Doctor Amnesiac, but not completely amnesiac

Eunuch Zheng pushed the jade pendant back coldly.

"Go back to the palace!"

Chapter 90: A Leaf Blinds You

Cai Yan was helped back to his residence by Gao Cheng.

"Master, do you still need to notify Minister Chen to come to your house?"

At this time, the servant beside him asked cautiously.

"No, don't go. Don't do anything. From now on, the Cai Mansion will be closed to visitors. No one is allowed to enter the mansion."

Cai Yan waved his hands and said weakly.

"Master Cai, if we don't meet with Minister Chen now, then——"

The prime minister slapped the table and was about to get angry, but he finally realized that there were outsiders present.

"You go out first."

"Yes, sir."

The servant immediately trotted away.

"You're meeting Chen Fan at this time. Are you hoping to give the emperor a handle?"

Cai Yan's anger was obvious.

"Originally, this matter only involved the Ministry of Revenue, but now, because of Minister Wang, we have been implicated. After the doorman of my Cai Mansion was arrested, he immediately went to have a secret meeting with Chen Fan. In the eyes of outsiders, isn't this an admission of guilt, proving that Cai Yan and Chen Fan are inseparable from this matter?"

Gao Cheng immediately bowed and apologized, and he also realized that he had said something stupid.

"You don't have to stay here any longer. This matter is not simple. Go back and contact the officials of the Ministry of Personnel. At the court meeting tomorrow, I will write to His Majesty, hoping that His Majesty will not expand the scope of the attack. By then, with Chen Fan's ability, he will naturally understand that I am helping him, so the Ministry of Revenue will also help."

"When the time comes, if we stand up, then the neutral fence-sitters will also stand up, and those who have some dirty deeds will also stand up. In addition, the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War will not intervene. In this way, we can form a momentum of public opinion in the court and suppress the reckless behavior of the Yulin Guards."

"Okay, I'll go back and get ready."

Watching Gao Cheng leave in a hurry, Cai Yan sighed.

As a student, he was not talented enough for this position, and only his qualifications were barely enough. However, he was loyal to me enough, so I helped him take the position of Minister of Personnel, and I had to help him deal with some things from time to time.

In addition, the Ministry of Revenue's affairs are now piling up on him. Looking at the huge pile of government affairs on the table, Cai Yan only feels his head hurting even more.

Fortunately, the Chinese New Year is just two days away. After New Year's Eve, there will be fifteen days of rest, which is enough time for him to deal with his relationship with Chen Fan. By then, they will still have the final say in the court.

Thinking of this, Cai Yan felt a little relieved. He sat in his chair, forced himself to stay alert, and began to handle government affairs.

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After the routine court report, when the emperor asked if there was anything else to report, Cai Yan stepped forward.

"Your servant Cai Yan has a memorial to submit."

"What does the Prime Minister want to report?"

"I beg Your Majesty to restrain the Imperial Guards."

When these words were spoken, some court officials showed a hint of joy in their eyes, but more people showed doubts in their eyes.

Why is Prime Minister Cai so impulsive at this time and hopes that the emperor will restrain himself?

"Your Majesty, the New Year is approaching, but the officials from the Dali Temple and Jingzhao Yinfu have all come out in full force, walking the streets, and the people are already talking about it. And yesterday, the Yulin Guards also went out in large numbers, causing even more panic among the people. I beg Your Majesty to at least let the Yulin Guards act more cautiously."

"Your Excellency is wrong. The people are in a panic because the murder case has not been solved. If the police and imperial guards walk the streets and track down the criminals, it will make the people feel at ease."

The emperor obviously had no intention of restraining the Yulin Guards.

"Your Majesty, patrols by police officers can indeed bring a sense of security to the people. That is why when Your Majesty ordered the police officers from the Dali Temple and Jingzhao Yinfu to search, I thought it was feasible. But the Yulin Guards are an army after all. Their swords are sharp and their armor is cold, which inevitably brings fear to the people."

Cai Yan naturally has a way to deal with it.

At this time, the Minister of Personnel Gao Cheng also stood up.

"Your Majesty, what Prime Minister Cai said makes sense. The murder case still needs to be investigated, but after all, the New Year is coming. At least before the New Year, it is not appropriate to make the people uneasy."

Then, several assistant ministers and doctors from the Ministry of Personnel also stood up to agree.

The Minister of Revenue Chen Fan had also reacted by this time.

When he received the news that Zhu Ronghui's family was wiped out, he immediately realized that it was not Cai Yan who did it. And when he heard the news that Zhu Ronghui was bribed yesterday, he was also very confused and wanted to have a good discussion with Cai Yan at that time.

As a result, the servant who was sent said that the Prime Minister's Mansion was completely surrounded by the Yulin Guards. Chen Shangshu was so frightened that he thought he had cardiac arrest and hurriedly stopped what he did. It was not until today's court meeting that he saw that Cai Yan was safe and sound, and he was relieved.

Now Cai Yan asked the Yulin Guard to be more restrained, which was obviously an attempt to smooth things over and buy time. Gao Cheng's words also made it clear that he hoped to delay it until after the New Year - which was exactly in line with Chen Fan's intention.

Since these two people have already started it, it’s now my turn - this was the same process used in the past to block the emperor’s decrees.

Just when Chen Fan wanted to step out of the line and join in the discussion, a voice froze him.

"What's the point of this?"

The Taifu, who had been pretending to be deaf and dumb in the court and also served as the Minister of Rites, stood up and glanced at Cai Yan.

"We, Great Yan, established our country with military power. All the best men of Great Yan are awarded titles based on their military achievements. If the common people feel fear and terror when they see the Great Yan army, rather than glory and envy, then I think we should ask the Ministry of War to investigate whether some scum has sneaked in."

The Minister of War, who always stood up only when asking for military funds, immediately looked at Cai Yan with eyes wide open in anger.

"Your Majesty, there is absolutely no one in my Great Yan army who oppresses the people, let alone your Majesty's Imperial Guards. If there are such people, I ask Prime Minister Cai to produce evidence, and I will immediately deal with them according to military law!"

He took a step forward and said coldly.

With just one sentence, the Grand Tutor helped the emperor to pull the Ministry of War, which had always been neutral, to stand against Cai Yan.

He said it all, he was just too lazy to participate. To be honest, he had seen all of Cai Yan's tricks so many times before.

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Justice has an unshirkable responsibility for the three consecutive murders. However, at the end of the year, we are short of manpower. I implore Your Majesty to let the Imperial Guards continue to cooperate with the Jingzhao Yinfu and the Dali Temple so that the culprits can be arrested as soon as possible."

The Minister of Justice also stood up immediately.

"I second the proposal."

The Minister of Works, who had always been the emperor's vanguard, expressed his attitude in three simple words.

Cai Yan was confused, Gao Cheng was dumbfounded, and Chen Fan was stunned.

The rest of the court officials naturally spoke in line with the trend. They had helped Cai Yan before because Cai Yan's group had a loud voice. Now that the emperor's side had a louder voice, and with the Grand Tutor and the Ministry of War having stood up, they hurried to express their loyalty to His Majesty.

The situation has become overwhelming. It will be of no avail whether the Ministry of Revenue shows up or not, or supports Cai Yan or not.

Chen Fan sighed softly. The Ministry of Revenue was in a turbulent time at the moment. How could he dare to stand up and participate in a choice that was bound to fail?

"I second the motion."

As Chen Fan's voice was almost inaudible, the corners of Qiao Yelan's mouth curled up slightly.

The final nail in Tsai’s party’s coffin has appeared.

Now, it's time to knock it up with your own hands.

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"Today, the expression on old thief Cai Yan's face made me eat an extra bowl of rice at noon."

In the back garden, the emperor's hearty laughter made Wang Zhi, who was serving there, clearly understand how good the emperor's mood was.

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister Cai lost today, so this is a good time for us to make a move - it's time to make a complete break between Chen Fan and Cai Yan."

"Oh? Is this your real plan?"

"Your Majesty is truly a man of insight. You saw through my little trick at a glance. Cai Yan controls the government by holding the money bag in one hand and the power of personnel in the other. If he holds both, it will be difficult for us to suppress him by conventional means, except by resorting to force."

Qiao Yelan said respectfully.

"In the court today, the Grand Tutor stood on the side of His Majesty before the Ministry of Revenue expressed its position, and also pulled the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Works. After Chen Fan found that it was useless even if he stood up to support Cai Yan, he chose to stand on the side of His Majesty with the political speculation thinking of an old minister."

"Chen Fan can understand this behavior, Cai Yan can understand it, and your majesty can understand it - but can the officials in the court and those under the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Personnel really understand it? In addition, your majesty's suppression of Cai Yan Gaocheng today will mislead their thinking."

What do they know?

They just think that the ship is going to sink, and those who run first will survive, but those who run later will die.

You see, Minister Chen has run away and has gone straight to stand on the side of Your Majesty.

The ship starts leaking from the bottom. If even the people below don’t believe that the people above are still united, then how can this interest group exist?

Qiao Yelan said that he has always been good at dividing others.

"So, my dear minister, you want to first single out Chen Fan, the Minister of Revenue, and use the smuggling incident to get rid of this Ministry of Revenue, which is struggling to support itself, and then concentrate on dealing with Cai Yan?"

"Your Majesty, on the contrary, we should strike while the iron is hot and get rid of Gao Cheng, the Minister of Personnel, first, and then slowly deal with Chen, the Minister of Revenue."

"Oh? Why is that?"

Qiao Yelan’s words surprised the emperor a little. The other party’s idea was completely beyond his expectations.

"Because we really have evidence against Minister Chen."

Qiao Yelan laughed.

"Cai Yan, Gao Cheng, and Chen Fan, among these three, Cai Yan and Gao Cheng are the closest. Because Gao Cheng lacks ability, he relied on his seniority and Cai Yan's support to sit in this position, so he always follows Cai Yan's lead. Chen Fan is indeed capable, but correspondingly, he also covets Cai Yan's position."

"Before, I have been relying on Cai Yan's fear of Chen Fan to alienate the two. After the Zhu Ronghui case, the two will realize that their understanding is wrong. They must be eager to meet and clarify the truth of what happened during this period. So I hope Your Majesty will let the Yulin Guards take away the doorman of the Cai Mansion in a grand manner."

The emperor nodded, this was the limitation of the civil servants.

They can rely on rules to constrain their own policies, but in return, they must also abide by the rules, otherwise the emperor can also not abide by the rules.

The Yulin Guards arrested people from the Cai Mansion in the name of investigating a case. It didn't matter who they arrested. What was important was to prove that the Cai Mansion was involved in these things, whether it was smuggling or a bloody massacre. As long as the crotch was covered with mud, the only thing they could do was to remain as open as possible.

So Cai Yan didn't dare to look for Chen Fan, and Chen Fan didn't dare to look for Cai Yan.

Qiao Yelan relied solely on means within the rules to create a fog of war between the two partners.

The only place they could meet was during court meetings.

And at today's court meeting, their actions and choices will gradually spread the fog of war to the entire Tsai Party.

"Then why attack Gao Cheng first?"

"Because I can use some tricks to alienate Cai Yan and Chen Fan, but it is difficult to alienate Cai Yan and Gao Cheng. And more importantly, Your Majesty, which one do you think is more important to you now, money or talent?"

The emperor's hand paused and his eyes fixed.

"You needed money before because you needed it to buy people's hearts. The purpose of buying people's hearts was to win over talents - talents that were enough to replace Tsai's party."

Qiao Yelan patiently helped the late emperor complete the teaching task that His Majesty had not yet completed.

"The purpose of the Ministry of Revenue is to make money, and Chen Fan is very good at making money. Therefore, he can rely on money to run the Ministry of Revenue in an ironclad manner. This is because he has both ability and money. Therefore, almost the entire Ministry of Revenue has fallen into a state of widespread corruption."

"The Ministry of Personnel is in charge of the imperial examinations and talent assessments, but Gao Ben himself does not have enough ability - so there are many dissents within the Ministry of Personnel itself. It's just that Cai Yan is so powerful that no one dares to oppose this Shangshu Gao."

The emperor's expression changed from confusion to realization and then to seriousness.

"Therefore, the change of official positions in the Ministry of Revenue can be said to affect the entire body. If Chen Fan falls, it means that the entire Ministry of Revenue may be wiped out. If officials are to be transferred from other places to supplement, they must pass through the Ministry of Personnel, which is still controlled by Cai Yan. Then, your majesty's plan during this period will fail."

"Right now, the Cai Party has already begun to collapse, not to mention the others who have been suppressed over the years. Seeing that Cai Yan and Gao Cheng are on the verge of collapse, someone will surely come to Your Majesty. As long as Your Majesty seizes the opportunity, he will be able to take charge of the Ministry of Personnel again."

The emperor became more convinced as Qiao Yelan's words were well-reasoned.

"Now that you have the source of talent, whether it's dealing with the Ministry of Revenue or rectifying the court, your majesty will have great success, because the people you choose are all loyal to your majesty and have received the emperor's grace. There will never be a situation where the court is controlled by Cai Yan again."

"My dear, this is a wonderful thing to say."

The emperor clapped his hands and praised it, thinking it was wonderful.

Qiao Yelan just bowed his head respectfully and said he was unworthy of the honor.

Just as he asked the Taifu, who can replace Cai Yan?

The prerequisite for dealing with a person is to have someone who can replace him - Gao Cheng now has someone who can replace him, so he can move, but Chen Fan doesn't have someone who can replace him, so he cannot move.

Therefore, Qiao Yelan always carefully protected Wei Yanwu's inheritance rights.

Because he also needs to always have someone who can replace him in his hands.

Chapter 91: Useless People

"In that case, let Chen Fan go for now and deal with Gao Cheng and Cai Yan first. After I take control of the Ministry of Personnel and hold the imperial examinations, it won't be too late to deal with the Ministry of Revenue's dirty work."

The emperor finally decided on the order of priority.

"After all, Cai Yan has been in the imperial court for a long time and has many close ties. You took advantage of him first and forced him into the current situation. We should strike while the iron is hot and make sure that he will never be able to turn things around!"