Jiuxi

Chapter 993 991 [Literary Advisor]

December, 17th.

Chengpingfang, Qinwang Mansion.

In the spacious four-sided hall of the front house, a group of military heroes were toasting each other, making the scene very lively.

In addition to Xiao Wangzhi, who entered the palace yesterday to meet the empress dowager and the emperor, resigned from all his positions and returned home to retire, Li Chengen and Liu Yin, who led troops to guard the nine gates of Heluo under Lu Chen's orders, Huo Zhen, who led troops south to set up the Jiangnan camp, and Li Bingxue who was pregnant in the back house of the palace, the rest of the military heroes under Lu Chen's command appeared at the banquet to celebrate his congratulations on being named King of Qin.

"Okay, you guys continue drinking, I won't accompany you."

Lu Chen accepted the offer and then put down the wine cup. He looked at the generals and said, "There is still a lot of time. There is no need to rush. There will be plenty of opportunities to compete with me in drinking in the future. Don't get drunk and let the soldiers below see you."

These words seemed to be about wine, but they seemed to hide some deeper meaning. Even the usually rude Song Shifei smiled meaningfully.

All the generals stood up to see him off.

Lu Chen asked them to eat and drink well, then he walked away, passed through the nine-curve corridor, and came to a rather quiet and elegant side hall.

"I'm going to see you, Your Majesty."

Chen Xun, the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, who had been officially appointed by the court, stood up and saluted.

"No need to be polite, sit down."

Lu Chen smiled and nodded, then looked at the famous scholar from Huaiyou calmly and said slowly: "De Zun, I remember you are thirty-nine years old this year?"

Chen Xun replied, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Lu Chen said, "Yesterday in the palace, Prime Minister Xue recommended you as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Prime Minister Xu recommended you as the Left Censor-in-Chief. Do you know why they did this?"

Chen Xun thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness, I think the two prime ministers did not do this because they admired me, but because they knew the importance of the position of Shuntian Prefecture Governor. Of course, because I am close to Your Highness, they could not directly ask for a replacement, so they offered a high position in the court in exchange for the right to govern Heluo City from Your Highness."

Lu Chen nodded slightly and said, "In your opinion, what is the difference between the positions offered by the two prime ministers?"

"Minister Yin Bo of the Ministry of Justice is a classmate of Prime Minister Xue and one of the few close friends of Prime Minister Xue over the years. He is known for his loyalty and strength. If I were to take up the post of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, regardless of the distinction between public and private matters, it would be extremely difficult for me to gain the approval of Minister Yin. Over time, I would inevitably become a marginal figure. Within the rules of the court, Minister Yin has dozens of ways to make me unable to use my power. At that time, I think it would be inconvenient for Your Majesty to help me, because that would make me appear too incompetent."

Chen Xun did not hide anything and continued, "As for Prime Minister Xu's proposal, the Left Censor-in-Chief is a high-ranking official. Although the current Imperial Censor Zhang Cang has the title of Xiantai, he cannot control the censors of the Imperial Censorate because this is Prime Minister Xu's base. In my opinion, Prime Minister Xu should not deliberately suppress it. As long as I behave properly, the position of Left Censor-in-Chief can help the prince."

Lu Chen asked with interest: "In this case, are you willing to take up the post of the Censorate?"

"The official has no such intention."

Chen Xun shook his head and said frankly, "Your Highness, I am only good at general affairs, not at arguing with others. If I serve as the Left Censor-in-Chief, I will, on the one hand, abandon Shuntian Prefecture and delay Your Highness's plans, and on the other hand, I will not be able to make any achievements, and this important position will be wasted. I dare to recommend Lord Bingyuan as the Left Censor-in-Chief."

Lu Chen stared into his eyes and sighed, "If I couldn't find someone to replace you for the time being, I would really like to push you to the center as soon as possible."

Chen Xun said: "I am very grateful for your support and appreciation. For you, there are three things that are extremely important and you cannot afford to slack off."

"Tell me in detail."

"The first is military power. This is the biggest bargaining chip in the prince's hand, and it is also the reason why all officials in the court dare not move without authorization. In handling military power, the prince must not be lenient. If anyone crosses the line, he must cut off their hands and feet with the force of thunder, otherwise it will inevitably lead to more trouble."

Looking at the murderous look on the civil official's face, Lu Chen said with relief: "That makes sense."

Chen Xun continued, "The second is Shuntian Prefecture. As long as the prince does not give in, I will be firmly nailed to this position. Your Majesty, please do not be careless. Although it has always been difficult to be the chief official of the capital, the role it can play cannot be underestimated. Now the defense of the imperial city is under the control of the imperial guards, and the nine gates of the capital are temporarily under the control of General Li and General Liu. In addition, there are a large army stationed outside the city. On the surface, your majesty is in an absolute advantage. However, once the war breaks out in the capital, there is no turning back. We must kill them all to avoid future troubles. I know your majesty's great ambitions very well, and I will not take this step unless it is absolutely necessary." Lu Chen suppressed his smile and nodded, "Those who know me are Dezun."

Chen Xun said solemnly, "Thank you for your praise, Your Highness. Since Your Highness will not resort to military action, the importance of Shuntian Prefecture is self-evident. The population of the capital city exceeds one million, and it can be said that there are good and bad people, all doing their own things. If you weave carefully, you can pull out a big net. Just like a young idler on the street, you can even connect to the prime minister's mansion through him, and the palace is no exception. Over the past year or so, I have replaced everyone in the government office with trustworthy people. With them as the foundation, I can extend outward and penetrate into all walks of life in the capital city."

He paused for a moment and said seriously, "Whenever there is any disturbance in the palace or in the mansions of high-ranking officials, I will be able to inform Your Majesty immediately. I know Your Majesty has other sources of information, but now that Lord Qin has regained control of the Textile Bureau, I think there will be a lot of clashes between the two sides, and Lord Su may not be Lord Qin's opponent. With the help of Shuntian Prefecture, I can spread this big network, which can not only make up for the lack of intelligence for Your Majesty, but also avoid the eyes and ears of the Textile Bureau, so that Your Majesty can truly and thoroughly control the capital."

From beginning to end, he remained very calm, but these words had a great impact on Lu Chen.

Lu Chen stood up, paced with his hands behind his back, and said slowly: "I will assign another group of people to you, and you will have full authority to deploy them."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your trust."

Chen Xun also stood up and said, "The third thing is also the most important thing. The prince must implement other subsequent new policies as soon as possible."

Lu Chen nodded and said, "I have been planning this for a long time, and I will submit a memorial to request its implementation at the beginning of the year."

Chen Xun looked at his profile, hesitated for a moment, and then made up his mind and said, "Your Majesty, I fully agree with your decision."

Lu Chen turned and looked at him inquiringly.

Chen Xun said: "Your Highness now holds full military power. It is not impossible for him to force a change of dynasty. Although bloodshed is inevitable, as long as enough people are killed, the voices of opposition will gradually disappear. However, doing so will bring endless troubles."

"Sit down and talk."

Lu Chen did not give a clear answer to this matter, but he really wanted to know what this famous scholar from Huaiyou thought.

After Chen Xun sat down, he said slowly, "Although the prince has made great contributions, the royal family has not lost the support of the scholars and the people. Although slaughtering can force the officials to obey, it will cause resistance in the country. Let's not talk about how history will comment on it. At least it will allow the Jing Kingdom in the north to recover. In the future, it will inevitably lose sight of internal and external troubles."

"Yes."

"So, Your Majesty has always been cautious and self-restrained, not putting yourself in the crosshairs of thousands of people. This is the wisest choice."

Chen Xun's eyes became clearer, and he continued, "What I just said about implementing the new policy is to imagine the future situation for the prince. The new policy will inevitably affect the interests of many powerful officials and gentry. The prince, as the initiator, can take the credit, and the secretary, as the implementer, can avoid the resentment. At the same time, in this process, the officialdom will definitely be shaken, and some people will be demoted and some will be promoted. Those officials who have been promoted understand that their own interests are tied to the prince. Only by closely surrounding the prince and only by continuously and deeply implementing the new policy, their official positions will be stable!"

Lu Chen's eyes lit up and he nodded, "Continue."

"I need to stay in Shuntian Prefecture. Since Prime Minister Xu has given up the post of Left Censor, Your Majesty can accept it and let Brother Liu Yuan take over. He has always been fearless of power and hates evil. He is meticulous and eloquent. He will definitely overthrow a large number of officials in the process of implementing the new policy. In this way, Your Majesty can sit firmly in the temple and calmly build up his own power in the court. This is what all officials want. In addition, Your Majesty can show favor to young scholars, promote talents in an unconventional way, and appropriately increase the number of special examinations. In this way, you can win the hearts of the scholars in a very short time."

Chen Xun looked at Lu Chen who was lost in thought and smiled, "At the same time, the implementation of the new policy will benefit the common people. The prince still has the Lu family business, and there are plenty of people to spread the word. As long as the people know who is making profits for them, they will naturally side with him. In three years at most, the world will spread the news of the prince's benevolence, and the prince can win the hearts of the people."

Lu Chen said: "Your clear analysis has helped me to sort out the messy thoughts in my mind. In fact, you could have said it earlier."

"To be honest with you, Your Highness, I have been thinking a lot in secret over the past year, but I dare not speak rashly about major policies because I don't know what Your Highness is planning. However, the current situation is urgent for Your Highness. Once Your Highness is held back by the Royal Family, you will think that the Royal Family will automatically give in sooner or later, but you ignore the fact that people's hearts are treacherous and it is difficult to distinguish the true from the false. In three to five years, there will be unspeakable chaos. Your Highness cares about the world and does not want the country to fall into internal friction, so I dare to speak frankly."

Chen Xun's eyes lit up, and he said firmly: "Your Highness already has the support of the army. If you can also win the support of the officials, the scholars, and the people, you can march north to capture Jingguo in two or three years. By then, the whole world will be united, so why worry about not accomplishing great things? With such a great achievement that will shock the world and enrich the world, Your Highness's ascension to the supreme throne is the wish of the whole world. Your possession of the country is enough to lay the foundation for future generations!"

It was not until this moment that he finally showed some excitement, and his voice trembled slightly.

Lu Chen looked at this loyal subordinate who had been following him for many years and worked hard without complaint, and smiled, "De Zun, are you willing to work with me to create a prosperous era?"

Chen Xun felt relieved. He stood up, bowed, and said solemnly, "I am honored to meet a wise master. I am willing to serve you like a dog or a horse. I will not regret it even if I die nine times!"

(End of this chapter)