Emperor of the Red Chamber

Chapter 151 Impeachment and Recommendation

It was already the end of the first lunar month.

That morning, Yuan Qingbai convened an enlarged meeting in front of the emperor in the main hall of the Qianqing Palace.

The participants included dozens of princes and ministers.

Yuan Qingbai discussed several important issues at this meeting.

Although it was called a discussion, in fact, these important matters had already been decided before the meeting. The purpose of this enlarged meeting in front of the emperor was to announce the final decision and to deploy related matters.

After several important matters were discussed, it was time for the princes and ministers to take the initiative to give their opinions.

At this moment, Prince Zhongshun Yuan Sishu suddenly came out and said to Yuan Qingbai, who was sitting on the throne in a bright yellow dragon robe, "Your Majesty, I have something to say!"

Yuan Qingbai looked at Prince Zhongshun and couldn't help feeling disgusted.

Prince Zhongshun was Yuan Qingbai's fourth uncle. He was formerly the Prince of Shun. When Emperor Chengtai ascended the throne, he promoted him from Prince to Prince.

After Yuan Qingbai ascended the throne, in order to stabilize the throne and strengthen the imperial power, he won the hearts of the royal family and eased the tense atmosphere among the royal family in the Chengtai Dynasty.

This included treating Prince Zhongshun well. Yuan Qingbai treated his fourth uncle with some courtesy and also gave him considerable power.

However, Prince Zhongshun's performance disappointed Yuan Qingbai.

In the past year, Prince Zhongshun has been negligent in state affairs, indulged in extravagance, indulged in sensual pleasures, and engaged in corruption and abuse of power.

For example, according to the system of national mourning, he should not have been allowed to hold banquets or listen to operas for a year. However, less than a hundred days after Emperor Chengtai's death, he had secretly held banquets and listened to operas several times. Even though Jia Zhen was severely punished for violating national mourning later, he did not learn from it and held banquets and listened to operas many times, regardless of the prohibitions of etiquette and law.

The reason for his arrogance was that Prince Zhongshun looked down on Yuan Qingbai and believed that Yuan Qingbai implemented benevolent policies and would never punish his precious and important fourth uncle for some "trivial matters".

At this moment, Yuan Qingbai felt disgusted when he saw Prince Zhongshun coming out to report on affairs at such a grand court meeting.

But Yuan Qingbai was good at hiding his feelings and keeping calm.

When he first traveled to the world of the Red Mansion, Yuan Qingbai knew that he needed to learn to conceal his emotions in this life, and keeping a low profile was a compulsory course.

After years of hard work and experience, he has mastered this skill to a great extent.

This was of great benefit to his imperial career.

Yuan Qingbai suppressed his disgust, forced a smile and asked, "What does Prince Zhongshun want to report?"

Prince Zhongshun looked stern and said in a loud voice, "Your Majesty, today I want to impeach Song Jiahan, the Minister of Works and the Governor of Shuntian Prefecture."

"Song Jiahan often impeached ministers in order to gain fame, but he often impeached them based on hearsay, which shows that he is just seeking fame and reputation."

"His actions not only consume His Majesty's energy, but also cause unrest in the court. The ministers are afraid that they will be slandered by him and suffer injustice."

"Your Majesty, please punish Song Jiahan and don't let him disturb your Majesty again and cause chaos in the court!"

Song Jiahan was at the scene and did not find it strange to see Prince Zhongshun impeaching him so harshly.

He knew that a "first minister of remonstration" like him would easily cause such a disturbance, and he had already prepared himself mentally for it.

Even so, he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart, but his expression was still calm. He had originally lowered his head slightly, but when he looked up, he glanced at the back of Prince Fang Zhongshun in front of him, and then looked at Yuan Qingbai who was sitting on the throne of the emperor.

Yuan Qingbai felt even more disgusted with Prince Zhongshun.

Since he ascended the throne, nearly a year later, no less than ten officials and relatives of the emperor have impeached Song Jiahan, including some princes and ministers, but all of them impeached him through memorials submitted to the emperor.

And now, Prince Zhongshun actually impeached Song Jiahan in public at an enlarged meeting in front of the emperor, and his words were very sharp.

Yuan Qingbai knew that Prince Zhongshun must have done this on purpose!

Prince Zhongshun hated Song Jiahan deeply because Song Jiahan had brought down several of his followers over the years and had submitted memorials to Emperor Chengtai and Yuan Qingbai to impeach him several times. Moreover, as the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, Song Jiahan did not give him face and had disciplined the people in his palace.

Prince Zhongshun is a narrow-minded person who bears grudges.

He knew that Yuan Qingbai was protecting Song Jiahan. When those memorials impeaching Song Jiahan fell into Yuan Qingbai's hands, he almost always replied with the simple three words "I understand".

He deliberately impeached Song Jiahan in public at today's enlarged meeting in front of the emperor, thinking that Yuan Qingbai would most likely not deny face to his fourth uncle, the prince.

Since Yuan Qingbai ascended the throne, he never refuted any advice given by Prince Zhongshun in court.

Prince Zhongshun also knew that Song Jiahan had recently offended Prince Rui Yuan Qingshu, Tang Chengyuan, and Zhan Erting. Yuan Qingshu and Zhan Erting were both close to him, and Yuan Qingshu was willful and reckless, while Zhan Erting was straightforward and resolute. They both held grudges, and Yuan Qingshu had previously scolded Song Jiahan in the palace.

Prince Zhongshun thought that today at least one of Yuan Qingshu and Zhan Erting would come out to support him. Once this happened, he could ensure that Yuan Qingbai would punish Song Jiahan.

Although he felt disgusted, Yuan Qingbai still managed a smile and said calmly, "Prince Zhongshun's words seem to be biased. I don't think Song Jiahan disturbed the emperor and disrupted the government. The saying of 'seeking fame and reputation' is not appropriate for Song Jiahan."

After saying this, Yuan Qingbai deliberately looked at Tang Chengyuan and asked, "Tang Chengyuan, what do you think?"

Tang Chengyuan thought for a moment, paused, and said, "I think what Your Majesty said is absolutely right."

"I think Song Jiahan is an honest and upright minister. He dares to speak out and give direct advice, which is the responsibility of a minister of the Great Zhou." "Although Song Jiahan often impeached ministers, his impeachments were confirmed many times, which is the key to rectifying the government and cleaning up the bureaucracy. Although he occasionally reported rumors, it is not against the rules to report rumors."

Tang Chengyuan was accustomed to echoing and flattering the Emperor of the Great Zhou, and Yuan Qingbai had already told him that he appreciated Song Jiahan's integrity and honesty and wanted to protect Song Jiahan as the "first minister of remonstration." Now Yuan Qingbai had taken the lead in refuting the impeachment of Prince Zhongshun.

In this situation, Tang Chengyuan would naturally choose to agree with Yuan Qingbai.

Prince Zhongshun subconsciously glared at Tang Chengyuan, cursing in his heart, "This old thief is hateful."

As a veteran of three dynasties, Tang Chengyuan has refuted Prince Zhongshun many times in front of the emperor from the Jing'an Dynasty to the current Tianlong Dynasty. Prince Zhongshun has long held a grudge against him, but Prince Zhongshun can do nothing about it.

Without waiting for Prince Zhongshun to speak, Yuan Qingbai turned to Yuan Qingsong and said, "Prince Qian, what do you think?"

Yuan Qingsong said without hesitation, "I also think that what Your Majesty said is very right. I second your opinion, Lord Tang."

Yuan Qingbai nodded, feeling satisfied.

Yuan Qingsong worked hard to test and promote potatoes, sweet potatoes and corn. Moreover, since Yuan Qingbai ascended the throne, he has always been a supporter of Yuan Qingbai, helping him openly and not making trouble in secret.

In Yuan Qingbai's opinion, Yuan Qingsong was extremely talented, diligent, and loyal to him. Although he also had shortcomings, such as being a little lustful and indulging in poetry... these shortcomings were not serious.

Yuan Qingsong was such a person that Yuan Qingbai appreciated. If his biological mother had not committed a serious crime, Yuan Qingbai felt that his relationship with his fourth brother might be equivalent to that of Emperor Chengtai and his ninth uncle.

Tang Chengyuan is equivalent to prime minister.

Yuan Qingsong is Yuan Qingbai's younger brother. He has been granted the title of Prince and is about to be promoted to Prince.

Yuan Qingbai expressed his attitude, and with the support of Tang Chengyuan and Yuan Qingsong, Prince Zhongshun's impeachment failed.

However, Yuan Qingbai still managed a smile and said to Prince Zhongshun: "Prince Zhongshun is concerned about the country and the emperor, which is commendable."

He secretly sneered in his heart, and said "Haha", and made a note of another account with this fourth uncle. When the time is right, he will settle the account with this fourth uncle!
Things have come to this point, and Prince Zhongshun can no longer continue the impeachment.

Prince Zhongshun glanced at Yuan Qingshu and then at Zhan Erting. Seeing that the two were standing still and neither of them was willing to step forward to support the impeachment of Song Jiahan, he became even more unhappy.

Prince Zhongshun had a misunderstanding about his nephew Yuan Qingshu. Although Yuan Qingshu was vindictive and willful, he truly respected Yuan Qingbai.

Zhan Erting knew that Yuan Qingbai appreciated and protected Song Jiahan.

Neither Yuan Qingshu nor Zhan Erting would be stupid enough to publicly support Prince Zhongshun in impeaching Song Jiahan, going against Yuan Qingbai's will on an occasion like today.

After discussing the matter of Song Jiahan, the enlarged meeting before the emperor ended.

Prince Zhongshun left in depression, with a knot in his heart and a confused mind.

In addition to being depressed, he was also dissatisfied with Yuan Qingbai, and he was also a little afraid. Yuan Qingbai, who had never refuted his advice in court, actually refuted him publicly today. This was not a good sign...

……

……

After the meeting, Yuan Qingbai summoned Jia Zhu to the warm room of the Yangxin Palace alone and discussed the affairs of the Imperial Household Department with him in secret.

At this time, Jia Zhu cautiously said to Yuan Qingbai: "I want to recommend someone to the emperor to take the position of head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

Yuan Qingbai asked with a smile: "Oh? Who do you want to recommend?"

Jia Zhu recommended many officials to Yuan Qingbai, but very few of them were recommended on his own initiative. It was usually Yuan Qingbai who asked Jia Zhu to recommend them.

Jia Zhu said, "My nephew Jia Yun was blessed by the emperor last year and inherited the title of Ningguo Mansion and the family business. He became a captain and it has been more than half a year now."

"I have been paying close attention to this nephew and have seen that he has not become arrogant or complacent because of his sudden wealth and status. Instead, he has become more diligent and has managed Ningguo Mansion in a good way. He is also open-minded and eager to learn, and is gradually becoming a useful person. He is determined to repay the emperor's kindness and is willing to serve you as a dog and horse."

"Therefore, I now dare to recommend Jia Yun to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to serve as the head of the department. I look forward to your wise decision."

Yuan Qingbai was not surprised at all when he heard this. He had expected Jia Zhu to recommend Jia Yun for an official post. Jia Zhu's recommendation was later than he expected.

In his opinion, Jia Zhu should have been teaching and testing Jia Yun over the past six months.

Yuan Qingbai nodded: "Jia Yun is the patriarch of your Jia family, the master of Ningguo Mansion, and has the rank of fourth-rank commander. Today, you have solemnly recommended him. In this case, let him enter the Ministry of Internal Affairs as a deputy minister."

Jia Zhu was delighted.

The chief clerk was of the sixth rank, while the deputy clerk was of the fifth rank. Although there was only one level difference between them, the difference in power was significant.

Jia Zhu declined politely on the surface, but when he failed to refuse, he thanked the emperor.

Yuan Qingbai suddenly said, "I will write a piece of calligraphy, you can give it to Jia Yun."

Jia Zhu was stunned.

Jia Yun hasn't even become an official yet, but the emperor is going to personally write a calligraphy piece for Jia Yun?
Jia Zhu was quite curious, wondering what word Yuan Qingbai was going to give him...

(End of this chapter)