Jiuxi

Chapter 807 805 [Dazzling]

"The Emperor, in accordance with the Will of Heaven, proclaims: The sage kings of all dynasties have made laws, and the same custom has been followed for hundreds of generations, to reward virtue and merit. This has been going on for a long time. Therefore, the purpose of public office is to appoint virtuous people, and the purpose of giving titles and salaries is to reward merit. If public office is established, titles and salaries are offered, scholars will come of their own accord. What is the need for rulers to work so hard?"

Yuan Yuji's loud voice once again resounded throughout the hall.

Lu Chen stood in the area between the civil officials and the military heroes, about ten feet away from the imperial steps, bowed his hands and listened to the imperial edict.

The eyes of all officials were focused on him at this moment.

It is impossible to say that he is not envious at all. After all, Lu Chen is already a county duke, and the next title he can be awarded can only be the title of a state duke.

How many dukes in their twenties are there in history? How could the dukes in the palace not envy him?
This is an honor that brings glory to the family.

You have to know that Lu Chen is the son of a merchant. Although his father has a good relationship with Xiao Wangzhi, the Lu family has almost no influence in the central government of Jiangnan. Lu Chen can achieve what he has today entirely due to his own abilities, and of course the appreciation of the late emperor cannot be ignored.

It took Lu Chen only six years from rising to prominence in the Battle of Guangling to becoming one of the most powerful people in the court of Da Qi.

Listening to the lengthy praises of Lu Chen in the imperial edict, the ministers felt mixed emotions. Fortunately, most of them knew their own limitations. If they were in Lu Chen's position, they would probably not be able to resolve the powerful enemy in the north.

"…Lu Chen, the Duke of Shanyang, is a man of outstanding talent. He is regarded as a model for the country and a great scholar. He is a man of great talent. He is a man of great talent. He is a man of great talent. He is a man of great talent. He is a man of great talent. He is a man of great talent. He is a man of great talent. He is a man of great talent. He is a man of great talent. I appreciate his merits and his achievements."

Yuan Yuji paused for a moment, then raised his voice further: "I hereby confer upon you the title of Duke of Qin, and bestow upon you the imperial decree in Xi, so that your power will be feared by the barbarians. I decree this."

The crowd was not as excited as expected. On the contrary, one could even hear some people gasping for air.

Lu Chen's contribution was so great that although it was impossible for him to be a prince, it was certain that he would be given the title of Duke. The officials in the court had already been mentally prepared, so until Yuan Yuji's last words were uttered, everyone listened calmly.

However, upon hearing the words "Duke of Qin", most of the court officials found it difficult to remain calm.

According to the ancient system, the highest-ranking titles of nobility were Qi, Jin, Qin, and Chu, followed by Han, Zhao, Wei, Song, Wu, Yan, etc.

The name of this dynasty is Qi, and this title naturally cannot be awarded to ministers, so the remaining ones are Jin, Qin, and Chu.

After the previous emperor moved south, he conferred the title of Duke on three dukes, namely, Duke of Cao Kong Mingxuan, Duke of Jing Han Lingfu, and Duke of Rong Xiao Wangzhi.

Among them, Duke of Cao Kong Mingxuan was originally a general leading troops in Jiangnan. In the third year of the previous emperor's reign, he was stripped of his title and hanged for his rebelliousness.

After Li Zongben ascended the throne, he conferred the title of Duke of Wei on Li Tianrun in accordance with the late emperor's will. In terms of honor alone, he was more noble than the previous three.

Now that Lu Chen has been conferred the title of Duke of Qin, he is undoubtedly above the previous four dukes and is truly the best in the army.

At this moment, the expressions of several important ministers were still calm. After all, they had been informed by the emperor in advance and were not as shocked as other court officials.

In fact, Lu Chen was also a little surprised.

Because of the dispute in the Imperial Garden, he thought Li Zongben would change his title. After all, it was just a private discussion, and he couldn't beg for the word Qin in public.

Coupled with the previous edict of blaming himself, Lu Chen vaguely felt that the emperor had taken this step too far.

This is not a good thing.

However, Lu Chen's face remained calm, with a hint of excitement, and he said loudly: "I thank your majesty for your grace!"

Li Zongben said with relief: "My dear minister, you are the pillar of the country and you deserve this title. By the way, the mansion you live in now was originally a marquis' mansion. You firmly disagreed with me to have someone build you another mansion before, but you can't continue to be stubborn now. I understand that you don't want to waste more national funds, but it is not in accordance with etiquette for a dignified duke to continue living in a marquis' mansion."

Lu Chen still declined, "Your Majesty, I think the current house is good, there is no need to change it."

"I will make the decision on this matter for once."

Li Zongben smiled, turned to look at the civil officials and said, "Minister Zhu."

Zhu Heng, the Minister of Works who was not very prominent in the court, stepped out and said, "I am here."

Li Zongben said: "I will leave the matter of building the Duke of Qin's Mansion to you. Is there a suitable place in South City?"

Zhu Heng thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, there is an unused piece of land in Ruifufang. It has good feng shui and convenient transportation. It is the land that the court has reserved for use. It is also only two streets away from the Duke of Wei's mansion."

"You see, this is opportunity."

Li Zongben looked at Lu Chen with a smile, and said, "No matter what, you can't refuse this time."

Although Lu Chen had just returned to the capital, the news that he was going to marry Li Tianrun's daughter had already spread throughout the city. At this moment, Zhu Heng deliberately mentioned the Duke of Wei's Mansion, and the officials naturally understood the reason.

Seeing this, Lu Chen didn't want to be too hypocritical, so he bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace."

At this point, last year's war finally came to a successful conclusion.

Lu Chen had just returned to his seat and before he had time to think calmly, he heard a strong voice coming from the left.

"Your Majesty, I have this memorial."

The ministers looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was the left prime minister Xue Nanting.

Li Zongben said gently: "Prime Minister Xue, please speak."

Xue Nanting looked straight ahead and spoke in a steady tone: "Your Majesty, ever since Prime Minister Zhong resigned due to illness, the heavy burden of the Secretariat has fallen on my shoulders alone. I have received so much grace from the Emperor and I should do my best, but human power will eventually be limited. The Secretariat's affairs are so numerous that I cannot decide them alone. Therefore, I request Your Majesty to select talented people to fill the duties of the Secretariat." Upon hearing this request, all the officials immediately pricked up their ears.

Ever since Zhong Cheng resigned last autumn due to continuous impeachments, the position of right prime minister has been vacant for a long time, and Xue Nanting has indeed had a very hard time.

During this period, Li Zongben had mentioned several times that he wanted to promote Li Shizhi, the Minister of Personnel, but Li Shizhi firmly refused, saying that his resume was thin and he was not qualified for the position of prime minister.

Apart from Li Shizhi, there was really no more suitable candidate in the court, so this matter had to be put on hold temporarily.

It is natural that Xue Nanting brought it up again today. After all, as the left prime minister, he is qualified to request the appointment of a prime minister.

At this moment, many people, including Xiao Wangzhi, glanced at Li Shizhi who was standing behind Xue Nanting.

Could it be true that Jinlin Li’s father and son were both prime ministers?

Li Zongben looked around at the ministers and said thoughtfully, "Does Prime Minister Xue have anyone to recommend?"

"Have."

Xue Nanting did not hesitate at all and said loudly: "I recommend Xu Zuo, the governor of Dingzhou, to join the Secretariat as the right prime minister!"

There was silence in the Duancheng Hall.

Lu Chen turned his head suddenly, his eyes extremely complicated, staring at Xue Nanting's profile.

At this time, the court officials also reacted, and many of them couldn't help but wonder, "So that's how it is. Why didn't they think of it?"
There was indeed no one in the court who could suppress Li Shizhi except Xue Nanting, but Xu Zuo was different from ordinary provincial governors.

When the late emperor was alive, he, Xue Nanting and Qin Zheng were the three main forces and were the late emperor's strongest supporters. He was impeccable in both ability and character. He had been the Chief Censor before the late emperor passed away and now he still holds this important position.

As the Imperial Censor and Governor of Dingzhou, there was no problem for Xu Zuo to be promoted to the Right Prime Minister with this identity. The key was that no matter which force in the court, they had to acknowledge that Xu Zuo was qualified.

Lu Chen's gaze shifted to Li Shizhi, and he gradually figured out some strange details.

Xue Nanting's recommendation was completely unexpected to him, but Li Shizhi showed no displeasure at all, which could be said to be a sign of his shrewdness. However, in Lu Chen's opinion, this man was too calm.

Lu Chen quickly calmed down.

It was not a bad thing for him that Xu Zuo came to Beijing to serve as the right prime minister. After their acquaintance and friendship in the frontier in the past two years, although Xu Zuo might not necessarily become his staunch ally, at least he would not try to hold him back. Moreover, with such an upright minister watching over him at the center, Lu Chen would be free from many worries.

The question is who will take over from Xu Zuo?
Sitting on the dragon throne, the emperor asked calmly, "Xu Qingjia is indeed a capable minister. It is very appropriate for him to serve as the right prime minister. I am also very relieved. But if Xu Qingjia returns to the capital, who will take over as the governor of Dingzhou?"

Most officials had no say in the appointment and removal of such provincial governors.

Li Shizhi, the Minister of Personnel, stepped out of the stage and saluted, saying, "Your Majesty, I have a person to recommend."

Li Zongben nodded and said, "Tell me."

Li Shizhi said slowly: "Dingzhou borders the enemy territory. Although the governor is a civilian, he cannot be completely ignorant of military affairs. After all, when a war breaks out, the logistics of the border troops are extremely important. Lord Xu is a versatile person with both civil and military skills. His successor must at least understand the relevant skills. Therefore, I recommend the Minister of War Ding Hui as the new governor of Dingzhou!"

Among the six ministries in the court, the status and situation of the Ministry of War have always been somewhat awkward, but as Li Shizhi said, although the Minister of War may not be able to lead troops, he will definitely not be unfamiliar with military affairs.

This recommendation is reasonable.

Li Zongben thought for a moment, looked around at the ministers and asked, "Do you have any objections?"

Xue Nanting did not object, and important officials such as Hu Jingwen, Jing Qingshan, Zhu Heng, and Yang Jing did not speak either.

As for the Minister of War Ding Hui, his face showed tension, but also some joy and excitement.

He had wanted to change his job a long time ago. There was really no point staying in the Ministry of War. He was under the jurisdiction of the Secretariat, had to face the cold faces of the military heroes in the Military Academy, and often had to deal with the unfriendly greetings from the arrogant soldiers and generals under him.

That time, Li Shizhi comforted him a little, and Ding Hui thought it was just an excuse. Unexpectedly, the turnaround came so quickly, and he was full of confidence for a while.

Li Zongben's eyes stayed on Lu Chen's face, and he said gently: "Duke Qin, although the appointment and removal of a state governor does not require the approval of military merit, the situation in Dingzhou is special. The governor here especially needs to cooperate tacitly with the commander of the border army. As the commander-in-chief of Dingzhou, you are in charge of more than 100,000 troops. You have a say in this matter. I want to hear your opinion. Regarding the two arrangements of Xu Zuo's promotion to the right prime minister and Ding Hui's transfer to the governor of Dingzhou, do you have any objections?"

Lu Chen went out again, facing the emperor's gentle gaze, he did not think too much, and said frankly: "Your Majesty, I have no objection."

The answer is incredibly simple.

Ding Hui lowered his head, feeling a little depressed. It seemed unreasonable that Lu Chen did not object to his appointment to Dingzhou.

Xue Nanting turned his head and glanced at Lu Chen, with a hint of guilt in his eyes, which soon turned into approval.

Li Shizhi, the proposer, maintained his original attitude.

No one could guess what was going on beneath his calm expression.

The Minister of Personnel, who was increasingly favored by the emperor, could only sigh silently in his heart.

"You're really patient, but it's good this way."

(End of this chapter)