Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 67: Prime Minister's Meeting (First Order)

Li Yifu had just entered the Council of State and had been keeping a low profile recently, rarely raising any issues on his own initiative.

However, he saw that Han Ai and Lai Ji were different today than usual, so he decided to give them a try.

After Zhining's proposal was passed, Li Yifu coughed, drawing everyone's attention to himself, and then spoke.

"Recently, there have been a lot of impeachment memorials in the Censorate, and all of the impeached individuals are from aristocratic families. This shows that the aristocratic families today are of varying quality and need to be rectified."

As soon as he made his opening remarks, everyone's expressions changed, especially Han Ai, whose eyes looked as if he wanted to kill someone.

Li Yifu smiled slightly and continued, "In my opinion, we can revise the clan history. Regardless of family background, all officials above the fifth rank can be included in the aristocratic clan."

As soon as these words were spoken, the eyes of many officials who came from humble backgrounds lit up.

Han Ai said coldly, "The clan history was compiled by the Emperor Taizong under the order of the Grand Marshal Changsun and others. How can you change it just because you want to?"

Seeing that he was firmly opposed, Li Yifu knew that the time was not yet ripe. He thought to himself, "It seems that he was just enduring it in the court just now." He said no more.

Because he couldn't insist, the matter was dropped and they continued to discuss other matters.

Among the next few things, the most important one is the appointment of the chief examiner of the imperial examination.

Yu Zhining said, "Your Majesty has issued an edict appointing Cui Wenhan, a doctor in the Ministry of Personnel, as the chief examiner. Do you have any objections?"

The emperor has issued an edict. It's just a trivial matter. Who would dare to go against it? What's more, Cui Wenhan is a disciple of Chu Suiliang.

Han Ai smiled and said, "Cui Wenhan is a man of profound learning and a master of physiognomy. Since Your Majesty has taken a liking to him, you, the Secretariat, should quickly draft the imperial edict."

Half an hour later, all matters were discussed and everyone returned to their respective offices.

After Li Yifu finished his work for the day, before noon, he went to the inner courtyard of the Shangshi Palace and had a meal.

This is also the privilege of officials of the third rank and above.

After eating, he left the palace and returned to his mansion. When he was appraising an antique, the housekeeper came to report that Li Yun wanted to see him.

Li Yun is his distant nephew.

The Li family had written a visiting letter a long time ago, saying that Li Yun would go to Beijing to take the imperial examination this year and hoped to stay at Li Yifu's house.

Although Li Yifu was included in the Zhaojun Li family genealogy, he was still looked down upon by the Li family. They were polite to him on the surface, but in fact they did not treat him as one of their own.

Therefore, he had already secretly made up his mind to strengthen his clan and no longer rely on others' charity.

Whenever relatives wrote to him asking for help, Li Yifu would welcome them warmly.

He immediately ordered the housekeeper to invite Li Yun in.

After Li Yun entered the house to pay his respects, Li Yifu spoke to him for a few words and felt that this distant nephew was not bad and was worth cultivating.

He also ordered people to prepare a sumptuous meal to entertain Li Yun.

After Li Yun wolfed down the food, he felt grateful and bowed to him.

"I am flattered by your kindness, uncle. I used to find it difficult to say some things, but now that you don't treat me as an outsider, I have the nerve to say them."

Li Yifu smiled and said, "Just treat this place as your own home. If you have any difficulties, just ask. Have you run out of money?"

Li Yun smiled and said, "Before I set out, my parents sold their horses, so I have enough money for the journey. However, I heard that my uncle has been appointed Prime Minister, so I would like to borrow your name to show my travel papers to the chief examiner."

Li Yifu took the paper and said with a smile, "We're family, so why should we have different opinions? Don't worry, I will personally give it to the chief examiner, Cui Wenhan."

When Li Yun submitted his examination papers to Li Yifu, other candidates in the capital were like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each showing their magical powers, just to be on the "general list".

After Gao Youdao returned to the temple, he shaved his beard, tied his hair up again, and went to find Du Yijian, hoping that he would help him to visit the powerful.

Seeing that his friend was in good spirits, Du Yijian would not refuse and took him to the palace to meet Wang Fuzhi.

The palace servant brought the two men into the palace and headed towards the backyard.

When he came to a fork in the road, Gao Youdao suddenly felt strange. He saw a fence separating the fork to the west, and many slaves were guarding the door.

Gao Youdao whispered to Du Yijian, "Who is in there? Why is the security so strict?"

Du Yijian's face straightened and his voice became low.

"The one living inside should be the deposed Queen Wang."

Gao Youdao was startled and nodded.

Soon, the two came to the back hall and met Wang Fuzhi.

There were three boys around Wang Fuzhi, the oldest was eleven or twelve years old, and the youngest was only six years old.

Wang Fuzhi invited the two men into the back hall, chatted with them for a while, and then arranged a banquet to entertain them.

At the banquet, Du Yijian livened up the atmosphere, and with Gao Youdao's great talent, Wang Fuzhi was in a good mood and kept urging Gao Youdao to drink.

After three rounds of drinking, Wang Fuzhi asked his three sons to write a poem, and all three boys wrote one.

After listening to this, Gao Youdao was secretly surprised.

Wang Fuzhi's youngest son, Wang Bo, was only six years old, but the poems he wrote were better than those of some adults. He was actually a natural prodigy!
"At such a young age, he is able to write, his ideas are smooth, and his words are vigorous and powerful. He is truly one of the three pearls of the Wang family." Gao Youdao praised sincerely.

Wang Fuzhi laughed and said, "Brother Gao, you are too kind. I was just a kid reciting a few random lines." After the banquet, Wang Fuzhi asked Gao Youdao for the scroll. After reading it, he was amazed.

"Brother Gao's talent is truly admirable. I will definitely take this scroll to Cui Wenhan personally."

The imperial examination began on February 12 and lasted until February 14, a total of three days.

The general list will be announced on the ninth day of the second month.

According to the rules, the list should be posted at noon, but early in the morning, countless scholars flocked to the Ministry of Personnel's courtyard.

However, the chief examiner Cui Wenhan was not in the other courtyard at the moment, but in Changsun Wuji's Zhaoguo Mansion.

"Your humble servant, Cui Wenhan, pays homage to the Grand Marshal Changsun, Prime Minister Han, and Prime Minister Lai."

In the study of the Duke's Mansion, Cui Wenhan bowed.

Changsun Wuji sat on the chair and raised his hand, saying, "Doctor Cui, there's no need to be so polite. The Sage has appointed you as the chief examiner. I'm sure you're very busy. Please don't be offended by my hasty invitation."

Cui Wenhan said, "I dare not."

Changsun Wuji said slowly: "The list has come out."

Cui Wenhan said, "I have already made the list. If you want to add anyone, just tell me."

Changsun Wuji asked, "Can you show it to me?"

Cui Wenhan smiled and said, "Of course." He took out a list from his sleeve and handed it over.

Han Ai and Lai Ji both gathered around Changsun Wuji and watched together.

Fifty people are listed on the list.

Ranked first is Chu Suiliang’s cousin, second is a descendant of Jingzhao Wei family, and third is a descendant of Jingzhao Du family.

Among the first ten people, eight were from aristocratic families.

Zhang Sun Wuji's face darkened slightly as he said, "This list is not good."

Cui Wenhan hurriedly said, "Lord Changsun, I wanted to list one of your cousins, but because the Prince Consort objected, I took it off."

The son-in-law he was talking about was Changsun Chong.

Changsun Wuji said coldly: "It was this old man who made him oppose it."

When these words were spoken, Han Ai and Lai Ji were also surprised. They had just been called and did not know Changsun Wuji's purpose.

Han Ai asked, "Mr. Changsun, why are you doing this?"

Changsun Wuji asked, "Don't you feel something is wrong these days?"

Lai Ji bowed and said, "I still want your guidance, General."

Changsun Wuji stood up and slowly walked to a landscape painting.

"A few days ago, His Majesty reformed the imperial examination and added two more questions. Do you remember?"

Han Ai said, "Of course I remember. It made the difficulty of the second place much lower. I wanted to argue with him, but Lai Xiang stopped me."

Zhang Sun Wuji said: "From this, it can be seen that Your Majesty should attach great importance to this imperial examination."

Han Ai and Lai Ji looked at each other and nodded.

Zhang Sun Wuji said, "For such an important imperial examination, Your Majesty should choose an impartial and impartial person from among the upright. Why did you choose Doctor Cui?"

After hearing this, Cui Wenhan's face changed drastically.

Han Ai asked, "Could it be that His Majesty, seeing that we haven't been giving him any trouble recently, is taking the initiative to show goodwill?"

Changsun Wuji shook his head: "He is the Son of Heaven. Things have been going smoothly for him lately. His temper will only get worse. Why would he want to show goodwill?"

Lai Ji said: "So what you mean is..."

Zhang Sun Wuji said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty deliberately appointed Doctor Cui as the chief examiner. He may have other motives."

Han Ai lost his voice and asked, "What's the purpose?"

Zhangsun Wuji said, "Think about it. If only the sons of aristocratic families made it to the imperial examination this time, the court officials would surely resent us. Then, someone would impeach Doctor Cui, and Your Majesty could use this as an excuse to further reform the imperial examination system."

Han Ai said, "The chief examiner gives priority to candidates on the general list based on the ancestral rules. What reason do they have to impeach me?"

Changsun Wuji glanced at Cui Wenhan and said, "Doctor Cui, think carefully. Apart from the results of the imperial examination, what evidence can be found in this case?"

Cui Wenhan smiled and said, "I have always been cautious and would never dare to abuse my power for personal gain or commit corruption. The Grand Commandant can rest assured."

Changsun Wuji saw his expression and knew that he was not telling the truth. He said calmly, "No matter what, the list must be revised."

Han Ai and Lai Ji both asked, "How do we change it?"

Changsun Wuji waved to the three of them and whispered a few words.

(End of this chapter)