The two prime ministers had finished their official duties and were sitting in Fu Bi's prison room drinking tea and talking.
In the second year of Jiayou's reign, it was definitely bad luck and extremely difficult for the two prime ministers who were in charge of the country's affairs. On the first day of the new year, the official, who was in the prime of his life, suddenly fell ill and fell into a severe coma for a long time.
When they were awake, they were still delirious. The two of them not only had to take care of state affairs, but also had to worry about the emperor's safety.
During this period, the old enemy Jia Changchao kept raising objections on the Liuta River issue, and the old friend Ouyang Xiu also intervened, making the two of them suffer from enemies from both sides and suffered terribly.
It was difficult to persevere until the emperor recovered, the country's political affairs were stable, and the Liuta River was denied by two young people. The imperial edict came down and said that work should be stopped... Unexpectedly, a group of people on the front line were unwilling to accept defeat and forcibly closed Shanghukou, with great consequences.
The floods rolled back upstream, causing the tragedy of the Shanghu embankment bursting again. Thousands of people were washed away on the spot, tens of millions of goods were carried away, and people in the five downstream states were even more displaced and suffered heavy losses.
If such a major incident occurs, even if Jia Changchao and his political opponents do not pursue the case, the government and the public will not let them go. The officials at the Yushitai and the Zhijianyuan will hand over the document and demand that the relevant personnel be severely punished! Of course, as a force,
The backstage boss who supported Liutahe, and the two prime ministers were impeached.
The two men naturally wanted to write a letter to take the blame. However, fortunately, floods occurred all over the country and countless people were displaced. They needed the court's coordination and coordination. The officials did not allow them to leave their jobs and asked them to lead the whole country to fight the floods and rescue people wholeheartedly and tide over the difficulties.
The two prime ministers naturally knew that this was an opportunity for them to make up for their mistakes. However, if the prime minister wanted to be effective, he had to rely on the help of his subordinates, so he could not just get out of the quagmire on his own, but also had to rescue those disobedient subordinates.
.Otherwise, people’s hearts will be scattered and it will be difficult to lead the team. That would be the real tragedy...
In addition to trying their best to shirk responsibility for them, the two people just demoted the relevant personnel on the grounds of following old practices, which was almost as if they were not punished.
However, Li Zhongchang and others relied on their power to suppress public opinion from the beginning and forcibly promoted the opening of the Liuta River. Public opinion was obviously not satisfied with fulfilling the convention, and even appeared that "Heshuo was flooded, and the people of the five states were blamed."
Li Zhongchang, Zhang Huaien, and Cai Ting begged to behead these three people to thank Hebei.'
The public sentiment was fierce, and many harsh remarks were directed at the two husbands. But this situation was what Wen Yanbo had expected. As the embodiment of wisdom, he naturally knew that the punishment for Li Zhongchang and others was too light. However, this
It's like asking for a high price when doing business, then paying back the money... How can the old enemy Jia Changchao cut down the price first before he makes a move?
Wen Xianggong expected that Jia Changchao's attack was covert and deadly. He did not use the conventional power of public officials because of the strengths of the two prime ministers Wen and Fu. Jia Changchao used to be a lecturer and a bachelor, and stayed in the palace for a long time. He interacted with many
The eunuchs were closely related, so he took the eunuch route.
He instigated the eunuch Liu Huimi to report to the officials that tens of thousands of people drowned after the Shanghu broke out again, and that the digging of the Liuta River involved a taboo day, and the place name at the mouth of the Liuta River was related to the Zhao surname and the official name, etc...
...Such a crime is no longer as simple as the so-called 'unfavorable river management', but it clearly violates the bottom line of imperial power.
As expected, the officials believed these words and appointed eunuchs to re-examine the case. Later, they sent Wu Zhongfu and Deng Shougong, the imperial censors, to Chanzhou to investigate the truth behind the excavation of the Liuta River...
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During this period, the two husbands were like sitting in the crater of a volcano. They were under great pressure from all aspects, and even felt a sense of betrayal. They urgently needed to find a way out of the unfavorable situation as soon as possible, otherwise the consequences would be worrying. This is also the reality of the two sitting together drinking tea.
reason.
"The thing that affects people's hearts the most now," Fu Bi said slowly while ordering tea, "is the establishment of a reserve."
Fan Zhen, old master Fan, went all out and wrote ten letters in succession to ask for the appointment of a prince. Unfortunately, his memorial was passed back and forth between officials and prime ministers. He handed it in and handed it down, and he could never find the exact person to discuss it.
, let alone a clear answer.
But he is an official of the Zhijian Yuan and can be interviewed!
So these days, whenever he goes to court, he will definitely talk about establishing a crown prince. After endless tossing, the emperor and the prime ministers finally reached a tacit agreement... Get this annoying guy out of sight, out of mind.
bother.
However, this move was useless. Fan Zhen became determined after eating the weight. He refused to accept the appointment and insisted on staying in the capital to fight.
Some people said that he was just trying to gain fame and prestige, so he openly swore that the day he established the crown prince would be the day he resigned and returned to his hometown, and he would never rise again in his life.
If a person's persistence can reach Fan Zhen's level, he will always succeed. Even if he does not succeed in the end, at least the process will be vigorous. So many officials who were in a wait-and-see attitude began to write letters to support Fan Zhen - after the emperor and the prime minister jointly suppressed him.
As a result, the call for the establishment of a new governor, instead of weakening, has actually increased.
Fu Bi means that since we can't stop it, we might as well take advantage of it and reunite the officials around us...
"I also have such a plan," Wen Yanbo said slowly: "But what happened today gave me a bad smell."
"Why did Wen Xiang say this?" Fu Bi brought him a cup of tea.
"Today at court, Bao Zheng reported on the destruction of Wuyou Cave yesterday, and the officials suddenly praised the boy named Chen Ke," Wen Yanbo said in a deep voice: "How do you say he is here?"
"It is said that he has both civil and military skills, political integrity and talent, and has found a prime minister for his descendants." Fu Bi said with a smile: "It makes me want to meet this kid and see if he is really that amazing."
"Officials naturally have good taste in people," Wen Yanbo said lightly: "But these words are obviously more appropriate to say in private, but what is the official's intention of saying them in the court?"
Fu Bi was a virtuous gentleman and never liked to make calculations, so he just drank tea and listened to Wen Yanbo's words.
"After going to court, I heard that the officials sent guards to protect him, and they also gave him food and wine. It was a great blessing, and it was a blessing." Wen Yanbo said slowly: "After that, the officials gave him the gift of food and wine."
It's a little too much, and one can't help but wonder if there's an element of acting in it."
"Performing?" Fu Bi said with a concentrated expression, "Who are you performing for?"
"For the civil and military ministers all over the capital, for you and me to see!" Wen Yanbo said decisively: "The officials naturally know that his pretentious behavior will inevitably lead to imitation. I don't know how many people will go to the Chen family to visit."
"Even our political affairs hall sent someone there," Fu Bi said with a smile.
"Do you know what that person will say in return when he comes back?" Wen Yanbo lowered his voice.
"What?"
"He actually saw Zhao Zongji eating wine at Chen Ke's house!" Wen Yanbo said coldly: "Isn't this an official family? Do you want everyone to see the close relationship between the two?" He paused and said: "You
Think again about what the officials said in the court..."
"This..." Fu Bi said with a surprised look on his face: "Is it possible that the officials have the idea of passing on Zong Ji?"
"That's not the case," Wen Yanbo shook his head and said, "The official's actions should mainly serve as a warning to those who are speculating, not to place bets too early."
"Yeah." Fu Bi nodded and said, "That should be the case."
"During this period, I have been thinking about the mentality of the official family," Wen Yanbo said: "I definitely still want to come on my own. After all, the official family can have children, but they are just old-fashioned girls."
"This is also human nature." Fu Bi nodded.
"So we still have to persevere," Wen Yanbo said with a smile: "Others use knives to stab the official's heart, but we warm his heart. The official will definitely appreciate it."
"Yes." Fu Bi nodded. He was very convinced of Wen Yanbo's foresight. He nodded and said, "With the support of the officials, we have won half the battle."
"That's right, if we keep the ministers stable, no matter how hard Jia goes, we won't be able to stir up trouble." Wen Yanbo took a sip of the fragrant tea and praised: "It is indeed the best imperial tea, Miyunlong."
"You must have finished drinking Wen Xiang's. I still have a small piece here, which I will take with me later." Fu Bi said with a smile.
"A gentleman does not take away people's love." Wen Yanbo shook his head and said.
"I drink the same thing no matter what I drink. The Dragon and Phoenix Tea Group is here for me. Wen Xiang is the real person who understands tea, so don't refuse."
"That's disrespectful." Wen Yanbo smiled and frowned: "Actually, it's not difficult to get the ministers to stop attacking us. Just find a new target for them."
"New goal?"
"Of course, not any goal can be achieved. It must be famous enough, have a high enough status, and be hated by others," Wen Yanbo said lightly: "And it is not hated by one person, but by everyone. Such a goal is hard to come by.
But in our Song Dynasty, it has existed for four years."
"You mean, the one from Xifu?" Fu Bi's expression remained unchanged, but his heart was in turmoil. He had long sensed that Wen Yanbo was unhappy with Di Qing, but he didn't expect it to reach this level.
"That's right." Wen Yanbo nodded and said: "This man makes every scholar restless, like a thorn in his back. He is a cancer, and even the country's atmosphere has been corrupted by him. Since he became prime minister, the common people have
They say you don’t have to be a scholar, as long as you have the ability, you will succeed in whatever you do.”
"And those military generals and soldiers have also become eager to move. They have written letters asking the court to improve military preparations, conquer Xixia, and restore Yanyun!" Wen Yanbo said with a sad face: "If things go on like this, our Song Dynasty will return to the scene of the troubled times of the Five Dynasties.
!”
In fact, there was nothing bad at that time. Although the country was divided into pieces and had nothing to ask for, both the Later Tang Dynasty and the Later Zhou Dynasty could beat the Khitans like the third grandson.
However, for scholars, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms are the most unbearable eras for them to look back on. The reason is very simple - in troubled times, scholars were the targets of wanton humiliation and killing by warriors -