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Chapter 459 Wang Family (Part )

Prime Minister Wang said nothing and stared at his son.

Wang Jin's expression changed constantly, his eyes revealed struggle and pain, and after a long while he whispered, "We must save him. It's not difficult to save my brother's life, but it's impossible for him to continue to be the governor of Jiangnan."

Prime Minister Wang's expression eased slightly: "At least you still have some brotherhood. You haven't been blinded by power."

The human heart is so strange. Prime Minister Wang is selfish and greedy, and will do anything to gain power, but when it comes to his own son, he hopes that they can have a deep brotherly love and support each other.

Wang Jin, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, has always been caught between loyalty and filial piety, struggling and suffering all the time, and only he himself understands it clearly.

Seeing his father's approval, Wang Jin didn't know what to feel. After a moment of silence, he asked, "What is father going to do?"

After Prime Minister Wang calmed down, he said, "According to the rules of the court, if you are impeached by officials, you should come to the capital to meet the emperor and defend yourself."

"I will write a letter to your brother right now, asking him to honestly confess his guilt and not make any more trouble. At most, he will lose his official position, pay some money, save his life, and be quiet for a few years. He can then seek reinstatement in the future. Just like Zuo Feng, the sword is temporarily sheathed, but there will always be a day when it will be unsheathed again in the future."

"You don't need to worry about this matter, and you don't need to speak for your brother in front of the emperor. Just let the Zheng family father and son jump around and be proud for a while."

Wang Jin felt something was wrong with the voice and looked up: "How is father going to fight back?"

Prime Minister Wang sneered: "The Zheng family relied on the support of the Empress Dowager to act so arrogantly in the court. Now they are getting bolder and bolder, and have even reached into our territory. If I don't teach them a lesson, they will think that this is the Zheng family's world."

"The Wang family has a useless brother like you! Doesn't the Zheng family have any unpromising children and grandchildren? Is the palace clean? Just wait and see!"

Just a few words revealed the bloody storm.

Wang Jin was frightened when he heard this and wanted to say something, but when he saw his old father's cold and gloomy face, he swallowed his words back silently.

……

The next day, Prime Minister Wang personally submitted a memorial, admitting that he had failed to educate his son and requesting to resign from the position of Prime Minister.

Emperor Taihe of course refused resolutely and tried to comfort Prime Minister Wang with kind words.

Prime Minister Wang burst into tears and knelt down in front of all the ministers. Then he returned to the palace and stayed indoors.

Zhang Shangshu, Zhou Shangshu, Dai Shangshu and others took turns to go to the palace to comfort Wang, but were all turned away. Emperor Taihe sent his confidant, Eunuch Ge, to comfort Prime Minister Wang. Prime Minister Wang could not turn Eunuch Ge away, so he met him.

After returning to the palace, Eunuch Ge reported: "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Wang felt so guilty about his eldest son's excessive greed that he fell ill after returning home. When I saw Prime Minister Wang, he looked haggard and extremely weak, and he didn't even have the strength to speak."

"Prime Minister Wang asked me to bring a message to the Emperor, saying that he is old and incompetent, has failed to educate his children, and is now seriously ill. Please ask the Emperor to choose another capable and virtuous minister to be the Prime Minister."

Emperor Taihe frowned and said, "Once a prime minister is appointed, how can he be replaced at will? Governor Wang is corrupt and solicits bribes, so I have to punish him. However, the Wang family will never be implicated. Why should Prime Minister Wang blame himself?"

"Go to the palace now and tell Prime Minister Wang what I said. Let Prime Minister Wang take care of his health and return to the court as soon as possible." Eunuch Ge continued to run errands. Less than two hours later, he came back to report: "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Wang is grateful for your great grace and said that he will take care of his health and work hard to repay your grace."

Emperor Taihe then breathed a sigh of relief.

It was obviously too early to relax.

Prime Minister Wang's illness lasted for more than half a month and there was no sign of improvement.

The court affairs were piled up like a mountain, and Emperor Taihe would read the memorials until late at night. He had to personally review every memorial and make decisions on major and minor matters. On ordinary days, only important memorials would be presented to the emperor, and minor matters would usually be handled by Prime Minister Wang, without having to be presented to the emperor at all.

Only at this moment did the importance of Prime Minister Wang become apparent.

When Prime Minister Wang fell ill, Emperor Taihe's workload increased by more than three times, and he suddenly felt extremely exhausted. Several Zhongshu Sheren accompanied the emperor every day and often discussed political affairs.

Li Boyuan was a rough man, not particular about details, and not meticulous. Jiang Yi got a headache when he saw the memorials, and the most he did was to serve tea and water, and order the imperial meals and midnight snacks.

Wang Jin and Zheng Chen both had their own opinions, but they had different political views and often argued with each other. Sometimes, not only could they not relieve the emperor's worries, but they also made him more upset and headache.

"Wang Sheren, you don't have to serve me anymore." Emperor Taihe could no longer bear it and finally said to Wang Jin, "Go back to the palace to take care of your father. When your father is well, both father and son can return to the court together."

Wang Jin responded respectfully, "Your Majesty has good intentions. I thank you on behalf of my father. However, my father has already instructed me to focus on my duties and share the worries of the Majesty. My father is fine, but he is old and worried too much, and his body is weak. He can only be nursed back to health."

How long will this last?
Once the prime minister, he resigned under the pretext of recuperating from illness. Wasn't this forcing the emperor to give in and spare Wang Yi who had been escorted to the capital?
Emperor Taihe was filled with anger, but he couldn't say a word. So he felt even more frustrated.

Zheng Chen privately said: "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Wang is simply pretending to be sick in order to force Your Majesty. Your Majesty must hold on and not let Wang Yi off easily!"

"Wang Yi has embezzled a huge amount of money and the evidence is irrefutable. Your Majesty can deal with it impartially, and this will cut off one of Prime Minister Wang's legs. From now on, even if Prime Minister Wang returns to the court, he will lose his confidence and will never be able to control the court again."

Emperor Taihe glanced at Zheng Chen and said, "You said it lightly. I severely punished Wang Yi, which made Prime Minister Wang lose face. If Prime Minister Wang really insists on resigning, who in the court can replace Prime Minister Wang?"

No matter how confident Zheng Chen was, he couldn't say the four words "I can replace you".

The prime minister of Daliang is the head of all officials. He must be well-versed in government affairs and familiar with forty states and three hundred counties. He must have the strong support of a group of ministers and disciples. Only then can he sit firmly in the position and maintain stability in the court.

His age and experience were both disadvantages. The officials of the Grand Empress Dowager Party recognized the Grand Empress Dowager and the Duke of Anguo, not the seventeen-year-old Zheng Sheren.

"Among the six ministers, we can promote a civil official to replace Prime Minister Wang." Zheng Chen whispered, "Minister Zhang, Minister Dai, and Minister Zhou are all on the same side as Prime Minister Wang. We can choose one between Minister Ji and Minister Li."

Minister Ji is the father of the late Empress Ji, and Minister Li is the biological father of Concubine Li.

One is the grandfather of the emperor in name, and the other is the grandfather of the emperor in blood. No matter who becomes the prime minister, it is a good thing for Emperor Taihe.