A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1231: The Great Purge of the Eastern Palace Wu Clan

Daming Palace.

In the Yanying Palace, the emperor summoned the Grand Marshal, the Prince's Grand Tutor, and the Governor of Luozhou, Changsun Wuji, to meet him.

The three prime ministers Gao Shilian, Wei Zheng, and Ma Zhou, the minister of the Secretariat, were also present.

Crown Prince Cheng Qian knelt down below the emperor.

Tomorrow is Laba Festival, and after Laba Festival, it is the New Year.

"Huaiyu should be almost in Luoyang, right?" the emperor asked.

"We travel ten post stations a day, which is three hundred miles a day. The distance from Chang'an to Luoyang is more than eight hundred miles, which takes three days. Today is the second day since Duke Wu left the capital, so we should be able to enter Luoyang tomorrow." The answer came from Gao Shilian.

Crown Prince Cheng Qian stood up.
"Your Majesty, tomorrow is Laba, and it has been snowing for days. I request that Situ Wu stay at the Luoyang Inn tomorrow to rest for three days."

"The prince is very respectful and considerate of his teacher Wu Situ. He respects his teacher and values ​​morality. That's good." The emperor stroked his beard and said thoughtfully, "Then send a fast horse to Luoyang to convey the order and let Huaiyu rest in Luoyang for three days."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I have one more request."

"Prince, please tell me if you have anything to say."

"Your Majesty, I think that Zhang Liang, the Imperial Censor of Yanying Palace, impeached Si Tu for many crimes, but many of the impeachments did not contain sufficient evidence.

My father often taught his sons and subjects that the world should be governed by filial piety and the country should be governed by law.

Although Wu Situ has been demoted to Yingzhou, I think that regarding the charges against Situ by the Censorate, we should order the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice to work together with the Censorate, and let the Zhongshu Sheren and Jieshizhong jointly investigate all the impeachment matters in detail and come up with a complete and detailed investigation result. "

The emperor glanced at several ministers.
After a long while, he said, "Well, what the Crown Prince said makes sense. No matter what, it still has to be fair, just and open. The necessary investigation must be conducted. Then the Crown Prince will preside over this matter, and the three judicial departments will jointly investigate. The Secretariat will send the Secretariat Sheren and the Secretary to be in charge of supervision."

The emperor and his father came up and did this.
The prime ministers below were all a little confused. Wu Huaiyu had already rushed to Yingzhou to take up his post, but now, just the second day after his departure, he started to go back and make up for it.

What do you mean?
Just when everyone thought there would be a twist in this matter, the emperor changed the subject.

"Wuji, I accepted Prime Minister Gao's resignation from the post of Right Prime Minister a few days ago. Now the post of Right Prime Minister is vacant and must be filled.

I want you to take over the position of Right Prime Minister, what do you think? "

When Changsun Wuji heard this, he was excited. It had been more than ten years since he was appointed You Pushe in the early Zhenguan period. However, he only served in this position for a hundred days. Finally, he was persuaded by the Queen's sister to resign, and the Emperor accepted his resignation.

Since then, he has not had a real job for more than ten years.

In the past few years, he was even kicked out to Luoyang, where he stayed for five years. Zhangsun Wuji no longer had any illusions about returning to the central government, but he didn't expect that the emperor would suddenly say that he would grant him the position of You Pushe today.

I was so excited that I almost went forward to express my gratitude.

The robe was pulled.
Pulled it again.

Changsun Wuji saw from the corner of his eye that his uncle Gao Shilian was looking at him.
Eyes indicate,

He understood that it was a request for him to refuse.

Changsun Wuji was stunned for a moment, then quickly calmed himself down.

He thought about the conversation they had in the study yesterday when he went to visit his uncle after Yan Ying's performance.

Gao Shilian resigned from the position of Right Prime Minister not on his own initiative but as a hint from the emperor.

The emperor had previously hinted to Gao Shilian that the position of You Pushe was vacated for Wu Huaiyu.

But yesterday, when Yanying made a reply, Wu Huaiyu was demoted to the governor of Yingzhou.

Today they said that he would take over the position of You Pushe.

This is so unusual.

Thinking about what he talked about with his uncle in the study yesterday, Changsun Wuji felt that this was another test of him by the emperor.

If he happily thanks the emperor now, I am afraid he will not be able to serve as the Right Prime Minister for many days, or even not at all. If someone stands up to oppose it, the emperor can take back his order.

He has been sitting on the bench for more than ten years, and there is no way the emperor would allow him to return to the court to be appointed prime minister at this time.

"Your Majesty, I have done nothing, how dare I accept a title? At the beginning of the Zhenguan period, Your Majesty promoted me as a Right Servant, but in the end, I was not worthy of the position and lacked the ability. I had to resign after less than a hundred days.

Now I dare not accept the position of Right Prime Minister any longer."

The emperor tried to persuade him several times, but Changsun Wuji refused to accept the position of You Pushe.

On to the next topic.

The Minister of the Court Wei Zheng again resigned from his post to the emperor, saying that his illness was serious and it was difficult for him to continue to preside over the affairs of the Menxia Province, and requested to retire due to illness.

The emperor did not allow it.

"Since Prime Minister Wei is not feeling well, you should go home and recuperate first. I will send the imperial physician to give you imperial medicine for treatment. You can come back to work when you are well again.
For important matters of the Ministry of Personnel, let the officials of the Ministry report to the Prime Minister Wei’s residence for instructions.”

"Prince Wei is a mirror for me. He has been a great help to me since the Zhenguan period. Prince, today I will appoint Wei Zheng as the Prince's Junior Tutor. You should often go to Prime Minister Wei's residence to ask for advice and learn from him."

After the emperor gave the title of Grand Tutor to Wei Zheng, the Special Advancement and Minister of the Court,

Ma Zhou, who was specially promoted, the Minister of the Central Secretariat, and the Duke of Yan, was also given the title of Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince, and Gao Shilian, the Duke of Shen, who was the Third Rank Official of the Imperial Secretariat, was given the title of Junior Protector to the Crown Prince.

Three prime ministers were granted the title of the Three Young Masters of the Eastern Palace and were asked to assist the crown prince.

The Eastern Palace not only has three young masters, but also three masters.

The emperor appointed the Grand Marshal Zhangsun Wuji as the Prince's Grand Tutor, the Minister of Works and Zuo Pushe Fang Xuanling as the Prince's Grand Preceptor, and the Special Advancement and Participant in State Affairs Xiao Yu as the Prince's Grand Protector.

When Changsun Wuji heard that he was appointed as the Prince's Grand Tutor, he was excited again. Could it be that the emperor really wanted to use him this time? Of the three masters of the Eastern Palace, he was the only one present. Changsun Wuji still asked to resign, but this time the emperor did not let him resign.

"Wuji, you are the prince's uncle, you have the responsibility to assist the prince more."

After appointing Zhangsun Wuji as the Prince's Grand Tutor, Li Shimin took the opportunity to dismiss Zhangsun Wuji from the post of Governor of Luozhou, which he had held for five years. This could be regarded as a formal summons of Zhangsun Wuji back to the court.

"The Minister of War Li Ji is the Prince's Secretary, and the Minister of Personnel Yang Shidao is the Junior Secretary. Both of them are of the third rank in the Secretariat."

"Left Guard General Li Daliang led the Crown Prince's Left Guard,
The Minister of the Central Secretariat, the Minister of State Affairs, Cen Wenben, and the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Yu Zhining, were appointed as the Left Assistant to the Crown Prince.

Cui Xu, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Gao Ji Fu were appointed as the prince's right assistants.

The Minister of Justice Zhang Xingcheng was appointed as the Crown Prince's Junior Secretary, and the Minister of the Imperial Household Chu Suiliang was appointed as the Crown Prince's Guest.

Even Crown Prince Cheng Qian didn't expect this.
Today the emperor summoned several prime ministers, but ended up announcing important personnel changes to the officials in the Eastern Palace.

Almost everything has been adjusted.

There are three masters and three young masters in the Eastern Palace, five of the six are prime ministers, and the remaining one, Changsun Wuji, is also one of the Three Dukes.

The post of Prince's Secretary was given to the Minister of War Li Ji, and Li Ji was also promoted to the third rank of Zhongshu Menxia and appointed as prime minister.

The Junior Chancellor was Zhang Xingcheng, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice.

The four concubines of the Left and Right Spring Offices were Cen Wenben, Yu Zhining, Cui Xu, and Gao Jifu. Cen Wenben was originally the prime minister.

The Prince's Left Guard Commander was concurrently held by Li Daliang, the General of the Left Guard, who had also served as Prime Minister.

Of the prince's four guests, only one was appointed, and that was given to Chu Suiliang, who had served as the attendant of the emperor, the secretary of the imperial court, and the newly appointed minister of the imperial gate.

This East Palace official team is very luxurious.
Seven of them were prime ministers, and two of them had served as prime ministers.

However, Cheng Qian also noticed that

Li Ji replaced Wu Huaiyu as the Prince's Secretary.
Another thing is that Wu Huaiyu was just appointed as the Prince's Tutor in Yanying Palace yesterday, but today the Prince's Tutor is the Minister of Works and Zuo Pushe Fang Xuanling.

In the past, Ma Zhou had always served as the Left Secretary of the Eastern Palace, and this time, Ma Zhou became the Prince's Junior Tutor.

Originally, the Prince's Left Guard was Cheng Yaojin, but this time it was Li Daliang who took over.

One obvious fact is that Wu Huaiyu's faction originally occupied many important positions among the officials of the Eastern Palace, but they were replaced in this adjustment.

A large number of people, including the Prince's Secretary Wu Huaiyu, the Prince's Left Assistant Ma Zhou, the Prince's Right Assistant Xu Jingzong, the Prince's Left Guard Cheng Yaojin, the Prince's Right Guard Su Dingfang, the Prince's Guest Lai Ji, the Scholar of Chongxian Hall Lai Heng, and the Direct Scholar Li Yifu, were all recognized as Wu Huaiyu's men, and they were all replaced this time.

Ma Zhou was promoted from Zuo Shuzi to Shao Tutor of the Crown Prince, a more honorable position, but his actual power in the Eastern Palace was less.

"From now on, when I am not in the capital, the officials of the Eastern Palace will work together with the three provinces and six ministries to assist the Crown Prince in supervising the regency."

The emperor also stipulated the etiquette for the crown prince to meet the three masters and three young masters of the Eastern Palace.

They must be greeted outside the palace gate. The crown prince will bow first, and the three masters and three young masters will return the greetings. At each door, the three masters and three young masters must go first. The crown prince can sit down only after the three masters and three young masters have sat down.

In the letter the prince sent to his three teachers and three juniors, he addressed himself by his name plus the word "fearful" at the beginning and the end.

"His Majesty,"

Ma Zhou stood up and said, "Li Ji and Yang Shidao were promoted to the third rank of Zhongshu Menxia and appointed as prime ministers. In addition, the three masters and three juniors of the Eastern Palace, as well as the junior secretary of the Chancellery, the left and right Shuzi, and the left and right leaders, should all the prime ministers of the Political Affairs Hall be summoned to discuss this together first?"

It was obviously very unconventional for Li Shimin to suddenly announce so many important official position adjustments when there were only three prime ministers, the crown prince and the grand marshal present.

Although the emperor had the power to appoint and dismiss important personnel matters, he also had to consult with the prime ministers.

And in the end it still has to be reviewed by the Council of State before it can be drafted and issued, otherwise it would be an oblique edict.

"I have been thinking about the adjustment of officials in the Eastern Palace for a long time.

Prince Bin, you are the Minister of the Central Secretariat, responsible for drafting the imperial edict, and Xuancheng is the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, responsible for deliberation. You two are here, right?"

Ma Zhou and Wei Zheng looked at each other and both felt that the emperor's behavior this time was very unusual.

"Your Majesty, the Council of State is a system where ministers discuss matters together, and there is also a prime minister on duty who holds the pen. According to the system, although Your Majesty has the direct power to appoint and dismiss officials above the third rank, his orders still have to be reviewed by the prime minister of the Council of State..." Wei Zheng said.

The emperor waved his hand,

"Then today, Prime Minister Ma will first draft my decree, and you, Minister Wei, will review it first. If you two have no objection, then I will send it to the Council of State for further review."

"I hope these appointments can be approved as soon as possible and then promulgated to the whole country."

The emperor seemed somewhat dissatisfied and ended today's Yanying meeting.

Ma Zhou had no choice but to draft the edict according to the emperor's will in the Yanying Hall, and then go to the Council of State Affairs Hall with Wei Zheng and Gao Shilian to discuss it with other prime ministers.

But the emperor's attitude was so clear that there was no room for negotiation on the adjustment of officials in the Eastern Palace this time.

Otherwise, this list would not be put forward directly.

Changsun Wuji left the palace and returned home. Along the way, he sat in the carriage and pondered carefully and thought over and over again.

The emperor's brother-in-law finally called him back to Chang'an.
Considering that Wu Huaiyu was demoted to Yingzhou yesterday, and then there was a major reshuffle of the crown prince's officials today, Wu Huaiyu's people were moved out, and he was promoted to the crown prince's grand tutor, and Li Ji was promoted to the crown prince's secretary and the third rank official of the Secretariat.

Could it be that the emperor's brother-in-law wanted to use him and Li Ji to replace the Wu Party in the Eastern Palace?
Also, Wu Huaiyu was clearly the Minister of the Interior and the Prince's Tutor yesterday, so why did the Emperor announce Fang Xuanling as the Prince's Tutor today?

Did he forget for a moment, or was it intentional?

The emperor just promised the prince that he would let the three judicial departments jointly investigate the impeachment of Wu Huaiyu. What exactly does this mean? Is he going to further settle accounts with Wu Huaiyu?
Changsun Wuji rubbed his big belly and fell into deep thought.

(End of this chapter)