Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 184 My Relationship with the Duke of Yan is No Ordinary Ruler and Subject

As dawn broke the next day, a new day began.

It wasn't sunrise, but Zhang still got up very early and was dressed by dawn. He continued to carefully examine the memorials to be submitted in the back hall of his house.

Having served as an official for many years and been in charge of literary matters for a long time, drafting memorials was just a routine matter for Zhang Shuo. However, today he looked very serious and read the memorial he had drafted yesterday over and over again.

At this moment, Lady Yuan of Yan entered from the outer room. Seeing Zhang Yue's appearance, she couldn't help but whisper, "Is things really so difficult for Sixth Prince? In previous years, when my husband had been wandering for many years, he would come to court from Youzhou, dressed in military attire, looking so strong and dashing..."

Upon hearing his wife recount the past, Zhang Shuo couldn't help but smile.

During the Xiantian era, he assisted the emperor in eliminating the power of Princess Taiping and was appointed prime minister for his merits. However, he was framed by Yao Chong and banished, wandering for many years afterward. It wasn't until he became the governor of Youzhou that he finally got a chance to enter the court for an audience.

At this time, Zhang Shuo keenly realized that the emperor, because the country was becoming stronger and wanted to promote border defense, was tired of Song Jing's governance strategy, which was unfortunate to promote border defense and too conservative and rigid. So he simply went to court in military uniform to show his loyal and brave side.

This move indeed won the emperor's favor, and Zhang Yue was able to succeed Zhang Jiazhen as the Prefect of Bingzhou and Ambassador of the Heavenly Army not long after, thus embarking on a path of returning to the court with merits on the frontier.

Thinking of these past stories of turning adversity around, Zhang couldn't help but smile with a hint of pride. But when he thought about his current situation, his expression turned somewhat gloomy.

"In previous years, we were able to turn the tide because you had your preferences and I followed them respectfully. We were in a position of power and naturally had no inhibitions. But now, the officials at the North Gate are all your trusted lieutenants and henchmen. To touch them or harm them is no easy task!"

Zhang Shuo sighed and said, "Although the sage is a man of great talent and ambition, he is also secretly lazy in his ability to observe and employ people. He is ambitious but lazy in observing details, so all those he selects and appoints are shrewd and capable people. He only needs to manage two or three people to govern the country well."

Therefore, only when one is subordinate can power be concentrated and authority extended. However, all previous officials in the southern province who held power could not remain in office for long, and I too am likely to suffer the same fate. But Wang Maozhong has been in charge of the northern gate since the beginning of time, and the sage has yet to see any plan to divide his power or remove him from office. It will be difficult to control him this time.”

The current sages have a great deal of confidence in their ability to select and appoint virtuous and capable people, and this is most evident in their prime ministers.

In the early years of the Kaiyuan era, when Yao Chong served as prime minister, he submitted a minor memorial to the emperor regarding the appointment of officials, but the emperor was too lazy to even respond. Therefore, once a capable official was selected by the emperor, his talents could be fully utilized without too many restrictions.

Therefore, the power of the prime ministers became more and more concentrated. When Zhang Yue became prime minister and transformed the Zhengshitang into the Zhongshu Menxia, ​​the prime minister completely surpassed the three provinces and held all the power of government in his own hands.

However, this does not mean that the sage will lose control of the court situation or be sidelined by powerful ministers. On the contrary, as long as the sage firmly grasps the prime minister and a few dedicated senior officials, he can firmly control the situation.

After the Fengshan ceremony, Zhang Shuo's power and prestige reached their personal peak, but then quickly collapsed.

The sage first addressed the issue by dividing the Ministry of Personnel into ten selection bodies, excluding even the Minister of Personnel, who was in charge of personnel. Those involved in overseeing these ten selections were all high-ranking officials of the state. If Zhang were to question the results, he would be creating conflict with these ten officials, further isolating himself.

The next step was to target the Censorate's supervisory power, directly placing Zhang Shuo's political enemies into the Censorate and making them the vanguard in overthrowing Zhang Shuo.

The most important means for a sage to control the court, especially the prime minister, is to exercise absolute power but not hold it for long.

However, this method does not apply to the Northern Court. The Northern Court's King Mao Zhong is deeply favored by the Emperor, a position that has remained unchanged since the Xiantian era and has even been strengthened year by year. Moreover, there has been no indication of training replacements, indicating that the Emperor has little desire to change the personnel of the Northern Court.

This is also a major reason why Zhang Shuo is not optimistic about this operation. While sages certainly have a wise and decisive side, they are still stubborn and even somewhat obstinate at heart. They often lack patience and enthusiasm for people and things that do not conform to their wishes.

Hearing her husband say this, Madam Yuan couldn't help but sigh, "This Sixth Brother is such a worry! Wouldn't it be better if he stayed home and focused on his studies and preparation for the imperial examinations? Why does he have to go out and get involved in all sorts of unsettling people and things!"

"This is a woman's view! Which is easier, being in power or causing trouble? Everyone knows that power is good, so why sit and wait for it to be bestowed by heaven!"

When Zhang heard his wife criticize his grandson, he immediately frowned and became displeased: "In this world, if one has no vested interests with anyone, one is nothing but a useless person. My grandson has always been quite sensible in his dealings, and even now, facing such difficulties, he still has various ways to fight back. I am only troubled by how to resolve my son's crisis, but as for other things, he has benefited greatly!"

Although he had previously advised his grandson not to get too involved with the affairs of the Northern Gate, it didn't mean he should simply tolerate and back down. In fact, Zhang Dai's escalation of the situation and muddying the waters created many opportunities for him to fish in troubled waters, which helped Zhang Shuo's faction to take the opportunity to recover some lost territory.

However, for Zhang Dai personally, the resentment he harbored towards Wang Maozhong and his son was not easy to resolve. At least for now, it was difficult to completely bring down Wang Maozhong, and as long as Wang Maozhong still held power in the North Gate, he could always seek revenge at any time. Zhang Shuo now regarded Zhang Dai as the future hope of the family and naturally did not want him to continue to be under such threat, but he did not have any good solutions at the moment, and his mood was somewhat distressed.

While he was still pondering a plan, Zheng Yan and the others who had been keeping watch all night at the Henan Prefecture villa in Xuanfanfang also arrived at his residence. Zhang Shuo asked about Zhang Dai's situation again, and upon learning that the boy was still fast asleep, he couldn't help but laugh and scold, "This boy is indeed calm and composed in the face of adversity."

It wasn't that Zhang Dai was calm in the face of adversity, but rather that panicking would be useless. Things had escalated to a point where neither he nor his grandfather could control them; it was now a conflict between the outer court's judicial system and the emperor's favored groups.

In this incident, all they could do was try to portray themselves as victims and plead with and urge the relevant officials to uphold the law and order.

If these people are also willing to do so, they can naturally help them fight against and hold accountable the illegal acts of the Wang family.

If they are unwilling or afraid to uphold the fairness of the law, then they are naturally derelict in their duties and will be criticized by Zhang Shuo and his cronies, or other political groups, triggering a new round of personnel infighting.

Zhang and his party had a quick breakfast at home before heading towards the imperial city. When they arrived at the Duanmen Gate of the imperial city, Zhang Jiuling and his relatives and friends were already waiting there.

Among the prime ministers of the Tang Dynasty, Zhang Yue was indeed a person who was good at team building. Even though he had lost power for nearly a year, when he encountered disputes and difficulties, there were still a dozen or twenty officials who spontaneously gathered around him and were willing to support him.

In the volatile world of politics, this is quite rare. Especially considering Zhang Shuo's own quick temper and not the kind of person who is gentle, kind, and easygoing, the fact that he still has such connections and influence shows that his ability to lead a group is truly remarkable.

Of course, this also shows that it was the right decision to deal with him. While Yao and Song, who came before him, were all powerful figures for a time, they were still slightly inferior to Zhang in terms of forming cliques and engaging in corrupt practices.

Zhang Yue was not only a leading figure in the literary world, but he also lavishly rewarded his confidants during the Fengshan ceremony. He was suppressed and humiliated for nearly a year, yet he still wields considerable influence in the court. One can imagine what his situation was like before that.

Although it is not sunrise today, the prime ministers will still gather officials from all departments in the court to hold a brief meeting to deal with the various memorials and matters submitted yesterday.

Therefore, all the officials returned to the capital early in the morning. Zhang Shuo and his entourage gathered at Duanmen, which attracted many officials to stop and inquire.

Some officials who had previously followed Zhang Shuo but had recently distanced themselves from him joined the group when they saw that it still existed. Along the way from Duanmen to the imperial city, more than a dozen more people gathered.

But when the group arrived near the court, someone strode forward to greet them; it was none other than Gao Lishi, the Grand Eunuch of the Inner Court.

“I have been waiting here for a long time by imperial decree. The Emperor has instructed that after Duke Yan returns to court, he need not come to the government office, but will meet him inside the palace.”

Gao Lishi approached Zhang Shuo and began to speak to him.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shuo frowned slightly and looked back at the crowd behind him. He had planned to urge the relevant officials to advance the matter at the court meeting chaired by the prime minister today, and to focus on questioning a few individuals.

The emperor arranged for Gao Lishi to wait here early in the morning, clearly not wanting him to participate in court affairs, and the meaning behind this is thought-provoking.

Although he hesitated, he did not dare to refuse to see him directly. He first gestured for Gao Lishi to wait a moment, and then called Zhang Jiuling aside and whispered, "I need to pay my respects to the Emperor today. You all must not cause any trouble in the court for now. If the Ministry of Justice does not report the matter, then submit a petition to the Prime Minister and wait for the next day."

After explaining all this, Zhang Shuo returned and went to the palace with Gao Lishi.

On the way, Gao Lishi whispered to Zhang Yue, "I was at home last night and not on duty. I only found out about the matter when my son returned and reported back. Last night, both Duke Guo and Duke Huo had an audience with the emperor, and the two prime ministers of the Southern Province have also been summoned."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yue understood. It seemed that the sage had a comprehensive understanding of the situation and had summoned him again this morning. He wondered what the sage's attitude was towards this.

As he pondered this, he was soon led to the Tongming Hall of the Imperial Palace. As he hurried into the hall to pay his respects, the Emperor descended the steps from the hall and sighed to him, "How could I and the Duke of Yan be ordinary ruler and subject! When your family is in trouble, if you do not turn to me, to whom else can you turn?"

Zhang Shuo immediately understood that the Sage intended to downplay the matter. He frowned slightly, but still quickly bowed and said, "My young disciple has offended some powerful figure without my knowledge. He is currently imprisoned in Henan Prefecture. I have not yet gone to reprimand him, and my understanding of the matter is not deep enough. How dare I trouble Your Majesty with this matter!"

(End of this chapter)