Prime Minister

Chapter 76, 075 [The Blade]

In early February, a gentle spring rain transformed Beijing into a landscape painting.

In the southwest of the Imperial City, within the Buzhengfang area, stands a five-courtyard official residence, the home of Ouyang Hui, who held the titles of Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, Minister of Personnel, Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall, and Second Grand Secretary of the Cabinet.

Ouyang Hui was sixty years old at the time. For most people in the world, this age is the standard twilight years. His greatest wish was nothing more than for his family to be harmonious and for his younger generation to be filial, so that he could enjoy the pleasures of family life and be able to play with his grandchildren.

However, Ouyang Hui clearly did not think so.

He is still in good health and pays great attention to health preservation, so he can still handle the heavy workload of government affairs with ease.

Inside the flower hall, Ouyang Hui leaned against a long couch, while a beautiful young maid knelt beside him, gently tapping his legs with a beauty hammer.

A man in his forties, sitting with one buttock on a rosewood official's chair, respectfully asked, "Teacher, are you satisfied with the tea that I had someone deliver a few days ago?"

This man is named Luo Xun, and he is currently the Right Vice Minister of the Court of State Affairs. Seventeen years ago, when he passed the imperial examination, Ouyang Hui was his mentor.

Ouyang Hui, who was resting with his eyes slightly closed, replied leisurely upon hearing this, "It's acceptable."

Luo Xun said, "That tea is a specialty of my hometown. Since you find it barely palatable, I'll have my family prepare some more as a token of my respect."

Ouyang Hui slowly opened his aged eyes and looked at Luo Xun, saying, "Yusheng, you are very thoughtful."

Luo Xun's face lit up with joy, and he quickly said, "This is what a student should do."

The tea was certainly good tea, but what satisfied Ouyang Hui was not the tea itself, but the silver notes underneath.

In today's officialdom, while the relationship between teachers and students in the imperial examination system is indeed very stable and close, it does not mean that following a powerful figure guarantees peace of mind. This is because each teacher in the imperial examination system will have many disciples, and it is impossible for him to take care of and promote everyone equally and impartially.

Besides ability and character, the closeness of one's disciples to one's mentor will determine how far one can go in officialdom.

Luo Xun was well-versed in this art. Over the years, he had taken a considerable amount of the money he had amassed by exploiting the people and sent it to this mansion in exchange for Ouyang Hui's appreciation and trust. Moreover, through his unwavering loyalty, he became one of Ouyang Hui's most trusted men.

Ouyang Hui smiled faintly, then sat up and waved his hand.

The slender young maidservant bowed obediently and withdrew.

Although Luo Xun hid it well, the eagerness in his eyes did not escape Ouyang Hui's notice.

The old man raised his hand and pointed at him, saying irritably, "Aren't your dozen or so concubines enough to satisfy you?"

Luo Xun smiled awkwardly, not daring to argue, and honestly said, "Teacher, please calm down. I have changed a lot since then."

"This is your private matter, and I originally did not want to interfere. However, Ning Hengzhi's silence lately is unusual, so you'd better be careful."

When Ouyang Hui mentioned the Grand Secretary, a shadow crossed his eyes. He then warned Luo Xun, "Let me make this clear from the start: if you like collecting women, then spend some money to buy them properly. Don't do anything stupid like kidnapping them, or I won't be able to protect you."

Luo Xun nodded solemnly and said, "I will remember this, please rest assured, teacher."

Ouyang Hui stood up, and Luo Xun quickly stepped forward to help him.

The two arrived at a study not far from each other. Ouyang Hui sat in a grand chair, gestured for Luo Xun to sit down, and then asked meaningfully, "What did Su Zhai Gong say to you?"

The "Su Zhai Gong" he mentioned was the courtesy name of Sun Yan, a Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet.

In the current cabinet, Ning Hengzhi has absolute power, with only Ouyang Hui able to challenge him on certain matters. The other three cabinet ministers are ridiculed by gossips as clay sculptures of old ministers.

These three men certainly did not want to become mere yes-men, but they couldn't even get rid of Ouyang Hui, let alone Ning Hengzhi, who was deeply trusted by the emperor.

After several years of wasted time, they had to bow to reality and make different choices. Sun Yan gradually came to work with Ouyang Hui, while the other two chose to rely on Ning Hengzhi, a towering figure.

When the matter was brought up, Luo Xun dared not be careless and said solemnly, "Grand Secretary Sun asked me to tell you that he will do his best to preside over this year's imperial examination, so as not to fail His Majesty's expectations or your trust."

Ouyang Hui nodded slightly.

The imperial examinations are held every three years, and all factions in the court are eyeing this prize closely.

Given Ouyang Hui's current status and age, his involvement in the imperial examinations was not for the purpose of discovering his protégés, because normally it takes an official more than thirty years to go from entering officialdom to becoming a high-ranking official who can participate in court decision-making.

Ouyang Hui did not think he would live to be ninety years old.

However, he could not ignore this spring imperial examination. His followers and cronies needed to use the selection ceremony to expand their power and connections, so he definitely had to make some arrangements.

"There's no need to worry about Su Zhai Gong. He's always been steady and mature in his work, and he won't easily make a mistake."

Ouyang Hui spoke calmly, then suddenly changed the subject, asking, "What do you think Ning Hengzhi will do this time?"

Luo Xun pondered for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "After the corruption case in the Ministry of Works, Xue Minglun was forced to resign and return to his hometown, and Grand Secretary Ning lost an arm. Although he turned the tables and recommended Shen Zhanxing to succeed him as Minister of Works, blocking this leader of the Qingliu faction from entering the cabinet, it is an undeniable fact that the Ning faction suffered great losses. In my opinion, the biggest impact of this matter is His Majesty's attitude." "Go on."

"I believe that His Majesty is using Shen Zhanxing to warn Grand Secretary Ning that the Ning faction has been overstepping its bounds in recent years. In fact, when His Majesty decided to let Shen Zhanxing take charge of the investigation, I felt that the Ning faction was going to suffer a calamity, because His Majesty has suppressed Shen Zhanxing for more than ten years and has never relinquished power to him. This time, letting him investigate the Ministry of Works is obviously a move to take action against the Ning faction."

At this point, Luo Xun frowned slightly and said, "This student doesn't quite understand. How could Chief Minister Ning, with his shrewdness and cunning, not see this point?"

"So what if you see it clearly?"

Ouyang Hui sneered, "A large ship is hard to turn around. Even if Ning Hengzhi is willing to back down, would Xue Minglun be willing to slink back to his hometown in Hedong?"

Luo Xun immediately understood.

He nodded and said, "That's true. Xue Minglun finally climbed to the position of Minister of Works and has amassed countless benefits over the years. How could he be willing to give it up? If that's the case, I think that Chief Minister Ning will not personally take action this time, but the Ning faction will certainly not miss this opportunity of the imperial examination."

The teacher and student exchanged a glance and simultaneously thought of Yue Zhongming, the newly appointed Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, who was also the vice president of this year's imperial examination.

This person was a second-class Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination), one year later than Xue Minglun and Wei Zheng.

When Ning Hengzhi served as Minister of Personnel, Yue Zhongming was the Director of the Verification and Sealing Department of the Ministry of Personnel, and his Ning faction affiliation was quite obvious.

Ouyang Hui sighed softly, "The will of Heaven is unpredictable. Xue Minglun lost his position as Minister of Works, and his close confidants were mostly purged. I thought His Majesty would neglect Ning Hengzhi because of this, but unexpectedly, this Grand Secretary remains as steady as Mount Tai. His Majesty accepted his suggestion, sending Shen Wang to the Ministry of Works to clean up the mess, and then having Yue Zhongming fill the vacancy left by Shen Wang. In this way, Ning Hengzhi minimized the losses, which left me at a loss."

Luo Xun's eyes darted around, and he said cautiously, "Teacher, perhaps Yue Zhongming is the direction we should take to break through."

Ouyang Hui's heart stirred slightly.

He understood what Luo Xun meant. As the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites and the Vice President of the Imperial Examinations, it would be a joke to say that Yue Zhongming would maintain absolute impartiality.

"This matter..."

Ouyang Hui hesitated slightly. It wasn't that he was afraid of Ning Hengzhi's methods, but rather that the imperial examination, as the grand ceremony for selecting talents in the country, had always been valued by the emperor.

The various factions in the court were in tacit agreement on this matter. They might all try to get involved in the imperial examinations, but they wouldn't cause any trouble, because if the lid were lifted, everyone would be the one to suffer in the end.

Luo Xun understood his teacher's concerns and said carefully, "As you just said, a large ship is hard to turn around, and Chief Minister Ning may not be able to control everyone. Take this Vice Minister Yue for example, I think he is quite ambitious, and he must want to become the second Shen Zhanxing."

"Are you saying that even if Ning Hengzhi wants to keep a low profile this time, Yue Zhongming will still act on his own?"

"It is said that a new official makes a big splash when he takes office, and Vice Minister Yue is by no means someone who can stand still. I believe he will not miss this opportunity to cultivate his cronies."

Ouyang Hui looked at Luo Xun with approval and said, "You've made a lot of progress in the past two years."

"Thank you for the praise, Teacher Xie."

Luo Xun was flattered and said, "I just don't know where to start. Please give me some pointers, teacher."

"It's not difficult."

Ouyang Hui had only hesitated before, and this was not a difficult matter for him. He calmly said, "As you said, Yue Zhongming is an ambitious person. As long as Su Zhai Gong restrains his sharpness and makes Yue Zhongming feel that he can be on par with the chief examiner, he will become greedy and then regard this spring examination as a place to realize his ambitions."

Luo Xun's eyes suddenly lit up, and he exclaimed in admiration, "Teacher is wise. It seems reasonable that Grand Secretary Sun is rumored to be a clay figurehead Grand Secretary, so he dares not offend Yue Zhongming. This will only make Yue Zhongming more arrogant. However... I have another concern. If Yue Zhongming really crosses the line, should we take action?"

Ouyang Hui understood his concerns. Even if Yue Zhongming fell into the trap, this matter might not necessarily harm Ning Hengzhi, because the Grand Secretary's past methods proved one thing: as long as he turned this matter into a factional struggle instigated by the Second Grand Secretary's faction, the Emperor would most likely become hesitant.

If Ouyang Hui doesn't take action, the groundwork laid in the early stages will have been a huge boon to the Ning Party.

"Of course we can't make a move."

Ouyang Hui picked up his teacup, leisurely sipping the fragrant tea, and after a long while said, "How could you forget that Xue Shidu, who hated evil as if it were his enemy?"

"Xue Huai?"

Luo Xun was slightly taken aback, then realized what he meant and exclaimed, "Teacher's plan to use someone else to do the dirty work is truly ingenious!"

"Xue Huai, that little fox, is not so simple."

Ouyang Hui recalled his previous cold observations of Xue Huai's behavior and couldn't help but smile thoughtfully, saying with a hint of anticipation, "However, this time we've handed over the Ning Party's weakness to him. I don't believe he won't be tempted."

"As Shen Wang's personal disciple and a rising star among the Qingliu people, he has no right to blend in with the crowd."

"His Majesty will surely rely heavily on Xue Huai in the future. In that case, we might as well help His Majesty sharpen this knife."

(End of this chapter)