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

Besides Zhang Heng, several other officials who had to accompany him at all times due to their duties were also granted the right to attend.

During the imperial banquet, it was inconvenient to move around, so Zhang Heng gave a wink and raised his cup.

The two looked at each other and drank it all in one gulp.

When the emperor celebrated his birthday, he bestowed a royal banquet upon all his officials, with singing and dancing filling the air. How lively and joyous it was!

About half an hour later, the drinking and eating had almost finished.

In the third seat from the left, Grand Secretary Liu Hang put down his cup, glanced at the table with a look of appreciation, and then decisively stood up.

As a result, many officials realized what was happening and quickly reduced their movements.

"Your Majesty, this old minister has been unwell lately, and the affairs of the cabinet are too heavy for me to bear. Given this situation, it would be a great pity to delay the affairs of the state. Therefore, I humbly request Your Majesty's permission to retire to my hometown and enjoy my remaining years."

After speaking, Liu Hang bowed deeply.

At the same time, all the officials watched intently, none daring to make any big moves, for fear of affecting the important matter.

In the main seat, Zhao Zhen looked at Liu Hang, whose temples were slightly gray, and sighed deeply.

He was once a loyal minister who devoted himself to serving his country.

What a pity!

"allow!"

Zhao Zhen's gaze did not linger.

Such ministers who scheme against the king are destined to be disliked by the king.

Therefore, not a single word was offered to persuade them to stay.

Liu Hang was not surprised. He got up and ate his food as usual, but his movements were very slow and gentle.

This was destined to be the last imperial banquet he ever ate!

After the imperial banquet, Bianjing became completely turbulent and unpredictable.

In the imperial court, memorials and impeachments poured in, all pointing to the stains on the Liu faction of officials.

Huang Jing, a secretary in the Ministry of Rites, was impeached for "forming cliques for personal gain," "slandering the emperor," and "disobeying his superiors." He was sentenced to ten years in prison and exiled three thousand li after serving his sentence.

This charge is actually quite appropriate for what he did.

Since the Qin Dynasty, "slandering the monarch" has been a serious crime.

During the Qin Dynasty, the punishment was beheading and extermination of three generations of the family.

During the Han Dynasty, the specific circumstances varied depending on the case, but all were serious crimes.

During the Tang Dynasty, this was punishable by death.

During the Zhou Dynasty, punishment was based on the consequences of slander. Minor offenses resulted in imprisonment, while serious offenses led to the death penalty.

Huang Jing's congratulatory letter did not cause much of a stir, but it did not change the emperor's dislike of him, and he was sentenced to ten years in prison.

Chen Ting, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, was impeached for "ineffective administration," "forming cliques for personal gain," and "dereliction of duty," and was demoted to Danzhou.

Danzhou is also known as Hainan.

Danzhou is always hot and humid, with many snakes and insects, and it is also prone to typhoons and torrential rains, which most officials find difficult to adapt to.

Furthermore, to date, Danzhou has never produced a single Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) in its entire history.

This shows how much suffering they endured.

Right Vice Censor-in-Chief Feng Yuan was impeached for "forming cliques for personal gain" and "embezzling and accepting bribes," and was demoted to prefect of Xiongzhou.

Xiongzhou was a frontier prefecture, extremely cold and far from Bianjing.

If nothing unexpected happens, in a month or two, just as Feng Yuan is about to arrive in Xiongzhou, there will be another decree appointing him to a post far away from Xiongzhou.

This cycle repeated itself, with either Feng Yuan voluntarily retiring to his hometown or embarking on a series of journeys until he fell ill.

This is the fate of losers!

On the first day of the seventh month, Han Zhang entered the cabinet and was appointed as Vice Chancellor and Grand Secretary of the Zizheng Hall!

Jiang Zhao now officially has a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet as his teacher!

On the same day, Jiang Zhao was promoted to the rank of sixth-grade Imperial Attendant and concurrently served as a Hanlin Academician.

The Crown Prince's Attendant was primarily responsible for assisting the Crown Prince, assisting him with etiquette, and managing the Eastern Palace's documents. He was an important subordinate official by the Crown Prince's side.

However, the emperor has been childless for a long time, so where will the crown prince come from?

The position of Crown Prince's Attendant was a leisurely and unassuming one.

Compared to the Crown Prince's Attendant, Jiang Zhao's actual position was that of a Hanlin Academician.

The position of Hanlin Zhigaozhi has always been vacant and has no official rank.

This official position was originally a transitional position temporarily promoted to a Hanlin Compiler after completing his three-year term. Just like the former Hanlin Compiler Zheng Xie, during the period when his work was handed over, he held the position of Hanlin Zhigaozhi.

An official's rank was determined by his position within the Hanlin Academy.

However, compared to the position of Crown Prince's Attendant, Jiang Zhao's position as a Hanlin Academician was a truly substantive post.

Because of his promotion, the Hanlin Academy no longer had any Hanlin Compilers.

The duties of the Hanlin Academy members also included drafting imperial edicts and decrees; naturally, he was responsible for doing the work that was assigned to him.

There is nothing we can do about this.

Generally speaking, the top scholar in the imperial examinations started from the sixth rank and was promoted to the sixth rank of Hanlin scholar after three years. He was then appointed as the prefect of a prefecture with the rank of fifth rank.

Who would have thought that Jiang Zhao would be promoted?

Sixth-rank officials were rare in Bianjing; they were either honest, hardworking officials or honorary positions, making it difficult to broaden one's horizons and perspective.

In order to hone Jiang Zhao's abilities, the transitional official position of Hanlin Imperial Edict Drafter naturally fell to him.

Even so, Jiang Zhao was very happy.

At least I'll get an extra salary!

Chapter 48 The Young Grand Secretary?

Fanlou.

Vermilion railings and embroidered curtains, flower flags fluttering in the breeze.

On the pear wood tea table, which is about ten feet long, are two pots of clear wine and several dishes of seasonal side dishes.

Su Shi, dressed in a plain-colored robe, holds a chopstick in one hand and taps it lightly, sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly, with a unique charm and rhythm.

Zhang Heng calmly sipped a few mouthfuls of wine from his celadon cup, glancing outside every now and then.

Su Zhe and Zeng Bu, on the other hand, were discussing matters of state.

Each of them had a wine cup in front of them, but the small dishes on the tea table remained untouched, as if they were waiting for someone.

A moment later, a person walked in.

"Excuse me for being a little late."

Jiang Zhao, dressed in a white brocade robe, looked apologetic.

"Yo!"

"The young Grand Secretary has arrived!"

Su Shi laughed loudly, twirled his chopsticks lightly, and picked up a bite of food.

"what?"

Jiang Zhao sat down, momentarily stunned, and asked in confusion, "What Junior Grand Secretary?"

He's been incredibly busy these days.

Since the emperor began celebrating his birthday, imperial edicts have been issued continuously throughout the land, and he has to write a dozen or twenty edicts and decrees every day.

This is almost twice the usual workload.

That’s all.

Who would have thought that the matter of the congratulatory memorial would involve the struggle between the two kings and the political battle between Han and Liu?

As a result, he was inadvertently drawn into a high-stakes situation, and had to live in constant fear and make plans at all times.

Therefore, he was involved in both political struggles and the drafting of imperial edicts and decrees.

Even their daily routines were disrupted.

After June 26th, the struggle between the two kings and the political battle between Han and Liu came to an end, and the Emperor's birthday celebrations also came to a close.

As a result, after only a few days of recuperation, his teacher Han Zhang was appointed as Vice Chancellor and Grand Academician of the Zizheng Hall, thus entering the ranks of the imperial court and governing the country.

When Han Zhang joined the cabinet, many officials came to offer their congratulations.

They might give calligraphy and paintings, jade ornaments, ancient books, or poems, and so on.

In any case, the gift is neither too expensive nor too cheap; it expresses a sentiment and an attitude.

These officials were further divided into those with higher and lower ranks.

Those high-ranking officials of the third rank or above, dressed in purple robes, would certainly be personally entertained by Han Zhang, but those officials of the fourth or fifth rank below the third rank would also need someone to be responsible for entertaining them.

As Han Zhang's only disciple, this task fell to Jiang Zhao.

Therefore, he really didn't have much time to pay attention to other things.

but

Young Grand Secretary?

Jiang Zhao raised an eyebrow and looked at the group.

This title?

"Zichuan is busy with government affairs and probably has no time to focus on other matters."

Seeing Jiang Zhao's confusion, Zhang Heng clapped his hands and smiled, explaining, "The struggles in the imperial court concern the fate of the nation and the change of power. Naturally, there is no shortage of people who care about it and spread the word. In no time, it can spread throughout Bianjing."

"These days, your fierce debates in the court, where you argued vehemently against the Right Vice Minister of the Censorate and the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, have already spread far and wide."

Jiang Zhao nodded.

This is not surprising.

The powerful and wealthy families of Bianjing (Kaifeng) were most sensitive to the power struggles and shifts in power.

Once the details of a political struggle between officials are revealed, they can quickly spread among powerful officials and their families, eventually reaching the entire capital city of Bianjing.

"Then, Young Grand Secretary?" Jiang Zhao asked in confusion.

Zhang Heng clapped his hands and said, "Some busybodies called you 'Little Grand Secretary,' and the name gradually spread and gained popularity and recognition."

"How could I, a mere sixth-rank official, possibly be qualified for this?" Jiang Zhao exclaimed in surprise.

He truly never expected that he would become a "young Grand Secretary"!

“Zichuan’s talent is unmatched in a hundred years, how can he not be compared to him?” Su Shi praised.

Jiang Zhao smiled helplessly.

Ever since he became the top scholar in the imperial examination and gathered seven friends including the two Su brothers, the two Zhang brothers, and the two Zeng brothers, Su Shi developed a habit of frequently boasting about his small group.

He would sometimes boast about Zhang Heng and Zhang Dun, sometimes about Zeng Bu and Zeng Gong, and occasionally give his younger brother Su Zhe a warning.

Among them, Jiang Zhao's reputation is renowned throughout the world, so he is naturally the most heavily touted area.

"My official rank is too low and my reputation too shallow; I am truly unworthy of such an honor!" Jiang Zhao shook his head, feeling much more at ease.

In the time it took to hear those few words, he had already come to terms with them.

The title "Young Grand Secretary" is actually not bad!

If a high-ranking official of the third rank or above is addressed as "Little Grand Secretary," it is a form of flattery intended to kill, and could even be a tactic employed by political enemies.

However, the fact that he was merely a sixth-rank official and a member of the younger generation, yet was addressed as "Little Grand Secretary," carries a different significance.

A minor official of the sixth rank, yet renowned throughout the land, a prodigy in his youth.

Once these labels are combined, the title "Young Grand Secretary" leans towards a pure form of recognition and praise.