Prime Minister

Chapter 1194 I am the overall situation

Chapter 1194 I am the overall situation

In the Golden Palace, Li Ding read out Zhang Yue's crimes aloud.

All the gentlemen frowned as they heard this. Cai Que had known in advance that Li Ding was going to attack Zhang Yue, but he was also somewhat shocked to hear that there was actually a Yelu Hongshi involved.

Zhang Yue even raised Yelu Yixin's illegitimate son by his side. Is he planning something?

The emperor heard from the Imperial City Department that Zhang Yue had accepted bribes, but he still felt that he could forgive him. After all, with Zhang Yue in this position, it was not so easy to dismiss a prime minister.

There is a process here. Generally, one has to eliminate the party members first, then gradually replace them with new people to take over key positions, and finally bring down Zhang Yue in one fell swoop.

Li Ding's attack was too rash, and the government had no intention of pursuing the matter against Zhang Yue.

But now I heard that Zhang Yue had raised Yelu Yixin's son by his side, which was different. Li Ding's impeachment of Zhang Yue was understandable.

There must be an explanation for this matter.

The emperor slowly suppressed his anger and continued to listen to Li Ding impeaching Zhang Yue in the hall.

After Li Ding finished reading, he looked at the emperor and asked, "Zhang Yue accepted a box of northern pearls from Yelu Yixin, which was worth tens of thousands of strings of cash."

"Your Majesty has announced the edict to Zhang Yue. Is what I said true or false?"

The emperor frowned upon hearing this. Zhang Yue said, "Your Majesty, this is true. This box of Northern Pearls is still in my house, but I have never touched a single bit of it."

Yes, I took the money, but I didn't spend a penny.

When Zhang Yue said this, all the ministers were surprised.

Zhang Yue said, "Your Majesty, Li Ding, as the Chief Censor, has impeached me. If this is indeed justified, then I will dismiss my position as Prime Minister and let the law handle everything. If this is not justified, then Li Ding is making false accusations and slandering the Prime Minister, which is a serious crime."

"But no matter what, since the Chief Censor has impeached me, I must step aside and wait for punishment. Please allow me to wait in the side hall, and Your Majesty will make a decision after discussing with the other officials."

"In this way, you gentlemen do not need to consider the feelings of your former colleagues and can speak freely. I have no objection to this."

When Prime Minister Zhang Yue was impeached, he should have stepped aside and waited for punishment. Otherwise, if you were standing in front of the emperor, which minister would dare to speak ill of you in person?

"Approved! Shi Deyi, accompany Zhang Qing to the side hall to rest."

Accompanied by Shi Deyi, Zhang Yue retreated from the main hall to the side hall to rest.

Shi Deyi looked at Zhang Yue with a melancholy face. He had a quite favorable impression of Zhang Yue.

Shi Deyi took the tea from the eunuch and served it to Zhang Yue personally. Zhang Yue nodded to Shi Deyi, took the tea and drank it slowly.

After hesitating for a moment, Shi De said, "Don't worry, Mr. Zhang. He will definitely put the overall situation first."

"The overall situation is more important?" Zhang Yue smiled and thought to himself, yes, the overall situation is more important, and I am the overall situation!

……

Within the main hall.

No one dared to speak at this moment.

At this time, only Wang Anli stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, it is a tacit knowledge that the envoys of Song and Liao secretly accepted some jewels during their exchanges."

"In fact, when envoys from two countries go to each other's side, their attendants often smuggle valuables and sell them to both sides. This is something that everyone knows but does not say."

Li Ding said: "But Zhang Yue was in charge of collecting the money during the Song-Liao negotiations. Was Zhang Yue doing something that was harmful to the public interest?"

"Moreover, why did they take in Yelu Hong and hide him in the heart of Bianjing?"

Wang Anli was speechless when he heard this and was forced to retreat.

Cai Que said: "This cannot be explained in a few words. I believe in Zhang Yue's loyalty, but it is hard to say whether he has done anything to benefit himself at the expense of the public."

The official listened to Cai Que's words and said, "This is fair and just."

Xue Xiang said: "Your Majesty, I guess Zhang Yue is not greedy for money, but to take the northern pearls to win the trust of Yelu Yixin."

The emperor said, "I heard that Yelu Yixin was in a high position in Liao and had the power to 'not disobey the order of the King of Wei.'"

"Or maybe there's something else going on."

Wang Anli said: "Your Majesty, I guarantee that Zhang Yue is loyal and trustworthy!"

Xue Xiang also said: "I second the motion!"

Then the rest of the ministers spoke one after another, including Wang Gui. Everyone spoke very cautiously and no one took advantage of the situation, nor did they even have the intention of forcing Zhang Yue to abdicate.

Of course, the government doesn’t have any either.

While they were talking, a eunuch entered the hall and said, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Censor He Zhengchen wants to see you!"

……

In the sunshine, He Zhengchen arrived at the hall with sweat all over his forehead.

He stepped into the hall in a hurry, ignoring the surprised looks of the officials on both sides and Yulongzhi.

Li Ding felt somewhat confident as he watched He Zhengchen enter the palace.

At this moment, Han Zhongyan, the official in charge of the Yintai Division, also came to the hall.

The other party seemed to be one step ahead of him.

Han Zhongyan took the lead in entering the palace before He Zhengchen and presented a memorial, saying, "Your Majesty, an urgent memorial has been sent by the Dengzhou cavalry!"

The emperor glanced at Han Zhongyan and He Zhengchen, who was sweating profusely beside him.

"Dengzhou?"

The emperor could not think of anything happening in Dengzhou that was worthy of urgent report via horse.

He Zhengchen was hesitant to speak, so he had to stand aside and wink at Li Ding.

After reading the urgent report from Dengzhou, the emperor could not help but move and glance at His Highness Li Ding.

Li Ding actually saw a hint of sarcasm in the official's eyes.

Zhang Qing, Zhang Qing, you are really something... The emperor thought to himself, you have even taken me into account.

"Show it to Li Qing." The emperor ordered the eunuch to hand the memorial to Li Ding.

Li Ding took the memorial with suspicion and read it. After reading it, he suddenly lost control of his emotions and looked dejected. The memorial fell to the ground from his hands.

According to his impeachment letter, less than half an hour later, the memorial from Dengzhou arrived.

Everyone in the hall was wondering what memorial had caused everyone to lose their composure like this.

Cai Que bent down and picked up the memorial that had caused Li Ding to lose control. He glanced at it briefly and said, "The governor of Dengzhou reported that a ship from the Liao Kingdom came over the sea. A man who claimed to be the Liao Kingdom's Southern Court King Yelu Yixin asked the court to take him in."

After Cai Que finished speaking, the hall fell into silence.

The emperor then said, "I remember when I appointed Zhang Yue as prime minister, the court was plagued by internal and external troubles."

The emperor sighed silently and said, "I was seriously ill at the time and felt powerless and unable to manage the overall situation, so I entrusted the affairs of state to him. Over the past year and a half, you have seen clearly what has happened in the court and the affairs of state."

"I have always thought that Mr. Zhang is a bit stubborn and often goes against my will. But he comes from a poor family and is honest and self-disciplined. With the Empress Dowager's strong recommendation, it is appropriate for me to use him to turn the tide. As for whether he can be the prime minister for a long time, I have not thought deeply about it."

"Outsiders say that at Zhang Qing's age, he can rule the country and serve as prime minister for ten or twenty years. But a few months ago, he told me that he would not serve as prime minister for more than five years and would resign at the end of his term. But within these five years, he wants to do his best for the court and is not afraid of being scolded or resented."

"I haven't thought much about this. In fact, all of you have witnessed Mr. Zhang's ability over the years. But I want to say this today."

"From now on, when the court is involved in reforms, Mr. Zhang's opinion is my opinion! The world shall not disobey it!"

The official said this and left towards the side hall.

All the ministers in the hall were silent for a moment, and then left silently after a while. Only then did they start to speak.

A rustling sound came into Li Ding's ears. He closed his eyes and stood motionless in the hall.

PS: The biography of Yelu Yixin in the History of Liao records that "after his plot to flee to Song and his secret storage of weapons were discovered, he was strangled to death."