I am not a deposed emperor of Han Dynasty

Since the beginning of the year, the emperor has always talked about this reform and new policy, and has continued to exaggerate that the man is terminally ill.

However, the emperor has never clearly stated what other serious illnesses this big man has that cannot be left untreated.

Take today's situation as an example. The cabinet system and the shangfengshi system are two powerful medicines that cure the disease of "courtiers ostracizing the emperor".

This "disease" is more or less related to Huo Guang, so it can still be regarded as a cure for the disease left by Huo Guang.

Therefore, although Zhang Anshi and others could not understand it and felt that the emperor was making a fuss out of a molehill, they could not remonstrate.

But from now on, what more powerful medicines will the emperor give, and what diseases will he treat again?
This is what makes Zhang Anshi feel worried and uneasy - what if one day he becomes the emperor's heartache?

Liu De's words made the atmosphere in the room a little weird. Even Prime Minister Wei, who had been supporting the emperor's reform and new policies, didn't say anything.

Zhang Anshi and Bingji nodded unconsciously, exchanged glances, and then looked at Han Zeng and Zhao Chongguo, who had been silent.

The two of them now have special status, and Zhang Anshi and Bingji want to know what they think.

It is said that Han Zeng and Zhao Chongguo are special not only because of their high status in the Han army, but also because they are the two pillars of the Han army and have more real power than other cabinet ministers.

The emperor deprived the cabinet academicians of their foreign official positions, but still retained the titles of generals.

Zhang Anshi's general, Han Zeng's hussar general, and Zhao Chongguo's general Wei are still genuine.

However, although the general on Zhang Anshi looks more respected, it actually has no use value.

Starting from Huo Guang, the title of "General" is just a mere title, and he has never led an army in a battle.

However, Zhang Anshi was able to command Yu Linlang to guard the palace. If he really led tens of thousands of troops to attack the Huns, he would probably get lost in Mobei.

But the Hussars General Han Zeng and the Guard General Zhao Chongguo were different. They were the generals of the leading army, and Han Zeng and Zhao Chongguo had just made a triumphant return and had high prestige.

Last year, 15 troops went on an expedition without achieving any results, and it ended hastily. This year's military expedition to the north is a certainty.

Moreover, the Xiongnu have not yet been pacified, and the Wuhuan and Qiang people are also ready to move. If they want to choose a general to lead an army in the future, the two generals of Han and Zhao must be the best candidates to lead the army.

Therefore, the two of them are naturally more special than other cabinet ministers who do not have the right to report.

After Han Zeng and Zhao Chongguo returned from the expedition, they were very low-key in the court, extremely cautious in their words and deeds, and rarely expressed their opinions on government affairs.

Now is the time when the stars of the Han generals are most withered. The attitudes of Han Zeng and Zhao Chongguo naturally make Zhang Anshi and Bingji curious.

Zhang Anshi hesitated for a long time, then asked: "General Han, Old General Zhao, you two are now the pillars of the Han army. What do you think of this New Deal?"

"This general has been in the army for a long time and is a rough man. I will do whatever the county magistrate says and I don't dare to say anything." Han Zeng dodged the question half wisely and half foolishly.

"General Han is too humble. Who doesn't know that you are the most trusted minister of the county magistrate, and you will be reused in the future." Zhang Anshi praised again.

"No matter how reused he is, I only know a little bit about military matters. As for the political affairs in the court, I really don't understand." Han Zeng muttered.

"What about General Zhao, how do you view the reform and new policies?" Zhang Anshi asked Zhao Chongguo, who had been silent.

"Ah? Are you talking to me, Ziru? What are you talking about?" Zhao Chongguo seemed to have just woken up from a dream, his cloudy eyes were a little blurry.

"I want to ask General Zhao, what do you think of the emperor's reform and new policies?" Zhang Anshi raised his voice and asked over everyone.

"Pro-government? The county magistrate has been in charge for several months. It is in line with the established system. It is in line with the established system." Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Zhao Chongguo did not hear Zhang Anshi's words clearly.

Zhang Anshi was stunned for a moment. After seeing the two people's excuses, he didn't feel like asking any more questions. He could only smile awkwardly to cover up his embarrassment at this moment.

Everyone else present also saw it. Zhao Chongguo and Han Zeng, whose identities were very sensitive, did not dare to express their opinions, nor did they want to express their opinions. Instead, they chose to protect themselves.

"What you just said is right. No matter what happens in the future, as long as we assist the Emperor with all our heart, we will not live up to the Emperor's high expectations." Bingji smoothed things over.

"What Mr. Bing said is the most reasonable. We will learn from it." The other six people replied sparsely, each with their own concerns.

"We've had a rest, shall we discuss the list of alternate officials that Guang Luxun presented?" Zhang Anshi asked.

"No!" Everyone reluctantly left the charcoal basin and walked towards the long table in the middle of the side room.

This long table is half a foot wide and two feet long. Except for the emperor's seat at the top, there is enough room for ten people to sit around. This is where the cabinet ministers gather for discussion.

Now the emperor's seat at the top was empty, while Zhang Anshi sat humbly at the bottom, and the rest of the cabinet ministers were also arranged on both sides.

Since there were only seven people, the scene looked empty and sparse.

Zhang Anshi opened the memorial letter in his hand, read it himself first, and then read it out loud.

In the last great court meeting, the emperor had promoted two thousand-stone officials, and this memorial involved the appointment and dismissal of twenty thousand-stone officials, which was also called a big move.

Zhang Anshi read slowly, not only to let others hear more clearly, but also to let himself see more carefully.

He paid special attention to the assistant officials of the two houses of Jiuqing, such as Da Sima Cheng, Yu Shi Zhongcheng, Shaofu Cheng, etc.

Although he is only the second official of each government office and is not as prominent as the Jiuqing and the Second Mansion, he is actually able to take charge of a political affairs alone in each government office.

Take the Censor Zhongcheng, who has just resigned as Prime Minister of Wei, for example. He is responsible for supervising the words and deeds of all officials in the Censor's Palace, and his responsibilities are very important.

Although they are said to be assistant officials, they will definitely have many opportunities to discuss political affairs with the emperor face to face.

Once you have this opportunity to meet the emperor, you can directly give advice to the emperor, and then influence the major affairs of the court.

Now that Zhang Anshi and others have lost the power to report to the emperor, they have one less way to directly intervene in political affairs.

Then the only alternative is to have a large number of trustworthy left-wing officials: let them become your mouthpieces and make recommendations on your behalf.In this case, of course the officials from the left and right of Qianshi had to choose carefully.

Soon, Zhang Anshi finished reading the memorial and the list, and then began to make decisions one by one with other cabinet ministers.

Zhang Anshi and Bingji had drawn up a list before, and the people on it were indeed talented people, so almost all of them were selected by Guang Luxun this time.

This gave Zhang Anshi more room to operate.

As the chief bachelor, Zhang Anshi can lead the process of finalizing the final candidate.

The process was very simple. There were three candidates for each official position. Zhang Anshi named one of them first, and then asked the others if they had any objections.

The people named were either Confucian scholars who became officials through the subjects of "virtuous literature", "Ming Jing" and "virtuous and upright", or they were Langguan who relied on the influence of powerful families to become officials.

And those legal officials who were promoted from jailers, county magistrates, and county cao through the two subjects of "Mingfa" and "Inspection and Integrity" almost all failed.

As for Zhao Chongguo and Han Zeng, they were unwilling to express their opinions and often just watched on the sidelines.

Although Prime Minister Wei was dissatisfied with Zhang Anshi's proposal and wanted to choose several legal officials, he could not find the shortcomings and shortcomings of the people Zhang Anshi chose.

In addition, Bingji, Liu De, Wei Xian and others have already tacitly supported Zhang Anshi's Beihu, so the entire opposition of Prime Minister Wei has no effect.

In fact, Bingji became an official through his prison history, while Prime Minister Wei came from a "virtuous and upright" background.

It can be seen that one's origin does not determine one's future position - after all, people will change.

Under the leadership of Zhang Anshi, it only took half an hour to finalize the list of twenty candidate officials. All the Confucian scholars recommended by Zhang Anshi and others were on the list.

As for those legal officials who came from humble backgrounds without any aristocratic background, and who were proficient in law and practice, they were either defeated or placed in less important positions.

Zhang Anshi looked at the ticket in his hand and finally felt a little satisfied.

The cabinet had been open for many days, and they finally found a gap and accomplished something.

It seems that although the emperor is very thoughtful, it is still impossible for him to control the government alone. There will still be some gaps that can be exploited by Zhang Anshi and others.

This gap is not too wide, but it is enough for them to use.

Zhang Anshi and others had a rough plan in mind, and gradually knew how to influence the government.

From the beginning to the end, they did not feel that they were disobeying the emperor, but that they were sharing the emperor's worries in a more obscure and decent way.

After all, according to the Confucian concept of sage, the emperor is also bound by etiquette.

Nowadays, the emperor who wants to implement reforms and implement new policies has a vague possibility of breaking through the etiquette system. As a minister, it is his duty to prevent the emperor from violating the etiquette system.

Therefore, they are not disobedient and monopolizing power, but loyal and responsible.

……

Zhang Anshi dried the ink on the ticket and carefully pasted it on the memorial.

Then, under the gaze of others, he picked up the memorial and walked to the left room of the main room, placing it on the emperor's desk.

Tomorrow, you should be able to see the emperor's approval.

"My lords, it's getting late, and there are still many memorials to be drafted, so please get busy."

"No!" After everyone answered, they all stood up from the couches around the long case. They each returned to their own cases and started their busy day.

On this day, the atmosphere in the cabinet room became much more relaxed.

……

Once the Youshi hour is over, it’s time to disperse.

As the bell rang, government offices inside and outside the palace became the busiest time of the day.

Because the court system had just been overhauled, officials were much busier than before, and sometimes they even had to burn the midnight oil to fight.

After many days of running-in, I finally got on the right track, and many things became smoother.

In addition, the weather is extremely cold today, and everyone wants to go home early and sit down to have a meal together as a family.

As a result, all government offices dispersed on time, and hundreds of officials rushed to their homes in spite of the cold wind.

The cabinet bachelors held high positions, but they were no different from ordinary people. After Zhang Anshi locked the cabinet room, he left Shiqu Pavilion with several colleagues.

After a while, the front and back yards of Shiqu Pavilion gradually became quiet.

In the past, when Shiqu Pavilion was deserted, there were only a group of soldiers and a few servants guarding it.

Nowadays, Shiqu Pavilion is an important place in the palace, so there is a whole team of guards on duty inside and outside, and swordsmen and halberds will patrol every hour.

It is extremely tight and it is absolutely impossible for an idler to break in at will.

In addition, after dark, the stalls, study rooms and warehouses will be manned.

About half an hour after leaving the Yamen, it was almost dark. Fan Ke, the servant, led a group of Changyi Lang to the side door of the backyard of Shiqu Pavilion.

He first showed the bronze festival and the emperor's handwriting to the guards guarding the courtyard gate, then registered the signature, and then hurriedly walked into the courtyard. (End of chapter)