Thief Emperor

Chapter 1003: Public loyalty to the country!

The next day, in the Secretariat.

At this time, among the five prime ministers in the Council of State, Prime Minister Yao Zhong followed the emperor on his eastern tour, while Prime Minister Zhuo Guangrui and Prime Minister Tao Wenyuan were both confined to their homes awaiting punishment. In the entire court, the only prime ministers who were truly in charge were Du Qian and Xu Ang.

Because there were too few people and too many things to do, Xu Ang, who was originally in charge of the Imperial Censorate, was also pulled by Du Qian to the Secretariat to become a full-time prime minister. At this time, Prime Minister Xu looked at Du Qian, shook his head slightly and said, "Prime Minister Du, His Majesty is not in Luoyang now, and the position of prime minister is vacant. There are many things to do every day. We should play it safe at this moment and wait until His Majesty returns before making any major moves."

"How can we allow the prince to torment us at a time like this?"

Du Qian lowered his head to drink tea, then poured a cup for Xu Ang. After a moment of silence, he said, "Brother Ziwang, this is a reasonable and legal matter. How can we refuse it?"

Investigating and punishing corrupt officials is a matter of course. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is the heir to the throne, and when he brings up this matter, if a minister refuses, then he would be suspected of shielding corrupt officials.

Even if Du Qian had the ability and power to refuse, he would not allow others to criticize him on such a matter.

As the prime minister and the head of all court officials, no matter how great Du Qian's prestige is, there are countless people eyeing his position, openly or secretly, who may jump out to take a bite of him and bring him down at any time.

Xu Ang was startled when he heard this, then thought about it for a while, sighed and said: "What Prime Minister Du said makes sense. I am not in Prime Minister Du's position, so I have not considered it briefly."

Du Qian waved his hand and said, "If His Royal Highness wants to do something, even if it is a little hard, we, as his subjects, should cooperate with His Royal Highness."

Xu Ang sat next to Du Qian and shook his head slightly, saying, "Prime Minister Du, it has been eight years since the founding of the country. In these eight years, which of us has not been busy? I am never afraid of any hardship, I am just worried..."

"Your Majesty is not in Luoyang, someone might take advantage of this matter to mess things up. If it is really up to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to do this, who knows if someone will..."

Xu Ang said this, stood up and walked to the door of the Political Affairs Hall, closed the door, and then sat back next to Du Qian, whispering: "Who knows if someone will take this opportunity to attack dissidents?"

Du Qian was startled, then frowned and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, at this age, shouldn't have such thoughts."

"The prince didn't."

Xu Ang lowered his voice and said, "It's possible that there are officials from the Eastern Palace."

"How long has His Royal Highness the Crown Prince been involved in government affairs? How many officials has the Eastern Palace recommended?"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Du also remained silent.

The Crown Prince's participation in government affairs is basically equivalent to that of a prime minister, and a prime minister of a very high status. Even in the Council of State, he has a very high say. So when the Council of State discusses filling vacancies, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince naturally has a say.

Moreover, after the Emperor allowed His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to participate in politics, the Eastern Palace naturally had the power to recommend officials. For example, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince could recommend those officials of the Eastern Palace to various positions.

This kind of thing is not just about the power of the crown prince, it is also something that the crown prince must do, because the crown prince's participation in politics is actually learning how to be an emperor.

This process is also the process of expansion of the Eastern Palace's power.

If the Crown Prince is to become a mature heir to the throne, the Eastern Palace must be allowed to expand. This is also the reason why the job of Crown Prince has always been a high-risk one.

Mr. Du put down the tea in his hand, looked up at Xu Ang, a little surprised.

He hadn't thought so deeply before.

However, Xu Ang's reaction was not surprising.

Lord Xu and Lord Du, like all the prime ministers in the Secretariat, are on the emperor's side and are the emperor's direct descendants. They cannot be considered to be in the same faction as the Eastern Palace. It can even be said that they are two conflicting factions.

The growth process of the Donggong faction is actually the process of slowly replacing people like Du Qian.

To put it bluntly, when the crown prince ascends the throne in the future, the new emperor will have his own ministers. The first priority for the new emperor after he ascends the throne is to gradually eliminate and replace these old ministers.

Du Xianggong was silent for a long time before he shook his head and said, "Brother Ziwang is indeed a senior imperial censor for many years. He has a more profound view of things than I do."

Mr. Xu also lowered his head to drink tea and said, "In my opinion, the Crown Prince wants to punish corrupt officials in Jingzhao Prefecture and Henan Province. This may not be the Crown Prince's own idea. It may be the idea of ​​those officials in the Eastern Palace."

Xu Ang paused and continued, "Eight years have passed. Most of the positions in Jingzhao Prefecture and Henan Province have been filled, especially the important positions, where there is a lot of room for manpower. If they want to fill these important positions, don't they have to use this as an excuse to get more positions?"

When the Eastern Palace recommends officials, as long as their qualifications and resume are not a problem, the Council of State and the Ministry of Personnel will not be too reluctant to approve them. Especially when the Emperor is not around, everyone will give face to the Crown Prince and basically, anyone they recommend will be approved.

Even if the emperor returned, he would not withdraw the officials recommended by the Eastern Palace, because if the emperor rejected all the officials recommended by his son, then the political status of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would immediately disappear.

This prince could no longer be a prince. Du Qian poured a cup of tea for Xu Ang, sighed, and whispered: "Brother Ziwang, in all dynasties, as long as the East Palace governs the country, it will naturally occupy a seat in the court. His Majesty also tacitly approved this matter."

"The official knows."

Mr. Xu took the tea and shook his head slightly, saying, "But I think this matter should be carried out in a restrained manner, at least under the supervision of Your Majesty, Your Highness the Crown Prince..."

"You're still too young."

"Prime Minister Du also said just now that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is eager to push this matter forward and doesn't even plan to have any rules. If there are no rules, can the East Palace just pull someone out of any vacancy it wants?"

"This subordinate is not trying to quarrel with the Eastern Palace. On the contrary, this subordinate wants to protect the Eastern Palace."

Xu Ang said solemnly: "Many things can only be done little by little, not quickly. If you rush, changes will occur, and it may not affect the blood relatives of the Heavenly Family."

This was too sensitive, even Du Qian's face changed. He quickly waved his hand, signaling Xu Ang not to continue. After a long while, Du Xianggong finally came to his senses and smiled bitterly, "Brother Ziwang is really a straightforward person. His words are simply scary."

He paused, and continued, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is the Queen's son, and he is the eldest son, making him a safe heir to the throne."

"Nothing will happen."

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has a legitimate identity, and his mother, Queen Xue, can be said to be the "mistress" of the old anti-theft team. In other words, the military is likely to support His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

This position is impregnable.

"You understand this principle, Prime Minister Du, and I can understand it, but at His Royal Highness's age, he may not understand it. If there are people with bad intentions among the officials of the East Palace, who talk nonsense in front of His Royal Highness and secretly instigate..."

Having said this, Xu Ang did not continue speaking, but opened his mouth and said: "Prime Minister Du, I feel that as key ministers, we should not allow this situation to happen. The expansion of the Eastern Palace must be suppressed and we cannot let them expand too quickly."

He looked at Du Qian and whispered, "Prime Minister Du, I am one of the three judicial officials. I will handle this matter myself."

Du Xianggong stood up, pulled Xu Ang's sleeve, and said with a wry smile: "Brother Ziwang, aren't you afraid of offending the East Palace?"

"I'm not afraid."

Minister Xu said sternly, "I don't have much popularity, and I have no intention of retiring from the court in this life. Only I am the most suitable person to do this. Minister Du, you are the one in charge of the overall situation."

"Just stand by and watch."

It was well known in the court that Prime Minister Xu was known as the Iron-faced Man in those days. Because of his impartiality, he offended countless court officials.

In recent years, after he remarried and had a child, his situation had finally eased a little, but he was still a lone minister who was only loyal to the emperor and never formed cliques.

Therefore, it was a miracle that he could be appointed as prime minister. After all, a prime minister needs to have the ability to coordinate all parties.

At this time, even Du Qian couldn't help but become serious after hearing Xu Ang's words. He stood up, bowed to Xu Ang and said, "Brother Ziwang is a very admirable person."

Minister Xu shook his head and said, "As a prime minister who came from the Three Judicial Departments and is also in charge of the Imperial Censorate, this is what I should do. After Prime Minister Du, I will contact the people in the Eastern Palace or His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"When it comes to punishing corruption, let them come to me and I will take charge of the matter."

"I am here. I will investigate the corrupt officials and handle the cases that need to be handled, but I will not be in a very important position."

"In any case, we have to wait until His Majesty returns."

Xu Ziwang said sternly, "I will bear the pressure from the Eastern Palace."

Du Qian bowed again and said, "I will write a letter and report this matter to the emperor in secret."

Xu Ang looked at him and shook his head, saying, "Once this matter is reported, it will be suspected of stirring up trouble among the royal family's blood relatives. I will report it to you, and Prime Minister Du does not need to come forward."

"Prime Minister Du is the pillar of the court and cannot be shaken."

Du Qian's face was full of admiration. He bowed his head again and smiled bitterly.

"Brother Ziwang is loyal to the country, and I am far behind him."

(End of this chapter)