Why did the emperor rebel?

Chapter 911 Please Master Chen Save Me

Above the court, Wang Ao seemed to break the game with a few words.

But in reality, it's not that simple.

Zhu Jian suddenly impeached him for taking power in the cabinet and oppressing the cabinet ministers, while Wang Ao kept his eyes on Jiang Yuan. He was not prepared for this, and it was impossible to respond hastily without paying the price.

In fact, as long as you listen carefully to Wang Ao's refutation in the court, you can easily find that Wang Ao didn't rebut at all, but used the simplest and rude method to obtain the fastest speed by giving up part of his interests. Calm down the chaos.

Zhu Jian impeached Wang Ao on three charges.

First, use the right to split votes to suppress and win over cabinet ministers and build influence.

Second, coerce the cabinet ministers in a disguised form by using cabinet discussions, and concentrate the originally dispersed voting power on the chief assistant.

Third, exclude dissidents and continue to conflict with other cabinet ministers.

Although these points of impeachment are not solid evidence, but if you insist on talking about it, you can also say that you are ugly.

After all, Wang Ao is also a person who has been in the ups and downs of the officialdom for many years, and he knows the truth of cutting messes quickly.

In that case, the more time is delayed, the more variables will become.

Chen Xun himself is very aware of this point. At their level, they seem to be important officials in the court and powerful.

But in fact, it is more necessary to be cautious and vigilant.

Although the chief minister of the cabinet is still slightly inferior to the Qiqing, he is no less than that.

Therefore, for Wang Ao, Zhu Jian was definitely not the only one who was secretly spying on him and wishing him to fall. The forces in the court were intertwined and extremely complicated.

But in any case, only with changes can there be opportunities.

Therefore, people of their status need to maintain their authority and voice in the court, which fully matches their status.

In short, it is to make those who are secretly watching in awe, and let those who plan to plot know that if they really do something, they will hurt themselves.

Only in this way can the younger generation be deterred.

And once they show their decline in a certain political struggle, it is easy to form a situation where the wall is overthrown and everyone pushes back.

Even people who have no grievances with them, for their own benefit, or to get a share of the pie, will follow behind and wave their flags.

However, for Wang Ao at that time, he was not prepared for Zhu Jian's impeachment, so it was very difficult to give a precise and heavy counterattack.

Therefore, he can only settle for the next best thing and use the fastest speed to quell the storm. Since the loss is inevitable, then use the smallest loss to solve it.

As long as it doesn't hurt one's own fundamentals, it is the best way to transfer part of the interests to solve the temporary predicament.

If you keep the green hills, you don't have to worry about no firewood. This is the truth.

Therefore, Wang Ao did not respond positively to Zhu Jian's impeachment, but analyzed each item one by one and directly proposed a solution.

The other party said that he divided the votes unfairly, so he simply divided the different government affairs into different categories in turn, and took turns according to the time.

The other party said that he was coercing the cabinet ministers with cabinet discussions, so he expressed his attitude, saying that the subsequent cabinet meetings will list the opinions of each cabinet minister for the emperor's reference.

These two responses seem to be calm, but in fact, they gave up a lot of benefits.

Chen Xun himself came from the cabinet, so he knew very well that the reason why the Chief Assistant held aloof position in the cabinet was because of the right to vote in his palm.

Through the right to share votes, the first assistant can adjust the government affairs content that other cabinet ministers are responsible for drafting. If there is no such power, then the first assistant will be considered in name only.

As for the cabinet discussion, what Zhu Jian said was right. Wang Ao entered the cabinet by airborne, so he did not have a deep foundation in the court. The cabinet discussion was to strengthen his authority in the cabinet and unify the opinions of the cabinet. This Chief Assistant speaks on his behalf in the court hall.

However, Wang Ao made a statement now that the opinions of all cabinet ministers at the cabinet meeting would be appended instead of forming a unified opinion, so the cabinet meeting actually existed in name only.

So in fact, Wang Ao seems to have kept his position as chief assistant, but the price he paid was also very huge.

Such a statement of his, coupled with the fact that he gave up his errand in charge of the Hanlin Academy, is almost equivalent to returning to the situation he faced when he first entered the cabinet.

There is no help from outside, no real power from inside, and nothing but the name of chief assistant.

That's why Xu Youzhen said that Chen Xun was playing tricks.

The cabinet has been gaining momentum recently, and it is gradually invading the authority of the six ministries. Although it is not obvious now, it is because the emperor is diligent in governing.

Early court, regular court, grand court, and Jingyan, although the emperor adjusted the interval of the court, but except for the lack of dragon body and very few special cases, the emperor did not relax almost every time.

Because of this, the cabinet's drafting power did not pose too much threat to the power of the six ministries, but none of the ministers of the six ministries is a human being.

Just because it hasn't happened now doesn't mean it won't happen in the future.

To some extent, the power of the cabinet is to act on behalf of the monarch. For the court, the existence of the cabinet can temporarily fill the vacuum during the turbulent period. However, for departments with real power like the six ministries, the weight of the cabinet is by no means what a good thing.

So in fact, many ministers in the court are actually suppressing the cabinet intentionally or unintentionally.

It seems that Wang Wen, a close friend of the emperor like Yu Qian, many times the important memorials will not be sent to the cabinet at all, but will go directly to the palace to meet the emperor.

For other people who are inconvenient to enter the palace at any time, if there is an urgent matter, they will first check the emperor's tone in the early morning, and then draw up a memorial to minimize the role that the cabinet can play in it.

Not to mention, sometimes, some ministers will hand over to the emperor secret memorials without going through any yamen.

The most typical example is the Qin Tianjian’s memorabilia on the catastrophe some time ago, and recently, the memorabilia from the Ministry of Rites on the rectification of religious affairs presented to the emperor in the form of secret memos. .

Of course, since these secret memorials have not passed through the early court or other yamen, it is naturally difficult to get them to the court meeting for discussion and deliberation.

However, it is always a way to bypass the cabinet.

In fact, this is one of the reasons why Chen Xun took action against Wang Ao this time, even though he didn't communicate with each other beforehand.

However, there was a tacit understanding among the six ministries. This time, Chen Xun took action to suppress Wang Ao. In fact, he was suppressing the cabinet. From this point of view, it was in the interests of the six ministries.

Therefore, at the court meeting, before the emperor expressed his position, none of the ministers of the Seven Ministers came forward to speak for Wang Ao.

Of course, the more important point is that the higher the position, the more thorough the situation in the court will be. In fact, not only the six ministries, Chen Xun vaguely felt that the emperor's attitude towards the cabinet was also very contradictory.

The right to vote for the cabinet is given by the emperor, and the title of the minister is also given by the emperor. Logically speaking, the emperor should reuse the cabinet.

However, there are various indications that the emperor is not very close to the cabinet.

Originally, Chen Xun thought that it was because of the cabinet tradition that only Qingliu was allowed to be promoted, and the emperor didn't like Qingliu being pragmatic and unrealistic, so he didn't even get close to the cabinet.

But following Chen Xun, Gao Gu left the cabinet one after another, and Wang Ao parachuted to become the chief assistant. Among the five cabinet ministers, only Jiang Yuan was from Qingliu.

But even so, the situation of the cabinet has not changed much.

So Chen Xun guessed that the emperor was also a little hesitant in his attitude towards the cabinet.

In fact, this court meeting also verified his guess.

Zhu Jian's impeachment of Wang Ao may have caught Wang Ao off guard, but for the emperor, it was easy to deal with.

Almost all the power of the cabinet comes from the emperor. Whether the chief assistant of the cabinet is in power or not depends on the emperor's words?

If the emperor intends, he can even take this opportunity to further strengthen the authority of the chief minister, and establish cabinet meetings, voting rights, etc. as a system.

However, the emperor did not do this, but was forced to give up part of his power when he saw Wang Ao in exchange for the turmoil to subside as soon as possible.

However, it is not always true that the Son of Heaven really made up his mind to suppress the cabinet, otherwise it would not be easy for Wang Ao to get out of the way.

This kind of treatment, in fact, also reflects the inner contradiction of the emperor to a certain extent.

So Chen Xun seemed to be reckless when targeting Wang Ao, but in fact, he went through careful consideration.

Weakening the power of the cabinet is a good thing for the six ministries, and it is also acquiesced for the emperor.

And weakening the power of the chief assistant is also a good thing for the people in the cabinet.

So, from this point of view, Zhu Jian himself is also a vested interest. However, facing such an attitude, Xu Youzhen's face is a bit bitter, said.

"But Master Chen, after all, Elder Zhu Ge went to impeach Mr. Shoufu for the sake of clearing the lineage. Although it is said that Mr. Shoufu made concessions, all the ministers in the cabinet will benefit, but it is you and the other cabinet ministers who benefit. However, the one who was hated was Elder Zhuge alone, this... how do you ask me to explain to Elder Zhuge!"

Chen Xun snorted softly, looked up at Xu Youzhen, and said.

"Is that why you came here?"

At the beginning, it was Xu Youzhen who played the role of bridge between Zhu Jian and Chen Xun.

Of course, the matter is not done now, if Zhu Jian wants to get angry, it must be directed at Xu Youzhen.

Seeing this situation, Xu Youzhen cupped her hands and said.

"Master Chen, please save me!"

Looking at the student bowing deeply in front of him, Chen Xun sighed and said.

"Yuanyu, you have already entered the East Palace, and you are good to assist His Highness the Crown Prince. Why do you have to go through this muddy water?"

"You are a student of this old man, as long as you behave properly and sit upright, if someone deliberately targets you, this old man will naturally keep you safe, but you..."

There are many things about the court that are not suitable to be clarified, but for Chen Xun, he really does not want Xu Youzhen to go astray.

Unfortunately……

Xu Youzhen still maintained the posture of bowing, and did not get up.

Therefore, Chen Xun could only shake his head.

He should have known earlier that Xu Youzhen and Du Ning were different after all, this person was too strong-minded.

That being the case...

With a restrained face, Chen Xun opened his mouth and said.

"I know your difficulties. However, Zong Mi's departure from Beijing is a foregone conclusion, and the Imperial Academy has already found a place to go. Therefore, Zhuge should not think about these two matters."

Hearing this, Xu Youzhen straightened up and opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something.

However, he was quickly interrupted by Chen Xun, saying.

"I know you want to talk about the Hanlin Academy, but this is the safest way right now. Yiming is a former official of Prince Yi's mansion. In the current situation, the emperor can rest assured only if he succeeds the Hanlin Academy. This old man is just going with the flow, not to mention , do you really think that Zong Mi’s right capital censor was given by the emperor for nothing?”

Therefore, Xu Youzhen had no choice but to swallow the words.

He knew very well that what Chen Xun said was not for him, but for him to convey to Zhu Jian.

To put it bluntly, the Hanlin Academy was a gift from Chen Xun to the emperor. Although Yiming was an old minister of the Prince Yi's mansion, his qualifications were still young. If he wanted to restrain those arrogant Hanlin, he needed someone to back him up.

Since Du Ning could not be in charge of the Hanlin Academy, accepting the emperor's late official to become a Hanlin bachelor, in a sense, this is also the sincerity of Chen Xun, and even the entire Qingliu lineage.

As for this gift, the emperor was obviously very satisfied, so Du Ning was able to win the title of Yushi of Youdu.

Feeling Chen Xun's preference for Du Ning again, Xu Youzhen quickly regained her composure.

Since this is the reason, it also means that Yiming is Chen Xun's retreat prepared for the future of Qingliu's lineage.

So on this point, it is impossible for Chen Xun to make concessions. This is not something Xu Youzhen can change. Even if it is reported truthfully, Zhu Jian will not criticize him on this matter.

Of course, being scolded is unavoidable, and even if the Hanlin Academy is not mentioned, if there is no compensation at all, it is still difficult for him to explain in front of Zhu Jian...

Seeing Xu Youzhen's frowning expression, Chen Xun continued to speak.

"However, although Du Ning can't do it, it doesn't mean that other people can't do it either!"

"Zhan Shi's mansion is to be built after all. Now that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has left the cabinet, it is not good for the Crown Prince's mansion to be delayed forever."

"After tomorrow, the old man will discuss this matter with Yu Cifu in person."

"Thank you, Master Chen!"

Finally got a satisfactory answer, Xu Youzhen's eyes lit up immediately, and she bowed deeply.

"Go ahead and do it for yourself..."

However, facing Xu Youzhen's performance, Chen Xun looked a little tired, rubbed his eyes lightly, and then raised his hand to signal him to back down.

Seeing this, Xu Youzhen paused, but in the end, he still didn't say anything, and after another salute, he turned and left the Chen residence.

However, what he didn't see was that just after he left, Chen Xun looked at his back with complicated eyes, and there seemed to be a hint of doubt in the vagueness.

After leaving Chen's mansion, Xu Youzhen didn't stay too long, turned around and went to Zhu Jian's mansion.

This night, many mansions in the capital were brightly lit, and Zhu's Mansion was no exception. When Xu Youzhen arrived at Zhu's Mansion, it was already dark, but there was still a butler waiting outside the door early to welcome him in.

Originally, Xu Youzhen only thought that Zhu Jian was eager to know the result of his conversation with Chen Xun.

However, when he entered the gate and was welcomed into the flower hall with the butler, he found that besides Zhu Jian, there was another person in the flower hall that he didn't expect...

(End of this chapter)