Tang Dynasty: Father, if you don't rebel, I will!

"After what happened in Tibet, the spice business has been suspended for more than half a year. You'll take over..."

Wang Yuyan, who was gently serving food to Li Chengqian, was taken aback by this sudden remark and looked up at Li Chengqian in surprise.

But then Li Chengqian was seen holding a bowl of white rice, talking to himself.

"Li Xuanyun, the prefect of Lhasa Prefecture in the Tibetan Plain, sent a messenger to Chang'an a while ago, saying that the Tibetan Plain is now stable and the Indian Administration Commission has also brought peace to the area. The three regions of Zheluqi, Hari, and the Plateau have been demarcated, and the spice trade has yielded a lot of output. I cannot abandon it."

As Li Chengqian spoke, he picked up a piece of stewed potato from the stir-fried chicken with his chopsticks, while his gaze lingered on Wang Yuyan, who was finally slowly regaining her senses.

"From now on, you will be in charge of the spice trade."

Wang Yuyan was overjoyed, but then she opened her mouth slightly, anxiously wanting to say something.

Li Chengqian immediately saw through her concerns and gave a calm instruction.

"You will oversee the operations, and the Crown Princess can review the accounts every quarter."

Only then did Wang Yuyan finally feel at ease. She then quickly walked to the foot of the imperial steps and respectfully kowtowed.

"Your Highness, I thank you for your trust. I will certainly live up to your expectations..."

The number of concubines of each rank in the Eastern Palace was determined by the system of etiquette. The next rank above Liangyuan was Liangdi, but there were only two Liangdi positions. Neither Hou Qianya nor Li Xueyan had made any mistakes, and both had already given birth to imperial grandsons and granddaughters.

but.

When Li Chengqian ordered Wang Yuyan to take over the spice trade business left behind by Samaga, which earned money for the imperial treasury, everyone in the palace and even the court knew that the Crown Prince favored Consort Wang.

The fact that the Wang family of Taiyuan enjoys great favor from the emperor.

It's as if they were born to be compared.

With the suppression of the rebellion of the Choi-Ro-Yi clan in Pyongyang, only the Taiyuan Wang clan and the Xingyang Zheng clan remained of the five clans and seven prominent families that people used to talk about.

Both families had women serving in the Eastern Palace.

They are inevitably compared to each other.

However, the situation of the Zheng family in Xingyang has recently become quite dire.

Tai Chi Hall.

Changsun Wuji bowed deeply in respect.

"Your Highness, we are at a critical juncture in completing the Guangji Canal and the Heiquan Canal. With these two canals for irrigation, the land reclamation in the Qinghai region will be much easier for our Great Tang. I am truly unable to take on the role of Minister of Personnel."

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian, sitting on the dragon throne, showed no sign of anger. Instead, he calmly looked at Fang Xuanling, the Left Minister, and Du Ruhui, the Right Minister, who were sitting below him.

Zheng Jiang, the former Minister of Personnel, stood in the crowd with a dejected expression.

He was eventually dismissed from his post as Minister, demoted one rank, and then transferred to the Ministry of Rites as Vice Minister.

Seeing that Changsun Wuji was still focused on cultivating the Yellow River, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui could only sigh inwardly. He had previously served as the Minister of Personnel, and they had hoped to recall him, but they did not expect that this old man would not think much of him at all.

He sighed inwardly, thankfully Fang Xuanling still had other candidates.

He then bowed to Li Chengqian once again.

“Your Highness, in that case, I have another person to recommend… Wang Ming, the Prefect of Taiyuan Prefecture, has served as the Prefect for several years and has achieved remarkable political achievements. Moreover, he was instrumental in defeating Jieli back then. I recommend that he be transferred back to Chang’an to serve as the Minister of Personnel.”

Upon hearing this, Zheng Jiang, standing in the crowd, clenched his fist under his official robe.

But there was absolutely no way to solve it.

As Fang Xuanling proposed Wang Ming as a candidate, many people present stepped forward to second his opinion.

"Your Highness, I believe that Prefect Wang is indeed qualified to be Minister of Personnel. He has served as Prefect of Taiyuan for many years, and even when it comes to matters concerning his relatives, he has been able to appoint people based on merit. Although there have been impeachments against him in the court over the years, there has never been a single one because of his poor judgment in appointing people."

"Your Highness, I also agree. Governor Wang has rendered meritorious service and should be promoted..."

"Prefect Wang is experienced and prudent; he is qualified for the position of Minister of Personnel..."

Amidst the chorus of agreement, Li Chengqian nodded in agreement and immediately issued an edict promoting the man to Prefect of Taiyuan. As for who should be chosen as the Prefect of Taiyuan in the future...

This time, Li Chengqian didn't give the court a chance to discuss it at all, and directly appointed an official from a poor family who had a good track record.

Reduce the control of powerful families in local areas.

This is something Li Chengqian has been doing openly and secretly all along.

Having dealt with the issue of filling some vacant positions in the court, Li Chengqian finally brought up the main business of today's grand court assembly.

"The rebellion in the Two Rivers region, though caused by the negligence and procrastination of officials in the court, ultimately stemmed from inadequate supervision. This was true not only in the Six Ministries but also in the local areas. I will not allow such a thing to happen again in the future. Therefore, I have decided to carry out reforms!"

Fang Xuanling and the others, who had long anticipated this outcome, all took a deep breath.

He waited with a solemn and tense expression for Li Chengqian to continue.

"Effective immediately, I have decided to abolish the Three Departments and Six Ministries system and replace it with a cabinet system!"

"The Cabinet, in conjunction with the six ministers and subordinate departments, governs the court and implements policies..."

Abolish the Three Departments and Six Ministries system?!

Many officials, who had not received any prior notice, were visibly shaken, never expecting that His Highness the Crown Prince would launch such a drastic reform right from the start.

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui also frowned slightly.

Li Chengqian continued speaking from his throne.

"The cabinet will establish two positions: the Grand Secretary and the Second Grand Secretary. These two individuals will also appoint the Ministers of the Six Ministries or other capable and talented individuals as Grand Secretaries. They will decide on reform matters, discuss policies, and jointly formulate regulations, which will then be submitted to me for review."

Hearing this, everyone was a little confused. Wasn't this cabinet just a different kind of combined version of the three provinces?

Is it necessary to make this change?

Immediately afterwards, everyone saw that His Highness the Crown Prince, who had not shown any smile throughout the entire court assembly, suddenly had a slight smile on his face.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he once again uttered a startling statement.

"In addition to establishing a cabinet to oversee the six ministries, I have also decided to fill and activate the Tiance Mansion and establish the Grand Council..."

The news of today's court meeting not only shocked the imperial court, but also caused a stir among the common people and business community in Chang'an.

The Cabinet, the Tian Ce Mansion, and the Military Affairs Office.

One directly manages the imperial court.

One of them served as Li Chengqian's eyes and brain trust, responsible for reviewing the policies formulated by the cabinet.

Another key aspect is the control over military power.

After court, at the Duke of Ying's residence, Wu Shiyue drank tea with a troubled mind, his thoughts still preoccupied with the events that had transpired in court.

The Royal Bank, which he was in charge of, was independent of these three ministries and, like the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was directly responsible to Crown Prince Li Chengqian.

"This prince has probably already had these ideas. The rebellions in Jiangnan and Huainan have only given him the opportunity... In this situation, as long as the Li Tang dynasty does not produce any absurd rulers, it may last for a thousand years."