punishment is given, then wouldn't that mean encouraging this trend.

Come to think of it, in such a big case, so many examiners are silent, maybe there is an idea of ​​not blaming the public.

The failure of the law may not be one of the reasons for the improper atmosphere in the officialdom.

It may even be one of the main reasons.

So, this is actually a dilemma.

Now let's see, in the heart of the emperor, which side is more important...

　Being on duty late at night, taking a break from a busy schedule...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)