Summer wraps autumn, water keeps wind

Bi Xin and Liu Fu have been discussing about the aristocratic family's exercise of power, Liu Fu said: "This aristocratic family has great power, and the people are suffering so much that they must be punished."

Bi Xin frowned, and said solemnly: "I have thought about it for a long time. It is useless to just prune the branches and leaves. Their roots are still there. If you want to cut the grass and roots, you have to touch their lifeblood."

How clever Liu Fu is, he said with a twinkle in his eyes: "Brother Huang is going to attack the official selection system?" The reason why these aristocratic families have been able to be officials for generations is through this system of discussing nobles, and the selection system for the children of aristocratic families has always been vague and ambiguous. , There is a lot of room for manipulation in the recommendation and assessment, and it is often the coordination between the aristocratic families to plan business, and the emperor doesn't care much about these, just let them choose their own and choose a good one. .The royal family has always paid attention to the balance with the courtiers of the aristocratic family, and it is their duty to give some privileges. After all, only when everyone is in harmony can they stabilize their respective positions.

He is not opposed to selecting talents from aristocratic families. They often have better talents and conduct than those from poor families who came from the imperial examination. It is just that some people are embracing the United Party to provoke the imperial power. This is something he cannot tolerate. If he does not do something Actions suppress them, and the authority of the emperor will be slowly emptied in the future, and it will be too late if it gets to that point.

One day Wei Dingzhen was called to the Qianqing Palace to discuss matters. The emperor stood in the palace with his hands behind his back and handed Wei Dingzhen a folder.The more Wei Dingzhen looked at it, the more gloomy his face became. It was written by Sun Panjin. country.

The paper also signed several low-ranking scholars with high official positions, including Jiao Yanhong, the new minister of rites, who was specially sent to handle the affairs of the king.This Jiao Yanhong was sent by the emperor, but usually under the pressure of the Minister of Rites, he really couldn't do it well, so he could only keep talking with other ministers.

The emperor said to Wei Dingzhen: "Elder Ge is also from a poor family, so he naturally understands the suffering of the poor family scholars, and he is used to seeing the aristocratic family domineering. It is not easy to think about it these years."

Of course Wei Dingzhen understood the emperor's intentions. To accomplish such a great event, the emperor must win over him and those important ministers.Although he is the Chief Assistant and has a high position and authority, but he comes from a poor family and has no roots. If he helps the emperor, he will be in power.Furthermore, the emperor was extremely fond of power, and if he cleaned up the aristocratic family, it would probably not be better if his affairs were investigated.

Wei Dingzhen bowed and said, "The veteran does not agree."

The emperor looked coldly and said: "Since I have this intention, I will naturally not change it. Does elder Ge have to fight against me?"

Wei Dingzhen only said: "The old minister is terrified."

The emperor waved his hand and said: "Master Ge, go back and think about it carefully," then turned to look at him coldly and said, "I must do it."

After all, Wei Dingzhen is a veteran of many years of officialdom struggle. The next day the emperor received Wei Dingzhen's request to retire and return to his hometown for retirement. The meaning was very clear.

Of course, the emperor couldn't approve it, and he had to win Wei Dingzhen's support and use his strength to fight.However, the memorabilia of Sun Panjin and others caused a lot of waves in the court. The ministers of the aristocratic families wrote letters of impeachment one after another, and there were endless quarrels in the court.

Most of the humble scholars didn't dare to get involved in this matter, they just hid on the sidelines, but there were also some who had a backbone, and fought with the aristocratic family every day, but they were so light that they couldn't scold one, two, three.Bi Xin was a headache from the quarrels of the ministers, so he could only talk softly to Wei Dingzhen, but Wei Dingzhen had nothing else to say except constantly asking for his official post.

Finally, the emperor's patience has reached its limit, do you want to leave?good!Could it be that the court can't do anything without you, Wei Dingzhen?The ministers have been quarreling for a month or two, and the chief assistant doesn't care about things, so his salary has been cut hard, and he wants to give it up.

After more than ten years in the cabinet, Wei Dingzhen, the chief assistant of the cabinet who has been in the court for most of his life, has retired.Too many people couldn't figure out why he was leaving, the emperor and ministers were all staring at him, and no one really understood the reason for his leaving except himself.

On the last day, Tong Zhiben and several other ministers from aristocratic families in the cabinet pulled him up and asked him why he was leaving. Now the court needs him to be the master.Wei Dingzhen just shook his head with a smile and said that he is 78 and can no longer manage the government. Now that the emperor has ambitions, he can return to his hometown with peace of mind.Tong Zhiben and the others still didn't understand his intention to retreat bravely. They only hated the emperor's disobedience and forced the chief assistant to leave, and they were all filled with righteous indignation.

Wei Dingzhen looked at Sun Panjin who was still respectful standing aside again, he finally understood the purpose of that person to send this person into the cabinet, that person was still unwilling to accept the loss, and left this pawn before leaving.Wei Dingzhen laughed and left, only saying: "I've been through ups and downs all my life, old age is stable, this life is enough!"

Wei Dingzhen left, and the last straw that weighed on the camel finally fell.The emperor strictly ordered Sun Panjin and others to draft the matter of reforming the humble nationality and discussing the nobility system, and urged that the matter of discussing the king should not be delayed any longer.

However, Sun Panjin was in a difficult situation in the cabinet. Yan Binghe, who took over as chief assistant, only knew how to make peace, and played sloppy all day long. Liu Yunxun didn't want to get involved in these matters, and he didn't say a word every time.Second assistant Tong Zhiben brought Ma Kanrong and Cui Jiu, who were born in a family, to often find trouble with Sun Panjin, but Sun Panjin refused to listen to him, even if there was a gap, he would not let them get in.

Tong Zhiben and others gritted their teeth in hatred, wishing to skin Sun Panjin and others.Everyone gathered together to discuss how to get rid of that disobedient person surnamed Sun. Tong Zhiben gritted his teeth and bit out three words: "Xiehemen!"

Xiehe Gate is the place where traitors are killed without guilt, and it is the only way for ministers to go to court.During the reign of Emperor Gaozu, the ministers beat and killed three treacherous villains here in partnership. Dozens of people involved in this sensational incident were all acquitted and released, so it became a place where the law tacitly allowed the killing of treacherous ministers without paying for their lives. place.Therefore, Tong Zhi originally planned to use this precedent to let the ministers beat Sun Panjin and others to death at the Xiehe Gate, and then dispersed.

Although this plan sounds simple and funny, it is actually extremely insidious. The reason is that it is difficult to find out the responsibility afterwards. More importantly, the deterrence of this move to the emperor is far higher than that of killing Sun Panjin and others. He firmly believes that what he did is for the sake of right way.

Tong Zhiben brought dozens of important ministers to stay at Xiehe Gate early, just waiting for Sun Panjin and others to come.But Tong Zhiben and others are civil servants after all, and they don't have the idea of ​​arranging troops and arranging troops.A group of ministers are not waiting in Jiuqing Pavilion to go to court, but lingering in such a sensitive place as Xiehe Gate, how can it not attract suspicion?

Sun Panjin, an old fox who has been in the cabinet for many years, got the news halfway and hid early.But Jiao Yanhong, the Minister of Rites, was not as vigilant as Sun Panjin. He didn't know what was going on. He just crossed the Jinshui Bridge all the way, and found a large number of wolf-like ministers gathered in the Xiehe Gate, all of them aggressive.

Suddenly someone yelled: "Jiao Yanhong! Jiao Yanhong is here! Don't let this guy run away!" All the ministers' eyes were red, and they rushed out with a roar regardless of the broad daylight and etiquette of the courtiers.Jiao Yanhong had never seen such a battle before, his face was pale with fright, his hands were like sifting chaff, he didn't even want to go to the wat, he dropped his things and ran away.None of the ministers behind was ambiguous, and they ran after him, chasing and cursing, as if the other party was not going to die.

Jiao Yanhong was young after all, and he was separated from them by some distance, and there were old men in their fifties and sixties behind him, how could he catch up with them?They yelled and cursed, seeing that kid Jiao Yanhong was about to run away, some directly threw the wat board out as a hidden dart, some took off their boots and threw it, and some jumped on the ground in the cold weather.Jiao Yanhong rushed out of the imperial city without resting, and only saved half of his life.

Besides, seeing the failure of the matter, those ministers were so angry that their noses were crooked, they scolded and jumped, they had no choice but to go to court first.However, when he heard that a group of ministers did not come to the court, they were chasing each other outside, swearing endlessly, without any law, so he was very angry and wanted to question them.

Liu Fu reminded Bi Xin that justice is on his side, and he must not be impulsive and become their fault.He secretly said in his heart, it's ridiculous, they didn't give up even when they came to plot, and openly committed murder in the palace.

When the two went to the court, they saw that many ministers were disheveled, even their court boots were gone, and all of them had hideous faces.The emperor asked how the eunuch in charge of ceremonies let these disheveled ministers in?Tong Zhiben didn't dodge and said that the matter was urgent, and he ordered the eunuch to let the ministers in.

The emperor's eyes changed and he said: "What made Master Tong disregard the sacred ritual?"

Tong Zhiben knelt down and shouted: "The traitors and sycophants in the court are rampant, misleading the country and the monarch, and the ministers and other loyal people will eliminate harm for the country!" He kowtowed and said: "Your Majesty, please take back the title of the king of discussing politics, and no more changes can be discussed. Kill the courtiers!"

Everyone kowtowed and shouted: "Your Majesty, please take back your order and kill the courtiers!"

The emperor was so angry that he suppressed his anger and remained silent.

Prince Xuan replied: "What is the reason for the adults to be aggressive? Your Majesty has his own judgment. Besides, the adults are disheveled and unseemly. It is better to go back and change their clothes before coming to meet the saints to comply with the rules." The ministers went back and calmed down, so that they could say the following.Tong Zhiben and the others were really red-eyed, and they were about to scold and quarrel, causing a commotion.

Tong Zhiben shouted: "If your majesty does not follow the words of the ministers and others, the ministers and others are willing to send the soldiers back to their hometowns!"

The emperor waved his sleeves and said: "Since you are not feeling well, you will be spared this morning, and you all kneel down!" Then he turned and left.

The emperor is the lord of Kyushu, and maintaining the dignity of the royal family is the truth he has learned since childhood. He is willing to be a wise king, and he is willing to do his best for the people. He is also happy, but the emperor without power is just a puppet played by others. Son, he is the only one who has no selfishness towards the people of the community.

Tong Zhiben and his descendants have always taken it as their responsibility to worry about the country and the people, and have been diligent for generations. In order to decentralize power, the emperor would rather reform the low-ranking system and expand the scale of the imperial examination.The emperor is also a human being, and as a human being, he will make mistakes. If he acts arbitrarily, he is afraid that the world will fall into chaos, and the family's support for the country has never been broken.

The so-called difference in positions and views is just an illusion, and the real essence is nothing but a struggle for power.