Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World

“I don’t believe it.” Sheng Minglan shook her head.

It's incredibly difficult to keep a husband's heart forever.

In comparison, it's easier to just live a simple, honest life.

With a little money and servants, even if her husband's heart changed, she could still make a living.

Jiying Lane, Sheng Mansion.

"Your Majesty, are you actually considering deposing the Empress?"

Grandma Sheng put down her teacup, quite surprised.

The Right Vice Censor-in-Chief openly impeached the Empress, suggesting that she be deposed and replaced with a new one.

This matter must have been authorized by the authorities.

"The Emperor had harbored resentment for a long time and had not visited the Empress for over a hundred days."

"Recently, the Empress has repeatedly committed taboos."

"It is not surprising that the Emperor has decided to depose the Empress."

Sheng Hong stroked his beard and said, "In the imperial court, all the civil and military officials have successively expressed their opinions and taken sides."

Grandma Sheng nodded.

She was just a little surprised.

After all, the empress is the mother of the nation, and her role is of extraordinary significance.

After a few moments, Old Madam Sheng suddenly remembered something and said, "When the emperor deposed the empress, all the officials took sides. If the son-in-law and Old Madam Wang start fighting, the Sheng family will have to take sides too!"

"Are Madam Wang and Uncle Wang about to arrive in the capital?"

Sheng Hong was taken aback, and his expression gradually became serious.

Madam Wang, the mother-in-law, dotes on her eldest daughter, Wang Ruoyu, and it's likely she won't let this go easily after her trip to Beijing.

“I will naturally stand with Zhao’er,” Sheng Hong said.

Despite her troublesome nature, Madam Wang is quite influential in the local community.

Once you enter the capital to serve as an official, you're nothing but rubbish.

If a brick in the capital were to fall on ten people, at least one of them would be a minor official.

Grandma Sheng nodded.

Choosing the right side for your son-in-law is never a bad idea.

The end of April in the first year of the Xifeng era.

Wende Hall.

Civil and military officials stood in orderly rows.

Standing on the steps of the imperial palace, Zhao Ceying, with his hands at his sides, slowly said:

"All officials, both inside and outside the government, may submit their opinions."

"Your Majesty, you must not depose the Empress!"

In an instant, an elderly censor stepped forward, holding a tablet, his eyes resolute: "The legitimate son is the foundation of the nation. If the empress is deposed, the legitimate son's status will be questionable, which may cause trouble and internal strife."

Left Vice Censor-in-Chief, Lü Zhen!

He was a third-rank official, the third most important figure in the Imperial Censorate.

Zhao Ceying looked down and frowned to himself.

The empress has no powerful connections, so why would a high-ranking official of the third rank speak up for her?

"Your Majesty, you must not depose the Empress!"

Finally, a fifth-rank imperial censor stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty deposed the empress because of personal affection. I fear that the world will say that Your Majesty values ​​beauty over virtue and is not worthy of being called a wise ruler."

"In my opinion, the Empress should absolutely not be deposed." Another censor stepped forward, wearing a fifth-rank red robe.

"I second that!" someone echoed.

"I second the proposal!"

People kept stepping forward, some were censors, some were members of the imperial family, and their attitudes were resolute.

Zhao Ceying glanced at it a few times, then his face darkened.

Royal study room.

"Snapped!"

As the emperor and his minister faced each other, Zhao Ceying slammed his hand on the table, his face full of anger: "The Empress has made several mistakes, yet quite a few people still speak up for her."

"Why is that?" Zhao Ceying asked, puzzled.

The empress had only been in office for a year, yet there were more than a hundred days without the "New Year and Full Moon Ceremony".

Anyone with a brain would know that he was already extremely disgusted with the Empress.

The proposal to depose the empress must have been secretly instructed by him.

However, quite a few people still went against the grain and held an opposing view.

It should be noted that the Empress had no political foundation whatsoever, and several of her relatives were not even qualified to attend court or participate in politics.

In this situation, is it necessary to go against the emperor?

Jiang Zhao pondered for a moment, then calmly said, "The world is bustling with activity, all for the sake of profit."

"Advantageous?" Zhao Ceying asked doubtfully.

"Have."

Jiang Zhao nodded: "First, submitting a memorial to the emperor with honest words can earn you fame."

"Even Fan Zhongyan once did this."

The main duties of censors and remonstrance officials were to "attend to advice and remonstrate, and to fill in the gaps and make up for omissions".

This group of people were truly first-rate civil officials, who valued their reputation the most and were also the most adept at gaining fame.

Speaking frankly and remonstrating with the emperor, arguing right and wrong with him, is one of the best ways to gain fame.

Doing this, regardless of success or failure, has a very high probability of making a fortune.

If the advice is successful, then the Empress will be grateful to him.

Once the young prince ascends the throne, the returns will be even more astonishing.

If the advice is unsuccessful and the emperor becomes angry, the censors and remonstrators who have offered their advice may be punished or exiled for their remonstrances, thus having the opportunity to be remembered in history as "upright officials."

Even Fan Zhongyan tried this tactic.

In the past, when the late emperor deposed Empress Guo, Fan Zhongyan directly remonstrated against the deposition.

The final result was that the empress was successfully deposed, and Fan Zhongyan was demoted to a remote region.

As a result, Fan Zhongyan's reputation soared, and he was regarded as a "loyal and upright minister," accumulating considerable political capital.

Soon after, he was reinstated due to his reputation, recalled to the capital, and gradually rose through the ranks to become a cabinet minister.

Using "Zhengyan" is definitely a top-notch way to achieve high returns with low investment.

It's not surprising that censors and remonstrating officials would intentionally use this opportunity to submit memorials and try to gain fame.

"Second, the remonstrating officials test the waters."

Jiang Zhao continued, "Those people were mainly testing the scope of power of the Censorate and the Remonstrance Bureau."

If gaining fame is an operation by one person, then testing is an operation by a group of people.

The two major government offices, the Censorate and the Remonstrance Bureau, mainly revolved around the officials and the emperor.

If the monarch is tolerant, the people in the Censorate and the Remonstrance Bureau can be a little more unruly.

Just like when the previous emperor was in power, the Censorate and the Remonstrance Bureau had considerable power, and it was common for them to criticize the emperor.

Now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, his tolerance for the Censorate and the Remonstrance Bureau is uncertain, so some people have submitted memorials to test the waters.

If we're already very inclusive, then we should go even further, becoming more and more unrestrained and more and more probing.

“Third, political opportunism,” Jiang Zhao said.

There is never a shortage of political opportunists.

Following the dragon is essentially a form of political opportunism.

Once successful, it will be a meteoric rise to the top.

The issue of deposing and installing empresses naturally attracted political opportunists.

As of now, the Empress's son, Zhao Jun, is the only prince.

This is the Empress's great achievement.

Having made great contributions but not major mistakes, some political opportunists naturally choose to take a gamble.

After all, there are indeed many examples in history books of "failed to depose and install emperors".

If the emperor's temperament was not strong enough, he might have chosen to back down, and the matter of deposing the empress would have been dropped.

Jiang Zhao raised his eyebrows but did not continue speaking.

Actually, there is a fourth point.

A test by the literati group!

It is no exaggeration to say that the emperor and the scholar-officials jointly govern the country.

The civil officials of the Great Zhou Dynasty were indeed quite powerful.

This can be glimpsed from the fact that the three-in-one Grand Chancellor and Grand Preceptor are a powerful and influential figure.

He held the positions of Grand Councilor, Chief Grand Secretary, and Privy Councilor, wielding considerable real power.

The remaining five Grand Secretaries were also "two-in-one" figures.

Participating in political affairs, Grand Secretary of the Cabinet!

Since Emperor Taizong, the idea of ​​the emperor and scholar-officials jointly governing the country has been a genuine political tradition, not just empty talk.

Now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, a period of adjustment and testing is inevitable.

After all, not everyone is a favored minister like Jiang Zhao.

Opposing the abolition of the empress is essentially opposing the "excessive arbitrariness of imperial power."

That is, to limit imperial power.

The scholar-officials had to ensure that the emperor valued and respected the rites and laws, and was bound by them, so that he would not act lawlessly.

In this test, the censors and remonstrating officials were merely knives.

Zhao Ceying nodded and pondered for a moment.

After about an incense stick's time, Zhao Ceying shook his head.

That's too much of a brain drain!

"What do you mean?" Zhao Ceying asked expectantly.

"Depose the empress and disregard etiquette; establish a new empress and uphold etiquette," Jiang Zhao said.

The essential need of the scholar-officials was that the emperor could not be too willful and had to be restrained by etiquette and law.

When an empress is established, a grand ceremony should be held to demonstrate respect for etiquette and law, and the problem can be solved.

Of course, this is a solution from a holistic perspective.

On minor details, some people should still be criticized.

Choosing the wrong side will inevitably come with consequences.

Zhao Ceying understood.

Jiang Mansion.

The main door opened wide, and Jiang Zhao slowly stepped inside.