You get Lu Bu as your starting character.

Chapter 59 Fang Xuanling, Minister of Personnel

Zhou Chen was pleasantly surprised to be able to sign in a talented person like Fang Xuanling.

Although there were many loyal and virtuous officials in the court, Zhou Chen was more willing to believe those who signed in than those who appeared in court.

Leaving aside whether the abilities of these loyal ministers in the court can compare to those who signed in, their loyalty is not necessarily that great.

Zhou Chen never believed that anyone who could infiltrate the imperial court could be absolutely loyal.

Rather than being loyal ministers, it's more accurate to say that the price of betrayal wasn't high enough.

They're all just looking out for their own interest groups.

The people who signed in were different; they were all absolutely loyal to Zhou Chen.

Now, Zhou Chen has the God of War Lü Bu by his side to fight on the battlefield, and the Eastern Depot's Cao Zhengchun to monitor the world.

The only thing missing was a civil official who could offer advice and influence the court.

The appearance of Fang Xuanling perfectly filled this gap.

From then on, he was well-equipped with both civil and military officials.

Although there were only two or three of them, they were all outstanding individuals who would be remembered for a time.

One outstanding individual is worth more than a hundred mediocre ones.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Fang Xuanling stood up.

All the civil and military officials on both sides couldn't help but scrutinize Fang Xuanling.

They all wanted to see who Fang Xuanling was, what abilities he had that made him worthy of the Emperor's favor.

Even the Prime Minister Yuan Bo, the Minister of War, and other high-ranking officials were sizing up Fang Xuanling.

Judging from Emperor Zhou Chen's words, they knew that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Fang Xuanling would likely become their colleague in the future.

The Minister of Personnel sat and rose with them.

It can be said to be a step to the sky.

Unfortunately, no matter how they looked at him, none of the officials could see anything special about Fang Xuanling.

Fang Xuanling was dressed in an ordinary long gown, and apart from his calm expression, he really looked no different from an ordinary scholar.

However, even so, none of the officials showed any disrespect for Fang Xuanling.

Those officials who could squeeze into the imperial court of the Golden Palace were all extraordinary individuals.

In their view, Fang Xuanling may look ordinary on the surface, but he must be no ordinary person to be valued by the one on the dragon throne.

Seeing that all the officials were looking at Fang Xuanling, Zhou Chen didn't care and looked directly at Fang Xuanling and said, "Fang Xuanling, from now on, you are the Minister of Personnel of my Great Zhou. I will entrust you with all the officials who are lacking in the court."

"You must fill the vacancies in the court as quickly as possible."

"The Minister of War will also assist you in filling these official positions."

As Zhou Chen spoke, he glanced at the Minister of War.

Zhou Chen knew that Fang Xuanling was new to the capital and would face great obstacles if he didn't have an acquaintance in the court to help him.

Therefore, Zhou Chen asked the Minister of War to assist Fang Xuanling.

With Fang Xuanling's abilities and the assistance of the Minister of War, he was able to achieve this.

Zhou Chen believed that these obstacles should not be a big problem for Fang Xuanling.

After all, the saying "Fang plans and Du makes decisions" is not just empty talk.

Zhou Chen felt at ease entrusting this matter to Fang Xuanling.

Moreover, the Ministry of Personnel's responsibility was to promote and evaluate officials.

Even if someone in the court wanted to cause trouble in secret, they couldn't stop the Ministry of Personnel from fulfilling its original duties.

Upon hearing Zhou Chen's words, Fang Xuanling immediately bowed and said, "Your subject Fang Xuanling obeys the decree."

Zhou Chen had already discussed these things with Fang Xuanling last night when Fang Xuanling came out after signing in.

Fang Xuanling was appointed Minister of Personnel.

In this way, the transfer of official positions and the evaluation of officials in the imperial court were all in Fang Xuanling's hands.

This meant that the decree was essentially in the hands of Emperor Zhou Chen. Therefore, under the scrutinizing gazes of the officials, Fang Xuanling calmly accepted the imperial edict.

Although the officials had anticipated that the emperor would appoint Fang Xuanling as Minister of Personnel.

But when he actually heard Zhou Chen issue this decree, his expression changed somewhat.

Think of all those officials; which one of them didn't spend decades struggling in the officialdom before squeezing into this golden palace?

Fang Xuanling, a commoner, rose to the position of Minister of Personnel, the head of the Six Ministries, in one fell swoop.

How can anyone find peace of mind in this situation?

In particular, Zhou Chen also put Fang Xuanling in charge of filling the gaps in the court with more than twenty officials. Isn't this just cultivating Fang Xuanling's faction?

None of the officials present were not shrewd and capable.

Logically speaking, as the Chancellor Yuan Bo oversees all officials, he should have the right to intervene in such matters.

However, the emperor bypassed the prime minister and directly delegated power to Fang Xuanling.

This inevitably makes people think a lot.

It seems that the Emperor is taking advantage of the downfall of the Grand General's faction to begin consolidating power in the court.

A glint of shrewdness flashed in Prime Minister Yuan Bo's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.

He stood blankly at the front, without any extra expression.

Even the officials could see it, let alone him, the prime minister who had served two dynasties and commanded all the officials.

It's obvious, of course.

In fact, he saw things more clearly than the officials.

However, the one on the dragon throne is currently riding high on the momentum of wiping out the general's family and their relatives.

Even he, as prime minister, had no choice but to temporarily retreat.

To avoid getting burned.

After appointing Fang Xuanling, Zhou Chen looked up and swept his gaze across the officials. "My dear ministers, besides the matter reported by the Minister of War, does anyone else have something to report?"

"emperor."

"This old minister has something to report."

Prime Minister Yuan Bo stepped forward.

Zhou Chen glanced at Prime Minister Yuan Bo with surprise; "Prime Minister, what is it you wish to report?"

"emperor."

"The Grand General and the Empress's faction wield immense power in the court, with numerous followers who can be said to be present both inside and outside the court."

"Although the Grand General, the Empress, and more than twenty officials have been taken down, there are still many of their followers who have not been eliminated."

"In order to prevent these people from causing trouble, I request Your Majesty to issue an order to all the six ministries and government offices in the court to do their utmost to investigate and eliminate the Wu clan's traitorous followers."

Prime Minister Yuan Bo said with a serious expression.

Prime Minister Yuan Bo's words caused the expressions of all the officials to change instantly, and even Zhou Chen on the dragon throne had a flicker in his eyes.

"The Prime Minister is right. The Wu clan has many followers, and we should investigate them thoroughly."

"However, it is enough to leave this matter to the Eastern Depot. There is no need to issue an edict to the Six Ministries and other government offices, so as not to cause turmoil in the court."

Zhou Chen didn't believe it; Prime Minister Yuan Bo couldn't see that he didn't want to expand the scope of the repercussions.

However, Chancellor Yuan Bo stepped forward and submitted a memorial to thoroughly investigate Wu's faction.

What is the Prime Minister trying to do?
Zhou Chen gave Prime Minister Yuan Bo a deep look, then turned to the officials; "Do any other ministers have anything to report?"

"Your Majesty, I have something to report."

Another minister stepped forward.

After more than ten minutes of this, seeing that no one was making any further reports, Zhou Chen finally adjourned the court session, ending the morning court session for the day.

(End of this chapter)