Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 375 Advice
These titles posthumously conferred by Zhao Xing were all standard titles for retired ministers.

It just sounds nice, but has no practical benefit.

Normally, some money will be awarded, and some will even be awarded to individual hospitals for temporary retirement care.

In addition to this, there is another title called Zhishi Enfeng.

When he retired, he would grant a number of his descendants official titles through his inheritance.

Note, it’s a batch, not just one or two.

And one or two of his descendants will be promoted.

But Zhao Xing did not reward him.

Li Jin was tactful and willing to resign, and Zhao Xing did not care about reputation.

But if you want actual benefits, forget it.

"Thank you very much, Your Majesty, for your grace!" Li Jin bowed.

From Li Jin's letter of resignation to Zhao Xing's acceptance and announcement of posthumous rewards, to Li Jin's thanks in the end.

The whole process sounds long, but it is actually very short.

It was so short that before all the officials had recovered from the shock of Li Jin's resignation, the matter had already become an established fact.

Zhao Xing was worried that someone would object, so after Li Jin thanked him, he waved his hand and asked him to return to his seat.

"The Privy Council is in charge of military mobilization throughout the country. The position of Privy Councilor is very important. Do you have any suitable people to recommend?" Zhao Xing asked.

Although the status of the Privy Councilor is equivalent to that of a prime minister, there are several prime ministers but only one Privy Councilor.

In fact, although the Privy Councilor is on the same level as the Prime Minister, in terms of actual power, the Privy Councilor is slightly higher than the Prime Minister.

The establishment of the Privy Council and the Three Departments was originally intended to divide the power of the prime minister. In addition, the Song Dynasty had a multi-prime minister system, so the prime minister was naturally slightly lower than the Privy Councilor.

If court officials were ranked according to their powers, the highest would be the Grand Prime Minister, followed by the Privy Councilor, and then a few Prime Ministers.

This is evident from the position, and this is also the reason why Han Zhang said that with the support of the Privy Councilor, troops can be sent.

It's not simply because the Privy Council is in charge of military mobilization.

Naturally, many people would want to compete for such an important position.

After Zhao Xing agreed to Li Jin's resignation, he wanted to decide on the candidate on the spot.

Otherwise, once those officials are given time to form cliques, there will be no peace in the court.

The most important thing is that it is very difficult for Zhao Xing to support the person he chooses to take the position.

All the civil and military officials in the court were still thinking about the reason why Li Jin resigned, but when they heard Zhao Xing asking about the candidate for the Privy Councilor, they immediately put aside their distracting thoughts.

The most urgent task for them was to fight for the position of Privy Councilor.

But before they could speak, Han Zhang stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, I think Zeng Gongliang, the co-prime minister, is suitable to be the Privy Councilor. Zeng Gongliang has made great achievements in all the positions he has held. He also participated in the compilation of the "Military Classics" and is very proficient in military tactics!"

"I have heard a lot about the talent of Zeng Aiqing. My father has also praised you many times. And you have been recommended by the Prime Minister, so let Zeng Aiqing be the envoy of the Privy Council. As for the position of Co-Prime Minister, leave it vacant for the time being until I think of a suitable candidate," said Zhao Xing.

"I thank Your Majesty for your trust. I will do my best to repay your grace!" Zeng Gongliang stepped out and said.

At this time, all the civil and military officials in the court had also tasted the flavor.

From Li Jin's resignation to Zeng Gongliang's appointment as Privy Councilor, Zhao Xing must have arranged all of this long ago.

Today's morning court session was just a formality for them to see.

From beginning to end, Zhao Xing did not give them a chance to speak.

With Zeng Gongliang's qualifications, he was fully qualified to take over as Privy Councilor, and they couldn't even object to it.

Most importantly, Zhao Xing concealed the truth so well that the various factions in the court had no time to discuss it. In addition, Zeng Gongliang was not from any faction, so no one objected. "Your Majesty!"

Wang Anshi stepped out and said, "It has been more than half a month since the palace examination ended, and the scholars are eagerly waiting for the results."

"I have already drawn up the rankings for the palace examination, and the notice will be posted at Donghua Gate tomorrow. It happens that the Xixia envoys will arrive in the Song Dynasty tomorrow, and the new Jinshi will ride on horses and parade through the streets, allowing the Xixia envoys to see the elegance of our Song Dynasty scholars. As for the Qionglin Banquet, I am busy with government affairs, so you can host it for me." Zhao Xing said.

"I obey your order!" Wang Anshi bowed and retreated.

Zhao Xing gestured to Sanshui, who took two steps forward and shouted, "If nothing else, leave the court!"

"Your Majesty, we respectfully bid farewell to you!" All the officials bowed and shouted in unison.

After Zhao Xing stood up and left the hall, all the officials stood up and left the hall one after another.

"Mr. Li!"

Hu Zhongyan hurriedly caught up with Li Jin and said, "Mr. Li is so agile, why is he in such a hurry to resign? Your Majesty said that Mr. Li is the pillar of the country. How can Mr. Li be greedy for enjoyment and not continue to work hard for the court and the Song Dynasty? Or is there another hidden reason for Mr. Li's resignation?"

"I have already said in the court that I am short of energy. What does this have to do with whether my legs and feet are flexible?"

Li Jin glanced at Hu Zhongyan calmly and said, "Minister Hu, don't waste your time. For the sake of our being colleagues, I will give you a piece of advice. Sometimes resigning may not be a bad thing."

After saying that, he ignored Hu Zhongyan and left.

Hu Zhongyan looked at Li Jin's departing back with a gloomy expression.

Li Jin's resignation was irreversible. He stopped Li Jin not because he wanted to know the specific reasons from Li Jin.

After all, since Li Jin chose to resign, there must be a reason why he had to resign, and it was impossible for him to tell him.

He wanted to see if Li Jin had any resentment in his heart, so that he could secretly arrange for someone to spread some rumors.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s true or not. As long as Li Jin holds resentment in his heart and doesn’t come out to explain, what’s false will become true.

As a result, Li Jin gave him a lesson in return.

"Humph!" Hu Zhongyan snorted coldly, thinking to himself: "Do you think you'll be alright if you resign? People are gone and the government doesn't reward you with anything except some honorary titles. Who would care about you, a resigned privy councilor?"

…………

Zhao Xing returned to Longtu Pavilion and took a nap. After dawn, he got up, had breakfast, and began to review the notes.

At this time, Sanshui came in and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, the Emperor has sent someone to invite Your Majesty to go to Xingming Palace."

"understood."

Zhao Xing had long expected that his father would definitely look for him when he learned the news of Li Jin's resignation, so he was not surprised.

He arrived at Xingming Palace in a sedan chair, but was taken to a small garden inside the palace by a eunuch.

There is a small garden covering an area of ​​more than 20 acres in the Xingming Palace. Although it cannot be compared with the Imperial Garden, it has everything including pavilions, towers, rockery and lakes.

In the pavilion by the lake in the garden, the emperor was fishing, with eunuch Liu serving beside him.

Seeing Zhao Xing coming over, he bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Zhao Xing waved his hand, bowed to his father, and then sat down next to his father, saying with a smile: "Father is really in a refined mood, coming here to fish so early in the morning."

"Haha, I'm just bored. I've gone fishing before, but I thought it was a waste of time. Now that I have some free time, I find it quite interesting."

The emperor smiled and waved to Eunuch Liu.

Eunuch Liu bowed and led the serving palace maids and eunuchs out of the pavilion.

"Now that a rebellion has broken out in Jiangzhou, you insist on sending troops. Are you sure?" asked the retired emperor.

(End of this chapter)