A group of central ministers from the imperial court gathered here, including Zhao Pu, Liu Xi, Zhao Kuangyi, Lu Duan and the newly appointed financial envoy Han Hui. These are the five most powerful civil servants at the moment.
As an administrative center that manages world affairs, it has always been busy. Even if it works in the same palace complex, it is still relatively rare for ministers to gather together to discuss matters.
And once such a situation occurs, something big is bound to happen. The atmosphere in the hall was a bit serious. All the powerful people were sitting quietly, drinking tea or resting their minds, without saying a word for a while.
Zhao Pu, who was presiding over the meeting, was the first to break the silence, looked around and said: "Please share your views on the Yangzhai matter!"
After Zhao Pu finished speaking, Han Hui, who was participating in a meeting of this level for the first time, pondered for a moment, and then said in a stern tone: "This Pan You does whatever he wants and has no scruples! He makes decisions without asking for instructions and checks the Chugong real estate. Who will do it?"
The imperial court should issue a document to denounce his power!"
Han Hui's aggressive look was very different from his usual calmness, as if he was expressing his stance. Zhao Pu glanced at him and felt something strange in his heart.
Seeing Han Hui criticizing Pan You's behavior, Zhao Kuangyi spoke leisurely, and his words were quite targeted, saying: "I am afraid that what Prime Minister Han said is biased! Yangdi is a territory of Gyeonggi Province.
As the chief official, Pan You had the right to manage the land under his jurisdiction. His behavior was reasonable, legal and compliant. What was wrong with it?
If it was because of the Duke of Chu, he had written a letter to inform the court of the reasons and explanations before he acted. Pan You's actions were completely in line with the new system and were within the scope of the laws and regulations promulgated by the court. If he ignored his circumstances,
I'm afraid it's inappropriate to reprimand someone!"
The sun seemed to be rising in the west, and Zhao Kuangyi actually spoke for Pan You
After hearing this rebuttal, Han Hui looked at Zhao Kuangyi and thought to himself that because of his position as financial envoy, he still offended Zhao Kuangyi. However, from all aspects, Han Hui was not afraid of Zhao Kuangyi. He just thought about it for a moment and asked lightly.
He said: "According to the wishes of Prime Minister Zhao, is it reasonable for Pan You to do his own thing and offend Tianwei?"
"Xiang Han's words are serious!" Zhao Kuangyi's tone was also a bit stern: "It's just a matter of a few medicinal fields, it doesn't rise to the level of offending Tianwei! A pure minister like Pan You, who does everything he does, is dedicated to the public.
The imperial court should definitely protect and provide more support, otherwise, wouldn’t it chill the hearts of those loyal ministers and wise men?”
When Zhao Kuangyi said this, several people present could not help but frown. They really did not expect that Zhao Kuangyi would support Pan You so clearly on this matter.
Noticing everyone's strange behavior, Zhao Kuangyi looked at Zhao Pu again and said slowly: "Mr. Zhao, is Pan You's guilt determined in today's meeting?"
"Of course not!" Zhao Pu took a deep look at Zhao Kuangyi, gave an affirmative answer, and then said: "I know your opinions. Let's put aside the debate for the time being and listen to other people's opinions!"
After saying that, Zhao Pu looked at Lu Duan, who had a serious look on his face, smiled slightly, and asked, "Yi Zhi, what do you think?"
Lu Duan's expression showed no change. He straightened his body, bowed to everyone present in a serious manner, and said after considering: "I believe that the fundamental issue in the Yangzhai matter is whether the land owned by the Duke of Chu belongs to the emperor.
Property! If it is, then it should be handled by the Shaofu, and the imperial court should not interfere. If not, then Pan Shijun is doing things according to the tax system by checking and making records, and the imperial court has no reason to be harsh!"
When these ministers discuss things, they naturally don't look at the superficial things. What they discuss is the implications behind Pan You's move to investigate Liu Shu's land. It is precisely because it involves the royal family and Emperor Liu that they are attracted to this.
Pay attention to.
"As the Duke of Chu is a prince, his property is naturally the property of the royal family. His own affairs are managed by the Shaofu and Zongzheng. How can foreign ministers interfere?" Han Hui answered with a firm attitude.
Zhao Kuangyi followed closely and said: "According to the investigation, in addition to the government purchasing the land of the Duke of Chu, a lot of it was rewarded by His Majesty. And the meritorious officials of the Han Dynasty and their real estate also benefited from a lot of it by Your Majesty.
Rewards, what’s the difference between the two?”
Seeing that Han and Zhao were arguing again, Zhao Pu stretched out his hand to stop them. After thinking about it, he said to Lu Duan: "What Yi Zhi said is right to the point!"
In fact, everyone here knows this in their hearts, but they have different positions and thoughts, and their expressions are naturally different. After thinking for a while, Zhao Pu looked at Liu Xi, who had not yet spoken, and asked: "What do you think, His Highness the King of Jin?
"
Liu Xi's expression was also serious, making it difficult to tell the difference. After careful consideration, he spoke in a deep voice under the eyes of everyone: "The Duke of Chu has already opened a palace and governed his family. In addition to being a prince, he is also your Majesty's.
"Servant"
Liu Xi expressed his opinion in a calm tone, which was very pertinent. Although he did not say everything in full, the meaning was obvious. He was still inclined to affirm Pan You's approach.
However, the conversation changed and Liu Xi said again: "However, Pan You's actions in Yangdi were ultimately inappropriate. When the court made the decision before, it was a bit vague and had not been made clear. This was an oversight by the court.
place.
But for these doubtful things, Pan You acted according to his personal wishes without asking for instructions, saying that he did his own thing, which did not wrong him and must be reprimanded. The court's policies cannot be interpreted at will by local officials!"
Obviously, Liu Xi still has some grudges against Pan You's actions. However, he has to take the overall situation into consideration, and it is not easy to advance the tax reform to the current level.
The Yangzhai incident doesn't seem to be a big deal. Isn't it just to handle the land of the Duke of Chu in accordance with the rules? But it involves the Tian family and the emperor, so we can't take it lightly.
Regardless of other relatives of the emperor, the core issue is whether the sons and grandsons of Emperor Liu should enjoy privileges in terms of taxation. Han Hui believes that it is reasonable and reasonable for the descendants of the emperor to have certain privileges.
Therefore, he accused Pan You of offending Tianwei by his behavior.
Zhao Kuangyi obviously holds the opposite attitude.
When Liu Xi came here, from the bottom of his heart, he was very angry at Pan You's behavior of poking at the window paper, but he had to worry about the impact of this matter. It was not difficult for the court to make a statement and make a conclusion, but after the decision was made,
However, the influence of the future has to be considered. Tianjia still has to care about word of mouth and reputation.
Therefore, no matter how uncomfortable he felt, Liu Xi still had to consider the overall situation and make his judgment and decision.
His cold eyes glanced at Zhao Kuangyi, and Liu Xi added: "For the sake of the national plan, the imperial court needs to have a clear attitude towards the real estate of the princes and princesses in order to guide the ministers in their administration and to calm down the restless people."
People’s hearts!”
Liu Xi's words were also insinuations, but Zhao Kuangyi was sitting there very calmly, nodding his head and complimenting Liu Xi: "Your Highness serves the country with great righteousness, I admire you greatly!"
Zhao Kuangyi naturally had some scruples about Liu Xi, but to say how much he feared was not entirely true. After all, he belonged to a "princeling party", and Liu Xi was now entrusted with important tasks by Emperor Liu, so his attitude was naturally antagonistic.
"This matter is not something that I can decide!" After looking at the two people, Zhao Pu came to a conclusion and cupped his hands in the direction of Chui Gong Hall: "It is better to ask His Majesty for a holy judgment!"