Without money, what is the point of being a traitor?

Chapter 456: The People in the Court Are Not in Chaos

Even though the Ministry of Personnel's official Yang Yiqing and Prime Minister Yang Tinghe are now at odds with each other and have targeted Yang Tinghe's cronies in the imperial inspection, it is still uncomfortable enough just to have Lu Wan causing trouble.

Although the possibility of Li Shishi himself entering the cabinet is very small, what if this is combined with the plan to eliminate the remnants of Liu Jin?
Wouldn't that give some people the motivation to push Li Shishi to join the cabinet?
The current cabinet is Yang Tinghe's powerful cabinet, with Liang Chu, whose prestige has been ruined, and Fei Hong, who is honest and loyal, in front. Even if Li Shishi enters the cabinet as a minister, he will only be in name only.

Maybe, the threat he posed would be smaller than when he was the Left Censor-in-Chief.

But no matter how nominally a cabinet minister is, he is still a cabinet minister!

This is an honor that many people aspire to obtain throughout their lives.

Even though he knew there might be a trap, Li Shishi might not be able to resist such temptation!

Wei Ne's face looked grim and he felt a little restless.

This atmosphere made Jiao Huangzhong, who originally wanted to get help from Pei Yuan, become nervous.

Pei Yuan's originally irritable mood calmed down. His fingers tapped slowly on the table. The slight sound was like a dull war drum, making everyone present feel heavy in their hearts.

The depressing atmosphere almost made Jiao Huangzhong retreat again.

After an unknown amount of time, the Jinyiwei personal guard who had been sent out earlier came forward to report, "Captain, I have already made inquiries. The Left Censor-in-Chief said that there is such a plan, and he said that he would come over in person to discuss it with the captain in the evening."

The color suddenly drained away from Wei Ne's face.

But Pei Yuan said without hesitation, "Go and tell Li Shishi right now to do what he should do. You don't have to come here in person at night. I will not allow him to join the cabinet."

After hearing Pei Yuan's words, the personal soldier turned around and was about to leave.

Chen Xinjian hurriedly stopped the man, and then whispered to Pei Yuan, "Captain, do you want to explain this to the Left Censor-in-Chief?"

Pei Yuan tilted his eyes slightly and looked at Chen Xinjian sharply, "What do you want to explain?"

Chen Xinjian kept his mouth shut and waved his hand, asking the soldier to deliver the letter as soon as possible.

Watching the personal soldier leave, Wei Ne and Jiao Huangzhong were both dumbfounded.

Did they hear it right? How dare Pei Yuan speak like this to a Left Censor-in-Chief who was one of the Seven Great Ministers?
And he wants to block the path of this Metropolitan Governor to the cabinet with just one word?
Even Wei Ne, who admired Pei Yuan very much, didn't know whether Pei Yuan was so arrogant or really confident.

Wei Ne was feeling uneasy when he saw Pei Yuan's gaze turning towards him.

Wei Ne almost subconsciously stood up from his seat, "Qian Hu..."

Pei Yuan was a little surprised and motioned him to sit down. Then he said to Wei Ne, "I thought about it and I think your first idea is pretty good."

"These days, I have been obsessed with love affairs, and the court is a bit chaotic."

Wei Ne opened his mouth for a long time, smiling awkwardly, not knowing how to respond.

Pei Yuan was just sighing for a moment, and he didn't expect to get any response from Wei Ne. After he finished speaking, he turned to Chen Xinjian and said, "Please write a note to the Minister of War He Jian for me."

Chen Xinjian has a basic understanding of Chinese and can help Pei Yuan with some writing work.

Hearing Pei Yuan say this, he quickly took a piece of paper from the table at the side, cut out a thin strip, then picked up a pen and dipped it in ink, waiting for Pei Yuan to speak.

There are some things that Pei Yuan cannot say too clearly.

Otherwise, He Jianyu would be forced to fight to the death.

Pei Yuan then pondered for a moment and said, "Just write, 'The fields are about to be overgrown, why don't you return home?'"

After hearing this, Chen Xinjian started writing honestly.

"My fields and gardens are becoming overgrown with weeds, why don't you return home?" is a line from Tao Yuanming's "Returning to the Countryside".

Used here, it is a very clear request for He Jian to retire immediately and return to the countryside.

Wei Ne felt even more like he was in a dream.

He Jian is the person with the highest support and the greatest hope of entering the cabinet. Does Pei Yuan expect that with a note, He Jian will give up the position of cabinet minister that is within his grasp and choose to retire?

Wei Ne and Jiao Huangzhong looked at each other, speechless.

When Chen Xinjian went out to deliver the letter, Wei Ne asked tentatively, "Captain, what is this..."

Pei Yuan said, "Let's wait and see."

This time the wait was even more difficult to endure.

After a long time, the Jinyiwei who went to Li Shishi reported back, "The Left Censor-in-Chief said that since the captain felt it was inappropriate, he would not bother with the matter."

When these words were spoken, Wei Ne and Jiao Huangzhong were both shocked.

No, is there something seriously wrong with Li Shishi’s brain?

Even though the probability of him entering the cabinet is smaller, the bargaining chip of cleaning up the remnants of Liu Jin is enough for him to gain considerable support.

If something like the emperor's rejection of Xie Qian happened to He Jian again, Li Shishi would have one foot in the Wenyuan Pavilion.

So just like that, just because of Pei Yuan's words, they gave up the fight?
Just when the two were dumbfounded, Chen Xinjian, who had secretly gone to meet the Minister of War He Jian, also came back.

Without waiting for Chen Xinjian to speak, Pei Yuan asked, "What did he say?"

Pei Yuan was not sure what choice He Jian would make, but even if He Jian defected, Pei Yuan had enough confidence to prevent him from getting up.

He Jian can definitely not say that Ma Zhongxi's death is innocent.

Even if He Jian is innocent, as long as Pei Yuan spreads the news, He Jian, who is caught between Yang Tinghe and Yang Yiqing, will feel very uncomfortable.

Theoretically, He Jian had a good chance of entering the cabinet, but this opportunity was very fragile.

Once Ho Kim, the ultimate beneficiary of the Ma Chung Seok case, becomes the focus of attention of both the government and the opposition, these suspicions will ruin Ho Kim's dream of entering the cabinet.

He Jian, who was labeled as the "mastermind", "cruel and ruthless" and "ambitious", would definitely become a target of vigilance for court officials.

Furthermore, Xiao Chong and Bian Xian, the two bigwigs of the Censorate, are about to return.

With all these doubts, won't they hold on to them?

Rather than hoping for luck and staying in the court, He Jian would rather give up his position as Minister of War and retire directly.

Chen Xinjian knew that Pei Yuan was concerned about the result, so he quickly said, "He Dasima pondered for a long time, and finally said that he knew."

Pei Yuan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

That's right.

He Jian's departure now not only resolved the deadlock in the court, but also left behind a lofty image of a man of high moral character.

The next Minister of War, Lu Wan, to whom he gave the position, would definitely appreciate his favor.

It is not easy for others to politically persecute such a sensible person.

If even those who voluntarily give up the power of the Seven Ministers are subject to political persecution, which bigwig would dare to give up his power easily in the future?
How can the people below make progress then?

This is a serious disruption of the political order. Pei Yuan put down the heavy stone in his heart and said to Wei Ne in the hall with a smile, "He Da Sima still knows the general situation."

After saying this, he muttered to himself, "How wonderful this is. This time, the great debate has been going on for so long. In the end, we were able to have a safe handover. I know that the people in the court are not confused."

Wei Ne and Jiao Huangzhong were completely stunned.

Just now, Li Shishi gave up the opportunity to become a cabinet minister because of Pei Yuan's words, and they were still doubtful.

But at this moment, the statement made by the Minister of War He Jian was not just to give up the promotion to the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, but to resign directly and make way for Lu Wan.

They didn't believe that He Jian was such a noble character, and they didn't believe that Pei Yuan, a mere thousand households, could shake up the court so much.

The two of them were even a little suspicious. Could it be that this guy was teaming up with his men to play tricks on us?
Just when the two were confused, Pei Yuan suddenly remembered something. No, He Jian still owed him a condition.

Then he said to Chen Xinjian, "Go tell He Jian not to forget what I told him to do."

Chen Xinjian said quickly, "Then I will go and ask him right away, so that he won't resign directly and delay Qian Hu's important event again."

After saying that, Chen Xinjian hurried away.

Pei Yuan had nothing to worry about this matter.

Since He Jian is planning to step down with dignity, he will definitely not breach the contract without reason at this time and offend a truly ruthless mastermind behind the scenes.

Moreover, after several rounds of debates, the case of Huai'an prefect Liu Xiang has gradually been whitewashed.

In any case, Liu Xiang did not retreat to the safe Shanyang County in the rear, but actively organized his army to resist the enemy. This alone made passers-by like him.

Moreover, after capturing him, the Bazhou army was able to release him because of his good reputation as an official, which further added to his legendary color.

Why would He Jian, a man who was about to resign and go home, do such an unpleasant thing?

Feeling relaxed, Pei Yuan was in the mood to chat and laugh with Wei Ne.

But Wei Ne didn’t have such a strong heart, and he seemed a little absent-minded when he spoke.

Perhaps because he was in a good mood, Pei Yuan was in the mood to respond to Jiao Huangzhong's question, "How come Jiao Hanlin has the time to come to my house today?"

Jiao Huangzhong originally wanted to come and ask for help, and at the same time try his best to help Jiao Fang return to the court.

After all, someone like Xie Qian, who had left the political stage, was once a popular candidate for the Minister of Rites, so his father-in-law Jiao was not without hope.

Although Mr. Jiao was not a top scholar, he was a second-class scholar and had served as a Hanlin.

Moreover, Mr. Jiao not only served as the Prime Minister, but also as the imperial tutor for two terms. The current Emperor Zhu Houzhao was also very friendly towards him.

This is very different from Xie Qian.

Jiao Huangzhong now understands that there is no hope of getting Jiao Fang back to the court by relying on those ministers.

The best way is to make the emperor remember this friendship and issue an imperial decree to recall Jiao Fang.

It was a pity that he ran all over the capital in a panic, but couldn't find anyone willing to help Jiao Fang pass the message.

So after listening to Wei Ne bragging about the strength of his new backer Pei Yuan over and over again, Jiao Huangzhong had no choice but to run for help again without caring about his face.

But after what happened just now, Jiao Huangzhong was really unsure.

Is this cheap son-in-law reliable?

But now that Pei Yuan had asked, Jiao Huangzhong had no choice but to say, "It's still because of my father's return to the court."

After hearing this, Pei Yuan already had an idea in his mind.

After being persuaded by Jiao Yan'er last time, Pei Yuan seriously considered this issue.

Mr. Jiao wants to return to the court. Although it is difficult, there is still hope.

Because from a certain perspective, Jiao Fang can be called a victim of the Zhengde New Deal.

You know, before Zhengde implemented the New Deal, Mr. Jiao did not appear as a treacherous minister.

There is a very famous painting that has been passed down from the Ming Dynasty to later generations, called "The Ten Years of Jiashen".

It is said that eight years ago, that is, in the 16th year of Hongzhi, Wang Shi, the Minister of Finance of Nanjing, came to Beijing on official business. At that time, the nine Jinshi of the Jiashen year in Beijing were very happy, so they invited him to a banquet at the home of Min Gui, the Minister of Justice.

During the process, everyone drank happily.

Then the ten of them specially asked a painter to paint a group portrait for them, and each of them wrote a poem as a commemoration.

The ten people present at that time were: Minister of Revenue and Grand Secretary of Jinshen Palace Li Dongyang, Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate Dai Shan, Minister of War Liu Daxia, Minister of Punishment Min Gui, Minister of Works Zeng Jian, Nanjing Minister of Revenue Wang Shi, Left Vice Minister of Personnel Jiao Fang, Left Vice Minister of Revenue Chen Qing, Right Vice Minister of Rites Xie Duo and Right Vice Minister of Works Zhang Da.

This is the powerful "Jiashen Ten".

These "Ten Jiashen Men" were all Jinshi who passed the Jiashen Examination in the eighth year of Emperor Yingzong's Tianshun reign. The fact that they could appear in the same scroll was a kind of political endorsement.

It’s not forming a party, but it’s worse than forming a party!

Li Dongyang also wrote a preface for the couplet on the painting: "Now all the ten of us have official duties in state affairs, so our poems still have the meaning of thinking about our duties and working hard in the midst of peace and prosperity."

Translated into vernacular: Let's work together to start a business!

It can be said that with such a powerful "Jiashen Ten" as an ally, even if Jiao Fang did not defect to Liu Jin's eunuch party, he would definitely be able to do well.

How could it be possible that Jiao Fang abandoned such a luxurious alliance as the "Jiashen Ten" and became the pioneer of Liu Jin's eunuch party's new policies just for an old eunuch like Liu Jin?

The attitude of the newly enthroned emperor Zhu Houzhao must be an important bargaining chip here!
This is also the main reason why Jiao Fang was able to escape political persecution after losing power and being forced to return home.

So can Jiao Fang be saved?

Can save!

The important backdoor that allowed Jiao Fang to return to the court was with Zhu Houzhao.

Moreover, as long as the timing of the action is right, Zhu Houzhao has a very high chance of reinstating Jiao Fang.

Pei Yuan had been hesitant before.

Firstly, the huge changes in the historical line caused by "Jiao Fang's return to the court" may affect many of his plans. After all, Jiao Fang's return is not just his return, but also represents the reorganization and comeback of the faction related to him.

Now that Liu Jin is dead, Jiao Fang jumped out of the car and broke with Liu Jin at the last minute. As long as he has the emperor's support, Jiao Fang's political burden is not too heavy.

Who knows, once Jiao Fang has established his foothold, even the descendants of the "Ten People of Jiashen" may come to join him.

This has a significant impact on the current situation.

Secondly, Jiao Huangzhong has become the Jiao family's biggest negative asset. If Jiao Huangzhong is allowed to keep making trouble, it might bring trouble to Pei Yuan.

That's why Pei Yuan had been repeatedly tempering his temper.

Not only was it to completely subdue Jiao Huangzhong and prevent him from causing trouble for no reason, but it was also to send an important signal to Jiao Fang through Jiao Huangzhong, letting the old fox know who is the tiger that he can take advantage of now.

(End of this chapter)