Fortunate Young Gentleman

Before the Lantern Festival, Tang Ning had not finished his annual leave, but he was summoned to the Ministry of Personnel again for something.

This time, there was a major event, and as the Minister of Personnel, he could not be absent.

Emperor Chen had dismissed Tang Huai from the position of Minister of Rites. Now that the imperial examination was approaching, another person had to be selected as soon as possible to take charge of the Ministry of Rites.

Although the power of the Ministry of Rites had been cut again and again by Emperor Chen, it was still necessary to save face. At this critical moment, it was not decent for the position of Minister of Rites to be vacant.

In the past, when a chief official of a department was vacant, the court would naturally consider the second-in-command who was familiar with the affairs of the department first.

However, Liu Feng, the former Minister of Rites, had long been exiled to another state because of his lifestyle problems. Now the Minister of Rites is temporarily held by the Hanlin Academy, and the Hanlin Academy is too busy to handle it. Moreover, with the qualifications of Zhou Xueshi, he is not qualified for the position of Minister.

Zhou Xueshi's qualifications are not enough, so those Langzhong in the Ministry of Rites are naturally not considered.

Therefore, the new Minister of Rites must be selected from other departments.

This person's official position cannot be lower than the fourth rank, and he must have a certain degree of qualifications in the court, which is in line with the promotion process of Beijing officials. The Ministry of Personnel has already screened, and there are not many people who meet these two requirements.

There are only a few officials of the third rank, each of whom is the head of a department. Transferring them here is like robbing Peter to pay Paul. Besides, which of the six departments is not more important than the Ministry of Rites?

Let alone the third rank, there are no extra third rank officials in Beijing. The Imperial Censor, the Supreme Court Minister, etc. are also heads of a department and are not easy to transfer.

From the fourth rank to the third rank, this is the court's official selection habit. This is exactly the advancement path from the assistant minister to the minister, from the adjutant to the chief officer. If there is any potential official, Chen Huang will put him in the fourth rank instead of the third rank.

Moreover, according to convention, whether it is the Zhongshu Menxia, ​​Shangshu Dusheng, or important departments such as the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of War, there are two adjutants of the fourth rank. Transferring one will not affect the operation of the department, and it will also make room for the next person.

When Tang Ning walked into the Ministry of Personnel, a guard bowed and said, "Sir Tang, the Minister is waiting for you in the yamen."

The last time Tang Ning met Shufei in the palace, they had actually decided something during the few words of casual chat. I think Fang Hong already knew it at this moment.

The position of the Minister of Rites was decided by two people with ulterior motives, which made Tang Ning feel like they were in cahoots with each other.

Tang Ning walked into the Shangshu Yamen, bowed to Fang Hong, and said, "Sir Fang."

"Sir Tang, you're welcome." Fang Hong bowed in return, poured a cup of tea himself, and said, "Sir Tang, please sit down."

After Tang Ning sat down, he handed a letter to Tang Ning and said, "This is the list of candidates for the Minister of Rites drafted by the Ministry of Personnel. Sir Tang, please take a look."

Tang Ning opened the letter. Many of the names on it were unfamiliar to him. He had only been in the six ministries in recent years and was not familiar with officials from the three provinces and other departments.

He looked at the person at the front and asked, "Who is this Lord Shen Ye?"

Fang Hong said, "Lord Shen is the Imperial Secretary, serving in the Ministry of Personnel."

Tang Ning looked at Fang Hong and asked, "Does Lord Shen have any friendship with Lord Fang?"

Fang Hong looked at Tang Ning and said a little embarrassedly, "Lord Shen and I are both Jinshi in the same year, and we have a good personal relationship."

The two brothers of the Fang family have completely different personalities. Fang Zhe is the type of person who is not afraid of boiling water, while Fang Hong is a bit more straightforward. However, since Zhao Yuan is planning to compete for the position, even if Fang Hong is a very upright person, it would be stupid if he does not pave the way for him in the future.

But paving the way also requires methods. If it were Fang Zhe, he would never do it so obviously.

In the list of the Ministry of Personnel, the first person is naturally the one who is strongly recommended. Unless Emperor Chen is dissatisfied with him, he will generally not choose another one, but he will consider many things, including the party and relatives of this person, so this person must be selected with great caution.

Tang Ning looked at him, shook his head, and said, "Although it is said that one should not avoid enemies when recommending people from outside, and relatives when recommending people from within, there may be people gossiping behind your back. Lord Fang should not put him first, otherwise even His Majesty will have some thoughts in his mind."

Fang Hong blushed slightly, lowered his head, and said, "What do you think, Lord Tang?"

"No hurry." Tang Ning waved his hand, looked at the second name, and asked, "Who is this Qi Long?"

Fang Hong explained, "Lord Qi is the Minister of the Ministry of Shangshu, and has been in office for more than ten years, and his reputation is very good."

Tang Ning asked directly, "What is his relationship with the Fang family?"

Fang Hong said, "They are just nodding acquaintances."

The position of the Minister of Rites is not very useful, but at critical moments, it can give him more say, so it is natural to arrange his own people to feel at ease.

Since the goal of seizing the throne has been established, Tang Ning and Fang Hong don't need to beat around the bush when talking.

A close friend cannot be chosen, otherwise it will arouse the suspicion of Emperor Chen. This must not happen before Zhao Yuan has the strength to seize the throne.

People with no relationship cannot be chosen either, otherwise it will be a waste of this opportunity.

But after Fang Hong introduced the people on the list to him one by one, Tang Ning found that except for Lord Shen, the rest of the people had no deep friendship with the Fang family.

If this is the case, it will not be easy to arrange the position of Minister of Rites to Lord Shen quietly.

Tang Ning frowned slightly, looked at the last person's name, and asked: "Zhang Yan, this name sounds familiar, which lord in the court is it?"

Fang Hong said: "Master Zhang is the Vice Minister of Zhongshu and the son of Zhang Dajun. However, the Fang family and the Zhang family have never had any contact..."

"Wait a minute..." Tang Ning raised her hand to interrupt Fang Hong and asked, "How many bachelors named Zhang are there in the court?"

Fang Hong thought for a while and said, "Just one person."

Tang Ning pointed to Zhang Yan's name and said, "It's him!"

…

Royal study room.

Emperor Chen opened the book handed over by the official department, with a slightly strange expression on his face, and said, "I thought he would put Shen Ye first. After all, they were Jinshi in the same year and had a pretty good personal relationship. Unexpectedly, he actually put Shen Ye first." The end.”

He looked at the name ranked first and asked: "Who is Zhang Yan? It sounds familiar..."

Wei Jiandao: "Your Majesty, Mr. Zhang is the son of a great scholar Zhang, and he is currently serving in the Zhongshu Province."

"It turns out to be the Zhang family." Emperor Chen said with a look of surprise on his face: "The Zhang family has always kept a low profile as officials, and I have no impression of the dignified Secretariat and Minister..."

Wei Jian smiled and said: "Master Zhang has a strict upbringing, and the Zhang family keeps a low profile. Your Majesty has forgotten that back then, Master Zhang punished His Majesty for reciting it. His Majesty couldn't recite it and was punished, so he went to the late emperor to complain..."

Thinking of the past events, Chen Huang shook his head, with a smile on his face, and said: "No wonder, no wonder, he is the son of Zhang University, so it's not surprising."

"Fang Aiqing is as calm as ever in his work." Chen Huang thought for a while and said: "The Zhang family knows etiquette and observes etiquette, so it would be better for him to go to the Ministry of Etiquette to save time in Zhongshu. That position is more suitable for him, and let the Hanlin Academy draft Just do it..."

Wei Jian bowed and said: "I obey the order."

He slowly exited the hall and happened to meet Zhao Yuan who personally delivered soup to Emperor Chen.

Wei Jian paused, suddenly looked at Zhao Yuan, and asked in a low voice: "Why haven't you seen the little girl from the Zhang family following His Highness recently?"

Zhao Yuan glanced at his mouth and said, "That's because you didn't see it. I was playing with Sister Zhang yesterday..."