Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 183 Difficulty in Assisting the Crown Prince
Although the emperor was the ruler of the world, he could not be fully aware of the affairs of the world. On the contrary, because he was confined to the palace for a long time, he needed someone to report to him in order to understand the affairs of the world.

Besides the palace servants and imperial guards who had regular contact with the emperor, the prime minister was the first among them who could present matters to the emperor in person. As the head of all officials, the prime minister represented the entire bureaucratic system in communicating and consulting with the emperor on matters of state.

Secondly, there were the officials of the Secretariat and the Chancellery, who were responsible for communicating between the emperor and the people, serving as advisors, and filling in any gaps in the emperor's knowledge. They were also the emperor's main window for understanding the affairs of the country.

Next came the Censorate. From the Grand Censor down to the Censor-in-Chief, all officials of the Censorate were the eyes and ears of the emperor, supervising all officials and impeaching those who violated the law or the constitution.

These are the main channels through which matters were reported to the emperor in the outer court, and each of these channels has its own limitations.

Take the prime minister as an example. Because he is at the end of the bureaucratic system, it is difficult for him to take the initiative to obtain information. He has to wait for the subordinate departments to submit their reports before he can decide whether to report to the emperor.

This matter just happened today, and from a legal perspective, it has not yet reached the point where it needs to be reported to the higher authorities. However, since it involves the Northern Army, and even the Ten Thousand Cavalrymen have been mobilized and detained in the Jinwu Guard headquarters, it is impossible to handle it according to the usual procedures.

Therefore, in addition to the Henan Prefect Meng Wenli hurriedly entering the office to report on matters, the Prince of Xin'an, who was in charge of the Left Jinwu Guard, also submitted a memorial to the provincial government in the afternoon.

However, after Meng Wenli arrived at the Secretariat, he was sent to the Ministry of Justice by Yuan Qianyao. As one of the six ministries under the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Justice usually reports the previous day's affairs to the Secretariat on the next day.

As for the city defense matters under the jurisdiction of the Jinwu Guard, they were usually not important matters, so the memorial submitted by Prince Xin'an was not immediately presented to the Secretariat after it entered the province.

So, apart from Yuan Qianyao, who is at home resting and recuperating, the prime ministers are currently unaware of this incident.

In the early years of the dynasty, the Hall of State Affairs was the place where prime ministers discussed state affairs. Usually, the prime ministers would discuss state affairs in the Hall of State Affairs in the morning and return to their respective offices in the afternoon to handle their affairs.

However, several years ago, when Zhang Yue, the then prime minister, changed the Zhengshitang (Hall of State Affairs) to Zhongshumenxia (Secretariat and Secretariat), Zhongshumenxia became the direct decision-making body for political affairs. It was divided into five departments to connect with the six ministries of the Ministry of Personnel. As a result, the prime minister began to reside in Zhongshumenxia, ​​and he only handled the affairs of his respective provinces as an adjunct or simply left them to his subordinates.

The atmosphere within the Secretariat-Chancellery is somewhat delicate these days. Among the three chancellors, Yuan Qianyao is the most senior and holds the highest official position, but he is also the least fond of showing off.

As for the two newly appointed prime ministers, they both have strong personalities and are keen to demonstrate their authority. And the best way to demonstrate authority is to make decisions on important national affairs. The more decisions one makes, the greater one's power will naturally be.

To make decisions on important national affairs, one had to stay in the Secretariat, so the power struggle between the two prime ministers was the simplest way: a contest of physical strength and overtime work, to see who could stay in the Secretariat for longer.

The situation at the Secretariat today was no different from usual; the two prime ministers were still working overtime in the office until late at night, and it seemed they would continue to sleep there.

However, the two were working overtime on different things. Li Yuanhong had served in the court for many years and had worked in various departments, so he was very familiar with the personnel of the court. At present, he was busy processing various files.

As for Du Xian, since he rarely resides in the imperial court and only returned to the capital as prime minister at the end of last year, he is still familiarizing himself with the personnel of the court. Therefore, he frequently summons officials from various departments to talk and inquire about matters.

The two men were busy with their own affairs, but when the eunuch was ordered to come in to inquire about the matter, they couldn't help but look at each other in bewilderment: "When did this happen?"

They were completely unaware of this, but since the sage had asked, they could not refuse. After exchanging glances, they all walked out of the government office without prior arrangement.

Regardless of the specific details of the matter, it was clear that there would be no answers left in the offices of the Secretariat and the Chancellery. The first thing the two men thought of was to quickly return to their respective departments to broaden the scope of their inquiries, and then return to report to the Emperor.

So the two men who had been staring at each other all day finally left and went to the Secretariat and the Chancellery respectively.

After returning to the Secretariat, Li Yuanhong immediately reviewed the memorials submitted to the Secretariat. He quickly found the memorial from the Prince of Xin'an. After reading through the memorial, he couldn't help but gasp in shock. He realized that the situation was so serious. No wonder the Emperor had sent an official to inquire about it in the middle of the night.

He picked up the memorial submitted by Prince Xin'an and immediately prepared to return to the palace to report to the Emperor. However, after thinking for a moment, he stopped and asked his subordinates, "Who is on duty at the Censorate today? Is Doctor Cui here?"

"The one on duty is Vice Minister Song, while Doctor Cui is on leave due to his mother's illness."

After a moment's thought, the subordinate official quickly lowered his head and said...

The Imperial Censor Cui Yinfu was also a model worker and had a strong desire for power. Since becoming the Imperial Censor, he had been stationed at the Censorate for a long time, and he had to make decisions on all matters, big and small, personally. However, he returned home to take care of his elderly mother after she fell ill.

Upon hearing that Cui Yinfu was not at the Censorate, Li Yuanhong's eyes lit up with joy, and he immediately ordered, "Quickly invite Vice Minister Song to the palace!"

The subordinate responded and left, only to return hurriedly a while later, followed by the Imperial Censor Song Yao. Upon entering the hall, Song Yao asked nervously, "What brings you to court at night, sir?"

Li Yuanhong did not answer, but instead tossed the memorial from the Prince of Xin'an to Song Yao and asked, "Does the Censor know of this matter?" After quickly glancing at the memorial, Song Yao first shook his head, then angrily said, "These officials at the North Gate are truly arrogant and lawless, and should be punished! Does the Prime Minister intend for me to impeach them tomorrow? However, Doctor Cui is not in office, and if we rashly impeach them, I fear we will incur his displeasure!"

Cui Yinfu was also strong-willed and controlling. After becoming the Grand Censor, he ordered all the censors that they must first speak to him before impeaching anyone. Only with his permission could they proceed with the impeachment. Those who impeached officials without his review and approval would be severely punished.

Not long after assuming the position of Imperial Censor last year, Cui Yinfu directly impeached Zhang Shuo and dismissed him from his post as prime minister. He also had a firm grasp on dealing with these censors. In the past six months, nearly half of the censors in the Censorate have been dismissed by him.

Nowadays, apart from Yuwen Rong, who is on a diplomatic mission abroad, and his envoys, everyone else in the Censorate must be subservient to him. Even Song Yao, the Vice Censor-in-Chief, must report to him every day when he is at home taking care of his mother, and cannot make decisions on his own.

Li Yuanhong shook his head, then said in a deep voice, "Try to delay as much as possible, and don't let Doctor Cui find out too soon."

Besides the commotion caused by the soldiers of the Northern Garrison at the Left Jinwu Guard's office, Wang Shouzhen also held the official position of Crown Prince's Attendant. The Censorate would certainly have to make a statement, otherwise it would be dereliction of duty.

The Emperor himself has already shown great concern over this matter, yet the Censorate remains indifferent, making the situation even more serious. The Censorate is the Emperor's eyes and ears, but Cui Yinfu's forceful actions have silenced the censors, so a thorough investigation is now necessary!
Upon hearing this, Song Yao quickly nodded in agreement. He was also feeling quite frustrated working under an officer like Cui Yinfu, and if he could use this opportunity to get rid of Cui Yinfu, that would be ideal.

After giving instructions to Song Yao, Li Yuanhong immediately took the memorial and hurriedly returned to the palace.

Compared to Li Yuanhong, Du Xian's process of learning the situation was more complicated. He had only been in the court for a short time and did not have his own trusted followers. He originally wanted to return to his home province to inquire about the Chamberlain Yuan Qianyao, but was told that Yuan Qianyao had returned home due to illness, and that this happened shortly after the arrival of Meng Wenli, the Prefect of Henan.

"What is Magistrate Meng doing in the province?"

Du Xian frowned and asked while flipping through the records of the court.

Although he had served as the Vice Minister of the Secretariat (Huangmen Shilang) as early as the twelfth year of the Kaiyuan era, he was subsequently appointed Protector-General of Anxi and did not hold any position in the Secretariat. After returning, he remained in the Secretariat and Chancellery, competing with Li Yuanhong, and paid little attention to provincial affairs. At this moment, he did not know who to ask.

The officials under Liu Zhi were vague about this, and the records of the court did not contain any specific details, only stating that Meng Wenli was instructed by Yuan Qianyao to go to the Ministry of Justice.

"Old things are hateful!"

Du Xian knew that this was most likely arranged by Yuan Qianyao, both to trip him up and to lessen the blame for Yuan Qianyao's self-preservation.

Unable to obtain any useful information, he naturally could not simply return to report. So he hurriedly left the Secretariat and headed to the Ministry of Personnel, hoping to learn the full picture.

Fortunately, Du Xian was a seasoned soldier and strong, and he walked briskly all the way, arriving at the Ministry of Personnel's official residence in no time.

Perhaps as a reward for him for traveling such an extra distance, when he arrived here, he happened to meet Pei Kuan, who was returning to his post to report.

Pei Kuan not only had relatively complete case files, but also the confessions of the parties involved, which he had just obtained from the Henan Prefecture. He then advised Du Xian, "Lord Du, when I was in the ward, I saw Wang Shoulian, the steward of the Crown Prince's household, enter the residence and forcibly lead his brother to the Crown Prince's Palace. The officials of the Henan Prefecture were unable to stop him."

Upon hearing this, Du Xian's expression immediately changed, and he snorted coldly. However, he could not linger any longer, so he took the information he had obtained from Pei Kuan and hurriedly returned to the palace.

Because of these many twists and turns, when Du Xian returned to the Secretariat, Li Yuanhong had already submitted his report on the matter. Not wanting to fall behind, Du Xian submitted his report with more detailed and effective information.

The emperor returned to the side hall of Xuanzheng Hall to meet with the prime minister. After reading the memorial presented by Li Yuanhong, his expression did not change much. He simply said, "The handling of the matter by Prince Xin'an was quite appropriate."

However, when Du Xian reported other matters, and heard that Yuan Qianyao and Meng Wenli had both returned home due to illness, the emperor frowned. Just as he was about to express his opinion, Du Xian continued, "The officials of the Crown Prince should be dignified and proper. The sons of the Wang family are frivolous and immoral, and are truly unfit to assist the Crown Prince. I request that a better candidate be chosen to replace them!"

Upon hearing this, the emperor's gaze immediately deepened. He had summoned the prime minister at night not only to inquire about matters but also to give some instructions. However, after hearing Du Xian's words, he changed his mind and said in a deep voice after a moment of silence, "You two ministers have worked hard by summoning me at night. Now you should go back and rest."

When Du Xian saw that the sage did not respond directly to his words and was about to argue further, Li Yuanhong, who was standing to the side, had already bowed and taken his leave. Seeing this, he could only take his leave as well.

After leaving the side hall, he looked at Li Yuanhong with some dissatisfaction and said, "Why didn't you say anything just now, Minister Li? Do you also think that the Wang family's sons are capable of assisting the Crown Prince?"

Li Yuanhong and Du Xian did not have a friendly relationship, but after hearing this, he only sighed and then said, "His Majesty has his own grand plan. If this can be used to rectify the officials at the North Gate, that would be good enough. Minister Du was too hasty in his advice just now."

(End of this chapter)