After asking this question, Yu Shiyue immediately felt that the eyes of everyone present were falling on him, and he himself couldn't help but feel a burst of pain in his heart.
How can you answer this kind of question casually?
Moreover, what puzzled him was that the other two people present, Wang Wen was the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Wang Ao was the chief minister of the cabinet. Both of them were more qualified to answer this question than him, but the emperor chose his name.
It is said that he has been in power the longest. If this is true, Your Majesty, you should call the person from the Ministry of Rites. Why are you looking for him? This reason is too far-fetched.
After thinking for a moment, Yu Shiyue looked up at the emperor's calm eyes, vaguely understood something, sighed silently, and said.
"Your Majesty clearly knows that I believe that the post of Minister of the Ministry of War is in charge of military affairs. Therefore, it is difficult for ordinary ministers to be qualified. Only ministers with experience in managing military affairs can be appointed appropriately. The Chief Assistant has previously supervised military affairs in Liaodong and served as the Tianguan
Your Majesty is on an envoy to Liaodong. If there is anyone in the cabinet who can take on the post of Minister of War, it must be the Chief Assistant."
After all, Yu Shiyue is also a person who has been in officialdom for a long time, so in a short period of time, he has roughly understood the emperor's intention.
What was different from the previous question was that this time the emperor asked him alone, and also specifically pointed out that he should be selected from the cabinet.
In this way, when the scope was small enough, his name was directly called, which meant that he could not refuse perfunctorily. The emperor actually asked this question because he had already made up his mind. The reason why he asked him was actually
I just wanted to see if he was dissatisfied with it.
Among the three people in the cabinet, Zhang Min has no military experience. Although being the Minister of War does not necessarily require him to have overseen military affairs, Zhang Min is not qualified in terms of qualifications alone.
Then, it can only be one of Wang Ao and Yu Shiyue. If it is Yu Shiyue, then the one the emperor should ask is Wang Ao. Since he has been asked, then the person with a silent holy heart is probably Wang Ao.
.
Therefore, the question before Yu Shiyue is whether he wants to 'recommend' Wang Ao in accordance with the emperor's wishes, or he should go against the emperor.
Yu Shiyue is not Yu Qian's stupid young man, so he will not openly get into trouble with the emperor. What's more, if personal grievances are put aside, Wang Ao himself knows the army and is capable. He has been transferred to the capital for so long and has the prestige of connections.
He has accumulated a lot of experience, and it is indeed the most suitable for him to take over as Minister of War.
The only problem is probably...
"Chief Assistant, Yu Cifu recommended you to succeed the Minister of War. What do you think?"
Standing at the bottom, Yu Shiyue's mood was complicated, but the emperor's gaze turned to Wang Ao next to him and asked.
Faced with such questions, Wang Ao himself had no special reaction and said.
"Your Majesty, the Minister of War is one of the Seven Ministers, an important position in the imperial court. I think what the Master Tianguan and the Second Assistant said are reasonable. As for who will succeed me, I believe that Your Majesty will make his own decision, and I dare not make any arbitrary comments."
This was said in a respectful manner. I didn't rush to think it must be him, nor did I refuse. It was actually an appropriate answer.
After listening, the emperor nodded, but said nothing more.
"I understand. The gentlemen have worked hard today. Let's go down first..."
"I excuse myself."
The three of them bowed and saluted, and then exited the Wenhua Hall.
Outside the palace gate, the three of them slowed down in unison. Wang Ao and Wang Wen didn't say much, they just smiled and nodded to each other, and then Wang Wen left first.
Yu Shiyue was left looking at Wang Ao, with a somewhat inexplicable look in his eyes, and said.
"Master Chief Assistant is very good at making plans. Yu is here. First of all, I would like to congratulate Mr. Chief Assistant."
In the palace just now, although the emperor had not made a final decision in the end, the meaning was actually clear. The person who would succeed the Minister of War was most likely Wang Ao.
Although Yu Shiyue still had doubts at the time, when he walked out of the palace, he thought about all the things that happened during this period in a series. In fact, the current situation is not without traces.
Yu Qian's imprisonment this time may be a coincidence, but it may also be inevitable. When he was reorganizing the army, Yu Qian worked together to make the government orders passable, and almost made the Ministry of War into a monolith.
Although his cronies had the tacit approval of the emperor, they were too eye-catching after all.
With such weight, it is impossible not to arouse the emperor's jealousy. Now that the matter of reorganizing the military garrison is over and the Ministry of War has been suppressed, it is inevitable.
But suppression depends on how to do it. The biggest problem with the current situation of the Ministry of War is that Yu Qian's prestige is too high. All matters big and small are almost decided by him, and the subordinate officials below have completely lost control of the minister.
.
Therefore, in order to change this situation, either Yu Qian's cronies should be transferred away, and then some people who do not deal with him should be replaced to create a situation of checks and balances between the two parties, or Yu Qian can only be transferred away.
From the perspective of the court situation, the former has to pay a higher price. Nowadays, most of the people in the Ministry of War are promoted by Yu Qian. With Yu Qian's character, he can promote these people, which shows that these people are at least skilled in government affairs.
of.
Replacement of these people rashly will most likely affect the normal operation of the Ministry of War. Moreover, the number of people to be replaced will definitely not be small, and the commotion caused will naturally not be small.
In contrast, the latter is simpler. It only requires Yu Qian to be transferred out and a capable minister to take charge of the overall situation at the Ministry of War, and a smooth transition can be achieved. Of course, many people in the Ministry of War will definitely have to be transferred one after another.
, However, after the time is extended, the impact will be much smaller, and most of the people can be transferred out through normal transfer.
Now that I think about it, after Yu Qian was imprisoned, the emperor may have thought about keeping Yu Qian in the Ministry of War. Because of this, as a confidant of the emperor, Wang Wen proposed to transfer the two ministers of the Ministry of War.
Although it is said that among the six ministers, the minister is the most powerful and the minister is only the second official, but like the monarch and his ministers, the ministry is heavy and it is difficult for the minister alone to handle it. Therefore, if the two ministers are replaced by people from other forces,
To a certain extent, it can restrain Qian.
but……
"Lord Cifu is joking. Regarding government affairs, you and I each have our own opinions. We are all just speaking out and impartially. How can we plan?"
A smile appeared in the corners of Wang Ao's eyes, but he answered calmly.
Now that things have happened, Yu Shiyue thinks about the memorial to the emperor again, and he has understood many things.
There is no doubt that Wang Wen would come up with such an idea, which must have been authorized by the emperor. However, it may not be Wang Wen's intention to promote Wang Ao to the throne.
Looking back on what happened that day, Wang Ao first misled him by recommending Xiang Wenyao and Li Shi to the cabinet, making him preconceptions that Wang Ao had intentions against them.
Later, when they arrived in front of the emperor, Wang Wen proposed to transfer the two of them from the Ministry of War. Yu Shiyue would naturally feel that Wang Ao and Wang Wen had been in contact with each other in private. Later, when Wang Ao was playing the duel, he deliberately agreed with Wang Wen and went further.
This idea was confirmed and made him feel that the two of them were plotting something.
On this basis, he interpreted Wang Wen's move away from the two men as an attempt to push Wang Ao to the top, and then made a wrong judgment.
Of course, no matter what his judgment was, the reason for his objection at that time was indeed true.
Directly transferring the two ministers will inevitably affect the normal operation of the Ministry of War. The emperor must have been hesitating at the time. After Yu Shiyue's advice, the emperor finally gave up the idea and only transferred Xiang Wenyao.
And Li Shi was left behind.
But this means that Yu Qian will definitely be transferred from the Ministry of War.
Of course, this is not over yet.
Yu Qian's transfer from the Ministry of War only means that the Minister of War is vacant, and the candidate who can succeed him may not be Wang Ao. Although there are not many candidates in the court who are qualified to serve as Minister of War, he is not necessary.
That's why Wang Ao's strange behavior happened last time.
In recent days, Yu Shiyue has been vaguely aware of the trend in the court. He was still wondering how the gossip in the cabinet could spread so quickly. Now that he thinks about it, since this bureau was organized by Wang Ao, how could it be spread so quickly?
Naturally, he was the one who got the news out.
In that 'chat', Wang Ao said two things. One was to 'explain' the previous imperial prelude, and the other was to express his appreciation for Nian Fu and others.
At that time, Yu Shiyue had been wondering why Wang Ao did these meaningless things, but now it seems that his actions were not meaningless, but the target was not on him.
With his few words of 'explanation', it is impossible to explain away Yu Shiyue's dissatisfaction with him, not to mention that Yu Qian will 'understand' him when he knows about it. In fact, what Wang Ao did was not intentional at all.
Ease relations.
On the contrary, he just wanted to publicize this matter. He wanted everyone in the government and the public to know that when Yu Qian was imprisoned, he once advised the emperor to take this opportunity to purge the Ministry of War and suppress Yu Qian. In this way, Wang Ao
He and Yu Qian had formed a grudge.
This kind of hatred would be a disadvantage in normal times, but now, it can help Wang Ao rise to power.
Now that the emperor has decided to transfer Yu Qian out of the capital, it means that he will no longer deliberately suppress the Ministry of War in a short period of time. In this way, the new Minister of War must be able to complete this matter for the emperor.
Therefore, the successor must be someone who is hostile to Yu Qian. Not only that, this person must also have enough prestige. Otherwise, there will be no way to suppress the remaining people in the Ministry of War. After all, there are many more of these people.
They are all related to Yu Qian, so they will naturally share the same hatred.
As a result, the range of options is much smaller.
Of course, the emperor can also choose a relatively moderate and peaceful minister to take over the Ministry of War. This will make it easier for the officials below to accept it, but if this is done, it will take much longer to clean up the Ministry of War.
Therefore, now that Wang Ao has created such a momentum, the possibility that he can succeed is at least 70%.
The last 30% is the attitude of the courtiers. To put it bluntly, the vacancy of the Minister of War will inevitably arouse the attention and competition of all forces.
Under this situation, it is not impossible for people like Yu Qian and Yu Shiyue to stop him from ascending to the throne at all costs. However, the reason why this is the final 30% is because this is what Wang Ao has to consider.
It is also something that the emperor must consider.
In other words, the previous efforts are aimed at making Wang Ao the emperor's favorite. As long as this goal is achieved, there will be many remaining difficulties, but with the emperor around, it will be much easier to solve them.
Hence, today's memorial was made. The emperor's words just now were addressed to both Yu Shiyue and Yu Qian.
At this time, if Yu Shiyue refuses, then the emperor must reconsider whether to use Wang Ao, but the price may be that Yu Shiyue himself will leave an impression of ignorance in the emperor's mind, and Yu Qian will also
affected.
And Yu Shiyue finally 'recommended' Wang Ao himself. In fact, he made a statement on this matter. No matter what he thought in his heart, at least on the surface, he could no longer block Wang Ao's succession, or even,
After the news reached the court and Yu Shiyue's statement today, Wang Ao arrived at the Ministry of War, and he could not restrain the opponent openly.
This kind of scheming can be called a cunning statement. In the past, Yu Shiyue still underestimated the chief minister.
Also, when Wang Ao came to Beijing, the cabinet was still dominated by Chen Xun and Gao Gu. But after he entered Beijing, in just a few months, he secured his position as the chief minister of the cabinet. How could it be that simple?
This time, when he took action, he really calculated all the people's hearts and his methods were accurate and ruthless!
"Whether there is a plan or not, Mr. Chief Assistant knows it well. However, if you can hold the position of Minister of the Ministry of War, you must sit firmly. The affairs of the Ministry of War are complicated. I hope Mr. Chief Assistant can handle it."
Seeing Wang Ao's proud look, Yu Shiyue couldn't help but snorted, not in a good tone.
Seeing this situation, Wang Ao's smile faded and he said.
"Actually, it's a good thing that I left the cabinet. If I succeed the Minister of War, then the position of chief assistant of the cabinet will be vacant, and naturally the second assistant will take over. In this way, today the second assistant will speak for me in front of His Majesty.
I will repay you in the future and everyone will be happy, what's wrong with that?"
As soon as these words came out, Yu Shiyue's face became more and more ugly, he stared at Wang Ao and said.
"Everyone is happy?"
"I'm afraid that what Mr. Chief Assistant said is just a joke."
Yu Shiyue knew in his heart that even if Wang Ao left, he would not be able to take the position of chief minister of the cabinet.
If not for any other reason, it is precisely because he still holds the post of Zhan Shi of the Prince's Palace. Because he has two positions, Yu Shiyue has the strength and prestige in the cabinet to compete with Wang Ao.
If the position of chief minister is given to him, then in the future cabinet, even if several other cabinet ministers unite, it will be difficult to contain him.
Now, the Ministry of War has just learned from the past. With the wisdom of the emperor, how can the cabinet make the same mistake again? Yu Shiyue, in his hands, does not have a major policy to rectify the army.
So, in the end, the biggest beneficiary of this incident is probably...
Yu Shiyue looked at Wang Ao opposite him and said coldly.
"...But I don't know when did Mr. Chief Assistant have such a close relationship with Mr. Zhang Ge!"
This chapter has been completed!