Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 380 Dongtai Scholar
The banquet was placed on the watchtower, which was open on all sides. Sitting in the tower, one could have a panoramic view of the princess's mansion.

The wind chimes are swaying slightly. The spring is still chilly, and the cold wind brings with it the vitality of the revival of all things. It is almost March.

Officials in the Tang Dynasty had the habit of holding banquets after being promoted.

Yesterday, a grand banquet was held at Princess Changshan's mansion, and Lu Zhaolin invited many friends and colleagues to celebrate.

Gao Youdao, however, prefers today's small banquet.

There are only close friends, no outsiders. There is no need to hide your social engagements. Just say whatever you think.

Moreover, it was not only Lu Zhaolin who was promoted this time. He and Du Yijian were also promoted in rank. How could he not be happy?
The more crucial point is that the emperor established a new institution, which made their future brighter.

Du Yijian drank the most today and was already a bit tipsy. He gulped down a large gulp and said with a smile, "Why did His Majesty suddenly establish the Dongtai?"

Dongtai was a new institution established by the emperor two days ago, and was under the jurisdiction of the Menxia Province.

Their full-time job is what Gao Youdao and the other four are doing now, which is to handle those trivial government affairs for the emperor and only select important matters to report.

The official positions of the five people also changed, and they all became Dongtai scholars, a promotion from the sixth rank.

Although the five people were jokingly called "Eastern Palace Scholars" in the past, that was just a nominal position. Their actual official positions were still in the Hongwenguan.

This also made the five people worry all the time that the emperor might cancel their missions at any time and ask them to return to Hongwenguan.

Now that the emperor has established the Dongtai, their stable position has been formally established.

Even if they are transferred to other departments in the future, the words "Dongtai Bachelor" will be recorded in their official resumes and become important qualifications.

Gao Youdao thought for a moment and said, "After all, what we are dealing with now is a matter of great importance to the Central Government. Your Majesty may feel that it is more appropriate to place it under the Ministry of Personnel so that the secrets are not easily leaked."

After hearing this, Lu Zhaolin smiled slightly.

After Du Yijian knew that he had become the imperial consort, he was very well informed about the news in the palace and asked hurriedly, "Brother Lu, do you know the reason?"

Lu Zhaolin said slowly, "Your Majesty may have considered Brother Gao's speculation, but as far as I know, the main reason is still because of Your Majesty's dragon body."

Gao and Du were both shocked when they heard this.

"Could it be that His Majesty's dragon body..."

Lu Zhaolin raised his hand and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty is in good health. I just heard from the princess that a while ago, when Divine Doctor Sun was examining Your Majesty's pulse, Your Majesty asked him a question."

Du Yijian asked, "What's the problem?"

Lu Zhaolin said, "Your Majesty is asking if the headache has been completely controlled and if he can handle more government affairs in the future."

Du Yijian hurriedly asked, "What did Divine Doctor Sun say?"

"Divine Doctor Sun's response is that while the headache has been controlled, there's a chance of recurrence. He recommends that Your Majesty limit the time spent handling government affairs to no more than two hours each day."

Du Yijian breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this.

This means that no matter how the emperor's condition changes in the future, he will need them to help deal with trivial matters.

Even if new people are replaced in the future, as long as Dongtai still exists, their resumes will be invaluable.

"Come, let's drink together and wish Your Majesty good health!" Du Yijian raised his glass.

Gao Youdao and the other person also raised their glasses.

Du Yijian drank a few more rounds of wine and became even more excited. He even started dancing, while Gao Youdao and the other two clapped their hands to cheer him on.

Du Yijian was dancing the Hu Teng dance. His dancing skills were naturally not as good as Shi Jia's, but he was pretty good at it.

After the dance, he sat back in his chair and said with a smile, "I'm grateful to you two for your kindness this time. I'll perform a silly dance as a token of my gratitude."

Gao Youdao asked curiously, "How can you say it's just a favor?"

Du Yijian smiled and said, "Think about it, after His Majesty established the Dongtai, he must have determined the official ranks. Why did His Majesty set the Dongtai scholars as the upper sixth rank?"

After Gao Youdao and the other two heard what he said, they looked at each other and understood what he meant.

Among the three, Du Yijian had the lowest ranking in the imperial examination, and unlike Lu Zhaolin, he did not marry a princess. In the eight years since he entered the officialdom, he had only been promoted to the lower rank of the seventh grade, Xuanyi Lang.

In fact, his promotion speed is already very amazing. Among the top ten Jinshi in the same list, few can compare with him.

However, compared with Gao Youdao and Lu Zhaolin, he is naturally much worse.

As the top scholar in the seventh year of Yonghui, Gao Youdao has been promoted to the upper rank of the sixth grade of Chaoyilang.

Not to mention Lu Zhaolin, who had been promoted to the fifth rank of imperial doctor and wore a silver fish talisman.

Even Guo Zhengyi and Yuan Wanqing were higher in rank than Du Yijian.

The emperor obviously combined the ranks of the five people before assigning Dongtai scholar the rank of sixth rank.

This also gave Du Yijian the greatest advantage. He was an official of the seventh rank or lower, but he received a real official position of the sixth rank or higher.

Du Yijian poured a glass of wine and toasted Lu Zhaolin.

"Brother Lu, you've suffered the most this time. I've taken advantage of you. Let me toast you."

Lu Zhaolin smiled slightly and said, "I don't feel I'm at a disadvantage. I wouldn't trade you for a doctor in the Ministry of Personnel if I could stay in Dongtai and be in touch with confidential matters."

Du Yijian laughed and said, "That's true."

Gao Youdao said with emotion, "With Brother Lu's experience and ability, after another year or two of training, he should be able to be transferred directly to the two provinces and serve as a Zhongshu Sheren or Menxia Jieshizhong."

Lu Zhaolin smiled bitterly and said, "You two should stop praising me. If it weren't for the princess, I wouldn't be able to compare to Brother Gao."

Du Yijian said with a smile, "Brother Lu, you have won the princess's favor because of your real ability. Why be so modest? I think among the three of us, you have the best chance of becoming prime minister."

After hearing this, Lu Zhaolin was stunned for a while and put down his wine glass.

Gao Youdao was stunned and asked, "Why, you don't want to be the prime minister?"

Lu Zhaolin shook his head and said, "I just suddenly thought of my uncle."

Gao Youdao and Du Yijian looked at each other and fell silent.

Although Lu Chengqing was Du Zhenglun's superior and had a close relationship with Du Zhenglun, he failed to discover his crimes and was therefore implicated. He missed the opportunity to become prime minister.

At his age, he may never have the chance to become prime minister again in the future.

Lu Zhaolin was in his prime and was also the son-in-law of a royal family, so he was very popular. Now his say in the Lu family of Fanyang was getting bigger and bigger.

In a sense, his possibility of becoming prime minister is indeed greater than Lu Chengqing's.

Recently, Lu Chengqing would invite Lu Zhaolin to participate in the internal meetings of the Lu family and often asked for his opinions.

It can be seen that Lu Chengqing is already training him as his successor.

The banquet lasted until after the hour of You, the evening drum had stopped long ago, and curfew had already been declared outside.

The two of them stayed overnight at the princess's residence, and early the next morning, they went to the palace together to attend the imperial court.

The Menxia Province specially set aside a building to serve as Dongtai's office.

Although it is not a big deal, it does not have much impact because they are still working in Ganlu Hall.

Their current boss is the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Sun Chuyue.

This man was an old minister during the reign of Emperor Taizong. He is now over sixty years old. He is diligent and respectful in his conduct and everyone calls him a gentleman.

Sun Chuyue had been busy with various matters concerning the construction of the newly built Dongtai for the past few days. It was only today that he summoned them and offered them some words of encouragement. The Secretariat was now closer to the Ganlu Palace, so the few of them arrived and began their routine work.

The day passed quickly, and before the third hour, they had finished their official business, left the yamen together, and went home.

As soon as Gao Youdao returned to the mansion, he heard the doorman say to him, "Ah Lang, Mr. Du is here."

When Gao Youdao heard that Du Fu was coming to visit, he hurried to the back hall. When he looked up, he saw Du Fu sitting in the room talking to Du Rong.

Even Du Yuhe's biological father Du Bo came. Du Yuhe stood beside him and talked to him in a low voice.

"Brother Gao, Du Fu is here to express his gratitude." Du Fu saw him come in, bowed to him with a smile on his face.

Gao Youdao hurriedly asked, "Has Brother Du been appointed as an official?"

Du Fu will definitely be promoted for his contribution in reporting Du Zhenglun.

However, for some unknown reason, the promotion order was delayed, and Du Fu became very anxious, often coming to Gao Youdao for advice.

Gao Youdao told Lu Zhaolin about this matter and asked him to find out. Lu Zhaolin's reply was that there would be no surprises, so Du Fu could just wait with peace of mind.

The previous few times Du Fu came, he was always anxious, but today he was different from usual. It was obvious that the matter of being appointed as an official had been settled.

Du Fu smiled and said, "Early this morning, I received news that His Majesty has issued an edict promoting me to the position of Director of the Ministry of Revenue. I have already gone to the Ministry of Personnel to receive the official seal."

Du Bo snorted and said, "Erlang has made such a great contribution, but he was only given the title of a small official." His tone was quite dissatisfied.

Gao Youdao glanced at him and said, "Brother Du, this Revenue Department official is a Beijing official and has a better future than a local county magistrate. His Majesty's arrangement actually shows that he is entrusting Brother Du with an important task."

Du Fu hurriedly said, "Brother Gao is absolutely right. I am quite satisfied with this position."

Du Fu's words really came from the heart, because this official position was of great symbolic significance to him.

He entered the officialdom as the top scorer in the imperial examination and served as the magistrate of Zhongzhou County. In his twenties, he was promoted to the seventh rank official, and his future was bright.

As a result of Gao Youdao's case and the Du family's subsequent series of suicidal behaviors, the Jingzhao Du family was expelled.

As a result, Du Fu was stripped of his official position and demoted to a commoner.

Later, encouraged by Gao Youdao, he took the imperial examination again and entered the officialdom as an official. With his contribution in helping the inner court deal with the Arab spies, he was promoted to a ninth-rank official.

Now, he was promoted to the head of the Ministry of Revenue by reporting Du Zhenglun.

Although the head of the Ministry of Revenue was only an eighth-rank official, he was a central government official, superior to his former position as a local county magistrate.

This means that after eight years of falling, he has gotten back up and can finally start a new chapter in his life.

Reviving the Jingzhao Du family is no longer just a vague idea.

Du Bo said in a deep voice, "I still don't understand why Your Majesty let my cousin be the head of the Ministry of Revenue? Isn't this putting him in a difficult position?"

Du Zhenglun worked in the Ministry of Revenue for eight years and had extensive and deep-rooted connections.

Du Fu's report on him would naturally make the officials of the Ministry of Revenue hostile to him. If he entered the Ministry of Revenue at this time, he would inevitably be harassed.

When Du Fu heard this, he remained silent.

Since he re-entered the officialdom, he has endured countless difficulties and contempt, but he has overcome them all and is not afraid of them.

But he was also worried that the emperor might be dissatisfied with him by letting him join the Ministry of Revenue.

Du Rong also looked worried and looked at Gao Youdao.

Gao Youdao came and sat down next to her, patted her shoulder, and said, "Don't worry, the people from the Ministry of Revenue won't make things difficult for my brother-in-law."

Du Rong was stunned: "No?"

Du Fu and Du Bo also looked at him.

Gao Youdao said slowly, "Actually, you should consider this matter of my brother-in-law in conjunction with another matter."

Du Fu hurriedly asked, "What's the matter?"

Gao Youdao said, "It's about Li Yifu."

Du Fu's heart trembled, and he seemed to have thought of something, with a thoughtful expression on his face.

Du Bo didn't understand and asked, "What happened to Li Yifu?"

Gao Youdao said, "Because of my brother-in-law's merit in reporting Du Zhenglun, Li Yifu was also transferred back to Chang'an because of this merit."

Du Bo said, "What merits did he have?"

Du Fu hurriedly said, "Cousin, Li Yifu did speak for me in the court."

Dubow frowned.

Gao Youdao continued, "Li Yifu's new position is precisely the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."

Du Bo couldn't help himself and said angrily, "This is so unfair! Erlang took such a huge risk to report Du Zhenglun, and only got the position of Director of the Ministry of Revenue. Li Yifu just said a few words to help, and he was promoted from Zhongzhou Governor to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue?"

Du Fu shook his head and said, "Cousin, this can't be calculated."

Du Bo said: "Why not?"

Du Fu said, "Li Yifu was originally someone your majesty trusted. He was demoted because he was implicated. Your majesty should have wanted to transfer him back a long time ago. This time he just found an excuse."

Du Bo fell silent.

Gao Youdao added, "Recently, Xu Jingzong, Li Yifu, Xiao Siye, and Du Zhenglun have been investigated and prosecuted one after another. The court is deserted. His Majesty summoned him back to the capital, and this may also be the reason."

Du Fu said, "Brother Gao, you just said that my case should be considered in conjunction with Li Yifu's. What do you mean?"

Gao Youdao said, "Think about it, you were promoted to Director of the Ministry of Revenue, and Li Yifu was promoted to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. What does this mean?"

Du Fu's heart moved, and he asked, "Your Majesty no longer trusts the Ministry of Revenue?"

Gao Youdao smiled and said, "That's right. The Ministry of Revenue controls the national finances. What Du Zhenglun has done is shocking. Can Your Majesty still trust the Ministry of Revenue as before?"

Du Fu nodded and said, "Of course not."

Gao Youdao said, "So, His Majesty asked you and Li Yifu to go to the Ministry of Revenue in order to investigate the loopholes and shortcomings and conduct another internal investigation of the Ministry of Revenue."

Du Fu's eyes flashed, and he said happily: "Not bad!"

Gao Youdao said, "The officials in the Ministry of Revenue are not stupid. They naturally understand your majesty's intentions. Do they dare to embarrass you at this time?"

Du Bo finally understood and laughed.

"Even if they had the guts, they wouldn't dare. Erlang, His Majesty seems to really value you. Don't let His Majesty down. Investigate them thoroughly!"

Du Fu nodded.

The next day, Du Fu went to the Ministry of Revenue to report.

Just as Gao Youdao guessed, the officials from the Ministry of Revenue were particularly polite to him, and even Lu Dunxin forced a smile when he saw him.

Du Fu was very clear about his mission, but his official position was low, and as the head of the Ministry of Revenue, he could not investigate the entire Ministry.

I will just have to wait for Li Yifu to come to Beijing, and then he will take the lead and I will assist him.

So, he did not do anything for the past few days and just focused on familiarizing himself with the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue.

(End of this chapter)