Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 195 Disowning relatives
When Wang Xi heard Huangfu Sengnian's suggestion, he was completely dumbfounded.

moment.

"Don't make trouble!"

This was Wang Xi's response.

He knew Huangfu Sengnian very well; he was the kind of person who wouldn't submit to anyone and dared to do anything. In fact, both Li Jieman and Wang Shuang were somewhat afraid of Huangfu Sengnian. In the past, when Huangfu Sengnian argued with the teacher, they pretended not to know him.

That is why, among the four of them, it is often Wang Xi who makes the decisions, rather than Huangfu Sengnian, as Wang Xi's decisions are more rational.

Zhang Jiazhen was the most powerful, influential, and trusted supporter of the Wang family in the court. Asking Wang Xi to eliminate Zhang Jiazhen was not only a matter of whether he could do it, but more importantly, in such a sudden situation, without any contingency plan, he cut off his own arm. Wasn't that madness?

Huangfu Sengnian said, "Those who achieve great things should not be concerned with trivial matters."

Wang Xi rolled his eyes and said, "Big my ass. Of course I know that principle, but the question is, what reason is there to do this? What benefits would my family get from doing this? Let's talk about reason, okay? Don't just attack people all the time. That's the current prime minister, not the headmaster of Wuming Academy."

Faced with Wang Xi's complaints, Huangfu Sengnian calmly explained, "In my opinion, Minister Zhang has become a burden to your Wang family. Hesitation will only lead to more trouble."

"burden?"

Wang Xi asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Huangfu Sengnian said, “Based on my observation, since the Kaiyuan era, Your Majesty has followed a pattern in appointing officials. That is, no matter what achievements the prime minister has made, he is always replaced every three years, and there is only one prime minister and one prime minister. Even Yao Chong and Song Jing are examples of this.”

Wang Xi hesitated for a moment, then said, "Weren't they guilty of committing a crime?"

Huangfu Sengnian said, "The things they did are nothing at all. Many of them are fabricated. And what a coincidence that they were removed from office exactly after three years? After being removed, they are still officials in the court, only the position of prime minister is removed."

At this point, he whispered, "This is why His Majesty is able to make absolute decisions."

Li Longji was definitely a gifted emperor. He deeply understood the importance of trusting those he employed and not employing those he didn't trust. He also knew that to end the chaotic court, he had to give the prime minister enormous power so that his decrees could be effectively implemented and reforms could be successful.

However, the power of the prime minister and the power of the emperor are inherently contradictory.

How do we achieve a balance?
Li Longji's strategy was to hold a three-year term, and once the three-year term was up, he would remove you from office, no matter who you were or how capable you were.

Yao and Song were both renowned prime ministers, each with exceptional abilities, but so what? Every three years, they were replaced. For example, the reason for Song Jing's dismissal was that he suppressed the appeals of corrupt officials and strictly prohibited the circulation of counterfeit money, which aroused considerable resentment.

With just that one sentence, Song Jing was removed from office.

Which prime minister would be so easily taken down?

There's only one explanation: the time has come.

However, after being dismissed, he was reassigned as Grand Master of the Palace, promoted to Duke of Guangping, and granted the title of Pillar of State.

Looking at it this way, it becomes very clear.

Li Longji hoped to establish a system where the prime minister rotates every three years.

One of the main reasons for the An Lushan Rebellion was that he did not maintain this system. The advantage of this system was that the prime minister could concentrate power, and Li Longji also intentionally allowed the prime minister to concentrate power, because only by concentrating power can great things be accomplished.

Therefore, it was necessary to change officials every three years. However, in the later period, Li Longji continued to delegate power, but did not change officials every three years. For example, Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong held power in the court for a long time.

Although Li Longji still managed to control the prime minister through his own means, the problem was that he himself did not manage affairs, which led to Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong wielding immense power. In particular, Yang Guozhong did not have the ability of Li Linfu, which made the problem even more serious.

After thinking it over carefully, Wang Xi said, "It seems that Prime Minister Zhang became prime minister in the eighth year of the Kaiyuan era, and this year marks his third year."

Huangfu Sengnian said, "That's not all. Didn't I say that in the first ten years, His Majesty would only appoint one prime minister and one prime minister? This is probably because he was worried that too much power would be dispersed and would not be conducive to the reform of the court."

Wang Xi looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Huangfu Sengnian said, "In the eighth year of Kaiyuan, His Majesty also appointed Zhang Jiazhen and Yuan Qianyao as prime minister and vice prime minister, respectively. However, not long after, Zhang Yue was recalled to the capital to serve as vice prime minister. In other words, there are now three prime ministers, which is abnormal."

Wang Xi pondered for a moment and said, "You mean, His Majesty regrets appointing Chancellor Zhang as prime minister?"

Huangfu Sengnian nodded. "There is only one explanation. Zhang Jiazhen's abilities are beyond doubt, but it is no secret that the court officials are dissatisfied with him."

Because when Song Xiang was in power, he encouraged remonstrance and opened up channels for expression, while Zhang Jiazhen wanted his decisions to be unquestionable and to be the sole decision-maker.

This may be because when Zhang Jiazhen served as a local official, he was the one who made the decisions, after all, his abilities were outstanding.

But this is the imperial court, not a local area, and there is no shortage of capable officials in the imperial court.

This, I believe, is why His Majesty regrets his decision and thus promoted Zhang Yue ahead of schedule, in order to check and balance Prime Minister Zhang, and even to the point that he could be replaced at any time.

Wang Xi nodded and said, "If that's the case, Zhang Jiazhen will leave the position of prime minister this year no matter what."

Huangfu Sengnian nodded. “Since that’s the case, why do you still want to protect him? Why not take this opportunity to comply with His Majesty’s wishes and drive Zhang Jiazhen away, thereby consolidating your position in His Majesty’s heart?”

Since you want to be a favored minister, why do you need Zhang Jiazhen?

After hearing this, Wang Xi said, "You mean I should go and complain to His Majesty?"

Huangfu Sengnian nodded.

Wang Xi said, "I want to be a favored minister, but the problem is that now is not the time. I am only fourteen years old, and our Wang family still needs support in the court. If what you say is true, once Zhang Jiazhen steps down, Zhang Yue will take the throne, and our Wang family will have no connection with him." Huangfu Sengnian said, "But three years later, Zhang Yue will also step down. His Majesty is the key. As long as His Majesty trusts you, it doesn't matter who becomes prime minister. That's why I supported your idea in the first place."

Wang Xi thought about it and realized it made some sense. The Wang family's position was now secure, and the key wasn't Zhang Jiazhen, but him. He said, "But I'm just a young master. How could I know about these things? That doesn't make sense!"

Huangfu Sengnian said, "You can make up any reason, you can even say that you overheard it from your father."

Wang Xi pondered for a while, then suddenly frowned: "Since that's the case, why not go even further and betray my father as well?"

This time, Huangfu Sengnian was completely bewildered. "What does that mean?"

Wang Xi said, "Just say that my father wanted to protect Zhang Jiayou, and that's why I went to complain to His Majesty. Doesn't that make more sense?"

Huangfu Sengnian was dumbfounded and said, "Although it makes more sense to say it this way, it's the same as putting your father in danger. Are you going to put the greater good before your own family?"

"of course not."

Wang Xi spread his hands and said, "I am the main character. My father is just a supporting character. As long as I can gain His Majesty's trust, my father will be fine no matter how much he messes around."

Huangfu Sengnian nodded slightly.

Wang Xi added, "Besides, my father also sides with my aunt. Since Uncle Fu is my father's man, if Uncle Fu is on my aunt's side, it must be because my father instructed him to do so. It's not in our nature to leave a grudge unavenged."

Huangfu Sengnian was silent for a moment, then said, "But my father is innocent."

“Your father is a hero in this matter, so of course we can’t let him down.”

Wang Xi said, "Don't worry, I won't mention your father. I'll just say that my father himself wanted to protect Zhang Jiayou."

Huangfu Sengnian glanced at Wang Xi and asked cautiously, "Have you decided to do this?"

He only wanted to frame Zhang Jiazhen, but his real purpose was to protect Wang Shouyi. Little did he know that Wang Xi would go even further than him.

When it comes to being a troublemaker, Wang Xi is truly in a league of his own.

Wang Xi nodded and said, "You are right. The prime minister changes every three years, but a favored minister can stay indefinitely. As long as I can continue to enjoy His Majesty's favor, Zhang Jiazhen's value will indeed be greatly reduced. Rather than going to great lengths to protect him, I might as well use this to gain more of His Majesty's trust, which can be considered as opening a window for me."

Huangfu Sengnian nodded.

Wang Xi suddenly looked at Huangfu Sengnian and said with a smile, "Is your idea out of a desire to protect your Huangfu family?"

Huangfu Sengnian rolled his eyes. "Nonsense! Of course it is. Now my father is following your father. If your father acts impulsively, then my father will suffer as well. After all, the relationship between my Huangfu family and Zhang Jiazhen is just so-so. My family has no reason to protect him."

Wang Xi said irritably, "So you think I'm easy to fool, and that's why you came up with an excuse to make me complain."

Huangfu Sengnian smiled smugly and said, "But the result was not bad."

This is actually the truth. Given Wang Shouyi's personality, he would definitely protect Zhang Jiayou, but Huangfu Shangde thought it wasn't worth it, and Huangfu Sengnian thought even more strongly that it shouldn't be done. Huangfu Shangde wrote a letter to Huangfu Sengnian for this very reason.

After much thought, he came up with a solution.

And he did indeed persuade Wang Xi.

Wang Xi asked, "How long have you been thinking about this?"

Huangfu Sengnian said, "One night plus one morning."

Wang Xi said, "So, you didn't sleep a wink last night?"

Huangfu Sengnian nodded slightly.

"You're ruthless," Wang Xi scoffed.

Huangfu Sengnian added, "If we can bring down Zhang Jiazhen, then it means we don't need to fear Zhang Shuo, or even your aunt."

Wang Xi's eyes suddenly lit up. "Tell me, should we use this to seek His Majesty's help to deal with my aunt?"

This kid is truly heartless; he just screwed over his father and now he's eyeing his aunt.

Huangfu Sengnian immediately said, "What's the point? We can deal with your aunt ourselves; we don't need His Majesty's help."

This group of people really dislikes interference from their elders. Whether it's fighting or anything else, they feel it's meaningless even if they win.

Wang Xi said, "I am a favored minister. If I don't rely on His Majesty, what's the point of being a favored minister? Shouldn't a favored minister be lawless?"

Huangfu Sengnian pondered for a moment and said, "If you only want to deal with your aunt, then there is nothing wrong with doing this. But if you want to replace your aunt, then you must at least prove that you have the ability. If you rely on His Majesty, those powerful clans will certainly not submit to you."

Wang Xi scratched his chin and nodded, saying, "Alright, you've convinced me again. But I can also use this opportunity to test His Majesty's attitude towards my aunt, since Consort Doulu is His Majesty's adoptive mother. This way, we'll know how much force we can use to deal with my aunt."

Huangfu Sengnian nodded and said, "I don't object to that, but it's best to try. We can do our best."

“Try your best!”

(End of this chapter)