A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 636
The palace banquet was extremely lively and full of scenes of prosperity.

Hou Junji had been staring at Wu Huaiyu, watching the saint keep letting him sit next to him, leaning forward to talk to him from time to time. He was extremely envious of that intimate look.

I finally made it to the end of the palace banquet,

The emperor seemed to have finally remembered his companion and waved to him. Hou Jun gathered his energy and hurried forward.

"Sanshui, you took over the Ministry of Personnel and still haven't figured it out yet. After thinking about it, I feel that letting you be the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel is really not well thought out.

You'd better go to the Ministry of War. "

Hou Junji was shocked and disappointed. He looked at Wu Huaiyu next to him.
"Leave the civil service department to Huaiyu."

"I accept the decree," although he was unwilling to accept it, Hou Junji immediately accepted it.

Li Shimin rubbed his head, feeling a little sleepy, "I asked Huaiyu to review the Zhongshu Ling as the Minister of the Ministry of War and the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, to know the election, to supervise the troops and horses of the East Palace, and to add General Zuowei.

As for you, General Youwei inspects the Ministry of War, is in charge of military elections, and participates in political affairs. "

After saying that, the emperor yawned and said, "You are also brothers in the same discipline. From now on, Huaiyu will hold many positions and have heavy tasks. Sanshui, you will help manage the daily affairs of the Ministry of War." The emperor turned and left.

Hou Junji was stunned on the spot.

I thought it would be changed from the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel to the Minister of the Ministry of War. Although I was unwilling to do so, I reluctantly accepted it. As long as the title of participating in political affairs is still there, he is still the prime minister.

But Wu Huaiyu took away his position as Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and still served as Minister of the Ministry of War, but he inspected the Minister of the Ministry of War?
Two ministers of the Ministry of War?

With the word "inspection and proofreading" added in front of his title, he is naturally not as good as Wu Huaiyu, the official title.

"The Duke of Jin is so capable." Hou Junji was so angry that his eyes were on fire.

Wu Huaiyu was also very sleepy.
Early this morning, we set off from Baqiao Station and arrived in Beijing to hold the city entry ceremony. Then we went to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to present the prisoners. We spent half a day with the prince in the palace and had no time to rest.

I stayed up all night at the palace banquet, staying with the emperor, and didn't even have a chance to take a nap.

I'm really sleepy.

He had no intention of talking nonsense with Hou Junji here, "Master Lu, I'm sleepy after a night of banquets. If you have anything to do, we can talk about it later when we meet in the political hall or the Yamen of the Ministry of War."

Looking at Wu Huaiyu's back as he turned away, Hou Junji became more and more angry.

"Prime Minister?"

Zhang Liang comes over.

After a night of feasting, Zhang Liang's eyes were still very bright. This guy was very energetic. Those who used to work in the surveillance and intelligence field were all night owls.

"I'm sleepy. Say goodbye." Hou Junji didn't want to pay attention to Zhang Liang, so he turned around and left.

Zhang Liang watched Wu Huaiyu and Hou Junji leave one after another, twirling his beard thoughtfully, from the Minister of Justice to Guanglu Qing, then to the Palace Supervisor, and then to the Imperial Censor, Zhang Liang's official career in the past few years It's still very smooth.

Many people can't figure out why Zhang Liang can become prime minister?
Zhang Liang never explains anything. Could it be that Zhang Liang has been in charge of the emperor's secret intelligence agencies such as Liumen, Baiqisi, and Imperial City Division?
Want to tell others that the deaths of Luo Yi, Li Xiaochang, Li Youliang, Wang Junkuo and other princes and generals were related to him?Do you want to tell them that Pei Ji, Xiao Yuyu, the scribe, and other old prime ministers with virtues were dismissed as prime ministers, and he had a part in it?

All he had to do was run errands for the emperor.

When leaving the palace, Wu Huaiyu caught up with Qin Qiong.

"I will go to Bailuyuan Village in Sanyuan County to rest tomorrow," Qin Qiong said.

"I have several villages in Fanchuan. Why don't my adoptive father choose a village in Fanchuan to rest in? It's close to Beijing. I can come and visit when I have time."

Qin Qiong smiled and said, "Fanchuan is too close to the capital. It is rare to have a real leisure time. It is better to go to the White Deer Plain of Sanyuan. It is a hundred miles away from the capital. There are not so many manors and villas of the nobles and nobles there. I lived there quite well before. Okay, I’m used to it.”

The emperor also gave Qin Qiong the title of Prime Minister Tong Zhongshu's Pingzhangshi, but Qin Qiong made up his mind to stay away from Chang'an and would no longer interfere in political affairs, let alone go to the political affairs hall.

In front of Qin Qiong, Huaiyu had nothing to hide, so he told the emperor that he insisted on asking him to serve as prime minister. Even now that he had asked him to resign several times, not only was he not allowed, but he was given another job, as the Minister of Photography and the Director of the East Palace. soldiers and horses,

He, Wu Huaiyu, was the Minister of the Ministry of War, the Inspector of Schools, and the Secretary of the Central Committee. This added two important posts. This is equivalent to one person taking charge of civil and military affairs.

This power is really the same as that of Du Ruhui when the emperor first became emperor.

"This is His Majesty's trust and appreciation for you."

"But I'm terrified."

Qin Qiong looked at him and said, "It's true that you are worried and cautious. It's good not to be arrogant or impetuous, but you can rest assured today. His Majesty wants to use you to charge into the battle to do great things. Zhongshu Province will make decisions, and the Ministry of Personnel will The Ministry of War is an important department, and it is also in charge of election matters."

"Since Your Majesty came to the throne, there have been many changes in the staff. Changsun Wuji, Du Yan, Du Ruhui, then Yang Shidao, Dai Zhou, then Hou Junji, and then you, how many years do you think it has been?"

"I heard that Dai Zhou was in charge of both the people and the officials before. He couldn't take care of it, so he asked the prime minister to choose things. However, he was impeached by Shi Quan Wanji, the imperial censor. This matter still caused a lot of controversy in the court. Later, His Majesty asked Hou Junji to take over as Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and did not let the Prime Minister also be in charge of election affairs.

But the result is that after Mr. Hou gathered the staff, he was in a mess and couldn't handle it at all."

Qin Qiong smiled and reminded Wu Huaiyu that this matter is not as simple as it seems.
"I heard that Quan Wanji was a disciple of uncle Changsun Guo?" he asked.Qin Qiong nodded,

There was a secret fight around the official department during this period. Changsun Wuji secretly took action and asked the censor Shi Quan Wanji to find out some issues regarding the election of Fang Xuanling and Dai Zhou, and directly impeached them.

Obviously, Changsun Wuji wants to come back, and it seems that Fang Xuanling is blocking him.

Qin Qiong usually did not ask about political affairs, nor did he go to the political hall to work, but he was very aware of the overt and covert struggles in the court. "The Duke of Zhao could not sit still and wanted to come back. After some testing, he found that the saint had no intention, so he wanted to make a plan to let him. Uncle Gao Shilian returned to the court.
He wanted Gao Shilian to be appointed Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and even become Prime Minister. "

"But who would have expected that although he used Quan Wanji to find some loopholes in Fang Xiang's group, Wei Zheng would take action in the end."

"What does this matter have to do with Wei Zheng?"

"Don't forget, Wei Zheng recommended Hou Junji as a prime minister several times before, and later Hou Junji actually worshiped him as his teacher," Qin Qiong reminded Huaiyu.

Although Wei Zheng was quite special in the court, known for his ability to criticize others and his attitude of being a solitary minister, in fact, Wei Zheng did not really fight alone. He had a very good relationship with Wu Huaiyu.

Later, I don't know why I became more and more involved with Hou Junji, and even became a teacher and student.

Quan Wanji's impeachment case of Fang Xuanling and Dai Zhou really hit the mark, but Wei Zheng interfered. He wrote to the emperor saying that Fang Xuanling and Dai Zhou were both veterans of the court and had earned His Majesty's trust for their loyalty and integrity. Nowadays, both of them hold several important positions. They are in charge of civil and military affairs, and there are many officials to be evaluated. It is normal for one or two to be improperly evaluated. This is not intentional partiality.
Then Wei Zheng made his most powerful move. He said that Quan Wanji had also participated in the examination hall and had not refuted it at all before. He waited until he did not get good examination results before he began to use his power to write a letter of impeachment. This was just a matter of fairness. Pursuing selfish interests is not serving the country wholeheartedly.

Wei Zheng wrote a letter of remonstrance, persuading the emperor not to conduct the assessment of the two abandoned houses and Dai, but only to investigate and deal with the few people who had improper assessments reported by Quan Wanji, let alone Fang Xuan. Ling and Dai Zhou investigated.

This matter seems to be speaking for Fang Dai, but it is not.

The result was that Dai Zhou no longer held the position of the Ministry of Personnel, Fang Xuanling was no longer in charge of election matters, Hou Junji became Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Quan Wanji was reprimanded.
The most important thing is that neither Changsun Wuji nor Gao Shilian could use this case to return to the DPRK and resume their posts.

Hou Junji successfully took over the power of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

But no one could have imagined that Hou Junji was indeed inexperienced. He had been in the Ministry of Civil Affairs for a period of time, but was unable to truly grasp real power.

Fang, Dai, Changsun, etc. are still wrestling with the officials.

Qin Qiong sighed, "Your Majesty asked you to replace Hou Junji and serve as the chief minister. This is also a top priority. If the fight continues like this and the chaos continues, how can we do anything practical?"

"Is Wei Zheng so ambitious now?" Huaiyu asked.

"It can't be said that Wei Zheng is ambitious. The secret fight between the Prime Minister and Duke Changsun is getting more and more fierce. The official department has become a battlefield. He also wants to calm down these fights as soon as possible,"

Wu Huaiyu thinks it is possible, but not entirely. Although Wei Zheng is now a servant, he is a dignified prime minister. If there are not three or five people in the court to help the alliance, it will be difficult, unless Wei Zheng is willing to be a talker, or with Qin Qiong He is also only named Prime Minister, otherwise if he wants to do some practical things and leave his name in history, he must have allies.

He didn't know why Wei Zheng was attracted to Hou Junji, but the struggle in the court was indeed fierce, and sometimes there were not many opportunities to choose.

"Why doesn't the Prime Minister let Changsun Guojiu and Gao Shilian come back?"

Qin Qiong and Fang Xuanling are from the same city in Qizhou, and their relationship is not bad. "It's a long story, but the one who really prevented Uncle Changsun Guo and others from entering the center was actually a saint." Qin Qiong whispered.

Wu Huaiyu nodded. He had guessed this result before.Fang Xuanling was the emperor's absolute confidant, as was Changsun Wuji, but Changsun Wuji was still the eldest brother of the queen. Fang Xuanling acted cautiously, so-called Fang's plans were clear, but he mainly acted according to orders.

"Gao Shilian will probably be able to return to the court in the next year or two. I heard that he was serving as an official in Shu, and his political performance and official reputation were good. The saint praised him several times,"

However, Qin Qiong believes that Changsun Wuji may not be able to come back in the next three to five years.

The reason is the same as Li Ji being imprisoned in Bingzhou.

"Your Majesty still feels that it is more convenient to use you, and there are no worries. I have also heard that Your Majesty intends to stop renting and modulating, and implement the new two-tax law. However, this matter has been mentioned several times in the court in the past few years, and every time Countless people opposed it as soon as it was mentioned, and finally nothing was done. Now that His Majesty is determined to do this, he must have strong supporters in the court, and even have capable officers to implement it.
You previously served as Minister of Civil Affairs and Third Secretary of State, in charge of finance, and His Majesty also said that you have great ideas on the new tax law,"

Qin Qiong comforted Wu Huaiyu, "You are still young. Since you have been selected, you should not look forward and backward too much. It is like two armies fighting. Since you are choosing the front, then give it a go.
Even if you lose, don't worry, the saint will never treat the pioneer warriors badly! "

"Father, even if the saint really trusts me, he wants me to spearhead the new law and to be in charge of selecting matters. I can understand that it is to help reform the tax law so that I can select and deploy talents to implement the new law. But let me be the director of Donggong soldiers and horses. This makes me very uneasy."

"The prince is only 12 years old this year. Even if you are in charge of the troops and horses of the East Palace, it doesn't matter. The East Palace six leads the three internal guards of the four palaces, and the soldiers of the outer palace are also stationed outside.

Moreover, even if you are in charge of the troops and horses of the East Palace, but you do not have the emperor's decree or order, do you think you can mobilize the guards or the generals?

You can't even mobilize a single soldier from the various military mansions led by the East Palace Guards. "

"What's the point of adding this title?"

"Didn't I also add you as the Prince's Young Master? I'll give you the title of East Palace so that you can be more famous when doing things. Of course, I don't rule out that when necessary, the saint may give you military talismans to let the soldiers from outside the East Palace cooperate with you. Woolen cloth."

Need to mobilize the soldiers from the East Palace?
It seems that the emperor is prepared for a tough battle in advance regarding the implementation of the new two-tax law.

"Father, can I refuse? To be honest, I feel that the time is not mature enough to abolish rent, tax, and modulation and implement the new two-tax law."

"But your Majesty can't wait any longer. Your Majesty is extremely ambitious. He wants to surpass the Qin Emperor and the Han Dynasty. He has a lot to do and is unwilling to wait. Since he has discovered the big hidden dangers of rent-to-yong modulation, he wants to solve it in his own hands as soon as possible. Don’t leave it to future generations.”

"It's too urgent," Huaiyu sighed.

(End of this chapter)