I clearly wanted to be a tyrant, but how did I become the greatest emperor of all time?

No, we must ruin the country’s destiny!

Li Tian regained his spirits.

The "loyal ministers" in the court must be purged!

Li Tian decided to start with the loyal ministers!

First of course is Tang Xiaoren!

It was obvious that his father-in-law wanted to become a loyal minister for all ages!

Never engage in corruption and never form cliques.

Tang Xiaoren acted as a mediator and managed the Great Zhou cabinet very successfully.

Now all officials across the country are trembling in fear in front of Tang Xiaoren.

How well the prefects and county magistrates of Da Zhou performed was all in Tang Xiaoren's eyes.

By promoting talented people and dismissing mediocre ones, all parts of the Great Zhou are now filled with capable and competent officials!

wrong!

This can't go on!

Tang Xiaoren must be driven out of the court!

so what should I do now?

Of course Li Tian thought of using military force against Bodan!

The Turkish envoys have returned to report, but the journey was difficult and they had to bypass the Bodan blockade.

But the Great Zhou has already decided that no matter when Turkey takes action, the Great Zhou will attack Bodan first!

As for the reason for sending troops, Bodan also occupied a lot of territories in Western Xinjiang.

According to the "ancestral" territory passed down from the Han Dynasty.

These are also the territories of Da Zhou!

Li Tian sent an envoy to Bodan to announce his claim to these territories.

If Bodan doesn't spit out these places, Da Zhou will attack Bodan!

The Bodan Kingdom is quite powerful, so of course it needs ministers in the court to mediate.

So Li Tian decided to send Tang Xiaoren to Mobei to coordinate the army's logistics and decide on the combat strategy.

Bodan is a big country, and conquering Bodan will definitely require dealing with many things.

This would allow Tang Xiaoren to spend a year or two.

By the time he has destroyed the country's destiny, Li Tian will be able to ascend to become an immortal.

Perfect plan!

Next is Jia Renyi!

This guy did not compete for power with Tang Xiaoren in the cabinet, but performed his duties as the second assistant quietly.

He actually cooperates well with Tang Xiaoren!

This guy can’t stay in the cabinet either!

Li Tian finally understood that Jia Renyi was also an expert at backstabbing!

How to get rid of him?

Li Tian quickly figured out a solution!

The "formal academic" work decided by the Salt and Iron Conference.

Li Tian simply sent Jia Renyi as the emperor's special envoy to quickly tour the construction of official schools across the country.

At the same time, we will examine whether people can eat affordable salt after the abolition of salt permits.

This was considered a national inspection tour carried out on behalf of the emperor.

Of course, no one can be replaced except the senior officials in the court.

When Li Tian's decree was issued, the whole court was in an uproar!

The first and second ministers of the cabinet have all left Kyoto!

Tang Xiaoren and Jia Renyi immediately reported to the emperor that since they were leaving Kyoto, they would resign from their cabinet positions.

However, Li Tian suppressed the memorial and stated that they would still be the first and second assistants of the cabinet, and that he would reserve these positions for them.

Two positions are freed up in the cabinet!

A storm is quietly brewing in Kyoto!

Who will join the cabinet!

The cabinet of the Great Zhou also evolved over a long period of time.

In the early days of the country, the cabinet was merely an advisory body.

At that time, the Great Zhou abolished the position of prime minister, and the cabinet was used to assist the emperor in making decisions.

The cabinet at that time was just an internal organization similar to the Hanlin Academy and was not above the Six Ministries.

After a series of strengthening, the cabinet changed from an auxiliary decision-making body to the current institution that oversees the six ministries.

However, the powers of the cabinet in each dynasty are different.

During the previous emperor's time, he was very diligent and did everything himself, so the cabinet did not have much power and the first and second ministers were often replaced.

The Prime Minister lacks prestige and the cabinet is just a decoration.

At that time, it was rumored among the people that "the ministers were made of paper and the chancellors were made of clay."

But in this dynasty, Li Tian is not diligent at all compared to the previous emperor.

As a result, more power was delegated to the cabinet.

Tang Xiaoren and Jia Renyi were both experienced and capable ministers.

Tang Xiaoren is even more talented. The power of the cabinet now is so great that it is unimaginable in the dynasties before the Great Zhou.

Such a Prime Minister can be called a "true prime minister"!

Who wouldn’t want to be this kind of “real prime minister”?

Since Tang Xiaoren and Jia Renyi left Beijing at the same time, there would definitely be someone to replace them in the cabinet.

Currently, there are only six ministers in the imperial court who are qualified to join the cabinet.

According to convention, Tang Xiaoren recommended his replacement candidate, the Minister of Personnel.

Jia Renyi also recommended his replacement, the Minister of Rites.

No!

If we follow their recommendation, wouldn't we have to continue the policy of the two of them?

No!

Li Tian called Xiao Weizi and said:

"Xiao Weizi, who has the best reputation among the six ministers?"

Xiao Weizi immediately knelt down and said:

"Reply to Your Majesty!"

"The Minister of Personnel is from Wu Hun, who is incorruptible and honest in his duties. He has the best reputation in the officialdom!"

"I have also confirmed that Lord Wu's house in Kyoto is still rented, and he doesn't have much land in his hometown. He is indeed a man of clean hands!"

This is absolutely not acceptable!

Li Tian signaled Xiao Weizi to continue speaking!

Seeing that His Majesty was dissatisfied, Xiao Weizi continued:

"Minister of Personnel Shen Chuntian was born into a wealthy family in Yuhang. He was upright and rigorous in his official duties and had a good reputation in Kyoto."

"Lord Shen is an official of the Ministry of Personnel. He has always been strict with himself and never accepts invitations to banquets."

The Minister of Personnel controls the official system of the court.

In Zhou Li, the official position that controlled the official system was called Tianguan.

Therefore, the Minister of Personnel is also called the Heavenly Official.

This also proves the important status of the Ministry of Personnel among the six ministries.

Shen Chuntian refused the invitation to the banquet and did a good job in the Ministry of Personnel.

Li Tian continued to shake his head.

He is not looking for this kind of cabinet minister!

Xiao Weizi took a deep breath. These two were substitutes recommended by two senior officials in the cabinet, but Li Tian was not satisfied with either of them.

It seems that His Majesty has other plans!

Could it be that Your Majesty wants to weaken the influence of the first and second ministers in the cabinet?

It should be!

It seems that the two cabinet ministers left Beijing at the same time because His Majesty wanted to balance their power!

Since ancient times, wise rulers would not allow their subjects to sit in high positions for too long.

This is a maintenance of the monarch's power.

Your Majesty is really wise!

Xiao Weizi continued:

"Minister Zhang Hao of the Ministry of Justice is a man of integrity and never shows partiality. Now the Ministry of Justice has corrected many unjust, false and wrong cases, and people from all walks of life are praising him."

Li Tian continued to shake his head. It was absolutely impossible for such a capable official to enter the cabinet!

Little Weizi added: "Zhao Ming, the Minister of War, is diligent in preparing for military affairs. Whenever there is a war, he will lead the Ministry of War to work until late at night."

No! This kind of old workhorse is absolutely not allowed!

Li Tian continued: "Anything else?"

Little Weizi said again: "Your Majesty, among these six ministers, the first four wives are all highly praised."

"The West Factory has also verified this. They are not people who seek fame and reputation."

"The other two ministers."

Li Tian immediately sat up straight.

From what I heard, is there something wrong with the moral character of the other two people?

Although Neo-Confucianism has many problems, it, like all Confucian schools, has very strict moral requirements for scholars.