The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 451 Nothing more than that
So many officials were imprisoned and their properties were searched, even Prince Zhongshun's palace was raided, and the whole court was instantly in a panic.

Side Hall of Yuqing Palace

All the officials from the Chancellery came and stood there looking at the prince, their eyes unable to conceal their excitement and excitement.

Just now, they learned from the prince that the emperor had been poisoned and was in a coma, which made them surprised and happy!
This was simply a pie in the sky, and it fell on their heads. You know, given the prince's physical condition, he would definitely not survive as long as the emperor.

The Zhanshi Mansion is the institution that selects the team that will assist the crown prince in governing the country in the future. However, since it is very difficult for the crown prince to survive until heir to the throne, and the emperor's mind is all on the crown prince, their identities are very embarrassing.

As the saying goes, the sky cannot be without sun for a day, and the country cannot be without a king for a day.

The emperor was poisoned and in a coma, so the prince should naturally take over and inherit the throne. Even if the emperor wakes up, he is no longer the emperor.

When the prince ascends the throne, they will be regarded as meritorious officials who have followed the emperor, and it will be natural for them to be promoted to higher positions, given titles, and given opportunities to their wives and children.

What's more, so many positions in the court became vacant at once, with six positions in the six ministries and nine departments becoming vacant, plus the deputy officials, fifteen or sixteen official positions above the third rank. It's exciting just to think about it!
Finally, the prince finished reviewing the document, put down his pen, raised his head, and his eyes slowly swept across everyone's faces.

Everyone couldn't help but straighten their backs.

The prince was silent for a moment, then took out a piece of paper from the case file and handed it to the Prince's Secretary.

The Prince's Secretary took it and looked at it. He was stunned for a moment, then looked at the Prince with some confusion.

The Crown Prince: "This is the new position I have arranged for them. They are all officials in several important government offices. It is easy to make achievements in politics since they are in important positions. With achievements, it will be easier to get any position."

The Crown Prince's Secretary hesitated for a moment and asked, "May I ask Your Majesty, how will the vacant positions of the chief and deputy officials of the six ministries and nine ministers be arranged?"

The prince was silent again, and then said, "The cabinet has already drawn up a list."

The Crown Prince's Secretary asked anxiously, "Were all these drafted by the Cabinet?"

The prince nodded.

The crown prince's secretary's face turned pale: "What do they want to do!"

The officials of the Zhanshi Mansion started shouting:

"How disrespectful! They, they have ulterior motives!"

"That's right! Go find the cabinet and argue with them!"

"It's no use just looking for them. Let's write a memorial to report them!"

"All right!"

The prince stepped on the desk in annoyance and then started coughing.

Zhao Tong hurried in and gave him a gentle back massage.

The officials of the Zhanshi Mansion fell silent, and then exchanged anxious glances.
The prince calmed down, took the hot tea brought by the prince's secretary and took a sip, then told him what happened that night.

Upon hearing that the list was drawn up by the Empress, Li Hu, Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding and five cabinet ministers, all the officials in the Chancellery fell silent.

After a moment of silence, the Junior Secretary spoke up: "If the Crown Prince wants to hold power and not be constrained by the cabinet, the six ministries must be under his control, especially the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of War."

The Prince's Secretary and all the officials nodded.

The Crown Prince: "Jia Lian was promoted from Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue to Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. The Ministry of Personnel will not appoint a new minister for the time being. The Ministry of Personnel is in our hands."

Shao Zhanshi: "He is from a noble family, so he can't be trusted!"

All the officials in the Zhanshi Mansion started shouting again: "That's right! The nobles are all profit-seeking, greedy and insatiable. They are the most hateful!"

The prince frowned.

Seeing this, the Crown Prince's Secretary interrupted everyone and said, "Nobles are hateful, but Jia Lian was personally trained by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, so he is naturally different from those who are only interested in profit." He paused and said, "The Ministry of Personnel is the head of the six ministries, responsible for the appointment, assessment, promotion, demotion, and transfer of civil servants. Its status and power are very important. Jia Lian was personally trained by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, so his ability is naturally no problem, but... after all, he is not a scholar, and it seems a little inappropriate to let an official who is not a scholar to manage the civil servants of the world. It is also easy to cause some trouble."

The prince looked at him: "What's the trouble?"

The Prince's Secretary: "The Prince has lived in the palace for a long time and does not know the wickedness of human nature. Some people always speculate about others with the greatest malice. They will not say that the Prince is not sticking to one type of talent. Instead, they will think that this is a humiliation to scholars." As he spoke, he looked at the Prince secretly, observing his reaction.

The prince raised his head and thought silently.

The Crown Prince's Secretary was delighted and continued, "It's a common problem among scholars. They take advantage of their status as disciples of sages and get drunk and swear at every turn. If some bad words are spread, it will more or less affect the reputation of the Crown Prince."

Hearing this, the prince's eyes flashed, as if he understood something.

Prince: "Go on."

The Crown Prince's Secretary: "The Queen arranged this in order to hand over the Ministry of Personnel to the Crown Prince. Why not take this opportunity to select an upright and capable minister to serve as the Minister of Personnel and completely control the Ministry of Personnel."

The prince nodded.

The Crown Prince's Secretary wanted to say something, but the Crown Prince yawned and said lazily, "It's noon, all the masters should go back and rest."

The Prince's Secretary was stunned for a moment and was about to speak.

The Junior Secretary quickly interrupted the conversation and said, "We will take our leave!" After saying that, he pulled the Prince's Secretary away.

When the footsteps faded away, the prince snorted coldly.

Zhao Tong shook his head. These so-called great scholars were just so-so. They were far inferior to Li Hu and Jia Lian, and were even worse than Jia Yucun.

At this time, the eunuch in charge of Kunning Palace came in, saluted to the prince, and said, "Prince, the Queen Mother invites you to come over."

Prince: "What's the matter?"

The eunuch in charge said: "Two things. Announce to the public that the emperor has been poisoned and is in a coma. Send the emperor to Kunning Palace to rest."

The prince then stood up and said, "Let's go."

In less than half an hour, the news that Prince Fu had colluded with Prince Zhongshun to rebel and the emperor had been poisoned and fell into a coma spread throughout the capital, causing an uproar in the city.

Before the people in the capital could recover from the shock, the imperial court announced the names of officials who had died in the war. For a time, every family of princes and nobles wore mourning clothes and mourned, and all the memorial supplies in shops of all sizes were sold out.

When someone is sad, someone else is happy!
Earth-shattering cries came from outside the window, but Wang Ren seemed extremely excited and agitated. He put the list of dead officials in his palm and clapped it twice, then said to himself: "Good death! When you die, everything in the Wang family will be mine."

His mind suddenly flashed back to the past scenes of Wang Li humiliating, scolding and beating him. He snorted coldly, then spat on the ground and cursed: "Son of a bitch, he got away with it!"

At this time, he was a little worried. The emperor was poisoned and in a coma, almost dead. Without this big backer, what should he do? Find another backer? Yes, surrender to the prince! Zhen Fu and other high-ranking officials of the Southern Pacification Division all died in Xishan. He, the commander-in-chief, became the highest-ranking official. With the identity of the only heir of the Wang family, the job of the commander of the Southern Pacification Division was almost secure.

Thinking of this, his cheeks flushed and he seemed extremely excited.

At this moment, his servant came in and said, "Master, there are guests outside. Madam asked you to go and entertain them."

Wang Ren: "Who's here?"

The servant said: "The Jia family, Xue family, Shi family and old relatives have all come."

Wang Ren's eyes flashed: "The eldest daughter of the Xue family is here too?"

The servant smiled and said, "I have asked around. The eldest and second daughters of the Xue family are here."

Wang Ren thought for a moment and said, "Give orders to entertain them well. By the way, tell my wife that there is something going on over at the Southern Pacification Office. I will be back as soon as I am done with it." After saying that, he hurried out.

The servant stood there in a daze.

(End of this chapter)