Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

The appointment of officials above the fifth rank was nominated by the heads of the three provinces and submitted to Li Shimin for imperial approval.

If Chu Suiliang could get four prime ministers to nominate him as the Right Secretary, Li Shimin would basically approve it.

On the contrary, if only Zhangsun Wuji nominated him, and other officials were nominated by two or three prime ministers, then Chu Suiliang's chances of promotion would be slim.

At present, the Minister of the Court Liu Li and Chu Suiliang had private conflicts, and Hou Junji and Liu Li were the behind-the-scenes supporters of the Eastern Palace, so Zhangsun Wuji used the trick of exchanging interests.

Du He frowned and said, "Uncle Hou, Chu Suiliang and Yu Zhining are both from the Guanlong family, and they are in the same boat with Zhangsun Wuji."

"Will Cen Wenben have a headache if we put both of them in the Secretariat?"

Now that Li Shimin has appointed two vice ministers in the Secretariat and the Ministry of Palace Affairs, he will certainly weaken the power of the Secretariat Minister and the Palace Attendant in the future.

The two Zhongshu Shilang are from the same force, and Cen Wenben, the Zhongshu Ling, will undoubtedly be stripped of his power.

Hou Junji frowned and said, "Chu Suiliang and Liu Li have a grudge, so putting him in the Ministry of Personnel is even worse."

"Besides, the Ministry of Personnel has the power to refute imperial edicts. Putting Chu Suiliang in the Ministry of Personnel would be disadvantageous to us."

Although Cen Wenben would have a headache, it had nothing to do with Hou Junji. Liu Li, like him, was from the same Eastern Palace, so he would definitely take care of Liu Li's interests first.

Du He twirled the wine glass and thought for a while, then asked in a low voice.

"Uncle Hou, what if we refuse Changsun Wuji's exchange of interests?"

"Would it be more beneficial for us to put Chu Suiliang in the position of Minister of Rites?"

The Secretary of the Central Secretariat and the Secretary of the Imperial Household had the opportunity to participate in political affairs and assist Li Shimin in handling some of the more confidential and important matters.

However, the vice ministers of the three provinces and six ministries do not have such great power.

Hou Junji shook his head and said, "Your Majesty wanted to promote Chu Suiliang to be the Minister of the Imperial Court last year, but you had just made great contributions at that time, so His Majesty had no choice but to appoint you as the Minister of the Imperial Court."

"This year, Xu Jingzong completed the writing of the "Wu De Shi Lu" and the "Zhen Guan Shi Lu", and snatched Chu Suiliang's opportunity for promotion."

"So even if Zhangsun Wuji did not strongly recommend Chu Suiliang, Your Majesty might still promote him."

Changsun Wuji obviously knew this too. He only thought of finding Hou Junji in private to exchange benefits in order to avoid any accidents.

Hou Junji saw Du He lost in thought, so he poured himself a glass of wine and explained.

"Nephew Du, Chu Suiliang served as the Recorder and Secretary in the early years, responsible for recording your Majesty's every word and action. He is your Majesty's trusted minister!"

"Ever since Chu Suiliang took office as the Imperial Counselor, Your Majesty has almost always asked Chu Suiliang for his opinion on every major matter."

"Although Chu Suiliang is from the Guanlong faction, he is a loyal minister to your majesty!"

"You should understand what I mean, right?"

For Emperor Li Shimin, no matter which faction his subjects belong to, the first priority is that they be loyal to him.

Secondly, it was to consolidate his rule and use the imperial art of balancing the forces of all parties.

When Du He heard Hou Junji speak so bluntly, he nodded in understanding and then asked in confusion.

"Uncle Hou, who are you going to promote?"

Hou Junji smiled and said, "I plan to promote Pei Xingjian, the useless son-in-law, to the position of Langzhong of the Ministry of Personnel!"

"And your third brother Du Aitong, let him keep his position as Zhong Sheren."

"If you have anyone else you want to recommend, you can also bring them up as well. This golden opportunity cannot be missed."

Compared with Chu Suiliang, who had both sufficient achievements and qualifications for promotion, it was more difficult for Pei Xingjian to be promoted from the Secretary of the Honglu Temple to the Langzhong of the Sifeng Temple.

Because there is a huge watershed between the sixth-rank officials and the fifth-rank officials, those who reach the fifth rank can attend court meetings every day and have preliminary power to discuss politics.

Although Du Aitong could be promoted based on his achievements, it was quite difficult for him to be promoted to the position of Zhongshu Sheren in a normal way.

After all, Du Aitong is only in his early 20s this year, she is really too young!

If Du Aitong was promoted to the position of Zhongshu Sheren, there might be many court officials who would criticize Du He behind his back, thinking that he was abusing his power.

Du He grinned and said, "Uncle Hou, I am going to send someone to secretly recommend the Censor Li Yifu as the Right Assistant Censor, and then recommend the Magistrate of Jishan County, Lu Chen, as the Magistrate of Longmen County."

When Hou Junji heard Du He recommending two minions whose names he had never heard of, and recommended them for official positions of sixth or seventh rank, his face was full of confusion.

Hou Junji seemed to have thought of something, and then asked with a smirk on his face.

"Nephew Du, are these two people relatives of your mistress?"

"You are the consort of Princess Shang. Don't take advantage of the Crown Prince's favor and keep a beautiful woman outside."

"If Princess Chengyang or His Majesty knew about this, they would definitely skin you alive."

puff...

Du He almost spit out the wine he had just drunk.

Hou Junji is an old man in his fifties, but he can actually say such flowery words.

Du He curled his lips and said, "Uncle Hou, Li Yifu is a subordinate that Ma Zhou is more optimistic about. It just so happens that I have some friendship with Ma Zhou, so I just help Ma Zhou."

"And the magistrate of Jishan County, Lu Chen, is the eldest son of Lu Chengqing, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and also Du Aitong's elder brother-in-law."

Although Hou Junji was his ally, Du He did not tell anyone that Li Yifu had been bribed to become a spy for the Eastern Palace.

Hou Junji is a person who puts profit above all else. He was previously unable to become the Shangshu Zuo Pushe and was full of resentment towards Li Shimin. I'm afraid his mentality may be slightly different now.

Therefore, Du He did not disclose some private matters to Hou Junji.

Hou Junji said nonchalantly, "Recommend these two minor officials. There is no need to tell that sinister Changsun Wuji."

"When the time comes, I will privately inform Cui Xu, the Minister of Personnel, and the matter will be settled."

Although it is unclear what Li Yifu's ability is, anyone who is valued by Ma Zhou must be quite capable.

With the help of the Imperial Censor Ma Zhou, his promotion to the seventh rank Right Assistant Censor was a piece of cake.

As for Lu Chen, the eldest son of Lu Chengqing, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, with the two golden brands of Fanyang Lu family and Du He, it was not difficult for him to be promoted from the magistrate of a lower-ranking county to the magistrate of a higher-ranking county.

Du He clasped his fists towards Hou Junji and said, "Thank you so much, Uncle Hou."

Hou Junji waved his hands and said, "Don't thank me yet, kid. Tomorrow you have to go to Liu Li in person and persuade him to recommend Chu Suiliang as the Minister of the Central Secretariat."

Because Liu Li and Du He have the best relationship, Du He has to be asked to step in when something goes wrong that would make Liu Li embarrassed.

Otherwise, if Hou Junji went to talk to Liu Li himself, it would easily cause him to misunderstanding.

Du He smiled and replied, "Uncle Hou's arrangement, I will definitely do my best to complete it!"