Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 163 Watching the Fun

Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation in the Imperial Palace.

The four prime ministers of the cabinet, apart from Yang Yuanfu, as well as the ministers of the six ministries and the heads of important departments such as the Censorate, were all present.

This is the smaller court assembly outside of the grand court assembly. The minimum qualification for this smaller court assembly is basically the third rank.

Moreover, only officials of the Six Ministries, who held real power and were of the third rank, had the opportunity to attend. Even for the Six Ministries, the emperor needed to convene an "expanded meeting" for them to be present.

These smaller court assemblies are often the ones that decide important matters, while the larger court assemblies are more like the stage for announcing decisions and for court struggles.

At this moment, His Majesty the Emperor had arrived, and everyone had finished paying their respects. The Emperor sat on his throne and gestured with his hand: "Everyone, find a seat and take your place."

In these small court assemblies, unless the emperor was in a bad mood, the ministers would generally have seats. If the emperor was in a bad mood, everyone would at most stand, and they would not have to kneel to answer questions.

When the emperor spoke, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, thanked him, and sat down.

The emperor glanced at everyone and said slowly, "Today, there are a few things to discuss."

As the emperor of the Great Qi, he did not actually make all the decisions himself. It was not that he could not do so, but that he did not need to.

Ultimately, because emperors are also human, and humans are not omniscient and omnipotent, they will make mistakes. If you make all the decisions yourself, there will naturally be no problem, but if you make a wrong decision, it will have serious consequences.

Once or twice is fine, but over time and in many cases, one will lose all credibility.

Therefore, the best role for an emperor is that of a referee, not making any decisions himself, but letting his subordinates argue, and then skillfully guiding the situation.

Therefore, we now have these small court assemblies where the emperor recommends officials. These small court assemblies can decide many things, such as the appointment of officials of the fifth rank and above, as well as major directional decisions of the court.

Although the emperor does not have complete control over this partial voting method, as the Son of Heaven, he holds two of the most important powers.

That is, deciding when to hold this small court assembly and what the specific topics of this small court assembly will be.

The emperor glanced at the crowd and continued, "Half a month ago, Ji Liang, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, submitted a petition requesting to retire due to illness. I have already granted his request. My intention is to posthumously grant him the title of Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent and allow him to retire."

The group exchanged glances and bowed their heads, saying, "Your Majesty is wise."

The emperor touched the armrest of the dragon throne and continued, "Then what we need to discuss today is the selection of the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate."

"There is also the problem of corruption within the imperial court."

The emperor lowered his head slightly and said calmly, "The day before yesterday, the Zhenfu Division reported to me that Zhou Pan, the Prefect of Jingzhao, was corrupt and lawless. After reading it, I was utterly shocked."

"Zhou Pan served as the Prefect of Jingzhao for less than five years, and during that time alone, he embezzled at least 300,000 taels of silver."

“In the capital, there are four or five mansions, and the number of women kept there is countless.”

At this point, the emperor said coldly, "I have already sent the Northern Garrison to arrest them. The garrison officers should have arrived in Jingzhao Prefecture by now."

Upon hearing the emperor's words, the expressions of the people present varied.

Everyone knows the background of this Prefect Zhou. He is a protégé of Grand Secretary Yang Yuanfu and has been following Grand Secretary Yang for many years. He is a staunch member of the Yang family.

Normally, he might go a bit too far, but with Master Yang around, everyone would turn a blind eye.

Today, however, it is precisely because Minister Yang is not present that His Majesty the Emperor has brought up this man, and his intention is quite clear.

The direction these words conveyed was self-evident.

At the very least, His Majesty the Emperor was quite dissatisfied with Minister Yang.

"But what I want to talk about today is not Zhou Pan."

The emperor said in a deep voice, "Zhou Pan's case represents only a very small part of the officials in the capital, and even the court officials!"

The emperor paused for a moment, then said, "I believe that the political situation has reached a point where it is imperative to rectify it."

The high-ranking officials of the court looked at each other, and finally, Grand Secretary Wang Han stepped forward, bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty, Zhao Mengjing, the former Vice Minister of Rites, is an upright man. I have heard that Your Majesty has pardoned him and released him from prison. I recommend Zhao Mengjing to serve as the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate."

The emperor frowned deeply, his face full of displeasure: "Zhao Mengjing is an arrogant and unruly man. I pardoned him only because I felt sorry for him and planned to send him back to his hometown to live out his days. How can such a madman be appointed as the Left Censor-in-Chief?"

Chen Qing, a newcomer to the workplace, didn't know why Zhao Mengjing was convicted and imprisoned, but everyone present at the small court assembly knew that it was because three or four years ago, Vice Minister Zhao impeached the emperor's brother-in-law and was imprisoned in the Zhenfu Division prison by the emperor.

Now, after hearing what Minister Wang said, everyone looked at Minister Wang and then at the Emperor, and they all understood.

Xie Guan, the Prime Minister, stood up, bowed his head, and said, "Your Majesty, Zhao Mengjing is an upright man. If Your Majesty wishes to rectify officialdom, this man is indeed suitable for the position of Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate." Everyone present was shrewd and could basically see the direction of the situation. After Prime Minister Xie spoke, everyone stood up, cupped their hands, and recommended Zhao Mengjing to the Emperor as Left Censor-in-Chief.

The emperor looked displeased, but still frowned and accepted the appointment.

After everyone was seated again, the Emperor said calmly, "To rectify official corruption, it is probably not enough to rely solely on the Censorate. Otherwise, the court would not have fallen into such a state of chaos in recent years."

He said in a deep voice, "I will have the people of the Northern Garrison Command also begin to monitor all officials, and together with the Censorate, do our best to rectify official corruption."

These two sentences were no longer in a tone of discussion. The ministers all understood the emperor's intention and stood up, respectfully responding.

The emperor grunted in agreement and continued, "Then let's continue the discussion. The Ministry of Personnel has compiled the list. This time, the Ministry of Personnel has recommended thirteen officials of the fifth rank or above, including several local prefects."

"The Ministry of Personnel should submit another report on the vacancies for officials in the capital. Today, you all should finalize these vacancies and make arrangements as soon as possible."

Although the Ministry of Personnel is a high-ranking official, its authority only extends up to the fifth rank. Officials of the fifth rank and above, especially those in the capital, require such court recommendations at small assemblies.

After all, financial power and personnel power are core powers that cannot be relinquished. Whether it is the emperor or the cabinet, they must be very concerned about such personnel power.

"Yes."

The Minister of Personnel stood up, responded with a "Yes," and then began to announce the list. Among the list was the name of Chen Huan.

Upon hearing the name Chen Huan, the emperor and everyone else glanced at Minister Xie, but Minister Xie seemed not to have heard and remained expressionless.

After the list of officials and vacancies was read out, the emperor said calmly, "The Ministry of Personnel will announce the proposed appointments, and then you all can discuss and decide."

Everyone said yes.

Thus, in this small court assembly, positions more precious than gold were all settled one by one amidst the discussions of these high-ranking officials.

The brilliance of power shone brightly in this room.

…………

On the other side, at the entrance of the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chen Qing, dressed in a qilin-patterned robe, followed by Yan Cong and other officers of the Northern Garrison, all dressed in their official uniforms, entered the gates of the Jingzhao Prefecture with cold faces.

Upon arriving at the gate of the Jingzhao Prefecture, several constables at the gate instinctively stepped forward to block the way. Chen Qingdong did not move. Yan Cong behind him then revealed the sign of the Northern Garrison Command and shouted in a deep voice: "The Northern Garrison Command is on duty. Who dares to obstruct us!"

Suddenly, a group of people knelt down at the gate of the Jingzhao Prefecture, all bowing their heads deeply.

"Greetings, Your Excellency!"

Chen Qing walked into the Jingzhao Prefecture with his hands behind his back.

Soon, Zhou Pan, the Prefect of Jingzhao, along with all the officials of the Jingzhao Prefecture, heard the news. A group of people nervously came to the gate to welcome the envoy from the Northern Garrison.

Upon seeing Chen Qing, Prefect Zhou was taken aback at first, then gritted his teeth, bowed, and said, "Greetings, Your Excellency!"

Chen Qing didn't speak, but looked at Yan Cong. Yan Cong showed his waist token and said in a deep voice, "The Northern Garrison Command is on a mission by imperial decree. Lord Zhou, come with us."

Zhou Pan's face suddenly turned ashen.

He was already a high-ranking official in the court. At his level, he was not afraid of being investigated by the Three Judicial Offices, since there were many of his acquaintances and fellow students in the Three Judicial Offices.

But he was imprisoned...

It's different!

Not everyone has the same good fortune as Zhao Mengjing!

Zhou Pan looked up at Chen Qing and gritted his teeth, saying, "Chen Qing, you're just a commoner, what right do you have to arrest me!"

Chen Qing smiled and turned to reveal Yan Cong beside him: "It is Lord Yan who wants to arrest you."

“I didn’t say a word.”

Young Master Chen smiled politely.

"I'm just here to watch the fun."

(End of this chapter)