The Lantern Festival had not yet come, and Tang Ning had not finished her annual leave, so she was summoned to the Ministry of Civil Affairs again for some work.
This time there was an important matter, and as the minister of official affairs, he could not be absent.
Emperor Chen removed the position of Minister of Rites from Tang Huai. Now that the imperial examination is about to take place, it is necessary to select another person as soon as possible to take charge of the Ministry of Rites.
Although the power of the Ministry of Rites was reduced again and again by Emperor Chen, it was still acceptable in terms of appearance. At this critical moment, the position of the Minister of Rites was vacant, which was unseemly.
In the past, when there was a vacancy for a chief official, the first thing the court would consider was naturally the second-in-command who was familiar with the affairs of the ministry.
However, Liu Feng, the former minister of the Ministry of Rites, was relegated to another state long ago because of his lifestyle problems. Now the minister of the Ministry of Rites is temporarily appointed by a Hanlin bachelor. The Hanlin Academy is still too busy, and with the qualifications of a bachelor Zhou, he is not qualified to be a minister.
Bit.
Academician Zhou's qualifications are not sufficient, so those doctors from the Ministry of Rites are naturally not considered.
Therefore, the new Minister of Rites must select people from other departments.
This person's official position should not be lower than the fourth rank at least, and he must have certain qualifications in the court. This is in line with the promotion process of Beijing officials. The Ministry of Personnel has already screened it, and there are not many people who meet these two requirements.
There are only a few officials of the third grade, and each one is in charge of one department. To transfer them here is to tear down the east wall to make up for the west wall. Besides, among the six departments, which one is not more important than the Ministry of Rites?
Not to mention the third-rank officials, there are no spare third-rank officials in Beijing. The imperial censor, the minister of Dali Temple, etc. are all ministers, and it is difficult to transfer them.
This is the imperial court's custom of selecting officials by jumping from the fourth rank to the third rank. This is exactly the progression path from assistant minister to minister, from adjutant to chief official. As long as there are potential officials, Chen Huang will put them into the fourth rank.
position, rather than from the third level.
Moreover, according to the usual practice, whether it is under Zhongshu's sect, Shangshu, Dusheng, or important departments such as the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Households, the Ministry of War, etc., there are two adjutants of the fourth rank. Removing one will not affect the operation of the headquarters, and it will also provide a good opportunity for the future.
People vacated their seats.
When Tang Ning walked into the Yamen of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, a Zhang Gu bowed and said, "Master Tang, Master Shangshu is waiting for you in the Yamen."
Tang Ning met Concubine Shu in the palace last time, and during the few chats, she had already decided on something, and I think Fang Hong already knew it by now.
The position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was decided by two people with evil intentions, which made Tangning suddenly feel like they were collaborating.
When Tang Ning walked into the Shang Shu Yamen, Fang Hong cupped his hands and said, "Master Fang."
"Master Tang, you're welcome." Fang Hong returned the favor, poured a cup of tea himself, and said, "Master Tang, take a seat."
After Tang Ning sat down, he handed a piece of paper to Tang Ning and said, "This is the candidate list of the Minister of Rites drafted by the Ministry of Personnel. Mr. Tang, please take a look."
Tang Ning opened the folder and found that many of the names on it were unfamiliar to him. He had only worked in the Sixth Department in the past few years and was not familiar with officials from the three provinces and other departments.
He looked at the person at the front of the line and asked, "Who is this Lord Shen Ye Shen?"
Fang Hong said: "Master Shen is the servant of the Huangmen and serves in the province."
Tang Ning looked at Fang Hong and asked, "Does this Lord Shen have any friendship with Lord Fang?"
Fang Hong looked at Tang Ning and said with some embarrassment, "Master Shen and I were Jinshi in the same year, and we have a pretty good personal relationship."
The two Fang brothers have completely different personalities. Fang Zhe is the type who is not afraid of boiling water even if he is dead, while Fang Hong has a somewhat straight personality. However, since Zhao Yuan is planning to fight for the position, no matter how upright Fang Hong is,
It would be foolish not to pave the way for him in the future.
But paving the way also requires methods. If it were Fang Zhe, he would never do it so obviously.
In the list of officials, the first person is naturally the person who is strongly recommended. Unless Emperor Chen has any dissatisfaction with him, he will generally not choose another person. However, he will consider many things, including the person's partisan relatives and friends, etc. Therefore, this
One should be chosen with extreme caution.
Tang Ning looked at him, shook her head, and said, "Although we don't avoid hatred when doing things externally, and we don't avoid relatives when doing things internally, there are still people who are gossiping behind our backs. Lord Fang shouldn't put him first, otherwise His Majesty will look at him.
, there will also be some ideas in my mind.”
Fang Hong's face turned red, he lowered his head and said, "What about Master Yi Tang's opinion?"
"No rush." Tangning waved her hand, looked at the second name, and asked, "Who is this Qi Long?"
Fang Hong explained: "Master Qi is the Minister of the Secretariat. He has been in office for more than ten years and has a very good reputation."
Tangning asked straight to the point: "What about the relationship with the Fang family?"
Fang Hong said: "We are nodding friends."
Although the position of the Minister of Rites is of little use, at critical moments, he can have more say, which naturally puts his own people at ease.
Now that the goal of seizing the legitimate heir has been established, Tang Ning does not need to be so roundabout when talking to Fang Hong.
You can't choose a close friend, otherwise it will arouse Chen Huang's suspicion. Before Zhao Yuan has the ability to seize the heir, this matter must not happen.
You can't choose someone who has nothing to do with you, otherwise this opportunity will be wasted.
But after Fang Hong introduced the people on the list to him one by one, Tangning discovered that except for Mr. Shen, the rest of them had no close relationship with the Fang family.
If this is the case, it will not be easy to quietly assign the position of Minister of Rites to Master Shen.
Tang Ning frowned slightly, looked at the name of the last person, and asked, "Zhang Yan, this name sounds familiar. Which lord in the court is it?"
Fang Hongdao: "Master Zhang is the Vice Minister of Zhongshu and the son of the great scholar Zhang. However, the Fang family and the Zhang family have never had any contact..."
"Wait a minute..." Tang Ning raised her hand to interrupt Fang Hong and asked, "How many bachelors named Zhang are there in the court?"
Fang Hong thought for a while and said, "Just one person."
Tang Ning pointed to Zhang Yan's name and said, "It's him!"
…
Royal study room.
Chen Huang opened the book handed over by the official department, with a slightly strange expression, and said: "I thought he would put Shen Ye first. After all, they were Jinshi in the same year, and their personal relationship was pretty good. Unexpectedly, he actually put Shen Ye first."
At the end."
He looked at the name ranked first and asked: "Who is Zhang Yan? It sounds familiar..."
Wei Jiandao: "Your Majesty, Mr. Zhang is the son of Zhang Dajun, and he is currently serving in Zhongshu Province."
"It turns out to be the Zhang family." Emperor Chen said with a look of surprise on his face: "The Zhang family has always been low-key as officials, and they are dignified and dignified ministers. I actually have no impression..."
Wei Jian smiled and said: "Master Zhang has a strict family education, and the Zhang family also keeps a low profile. Your Majesty has forgotten that back then, Master Zhang punished His Majesty for reciting it. His Majesty couldn't recite it and was punished, so he went to the late emperor to complain..."
Thinking of the past events, Chen Huang shook his head, with a smile on his face, and said: "No wonder, no wonder, he is the son of Zhang Dajun, so it's not surprising."
"Fang Aiqing is as calm as ever in his work." Chen Huang thought for a while and said: "The Zhang family knows etiquette and observes etiquette, so it would be better for him to go to the Ministry of Rites to save himself from wasting time in Zhongshu. That position is more suitable for him and let the Hanlin Academy draft
Just do it..."
Wei Jian bowed and said: "I obey the order."
He slowly exited the hall and happened to meet Zhao Yuan who personally delivered soup to Emperor Chen.
Wei Jian paused, suddenly looked at Zhao Yuan, and asked in a low voice: "Why haven't you seen the little girl from the Zhang family following His Highness recently?"
Zhao Yuan glanced at his mouth and said, "That's because you didn't see it. I was playing with Sister Zhang yesterday..."
