The next morning, Liu De got a reply from Shen Tujia: Li Ji cannot be the prime minister.
At this moment, Liu De didn't know what to do.
Although Shen Tujia's reply only represented his personal opinion, Liu De knew that it represented the mainstream opinion.
That is to say, it is impossible for the imperial court to hand over such an important position as prime minister to a person who cannot reassure the world.
Li Ji betrayed her friends in order to save her father.
Who knows whether he will sell out to save his son next time?
Just thinking of this, it is impossible for Li Ji to get involved in any position in Jiuqing, let alone prime minister.
In this life, Li Ji can only be a general who enjoys a salary of two thousand dan, and a Chehou who lives in a town of 5,400 households.
However, apart from Li Ji, Liu De really couldn't find anyone with enough qualifications and qualifications to compete with Liu She.
"Forget it, let Chao Cuo worry about this headache..." Liu De tied on the silk hemp and looked at himself in the bronze mirror: "He should be more anxious than me!"
Then, under the leadership of Zongzheng officials, they came to Su Ji's funeral to keep vigil.
…………………………………………
At this time, in Wushan, Chao Cuo was indeed worried about who would succeed the prime minister.
Tao Qing's death did make him breathe a sigh of relief at first.
However, at this time, Chao Cuo missed Tao Qing a little.
No matter how disobedient and disloyal Tao Qing was, he was still obedient in the end.
Now, the consequences of losing Tao Qing have emerged.
Looking around at his cronies, Chao Cuo found that he could not find a suitable person who he could trust to be the prime minister.
As for Liu She? Come on!
Liu She had some conflicts with him.
Moreover, Liu She himself had inextricable connections with local princes and kings.
If Liu She came to power, God knows whether he would be tit-for-tat and specifically oppose his plan to reduce the vassal state.
But besides Liu She, who else could I choose?
Today's Han Dynasty is just stuck in the embarrassing point that capable ministers are not qualified, and qualified ministers are not capable.
No matter whether it was Chao Cuo, Lieutenant Zhou Yafu, General Dou Ying or other recognized capable ministers, none of them had sufficient qualifications or qualifications.
Therefore, I can only choose a taller one among the short ones.
Thinking of this, Chao Cuo suddenly remembered something.
To serve as prime minister, you do not have to have the title of Marquis of Che, Marquis of Guannei is also acceptable!
The current Prime Minister Shen Tujia was originally just a Marquis of Guannei. The late emperor had no choice but to temporarily make Shen Tujia a Marquis of Che, and then appointed him as Prime Minister.
With such a precedent, the range of options available suddenly expands.
Then, a candidate came into Chao Cuo's sight, Ting Wei Zhang Ou.
Zhang Ou was the youngest son of a concubine named Anqiu Hou Zhang, so he was not able to inherit the title of Anqiu Hou. He only became a Guannei Hou with a settlement of 100 households.
But using the story of Shen Tujia as a reference, it can barely be explained.
The most important thing is that Zhang Ou has no political views of his own. He obeys the emperor's orders in everything, has no interests involved with local princes, and has a good reputation.
So, Chao Cuo told his entourage: "Go and ask Ting Wei Zhang Gong to come over and say, I have something important to discuss with you!"
…………………………
At this time, Tingwei Zhang Ou was looking at the evidence before him with a headache.
One was a confession from Zhou Yangyou, the former governor of Hedong, submitted by Prince Liu De's subordinate Ning Cheng. In the confession, Zhou Yangyou confessed to the fact that he had embezzled money and sold one million stone root warehouses to store grain, and to burn down the root warehouse to conceal his crimes.
.
The other is based on the confession of Cang Ling and Cang Wei of Hedong Gencang, who was arrested by Zhou Yang based on his confession.
There is also a confession from Shentu, the captain of Hedong who was arrested yesterday.
All three point to one thing: Liu An, the king of Huainan, once privately bought 500,000 shi of grain stored in Hedonggen.
I still don’t know where Liu An used these 500,000 stones of grain?
Zhang Ou doesn't know how to deal with this matter now.
The report must be submitted to the emperor.
But the key is how to report it?
Recently, among the accompanying ministers, more and more people are helping Liu An to speak out.
Zhang Ou is a little unsure. Does the emperor want to severely punish Liu An now, or does he want to show his favor?
Because Prime Minister Shen Tujia had a stroke and Concubine Su died suddenly, Liu An's rebellion was put aside for the time being.
Zhang Ou was very worried, in case the emperor changed his mind and wanted to let Liu An go.
But if he handed over these evidences, wouldn't that be a slap in the emperor's face?
Zhang Ou really doesn’t dare to take this risk!
"It would be great if we could discuss it with Zhou Langzhong or Chao Neishi, the emperor's close ministers..." Zhang Ou thought to himself.
But I can only think about it.
As a court official, he had to remain neutral, and the only people he could rely on were the laws of Han Dynasty and the emperor.
Being too close to anyone else may lead to the Emperor's distrust.
Zhang Ou has been very clear about this since he became a Tingwei.
At this time, one of his subordinates, Tingwei Supervisor Zhao Yu, walked in and said: "Ming Gong, Chao Neishi sent someone to invite you to come over and discuss something..."
"I know..." Zhang Ou put away the silk books recording the confessions and thought in his mind: "What is Chao Cuo looking for me for? Could it be that he also heard that I have Liu An's evidence in my hand? Just in time.
, take this opportunity to find out what His Majesty thinks..."
Only by knowing the emperor's thoughts at this moment can Zhang Ou decide how to report it.
Otherwise, if the words are too harsh or too tactful and the emperor is dissatisfied, then he will not be able to serve as a court official for long.
………………………………
Accompanied by Zhao Yu, Zhang Ou came to Chao Cuo's camp.
Chao Cuo has prepared wine and food.
As soon as he saw Zhang Ou, Chao Cuo greeted him with a smile: "Thank you for your hard work, Lieutenant Ting. Originally, I was going to visit in person. However, what Ting Lieutenant and I were going to talk about today was too important. I was worried that there were ears through the wall.
Therefore, I have to ask Mr. Zhang to come to my humble residence for a while!"
Zhang Ou smiled and cupped his hands and said: "The words of the Nei Shi are serious. Even if it is an important matter, it is appropriate for me to come to the Nei Shi!"
"Good!" Chao Cuo nodded, invited Zhang Ou and Zhao Yu to sit down, then personally poured wine for the two people, and said with a smile: "I invite Zhang Tingwei here today mainly because I want to ask, Zhang Tingwei
Are you interested in becoming Prime Minister?"
"Ah..." Zhang Ou suddenly became excited when he heard this. He couldn't even hold the wine bottle in his hand, and it knocked it over on the table.
The prime minister, a highly respected minister, is the ultimate dream of all ministers, but if it is possible, who wouldn't want to sit on it?
However, due to the ancestral system of the Han Dynasty, the prime minister must be Chehou Hou!
Therefore, after Zhang Ou heard that Shen Tujia was about to retire due to illness, he only fantasized about it, but never really dared to think about it.
"I don't have enough title, how dare you have such hope?" Zhang Ou took a deep breath, raised his hands to Chao Cuo and said, "Is the internal history thinking too much?"
Chao Cuo smiled and shook his head, saying: "You are a Marquis of Guannei. Now the Prime Minister, Gu Anhou, was just a Marquis of Guannei when he was not Prime Minister. Besides, your father, Anqiu Yihou, speaks the truth and is respected by the world. He has always been the elder."
If you have this foundation, you will have an advantage over Gu Anhou!"
When Zhang Ou heard this, he felt his heart beating loudly, and something called ambition grew rapidly in his chest. (To be continued...)
