White-robed Minister

Chapter 170 0168 [The Emperor Messed Up Things]

Wang Tao was demoted to the position of Imperial Envoy just a few days later because of his nonsense.

Moreover, the reason Wang Tao was demoted was because he impeached the prime minister for not keeping watch. The emperor had to save face, so he couldn't speak out about this matter directly, since it involved Zhao Kuangyin's ascension to the throne.

Sima Guang succeeded Wang Tao as the head of the Censorate.

Sima Guang entered the palace to see the emperor and said, "I dare not refuse Your Majesty's appointment. However, if Wang Tao is dismissed for impeaching the prime minister for not performing his duties, then the position of Censor-in-Chief will be untenable. Although the prime minister has his reasons, Wang Tao's impeachment of him is not wrong. I request that the prime minister be allowed to perform his duties according to etiquette before I will accept the imperial edict of appointment."

He didn't mention the matter of being given the yellow robe; that was taboo, something only a lunatic like Wang Tao would talk about.

Zhao Xu replied, "I have already ordered people to reform the relevant rituals."

Sima Guang insisted on his opinion: "Before formally reforming the rites, Your Majesty should order the prime minister to conduct the ceremonial duties according to the established system. Otherwise, I cannot accept the order. Even if I do accept the order, I will continue to impeach this matter!"

Left with no other choice, Zhao Xu had to agree to Sima Guang's request. He instructed the prime ministers to strictly adhere to etiquette during court assemblies.

But do the prime ministers really listen to orders?

Ouyang Xiu has not been to work for half a month and has been writing his resignation letter.

Although Zhao Gai insisted on working, he was also writing a resignation letter.

Han Qi and Zeng Gongliang, impeached and seeking to seize power, are constantly submitting petitions to plead guilty, essentially resigning.

The emperor ordered them to escort the officials according to protocol?

They don't even go to work; they just claim to be sick and stay home!

Apart from the kind-hearted Zhao Gai, no other prime minister was willing to do anything.

Zhao Xu had no choice but to promote Wu Kui, the Deputy Chief of the Privy Council, and have him quickly come to serve as a Vice Chancellor.

This position is commonly known as the prime minister or deputy prime minister.

Wu Kui, who had just assumed the position of Vice Chancellor, dragged the affable Zhao Gai to see the Emperor: "Your Majesty, Wang Tao publicly slandered the Chancellor at court, and his words were so vicious as to be unbelievable. Please, Wang Tao must be banished from the capital!"

Zhao Xu also had his own stance.

Wang Tao was his teacher and the Imperial Censor appointed by him. If he were directly demoted from the capital, not only would the emperor lose face, but the emperor's authority would also be suppressed by the prime minister.

The following day, Zhao Xu reversed the order and promoted Wang Tao to the position of Hanlin Academician.

This is tantamount to further escalating the conflict.

Wu Kui was furious and submitted a memorial requesting that Wang Tao be severely punished. Immediately afterwards, he also claimed to be ill and stayed at home, requesting to resign from his position as vice prime minister.

Of the five prime ministers, only Zhao Gai was still working.

Looking at the empty government office, the kind-hearted Zhao Gai felt like crying. He worked overtime every day, doing the work of four or five people, and was so busy that he didn't even have time to write a resignation letter.

Of the five prime ministers, four did not go to work.

The Imperial Censor Sima Guang also refused to take office because the prime minister did not agree to escort the emperor according to etiquette.

The Privy Council was in a similar mess. Due to Wang Tao's meddling, no one dared to appoint a military officer as Privy Councilor. The prestigious Privy Council couldn't even find a single person knowledgeable in military affairs.

That young emperor finally messed things up.

The three major institutions—the Secretariat, the Privy Council, and the Censorate—are on the verge of collapse!

Zhao Xu remained unwilling to admit defeat and refused to demote or exile his former teacher. Instead, he promoted Zhang Fangping to the position of Vice Chancellor.

However, Zhang Fangping served as vice prime minister for only a few days before returning home to observe mourning for his father's death.

Once again, only Zhao Gai remained to work in the government office.

Before returning home for his father's funeral, Zhang Fangping firmly opposed summoning Wang Anshi to serve as the Censor-in-Chief.

Zhao Xu sat in the side hall, in a daze all day long.

Just a month ago, he was full of ambition, wanting to reform and strengthen the country. But in the blink of an eye, he found that no one listened to him, and the court could no longer function properly.

Zhao Xu wanted to cry; he felt abandoned by the world. After all, he wasn't even twenty years old yet!

After sitting there for a while, Zhao Xu said, "Summon the Censor Xu."

About an hour later, Xu came into the hall to pay his respects.

Zhao Xu said weakly, "Please take a seat. Xu Sanlang, come and chat with me."

Xu Lai sat opposite the emperor and asked, "Is Your Majesty worried about the court?"

Zhao Xu said, "You were right last time. In the current state, it is indeed impossible to implement reforms. Let alone reforms, even normal governance is difficult to achieve."

Xu Lai handed over a piece of paper: "The matter recorded on this has recently spread throughout the capital. I was unable to verify its authenticity, so I sent my servant to investigate. The rumors are true."

The paper records how Wang Tao was ungrateful.

After Wang Tao became the Censor-in-Chief, his old scandals were dug up again, presumably deliberately spread by his enemies. In just over half a month, the news had spread throughout the streets and alleys of the capital.

Zhao Xiang read it out of curiosity, finding it hard to believe it was true.

Before Wang Tao passed the imperial examination, his family was very poor, and he made a living by teaching children. One day, during a heavy snowfall, his good friend Jiang Yu shoveled snow for twenty miles to visit him.

Seeing that Wang Tao and his mother were suffering from hunger and cold, Jiang Yu took off his brocade coat and pawned it to buy grain and coal for them to get through the winter. Later, Jiang Yu also took out several hundred strings of cash as expenses for Wang Tao's wedding.

Jiang Yu's home is not far from Tokyo.

Wang Tao served as an official in the capital for many years, but he never visited his old friend, seemingly afraid that people would bring up his unpleasant past. Even when his old friend came to visit him, Wang Tao avoided seeing him.

"How could a teacher be like this?" Zhao Xu asked incredulously.

Historically, Wang Tao did it even more ruthlessly.

Ten years later, Wang Tao was transferred to Luoyang. Jiang Yu, old and blind, knew his days were numbered and asked his servant to take him to see Wang Tao, hoping to catch up with his old friend before he died. Wang Tao was indifferent, only sharing a cup of wine with Jiang Yu. Jiang Yu was heartbroken and died of illness after returning home.

Xu Lai then said, "I have reviewed the official documents from recent years. Han Qi, Wu Kui, and Han Jiang all recommended Wang Tao. Wang Tao served as the Vice Censor-in-Chief for only half a month before impeaching all the people who recommended him."

Wang Tao not only dragged the censors into impeaching him, but also instigated Shao Kang and other remonstrating officials to join in attacking the prime ministers.

Xu Lai was not there to file a complaint, nor was he there to slander Wang Tao.

He said all this today to tell the emperor that Wang Tao had incurred the wrath of the people, and that the prime ministers would never compromise unless he was demoted from the capital.

If Wang Tao did not leave the capital, the prime ministers would not be able to conduct their duties.

Seeing that the emperor was still hesitating, Xu Lai asked, "Your Majesty, as the Son of Heaven, what is the rush?"

Zhao Xu was taken aback.

Yeah, why are you in such a hurry?

Is he in such a hurry to establish authority? It seems he has already done so, as he has forced several prime ministers to resign.

The question is, after the prime ministers resign, who should become prime minister?

Zhang Fangping has gone home for his father's funeral, and Wang Anshi is still not coming to the capital. He has no one he can use!

Zhao Xu was very clever, and he realized it instantly.

Why did those censors attack the prime minister so fiercely? It wasn't just to curry favor with the emperor, nor was it just to avenge the Puyi incident; rather, it was because they had figured out the emperor's intention to replace the prime minister.

Some people want to be prime minister!

As for Zhao Xu, as the emperor, he had already been seen through and had become a tool in those people's power struggles.

Overwhelmed with rage, Zhao Xu's face flushed red with anger, for he realized that he was the clown.

"What should I do?" Zhao Xu asked.

Xu Lai replied, "Your Majesty, please appease the ministers and promote those who are young, capable, and have outstanding political achievements."

This means that the emperor should temporarily compromise with the prime ministers, allowing the aging prime ministers to focus on their duties. At the same time, the emperor should cultivate his own inner circle and plan for other things in a year or two.

Zhao Xu then asked, "Do you have any talented individuals to recommend?"

Xu Lai said, "I have not been an official for long and do not know many talented people. I have only heard that Zhang Heng, the top scholar of the second year of Jiayou, was both a scholar and a warrior, virtuous and talented, and had outstanding political achievements. Of course, this is just hearsay; I have never met Zhang Heng in person."

Zhao Xu wrote down Zhang Heng's name in his notebook and then asked, "Anything else?"

Xu Lai said, "I really can't say who I know, as it would be seen as recommending a friend."

"Speak freely," Zhao Xu said with a smile, "This isn't a formal recommendation."

Xu Lai said, "My fellow Jinshi graduates from the same cohort as me, Peng Ruli, Zhang, Zhang Shunmin, Zhang Shangying, and Yang Shu, are all exceptionally talented. There are also Shen Qi, Shen Kuo, Su Song—and, well, Wang Chunzhong, the magistrate of Yucheng County."

Zhao Xiang wrote down the names one by one.

This emperor was not foolish; he wouldn't simply promote whomever Xu suggested. He would first observe these people's performance and then select the best for promotion.

After chatting for a while, Xu Lai took his leave.

Shao Bi, who was on duty writing the daily records, recorded a passage:

[The 29th day of the intercalary third month of the fourth year of the Zhiping era]

The emperor ascended the throne in a side hall and summoned the censor Xu Lai for an audience.

[—Lai replied: "Your Majesty wishes to pacify the officials, but now all the prime ministers have requested to resign. Where is the authority? If you wish to dismiss the old prime minister, who is the capable new prime minister? I request Your Majesty to temporarily appease the old officials, exile Tao from the capital to quell public anger, and carefully observe the talented individuals in the court, waiting for the right time to employ them."]

[—Shang Xinran took out paper and pen and wrote down the names of more than ten people——]

Shao Bi, who wrote the daily records of the emperor's life, was also the emperor's teacher and the nominal head of the remonstrance officials.

Zhao Xu asked, "Sir, have I been too hasty?"

Shao Bi replied, "Your Majesty is ambitious and decisive, which is a blessing to the nation. However, you should also be cautious at times."

Zhao Xu said, "I wish to appoint you as the Minister of the Three Departments, and I hope you can help me manage the finances properly."

Shao Bi rose and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I will certainly not fail in your trust."

Perhaps it was Xu Lai's insightful guidance that made Zhao Xu mature considerably.

He ordered Wang Tao to be demoted to the position of prefect of Chenzhou in order to appease the prime ministers who were on strike. He also asked the prime ministers to pay attention to etiquette in order to appease Sima Guang, who was unwilling to take office.

Since Zhao Xu has made concessions, the prime ministers should give the emperor face.

Therefore, he appointed his teacher, Shao Bi, as the powerful Minister of the Three Departments. This was to gain control of the financial system.

At the same time, he also summoned another teacher, Han Wei, back to the capital to serve as the Grand Master of Ceremonies and concurrently as a lecturer—in fact, to be the emperor's political advisor.

When Zhao Xu investigated Zhang Heng's political achievements, he discovered that Zhang Heng was a rare talent. Therefore, Zhao Xu summoned Zhang Heng back to the capital and promoted him to the position of Vice Minister of the Three Departments.

Even Yang Shu was summoned back to the capital and obtained a prestigious official position.

In the following year or two, everyone recommended by Xu received promotions to varying degrees.

After a series of actions, the imperial court finally returned to normal operation, and the kind-hearted Zhao Gai was no longer required to work alone. As a result, Zhao Gai became even more diligent in writing his resignation letters.

Ouyang Xiu was also writing a resignation letter.

Zhao Xu ignored the two men's resignation letters, and his worries of the past few days vanished.

One day, upon returning to his palace, Zhao Xu said to Empress Xiang, "Xu Lai is truly my Song Jing! Upright and incorruptible, straightforward and outspoken. Even my teachers always speak in circles, but only Xu Lai dares to speak frankly."

He smiled at the Empress and said, "Is that the same Xu Zhuangyuan who 'beared lofty ambitions and considered himself the best among men'?"

"Haha, I love those two lines of poetry too," Zhao Xu laughed happily. "The first time I read this poem, I felt it was describing myself. I, too, am a first-rate youth among men!"

He asked the Empress, "What has he been doing lately?"

Zhao Xu briefly explained the situation and sighed, "The court is in complete chaos, and I don't know what to do. Fortunately, Xu Lai clarified the situation for me, helping me understand how to resolve this matter. Otherwise, those ministers would still be sulking."

Empress Xiang then realized that Scholar Xu was not only a good poet, but also very capable in handling important court affairs.

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