Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4991

Cui Dunli, wrapped in the cold wind, opened the door curtain and walked into the main hall. He saw Liu Li and Liu Xiangdao drinking tea and chatting, whispering to each other, so he rubbed his hands and walked over, saying with a smile: "Everyone is not here yet. Are you two planning to make a secret connection and work together when discussing government affairs later?"

He walked up to the two of them and sat on a chair on the side.

A clerk brought him tea, and Cui Dunli asked with a smile, "Do you have any cakes? If so, bring me some. I had something to do at home this morning and didn't have time to eat."

"Minister Cui, please wait a moment."

He turned around and went to the back hall to get a plate of soft cakes and placed it on the coffee table.

Cui Dunli picked up a piece of cake and took a bite, then drank a sip of tea. He looked at Er Liu and asked curiously, "Are you really discussing some secret conspiracy? Are you keeping silent because you're afraid I'll eavesdrop?"

Liu Li was speechless when he saw Cui Dunli's weird look. He did not hide it and said frankly, "Even if they were colluding in private, they would not say it here. Just now, when we talked about Yang Shidao's petition, the court was in an uproar. They all clamored to continue to petition His Majesty and abolish the "punishment of slicing". I wonder what your opinion is, my dear brother Anshang?"

Cui Dunli ate his cakes and shook his head, saying, "This matter is a hot topic among the public, and there are many opinions. Naturally, I support it, but the Ministry of War is not a censor. Although there are a few civil servants, most of them are ordinary people who came from the military. They can recognize a few words, but they can't express themselves clearly. Therefore, there is no need to submit a petition. If other government offices submit a petition, the Ministry of War will sign its name to second the motion."

Liu Li seemed to be thinking about something. After a moment's hesitation, he nodded and said, "What you said is mature and prudent."

The entire civil service group followed the path opened up by Yang Shidao and wrote letters of advice. Some of them were worried that harsh criminal laws would become rampant, while others took the opportunity to collude with each other. But in any case, the situation of gathering civil servants to attack His Majesty had already been formed.

First, the military is difficult to suppress, and then the civil officials are pressing you too hard. One can imagine how Your Majesty feels.

The Ministry of War is the headquarters of the military, and its every move represents the direction of the entire military. If it responds to the call of the civil officials and writes a letter of advice, it will inevitably give Your Majesty the impression that "the civil and military officials are in collusion."

Your Majesty may not be able to sleep at night...

Liu Xiangdao obviously also realized this and agreed: "As important officials of the court, we should each perform our duties. This matter is the responsibility of the Censorate, and the Censorate will perform its duties. My colleagues can just support us from the sidelines and don't have to take part in it personally."

Given your Majesty's stubbornness, more people must unite and write petitions together to form an unstoppable wave to force your Majesty to withdraw his order. But everything has its pros and cons. Too many people, too many government offices involved, and even the entire civil service group is united, which may cause your Majesty to be frightened and arouse his arrogance, resulting in the opposite of what he wants.

Liu Li said: "Then let's decide it this way. The Censorate will go to the front and we will assist from the side."

"That's how it should be."

Cui Dunli swallowed the cake, wiped his hands with a handkerchief, drank a sip of tea, and frowned: "Pay attention to the scale, and pay more attention to the strength, and don't make things worse."

Liu Xiang said confidently: "I have already advised Your Majesty on this matter once before, and it won't be out of place to advise him again, it's just a little bigger in scale."

……

Soon, a group of prime ministers and chancellors arrived one after another.

The Zhengshitang system was formed in the early Zhenguan period to prevent powerful officials from monopolizing power and to strengthen the centralization of imperial power. At the same time, the collective discussion of the prime ministers greatly reduced administrative procedures and improved administrative efficiency, so it was established permanently.

Today, as the empire's territory becomes more vast and its population grows larger, the government offices in various places are busier and there is an even greater need for an institution like the Government Affairs Hall to coordinate the central departments, improve administrative efficiency, and ensure that government orders are consistent and implemented from top to bottom.

Your Majesty has not arrived today.

The Council of State has its own set of standardized administrative procedures, and Your Majesty does not need to attend every meeting. After the meeting, the prime ministers will report the collective decision to Your Majesty for his decision. The Secretariat will issue an edict, which will be reviewed by the Ministry of Personnel and stamped for execution together with the Ministry of State Affairs.

However, now the Shangshu Zuo Pushe have been stripped of their powers as prime ministers, and the entire Shangshu Province has been excluded from the Council of State Affairs. It only has executive power but no decision-making power.

But Pei Huaijie, who only had the honorary title of Shangshu You Pushe but no real job, was given the task of "Tongzhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi", becoming the nominal "top leader" of the entire Shangshu Province...

The accumulated matters of various government offices were mentioned one by one, and then they gathered their wisdom and made decisions one by one. The meeting progressed very quickly. After all, the prime ministers were the top leaders of their respective government offices and were very busy. The matters that could be discussed in the government hall were all major matters that were difficult to decide. After the meeting, they had to return to their respective government offices to handle their affairs, which was very busy.

But there are many things to do today, so we took a break, drank some water and urinated, and then the meeting continued.

Pei Huaijie flipped through the notes in front of him that recorded various matters, and said, "At present, maritime trade is booming. Every year, tens of millions of goods flow into the Tang Dynasty from the Huating Town Maritime Customs Office, and the taxes paid fill the Ministry of Civil Affairs' treasury, and the national strength is booming. The court has set up a Maritime Customs Office in Guangzhou, but there is only one person in charge, Lai Ji, who is afraid that he is not up to the task. If his lack of talent causes the Guangzhou Maritime Customs Office to be unable to reach the scale of the Huating Town Maritime Customs Office, it will definitely cause huge losses. In my opinion, the court should select capable and competent officials, send them to Guangzhou, and fill them in the Maritime Customs Office to ensure the operation of the Guangzhou Maritime Customs Office, so that it can serve maritime trade and obtain taxes for the court."

There was silence in the classroom.

Although the Sibosi was an office of the imperial court, it had to deal with maritime trade and therefore had always been considered to be in the hands of the navy. Without the cooperation of the navy, who among the maritime merchants would care about a mere Sibosi?

Moreover, the Guangzhou Maritime Customs Office was newly established, and the first Maritime Customs Office Supervisor was Lai Ji, the former Wannian County Magistrate who was recommended by Fang Jun...

Is this an attempt to target Lai Ji, or is it aimed at the entire Guangzhou Maritime Customs?

Liu Li looked around, taking in the expressions of the people, and said calmly, "The Maritime Customs is responsible for issuing certificates for sea trade, inspecting ships that are allowed to go out to sea, and checking whether they carry any prohibited items such as gold, silver, copper coins, weapons, horses, and people. They are also responsible for collecting commercial taxes and ship taxes. The responsibility is heavy and is related to the success or failure of sea trade. We really can't let a completely inexperienced newcomer take charge. At the very least, we need to send someone to assist and supervise."

After saying that, he looked at Ma Zhou and asked, "What do you think, Minister?"

Ma Zhou pondered for a moment and said, "Duke Yue has always been good at judging people. Since he recommended Lai Ji to be the supervisor, I believe Lai Ji will be able to do the job. Although your concerns are not unreasonable, it is not appropriate to make any changes to the personnel appointments and dismissals of the Maritime Customs at this time. It is better to wait for a while. If the operation of the Guangzhou Maritime Customs is not as expected, it will not be too late to make changes."

Liu Li retorted: "Since the importance of the Guangzhou Maritime Customs is unanimously recognized, how can we wait until mistakes are made before correcting them? We are the decision-makers of the imperial government, and what we should do is to nip problems in the bud and prepare for a rainy day. If our hesitation and delay cause Guangzhou Maritime Customs to suffer serious losses one day, it would be our dereliction of duty."

Cui Dunli frowned and said, "Isn't this move by the Minister of the Central Secretariat a precautionary measure? Lai Ji has just taken office as the Guangzhou Maritime Customs, and there is no news of his achievements yet, but we are the first to deny his contributions and efforts. This is simply groundless."

"Minister Cui's words make sense. If we use the Zhongshu Ling's inference, anyone and any position can be replaced, appointed or dismissed on this basis. How is this different from 'guilty presumption'? It is absolutely wrong to conclude that someone is guilty just because you suspect him."

Dai Zhou, the Minister of Dali Temple, spoke up and refuted Liu Li.

Liu Li was not annoyed, and said calmly: "In this case, let's vote on whether to send an additional supervisor and several officials to the Guangzhou Maritime Customs."

The rules of the Political Affairs Hall have always been like this. If there is a matter that is difficult to decide, several prime ministers will vote together, and the minority will obey the majority. But now the number of prime ministers is even, so it is possible that both sides are tied. If this happens, it needs to be submitted to Your Majesty for the final decision.

Liu Xiangdao nodded and said, "Let's get started."

Liu Li first asked Ma Zhou: "What do you think, Minister?"

Ma Zhou said without hesitation: "No."

Liu Li nodded. This had been confirmed. Ma Zhou not only had a close relationship with Fang Jun, but also had always had different governing philosophies from his own. His opposition was expected.

He then looked at Tang Jian, the Minister of Civil Affairs, and asked, "What does the Duke of Ju think?"

Tang Jian hesitated for a moment, stroking his beard, frowning his gray eyebrows, and said after a long while: "Yes."

This was also what Liu Li expected.

Tang Jian had a very good relationship with Fang Jun in private, but the commercial tax and shipping tax of the Maritime Customs were closely related to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. If the Maritime Customs could be directly controlled by the central government, there would be no need to endure the interception of the Maritime Customs itself, and all taxes would most likely go into the national treasury, making the Ministry of Civil Affairs' affairs more smooth.

After all, the root of all the affairs of the Ministry of Civil Affairs lies in one word: "money". With money, everything goes smoothly; without money, you can't do anything.

Nowadays, large-scale infrastructure construction is being carried out throughout the country, including bridge construction, road paving, water conservancy, and animal husbandry. The treasury door is opened every day, and money is spent like water. No matter how much money there is, it will not last long.

Then he asked Liu Xiang, "What do you think, Imperial Censor?"

"Can!"

Although Liu Xiangdao would stick to his political bottom line, it was limited to the judicial process. Apart from that, he kept in mind that he was the "henchman" of His Majesty. Liu Li's sudden attack on the Guangzhou Maritime Customs was obviously instructed by His Majesty...

Liu Li nodded. There were already two votes against it, plus his own vote, that would make it three. With the six prime ministers present, one more vote would ensure victory.

He looked at Cui Dunli, and as expected, Cui Dunli simply objected.

He then asked Dai Zhou, who naturally also objected.

The votes were three to two, in my favor, with only Pei Huaijie left.

The topic was discussed with Pei Huaijie in advance, and it was Pei Huaijie who proposed it, so Pei Huaijie's vote had already been won.

Liu Li walked through the process leisurely and looked at Pei Huaijie: "Right Prime Minister..."

Pei Huaijie said calmly: "No."

Liu Li nodded and said with a smile: "In that case..."

His smile suddenly froze and he looked at Pei Huaijie in surprise. Was he hallucinating?
(End of this chapter)