I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 225 Yang Ci has no regret medicine

In the past, the Yuan family had a high status, but they did not hold dominant power, and the family members were still united.

Once the butt changes position, the head will also mutate. At that time, Yuan Shu cannot guarantee that his father is still a good father, and his third uncle is still a good third uncle.

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang did not care much for his son.

Zhao Er was not very friendly to his nephews.

This is a lesson learned from the past.

Yuan Shu is standing at the end of the long river of history and looking at these things from a historical perspective. If we do not properly utilize these advantages that others do not have but we do, wouldn’t it be a huge waste?

If these things that only Yuan Shu knew but no one else did not make good use of by Yuan Shu, it would be somewhat of a waste of resources.

Therefore, he will not give his enemies the opportunity to surpass him.

On October 15th of the first year of the Zhengshi reign, after Yuan Shu stripped the eunuchs of their power in the central government and restructured it, he completed his suggestions for the structural construction of the new Shaofu and the new Tongzhengsi, compiled them into a volume of political commentary, and handed it over to his father Yuan Feng.

Yuan Feng originally didn't think that Yuan Shu could do anything big. He just wanted to see if his son had the talent to govern the country and test Yuan Shu's abilities in all aspects.

As a result, after reading the nearly ten thousand words of political commentary sent by Yuan Shu, he was shocked. After reading it, he agreed with it deeply and even applauded.

I didn’t expect that this youngest son is not only good at academics, but also capable in politics?
How did I give birth to such an outstanding son?

Yuan Feng himself was a little confused.

But this does not stop him from feeling excited, thrilled and proud about it.

After reading it three times in succession, Yuan Feng confirmed that this suggestion was highly feasible, so he convened a meeting in the side hall of Deyang Palace, summoned Yuan Wei, Duan Xing, Tang Zhen, Yang Ci, Guo Hong and other high-ranking officials, showed them Yuan Shu's political commentary, and asked for their opinions.

The newly established group of three dukes and nine ministers after Yuan's coup had considerable political literacy. They were shocked by Yuan Shu's political commentary and were also shocked by the ingenious design pattern therein.

Considering that Yuan Shu had no administrative experience and lacked sufficient staff around him, even if he received help, we must acknowledge that he was gifted, otherwise it would be impossible to explain the birth of this new political structure.

This new architecture has a lot of value.

Basically, the soil on which the eunuch group relied for survival and growth was completely eradicated. If this method were to be followed, not only would the eunuch group have no hope of turning things around, it would be almost impossible for them to return to their previous situation of dominating the world.

After reading it, Yuan Wei, like Yuan Feng, clapped his hands in admiration and loudly praised his good nephew's ingenious ideas and outstanding political talent. He said that Yuan Shu's political talent was definitely enough for him to be a Nine Ministers directly, and he could definitely hold on to this new political structure he designed.

Therefore, Yuan Wei even suggested that Yuan Shu be appointed as the new Shaofu or Tongzhengsi, without caring about the strange look on Yang Ci's face.

To be honest, reading this political commentary made Yang Ci terrified.

This political commentary was written by Yuan Shu, and the political wisdom and bold decision-making revealed in it deeply shocked Yang Ci.

He read line by line, emphasizing every word on every bamboo slip, and every word seemed to hit his heart like a heavy hammer.

Not to mention the political ability and strong tactics demonstrated by Yuan Shu here, one of the proposals was to directly deprive all eunuchs of their positions above 600 stones. This move was undoubtedly a major blow to the eunuchs' power, and it completely eliminated them from the core of power.

What surprised Yang Ci even more was that the political commentary also put forward a rule that had not been deliberately proposed by previous generations.

Eunuchs and palace maids were not allowed to read.

This rule seems simple, but it is actually extremely cruel.

In the palace, words and writing are important tools for transmitting information and recording communications. Eunuchs and palace maids are an indispensable part of the imperial palace. If they can read and write, they can often become the transmitters and recorders of power.

However, Yuan Shu's proposal was to deprive these people of their cultural knowledge and completely exclude them from political life. Yang Ci imagined the scene after the implementation of this regulation. Those eunuchs who were once powerful would be helpless in the face of mountains of documents and memorials because they could no longer read and understand the contents.

This would undoubtedly crush the eunuchs' power at the lowest level and completely silence them on the political stage. The cleverness and ruthlessness of this method made Yang Ci gasp.

At the same time, he also realized that this move would have a profound impact on the political ecology of the entire palace.

How can you participate in political life if you can't even read?

This was not only a blow to the eunuchs' power, but also a reshaping of the entire political landscape of the imperial palace.

Yang Ci seemed to see those eunuchs who had once struggled in the political whirlpool, now standing helplessly aside, looking at the political stage they once were familiar with, but could never step into it again.

This scene made Yang Ci feel an indescribable sadness and helplessness, as if he was a eunuch entering a bridal chamber, shedding silent tears.

Their former power and status seemed so fragile and vulnerable at this moment, and all of this was planned and promoted by Yuan Shu.

Behind this coup is the Yuan family's comprehensive control and reorganization of the power of the palace. After the reorganization, the new Shaofu will become the complete steward of the palace and have the final say over the internal affairs of the palace.

The authority of this position was much greater than before. Not only did it take back the power that was originally seized by the eunuchs, it also took back some of the power that originally belonged to the Grand Coachman.

In this way, the Shaofu became the first line of defense set up by the Yuan family in the imperial palace to prevent the emperor from seizing power and eunuchs from causing chaos. It was of great significance and extremely crucial.

Yang Ci knew that his situation at this critical moment was very delicate. As a person with a "criminal record", it was almost impossible for him to continue to hold this key position. The Yuan family would not tolerate a person who had been their enemy to continue to hold such an important power.

He had already anticipated that he would inevitably lose his position as Shaofu because of this, but he didn't know who Yuan would arrange to be the new Shaofu, and what new arrangements would be made for him, Yang Ci.

Thinking of this, Yang Ci's heart was naturally filled with regret and self-blame. He regretted why he was so stupid at that time and had to discredit the Yuan family.

Why do you have to be the first to do something stupid?
If I had been able to think calmly and see through the strange signs at that time, perhaps I would not be in such a passive situation now!
Now the Yuan family has reached the pinnacle of power and controls the entire Luoyang City. As the in-laws of the Yuan family, the Yang family could have taken this opportunity to seek higher positions and power, but because of their foolish behavior, the entire Yang family has become marginalized in the Yuan family's ruling group.

This gap and sense of loss made Yang Ci feel extremely regretful.

However, there is no regret medicine in the world, and he must pay the price for his choice.

In the subsequent discussions, Yang Ci was unsurprisingly proposed by Yuan Wei to resign from the position of Shaofu. Yuan Wei suggested that he transfer from Shaofu to Taichangqing, who was in charge of etiquette and culture.

This proposal made Yang Ci slightly stunned. He was a little surprised by Yuan Wei's suggestion.

He originally thought that Yuan Wei would retaliate against him severely, and even prevent him from continuing to hold such a high-ranking position as Jiuqing, and instead transfer him to a less prestigious office. However, Yuan Wei's proposal allowed him to retain his position as Jiuqing.

Although the value of Taichangqing is obviously not as high as Shaofu after the major changes, as the face of the Nine Ministers, Taichangqing still has full say in etiquette, culture and education.

In addition, the Minister of Rites can supervise the Imperial Academy, so he is also quite powerful in terms of academic influence. Many people who have served as the Minister of Rites have later achieved great achievements as the Three Dukes, so this position is seen by many as a stepping stone to the Three Dukes.

For many people, this may be a dream position.

Yuan's arrangement made Yang Ci curious and a little surprised at the same time - was Yuan's arrangement telling him that he still had a chance to become one of the Three Dukes?

Yang Ci quickly accepted the appointment and acted very calmly without any resistance.

Yuan Wei recommended Tang Zhen, the former Minister of Rites, to take up this important post.

This means that Tang Zhen and Yang Ci will exchange positions and take on each other's responsibilities.

But under the new political rules, the power content of these two positions is completely different.

(End of this chapter)