Prime Minister

Chapter 1299 I am a humble person

The next day, Wang Gui rode his horse slowly into the palace.

The snow was falling heavily, and a cool umbrella blocked the snowflakes. Yuan Suicong followed him into the Imperial Street in a mighty procession.

Wang Gui closed his eyes and held the heater in his hands.

What Zhang Xu said last night touched his heart a little.

He had already been suffocated by Zhang Yue in the Menxia Province. If he continued to let Zhang Yue work in the Zhongshu Province, he would have no chance of getting justice in the future. He might even have Zhang Yue take over the position of Left Prime Minister.

Now is the time when the emperor is seriously ill and there is a power vacuum.

How to distribute the power of the prime minister and that of Empress Dowager Gao, who held the imperial power on behalf of the emperor?
Wang Gui stood beside Empress Dowager Gao, and he had written steles for Empress Dowager Gao's great-grandfather Gao Qiong and grandfather Gao Jixun. The two families had long been in contact.

In addition to Wang Gui himself, Han Zhen also joined his camp.

Since being suppressed by Zhang Yue, Han Zhen has been secretly making friends with Zhang Maoze and Liang Weijian, plotting to get his official position back.

Zhang Maoze and Liang Weijian were the most trusted eunuchs of Empress Dowager Gao.

Zhang Maoze had served in the palace since the time of Emperor Renzong. He was the one who instigated the beating of Wang Anshi's mount in the sixth year of Xining.

At the same time, Wang Gui had already contacted Han Zhen. Han Zhen's fourth brother Han Yi married Fan Yong's daughter, and Empress Dowager Gao's great-grandfather Gao Jixuan was his brother-in-law.

In addition, Prince Yong Zhao Hao married the great-granddaughter of Feng Zheng, and Feng Zheng's son Feng Xingji is now a member of the Luoyang Qiying Society. Prince Yong had dated Wang Gui many times, but Wang Gui declined every time. He still knew the limits.

But Wang Gui also knew that the relatives of the Queen had visited Zhang and Cai's residences many times and had shown their goodwill to them. The Queen Mother Gao also valued Zhang Yue and had said in the palace many times that he was the prime minister chosen by the Emperor. Even when Shiqi Niang came to the palace to pay a visit during the New Year, the Queen Mother Gao would hold Shiqi Niang's hand and talk to her for a long time.

It is well known that Zhang Yue did not take concubines, which was highly praised by Empress Dowager Gao, who believed that Shiqi Niang was good at managing the household. In fact, think about how Empress Dowager Cao tried to win over Fu Bi's wife, Yan Shi, and the routines of the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were exactly the same.

Even Shiqi Niang would go to the palace to pay respects to Empress Dowager Gao when she was not in the palace. The palace was strictly guarded, and Empress Dowager Gao's words to Shiqi Niang showed that the two had a close relationship.

If Zhang Yue was determined to make friends with the people in the palace and take advantage of the emperor's serious illness, he could continue to sit on the position of right prime minister and take charge of the government.

Then Wang Gui must stop Zhang Yue. At that time, he, the "fake minister of the court", will become the "real minister", and Zhang Yue will find it difficult to accomplish anything.

Although Wang Gui knew that Zhang Yue still had evidence of his son's salt-note speculation, he was unwilling to take this step unless it was absolutely necessary.

Wang Gui asked, "Has the Minister of the Left arrived?"

Wang Gui asked his entourage about Cai Que's whereabouts.

"I just saw Zuo Cheng's team, and it seems they are almost at the palace gate."

"Take a break and let him enter the palace first!" Wang Gui ordered.

"Yes."

Immediately, everyone stopped beside the palace.

Wang Gui looked at the snowflakes and could not help thinking of the time when he was selected as the candidate for the imperial examination in the sixth year of Jiayou. He thought to himself, if you take a step forward, it will be narrow, but if you look back, it will be wide. You have been in the officialdom for so many years, why don't you understand this?

……

Cai Que stepped into the gate of Dutang first.

According to convention, the prime minister who was also the director of Menxia and Zhongshusheng and also in charge of Shangshusheng had to go to his own province to handle affairs first and then return to Shangshusheng. However, these days, the prime ministers first met in Dutang and then returned to their own provinces to handle affairs.

When Cai Que arrived, he was told that the prime ministers were not in the capital, but in the South Hall of the Privy Council.

Cai Que was surprised in his heart. What did it mean to hold the meeting in the South Hall instead of the Capital Hall?
Could it be that they had something important to discuss, and because there were so many people in the Secretariat, it was inconvenient? Yes, the next day, all the officials arrived at the capital hall, and many officials from the Shangshu Province were there.

The shrewd Cai Que immediately understood.

When Cai Que arrived at the South Hall of the Privy Council, he took a quick look and saw Zhang Yue sitting at the right table in the hall. On the left and right were Lu Gongzhu, Zhang Zhi, Su Song, and Wang Anli.

The ministers from the three ministries and one court gathered together, all sitting upright, except for the left prime minister, Wang Gui.

Zhang Yue sat down and looked at Cai Que for a moment. Cai Que focused his eyes slightly and saluted Zhang Yue.

Zhang Yue pushed a memorial to the table and asked the official to show it to Cai Que.

Cai Que looked at Zhang Yue with a wary and suspicious look in his eyes, then picked up the memorial and heard Zhang Yue say, "Zuo Cheng, this is a matter of state..."

Zhang Yue had only said half of his words when he saw Cai Que had already signed his signature on the memorial.

Cai Que put his pen aside and said, "The Right Prime Minister has truly done a good thing for the country!"

After Cai Que saluted Zhang Yue, he sat down in a seat nearby.

Zhang Yue looked at Cai Que with a smile on his face.

The two have known each other for decades, and have had admiration, struggle, cooperation, and disagreements.

When they get along, they are close to each other and eat from the same pot; when they fight, they are eager to fight to the death.

But Tsai did support herself on this matter.

Zhang Yue said: "Thank you, Zuo Cheng."

Cai Que waved his hand, picked up the tea and took a sip, saying, "This is my job."

A moment later Wang Gui arrived here.

All the ministers stood up to greet him.

At this moment, he avoided everyone and there was no one around.

Zhang Yue presented the memorial without saying anything. Wang Gui's eyes were dim and he could not see the memorial clearly even if it was placed in front of him. Several clerks on the side brought long candle handles from both sides of the south hall to illuminate the memorial in front of Wang Gui.

After Wang Gui managed to read most of the content, he glanced at Zhang Yue.

"Right Prime Minister, His Majesty is still here! How can we talk about the important matter of establishing a crown prince without His Majesty's permission?"

Zhang Yue remained silent. He didn't know that talking about appointing a crown prince when the emperor was ill was a taboo for the emperor.

Wang Gui continued to say to Zhang Yue: "Even though Lian Renmiao was so tolerant, when the emperor was seriously ill, Empress Dowager Cisheng (Empress Cao) and Zhang Maoze secretly suggested that the late emperor be made the crown prince first. What did Renmiao do after he recovered from his illness?"

"Establishing a crown prince is a family matter for the ruler. We don't want to be involved in it."

When Wang Gui finished speaking, Lü Gongzhu stood up and said, "Zuo Kui, this is a different time. In the past, Emperor Ren had no son, but now Your Majesty has a son."

"Could it be that His Majesty is angry with the prince?"

Wang Anli said, "At the previous banquet, His Majesty asked the Sixth Prince to serve in the palace. We all saw it with our own eyes. It goes without saying that His Majesty has already chosen someone to be the crown prince."

Zhang Zhi said: "Prime Minister, we are the prime ministers. If we don't get involved in this matter, when will we get involved?"

"As prime ministers, how can we not do it just because we are afraid of offending Your Majesty?"

Zhang Yue stood by and looked at them sideways without saying a word. Wang Gui, seeing his attendants instigating him, just sat in his seat in silence.

Cai Que also said: "Prime Minister Zuo, we, the prime ministers, should fight for this matter!"

Su Song said, "Zuo Kui, if a piece of paper with the imperial seal appears in the middle of the night, what shall we do?"

Wang Gui continued to remain silent. Zhang Yue looked at Wang Gui and said, "Zuo Kui, from ancient times to the present, once customs change, they can never be reversed."

"In the past, Duke Han and Duke Wei were both great advisors of the two dynasties. They established one prince and one crown prince, and another emperor according to the will. The emperors of the two dynasties entrusted the prime ministers with important tasks, and we have lived up to their trust and fulfilled our duties as advisors."

"This is exactly what Duke Wenlu said back then: 'The emperor and the scholars and officials rule the world together.'"

"What Zuo Kui said is correct. Selecting a crown prince is the family affair of the ruler, while maintaining the system is the job of us, the prime ministers!"

"For the sake of loyalty, filial piety and righteousness, I will not shy away from the cauldron!"

The prime ministers said one after another.

"Prime Minister Zuo, this matter only awaits your final opinion."

"If you refuse, we will have no choice but to go to Funing Palace and make a direct appeal!"

Wang Gui thought to himself that this was impossible. If everyone went to support the emperor in establishing a crown prince and he was the only one who did not go, then he would be considered as opposing the establishment of a crown prince.

Wang Gui waved his hand and said, "Go ahead!"

Everyone was delighted and brought the memorial to Wang Gui, who hastily signed it, and all the ministers were overjoyed.

After all, Wang Gui was the Left Prime Minister, and without his consent, the memorial could not be written.

After writing the note, all the ministers went to Funing Palace together. Wang Gui walked to the first seat and glanced at Zhang Yue beside him.

He thought that Zhang Yue had secretly contacted the Queen Mother and the Empress to prepare for him to continue to serve as Prime Minister, but he didn't expect that they had wronged him.

Zhang Yue was the only one who dared to bring up the idea of ​​establishing a crown prince at this moment without fear of offending the emperor. Wang Gui was still greedy for the wealth and glory in front of him.

Once the succession was successful, the greatest credit would go to Wang Gui. Wang Gui couldn't help but feel sorry for Zhang Yue.

You are judging others by your own standards.

How could Zhang Yue not know that as the mastermind behind the successful establishment of the crown prince, he had offended both the Emperor and Empress Dowager Gao.

Even if there is no offense, there will still be party struggles in the future.

But no matter how the party struggles are, even if there is no Sima Guang, there is still Sima An.

Snowflakes fell beside him. He stepped onto a step and looked at the snow-covered palaces. At this moment, he thought of the quiet days after retirement.

He felt as if he had returned to his hometown in Jianzhou.

I live in the mountains in spring, hugging my knees and looking at the mountain scenery, listening to the ringing of bells hanging under the eaves, the rustling of leaves, the ripples on the lake surface when the breeze blows, and the boat rippling away. The white clouds on the distant mountains gather and disperse, disperse and gather again!
I am originally a weed, and occasionally sit in the temple.

Go back to where you came from!
Thinking of this, Zhang Yue walked slowly and went straight to the Funing Palace.

The smell of burning moxa came from the hall. Through the curtains, the ministers saw the emperor lying quietly on the couch.

There is a faint figure behind the curtain in the east room.