Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World

Whether Huang Jing truly favors the Prince of Yong will determine whether the person behind the scenes is the Prince of Yan or the Prince of Yong.

If Huang Jing is genuinely biased towards the Prince of Yong, then the mastermind is the Prince of Yong; if Huang Jing is feigning favoritism towards the Prince of Yong, then the mastermind is the Prince of Yan.

Ultimately, it was up to Zhao Zhen to decide whose side he favored.

"Let's talk about the imperial clan." Zhao Zhen wasn't about to let Jiang Zhao off so easily.

Jiang Zhao's strategic proposals clearly demonstrate that he is a pragmatic person.

As a monarch, what he needed was a solution to the problem.

Jiang Zhao sighed and pondered, "I believe that all things in the world are mutually generating and restraining according to the Five Elements, mutually restraining and generating according to the Eight Trigrams, and mutually complementing each other in terms of emptiness and fullness. There must be a reason for this."

Different people speak in different ways. Jiang Zhao, a mere sixth-rank official, should speak in a more subtle and veiled manner.

However, to avoid the emperor missing the underlying meaning, Jiang Zhao did not speak in a particularly subtle way.

The meaning is very clear.

The Way of Balance!

This matter must have been orchestrated by either the Prince of Yan or the Prince of Yong, but what can be done about it?

Besides these two, who else is qualified to inherit the throne?

Now, the Prince of Yan and the Prince of Yong are roughly equal in strength, and they were locked in a fierce battle with no clear victor.

Once the emperor has a clear bias, one side will gain power and the outcome will be decided.

At that time, even if the emperor does not adopt a member of the imperial clan, the one with the most power can become the "crown prince who is not the crown prince".

One side is particularly powerful and involves the transition between two generations of monarchs. In order to avoid falling behind, the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet who have not yet stepped down will also have to step down.

Thus, it was only a matter of time before Zhao Zhen was sidelined.

Given enough time, either a "bestowal" or a palace coup will occur.

Balance was the outcome that Emperor Zhao Zhen, who had no children, needed.

Since a balance needs to be maintained, neither the King of Yan nor the King of Yong should be punished alone.

Either both should be punished, with both parties implicated; or neither should be punished, and they should be let off lightly.

Whether to punish or let off lightly depends on the emperor's decision.

In any case, even if the emperor punishes both of them, Jiang Zhao will not offend anyone.

Offending both is the same as not offending either!

In fact, if the emperor needed to maintain a balance, why didn't the Prince of Yan and the Prince of Yong also need to maintain a balance?

These two men both hoped that the emperor would show favoritism, and they also feared that the emperor would show favoritism.

With two equally matched options, how can you guarantee that the emperor will definitely favor you?

Therefore, for the two kings, if they cannot favor one side over the other, then not favoring either side is an acceptable outcome.

Zhao Zhen remained silent.

A childless emperor, how difficult!

Fortunately, Jiang Zhao provided a solution, and he finally had some ideas.

"With the birthday celebration approaching, let's not talk about the congratulatory message!" Zhao Zhen waved his hand, glancing at the two princes out of the corner of his eye, a hint of disappointment flashing in his eyes.

"I recently received a couplet that reads: 'Five things: speech, sight, hearing, and thought.'"

Upon hearing this, many high-ranking officials' expressions changed slightly, and they looked at the Prince of Yan and the Prince of Yong.

The so-called five things are appearance, speech, sight, hearing, and thought.

The official deliberately omitted the word "appearance" from the first line of the couplet.

The Book of Documents, in the chapter "Hong Fan", states: "A respectful demeanor is called 'respectful,' and respectfulness is called 'solemnity.'"

Su (肃) is the virtue of a ruler.

The omission of the word "appearance" is clearly a veiled criticism of the King of Yan and the King of Yong for lacking the virtues of a ruler.

It's not hard to see that Emperor Zhao Zhen didn't think much of these two.

This incident has made me even more disgusted.

"I have pondered for a long time but have not been able to come up with a matching line. You are all first-rate scholars, do you have any brilliant ideas?"

Zhao Zhen turned around and looked at the dozens of officials in purple robes.

Seeing that even the Prince of Yan and the Prince of Yong couldn't discern anything wrong with the first line of the couplet, he grew increasingly dissatisfied.

"Is there a solution?" After a dozen or so breaths, Zhao Zhen asked again.

The dozens of high-ranking officials in purple robes exchanged glances, unsure of what to do.

This first line of the couplet, which mocks the two kings, is not easy to respond to!

Grand Chancellor Fu Bi pondered for a moment before beginning: "Your Majesty, the five notes are Gong, Shang, Jiao, and Yu."

This kind of couplet emphasizes improvisation.

If the emperor is in a good mood, his ministers must not spoil it.

Even if it's meant to satirize the two kings, it still requires matching couplets.

Putting aside the sarcastic intent, the first line of this couplet is not particularly difficult.

If even such a simple first line cannot be matched, wouldn't it make all the disillusioned scholars in the world say that those in the imperial court are all mediocre?

There are also some stories about Fu Bi's relationship with his wife.

The so-called five tones are Gong, Shang, Jiao, Zhi, and Yu.

The character "徽" has been removed here.

"Your subject answers: The six lines are Qian, Kun, Zhen, and Li." Grand Secretary Wang Qinruo of the Inner Cabinet answered. This man was a favorite minister of the emperor and was quite extraordinary.

"Your subject answers: The Five Sacred Mountains are Tai, Heng, Heng, and Song." Following suit, Han Zhang also gave his own answer.

"Your subject responds: Eight sounds, metal and stone, poetry and bamboo!"

"Your subject replies: Six feathered banners and a row of shields!"

Following that, many high-ranking officials provided their answers.

In terms of difficulty alone, this couplet is actually quite easy.

"Jiang Aiqing, what do you have to say?"

After the previous debate and the questioning that offered a solution, Zhao Zhen had come to appreciate the talent of this newly appointed top scholar.

This is a talented young man!

Therefore, seeing that Jiang Zhao did not answer for a long time, Zhao Zhen couldn't help but ask a question.

"I have two pairs, but I don't know which to choose!"

Zhao Zhen smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Tell me about it."

"A pair: the Six Arts, rites, music, archery, and charioteering."

The so-called Six Arts are the six arts of a gentleman: rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics.

"Second pair: Nine ancestral temples and ancestors."

The Imperial Ancestral Temple, also known as the Nine Temples.

Initially, the emperor had seven ancestral temples, three named Zhao and three named Mu, which, together with the temple of the founding ancestor, made seven. From the founding ancestor downwards, the father was named Zhao and the son was named Mu, and so on.

The Nine Temples, after being modified by Wang Mang, gradually evolved into the current nine temples, consisting of the Temple of the First Ancestor, the Temple of the Great Ancestor, and the Temples of the Seven Relatives.

The worshippers, apart from the founding ancestor and the great ancestor, are all "ancestral figures".

The terms "founding ancestor" and "great-grandfather" can be used interchangeably.

The clan is further divided into Zhao and Mu.

Therefore, the original text should have been "Nine Temples, Ancestors, Clan, and Ancestors," but Jiang Zhao omitted one character.

昭！

Actually, this couplet isn't particularly clever, but that doesn't detract from its uniqueness.

Upon seeing this couplet, many high-ranking officials turned to look at it.

Jiang Zhao, with the character "Zhao" omitted?

How could we possibly give this up?

Anyone can give up the character "昭" (Zhao), so how can you, Jiang Zichuan, give up the character "昭"?

Zhao Zhen sighed as he looked at his desk.

He knew what Jiang Zhao was saying in his voice.

Everyone has grievances!

On these two occasions, he had indeed made things too difficult for Minister Jiang.

If a new top scorer is selected, the whole thing is doomed.

"Since you cannot make a decision, then I will make the decision for you!"

As Zhao Zhen spoke, he picked up a brush, pressed down the paper, and wrote seven characters:

The Nine Temples, Ancestors, and Relatives!

The ink dried, and the emperor lifted the paper, slowly reading aloud:

"The Nine Temples, Ancestors, and Ancestors!"

"I will present this calligraphy to you, my dear minister! You should know that the character '昭' (zhāo) signifies clarity and cannot be removed!"

The nine ancestral temples and their corresponding generations do not conform to the "removing characters" method of couplets, and even the number of characters does not match.

But it doesn't matter, because this is the second line added by the emperor.

A purple-robed eunuch presented a piece of calligraphy, and dozens of high-ranking officials in purple robes all looked at Jiang Zhao, each with a different gaze.

There was envy, surprise, and calm.

However, this is not particularly surprising.

The fact that a mere sixth-rank official, who had been in office for less than a month, could withstand the struggles of a minister-level figure is enough to prove that he is indeed very capable.

With just a little nurturing, they could become the seeds of a prime minister.

Furthermore, this subtle form of complaint is not uncommon among intellectuals.

It's just a different approach.

They might write articles, compose poems, offer subtle remonstrances, or recommend themselves—the list goes on.

It's just that Jiang Zhao is a bit more aggressive.

He was a player who debuted and immediately played in the top-tier tournament.

He survived questioning by officials, reprimands from the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and interrogations by the Right Censor-in-Chief.

Fortune favors the bold!

It's not surprising that the emperor valued talent.

Furthermore, barring any unforeseen circumstances, this calligraphy is merely the beginning.

"Your subject Jiang Zhao bows in gratitude to Your Majesty." Jiang Zhao bowed.

Zhao Zhen nodded.

Chapter 47 Han Zhang Enters the Cabinet! (4k)

Liu Hang has lost!

From the moment the emperor said he was "old," his position as a Grand Secretary of the Jixian Hall had already reached its end.

This political struggle is not as simple as it seems; it is actually the result of several factors.

From the beginning of the Qingli Reforms, Grand Chancellor Yan Shu and Han Zhang were successively demoted, which created a grudge between them and destined them to have a peak political struggle.