Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 191 The Enemy Returns
In the power structure of the central court during the Tang Dynasty, the prime minister undoubtedly held the greatest power, possessing full decision-making authority over any major national affairs under normal circumstances. At least at the institutional level, the restrictions on the prime minister were decreasing, while power became increasingly centralized.

As for why Zhang Shuo was still defeated, the first reason was naturally the emperor's dissatisfaction with him, and the second reason was that he was ambushed by Yuan Qianyao.

According to the regulations governing the submission of petitions, even if the Censorate had reached a consensus and unanimously impeached Zhang Yue, they still needed to submit a petition to the Secretariat and Chancellery for instructions; they could not impeach him arbitrarily. And the Secretariat and Chancellery had more than just Zhang Yue as its chief official; it also included the harmless Yuan Qianyao.

Therefore, Li Linfu's later attacks on his fellow prime ministers and suppression of the aspiring prime ministers gave people the feeling of being almost paranoid. These were all valuable experiences accumulated through rich struggles!

Or we can extrapolate to a law: in politics, you don't need to look at whether a person's character or style is harmful or harmless. As long as they can theoretically harm you, they will inevitably harm you in the future!

The Censorate, which oversaw all officials, also wielded immense power. Before the An Lushan Rebellion, the Censorate was the core institution for various power struggles within the central government.

Not to mention the rampant cruel officials during the Wu Zhou period, Zhang Yue was overthrown during the Kaiyuan era, and in the later Tianbao era, the power of the Imperial Censor Wang Hong expanded to the point that even Li Linfu had to avoid his sharp edge, which was considered a rebellion against the Heavenly Gang.

Following the powers of governance and oversight were the Ministry of Personnel's power to select personnel and the Ministry of Revenue's power to manage finances; these were the core areas of power struggles within the central government. Apart from these, the gains and losses of other official positions were not particularly important.

Zhang Shuo was dismissed from his post as prime minister last year, and the possibility of him being reinstated is extremely slim. To maintain the cohesion of his faction and settle his many supporters, the most practical and direct goal is to gain control over personnel matters within the Ministry of Personnel.

In fact, the Ministry of Personnel was originally under Zhang Yue's control. Almost all the important officials in the Ministry of Personnel, from Pei Cui, the Minister of Personnel, down, were appointed by Zhang Yue.

Therefore, after the Fengshan ceremony in the thirteenth year of the Kaiyuan era, the emperor questioned the unfairness of the selection process. Yuwen Rong petitioned to divide the selection into ten departments, completely excluding the Ministry of Personnel, which led to the complete outbreak of the conflict between Zhang Yue and Yuwen Rong.

Zhang Yue still wants to get involved in the Ministry of Personnel, but it will be quite difficult. In particular, although Zhang Jiuling has a good reputation and outstanding talent, his qualifications are still slightly inferior.

At present, Zhang Jiuling is only the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Even if he were to take up a post in the capital province, he could at most serve as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works or the Ministry of Justice. If Zhang Shuo were still in office, he might have been able to become the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, but now he probably wouldn't have such strong support.

Of course, if Zhang Jiuling could be appointed as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, it would undoubtedly be a double insurance for Zhang Dai. The examiner for this year's exam was Yan Tingzhi, the Assistant Minister of Personnel. Although they had never met, Yan Tingzhi had expressed his appreciation for Zhang Dai through others.

Although the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel did not directly participate in presiding over the provincial examinations, as the official in charge, he wielded considerable influence and had the authority to review the list of successful candidates before it was officially submitted. If Zhang Jiuling were in this position, there would be no problem with this step.

Although Zhang Dai wasn't very optimistic, he secretly hoped that the matter would succeed. He thought that everyone would be his buddies, and he could pass the imperial examination without much effort—it would be incredibly satisfying.

Regardless of Zhang Shuo's plans, Wang Shouzhen arrived at the Zhang family mansion early the next morning. Unlike his first visit, when he was dressed in fine clothes and rode in a grand procession, he arrived alone today, dressed in plain clothes and riding a rickety horse.

When he arrived, Zhang Shuo had already left home for court. The other members of the Zhang family dared not settle them casually, so they reported the situation to Zhang Dai.

When Zhang Dai arrived at the front courtyard and saw the man's disheveled appearance, he asked first, "Have you been to Henan Prefecture? When will the case be sentenced?"

If he was still a bit dazed yesterday, after a day of processing it, Wang Shouzhen understood that his future was basically ruined. Even if his father was powerful, his future was no longer relevant to him. Under his father's protection, he might still be able to live a comfortable life, but he would no longer be able to inherit any official titles.

Power is the backbone of a person. After realizing the truth, Wang Shouzhen was also disheartened and lost his previous arrogance.

Facing Zhang Dai, the culprit who framed him, he felt resentment but dared not show it. He simply lowered his head and said, "Reporting to Sixth Master, I have already gone. The Henan Prefecture said that the case will be dealt with after the Lantern Festival. Until then, I only need to serve in the residence."

Zhang Dai noticed that his demeanor was quite respectful, and couldn't help but feel a little surprised. This was probably another form of family tradition; if it were him, he probably wouldn't have been able to accept reality so quickly.

The guards, though nominally called protectors, were essentially used as servants. The Zhang family already had many servants, so Zhang Dai certainly wouldn't send this fellow to the main residence.

Remembering that this guy had previously boasted about frequently gelding horses, he summoned Wu Chuan, who was in charge of the stables, and pointed to the meek Wang Shouzhen, instructing him: "This is Fang Ge, sent by the new envoy of the court. Prepare a place for him to stay next to the stables and put him in the stables for now."

Since they were there to be servants, there was naturally no concept of work or off-get off work hours. They had to stay at their master's house for food and lodging, just like farmhands, except they didn't receive wages. Some harsh masters even made them pay for their own food.

Because this is essentially the exploitation of labor, and now it's a situation of infighting within the ruling class, this is originally their own spoils of war, so Zhang Dai will not give Wang Shouzhen any preferential treatment; he will treat her as he sees fit.

"Don't worry, Sixth Brother, we will handle things properly!" Upon hearing this, Wu Chuan grinned. He had previously gone with his servants to protect Zhang Dai, who was being held captive in the Henan Prefecture villa, so he naturally knew the reason for the incident. He couldn't help but be overjoyed and dragged Wang Shouzhen towards the stables in the side courtyard.

"You scoundrel, do you know who I am? Stop right there..."

When Wang Shouzhen faced Zhang Dai, he was naturally intimidated, but when he saw that a mere stable boy from Wuchuan dared to be so rude to him, he immediately glared and shouted angrily.

However, before he could finish speaking, he was tripped and thrown out, his head hitting the stable railing.

"You're nothing but a fool who has the audacity to offend and make things difficult for my lord! Now that you're here, you'd better obey my punishment, or you'll regret it!"

Wu Chuan stepped forward again, grabbed the guy's head, and slammed it against the fence, saying viciously.

"No, no... I have money in my purse, take it all, don't make things difficult for me. If it's not enough, have your family send more! I am Young Master Huo, your hostility towards me will do you no good!"

Wang Shouzhen was about to struggle when her hands and feet were held down by several people in the stable. She panicked and hurriedly lowered her posture and shouted.

Upon hearing this, the men's eyes lit up. They rummaged through his pockets and found a hundred or so coins and several gold and silver ingots. They were all smiles. They then ordered Wang Shouzhen to clean up the horse manure in the stable, while the rest of them went to the side to divide the loot.

The stench of horse manure made Wang Shouzhen gag repeatedly, and soon her face was covered in tears, her heart filled with extreme resentment. The thought that if this hadn't happened, she would probably be enjoying herself with prostitutes and celebrating the Lantern Festival right now made her even more grief-stricken, and she burst into tears right there in the stable.

Zhang Dai was not much better off. To avoid causing any further trouble, he stayed home and studied, and didn't even go out for the lively Lantern Festival.

Although Wang Shouzhen was busy in his own stable, he couldn't be sure if others were plotting to attack him, get revenge for Wang Maozhong, or frame him. In any case, staying at home was the safest option.

The curfew was lifted around the Lantern Festival, and the people were naturally very happy. Even the Zhang family members pooled their money to buy several floats and lanterns, and hired several actors and actresses to parade through the city.

Zhang Dai, concerned for his own safety, did not go out for leisure, but remembering how his clansmen had protected him, he took out two hundred strings of cash for them to enjoy themselves, which made them very happy.

After the Lantern Festival, the New Year celebrations finally came to an end, and both officials and commoners alike had to settle down and begin the busy work of the new year. The various industries of farming and weaving in the countryside need no further explanation, but in the imperial court, a new round of personnel infighting began once again.

The first to be ousted was Cui Yinfu, the Imperial Censor who had become the target of public criticism. With the support of two prime ministers from the Secretariat and several important officials, the emperor, despite not being tired of Cui Yinfu and having a relatively positive view of his management of the Censorate, still had to dismiss him from his post and transfer him to the position of Minister of Works.

However, the person who succeeded Cui Yinfu as Imperial Censor surprised the court officials. It was none other than Zhang Jiazhen, the former prime minister who had been demoted to the position of prefect of Taizhou due to his involvement with Duke Qi, Wang Shouyi.

When Zhang returned home from the court, he looked dejected. If his conflict with Cui Yinfu was merely a political struggle, his conflict with Zhang Jiazhen was a direct brawl within the Secretariat, in which the prime ministers Yuan Qianyao and Wang Jun, who were present at the time, almost broke apart.

Zhang Jiazhen's appointment signified that preventing Zhang Shuo's faction from regaining power in the court would remain a key focus of the government's policies. Therefore, shortly after the appointment was made, Chancellor Du Xian, who had initially agreed to recommend Zhang Jiuling as Vice Minister of Personnel, immediately changed his mind.

Zhang Jiuling lost even the opportunity to be recommended, so there was no need to discuss whether he was suitable or not.

The newly appointed Vice Minister of Personnel was Cui Mian, the former Prefect of Weizhou, recommended by Chancellor Li Yuanhong. Yuwen Rong, the Censor-in-Chief, was appointed Prefect of Weizhou. Only Song Yao, the Censor-in-Chief, remained unaffected in the entire Censorate.

What is the relationship between my grandfather and Cui Mian?

Zhang Dai could disregard other personnel changes in the court, but the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was closely related to his personal interests. Upon learning of this, he immediately inquired about it with his grandfather.

Zhang Shuo was quite embarrassed when he heard the question. After a moment of silence, he said, "Cui Mian was formerly the Vice Minister of the Chancellery. Because his judgments often disagreed with mine, he was appointed as the Prefect of Weizhou. I didn't expect him to return now..."

Zhang Dai was dumbfounded when he heard this. Let's talk about the whole Tang Dynasty. Is there anyone you haven't offended?

(End of this chapter)