Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 479 The Emperor's Word (Part )

Li Chengqian's eyes swept gently over Zhangsun Wuji's face, then looked at Sun Fujia and said, "Zhang Ruice, the doctor of the Ministry of Personnel, was the one Chu Yanfu contacted, right? He passed it and then submitted it. Is this true?"

"Yes!" Sun Fujia bowed and said, "Zhang Ruice, the doctor of the Ministry of Personnel, abused his power for personal gain. According to the law, he should be dismissed from office."

"Dismissed?" Li Chengqian sneered softly, saying, "Abuse of power for personal gain and corruption of officialdom, is dismissal enough to solve the problem?"

"Your Majesty!" Sun Fujia bowed and said, "This is the law of the Tang Dynasty."

"Tang Lu is referring to this one case, but is this all he did in all his years at the Ministry of Personnel?" Li Chengqian snorted coldly and said, "Go and investigate all the promotions Zhang Rui handled during his time as a Langzhong in the Ministry of Personnel, and thoroughly investigate all the people involved.

I want to know whether the officials he appointed are competent, and whether there has been any bribery or selling of official positions."

When Li Chengqian finished speaking, his face was already cold.

According to the court system, the main positions of the three provinces, six ministries and nine temples in the court were jointly decided by him and the prime minister of the Council of State.

Sometimes, he even makes decisions on his own.

If the ministers in the Council of State are dissatisfied, they can also stand up and oppose it.

As for the deputy positions in the three provinces, six ministries and nine temples, he actually appointed only a few directly. Most of the candidates were submitted by the Minister of Personnel and then handed over to the Council of State.

Most of them were fourth-rank officials.

As for the fifth-rank officials, most of the candidates are submitted by the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and the Minister of Personnel can make the final decision.

Most of the officials in charge of the Ministry of Personnel were of the sixth or seventh rank.

Of course, in many cases, the Vice Minister of Personnel assisted the Minister of Personnel, and the Doctor of Personnel assisted the Vice Minister of Personnel.

For example, if Shi Hedan wanted to be promoted from the sixth-rank Zhongshu Translator to the fifth-rank Taipu Cheng, this matter could be submitted directly to Tang Jian by Zhang Ruice, but it could also be submitted by the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

In other words, the Minister of Personnel may have also been involved in this matter.

However, in the report submitted by Sun Fujia, there was no mention of the Minister of Personnel.

"Put Zhang Ruice directly in jail, and let the Censorate investigate all his illegal activities in detail." Li Chengqian stared at Sun Fujia.

Sun Fujia bowed and said, "I accept your order."

"Sometimes, if a bug appears on a piece of clothing and bites a hole, then it's not just the bug and the hole that's problematic, but all the threads connected to the hole that are problematic."

Li Chengqian swept his gaze across the faces of every courtier in the hall, raised his head and said coldly, "I will never allow my prosperous era, my father's prosperous era, to be destroyed by this."

A hundred-mile long dike collapsed due to an ant hole.

"We, the ministers, will follow His Majesty's instructions." The ministers bowed solemnly.

"Okay, let's adjourn the court." Li Chengqian stood up directly.

The ministers bowed and said, "Farewell, Your Majesty."

……

The emperor's footsteps had faded away, and at this time, the court officials couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Many things here had nothing to do with them, so they didn't feel too bad when Li Chengqian was around.

But now that the emperor is gone, everyone couldn't help but shudder when they thought back to everything that had happened before.

The Minister of the Central Secretariat, Chu Suiliang.

The prime minister who heads the Secretariat.

His position in the court was only below that of Minister of the Central Secretariat Chu Suiliang, below that of Prime Minister Fang Xuanling, Minister of Works Shangshu Zuo Pushe Changsun Wuji, and Shangshu You Pushe Li Jing.

He was dismissed from his post just like that.

Even in a very short period of time, Tang Jian came to power, Yang Shidao returned to the Ministry of Personnel, and Changsun Xiang became the Minister of Works.

Although the overall situation in the court has not changed, it actually even feels unfamiliar to people.

However, strangely enough, the overall situation has not changed.

The interests of many people were not harmed, including Changsun Wuji.

Tang Jian was also a member of the Guanzhong clan.

Changsun Wuji's cousin Changsun Xiang even became the Minister of Works, which was a great thing for the Changsun family.

The emperor accomplished all this easily.

For a moment, the ministers couldn't help but feel a chill and endless awe in their hearts.

The positions of all these people in the court can be decided by the emperor at a single word.

Changsun Wuji stood behind Fang Xuanling. At this time, his breathing slowed down slightly and his eyes became serious.

The emperor's actions were consistent with the news that had previously come out of the palace. The emperor did not intend to target him deliberately.

Chu Suiliang was dismissed from his post, which could only be attributed to his own bad luck, but...

Changsun Wuji suddenly turned around and strode out of the hall.

When passing by Liu Shi, Changsun Wuji gave him a cold look and then walked out.

Liu Shi's lips trembled slightly. The emperor was targeting him.

……

The candle flame was dim, and a pair of scissors was reached in to cut a piece of the wick, and the candle flame immediately became bright again.

At this time, Changsun Wuji, holding the scissors, turned sideways to look at Liu Shi who was standing at the door of the study.

Liu Shi quickly bowed and said, "Sikong!"

Zhang Sun Wuji squinted his eyes and glanced at him, then walked to the table and sat down, asking directly, "How much do you know about Zhang Ruice's affairs?"

"I have no idea." Liu Shi shook his head and bowed, "The Minister of Personnel knows. He is a veteran of the Ministry of Personnel, and I have only been here for less than a year. There have been official documents exchanged, but at least I can't see any problems from the documents."

Changsun Wuji put down the scissors and looked up, "You don't know anything about Shi Hedan's affairs?"

"I have heard some of it, but I did not intervene." Liu Shi bowed with a serious expression.

"But he's your subordinate." Changsun Wuji looked at Liu Shi and said, "So, you'd better pray that all the officials he's promoted, demoted, and dismissed over the past year are okay. Otherwise, when His Majesty punishes you, I won't plead for you."

Zhang Ruice was a Langzhong in the Ministry of Personnel, and Liu Shi was a Shilang in the Ministry of Personnel. Zhang Ruice was even Liu Shi's direct subordinate.

If there is anything unclear here, Liu Shi will be immediately involved.

Liu Shi finally lowered his head, then looked at Zhangsun Wuji and asked, "Sikong, what exactly does His Majesty want to do?"

"Yes, what exactly does His Majesty want to do?" Changsun Wuji sighed softly, looked up at Liu Shi and said, "Don't you know what His Majesty wants to do? When His Majesty ascended the throne, he made it very clear that he wanted to continue the prosperous Zhenguan era and create his own Yongwei prosperous era. Anyone who tries to hinder him will be sent to hell."

Liu Shi's cheeks trembled slightly. Thinking back now, everything the emperor did after ascending the throne was like this.

"Sikong, I have never thought of hindering Your Majesty!" Liu Shi looked at Changsun Wuji pleadingly.

Changsun Wuji sneered softly and shook his head, saying, "What do you think emperors are? They are the most ruthless people in the entire world. If you really hinder the emperor and destroy his dream of creating a prosperous era, not only you, but even I will be punished as well."

"Sikong!"

Zhangsun Wuji waved his hand and said, "I am the emperor's uncle, so he trusts me and will use me, but his ultimate goal is me... We can help him stabilize the world and create a prosperous era, but if we act without considering the emperor's wishes, then he will retaliate if he gets the chance."

"Sikong, are you referring to your humble servant, the Minister of Personnel?"

Changsun Wuji did not answer him. He looked at the blank memorial in front of him and said calmly, "If you had not made any mistakes, the emperor would not have done anything to you. In fact, if you did well enough, the emperor would have forgotten what happened before. But now think about the year you served as the Minister of Personnel.

Although you did not do badly, it was only good enough. If you were to be assessed, you would at best be above average, not the top-notch that the Emperor expected."

"Sikong, are you talking about the future Minister of Personnel?" Liu Shi now understood everything completely.

Zhangsun Wuji recommended him to be the Minister of Personnel, originally planning to recommend him to be the Minister of Personnel after Tang Jian retired, but the emperor saw through his plan.

If Liu Shi had performed excellently as the Minister of Personnel, Li Chengqian would have agreed to have him become the Minister of Personnel.

But if he fails to do so and still wants to covet the position of Minister of Personnel, then don't blame Li Chengqian for giving him a warning in advance.

……

"Tell me yourself, how likely is it that you will be implicated this time?" Changsun Wuji's expression became serious. If things turned out to be troublesome, he would need to make plans for the future.

Liu Shi lowered his head slightly, then said, "This time, the Censorate's review is different from the previous ones. They are now investigating the appointments of all officials who have served under Zhang Rui. This process is very time-consuming and involves many people. It is inevitable that a few people will be in trouble, and I am afraid that there will be some who have been in trouble during this year."

"Zhang Ruice." Changsun Wuji looked at Liu Shi and asked directly, "You are currently the Minister of Personnel. If you were asked to assess Zhang Ruice right now, based on your impression, what kind of evaluation would you give him?"

Many things that happened during his interactions with Zhang Ruice flashed through Liu Shi’s mind.

From the outside, there was indeed nothing wrong with Zhang Ruice, but Chu Yanfu found him directly.

Liu Shi sighed softly and said, "Average or below."

When evaluating officials in the court, those at the lower level would be demoted, those at the middle level would be transferred according to their official rank, and only those at the higher level would be promoted even though their official rank was not high enough.

Liu Shi's evaluation of Zhang Ruice was average, which means that he thought Zhang Ruice was unqualified as a doctor in the Ministry of Personnel.

enough.

Zhangsun Wuji looked up at Liu Shi and said, "Go back. When you return, you must fully cooperate with the Censorate's investigation. You must even uncover every flaw in Zhang Ruice's case... Remember, I mean every flaw, especially before you joined the Ministry of Personnel."

Liu Shi immediately understood that if the issue of Zhang Ruice was to be investigated, more people would be investigated and less responsibility would fall on him.

"Also, be prepared. His Majesty doesn't want you to stay in Chang'an because you're not suited to be the Minister of Personnel." Zhangsun Wuji knocked on the table and said, "First, transfer you to a remote place and serve for two years. With Concubine Lan in the palace, two years is enough time for you to be transferred back. Then, change your place and see what His Majesty thinks."

"Yes!" Liu Shi bowed and obeyed.

"Go." Changsun Wuji waved his hand, and Liu Shi bowed and took his leave.

With a "squeak" sound, the door was closed.

A fleeting glimpse of the night passed through Changsun Wuji's eyes, and he sighed helplessly.

Emperor!
This one and the previous one.

all the same.

There is no difference.

(End of this chapter)