The Ezhou debate, which has been stagnant for more than ten days, finally made new progress today.
At that time, the right minister of the court personally made a decision and sent envoys to the south of the Yangtze River to summon Tang Ning, the deputy minister of the Ministry of Personnel, back to Beijing to investigate the crime.
The six ministries were under the jurisdiction of the Shangshu Province. The only people in the court who could make this decision, besides Your Majesty, were the two prime ministers, King Feng.
However, before this order even left the capital, it was stopped by a decree from the palace.
His Majesty personally issued an edict, denying Prime Minister Feng's decision. The envoy was urgently recalled before he could reach the city gate.
As soon as this incident came out, the entire capital was in an uproar.
Although the relationship between the emperor and the prime minister is that of principal ministers, they also restrict each other. Many of your majesty's decrees will be opposed by the prime minister, and the prime minister does not need to ask for your majesty's decision. Generally, it is not a big deal, and your majesty will rarely object explicitly.
.
This decree made the monarch and his subjects completely on opposite sides.
Prime Minister Feng has been in power for many years, and there are many officials from the Jiangnan faction who follow him. If he stands on the opposite side of His Majesty, a group of people will stand on the opposite side of His Majesty.
Situations like this have been common for many years. There have been many cases where monarchs and ministers fought over the Golden Palace and became red-faced and embarrassed. Prime Minister Feng even threatened to resign several times...
Of course, even if the emperor and his ministers had different political views and had many disputes, Prime Minister Feng was still Prime Minister Feng after so many years. If the emperor dismissed the prime minister because of these things, he would not leave anything good in the history books.
Those with a keen sense of smell have already sensed the unusual atmosphere permeating the capital, and many officials have even foreseen the situation in which the emperor and his ministers will confront each other in the morning court tomorrow.
Shangshu Province.
The Ministry of Personnel has the rules of the Ministry of Personnel. The officials who are examined by the Ministry of Personnel have only the right to take exams. As for whether they pass the exam and how to deal with it, the Ministry of Personnel has its own decision.
A deputy minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs is not qualified to arrest the governor of a state and escort him back to Beijing. This is trespassing, and trespassing is also a taboo in officialdom.
Shangshu Sheng's decision to recall Tang Ning was reasonable and reasonable, but His Majesty's actions were a bit overly protective.
Prime Minister Feng looked extremely ugly, and his order to summon Tang Ning back to Beijing was rejected by His Majesty. This was the first time since he became Prime Minister that His Majesty opposed his reasonable decision without any reason.
And this is just for a controversial deputy minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs...
He looked out the window and said: "General Zuo Xiaowei, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs..., this person has already developed the prototype of a favored minister and a fawning minister. This is a precursor to chaos in the court and the world..."
Li Ke looked at Prime Minister Feng during the incident and knew His Majesty's actions, which strengthened Prime Minister Feng's decision to get rid of Tang Ning.
When it comes to the matter of Ezhou alone and the interests of Jiangnan, Prime Minister Feng may not be too serious. His Majesty's attitude of trying to protect him made Prime Minister Feng really vigilant.
Since ancient times, no dynasty in which the emperor ignored his ministers and favored only one person lasted long.
The prime minister happens to have the responsibility to maintain the stability of the dynasty for a long time.
Li Ke looked at him in Shizhong and said respectfully: "The Prime Minister has a wise eye."
After Li Ke left Shizhong, Feng Xiang looked at another person in the hall and said: "Tomorrow in the court, I plan to admonish you to clean up the traitors. What does Wang Xiang think?"
His words were both a question and an invitation. If the two prime ministers agreed, even the king would not be able to have his own way.
Wang Xiang took a sip of tea and said leisurely: "Your Majesty is your Majesty after all. Above the court and in front of all the civil and military officials, Prime Minister Feng still has to save some face for Your Majesty."
Feng Xiang shook his head and said: "Your Majesty has been blinded by the sycophant. It is my duty to prevent your Majesty from going too far astray. The future of Chen State is more important than your Majesty's face."
Thinking of the situation in the palace tomorrow, Wang Xiang coughed and said, "Tomorrow an old friend will travel far away. I want to send him out of the capital, so the palace will be handed over to Prime Minister Feng."
After he finished speaking, he stood up and walked out of the hall.
When he reached the door, his footsteps suddenly stopped again. He turned around and asked, seemingly unintentionally: "Is Prime Minister Feng doing this just to get rid of the traitors?"
Feng Xiang looked at him, frowned and asked, "Does Wang Xiang think that I have any other plans that I can't succeed in?"
Wang Xiang smiled and said: "Just ask, Xiang Feng doesn't need to worry too much."
After that, he walked straight out, leaving Feng Xiang alone in the hall. His expression changed for a while, and finally turned into indifference.
Royal Palace, in the Royal Garden.
The Queen Mother was walking with Emperor Chen. At a certain moment, she turned her head to look at him and asked, "Is the court encountering another difficulty?"
Chen Huang smiled and said, "It's just a little thing."
"It's because of Prime Minister Feng." The Queen Mother looked at him and said, "The Ai family has heard from Man'er that because of the incident in Ezhou, Prime Minister Feng took the lead in making trouble in the court..."
Chen Huang's tone was very indifferent and said: "Then let him make trouble. This is not the first time anyway. I just can't hear it."
"Prime Minister Feng made your father very angry back then." The Queen Mother smiled and said: "But he has indeed done some practical things for the court in recent years, and he is also very capable. These officials in the court,
How can there be a perfect person?"
"He has done more practical things for Jiangnan." Chen Huang frowned and said, "These officials in Jiangnan only think about themselves. The national treasury has been empty in recent years. How could they have thought about me or the court? If it weren't for Tang Ning, the national treasury would be empty."
The past two years have been a little more prosperous, but I can’t even afford the money for the Queen Mother’s birthday!”
The Queen Mother looked at him and said, "Your Majesty seems to like the little guy named Tang very much."
Chen Huang said without hesitation: "He rarely disappoints me in the things I entrust him to do. From the beginning, I trained him as a good prime minister. In the past two years, he has traveled six times and accomplished many major things."
, and it also proves that my vision is correct."
The Queen Mother looked at him and asked: "Is he also responsible for what happened in Ezhou this time?"
Chen Huang nodded and said: "Something happened in Jiangnan. I asked him to take a look. I don't know if the Ezhou officials have any connection with this matter, so he made such a big move..."
He and the Queen Mother walked out of the Imperial Garden. A eunuch was waiting outside the Imperial Garden and whispered: "Your Majesty, the Ezhou prisoner sent by Mr. Tang to escort has just arrived in Beijing."
Chen Huang asked: "Come back?"
The young eunuch nodded and said, "The envoy sent back by Master Tang is already waiting at the door of the imperial study."
After a while, Chen Huang walked into the imperial study, looked at the person below, and asked: "Tell me, what exactly happened in Ezhou?"
The captain of the sharp blade team knelt down on one knee and said: "Reporting to your majesty, Mr. Tang was ordered to take a test in Jiangnan. When he arrived in Ezhou, he found that local officials in Ezhou had embezzled mineral taxes for many years, and there were collusions between officials and businessmen to falsify business taxes. Mr. Tang
It was also found out that the local officials in Ezhou were so audacious that they once attempted to murder an official of the imperial court, and there were complete witnesses and physical evidence..."
As he told the story, Chen Huang's face became darker and darker.
He knew that Jiangnan officials were bold, but he didn't know that they were so bold as to blatantly murder the Beijing officials who went to Jiangnan to investigate...
Captain Sharp Blade continued to report: "Master Tang captured several prisoners, including the governor of Ezhou, and confiscated their property. He also ordered Ezhou merchants to pay back the tax owed, totaling 3.12 million silver.
Seven thousand taels, as well as rare jewels of unknown value, have all been transported to the capital and handed over to His Majesty for disposal..."
"Hmph, a small Ezhou can actually have three..." Before Chen Huang finished speaking, his expression froze and he looked at him suddenly, "How many did you say?"
