Jiuxi

Chapter 595 [One Step]

The commotion caused by Xin Yixian's words was gradually expanding.

There was a very strange phenomenon. What the ministers were most concerned about at this moment was not the emperor on the dragon throne, nor Lu Chen who was in the vortex.

But it was the middle-aged official standing third among the civil officials.

The Minister of Personnel, Zhong Cheng.

This Shangshu Zhong also came from a family that passed down farming and reading. Although he was not as powerful as the Nine Great Families of Jiangnan, he was definitely not a poor family.

His own resume can be regarded as a model of the path of advancement for civil officials. He passed the palace examination and became the top scorer, and then stayed in the Hanlin Academy. After editing books for six years, he was promoted to the position of Imperial Lecturer. After another three years, he became the Imperial Reader. He was transferred to the Imperial College and then returned to the Hanlin Academy as a scholar, in charge of this noble place for the storage of prime ministers.

Zhong Cheng had no experience of being sent to work outside the capital, but this did not affect the possibility of him being appointed as prime minister, because the Great Qi Dynasty did not require the prime minister to have experience in governing a place.

In contrast, Li Shizhi served as the chief examiner of the imperial examination this year as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, which made his position in the court instantly become very popular. Zhong Cheng presided over the imperial examination as a Hanlin scholar six years ago, and his disciples had long become a new force in the court.

Especially during the several large-scale upheavals in the court last year, many of the officials who came to power were his followers.

Now that Zhong Chenggui is a heavenly official, his every word and action will attract attention, and some officials are gathering under his wing.

Taking a closer look at the structure of the Great Qi court after the new monarch ascended the throne, Li Daoyan was still undoubtedly the head of all officials, but given his age, it was obvious that he could not hold on for too long.

As the right prime minister, Xue Nanting actually had no shortage of supporters. However, he had fought too fiercely with the Jiangnan clans over the years, and his temperament was too upright, which meant that he was destined to be unable to live in harmony with the world like Li Daoyan, which also prevented him from building up a large inner circle of supporters.

Under such circumstances, Zhong Cheng's rise led to the emergence of a third pole in the court.

At this moment, he became the focus of attention of all officials because Xin Yixian was his former subordinate.

Hanlin Academy is Zhong Cheng's territory for more than ten years. Even though he has been promoted to the Minister of Personnel, others would not think that the new Hanlin scholar Mu Hanbo could replace his position in the minds of Hanlin Academy officials in just half a year.

Xin Yixian suddenly jumped out to make a fuss. How could others not suspect that this was Zhong Cheng's instruction?

The important ministers looked calm and did not deliberately look at the expression of the Minister of Personnel. Zhong Cheng still maintained his calm and indifferent demeanor and did not even turn around to look at Xin Yixian.

Li Zongben remained silent, as if thinking about whether to adopt Xin Yixian's suggestion.

At this time, another official came out and said, "Your Majesty, the ancient sages once said that rewards should be given according to the work, and those without merit will retreat; punishments should be given according to the crime, and those who do evil will be afraid. From this point of view, the merits of Shanyang Marquis must be rewarded. I agree with what Mr. Xin said!"

The person was Shen Yu, the Deputy Director of the Seal Verification Department of the Ministry of Personnel.

The Verification and Seal Office was in charge of matters such as conferring titles, inheritance, commendations, and official accounts, and provided very important reference opinions for the decision-making of the Minister of Personnel.

If Xin Yixian's previous suggestion only caused a commotion, Shen Yu's appearance made many people change their expressions slightly.

Could it be that at the first grand court meeting after the new monarch ascends the throne, there will be a disturbance led by the Minister of Personnel Zhong Cheng, who is intended to put Shanyang Marquis Lu Chen to death?

Of course, Zhong Cheng could not admit it, nor did he need to admit that the actions of these officials were instigated by him. The problem was that Xin Yixian and Shen Yu were too closely related to him. It didn't matter whether he admitted it or not, and others would only put the blame on him.

The storm did not subside. The Assistant Censor of the Censorate Lu Ying and the Director of the Imperial Household Department Wang Tongji stepped forward one after another, citing classics to discuss the matter, as if the court did not confer the title of Duke on Lu Chen, the consequences would become extremely serious.

Amidst the chaos, Li Zongben coughed lightly and said calmly, "Is there any other noble who would like to make a report on this matter?"

The ministers looked around, and then an official in his forties came out leisurely and said loudly: "Your Majesty, I have a memorial to report."

Li Zongben looked up and saw Pei Fangyuan, the Imperial College's chief academic officer, and said, "Tell me about it."

Pei Fangyuan has always been very low-key in the court of Da Qi. Although his official career was not as smooth as Zhong Cheng's, it did not have too many setbacks. In addition, he was humble and introverted, so his reputation as an official was pretty good.

Seeing him show up at this moment, all the officials couldn't help but become more surprised.

They all knew that Zhong Cheng had once served as the chief academic officer of the Imperial College. Although the time was short, only one year and two months, he could be considered Pei Fangyuan's former superior.

Could it be that Pei Jijiu also wanted to second the motion? Could it be that he also received instructions from Minister Zhong?
At this time, Pei Fangyuan said leisurely: "Your Majesty, I think what Shanyang Hou said before was very sincere. Da Qi is lucky to have such a loyal and cautious official. Since Shanyang Hou believes that the credit of this battle should belong to everyone, and he just did his duty, I think we should respect Shanyang Hou's insistence."

There was a solemn silence in the hall.

In fact, it is not difficult to guess what Xin Yixian and others are thinking. Although a new emperor appoints new ministers, considering Lu Chen's qualifications and merits, it is wishful thinking to suppress or attack him now.

Only by placing him on a high pedestal and letting him be scrutinized by the people of the world at all times can we achieve the effect of praising him to death.

It's an old-fashioned approach, but it works well.

The higher a person's status, the greater the pressure he will bear. The simplest example is that the hard-faced and cruel censors in the Censorate would make trouble for the high-ranking officials in the court every now and then, and even Li Daoyan was no exception, let alone Lu Chen who was only in his twenties?

The ministers just didn't expect Pei Fangyuan to speak up for Lu Chen. They originally thought that Pei Jijiu would continue to add fuel to the fire.

Li Zongben nodded slightly and said, "Pei Qing is right."

Pei Fangyuan continued, "Your Majesty, in fact, the suggestions of Xin Xueshi and others are reasonable. The border troops have won a series of victories, and the court has rewarded the meritorious officials. This is a good thing that everyone is happy about. Moreover, these adults said it in unison, which I think can also represent the appreciation of the colleagues in the court for the border army commanders. I think that whether it is Shanyang Hou's active refusal or the suggestions of Xin Xueshi and others, it can prove that all the officials in the court are doing their best to serve the Great Qi, and there is no right or wrong."

Li Daoyan suddenly turned his head and glanced at Pei Fangyuan.

Pei Fangyuan noticed the old prime minister's gaze and quietly lowered his head to avoid his sight.

A strange atmosphere spread.

On the surface, Pei Fangyuan was talking nonsense, but the four words "in unison" made Xin Yixian and others change their expressions slightly, and made Zhong Cheng's eyes even colder.

If there is no prior connection, how can we speak in unison?
Things like telepathy can only be used to deceive the world, but not the officials in the court.

At this point, many people have become convinced that this is the first time that Zhong Cheng has shown his prowess in the court after taking charge of the Ministry of Personnel. Unfortunately, Zhong Cheng is not in a position to show up. At least, no matter what he says at this moment, it will only become a footnote to Pei Fangyuan's words.

Zhong Cheng secretly wondered why this cold wind was coming towards him?

He certainly did not instruct Xin Yixian and others, and it was even more impossible for him to do such a thing, because no matter whether Lu Chen went further or not, what did it have to do with him as the Minister of Personnel?

Even if Lu Chen was conferred the title of a prince, he could not extend his hand to the Ministry of Personnel.

At this moment, Zhong Cheng suddenly realized that someone had set his sights on him, but he was not sure who had such a plan for the time being.

Provoking the relationship between him and Lu Chen was obviously just the first step.

In the court, all officials had their own thoughts. Li Zongben took in the reactions of those important officials, then looked at Li Daoyan and asked, "According to Prime Minister Li, how should I reward the Marquis of Shanyang?"

Li Daoyan's mind suddenly emerged the conversation he had with the late emperor in the imperial garden that day.

The old man looked up at the young emperor, and saw some hesitation and uneasiness in his eyes. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

The new emperor suddenly came to power and obviously had not yet fully adapted. Or perhaps the repression he had experienced over the past decade had made him unable to control his emotions for a while. He did not consider that as the Son of Heaven, his every word and action would affect the direction of the court.

If he had not made his attitude clear in advance, he would have been able to calmly refuse even if more court officials had made a fuss, and would not have been in the passive situation he is in now.

The emperor took the initiative, and his ministers followed suit. What was wrong with Xin Yixian and others?
The most important thing is that as the emperor, you have already expressed your position. Are you going to slap yourself in the face now?

Obviously, Li Zongben also realized that his actions today were inappropriate. He should at least ask Lu Chen's opinion in advance. The other party was not a seventh-rank official who could be dealt with at will by him, but a pillar of the country who could influence the situation on the border.

The old man felt a wave of fatigue coming over him, but he could not sit idly by because he had promised the late emperor that he would support the Great Qi Dynasty.

It is understandable that the new monarch is still immature in handling government affairs.

Perhaps he just wanted to show favor to Lu Chen to prove that he would unswervingly follow the late emperor's will, but he didn't think it through carefully enough.

Seeing the slightly embarrassed expression of the emperor, Li Daoyan said slowly: "Your Majesty, I think the suggestions of Xin Xueshi and others should be adopted, but the imperial court has its own rules for granting titles. Shanyang Hou has made outstanding contributions, but the previous emperor has never failed to reward him in recent years, so the title of Duke is really not appropriate. Therefore, I think the title of County Duke is the right one."

This is a mature and prudent statement, and it can also give an explanation for all aspects.

Li Zongben breathed a sigh of relief, turned to look at Lu Chen and said: "Shanyang Hou, I know you are loyal to the country, but I still hope you can accept this reward, so that it can further encourage the border soldiers to fight bravely and not fear the strong enemy."

The eyes of all civil and military officials were focused on Lu Chen.

Lu Chen had been silent for a long time. During this time, he thought about many problems and remembered many details that he had overlooked before.

He looked up at the emperor sitting on the dragon throne and saw a hint of apology on his face. This time he did not continue to refuse. He stepped forward and bowed.

"I dare not refuse the title bestowed by the Lord."

At this moment, many people felt relieved and were glad that Lu Chen did not continue to be stubborn and did not cause more turmoil in this court meeting.

But no one noticed that there was an inexplicable hint of meaning in the eyes of this newly-appointed young duke.

(End of this chapter)