Prime Minister

Chapter 1309 Yuanfeng Political Affairs

Chapter 1309 Yuanfeng Political Affairs

Talented people emerge in every generation, and sometimes you have to accept it.

Before Zhang Yue retired, he was too busy with government affairs to understand the people's sentiments, but this time when he went around and took a look among the people, he indeed discovered many changes.

For example, he has been committed to promoting the cotton industry and commercial circulation, and the rapid development of textile tools has been beyond his expectations.

Zhang Yue's first pot of gold came from Huang Dao Po's cotton seed-removing pulverizer. From then on, it was as if the last barrier had been broken. In the cotton textile industry, the new equipment and tools invented in Suzhou and Hangzhou made Zhang Yue dazzled.

At this moment, Zhang Yue sincerely admired the wisdom of the people. Of course, this was also inseparable from the vigorous promotion of cotton textile by Chen Xiang and Zhang Heng.

If it were not for this mutually reinforcing relationship, the cotton textile industry would never have taken only a dozen years to develop, thus shortening its historical process by a hundred years.

However, this is not difficult for time travelers.

It’s like you get the answer to a question, and then you deduce step by step based on the answer, and finally get the steps to solve the problem.

Another thing is the Youcifang and Anjifang that Cai Jing vigorously promoted in Kaifeng Prefecture, and they were also very successful.

When Zhang Yue saw people queuing up in front of Anjifang with their elderly and children to seek medical treatment, he felt very fortunate to be alive.

Afterwards, the emperor finally issued an edict to hold a ceremony to establish the Eastern Palace in March. At the same time, Zhang Yue also retired as the Grand Secretary of Guanwen Hall and the Pacifier of Fujian Road.

The Pacifier of Fujian Road, like Song Jiang's Pacifier of Chuzhou, were generally honorary positions.

However, the situations when Zhang Yue and Song Jiang took office were two different ones. The prefect of Chuzhou could completely ignore Song Jiang's advice because he had no one above him, but the transport commissioner of Fujian Road dared not ignore Zhang Yue's advice.

After Xu Jie retired, he could dismiss Hai Rui, the governor of Yingtian. This matter has been criticized for many years.

He was known as "a dismissed prime minister who stayed at home but was able to drive out the evildoers of the imperial court."

Zhang Yue was the prime minister for five years. Not only did he have many students and former officials, but he was also the pacification commissioner of Fujian Province. Although he did not manage government affairs, how could officials of all ranks in Fujian Province not obey him? This was completely different from Song Jiang's pacification commissioner of Chuzhou.

The prime minister holds this position, which means he is inspecting a region on behalf of the emperor.

Not to mention others, even for a retired minister like Zhang Yue, the emperor would send people to inquire about his affairs every year. A few casual words of praise or criticism from Zhang Yue could decide the fate of the local official for life.

Of course, it would be even more impressive if one retired with the title of Jiedushi, as he would be in charge of a region.

Zhang Yue returned home by boat on the Bian River. Since he did not bring his family with him, he was only accompanied by dozens of followers including Peng Jingyi and Huang Haoyi.

It's funny to say that when I was fourteen, I went to Beijing to enter the Imperial College with Huang Haoyi. Now at the age of forty-one, after retiring as prime minister, it is still Huang Haoyi who travels with me.

Of course, there are two levels of pomp for retired prime ministers. Back then, Chen Shengzhi retired as prime minister and served as the governor of Yangzhou. He was accompanied by countless large ships, sailing south along the Yangtze River in a mighty manner. All the ships he met along the way had to give way to him.

There is another type of people like Zhang Yue, who travel by light carriage with a small entourage and a broad scarf.

There was also Prime Minister Song Jing, who was as famous as Yao Chong during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. After he retired, he stopped communicating with people and refused to receive guests.

Some big guys like to show off, while others like to keep a low profile.

Of course, there is also a low-key boss, whom Zhang Yue wants to visit on this trip.

On the misty Bian River in March, Zhang Yue looked at the hustle and bustle on the dock, as if he was looking at himself standing on the dock twenty-five years ago, alone and awkward when he first arrived in Bian Jing.

What does "I want to buy osmanthus flowers and carry wine together, but it doesn't feel like the time when I was young."

Finally, a poem that I read when I was young suddenly fits my mood at this moment.

Zhang Yue looked at the misty rain in Bianjing. It seemed as if all of it was the intrigues and intrigues of the people in the court. Even with his eyes closed, he could still see it.

This is a feeling that you can't quit or forget.

My heart has been eroded by this and I can no longer return to my youth.

The boat left Bianjing City, hoisted the sail, and sailed down the Bianhe River. Zhang Yuefang went back to the cabin to rest, and slept for half the night, but suddenly woke up because he remembered something.

Zhang Yue stood up, lit a lamp, ground ink and picked up a pen, and wrote a memorial overnight on the boat, recommending Han Wei to be the supervisor of Chongfu Palace in Songshan, Xijing.

After finishing this matter, Zhang Yue felt a little relieved and lay down on the bed with his clothes on.

While sleeping, Zhang Yue wondered whether he should write a poem to express his aspirations, saying that he had been blocking the path to becoming a virtuous person for a long time and that this return was what he had longed for, as if he were a bird escaping from a cage.

However, Zhang Yue thought that such poetry was still very fake, so he decided not to write it.

When I close my eyes, all kinds of things come to my mind.

Fortunately, when the boat arrived in Jiangning, my mood had improved a lot.

……

After Zhang Yue retired.

Cai Que was appointed Shangshu You Pushe and Zhongshu Shilang, and Li Qingchen was appointed Shangshu Zuo Cheng.

Cai Que followed the emperor's orders in everything, and for a time, his status as the right prime minister overwhelmed the left prime minister Wang Gui.

Some people said that Wang Gui still ruled the country with a good temper, and did not care about Cai Que's work as a secretary, and was a good clay left prime minister. However, it is well known that Wang Gui's health has not been good since he proposed to establish a crown prince.

Cai Que had been the right prime minister for more than a month. He was waving his folding fan in the capital hall, and whispered to Qi and him, "Su Ziyu, Huang Tingjian, Qin Guan, Zhang Lei, Chao Buzhi, and Li Gonglin are gathering in the West Garden of the son-in-law Wang Shen again."

Cai Que snorted softly.

Su Che, Huang Tingjian and others all came from Zhang Yue's shogunate, which was the Sansi Official System Detailed Planning Office.

This government office is like Zhang Yue's right-hand man and left-hand man, and can be called the prime minister's secretariat.

However, this move was also criticized by officials. What rank was the Official System Detailed Determination Office? Even the assistant minister, the transport envoy, and the deputy minister had to be respectful and polite.

Therefore, after the Yuanfeng reform, the Official System Detailed Planning Office ended its historical mission.

But how could Zhang Yue treat his own people badly? He waved his pen and stuffed all the officials in the Official System Detailed Planning Office into the Secretariat and the Ministry of Personnel.

Su Che is now the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, and the others serve as the Left and Right Counselors, the Left and Right Censors, and the Left and Right Correctors.

Of course, the Zhongshu Menxia Housheng was nominally a subordinate agency of the Zhongshu Sheng Menxia Sheng, but in reality it was not. These officials had no direct subordinate relationship with the Zhongshu Menxia, ​​but on the contrary had the power to sign, supervise, and assess the documents and official affairs of the various rooms of the Zhongshu Menxia.

To put it bluntly, this was a backup plan that Zhang Yue had prepared after he resigned as prime minister, allowing these officials to supervise the operation of the Secretariat.

If the Zhongshumenxia's decrees were not to their liking, they could immediately reject them.

For the current Zhongshu Shilang, Shangshu You Pushe Cai Que, the two ministries of Zhongshu and Menxia feel like a thorn in his throat.

All officials in the Zhongshu department were required to obey orders, and if Cai Que found anyone he was not satisfied with, he could replace him at any time with his own confidants.

As soon as Cai Que became prime minister, he replaced three officials from the various departments of the Secretariat, replacing the old officials from Zhang Yue's time with his own trusted ones. However, Cai Que could not replace the officials of the Secretariat at will.

At the same time, Su Che and his people were also a powerful force. They were originally known by Zhang Yue through writing, and they were all from Zhang's staff. Now that Zhang Yue left, they have obviously formed their own faction.

A faction headed by Su Che.

What’s more important is that Su Che is obviously not on good terms with him. Just look at the place they chose to hold their gathering at the residence of their son-in-law Wang Shen.

Who is Wang Shen? He is the brother-in-law of the current emperor, and it was Cai Que who personally handled the Wudai Poetry Case.

He and Su Shi exchanged letters all day long and treated each other as brothers. Su Shi was also persecuted by Cai Que.

These people are gathering under my nose, is there anything good going on?

I guess I'm thinking about how to deal with myself.

Xiang Qi said: "In addition to these people, the Right Prime Minister also has Secretary Junior Supervisor Sun Jue and Secretary Supervisor Proofreader Kong Wenzhong. They are not only closely related to Prime Minister Zhang, but also have a close relationship with the Su brothers."

Cai Que certainly knew that Sun Jue was the eldest disciple of Zhang Yue's teacher Chen Xiang, Zhang Yue's senior brother, and also Huang Tingjian's father-in-law. Huang Tingjian's grandfather was the same age as Su Shi.

Kong Wenzhong was a classmate of Zhang Yue in the sixth year of Jiayou. He later passed the imperial examination and came to Beijing, where he had close contacts with Su Shi and his brothers.

Xiang Qi analyzed carefully: "But the most important person in the court is the Secretary of the Central Secretariat Zhang Zizheng!"

If the officials of the Zhang Party in the Zhongshu Menxia Housheng were a surface, then Zhang Zhi of the Zhongshu Shilang was a point. They became the support of the Zhang Party in the court.

As for the other two generals of the Zhang Party, Cai Jing and Han Zhongyan, they have all married Cai Que and are people with whom Cai Que has confirmed his affection, so Cai Que can rest assured for the time being.

Cai Que listened to Xiang Qi's words and said slowly: "I heard that Zhang Duzhi once complained when he was in power that he only did 30% of the work, and the other 70% of his energy was used to remove the constraints and constrain others!"

"When I take over as the Prime Minister, do I have to use all my strengths?"

Xiang Qi heard this and said, "I am ashamed."

Cai Que said slowly: "You don't have to be ashamed. Su Shi has a saying that I admire very much: speak dangerously and act dangerously, and be independent and never turn back."

Dangerous words and actions come from the Analects of Confucius. When the state is ruled by the Way, you should speak and act with caution. When the state is ruled by the Way, you should speak and act with caution. When the state is ruled by the Way, you should still do upright things, but be cautious in your words.

Su Shi was a man who spoke and acted cautiously and insisted on his own opinions.

"Don't be so quick to gang up on dissidents. These people are not doing anything too much. They just think they are dangerous. Give it a try first and see if you can win over a few of them. If not, it won't be too late to eliminate them later."

Xiang Qixin thought that these people were conservative and could not be won over.

Xiang Qi said: "Right Prime Minister, there was a saying in the Ren Temple that two prime ministers were reserved for future emperors. One is the retired Prime Minister Zhang, and the other is Su Shizhan."

"I heard that when the emperor did not dislike Su Shi, every time he stopped eating to read a piece of writing, the eunuchs on his left and right would say, 'This is Su Shi's writing.' The emperor often praised this man for his extraordinary talent."

"At present, Su Ziyu has deeply disliked the right prime minister because of the poetry case. If such a person becomes the prime minister in the future, the consequences will be disastrous."

Cai Que glanced at Xiang Qi. Emperor Renzong had a very accurate eye for people. Although Su Shi was a casual person and seemed to be only good at writing, a careful look at his local political achievements and some of the policy essays he submitted in the memorials showed that he indeed had the talent to be a prime minister.

Xiang Qi continued calmly, "It's not difficult for the right wing to deal with these people, but what should we do if Zhang Zizheng opposes?"

Cai Que said: "I have my own way to deal with him."

Xiang Qi said: "The Right Prime Minister should not be underestimated. Zizheng is in the Emperor's heart."

Since Zhang Yue proposed the idea of ​​establishing a crown prince, Your Majesty has communicated with Zhang Zhi many times during the memorials, and there is a good understanding between the monarch and his subject.

Cai Que sneered when he heard this.