I am not a deposed emperor of Han Dynasty

Chapter 433: Huo Guang’s body is still cold, and a group of powerful ministers is born: the aristocratic family wants to rule the world together with the emperor!

The eight-day leave was useless and fleeting. In the blink of an eye, ten days passed in the first year of reform.

In the past few days, many government offices have officially opened, but they are not particularly busy. After the Lantern Festival, everything will be business as usual.

Of course, the emperor's leave only benefited the officials in the government offices. How could ordinary people really take ten and a half days off?

The plan for a day lies in the morning, and the plan for a year lies in the spring.

Many people have been busy since the fourth day of the first lunar month.

Sowing and planting vegetables, planting mulberries and selecting cocoons, transplanting trees...

All these things must be started from the first month. If you hesitate for a moment, you may miss the date.

Ever since, Chang'an City gradually divided into two worlds.

Qili, Shangguanli and Beiquejiadi, where princes, nobles and officials live, are still full of New Year atmosphere and are very lively for greetings and send-offs.

These officials who were eating royal food wore brand-new robes all day long, riding in newly painted carriages, going in and out of courtyards of various sizes.

It seems that they just went to the old home or Shangguan's house to sit casually, have a light meal and enjoy some dance music.

But in fact, what they were discussing in the dark main hall was their career in the court in the coming year.

Huo Guang fell, and Huo Dang was uprooted.

So many big trees were suddenly dug up, and naturally many pits were vacated.

Each of these pits represents an official position, which will naturally be coveted by many people.

Courtiers, big and small, spared no effort to travel back and forth, just to seek a good future.

The shock caused by Huo Guang's corruption case has not dissipated, and many of the criminals involved are still in prison waiting to be sentenced, so naturally no one dares to pay bribes and run away from office.

However, taking advantage of the festive atmosphere of the New Year, it is not a bad thing for Shangguan, a colleague who is familiar with him, to walk around more, clear his joints in advance, and test his mouth.

What's more, who will take up any position is not only related to the future of the family, but also closely related to the world of the Han Dynasty. Naturally, it is worth planning in advance.

Be more considerate of both public and private matters.

During these six or seven years, Huo Guang was responsible for almost all the promotion, appointment and dismissal of officials in the Han Dynasty.

It seems that the decision will be made by the three princes and the emperor together after discussion at the small court meeting.

But in fact, it was just a formality: all important appointments and dismissals were completed by Huo Guang in the General's Mansion.

Nowadays, no one in the court has the unparalleled authority of Huo Guang, but it does not mean that the court has lost the center of power opposite to the emperor.

It's not that some people can't wait to become powerful ministers, but at this time in the Han Dynasty, the power of important ministers in the court is astonishing.

At this time, the power of the Han Dynasty was divided into two, one was the power of the prime minister, and the other was the power of the king.

The two are ebbing and flowing, fighting openly and secretly. Sometimes the prime minister's power is at the top, and sometimes the monarch's power is superior.

Ruling the world together with the emperor is a cognition engraved in the bones of many aristocratic families and powerful families.

The prime minister is the head of hundreds of officials, this is not an empty statement.

When the emperor is virtuous, the prime minister can lead hundreds of officials to assist the emperor; when the emperor is fatuous, the prime minister can lead hundreds of officials to restrain the emperor.

This is not only to protect his own power, but also to protect the interests of the powerful families behind him.

Of course, starting from the First Emperor, successive emperors also regarded the prime minister as a threat.

Otherwise, the emperors and kings in the original timeline would not have been able to tirelessly eliminate the prime minister, the "head of officials".

After Emperor Xiaowu, the prime ministers of the Han Dynasty became worse and worse day by day. However, although the nominal prime minister fell, the actual prime minister remained.

For example, Huo Guang died just now, and Zhang Anshi and Bingji took his place...

During Huo Guang's time, he became the spokesperson of the monarchy through the "Picture of Zhou Gong Becoming the King", and became the actual occupier of the prime ministerial power through the Great Sima General and the Minister of Secretariat.

One person holds two powers, so his power is comparable to that of the emperor, or even surpasses that of the emperor.

And precisely because of Huo Guang's overwhelming power, the Han Dynasty's court was relatively peaceful.

Now that Huo Guang is gone, new courtiers will naturally step forward to restrict the monarchy again.

……

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, just after the Youshi hour, there was some excitement in the study of Zhang Anshi, the great Sima general in the back house of Guang Luxun.

Under the newly lit lamp, three people were talking loudly. From time to time, a few hearty laughs could be heard, and the conversation seemed to be in full swing.

These three people are Zhang Anshi, Bingji and Liu De.

Tonight is Zhang Anshi's 45th birthday, and many guests have been invited to the mansion to celebrate.This kind of banquet held by courtiers is very common in the first month, so it is not too eye-catching.

After the banquet dispersed, Liu De and Bingji "happened" to be left behind to taste the spring tea gifted by the emperor.

After a while, I tasted the weak spring tea for a few times, and the tea I brewed was no different from plain water.

The voices of the few people talking gradually became quieter, but this did not mean that tonight's small gathering had come to an end. On the contrary, it had just begun.

When Huo Guang was in power, these three people were very cautious, did not have a strong presence in the court, and even deliberately reduced their chances of being in the limelight.

But in the past few months, except for Liu De, who did not get many opportunities to show his face, the other two were in the limelight and had become two pillars in the court.

One was General Sima, the Chief Minister, and the other was Guang Luxun, the Chief Minister. Each of them took one of Huo Guang's legs.

Since you have become a pillar in the court, you must naturally take on the responsibility and do your best to assist the emperor in managing the affairs of the court.

But assisting the emperor to govern well does not mean following the emperor's footsteps. .

It’s about admonishing when it’s time to give advice, speaking out when it’s time to speak up, and sharing worries when it’s time to share them.

"Bing Gong, Liu Gong, in a few days it will be the Lantern Festival. After the Lantern Festival, the year will be over, and I will really get busy soon." Zhang Anshi said calmly.

"Second Duke is the pillar of the court and naturally has to be busy. I can still take a few days off." Liu De couldn't help but laugh at himself.

The clan members failed to play much role in the process of overthrowing Huo, so they could not make great contributions. It is normal for Liu De and his clan to be somewhat dissatisfied.

"Liu Gong, please don't say that. The county magistrate calls you uncle. This honor is something few people can get nowadays." Bingji said with a smile.

"Exactly, Jiande was the first to know that the world was going to fall. In this study that day, he even forced me to swear allegiance, so I cut off the corner of this case." Zhang Anshi said with a smile.

"Hey, it was me, Meng Lang, at that time. Looking back, I was so passionate. I never thought it would be so dangerous later." Liu De waved his hands and laughed.

"Don't worry, Mr. Liu, that you have nothing to do. The county magistrate is going to implement new policies this year. It is a time when there is a shortage of manpower. Mr. Liu is the leader of the clan, how can he be absent?" Zhang Anshi consoled him.

"The county magistrate is very courageous in wanting to reform the law and implement new policies, but I don't know whether this reform is a blessing or a curse." Liu De naturally brought the topic to the reform and sighed again.

"The county magistrate has his own talents and strategies. When he is defeated, you can see that he has the demeanor of a wise king. He can see further than us. We just need to obey orders." Bingji said, he has always viewed this.

"It's just that the county officials always treat themselves as Emperor Xiaowu, and even show their intention to surpass Emperor Xiaowu, which is not necessarily a good thing." Liu De and Emperor Xiaowu are the same generation, but they are much younger.

"Jiande is right, Emperor Xiaowu has great talents and great strategies, but the county magistrates are inexperienced in running the government. If they are too eager for success, they may sacrifice their own merits." Zhang Anshi poured out the last three cups of tea as he spoke.

"This is reasonable. The county magistrate took too many risks when dealing with the Huo thieves. If he was still so reckless during the reform, he would have done twice the result with half the effort." Bingji clinked the teacup, but did not take it to drink.

In this way, the three of them were silent for a moment. They just communicated with each other with their eyes, and they had already reached an agreement on some things.

They must work together to assist the emperor and make him a saintly king who surpasses Emperor Xiaowu, or in other words, becomes the image of a saintly king in their hearts.

The emperor is ambitious, has benevolence and virtue, is intelligent and wise... and already possesses many of the qualities of a sage.

But sometimes things are too risky and radical, inconsistent with the golden mean, and occasionally there are shocking actions that appear to be crazy.

In the fierce court struggle, relying on the blessing of these qualities can achieve unexpected results.

But now that Huo Guang has finished his fight, the day should be more stable: how can he act as fiercely as the firecrackers set off on the first day of the first lunar month?

"In this case, we should recruit hundreds of officials in the court to fulfill the duties of a minister and always advise the emperor." Zhang Anzhong finally picked up the tea cup.

"This is the duty of a minister. It is natural for me and others to advance and retreat together with Mr. Zhang." Bingji and Liu De also picked up their teacups.

There was another moment of silence, and the three of them immediately replaced the wine with tea and drank it all in one gulp.

"We must also be careful and never repeat the mistakes of the Huo thieves who took over power..."

"So the top priority is to select more Xun officials who are both capable and moral, moderate and understand etiquette to assist the emperor. We must not let cruel officials lead the emperor astray."

Bingji and Liu De naturally knew who the "cruel officials" Zhang Anshi was talking about, and they both nodded immediately.

Then, Zhang Anshi took out paper and pen from under the case and wrote down the vacant official positions in the inner and outer court one by one.

Then, the three of them discussed quietly while filling in their names behind the official positions...

One of the three is the Great General Sima, the other is the Chief Minister Guang Luxun, and the other is the Minister of Zongzheng Rites: they all know and are familiar with the officials up and down the Han Dynasty.

They gathered together to discuss the matter in advance, which was considered as "preparing for a rainy day" for the emperor, which was in line with the duties of courtiers.

That night, the lights in Zhang Anshi's study stayed on until late at night...

It was not until after midnight that the three of them said goodbye at the door of Zhang's house with the satisfaction of loyal ministers.

They would never have thought that times had changed and that they had done something wrong, and it was very wrong.

　Please subscribe!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)