The low-key prince summons trainees from the Imperial Household Department at the start of the game.

The Ministry of Personnel issued the transfer order very quickly.

After Zhou Qian circled the names of Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui with his vermilion brush,

In just a few days, the official document was dispatched by horse from the Ministry of Personnel, heading south to Runzhou and Changzhou.

Meanwhile, another batch of promotion and transfer orders were quietly being passed between the various departments of the six ministries.

Su Shi held the title of Academician of the Hanlin Academy and concurrently served as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, a fifth-rank official, in charge of the affairs of the Ministry of Rites.

In the Ministry of Rites, second only to the Minister and the Left and Right Vice Ministers, it was a position of real power.

Wang Anshi was transferred to the Ministry of Personnel as a fifth-rank official, in charge of the Performance Evaluation Department, which was responsible for the promotion and assessment of all officials. This position happened to block the last remaining secret line of the Fourth Prince's faction in the Ministry of Personnel.

Yao Guangxiao was promoted to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, a fifth-rank official, in charge of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs, which was responsible for the tribute missions of vassal states and exchanges with foreign tribes.

The fact that all three were promoted in the same batch and held key positions in the Six Ministries is clearly not a coincidence to anyone with eyes to see.

When the news reached the Grand Tutor's residence, Kong Yan was sitting in his study, fiddling with prayer beads.

After the eldest son finished reporting the contents of the Ministry of Personnel's transfer order, he added at the end: "His Majesty circled Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui with a vermilion pen, promoted Su Shi to the position of Vice Minister of Rites, transferred Wang Anshi to the position of Vice Minister of Personnel, and Yao Guangxiao to the position of Vice Minister of Rites. All three were promoted at the same time, and all are in key positions in the Six Ministries."

Kong Yan paused for a moment while holding the prayer beads.

He raised his cloudy yet still sharp eyes, gazing at the clumps of bamboo swaying gently in the spring breeze in the courtyard outside the window, and suddenly asked, "How many people did Your Majesty mark on the Ministry of Personnel's candidate list?"

"Two, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui. His Majesty did not approve any of the other candidates recommended."

Kong Yan remained silent for a while, then leaned back in his chair, a faint, complex smile appearing on his lips.

The eldest son, puzzled, asked his father what he was laughing about.

Kong Yan picked up his teacup, gently stirred the floating tea leaves with the lid, and asked him in return, "Who recommended Zhou Bangyan for the position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice?"

"It's the Grand Tutor's Office. His Majesty approved the person recommended by the Grand Tutor's Office, and His Majesty also approved the person recommended by the Grand Preceptor's Office. However, it's not a Vice Minister, but a Gentleman of the Palace."

"Zizhan has been promoted, Jiefu has been promoted, and Daoyan has also been promoted. His Majesty is telling us old folks."

"It's not that he can't use the people we recommend, but where to put them and how much power to give them is up to him, not us."

He set down his teacup and tapped lightly on the copy of the Ministry of Personnel's transfer order on the table: "As for Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui, neither of them was recommended by either side."

"I've seen their resumes. They've been working in local areas for over a decade, with consistently above-average performance reviews. They never take sides, never flatter, and their resumes are as clean as two blank sheets of paper."

"His Majesty specifically selected these two people, not because of their outstanding abilities, but because of their integrity."

"His Majesty is giving us a warning. The court is not only filled with people from the Grand Tutor's Office, the Grand Commandant's Office, and the Grand Protector's Office. His Majesty also has pawns in his hand."

"He's telling everyone that he can use your people, or he can use his own."

"If you behave yourselves, he will turn a blind eye; if you fight too much, he can replace you with Chunchen at any time."

"Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui are just the first batch; there will be many more in the future."

Meanwhile, at the Grand Commandant's training ground, Zhou Xun was practicing swordplay shirtless.

His swordsmanship was even more ferocious than last year; each strike was accompanied by a dull whistling sound, causing the spears on the weapon rack to tremble slightly.

Zhou Jing stood by the training ground, leaning on his bamboo cane, holding in his hand the copy of the transfer order he had obtained from the Ministry of War.

He waited until Zhou Xun finished his swordplay before handing him the transfer order, saying in a deep voice, "His Majesty has circled two people with a vermilion brush."

"Neither of them were recommended by the Grand Commandant's Office, nor by the Grand Tutor's Office, nor by the Grand Protector's Office."

"He was a pure minister who was promoted directly from the local area. He had been in the local area for more than ten years, and he did not take sides or form factions. His resume was clean."

Zhou Xun took the transfer order, glanced at it, and frowned: "Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui? Who are these two? I've never heard of them before. Didn't we recommend the Director of the Bureau of Personnel for the vacancy of Vice Minister of War?"

"His Majesty did not approve it." Zhou Jing walked to the stone bench by the training ground and sat down, leaning on his bamboo cane. His white eyebrows trembled slightly in the morning breeze. His tone was slow and solemn. "His Majesty not only did not approve it, but also made a special mention in the morning court that 'the way the Six Ministries employ people is to be impartial.'"

"Who is this being addressed to? It's being addressed to the Grand Tutor's residence, the Grand Commandant's residence, and even more so to the remnants of the Fourth Prince's faction."

"His Majesty does not reject the people we recommend, but it is up to His Majesty to decide what position they are given and how much power they are granted."

"Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui are merely pawns; what His Majesty truly wants to warn is those of us who made the recommendations."

"You already have people in the Ministry of War. If you send in another vice minister, the Ministry of War will truly become your backyard, Second Prince."

"His Majesty's promotion of Fang Du is to tell you that the Ministry of War is not your private property, but the imperial court's. This person needs to be kept by your side to keep an eye on you."

Zhou Xun planted his sword in the ground, strode to the stone bench, sat down, took several large gulps of water from his water pouch, wiped his mouth, and asked the adjutant beside him, "Who exactly are Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui?"

The deputy general had already retrieved the two men's performance evaluation files from their local posts and answered succinctly: "Fang Xuanling served as the prefectural judge of Runzhou for five years, and his performance evaluation was always above average. He never stood out and never caused trouble."

"Prefect Zheng Ke of Runzhou was a well-known incorruptible and loyal official. There were no more than three people in the entire Runzhou government who could endure so many years under his command without being scolded."

"Du Ruhui was in charge of criminal and financial affairs in Changzhou. He was ostracized by his colleagues for many years, but no one ever found fault with his practical work."

"The prefect of Changzhou impeached him several times, saying that he was 'out of touch with reality,' but each time the Ministry of Personnel rejected the impeachment because no matter how they investigated, they could not find any substantive problems."

After listening, Zhou Xun remained silent for a long while, then turned to look at Zhou Jing and said that such honest and upright officials were perhaps only valued by His Majesty for their integrity.

Zhou Jing shook his head and said there were plenty of honest and upright people out there.

But a person who could endure so many years under Zheng Ke and still manage affairs so meticulously despite being ostracized in Changzhou for so long is definitely not a corrupt scholar who only knows how to rigidly adhere to rules.

These are two extremely intelligent people, so intelligent that they can get things done in the most difficult situations and still leave no room for criticism.

Such people, if not used, are nothing; but if used correctly, they become pillars of society.

In the pavilion in the back garden of the Taibao Mansion, Yuwen Lie was lost in thought, staring at the chessboard.

The black and white pieces on the chessboard were arranged in a neat and orderly fashion, representing the endgame he was playing against himself.

The old steward tiptoed into the pavilion and quietly reported the contents of the Ministry of Personnel's transfer order.

Yuwen Lie placed a black piece in a corner of the chessboard, glanced at the transfer order, and suddenly smiled.

He asked the old steward to pass on a message to Zhou Bangyan, informing him that the Emperor had approved the person recommended by the Grand Tutor's Office, and that he should focus on his work in the Ministry of Justice and not pay attention to the gossip outside.

The old steward nodded in agreement, but couldn't help asking, "Master, whose people are Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui?"

"There's talk in the court that they're not from the Grand Tutor's office, the Grand Commandant's office, or the Grand Protector's office."

Yuwen Lie placed a white piece on the chessboard, took a sip of tea, and slowly said, "He is not one of them, that is what makes His Majesty so powerful."

"Do you think His Majesty is only giving a warning to the Grand Tutor's and Grand Commandant's offices? His Majesty is giving a warning to everyone, including the Grand Protector's office."

"It's true that Zhou Bangyan's transfer to the position of Vice Minister of Justice was recommended by the Grand Tutor's Office, but how long did His Majesty leave Zhou Bangyan idle after transferring him from the Ministry of Rites to the Imperial Academy before finally putting him into service?"

"This transfer order was issued after his wedding. It's telling the Taibao Mansion that he can use the people you recommended, but when and where to use them is up to him."

"It's not like you can push someone up and they have to take the position, nor is it like you can just give them whatever position they want."

"The Runzhou official ship case implicated a number of officials, and the retirement of many veteran officials created vacancies, resulting in several more vice minister positions in the Six Ministries."

"The Grand Tutor's office wants to send people to the Grand Commandant's office, and the Grand Protector's office also wants to send people to the Grand Tutor's office."

"He doesn't stop anyone, but while you're stuffing people in, he's also stuffing people in. You all know perfectly well who gave you that power."

He paused, a faint, meaningful smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. "Fang Xuanling, the Prefect of Runzhou. If I remember correctly, the group that captured Liu Heng last year, the Wudang martial arts school, was also in Runzhou, wasn't it?"

The old steward was slightly taken aback and said that it was indeed in Runzhou, and that Liu Heng was captured by the Wudang Boxing School.

Yuwen Lie didn't say anything more, but stared at the chessboard in silence for a long time, then muttered to himself, "His Majesty probably started playing this game in Runzhou a long time ago."

The aroma of tea wafted through Pei Du's office in the Censorate.

Pei Du leaned back in his chair, holding a teacup in his hand, with Wang Anshi and Su Shi sitting in front of him.

He read the Ministry of Personnel's transfer order several times, unable to suppress the smile on his lips.

He put down his teacup and told Su Shi that he was now a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, a fifth-rank official, second only to the Vice Minister.

From now on, my words carry weight in the Ministry of Rites, and I can no longer write insults at the drop of a hat as I used to.

Su Shi unfolded his folding fan and laughed, saying that writing poems to scold people is a kind of elegance, and he could not give it up even if he became a minister.

Pei Du shook his head helplessly, then turned to Wang Anshi and said that he was now the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, in charge of the Performance Evaluation Department, and all promotions of officials had to go through his hands.

This position is one that will offend people, but it's also the one where you're most capable of getting things done.

Tell him to clean up the last few remaining secret agents of the Fourth Prince's faction in the Ministry of Personnel, but remember that cleaning up the house is not the goal; the goal is to guard the house well.

Wang Anshi responded formally, and then said, "Teacher, the appointment of Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui has caused a great deal of discussion in the court. Everyone says that His Majesty is putting pressure on all the various factions."

He checked their evaluation records from previous years at the Censorate, reading every page, and couldn't find any bias.

Du Ruhui was ostracized in Changzhou, and his performance evaluation stated that he was "too upright and not good at socializing." However, during the years he was in charge of criminal and financial matters, not a single wrongful conviction or miscarriage of justice occurred in Changzhou.

Fang Xuanling went even further, as the years he spent in Runzhou coincided with the downfall of officials involved in a corruption case at the Textile Bureau.

Zheng Ke, the prefect of Runzhou, was a well-known incorruptible official. When a case involved his subordinates, most people would have been implicated, but he escaped unscathed.

Such a person could never be mediocre.

Pei Du put down his teacup and looked at him approvingly, saying that he had pondered His Majesty's thoughts for many years and had figured them out to some extent.

The primary purpose of this promotion of Fang and Du is undoubtedly to send a warning to all factions.

The Grand Tutor's office recommended Zizhan as a Vice Minister, the Grand Commandant's office recommended someone from the Ministry of War, and the Grand Protector's office recommended Zhou Bangyan. He didn't completely reject any of them, but he didn't give them all either.

Zhou Bangyan approved it; he had been idle for a long time before.

The people in the Grand Tutor's office were promoted, but they were promoted to the rank of Langzhong (郎中), not Shilang (侍郎).

The people in the Grand Commandant's office did not approve it.

This is the measure Your Majesty must take in employing people: you must use them, but you must not let them control you.

But the deeper purpose of this promotion is to tell all officials like Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui that they do not take sides.

As long as you maintain integrity and remain impartial and selfless, you will always have your day.

He gazed at the clumps of bamboo in the courtyard outside the window and said slowly, "The waters of this court are finally about to clear."