Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 869 Right Prime Minister
The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the day of the grand court assembly, the Lantern Festival, and also the day when Emperor Zhao Qi of the Song Dynasty abdicated in favor of the third prince, Zhao Dun.

The abdication edict was issued at the same time as the edict of self-reproach.

All the high-ranking officials refused to sign or affix their seals. They wanted to tolerate it, but they simply couldn't.

Did you get our consent before you changed your mind and made someone else the emperor?
Unfortunately, there were two prime ministers in the prime minister's team who were actually stamped with their seals.

Finally, Chen Weiqing and Ma Chongyuan stepped forward and added their seals.

Therefore, Zhao Dun ascended the throne and immediately changed the era name to "Jingyao", which means "the auspicious star shines in the south pole" to signify peace and harmony.

The day after the new emperor ascended the throne, Yang Yuan presented a list to the emperor.

Subsequently, a series of official reshuffles began.

The previous "purging of corrupt officials" left many official positions vacant, but the control of the Three Imperial Guards was the only urgent matter that needed to be legitimate.

Therefore, the decree was issued in Zhao Qi's name at the time.

But things are different now.

In the military sphere, generals who had previously fought under Yang Yuan in the Sichuan-Guizhou and Western Xia regions, who had been gradually marginalized, have now been reinstated.

Li Xianzong, commander of the Huaidong Army Group, and Shao Yuanyuan, commander of the Huaixi Army Group, were each granted the title of Marquis.

Li Dao, the military commander of Ezhou, had previously been promoted in name only but demoted in reality by Zhao Qi, who made him the deputy commander of Jinghu North Road, a position with no real power.

It wouldn't sound good to demote him again to the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guards in Ezhou.

He was promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Army of Jinghu North Circuit in one fell swoop.

Fan Chengda, Yu Yunwen, Xiao Yiran, Lu Chengze and others were all promoted one rank and placed in key positions.

In addition, Zhang Jiaquan, the Junior Secretary of the Secretariat, Zheng Zeming, the Maritime Judge of Lin'an City, Lin Rongyue, the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Navy of Ganpu, Mo Long, the Commander of the Imperial Dragon Guard, and Luo Kedi, the Palace Guard Commander, were all promoted to more powerful positions or transferred to other government offices.

For example, Zhang Jiaquan, the Junior Secretary of the Secretariat, was transferred to the Ministry of Personnel, and Zheng Zeming, the Shipping Judge of Lin'an City, was transferred to the Transport Department...

Lin Rongyue, the Imperial Naval Commander of Ganpu, was promoted to Coastal Defense Commissioner and Grand Admiral of the Navy, in charge of the national navy.

Some officials who were familiar with Yang Yuan were quite puzzled by the transfers of several officials, including Zhang Jiaquan and Zheng Zeming.

I didn't find any connection between them and Yang Yuan, and they had never worked together before, so why were they promoted and given important positions?
Oh!
It turns out they were Liu's son-in-law, and Yang Yuan's brother-in-law...

A few days ago, Li Xianzong, the commander-in-chief of the imperial guards stationed in Huaidong, received a secret letter from Wei Liangchen, Zhang Jun and other high-ranking officials, which subtly mentioned that he needed to be prepared to send elite troops back to the capital to defend the emperor at any time.

As a result, Wei Liangchen retired just two days later.

Then, he received an imperial decree conferring upon him a noble title.

Li Xianzong accepted it without much internal struggle.

He was a Song general who was defeated and surrendered to the Jin, then betrayed the Jin and surrendered to the Xia, and then betrayed the Xia and returned to the Song...

This shows that he always considered himself a Han Chinese and a Han official.

However, this also proves that he was never a stubborn, one-track-minded warrior.

Therefore, he doesn't have any psychological issues.

Besides, given all the inhuman things Zhao Qi did, do you think he never cursed his mother in private?
As for Shao Yuanyuan, the commander of the imperial guards stationed in Huaixi, he accepted the order even faster than Li Xianzong.

He hadn't forgotten that when he was almost tricked by those civil officials, it was Yang Yuan who saved him and turned his major offense into a major merit.

Shao Yuanyuan had long considered himself a lackey of the Prince of Yan.

As for Li Dao, he was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Army in Jinghu North Road, which is equivalent to being promoted from the commander of a provincial military region to the commander of a field army.

After receiving the imperial edict, Li Dao stroked his beard and said to his sons with emotion:
"Back when the Prince of Yan had just passed the imperial examination with top honors, your father wanted to take him as his son-in-law."

Tell me, isn't my judgment good or bad?

"Well, nowadays, it's not entirely impossible for the Prince of Yan to have a concubine..."

Meanwhile, in Lin'an City, Li Fengniang, who was far more cunning than her father, was preparing to visit her sister Luxi at the Prince of Yan's residence and congratulate her brother-in-law Yang Yuan.

These days, Princess Qu of Jin has been taking care of Prince Jin, while she is taking care of her sister-in-law, Princess Qu.

She understands the principle of gratitude.

Even if she weren't Prince Jin, wouldn't she now be the deposed emperor's woman?

This makes Zhao Qu's kindness all the more apparent.

Now that Prince Jin's illness has slightly improved and Princess Jin has also relaxed, she has finally found some free time.

The reason she offered her congratulations was that the Emperor had appointed Yang Yuan as Prime Minister.

Yang Yuan, Right Chancellor of the Song Dynasty.

In the Northern Song Dynasty, the Left Chancellor held even greater power.

During the Southern Song Dynasty, the Right Chancellor held even greater power.

Especially after Qin Hui's series of actions when he served as Right Chancellor, the phenomenon of power being concentrated in the hands of the Right Chancellor gradually became the norm.

Therefore, the left and right prime ministers should have been equal, but the right prime minister became the chief prime minister, while the left prime minister was called the deputy prime minister.

The Prince of Yan, the Right Chancellor, the Privy Council, and the Three Military Offices were all under the control of his confidants.

At this time, Yang Yuan wielded far more power than Qin Hui had before.

Qin Hui initially lacked the crucial element of the Three Military Commands, but he compensated for this deficiency by having the support of the then-powerful Jin Dynasty.

However, Yang Yuan is no longer supported by foreign forces; he is now the most powerful minister in the country.

Li Fengniang originally thought that going to the Prince of Yan's mansion would allow her to meet Yang Yuan.

After all, Yang Yuan has been busy for more than half a month. Now that things have settled down, even someone with an iron body should take a rest.

But to their surprise, they found nothing there.

Because today is the day that Grandmaster Mu Yi is lecturing at the newly completed Wushan Academy.

Yang Yuan must have been in the same city where Mu Yi made a public appearance.

Moreover, Yang Yuan certainly did not make a public appearance when Mu Yi started speaking.

This is the groundwork for successfully assigning the identity of Mu Yi to Yang Yuan in the future.

Therefore, since Li Shishi was lecturing at Wushan today, Master Yang had no choice but to "not be seen in public." He also went to the Wushan Academy, wearing the same Taoist robe as Li Shishi in disguise, and sat in the academy's tea room, pouring himself a drink.

Li Shishi said she was preparing to lay more groundwork for "Mu Yi becoming Yang".

Arranging for Yang Yuan to appear at the academy in suspicious attire at the opportune moment was part of the plan.

It's more convincing to make people suspect that the Prince of Yan is the mysterious Mr. Mu Yi than to say it yourself first.

Yang Yuan readily agreed.

He has always been very obedient to his senior sister.

Qian Xingruo received a message from her senior brother Lu Jiuyuan and rushed to Wushan Academy.

She changed into a scholar's robe again, her lips were red and her teeth were white, her eyebrows and eyes were like a painting.

Sitting in the audience, when she saw Mr. Mu Yi gracefully walk onto the stage wearing a "mist," her eyes, which usually shone like stars at this moment, couldn't help but flash a trace of sadness.

The Qian family was originally an imperial family, a powerful and wealthy clan with a rich history.

As the daughter of the Qian family, she was not naive enough to think that she could change her father's mind by crying and begging him.

In particular, this was a marriage alliance that my father had actively sought from the Prince of Yan, and it was absolutely impossible to cancel it.

The only hope is to find someone else to marry into the family.

The Qian family is a large clan, and she is not the only woman of marriageable age.

But now, she is the only one in the main household.

Therefore, if this idea were proposed to the father, it would be obvious that the father would not agree.

Then, unless it is someone of prestige and status who can influence the King of Yan to speak on his behalf.

Anyway, Yang Yuan had never met her. All he wanted was a daughter from the Qian family to serve the purpose of marriage alliance and power combination between the two families.

But this influential person...

Looking across the entire Song Dynasty, perhaps only Prince Zhao Qu of Jin and the semi-saint Mu Yi could be considered among them.

My senior classmates have said that Teacher Muyi is very likely a close friend of the Prince of Yan.

Then perhaps by asking you, sir, to step in, this ill-fated relationship can be resolved.

Thinking of this, Qian Xingruo's heart began to pound.

As a result, Qian Xingruo, who usually listened attentively and wanted to remember every word and action of Mr. Muyi, became somewhat absent-minded and stopped paying attention in class.

What Li Shishi is talking about today is closely related to current events, specifically the recent "abdication" incident.

This is also a consistent habit of hers when lecturing.

She habitually uses the latest and biggest current events to analyze and explain them in conjunction with the ideas of the New Shu School.

In this way, students pay more attention to topics that are currently trending.

Furthermore, combining their understanding and comprehension of current events makes it easier for them to absorb the new ideas of Sichuan studies.

Everyone was already used to Mr. Muyi's teaching method.

After Li Shishi finished her lecture, she struck the chime, and before the melodious sound had faded, she rose and drifted away.

Everyone was already used to Mu Yi's mysterious nature, so naturally they wouldn't bother to provoke him further.

The scholars and students in attendance immediately launched into a lively discussion about what Mr. Muyi had said that day.

Mencius said: "If a ruler dies for the sake of the state, then he should die for it; if he perishes for the sake of the state, then he should perish for it. But if he dies for himself or perishes for himself, who would dare to do so if it were not for personal affection?"

It is clear that the monarch is responsible for the state, and the ministers are responsible for the monarch. If the monarch fails in his duties, then the ministers no longer need to be loyal to him.

“Brother Lu is absolutely right. As the old saying goes, ‘If one’s virtue is not commensurate with his position, disaster will surely follow.’”

If the emperor and the scholar-officials jointly govern the country, then if the scholar-officials are incompetent and immoral, they should be deposed. What then of the emperor?

"Yes, that makes sense! 'If a ruler has committed a major fault, he should be remonstrated with; if he repeatedly refuses to listen, then the throne should be changed! This is the way to rule the world.'"

"That is absolutely right. The ruler is less important than the state, and the people are the most important. This is exactly the principle."

While the students were engaged in a heated discussion, Li Shishi went into the back tea room.

She removed the veil and tossed it onto the mat, then took off her Taoist robe and hung it on the wall before sitting down on the mat, looking somewhat tired.

Li Shishi said in a lazy, coquettish tone, "Each lecture lasts for more than an hour, and I'm really tired."

Zijing (Lu Jiuyuan) and the others have already reached the point where they can graduate.

"If I didn't need to promote you, I would have had them speak for me and gone off to enjoy myself."

Yang Yuanlian handed her his tea and teased, "My wife has worked hard, come and moisten your throat."

Li Shishi gave him a playful glare, took the tea, sipped it, and handed it back to Yang Yuan, saying, "I'll go wash my hands first."

Li Shishi had been lecturing for over an hour, and since she needed to drink tea to soothe her throat, she naturally needed to use the restroom.

She had just left when Yang Yuan refilled the tea and then heard a few light knocks on the door.

Yang Yuan assumed she was Li Shishi's personal maid and picked up the tea, saying, "Come in."

As soon as the door opened, a young scholar with rosy lips, white teeth, and bright, black eyes appeared in the doorway.

Yang Yuan looked up and was immediately taken aback.

This young scholar looks like a beautiful young woman. It's true that in the Song Dynasty, there are women taking the imperial examinations and women studying in academies.

Qian Xingruo followed Li Shishi here, but was spotted by a senior brother halfway there. He spoke a few words to her, which delayed her a little.

Qian Xingruo lowered her eyes slightly and spoke apologetically, "Mr. Mu, this student..."

She didn't dare to look up at first, but then she caught a glimpse of "Mi Li" on the table and was overjoyed.

The gentleman forgot to put the "safety net" back on!

Qian Xingruo suddenly looked up and saw Yang Yuan, who was raising his glass to drink.

(End of this chapter)