White-robed Minister

Chapter 205-0203 [Official Promotion by Twelve Ranks]

The plan proposed by Zhao Xu and Wang Anshi stunned everyone when the imperial edict was announced at the court assembly.

Xu Lai's new official positions are: Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat, Academician of the Dragon Pavilion, Pacification Commissioner of the Western Route of Qin and Feng Road, concurrently the Chief Administrator of the Western Route and the Prefect of Xizhou.

This official has been promoted twelve ranks!

Those who hold the title of Attendant-at-the-Pavilion will skip over a bunch of other Attendant-at-the-Pavilion titles and be directly promoted to Attendant-at-the-Pavilion ... (and then to Academician of the Imperial Academy).

After the imperial edict was read, the assembled officials were stunned. They instinctively looked at the emperor, then at the ministers around them. They thought they had misheard.

The Su brothers, who had discussed this matter some time ago, now also had expressions of disbelief on their faces.

Was the emperor and Wang Anshi really just trying to divert public attention?

Both the emperor and his minister are insane; they really intend to promote Xu Lai like this!

Zhao Xu valued Xu Lai highly and felt guilty towards him. Wang Anshi wanted to win Xu Lai over to gain a powerful external ally for his reforms.

In any case, the front line has already established a system of decentralization and checks and balances, so no matter how high Xu Lai's rank is promoted, there is no fear that he will rebel.

Sima Guang, who had already been dismissed from his post as a censor, was so shocked that he was somewhat bewildered. He couldn't imagine how this appointment had been approved and how it had managed to reach the stage of issuing the imperial edict.

Have the prime ministers and imperial edict writers all gone mad?

In fact, half of the prime ministers and imperial drafters were unaware of the matter; the emperor and Wang Anshi deliberately bypassed them.

Vice Chancellor Zhao Bian was furious. He was one of those who had been bypassed, and immediately stepped forward to object: "Your Majesty, such an important appointment, yet I, as the Vice Chancellor, was unaware of it. Please reconsider!"

Zhao Xu said, "If you have any objections to this, you may discuss it at the court assembly."

Zhao Bian, holding his official tablet, said: "The promotion is far too much. I believe it would be more appropriate to promote Xu Lai five ranks from his current position to the rank of Assistant Director. As for his post, it would be more suitable to promote him to the position of Compiler of the Jixian Hall."

Lu Huiqing stepped forward and said, "Prime Minister Zhao is mistaken. Xu Lai went to the border alone, nominally as the military commander, but the military headquarters was just a small village. In just two years, he expanded the country's territory by thousands of miles. Yet, from the central government to the local level, the amount of money and provisions he was given was less than two million strings of cash."

Such a great achievement, is it not enough to promote him to Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat and Academician of the Dragon Pavilion?

Zhao Bian was speechless.

Because of Xu Lai's merits, he really deserves to be promoted to such a high position, or even higher!

After becoming chief prime minister, Fu Bi, who had been reluctant to get involved in affairs, also expressed his opinion: "Your Majesty, Xu Lai is too young and inexperienced. His sudden promotion is too much and will be detrimental to his future."

Han Jiang, the deputy privy councilor, disagreed with Wang Anshi on some political matters, but he was actually a staunch supporter of Wang Anshi.

Han Jiang also stepped forward and said, "Merit deserves reward. Such an outstanding achievement, if we follow Prime Minister Zhao's suggestion and only promote him to the rank of Assistant Minister, wouldn't it be a laughing stock? People would mistakenly think that His Majesty is stingy in rewarding those who have made contributions."

Shao Bi and Zhang Heng exchanged a glance. Although they supported Xu Lai, they shared the same thought as Fu Bi: a sudden promotion was too much and would be detrimental to Xu Lai's career development.

But they simply couldn't bring themselves to stand up and object to giving Xu Lai such a high promotion.

The newly appointed Imperial Censor Lü Gongzhu joined the opposition. His perspective was quite novel: "Such rewards from His Majesty will surely encourage local officials to pander to the emperor, deliberately inciting rebellion against barbarians in order to expand new territories and claim credit."

Believe it or not, this kind of thing can actually happen.

Historically, Emperor Huizong of Song liked to expand the territory, and local officials who had the means to do so would try their best to cater to him.

Some officials deliberately mistreated the barbarians, forcing them to rebel before they could be quelled; others bribed barbarian chieftains with large sums of money to acquire insignificant territories. A very few incompetent local officials provoked the barbarians to revolt, but were unable to control the situation themselves, requiring the imperial court to dispatch troops from the Shaanxi border to clean up the mess.

After Lü Gongzhe finished speaking, Lü Gongbi echoed, "That's absolutely right. If it leads to troubles on the borders, it would be a great loss."

Li Chang, the Chief Censor, also said, "If Your Majesty wishes to reward Xu Lai handsomely, you may bestow upon him gold, silver, and precious objects, and you may also bestow favors upon his family. However, you must not promote Xu Lai too much."

Following this, officials who had conflicts with Xu Lai also joined the ranks of those opposing him.

The more officials joined in the opposition, the more determined the emperor and Wang Anshi became. They realized that these were the very people who usually opposed the reforms.

Wang Anshi, in particular, was now even more convinced that Xu Lai could be a staunch ally, because they shared the same group of political enemies!

The following day, Xu Lai's promotion plan was forcibly passed due to the insistence of Zhao Xu and Wang Anshi.

Fan Zhen, who was in charge of the Office of Passing Through and concurrently the Office of Rejection and Approval, directly exercised the power of rejection and approval of the appointment by the Imperial Censor and rejected the appointment to the Emperor.

Emperor Zhao Xu summoned Wang Anshi: "What should we do if Fan Zhenfeng rejects this order?"

Wang Anshi said, "Fan Zhen and Sima Guang were very close, so this must have been instigated by Sima Guang. Fan Zhen has always been a fame-seeker. When he passed the imperial examination with top honors, he refused to stand up when the names were announced. Afterwards, he even argued that it would be unbecoming of a top scholar to stand up alone out of joy."

Zhao Xu exclaimed in surprise, "There's such a thing?"

Wang Anshi said, "This is indeed true. Emperor Renzong was furious about this and only appointed Fan Zhen as a county clerk."

A top scholar in the imperial examinations could only serve as a county clerk; Fan Zhen really brought it upon himself. Keep in mind that this was during the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song, who always treated top scholars with great favor.

-

Wang Anshi continued, "The Office of Approval and the Office of Rejection are both crucial government departments. If they are entrusted to the wrong people, it will be very detrimental to the reform."

Zhao Xu said, "Fan Zhen has done nothing wrong recently, and hastily replacing him will surely invite criticism."

Wang Anshi said, "Let him continue to be in charge of the proclamation department, and select another person to be in charge of the rejection department."

Therefore, the position of Judgement and Approval Officer was replaced by Wang Anshi's men, who forcibly approved Xu Lai's appointment.

Fan Zhen was furious and submitted a series of impeachments against Wang Anshi.

Li Chang, the chief remonstrating official, and Lü Gongzhuo, the chief censor, also submitted a memorial impeaching Wang Anshi. They believed that the Bureau of Remonstrance and Appeal was of great importance, but now that it was in Wang Anshi's hands, he would inevitably promote his cronies indiscriminately in the future.

The impeachment was unsuccessful.

By promoting Xu Lai, Wang Anshi completely seized control of the power to reject official documents.

Throughout the entire process, Sima Guang remained silent, repeatedly refusing the position of Deputy Privy Councilor.

Zhao Xu and Wang Anshi were quite interesting. After removing Sima Guang from his position as Imperial Censor, which was a demotion in disguise, they then wanted to promote Sima Guang to the position of Deputy Privy Councilor.

Sima Guang resolutely refused to accept the "good intentions." If he had accepted them, it would have been as if he had been bribed by Wang Anshi, and his reputation would have been tarnished as a result.

Sima Guang was put on hold!

In mid-October, the imperial court officially announced a series of decrees.

Qin Feng Road was renamed "Qin Feng Xi He Road", incorporating all the territory recovered by Xu Lai, and Cai Ting was appointed as the military commissioner of this road.

At the same time, a Shaanxi Transport Commissioner was established in Qin Prefecture to oversee the finances of Qin Feng, Jingyuan, Xihe and other places.

Zhang Heng, the Vice Commissioner of the Three Departments, was promoted one rank and appointed Academician of the Tianzhang Pavilion, but was then sent to Qin Prefecture to serve as the Deputy Transport Commissioner of Shaanxi.

This was because Zhang Heng had a conflict with Lü Huiqing, which made it difficult for Wang Anshi to control the central government's financial power.

Wang Anshi simply promoted Zhang Heng to a minor official position and transferred him to Qin Prefecture to assist Xu Lai in opening up the border.

This approach both provided support to Xu Lai and fostered a closer relationship with him, while simultaneously facilitating Wang Anshi's control over the finances of the Three Departments.

A political exchange, killing two birds with one stone!

Xu Lai's outrageous reward was actually forced through.

Moreover, Hou Ke, who had just been promoted one rank, received another promotion to a secondary post. Wang Shao, who had been promoted two ranks, was directly promoted from a selected official to a high-ranking official in the capital.

Wang Shao's new assignment was to oversee the household registration and agricultural affairs of the five prefectures of Xihe.

The officials were completely distracted and kept impeaching Xu Lai, including for his actions of acting first and reporting later, building border fortresses, engaging in mutual trade, and conducting official market transactions without the court's permission.

There were also censors who impeached Xu Lai for misappropriating funds from the trade market and illegally levying taxes on private salt, among other things.

As a result, Cai Kang and Gong Dingchen were both impeached because they were also involved in these matters.

Scholars and common people, disregarding the intricacies of court politics, focused their discussions solely on Xu Lai's age and official rank.

Imperial Academy.

A group of students were excitedly discussing in the dormitory: "Have you heard? Xu Xingzhi has rendered meritorious service in opening up the borders this time, and I have been promoted twelve ranks!"

"Twelve ranks? Who promotes themselves like that?"

"With your expansion of territory spanning thousands of miles, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to promote you to the position of Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat."

"You know what, it actually seems like it's possible to get promoted like that. If it were any other minister, even if they were promoted another rank, it wouldn't attract too much criticism."

"Xu Xingzhi's disadvantage lies in his young age and lack of experience. If he were forty, his opponents would likely be reduced by more than half."

.

"He can excel in both literary pursuits and military exploits, achieving top honors in examinations and conquering new territories on horseback. Truly a role model for us all!"

"I wish I could see it with my own eyes."

"Who still remembers his earlier poem expressing his aspirations? 'A young man should aspire to reach for the clouds, and consider himself the best among men.' He truly lived up to that.

"————"

Leaving aside Xu Lai's absurd official position and nominal post, let's just talk about his assigned duties—

Qin Fengxihe Road West Circuit Pacification Commissioner, Qin Fengxihe Road West Circuit Chief Administrator, and Prefect of Xizhou.

In other words, the Tongyuan Army and the territory conquered by Xu Laixin were all handed over to Xu Laixin to take charge of both military and political affairs.

However, he was subjected to many restrictions and checks and balances to prevent Xu Lai from launching a rebellion.

The emperor and Wang Anshi even appointed Cai Ting as Xu Lai's superior and sent Zhang Heng to provide Xu Lai with money and provisions.

Daming Mansion.

Han Qi is cleaning up Wang Anshi's mess, overseeing the disaster relief work following the Yellow River breach.

Forget about taking the opportunity to relocate the disaster victims to the border areas.

We can only provide food as much as possible, use work relief to help the disaster victims survive, and also provide seeds to help them resume production.

When Han Qi saw Xu Lai's appointment in the official gazette, he was clearly stunned for a moment, then shook his head repeatedly, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Given the great contributions Xu Lai has made, he certainly deserves this promotion.

But only Zhao Xu and Wang Anshi would actually bestow such rewards. To put it nicely, they had guts; to put it bluntly, they were crazy.

When Han Qi saw that series of official transfers, he couldn't help but admire Wang Anshi's political maneuvering: by supporting Xu Lai, who had made great contributions, Wang Anshi took the opportunity to control the Three Offices and the Office of Rejection and Approval, that is, to further control financial and administrative power.

Xu Lai was undoubtedly a big winner, but Wang Anshi was also a big winner!

Qingzhou.

Ouyang Xiu, who was now serving as the Prefect of Qingzhou and enjoying his retirement, no longer managed affairs much. He delegated the daily work to the Vice Prefect, and only oversaw the overall direction.

He would occasionally travel out of the city, gather local celebrities to compose poems and hold banquets, and live a leisurely and carefree life.

-

"My lord, my lord————"

Ouyang Bian ran wildly with the official gazette in his hand, shouting with joy, "Xu Sanlang has been promoted twelve ranks, appointed as a scholar-official of the Dragon Pavilion, and concurrently the Military Commissioner and Pacification Commissioner of the Western Circuit of Qin-Feng Road, and the Prefect of Xizhou!"

Ouyang Xiu was stunned upon hearing this, then flew into a rage and exclaimed, "Wang Anshi is utterly despicable!"

Ouyang Bian asked, puzzled, "Isn't this a good thing?"

Ouyang Xiu explained: "When the Yellow River breached its banks, Wang Anshi faced a lot of criticism. He pushed Xu Lai forward as a shield, and he must have taken the opportunity to gain some benefits. Given Xu Lai's age and seniority, his sudden promotion to such a high position will inevitably lead to countless criticisms in the future."

Rising too fast isn't a good thing. Unless—"

"Unless what?" Ouyang Bian asked.

Ouyang Xiu said, "Unless he can continue to make great contributions and thoroughly consolidate his current official position, leaving the ministers who oppose him speechless."

Ouyang Bian had great confidence in Xu Lai: "Xu Sanlang can definitely do it."

The news of Xu Lai's promotion spread throughout the country via the official gazette, causing a huge sensation, especially in Guangdong.

Since the founding of the Song Dynasty, Guangdong has never produced such a high-ranking official!

-

The Xu and Yu families both became lively.

>