With Huaien's intervention, the chaos in the Wenhua Palace finally came to an end. Most of the courtiers were sent back to the Yamen, but the remaining relevant and important ministers were summoned to the Wuying Palace.
However, what is strange is that a group of internal servants led these ministers outside Wuying Hall, but did not let them enter the main hall, but let them go to the side hall.
Wynn stood in front of everyone, as if nothing had happened, and said.
"My lords, Your Majesty said that you have worked hard in the morning and have not had breakfast yet, so I ordered the imperial kitchen to prepare meals and asked you to rest and eat in the side hall first, and then go to the audience in half an hour."
After saying that, Wynn waved his hand, and the waiter next to him was busy setting up stools and guiding everyone to sit down. Wynn bowed his hands to everyone, and Shi Shiran left.
This move made everyone present look at each other in shock. Indeed, they were all a little hungry just after morning.
But the problem is, at this juncture, who is still in the mood to eat?
The emperor gathered these people together, but he asked them to have breakfast first... What exactly was the emperor planning in his mind?
Everyone had doubts in their hearts, but with the instructions, they had no choice but to suppress their emotions and sit down.
Soon, a chamberlain delivered the royal meal, which was naturally delicious and delicious. However, everyone was worried at this moment, and it was hard to avoid eating it.
On the contrary, because of what had just happened, everyone present was silent at this moment in tacit agreement, only focusing on the meal in front of them. The silence in the palace was a bit scary, but it seemed a bit weird.
After about tea time, everyone had almost eaten some food. They put down Kuaizi in unison and looked at each other. Finally, the newly appointed chief assistant, Zhang Min, took the lead to break the silence.
He cast his gaze on He Wenyuan, who kept his head lowered, and said.
"Shilang He, His Majesty called us here because it must be a matter at the Wenhua Palace. This matter happened because of you. In any case, you should give an explanation to the superiors and subordinates in the court."
From a fundamental point of view, Zhang Ge has always been unwilling to get involved in such matters, but now that he is in the position of chief minister, the responsibility of the cabinet to appease the government naturally falls primarily on him.
.
What's more, Zhang Min usually just doesn't show off, but this doesn't mean that he doesn't have enough political vision. Although, in the eyes of the outside world, Zhang Min was able to get the position of chief assistant only because of good luck.
However, if you look closely, you will find that Mr. Zhang Ge is not as simple as he seems on the surface.
He did not have a great reputation in the court, nor did he have any outstanding political achievements. If he had not led the restructuring of craftsmen households when the emperor ascended the throne, he would not even have the qualifications to join the cabinet.
In this situation, if it were anyone else, I am afraid that he would not be able to stay in the cabinet for long before he would be beaten down. However, Zhang Min has been able to stay in the cabinet stably. This skill is not just about being able to deal with the world.
Wu Zheng can do it with just a few words.
And probably no one knows this better than Yu Shiyue.
Seeing Zhang Min speak, everyone looked at He Wenyuan, except Yu Shiyue, who looked at Zhang Min.
During this period of time, the situation in the cabinet has changed drastically. Although Yu Shiyue's position is still stable, he has to re-examine the situation in the DPRK.
Among them, the most important thing is that everyone, including him, has been ignoring it before, the newly promoted chief minister.
However, the more he took stock, the more he felt that this person was not simple.
You must know that Zhang Min has been on good terms with Yu Shiyue since he entered the cabinet. They often have the same attitude on many important government affairs. However, no one thinks that he is Yu Shiyue's person. Even Yu Shiyue himself has never been like this.
Thought so.
This sounds awkward to say, but it is the reality.
Not everyone can grasp this subtle distance, but for Zhang Min, this is just the beginning.
What Mu Yong doubts is that Zhang Min's success in becoming the first assistant this time is due to both luck and strength. However, one thing that needs to be understood is that without Wang Ao's help, Zhang Min might not have gone so smoothly.
It will be successful.
It is true that this change in the situation between North Korea and China is a win-win opportunity for Wang Ao and Zhang Min, but cooperation requires a foundation of trust.
Just like when Jiang Yuan was here before, he came to Yu Shiyue to express his goodwill, and Yu Shiyue did not dare to accept it easily. He was not clear about what the other party wanted, and secondly, he also needed to take into account all aspects of consideration.
Consistency of interests is the prerequisite for cooperation, but without a sufficient foundation of trust, it is difficult to achieve cooperation. Yu Shiyue understands this very well.
But this is precisely the problem. You must know that from the outside world, Zhang Min has always been on the same side as Yu Shiyue in the cabinet. Now, Yu Shiyue suddenly discovered that he had long been in private contact with Wang Ao, and Yu Shiyue himself,
But he didn't notice it at all. How could this keep him from being frightened?
Of course, as long as something is done, there will inevitably be traces. Yu Shiyue carefully recalled Zhang Min's series of actions after joining the cabinet, and soon discovered the clues.
Imperial examination fraud!
In this big scandal that shocked the world, Jiang Yuan was the main conspirator and Xiao Tan was the main culprit. There is no doubt about this, but many people have actually ignored that in addition to them, Zhu Jian and Zhang Min were also involved.
To put it simply, without the cooperation of Zhu Jian and Zhang Min, Jiang Yuan would not have been able to use the power of the cabinet to negotiate terms with Xiao Hao, and finally joined forces to commit fraud, causing this shocking incident.
Later, several of them were punished. Xiao Tan attempted suicide and was dismissed from office. Jiang Yuan almost shouldered all the blame and attracted all the attention.
As a result, even Yu Shiyue didn't think carefully about why Zhang Min got involved here.
Now that I have come back to my senses and thought about it carefully, I realize that it is not simple.
The first and most important question is that Zhang Min has always been low-key and cautious. How could he take such a big risk and do such a thing?
Or to put it another way, what are the benefits of doing this?
If you think about it this way, the answer is almost ready to come out...
Wang Ao!
Although Yu Shiyue didn't pay that much attention to Zhang Min, he was always aware of Wang Ao's movements.
There was a case of fraud in the palace examination, which was investigated to the end and ended in Jiangyuan. However, judging from Wang Ao's various actions, this case was inseparable from him.
Even if he wasn't instigating it behind the scenes, he should at least have tacitly allowed Jiang Yuan to do it. Otherwise, it would be difficult for Jiang Yuan to guarantee that he would be able to defend the Hanlin Academy after killing Xiao Ban.
In this way, Zhang Min's behavior in this case can be explained.
There was no direct benefit to Zhang Min from cheating in the imperial examination, but it allowed him to make friends with Wang Ao.
To this day, the incident has long been settled, so Yu Shiyue has no way of guessing whether Wang Ao approached Zhang Min first, or whether Zhang Min took the initiative to approach Wang Ao. But judging from the result,
It is said that at least from that time on, the two have already had a friendship.
I'm afraid it was this friendship that allowed him to seize the opportunity during this change in the political situation...
An inexplicable meaning flashed in Yu Shiyue's eyes, and he had a vague hunch that this Mr. Zhang Ge, no, should be called Zhang Shoufu now, would be even more difficult to deal with than Wang Ao.
There was a voice in the hall again, which brought Yu Shiyue back to his senses. He Wenyuan, who had been keeping his head down and silent, finally raised his head after hearing Zhang Min's question and said.
"Master Chief Assistant, this matter did not arise because of me. The Eastern Palace Prince is concerned with the etiquette and laws of the country. I know that now is not the time to discuss this matter in the court, so I just reported to Your Majesty secretly to express my opinion. However,
, but I don’t want some Xiaoxiao disciples to deliberately spread the news, causing turmoil in the court and making the officials uneasy. This is not the official’s intention, but it is actually the Xiaoxiao disciples of this generation who want to cause chaos in the court!"
When things have developed to this point, He Wenyuan is no longer afraid of offending others.
The so-called "put yourself to death and live later". In the current situation, if you don't go crazy, you will die. If you go crazy, you may still have a chance of survival, so naturally, he has no taboos.
As he spoke, he stared at Zhu Yi opposite him and Xu Youzhen next to him. His meaning was self-evident...
Hearing this, Zhu Yi's face also darkened, but before he could speak, He Wenyuan continued.
"Just now Duke Cheng came to the palace to ask for a memorial. After a thorough investigation of the matter, I felt that what he said was true."
"The lower official is a third-ranking official in the imperial court. His Majesty has given him a seal. The memorial was sent directly to the emperor and to heaven. If His Majesty had not sent the memorial to the cabinet and the General Affairs Department, no one would have known its contents."
"However, now that the contents of the secret memorial have been leaked for no reason, it can be seen that there are people in the court who have long regarded the law as nothing and pried into the secret memorial without authorization. Such an act of contempt for the imperial authority and such a disregard for the secret memorial is in vain."
"Therefore, I believe that a thorough investigation should be carried out!"
These words were slapped with big hats one after another, as if they were not enough to scare people.
However, after the words fell, the faces of all the ministers present showed a bit of contemplation.
What He Wenyuan said seemed to be a random attack, but it was also a way to solve the current situation.
Now that both the government and the public are focused on this matter, the best way, in addition to solving this problem head-on, is to divert everyone's attention to other matters.
For example... how was the content of the secret memorial leaked?
In fact, the secret memorial system had precedents as early as the Taizong Dynasty, and even the Taizu Dynasty. However, at that time, it was a privilege that only individual ministers had.
Now that His Majesty has ascended the throne, he has institutionalized it. Because of this, everyone is very aware of the problems involved.
Since it is a secret memorial, what stands out is a secret word. It is like a secret memorial for an ordinary science and education official. Perhaps the corresponding responsible minister in the cabinet can predict it in advance.
However, as long as a third-rank or higher imperial official like He Wenyuan is stamped with an imperial seal, no one except the emperor is allowed to visit.
This also means that the content of the secret memorial is theoretically known only to the person who submitted it and the emperor himself. If this is the case, then it is normal for some unspeakable words to be said in it.
In the officialdom, it's not shabby to please the emperor. He Shilang is definitely not the only one who does this.
But the problem is that these contents can only be said in private. Once they are made public, it will undoubtedly be a huge political crisis for the people who submitted the report.
So in essence, He Wenyuan's words are deflecting conflicts. He is reminding the ministers present that if the secrets of his memorial today can be leaked, it means that tomorrow all of them will also have the secrets of the memorial.
May be leaked.
If they don't uncover the person behind the news, then the next person who faces this situation may be one of them.
It has to be said that this trick of diverting misfortune to the east is indeed a clever one.
There is a system of secret memorials, and the ministers in the court, more or less, will definitely be acquainted with the memorials and do not want to be made public. Therefore, the leakage of the secret memorials is not just He Wenyuan's fault. From this point of view, it is not
It's impossible to divert the attention of everyone in the court, but...
"A thorough investigation? What a thorough investigation!"
"Shilang He is very skillful in using this trick to confuse the public. However, the whole court is talking about this. I'm afraid you won't be allowed to escape the blame like this, right?"
Sure enough, after He Wenyuan finished speaking, Xu Youzhen looked over immediately and said coldly.
The ministers present looked at each other, and they suddenly understood.
Just like He Wenyuan himself said, although this incident happened because of him, he was not the one who provoked it in the court.
Zhu Yi and others demanded a thorough investigation in court, with the purpose of confirming the existence of this secret report, turning the rumors into substantive evidence, and then mobilizing the power of court public opinion to attack He Wenyuan.
But now, He Wenyuan himself has admitted that he has indeed read this memorial, so for Zhu Yi and others, there is no need to check again.
For them, the focus now is actually on how to stabilize the status of the East Palace by attacking He Wenyuan.
From this point of view, it is actually the people from the East Palace who want to make things worse now.
And this is also the reason why many ministers have not said much on this matter so far.
In fact, as long as you observe carefully, you will find that whether it was in the Wenhua Palace just now or in the Wuying Palace now, the people who spoke were all pawns, truly important ministers, even Yu Shiyue, who was the official of the Prince's Palace.
He did not express any attitude towards this matter.
Of course, Duke Cheng Guo came forward, but after all, he was young. Although he had the title, his prestige and strength in the court were still not enough for the current palace.
Therefore, the current situation can actually be regarded as a continuation of the dispute at the Wenhua Palace just now. Because of this, the situations between the two sides are actually quite different.
Looking at the furious Xu Youzhen, He Wenyuan was very calm and said.
"Xu Xueshi, you are one of the few people who have been involved in the court's public discussion, and you have been trying to shirk the blame. As for the court's public discussion and whether I am guilty or not, it doesn't matter if you, a bachelor of Youchunfang, say it!"
This chapter has been completed!