Prime Minister

Chapter 1291: I am fighting in the court (2 chapters in 1)

Chapter 1291: I am fighting in the court (two chapters combined into one)

"Prime Minister, Cai Que wants to harm my brother!" Inside the Prime Minister's residence, Zhang Yue faced Su Che's words.

Zhang Yue was sitting and playing chess. He held a chess manual in one hand and placed the pieces on the chessboard in the other.

Zhang Yue heard what Su Che said and said, "I understand. I am not in the court today, so it will be too late to hear the decree."

"I was a step too late and failed to save Zizhan."

Cai Que also took advantage of the time difference and took advantage of his rest yesterday to suddenly impeach Su Shi. The emperor was furious and issued an order to demote Su Shi to the governor of Ruzhou.

Zhang Yue read He Zhengchen's memorial and found several poems that Su Shi had written privately to the King of Goryeo in Goryeo.

King Wang Hui of Goryeo held Su Shi in high esteem, and even worshipped him. Su Shi might have felt sad that he had been frustrated in the Song Dynasty, and yet he was held in such high esteem by the King of Goryeo. So at the end of the banquet, when he presented a poem, he praised Wang Hui a few lines. The standard of the poem was a bit high, which displeased the emperor.

This feeling is like in a relationship between a man and a woman, I get bullied by you, but I get warmth from another woman.

Originally these poems were circulated in the Goryeo royal court, but were secretly recorded by people with ulterior motives. In addition, Su Shi advocated that the Song Dynasty and Goryeo should share the same writing system, and at the same time, as an ally to restrain the Khitan by sea, he proposed a series of preferential trade policies for Goryeo, so he was impeached for collusion with foreign countries.

Although the charges Huang Yan brought against Su Shi were somewhat fictitious, if Huang Yan were in his place at the time, he would probably not have been able to save Su Shi.

Zhang Yue looked at Su Zhe's angry face and said, "Ziyou, as a person in power, the most important thing is to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, rather than go down the mountain to fight the tigers."

"The reason why Cai Que attacked your brother is that he was worried that he would not be valued by the emperor."

"Of course you blame me for this."

Su Che bowed. He had great political talent and understood the situation clearly. He also knew why Cai Que suddenly attacked his brother. Su Che said, "You are too kind, Prime Minister."

"Su has been compiling the charges against Cai Zhizheng and his followers for years. Previously, the Prime Minister advised me to keep things quiet, and Su listened to me."

"I didn't expect that this time Tsai Chih-cheng would take the initiative. This... will be hard to deal with in the future."

Su Che had always intended to make things difficult for Cai Que, but he had always been suppressed by Zhang Yue before. But now Cai Que took the initiative to make trouble for Huang Yan.

After listening to this, Zhang Yue thought to himself, this is what impeachment is all about. One has to strike first to gain the upper hand. The person who strikes later will appear powerless if he or she then refutes.

If Su Che impeached Cai Que first, and Cai Que then retaliated against Su Shi, it would seem that the other party was seeking revenge for a personal grudge.

Even if Su Che had strong evidence now, he would not be able to convince people.

Zhang Yue said, "Ziyou, I asked you to check the accounts and collect evidence against Lu Jifu, but he ended up setting fire to the three offices. Didn't I let him succeed in the beginning?"

"What happened to Lu Jifu later? He was dismissed from his post and left the capital."

Su Zhe heard this and said, "Prime Minister, I was reckless. I was really anxious before."

"But Cai Que is a man with evil intentions. He said before that he would burn books and bury scholars, and suppress speech. I think the next step is to call a horse a zebra. At this moment, the Prime Minister must nip evil in the bud and must not tolerate it."

Su Che repeatedly asked Zhang Yue to take action against Cai Que.

Zhang Yue glanced at him and continued to write on the chessboard, saying slowly: "Ziyou, the true art of Lan Ke is so amazing that it can reach the level of a god. One game of chess has brought back many years. Since you came out of the cave, you have no rivals. Forgive others when you can."

"When we play chess, we should 'forgive others when we can'. It's okay to be merciful and make a move first!"

Su Che was immediately disappointed when he heard this. He had been bullied by Cai Que so badly, and the Prime Minister was still delaying his action?

Zhang Yue placed another chess piece on the chessboard, and then changed the subject: "But there is a saying that goes, 'forgive others when you can,' and there is another saying that goes, 'Once you come out of the cave, you have no rivals!'"

"You are not invincible, so why should you show mercy to others when you can?"

Su Che was overjoyed when he heard this.

Zhang Yue said, "I have been reluctant to take action because I am worried about causing a party dispute. I will give you and your brother an explanation on this matter."

"Please, Prime Minister, do us justice!" Su Che thanked him and left.

Zhang Yue thought to himself that if he continued to force the old party and the new party not to cause trouble in the court.

Now that Cai Que has broken his rules and taken the initiative to attack Su Shi, he must take over.

Cai Que had been stirring up trouble and opposing his "Ming Ming De" for a long time. The reason why he said that to Su Che before was to let him know his difficulties, because Cai Que was actually standing behind the emperor. The way for the emperor to rule his people is to be above the contradictions and let the people below be caught in the contradictions.

So Tsai is indeed trying to create conflicts even if there are none.

Cai Que's goal was that no matter whether he won or lost, as long as he could keep the emperor in the position of arbitrator, he would have won.

So how to deal with Tsai Que?

Zhang Yue had his own plan in mind. He knew he had to use his strengths to attack Cai Que's weaknesses. If he went to the emperor to complain, and Cai Que only got a few scoldings in the end, he would have achieved his goal.

……

"Left Prime Minister, Left Prime Minister, someone has sent a letter to Dengwen Drum Court, impeaching Huang Yan for misusing the public embezzlement money when he was the Prime Minister of Sinong Temple!"

"Han Zhongyan used the performance appraisal law to correct Xu Ming, Zhou Song and other officials of the Secretariat for delaying the matter and not reporting it. He is dismissed from his post!"

After hearing this, Cai Que gently waved the fan at hand. He Zhengchen, Xiang Qi, and Xing Shu on the side looked at Cai Que's expression.

Huang Yan laughed loudly upon hearing this and said, "Well done! Well done!"

Huang Yan, the person involved, looked at the copied memorial calmly, as if he didn't care at all.

"Impeach Zezhong?" Cai Que also sneered, "Is Zhang San crazy?"

Everyone knows that Huang Yan is the Censor-in-Chief. Although he is Cai Que's thug, generally speaking, the Censor-in-Chief has a certain aura when he is in office. Censors are qualified to speak out about things they hear about. If you dare to impeach a censor, you are gagging him and not letting him speak. What's more, Huang Yan just impeached Su Shi.

Huang Yan said: "Zuo Cheng, you don't have to pay attention to it. Let the world see whether Zhang San is going to be the prime minister?"

"Don't people even have the right to speak? What's the point of having censors?"

"Isn't it obvious that he has such a ruthless intention to retaliate? I think Zhang San wants to be like Sima Yi!"

Huang Yan blurted out these words angrily.

No one spoke.

He Zhengchen said: "Zhang Sanlang is absolutely crazy. Who would have thought that choosing him to impeach Su Zizhan would hit his weak spot."

Xing Shu said, "I think Zhang San knows that he will soon be the prime minister, so he doesn't pretend anymore. He doesn't want to play tricks on me because he doesn't fight for his husband, so no one in the world will fight for him."

"Just fight with Zuo Cheng directly."

Cai Que said: "If that's the case, I'm not afraid of him. The more he protects Su Zizhan, the more it shows that he is forming a clique in the court for personal gain."

"Isn't the emperor afraid of the merger of the Fujian and Shu parties?"

"After Zhang San retired, does he still want to control the government remotely?"

Huang Yan stood up and said, "Zuo Cheng, I will confront Zhang San in the court tomorrow and see how he will deal with me!"

"Dare you to stop the Prime Minister? Don't you want to hold this position anymore?" Cai Que said.

Huang Yan said: "As long as you are willing to sacrifice your life, what does it matter if you become the prime minister?"

Cai Que said, "It is not necessary to be like this. We are officials of low status, and you were chosen to be the Imperial Censor. Isn't it because of your integrity that His Majesty took a liking to you?"

"Zhang San can only use such trivial matters as the ambassador's money to embarrass you."

Huang Yan said: "Yes, although Zhang San is an honest official, he has a very upright character. But his family runs many businesses. Everyone knows that half of the land in Xihe Road has been bought by Zhang San and Wu Wenfu's families!"

"The Zhang Party has controlled the court's economy for so many years. If we investigate the Zhang Party from top to bottom, how many people except Huang Anzhong can stay out of it?"

He Zhengchen said: "Zuo Cheng, I will collect the charges and present them directly to His Majesty!"

Xing Shu said quickly: "Everyone, if this happens, it will be a big deal. The Liao army is still in Hedong, and your majesty does not want to see the rise of factional strife in the court."

"I think we should discuss it with Zhang San. It would be good if everyone is willing to make concessions."

……

After the Yuanfeng reform, the court participation system also changed.

It is divided into four categories: daily ginseng, hexagram ginseng, full moon ginseng, and new moon ginseng.

Daily attendance means attending the court once a day. Officials who are above the rank of Jiulang in the Menxia Province, above the rank of Jiusheren in the Zhongshu Province, above the rank of Shilang in the Shangshu Province, above the rank of Zhongcheng in the Yushi Province, and above the rank of the Second Yuan of the Privy Council are all daily attendance officials and they have to go to the court to see the emperor every day.

As for the other three provincial officials, the Censorate officials, and the chiefs of the temples and supervisors, they were called the Six Visiting Officials. The so-called Six Visiting Officials were the original five-day daily visits. Because they visited the emperor six times a month, they were called the Six Visiting Officials.

As for the two officials who came to court to attend the meetings on the first and fifteenth days of each month, they were the temple supervisors and officials above the level of the Dali Temple's judges. They came to court to attend the meetings twice on the first and fifteenth days of each month.

The last one is the Shuo Shenguan, also known as the Yue Shenguan, an official above the level of Tongzhilang. He comes to court on the first day of every month, once a month.

Therefore, after the reform, the higher the official's rank, the more often he saw the emperor, and the lower the official's rank, the less often he saw the emperor. This also made things convenient for officials of all ranks, as they no longer had to run to the palace for every little thing.

The Risanguan officials were basically the same as the attendant officials in the past. They could discuss ideas with the emperor day and night, and could even come forward to ask for advice.

Originally, the rank of officials was determined by their ranking.

Za Ya is a ranking formula that combines the job title and the official title. Now that the job title system has been removed, the calculation of Za Ya is much simpler. The level of official position can now be seen at a glance.

This day was the full moon day, and the officials of the outer court were lined up outside.

The prime ministers were not included in this list, but were listed separately to make responses.

Zhang Yue and Wang Gui's Zhongshu and Menxia ministries could be divided into groups to make memorials.

But important matters were mainly decided during the period of the Secretariat.

Wang Gui and Zhang Yue, the left and right ministers of the Secretariat, and Cai Que and Wang Anli, the left and right chancellors, reported on government affairs in front of the emperor.

Cai Que said: "Your Majesty, the Secretariat has requested that the Shangshu Province be transferred to the Secretariat from now on, and the word 'Shang' should be added to show respect."

"I think this move is inappropriate. The three ministries are all under the emperor's jurisdiction. They are the source of political affairs. They should be equal and respect each other. How could the Zhongshu be above the Shangshu Province?"

Cai Cong believed that the power of the Secretariat was indeed too great. The Secretariat where Zhang Yue worked not only had the power to receive imperial edicts, but also had the power to deal with "illegal cases" and the power to appoint and dismiss officials below the level of attendants.

As a result, the Secretariat had the most arrogant attitude among the three ministries.

Zhang Yue said, "Your Majesty, when you have great power, you have less courtesy. How can I change my mind just because of my power? Besides, I am also the Minister of the Left. How can I neglect the Ministry of the Secretariat and value the Ministry of the Central Secretariat just because I am also the Minister of the Central Secretariat?"

"Now the Secretariat makes decisions and does things without rules, and the Shangshu follows them. Although the three ministries each have their own responsibilities, there is no distinction between superiors and subordinates. Once the government orders become chaotic and cannot be unified, who will lead them?"

The official said: "The three ministries are equal, the Secretariat will make the decision, and the Chancellery will follow the Secretariat in planning and implementation. There is nothing wrong with that."

Zhang Yue smiled slightly when he heard this.

This is what being an official is like. You have to be sensitive to any power, not only to protect your own, but also to encroach on others'.

Tell the other party, this is mine, this is also mine, and you must be fierce and aggressive to grab it. Power is like sailing against the current. If you don't grab others' things, others will grab yours.

Now that the Secretariat is powerful, there is no reason for him not to weaken the power of the Shangshu and Menxia ministries bit by bit.

Cai Que said: "Your Majesty, after receiving the imperial edict, the Secretariat has approved several cases on its own without going through the Ministry of Shangshu."

Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, Minister, the procedures are too long, and some matters cannot be submitted. Some small matters do not need to be planned."

Cai Que said, "Your Majesty, since we are implementing the performance evaluation law, we should set deadlines for each matter. If any official fails to do so, he should be held accountable according to the performance evaluation law. The Secretariat bypassed the Ministry of Chancellery to issue the order. So what is the point of the Ministry of Personnel carrying out the original agreement?"

The emperor said: "All plans of the Secretariat must be followed by the Minister!"

Cai Que got back at Zhang Yue again. Zhang Yue often bypassed the Shangshu Province to issue orders to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and did not follow the procedures, which was indeed wrong.

However, Cai can indeed explain this logic, but in fact Zhang Yue will continue to do so in the future.

Zhang Yue often ordered his subordinates to do so first while things were still going through the procedures of the Shangshu.

It seems that liking "micro-management" is a common quality of every person in power. When Zhang Yue was a minister, he complained about the government's micro-management all day long, and when he became the prime minister, he also "felt good".

……

During the tea break, Wang Gui, Zhang Yue, Cai Que, Wang Anli and others were chatting and laughing.

The few of them were chatting as if the open and secret fighting just now had never existed at all, which didn't mean that the few of them were fake.

We have seen many storms and waves, and have seen the despicable side of human nature. Everyone fights for profit.

It's not that there are no bad people here, but there are definitely no stupid people, and stupid people are sometimes much worse than bad people.

Cai Que took a sip of tea and said, "Prime Minister, your Majesty split the Secretariat into two departments, because he didn't want the power of the Prime Minister to be monopolized by one person. Now, don't you think that the Secretariat is better than the original Secretariat?"

Cai Que meant that the Yuanfeng Reform split the Zhongshu Menxia into two, which was the emperor's attempt to suppress the power of the prime minister. However, Zhang Yue thrived and took all the power, making the power of the Zhongshu Province even greater than that of the Zhongshu Menxia before. If the emperor had not seen that Zhang Yue still had one year to resign as prime minister, he would never have tolerated it until now.

Zhang Yue thought to himself, this is not the case. In history, Cai Jing during the reign of Emperor Huizong was even more powerful than he is now. The government reformed the system to divide the power of the prime minister, but in the end, it created a powerful prime minister.

Zhang Yue said: "Zhizheng, I don't like to take on things, I just have no choice."

"You will understand these things when you become the Right Prime Minister."

Cai Que thought to himself, isn't Zhang Yue scolding them for being incompetent? Why does he have to push everything onto Zhang Yue?

Cai Que said: "Prime Minister, my biggest regret is that I didn't find a good marriage! Other than that, I don't think there is anything I am not qualified for."

Zhang Yue said: "Not only that, I know you also want to reform the government, but reforming the system is like cutting down trees."

"A tree is too big, with deep roots and lush leaves. If you use a knife or an axe to chop it, not only will you not be able to cut it down, but you will hurt yourself. You have no choice but to hold the tree and shake it left and right. When the soil is loosened, the roots will come out and you can finally make the final move."

"You have the courage to take responsibility, but you are too impatient and don't know how to be patient. You will get caught up in a mess and end up being stuck in the mud."

After hearing what Zhang Yue said, Cai Que shook his head and said, "I am ignorant and cannot understand the Prime Minister's way of protecting himself. Of course, Lord Jing will not understand it either."

Zhang Yue smiled and shook his head.

……

Then continue the meeting.

Next, the Minister of Revenue Huang Lu came out to give a financial report.

The national treasury has been spending money like water.

The Dangxiang situation had not yet been pacified, and the imperial court had hundreds of thousands of troops to support in five routes in Shaanxi, while the war with the Liao Kingdom in Hedong broke out again, delaying the Song army's offensive against the Dangxiang.

At the same time, in order to deal with the southward advance of the Liao army, the imperial court prepared for war in various places in Hebei and set up three auxiliary armies near the capital, which led to an increasing amount of financial expenditure by the imperial court.

Gradually, the money that Wang Anshi and Zhang Yue had obtained before was no longer enough to support such a large business.

As he was speaking, Huang Lu ordered someone to bring a thick stack of materials.

There have been two paths in finance since ancient times. What should we do if there is not enough money?

Choose one of the two options: increase revenue and reduce expenditure.

There are two ways to increase revenue and reduce expenditure. One is to increase revenue and reduce expenditure externally, and the other is to increase revenue and reduce expenditure internally.

Huang Lu said: "Your Majesty, I have completed the revision of the Yuanfeng Accounting Records. Previously, it was edited by the Three Departments and the Zhongshu Accounting Department, but the accounts were lost due to a fire in the Three Departments. I searched everywhere for them, and after the reform, the Ministry of Revenue was established. I have finally compiled the accounts of the whole country into a book."

"Accounting is to spend within one's means, so as to avoid shortages and save money."

Zhang Yue looked at the thick account book. He had originally intended to do this account, but was interrupted by Lu Huiqing's burning of the three offices. Now Huang Lu re-did the accounting after the three offices' accounts were burned, which was really amazing.

Cai Que said: "Your Majesty, now that salt notes and Jiaozi are in circulation among the people, since the revenue is insufficient, you can print more salt notes and Jiaozi to alleviate the urgent need."

Zhang Yue glanced at Cai Que and thought, there's no need to be so anxious to show off.

Huang Lu said: "Your Majesty, since ancient times, nothing has enriched a country and benefited its people more than money. The court has finally managed to convince merchants and common people that salt notes and Jiaozi can be used as money. The court has set up the Jiaoyinjian as the coinage office to manage taxes. By not having to make copper and iron coins every year, the cost of minting millions of strings of coins can be saved from salt notes and Jiaozi!"

"Don't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs or drain the pond to catch the fish."

Commercial social credit comes first.

How to make ordinary people treat paper money as real gold and silver is the court’s top priority.

Otherwise, once there is a financial shortage, people will think of issuing excessive amounts of paper money, causing severe inflation, which is an act of destroying credit.

The reason why the Southern Song Dynasty was able to use Huizi for a hundred years was that the people in power knew how to exercise moderation.

The emperor looked at Zhang Yue and asked, "In your opinion, is there any other way for the court to increase its revenue?"

Zhang Yue said: "Your Majesty, yes."

"You all don't believe that there is a way to make money out of nothing, but there is such a thing, and that is trade."

"I have told Your Majesty before..."

Zhang Yue had previously told the emperor a story that was a replica of the story of a prisoner-of-war camp in later generations.

A man took a bag of food and walked around a barter camp, making several deals. When he came out, he not only had all the food he needed, but he also had a few more apples.

This is how wealth can be created through transactions that exchange what you have and what you don’t have.

This is different from the original sin theory that merchants only buy low and sell high but do not produce anything.

A country with developed commerce and increased trade can create wealth. The Wealth of Nations also says that social division of labor and free trade can create more wealth.

Zhang Yue then changed his tone and said, "Your Majesty, as far as I know, Goryeo is not like China, and does not have the method of coinage. There are only a small amount of silver cakes in the country to make coins, and the common people mostly trade rice and cloth, or barter."

"As long as the two countries open up trade, both our dynasty's salt notes and Jiaozi can flow into Korea and make a huge profit."

"Ginseng, ink, paper, writing mats, ramie cloth, folding fans, porcelain and other items from Goryeo are all available to our dynasty. Books, medicinal materials, spices, dyes, silk, tea and jade from our dynasty are all valuable to Goryeo. Previously, we were unable to trade because of the Liao Kingdom's obstruction of the sea route, but now this is no longer a problem. As long as the court controls the trade between the two countries, it can earn more than one million strings of cash every year."

"Su Shi was ordered by me to go to Goryeo before, and he had roughly reached an agreement with the king. But now he has been convicted! I don't know who to send to Goryeo next time!"

After Zhang Yue finished speaking, Cai Que's face turned pale. He knew that Zhang Yue was using this matter to attack him.

Cai Que hurriedly argued: "Your Majesty, I don't know about this matter. But Su Shi is indeed guilty."

Zhang Yue said, "Of course, the Left Prime Minister doesn't know. But why are you so anxious? Whether Su Shi is guilty or not, you didn't discuss it with me in advance, or let Huang Yan show me the impeachment. If you two are so anxious, why don't you report it to His Majesty earlier? Now that Su Shi has been demoted, how will the King of Goryeo feel after learning about it?"

"Whether it will affect the diplomatic relations between the two countries, I don't know. I also don't know how much the national economy will be delayed."

Upon hearing this, the emperor held his forehead and looked at Cai Que.

Cai Que acted hastily to deal with Su Shi, but he did not expect that this matter would ruin the country's overall plan.

Now Zhang Yue blames all of this on Cai Que.

Zhang Yue looked at Cai Que with a slight sneer. Perhaps he was waiting for him to go to the emperor to speak up for Su Shi, or to seek justice for Su Shi, or to take revenge on Cai Que.

But Zhang Yue had none of that.

This way you've fallen into Cai Que's trap.

You Cai really want to put the emperor on a high pedestal to be the judge, but I don't want to.

Why should I ask the emperor for this favor? Why should I let the emperor judge who is right and who is wrong between you and me, Cai Que, and then let the emperor act as a peacemaker.

I'm going to beat you where I'm best.

Don't forget that the "national affairs" of this world are decided by me, Zhang Yue.

I was appointed Prime Minister based on my own ability! What am I afraid of? Why should I act based on your and the emperor's mood?

It's not like you, Cai Que, who became the prime minister by the grace of the emperor.

The official took a deep breath, glared at Cai Que, and finally said, "Cai Que was negligent in this matter, and he shall be fined thirty catties of copper!"

"Pay the copper and go to the palace gate to apologize!"

Cai Que's face changed drastically when he heard this.

A fine of 30 kilograms of copper was nothing to him. But as a prime minister, he had to go to the palace gate to apologize in front of all the officials, which was a huge humiliation.

"I accept the decree."

Cai Que closed his eyes and bowed.

Ps: Happy New Year, brothers and sisters! May the New Year bring you good luck and prosperity!

(End of this chapter)