It is true that Chen Xun's character is not strong enough and he is often forced to compromise due to the situation. However, the prerequisite for being able to do this is that he can see the situation clearly.
Among the seven ministers, when it comes to practical matters, compared with several other ministers, Chen Xun is indeed slightly deficient. However, in terms of his grasp of the people's hearts in the court, as someone who has been immersed in the cabinet for many years, he can definitely be ranked The forefront.
In addition, Jiang Yuan and Du Ning were both his students, and Chen Xun knew them quite well. Therefore, as Jiang Yuan talked more and more, Chen Xun quickly deduced that there was still someone behind Jiang Yuan. Guidance.
Therefore, the identity of this person naturally pointed to the current chief minister of the cabinet, Wang Ao!
This speculation is not unfounded.
The cabinet has the power to hold votes, and the cabinet ministers are also given the title of minister. They have both power and rank. Logically speaking, it is entirely possible for them to overpower the six ministries and rise to the top of the group of ministers.
The reasons why it didn't happen are very complicated, but the most important reason is the institutional reason. The emperor delegated power to the cabinet, but he also imposed many shackles.
For the six ministries, the minister alone holds the power, and the ministers assist him. However, the power to vote for the cabinet is shared by the cabinet ministers. The cabinet ministers are ranked in order, but there is no priority. The chief minister has the right to vote for the cabinet. Chen has a restraining effect, but it cannot form substantial suppression.
Even if several cabinet ministers unite to fight against the chief minister, then the right to split votes will be in vain. This is entirely possible and can occur reasonably and legally in the cabinet.
However, among the six parts, it is almost impossible.
The ministers in the cabinet have the same duties and powers and the same rank. Although they are ranked in order, they are still at the same level in essence. However, among the six ministers, the minister is the largest and has a superior-subordinate relationship with other officials. If subordinates fail to obey orders, they are disobeying orders and taking them lightly. Then he will be reprimanded and punished, and in serious cases, he will be handed over to the court for disposal.
Based on this special system, the relationship between the cabinet is destined to be extremely complicated. To say it too much, the cabinet is like a small court, and the relationship between several cabinet ministers is like the relationship between the six departments of the imperial court.
Just like now, although the Ministry of Personnel is the most powerful among all the ministries, and the Tianguan of the Ministry of Personnel is known as the head of the hundred officials, it is impossible to really overpower the ministers and be courteous to the officials, let alone rely on one's own efforts. Let the six departments obey his orders.
If this situation really occurs, if it is in the imperial court, it will be a powerful minister who has the power to steal the country. If it is in the cabinet, it will be the chief minister who takes the lead.
Therefore, institutional restrictions have destined that although the power of the cabinet is heavy, it is difficult to unify it in the hands of one person. Although the title of Chief Assistant sounds good, it is difficult to truly compare with the seven ministers of the imperial court.
In addition, although the emperor relied on the cabinet to reduce the pressure on government affairs, he still obviously relied more on the six ministries.
In terms of rank, the cabinet minister is a fifth-rank official, but he is given the title of second-rank minister, which shows his respect. However, the cabinet minister is given the title of minister, and the six ministers are given the title of Shibao. Although it has not become a custom, at least it is In the current imperial court, in terms of rank alone, the six ministers are superior to the cabinet ministers.
There is also the problem of Wang Ao, the chief and assistant minister.
The cabinet and the Hanlin Academy were originally of the same origin, and were the transitional order of Qingliu. However, Wang Ao was not from Qingliu, and he became the chief minister of the cabinet by chance. He has always been criticized.
It was only later that the emperor once again promoted ministers without paying attention to Qingliu's background, so the criticism against him gradually subsided.
However, even so, Wang Ao's inherent shortcomings are still difficult to cover up.
You must know that the reason why most of the cabinets are promoted from Qingliu is that firstly, the ministers of Qingliu are mostly close servants. They can not only gain the trust of the emperor, but also understand the emperor's thoughts and do things effectively. Secondly, the ministers of Qingliu are in Beijing all year round. In China, people have broad contacts and deep connections, and they are more able to resolve many conflicts.
However, for Wang Ao, he has neither of these two points.
He was neither a close servant nor a confidant of the emperor, nor did he have the connections to work in the capital all year round. He had experience in local administration and even in fighting and defending the city.
But these are of no benefit to him as the chief minister of the cabinet.
Therefore, although Wang Ao's status in the imperial court was not low, he never had a strong sense of presence.
In fact, as the first assistant, he was not as active in the hearts of the ministers as Yu Shiyue, the second assistant who also served as the chief minister of the Prince's Mansion.
However, this is obviously not what Wang Ao wants.
During this period, although he seemed to have done nothing, he had been waiting for opportunities.
Looking back on Wang Ao's actions after he entered the cabinet, he first "driven" Chen Xun out of the cabinet, and then sat back and watched Gao Gu be demoted from Beijing. When the cabinet was empty, he jointly proposed with Wang Wen to add Jiang Yuan and Zhang Min to the cabinet, laying the foundation for established his unshakable position in the cabinet.
Subsequently, through the cabinet meeting, the different voices of the cabinet were unified and the cabinet's voice was expressed in the court.
Although he did not use direct means to enhance his influence, it did allow him to gain a firm foothold in the court.
So, now that his position has been initially stabilized, the next step is to enhance his strength and increase his influence in the court.
Among the six departments, it is difficult for him to get involved. Among other things, these officials in the six departments either have solid local experience or have just been released from the Hanlin Academy. No matter which case it is, Everyone must have their own connections and forces behind them.
In this case, for Wang Ao, the best choice is those Shuji scholars who are still in the Hanlin Academy and the Jinshi who are about to enter the Hanlin Academy.
They are both young and promising, and have a clean net worth. According to the emperor's current practice, if they are put into operation, maybe these people will enter the science and education in the future and become a solid mouthpiece for Wang Ao, allowing him to truly be at the top of the court. Take a place.
If you have such an opportunity, why not take it?
Wang Ao had this need, and Jiang Yuan also hoped that he could advance further. Naturally, the two hit it off and worked together to manipulate the palace examination.
With this thought, Chen Xun finally understood the whole thing.
If nothing else, that Cheng Zong was just an ordinary top-level scholar who was used as bait to lure Xiao Tan. Only in this way can we ensure that no one can find any traces.
However……
"Ding'an, you think too simply. Do you really think that His Majesty is easy to fool? How can His Majesty be so concerned about such a big matter?"
"Do you think that if I recommend Du Ning and Wang Ao recommends you, His Majesty will let you take charge of the affairs of the court? How naive!"
Looking at Jiang Yuan who lowered his head, Chen Xun sighed and said quietly.
At this point, Wang Ao and Jiang Yuan's plans have become obvious. In today's court, there are only a few people who can take over as Hanlin bachelors.
One is the few bachelor's students in the Hanlin Academy. But, to put it bluntly, those people are all dedicated to studying the classics. If they are allowed to be bachelor's students in the Hanlin Academy, I am afraid that they will not teach all these new scholars into the same discipline. Help the nerds.
Chen Xun and others can see this, and I believe the emperor will not be unclear about it either.
Therefore, even if it was for the future of these new scholars, the emperor would not choose them.
Then the only ones left who have not been sent to various places and have Qingliu qualifications to take over are Du Ning and Jiang Yuan.
Originally, Du Ning was definitely more suitable. However, Chen Xun recommended Du Ning to the cabinet several times before, but the emperor refused because he was too busy with his position as minister of Dali Temple. This time, Chen Xun recommended Du Ning to also take charge of the Hanlin Academy. , the emperor approved it instead, so it was obviously somewhat inconsistent.
Moreover, Chen Xun recommended Du Ning and Wang Ao recommended Jiang Yuan, and their memorials were submitted at the same time. It is easy for people to think that this is a struggle between the Qingliu lineage represented by Chen Xun and the cabinet.
In this case, given the emperor's political tendency to suppress Qingliu during this period, he might really support Wang Ao.
After all, the chief minister of the cabinet was promoted by the emperor.
After saying these words, the whole story was already clear. No matter how slow Du Ning was, he realized that when Jiang Yuan brought him here today, he didn't really want to get him the job of being the director of the Hanlin Academy. His face immediately changed. Shen said in a cold voice.
"Jiang Ding'an, Mr. Du treats you sincerely, but he never thought that you are so scheming that you even dare to plot against the teacher? You are a villain!"
Facing the angry Du Ning, Jiang Yuan calmed down at this moment.
He raised his head and looked at Chen Xun. He didn't look weak and timid at all. Instead, he sighed softly and said.
"Master Chen, why do you need to pierce this layer of window paper?"
"It is true that doing this is good for me and the Chief Assistant, but it can also be regarded as returning the cabinet to the hands of the Qingliu lineage."
"Although the student is not talented, he is still from Qingliu. Master Chen, you also know that the decline of Hanlin lineage has appeared. If we don't do something, it will be difficult for my Qingliu lineage to gain a foothold in the imperial court."
land."
"Now the chief assistant of the cabinet is Duke Jiugao. Although he is not Qingliu, he is still willing to train the younger generations. This is also a good thing for my Qingliu lineage. Teachers should help me more!"
Hearing Jiang Yuan's "sincere words" (no need for Bilian), Du Ning was almost furious. He suddenly stood up from his chair and pointed at Jiang Yuan.
"Jiang Ding'an, you are so shameless!"
"How dare you mention the Qingliu lineage? Bah, these words are simply insulting!"
"You and I……"
By the end of the conversation, Du Siqing was so angry that he was shaking all over and couldn't speak clearly.
However, at this time, Chen Xun raised his hand and motioned for Du Ning to sit down. Seeing this, Du Ning opened his mouth, but in the end, out of respect for the teacher, he said nothing and sat down with a livid face.
go back.
Then, Chen Xunfang turned his head and looked at Jiang Yuan, and said calmly.
"Ding'an, although I am not your teacher, since you call me teacher, I will also regard you as my student."
"Today, since you asked me to come to your door, I will help you again this time."
"It's just that after today, our friendship ends here. You are not my student, and I am not your teacher. I can write memorials, but you are responsible for the consequences!"
The implication is that the master-disciple relationship between the two ends here, and from then on, they become strangers!
Faced with such a result, Jiang Yuan was not surprised, but he couldn't help but feel a hint of loneliness on his face.
However, in the end, he didn't say much, he just stood up and solemnly handed over his hands and said.
"Thank you Master Chen."
"Although Master Chen is no longer willing to accept students today, since Jiang Yuan was taught by you, he will never forget it for the rest of his life. From today on, Jiang Yuan will not dare to call you Master Chen outside, but he will always regard you as his teacher in his heart!"
After that, he bowed seriously, turned around, and stepped out of Chen's house.
After Jiang Yuan's figure completely disappeared, Du Ning finally couldn't help it anymore and asked.
"Master Chen, are you really like this..."
However, before he finished speaking, he saw Chen Xun raise his hand to stop him.
Looking at the direction Jiang Yuan was leaving, Chen Xun narrowed his eyes and said.
"Zong Mi, do you know why Jiang Yuan asked me to recommend you to take charge of the Hanlin Academy instead of recommending him like Wang Ao?"
this……
Du Ning was stunned for a moment, but before he could speak, Chen Xun said.
"Although there is something fishy about the imperial examination, Xiao Tan is the one who is most responsible after all. Even if His Majesty suspects that there is someone behind this, there is no evidence. And Jiang Yuan, as the deepest and most critical person involved in this matter, will definitely be suspected by Your Majesty.
.”
"At this time, if I take action to seek an errand for you in the Hanlin Academy, it will muddy the waters and make Your Majesty uncertain whether it is Jiang Yuan's doing, or I am instigating this, or there is the shadow of Wang Jiugao, or
Simply, let’s do it together.”
"Today he dragged you into my house and stayed for such a long time. Perhaps this is the purpose!"
Hearing this, Du Ning was stunned for a moment, then became a little anxious and said.
"Teacher, since you know, then you still help him?"
However, Chen Xun shook his head, sneered and said.
"You know, the biggest mistake Jiang Yuan made, or in other words, the biggest mistake Wang Jiugao behind him made, was precisely that he underestimated the emperor."
"They thought that the water had been muddied and the emperor couldn't figure out the truth of the matter, so they would wait and see what happened and let Jiang Yuan take over so they could see clearly who was behind him and what benefits he wanted to gain."
"It is true that this is the best way, but the premise is that His Majesty has doubts about this matter..."
As he spoke, Chen Xun's expression was a little complicated. He sighed softly and turned his eyes towards the direction of the imperial city. However, when he looked around, there was only a dark night.
"But how can our Majesty be so easy to fool?"
"Look, those who create cocoons will inevitably bind themselves!"
Du Ning seemed to understand but in the end decided to trust Chen Xun's judgment and nodded gently.
The spring night was neither dry nor cool, and the teacher and student chatted for some more time, and then Du Ningfang said goodbye and left.
The moonlight outside is bright and clear, and the breeze is pleasant. However, in the capital at this moment, there are countless people who have trouble falling asleep and can only look up at the bright moon for peace of mind...
This chapter has been completed!