I am not a deposed emperor of Han Dynasty

The next day, Zhang Anshi, who was in a good mood, arrived outside the cabinet duty room early, and the other cabinet bachelors had also been waiting for a long time.
After several people greeted each other politely, Zhang Anshi opened the lock in front of the cabinet door and walked in together.

As soon as they entered the door, Zhang Anshi and others saw that the memorials had been touched. They hurried over to check them and found that they had all been approved.

"The county magistrate is so diligent that he approved all the memorials overnight." Zhang Anshi couldn't help but sigh.

When the other academicians heard this, they quickly gathered around and read through these approved memorials one by one, and they also kept praising the emperor.

"The written memorial should be drafted into an edict first, and then wait for the emperor to come and seal it."

"The rejected memorial will be returned directly and the government will submit it again."

"I will discuss the revised memorial and then draft it again."

"Every memorial must be carefully prepared and there must be no mistakes."

"only!"

Zhang Anshi was in the middle, arranging the things to be done today, while the rest of the people were doing it themselves, sorting and sending the memorials to various places.

Several people had just walked to the door when Wei Xian, who was left behind, suddenly said "Huh" with a question, attracting everyone's attention.

"The county magistrate... seems to have missed a draft and failed to approve it..."

Everyone stopped and looked back, and Zhang Anshi also walked over and picked up the last memorial from the case.

Before he opened it, he felt something was wrong - this was the memorial for Guang Luxun's selection of officials!
The emperor actually didn't criticize Hong.

Zhang Anshi frowned and said nothing. The others also noticed the clues and quickly put down what they were doing and gathered around again.

They looked at the memorial, which had not been touched by the emperor at all, and were full of doubts and puzzled.

After a long while, the outspoken Liu De finally asked: "Why didn't the county magistrate approve this memorial?"

"I'm afraid I missed it. After all, there are hundreds of copies of this memorial." Bingji guessed uncertainly.

"This memorial was placed aside just now. It seems to have been placed there on purpose." Wei Xian pointed to the position of the head of the case and said.

For a moment, several people were unsure of their decision, let alone how to deal with it, or whether they should send the memorial back to the Greenhouse Hall.

"Don't worry, the county magistrate is coming today. I will mention it to the magistrate then." Zhang Anshi comforted everyone.

At this time, the expressions of all the ministers were different: Zhao Chongguo and Han Zeng looked the same, Prime Minister Wei was gloating, and the rest were worried and confused.

Zhang Anshi solemnly put the memorial back on the desk, and all the bachelors went about their business.

……

In the past, no matter how late the emperor arrived, he would always show up before noon, sometimes even earlier than Zhang Anshi and others.

But this day was very strange. After the noon bell rang, the emperor still did not show up at the cabinet duty room.

At first, the bachelors felt as relaxed as yesterday, but gradually some began to feel uneasy.

Zhang Anshi and the other "initiators" would look at the emperor's empty couch from time to time, always feeling that something was wrong.

Especially Zhang Anshi and Bingji. Their couches and plans were next to each other. They either gathered together and whispered, or looked out of the room.

But no matter how anxious they were, they just didn't hear the familiar drumming sound of the emperor's guard of honor.

And the memorial at the head of the case was like a red iron, repeatedly burning in their hearts.

"Mr. Bing, shall we go and invite the county magistrate?" Zhang Anshi asked in a low voice again.

"Zi Ru, we are ministers, how can we treat you like this?" Bingji, who had always been calm, said helplessly.

Zhang Anshi sighed. He also knew that it was inappropriate to go to the Greenhouse Palace or Jiaofang Palace.

As a courtier, even a cabinet minister, how can he "force" the emperor to discuss affairs? Doesn't this mean that the cabinet is useless and cannot function without the emperor?

"Then...should I wait or wait a little longer?"

"We can only wait a little longer. In two hours, the servant next to the county magistrate will bring someone to pick up the memorial. You can ask him..." Bingji said with relief.

"That's all, but..." Zhang Anshi looked at the others and whispered: "When I went out today, my eyelids felt twitching and I felt uneasy. I'm afraid something might have happened."

"Zi Ru is worrying too much. In the past few days, everything has been business as usual. What could have happened?" Bing Ji advised again.

What he said does make sense. After all, the cabinet system is operating more and more smoothly.

Although the emperor was a little more suspicious, he still respected these cabinet ministers as before and seemed to have no dissatisfaction.

And Zhang Anshi and the others finally found some gaps in power in the cabinet system and the superior service system.

This gap is still very small now, but as long as they work hard, it can gradually expand.

For example, you can persuade the old officials of Changyi to join in and make more remonstrances to the emperor.

For example, some officials can be persuaded to "submit" letters to Zhang Anshi and others to influence government affairs.For example, when you select Xiaolian to participate in the imperial examination system next year, you should greet the ministers and governors you are familiar with in advance so that the person they recommend will be more reliable.

As long as these courtiers who were loyal to the Han came together to form a barrier and pillar around the emperor, the emperor would not go astray.

In short, there are many ways.

There is only one emperor, and it is impossible to control everything.

With Huo Guang down, the situation is naturally very good, and it will only get better.

However, Zhang Anshi was still slightly worried. After all, these things were done behind the emperor's back. I wonder if the emperor could understand their painstaking efforts.

Thinking of this joint, he couldn't help but look back and looked at the memorial lying alone on the table. His uneasiness became more obvious than before.

"I hope so, I'll wait and see."

However, what Zhang Anshi and Bingji didn't expect was that they had to wait for more than an hour.
It was not until midnight that Zhang Anshi finally heard the noise in the courtyard. He quickly went to the courtyard with Bingji and others to take a look.

But what they saw was not the emperor, but Fan Ke, the attendant beside the emperor.

"May I ask, Mr. Envoy, when will the county magistrate come to the cabinet today to check on the room?" Zhang Anshi asked Fan Ke.

"The lower official reported back to Mr. Zhang that the county magistrate will be studying in the greenhouse hall today, so he will not come to the cabinet."

"But, but these memorials?" Zhang Anshi asked doubtfully.

"The county magistrate also said that there are many bachelors in the cabinet, so if there is no trouble, he can also take some time off. Recently, he has not come to the cabinet to check rooms..."

"As for the memorials drawn up by these votes, I will take them to the greenhouse hall for His Majesty's approval and send them back the next day." Fan Ke said to Zhang Anshi respectfully.

"Then, when will the county magistrate come to the cabinet to check the room again?" Zhang Anshi asked.

"Mr. Zhang Ge is now embarrassing the official. The official is just a servant, how dare he ask about this..."

"But the county magistrate also said that the cabinet discussions on government affairs will continue as usual, and he will also approve red papers as usual, which will not affect the government affairs."

"So that's it." Zhang Anshi and Bingji looked at each other worriedly. They heard some hidden meanings. It seemed that the emperor deliberately didn't want to see them.

"Yesterday, the county magistrate seemed to have missed a memorial. It was submitted by Guang Luxun. It is very important. I hope you will take it back and ask the county magistrate to approve it."

Zhang Anshi knew that the emperor trusted this little internal official very much, so he was very respectful when he spoke and did not dare to give any orders.

"What Mr. Zhang Ge is talking about is the memorial. The county magistrate has read it, and the county magistrate has also read it. The county magistrate has said that it will be retained but not issued."

Zhang Anshi was stunned. He didn't understand what "staying in the middle but not sending out" meant, but he also realized that it was inevitable and felt flustered!
Has the emperor seen it?But he is non-committal about the vote?Did you return both the memorial and the draft in the same manner?What does it mean?What is the cabinet going to do?
A series of question marks emerged from the hearts of Zhang Anshi and others, making their already uneasy hearts even more anxious.

"Then, what should I do with this memorial?"

"The county magistrate didn't say anything, and the subordinate officials don't know either."

"Is the county magistrate in the Greenhouse Hall at this time? I want to go to the Greenhouse Hall to express my love to His Majesty in person." Zhang Anshi asked quickly.

"The county magistrate said that this is just a small matter. The cabinet bachelors are among the best and they must know what to do..."

"After all, there will be many more things like this in the future, and it is impossible for the county magistrate to participate in everything..."

"As for making a statement in person... the county magistrate also said that he has gained new insights from reading the Analects these days and wants to spend more time studying the Analects without seeing anyone."

Fan Ke said these words in a pattern, and every word he said was serious.

These uncertain and seemingly profound words could not have been easily made up by this internal official, so they must be the emperor's original words.

Although these words were not much, they made Zhang Anshi and Bingji, who were standing in front of the cabinet door, break into a cold sweat, as if they had fallen into an ice hole in the twelfth lunar month.

It seems that the emperor is angry and is very dissatisfied with the list of courtiers drawn up by their votes!

The emperor's anger is hidden and not revealed. This is the most terrifying thing!
"May I ask if the county magistrate has any instructions on how to vote for this memorial?" Zhang Anshi asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"The lower officials didn't even know about this matter. In response to the memorial, the county magistrate only said a few words: "I will stay in the center but not publish anything."

At that moment, the sweat on Zhang Anshi's forehead became even denser, and the cold wind blew again and he couldn't help but shiver.

A dark cloud floated from nowhere in the sky overhead, gradually covering up the sun that had not appeared for a long time.
What the hell does this mean? ?

"Several princes, there is still something to do. If nothing happens, I will take the edict back and have it stamped."

"It's okay, Fan Shijun, please go slowly." Zhang Anshi said in a dazed tone.

"only!"

In this way, Fan Ke took his people away with the prepared edict.

After Zhang Anshi and others watched him leave, they still stood stiffly in front of the cabinet door, not knowing whether to advance or retreat.

They couldn't help but look at the nearby Shiqu Pavilion, which seemed to be pressing on them. (End of chapter)