The struggle for the throne during the Jiajing reign

Chapter 91 Discussion

The Yan Party had already reached a consensus to unanimously promote Ouyang Bi, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, to the position of head of the Ministry of Rites.

Meanwhile, Xu Jie's faction of reformers wanted to recommend Ouyang De, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

The two Ouyangs happened to be facing off, and it was still uncertain who would emerge victorious.

After all, a high-ranking official of the second rank cannot function without the emperor's approval.

Yan Shifan said, "The most important thing right now is to finalize the selection of the Minister of Rites. We have already agreed to recommend Ouyang Gong to take charge of the Ministry of Rites. Does anyone have any objections?"

If not, a joint memorial will be submitted tomorrow.

As soon as he finished speaking, a chorus of agreement erupted. They might have been able to compete with others, but Ouyang Bijin's qualifications were simply beyond their reach.

He was known for his maturity, competence, practical skills, engineering expertise, and military leadership, and was a recognized capable minister by both the court and the public.

Ouyang Bijin was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the twelfth year of the Zhengde reign. At the beginning of his official career, he served as the Principal of the Sacrificial Rites Department of the Ministry of Rites, and was very familiar with the court's rites and sacrificial ceremonies.

After that, his official career took many turns, serving successively as Henan Councilor, Sichuan Vice Commissioner, Guangxi Councilor, and Zhejiang Provincial Treasurer. He then successively served as Governor of Yingtian, Governor-General of the Grand Canal, and Governor-General of the Military Affairs of Guangdong and Guangxi, with a complete resume and profound seniority.

During his tenure, he achieved remarkable political achievements and was by no means a person who only talked about morality. When he served as the governor of Yingtian, there was a great famine in Suzhou and Songjiang. He strongly advocated opening the granaries to distribute grain, saving tens of thousands of starving people.

He also personally oversaw the dredging of the Yangtze River and the construction of the Sanwu Dike, which completely curbed local floods and benefited countless people.

When he was the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, he successively quelled the rebellions of the Li people in Qinzhou, Tianzhou and Hainan, executed the ringleaders, and pacified the people. He did not kill indiscriminately or punish harshly. He made good use of the local chieftains to govern the area and won the hearts of the Yi people. The people even spontaneously built a shrine to worship him.

What is even more remarkable is that he was a man of upright character. When he was working in the Ministry of Rites in his early years, a colleague contracted leprosy. While others avoided him, he alone disregarded the danger and personally prepared medicine and took care of his colleague until his death. He also personally handled the funeral arrangements for his colleague.

With outstanding abilities and noble character, they can be said to be the cornerstone of the Yan faction. It is precisely because there are many such people that the emperor cannot do without them and thus indulges them so much.

Therefore, everyone agreed that Ouyang Bijin should take the next step and contributed their efforts.

Of course, another important point is that Lord Ouyang was a cousin of Lady Yan, the wife of Grand Secretary Yan.

Yan Maoqing thought for a moment and said, "Ouyang Gong is qualified enough, and His Majesty has praised him many times. So instead of jointly submitting a memorial, it would be better to directly impeach Ouyang De."

"That's acceptable."

Impeachment is something that can be done with any excuse, especially when it's done by censors. The reason doesn't even have to be anything; you can just think that the person is unlucky.

The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works replied, "Our joint recommendation of Lord Ouyang is a just cause for public good and is perfectly legitimate. We can also have the Six Ministries impeach Ouyang De a few more times, but we don't need to go too far. Just stir things up and compare the two sides. His Majesty will naturally make a wise decision."

Zhao Wenhua, holding his teacup, said, "Those baseless and vague words may not be effective. As the saying goes, to strike a snake at its vital spot, it's best to deliver a fatal blow."

The official in charge of personnel affairs, sitting at the end, shook his head: "It's not easy to find him. Ouyang De's achievements can only be described as mediocre. He spends most of his time taking on students and lecturing. He is also considered honest and upright as an official. There's not much we can do to him."

"Hehe." Zhao Wenhua stood up and said, "Gentlemen, don't just think about these things. You should think about what his relationship with Xu Jie is."

Yan Shifan narrowed his eyes and said, "They are all Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) of the second year of the Jiajing reign, and all disciples of the Wang Yangming School of Neo-Confucianism."

Luo Longwen also stood up and exclaimed, "Yes, that's the charge! The censors should impeach him. They shouldn't just accuse him of corruption and bribery; they should just say he used his lectures as a pretext to recruit many students and colluded with Xu Jie to plot treason!"

Yan Maoqing's mind raced. He first asked the two men to sit down, then cupped his hands to Yan Song, who had not yet expressed his opinion: "Your Excellency, I believe that the impeachment should be precise. We cannot impeach him for lecturing, nor can we impeach him for having many disciples. These are not illegal."

If you're going to impeach someone, impeach them for their actions during their tenure as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

Luo Wenlong was somewhat puzzled: "He has been concurrently in charge of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices for the past two years, but he hasn't accomplished much in his position at the Ministry of Personnel."

Yan Maoqing paced around the hall a few times with his hands behind his back, displaying an air of confidence and wisdom, only lacking a feather fan in his hand.

He laughed smugly: "Who cares whether he did anything or not? Ouyang De has many protégés and former subordinates, right? Have all his protégés and former colleagues been suppressed over the years and not a single one promoted?"

A quick glance at the Ministry of Personnel's recent promotion and transfer records will reveal several instances of exceptional promotions that defy convention. These examples are then presented in a more comprehensive manner.

"Let's just say he abused his power in elections to cultivate his own protégés and form cliques for personal gain. There's no real basis for that, and we don't need any overwhelming evidence; a plausible impeachment complaint is enough."

"Hahaha, good!" Yan Shifan laughed. "He can deny embezzlement, but his students' promotions are recorded in black and white in the records. He can't deny it cleanly."

Yan Song nodded slightly, a hint of approval on his wrinkled face: "Jingqing's thinking is thorough, let's do it this way."

Yan Maoqing bowed and sat back down in his chair, thinking that his appointment as an imperial inspector in Sichuan was most likely secured. It was such a lucrative post, and he could make a lot of money from it.

Yan Shifan added, "This matter cannot be handled directly by our people. We should let the people from the Sixth Division handle it. We need to choose unfamiliar faces so that it's not obvious to everyone that it's our arrangement."

The others also smiled and offered their suggestions.

"The timing of the impeachment should be carefully chosen; it shouldn't be submitted on the same day as the joint memorial, as that would seem too deliberate."

"The joint petition was submitted first, followed by a memorial to the throne two or three days later. It was as if they were promoting Ouyang De, while we were promoting Ouyang Bijin, and the two sides were putting on a showdown."

"At this time, when the censors spontaneously impeached Ouyang De, others would only think that Ouyang De was unworthy of his position and that there were also cracks in the purist faction."

After all the discussions were completed, Yan Song gave a summary.

"Just remember one thing: these impeachments are meant to make His Majesty uneasy, not to enrage him."

The approach must be carefully controlled; one cannot kill someone. Keeping Ouyang De alive is more useful than eliminating him. With him holding a position within the Qingliu faction, Xu Jie finds it harder to promote others.

In addition, the wording when recommending Ouyang Bijin should be realistic and not exaggerated. His resume, political achievements, and character should be clearly listed one by one.

His Majesty has his own wise judgment; there is no need for us to draw conclusions for him.

"Yes, we will follow Your Excellency's teachings."

"Father, rest assured," Yan Shifan nodded. "I will personally oversee the matter of discretion."

"Hmm, sigh, I'm getting old, my energy is waning." Yan Song leaned on the chair and tried to stand up.

Zhao Wenhua rushed over and carefully helped him up, looking even more like a son than Yan Shifan.

No one was surprised, and Yan Shifan was happy that someone would take care of his filial duties for him.

"Your Excellency, please go back and rest. We'll take our leave now."

Before leaving, Yan Song couldn't help but add, "We'll compete for this position in the Ministry of Rites, and so will Xu Jie."

Both sides are putting on a show of force, which His Majesty is watching closely. Winning the contest is naturally good, but if the contest goes too far, His Majesty will feel that his ministers are only concerned with their own power bases and not with the affairs of the court.

So whether it succeeds or fails, no one should boast about it in public. Let's focus on doing our jobs well and keeping a close eye on the tasks for the Emperor's birthday celebration. That's the right way.

"Yes, Your Excellency's words are invaluable; we students have learned a great deal."

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