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

The advantage is mine!

Prince Yan's Mansion.

The King of Yan stood alone, gazing up at the moon.

"Your Highness, what about Huang Jing?" The Princess Consort of Yan dismissed her attendants and walked to the Prince of Yan's side, her face full of surprise and doubt.

“Huang Jing is not one of my men!” The Prince of Yan shook his head.

Princess Yan's expression changed slightly: "So that's Prince Yong's scheme? He's trying to frame the Prince? But... how are we going to explain this to the Emperor?"

In this way, Prince Yong is both the strategist and the victim, which is hard to explain.

“He’s not one of Prince Yong’s men either,” Prince Yan said in a deep voice, his hands behind his back. “He’s one of Minister Liu’s men.”

"Lord Liu?" Princess Yan was delighted and asked softly, "Lord Liu is biased towards the Prince?"

So far, no Grand Secretary of the Cabinet has shown favoritism towards either of the two princes. If Prime Minister Liu were to favor the prince, that would be a tremendous advantage.

"We are still in a cooperative relationship," the Prince of Yan said, shaking his head.

"This matter is destined to be a mess." The Prince of Yan looked towards the palace: "Prime Minister Liu made a very good point: those who devise grand schemes use conspiracies as their foundation and achieve their goals through open strategies!"

“But the Emperor will probably suspect you immediately! How can you plan something like this?” Princess Yan argued.

The Prince of Yan waved his hand and said, "In a few days, I will personally enter the palace and thoroughly and openly analyze this matter."

“The framing of Prince Yong this time may very well be a ‘self-inflicted injury’ ruse.”

The Prince of Yan put his hands behind his back and glanced at the palace: "Besides, no matter what, we still have to focus on the outcome of Prime Minister Liu's victory or defeat."

This account is too complicated, and everyone is bound to have their own version of events.

The outcome is unclear, and the cause is also unclear.

However, no matter how messy the situation, people's hearts will always be biased.

If the emperor shows even the slightest favoritism towards him, then he has already gained three points.

Even if the government doesn't favor him, it doesn't mean he's lost.

This struggle is not the main battlefield of the conflict between the two kings!

If Liu Xianggong defeats Han Zhang and then sides with him, he will gain the support of another Grand Secretary of the Cabinet.

If we include Minister Wang, who comes from the same lineage as Minister Liu, then there would be two Grand Secretaries of the Inner Cabinet.

Furthermore, Liu Xiangong's plan will also thwart the Emperor's plan to celebrate his birthday and bring good fortune.

It is still unknown who will win!

Chapter 39: One congratulatory letter is missing!

June 3rd.

Huang Jing advised, “I have heard that according to the principles of the Spring and Autumn Annals, the eldest son of the legitimate wife should be established as heir. Prince Yong is the eldest among the members of the imperial clan, and he is over thirty years old. He is steady and prudent, and the people all call him ‘Wise King.’ If Your Majesty follows the established laws of our ancestors, you should make Prince Yong your heir. This is an act that is in accordance with Heaven and the people.”

The emperor was furious and refused to eat for a day.

June 10th.

Huang Jing advised, "The Imperial Observatory has repeatedly reported unusual activity in the Purple Palace Enclosure. A bright light appears beside the main star, which corresponds to the location of the Prince of Yong's residence. This is the will of Heaven. Why does Your Majesty doubt it? If you go against Heaven's will, I fear you will harm the foundation of the nation."

If the emperor goes a day without food, the Imperial Observatory will be held accountable.

June 15th.

Huang Jing advised, "Prince Yong is virtuous and has the aura of an emperor. He is suitable to be the heir to the throne and inherit the country. Your Majesty has no son. If you abdicate the throne, it will be a great story like that of Yao and Shun."

The emperor remained silent for a long time before questioning Huang Jing.

Huang Jing cried out that he was innocent and dared not submit another memorial. After the remonstrating officials pleaded for his life, the emperor was merciful and did not punish him.

June twenty.

Huang Jing claimed to be ill.

June 23.

Imperial Street, Han Mansion.

Han Zhang, Wang Yaochen, Zhang Fangping, Jiang Zhao, and the others strolled around, visiting and touring the garden.

"How is life for a Hanlin Compiler?" Zhang Fangping asked casually, with the air of a senior scholar.

Jiang Zhao pondered for a moment before replying, "It may be busy, but I can still save some time each day for studying. It's not as scary as I initially thought."

In fact, the number of government orders issued by the cabinet in a day is not that exaggerated; it is usually only a few or a dozen.

Most government orders are just a matter of a few words.

Once you're familiar with the process, using a template, it only takes about two hours of work.

In reality, the real time-consuming part of drafting government decrees is carefully considering the wording. The seasoned officials are experts at interpreting government decrees, and even a difference of just one word can lead to over-interpretation.

However, over-interpreting it could lead to disaster.

In addition, there are so many government orders that occasionally the paper might get stained with ink, which means you have to do it all over again, which really tests a person's patience.

Zhang Fangping nodded slowly; they had gone through the same thing when they were young.

Of course, he's definitely not as busy as Jiang Zhao.

"The Hanlin Compiler's primary responsibility is scholarship," Han Zhang instructed.

The Hanlin Compiler was appointed to cultivate talent for the nation.

Work is not important; learning is fundamental.

Jiang Zhao nodded; he understood this principle as well.

However, the workload of the Hanlin Compiler is currently far from reaching his limit.

He's the kind of person who can work ten hours a day and then be full of energy again after a few hours of rest.

"The current situation is quite unsettling!" Wang Yaochen said gravely, speaking of the court.

This was also the purpose of their gathering.

Today, some things are becoming increasingly confusing, while others are becoming increasingly clear.

Jiang Zhao nodded in agreement and interjected, "If nothing unexpected happens, Huang Jing is probably one of Liu Hang's men."

There was nothing wrong with Huang Jing's congratulatory message.

When the emperor celebrates his birthday, he gathers congratulatory memorials from all his officials to create a festive atmosphere for the emperor's birthday celebrations.

This congratulatory memorial must be collected by the chief officials of the Three Departments, the Six Ministries, and the Five Directorates, and then submitted to the Grand Secretariat for presentation to the Emperor.

Just like the Hanlin Academy, the person in charge of collecting congratulatory messages was Hanlin Academician Hai Chengyan.

Huang Jing was a secretary in the Ministry of Rites, so his congratulatory letter was naturally received by Han Zhang, the Minister of Rites.

The heads of the Three Departments, the Six Ministries, and the Five Supervisory Offices almost all began receiving congratulatory messages from June 10th.

Thirteen days have passed, and all the congratulatory messages from various departments have been collected, except for the Ministry of Rites, which still has one person's congratulatory message that has not been submitted.

Huang Jing!

The missing congratulatory letter was from Huang Jing, a secretary in the Ministry of Rites.

It should be noted that congratulatory messages are all about being "complete".

This is something that cannot be missing!

Even if Huang Jing were merely ill, or were about to die, He Biao would absolutely not be absent.

But Huang Jing is missing!

To be precise, it's not that it's missing, it's that it hasn't been submitted yet. As long as it's submitted before being officially presented to the authorities, it won't be considered missing.

Initially, Jiang Zhao went to urge Huang Jing, who was seriously ill, once, and Huang Jing said that he would definitely submit it on time.

Two days later, it still hadn't been submitted.

Gradually, they started urging me a second time, and then a third time.

Until yesterday, when Han Zhang personally went to urge them, the answer he received was still that it would definitely be submitted on time.

This is going to be a bit tricky!

This is all a setup!

Liu Hang's scheme!

Although it's unclear why Liu Hang and Huang Jing are connected, or how they got together, it doesn't stop the group from concluding that Liu Hang is the mastermind behind it all.

We can analyze this from the perspective of the beneficiaries.

The biggest beneficiary of Han Zhang's downfall is Liu Hang!

“His Majesty’s birthday celebration is on June 26th, and tomorrow is June 24th.” Zhang Fangping shook his head, put his hands behind his back, and said with a serious expression: “If nothing unexpected happens, His Majesty will look at the congratulatory message at the court assembly tomorrow morning.”

Generally speaking, on the day of a major birthday celebration, the main activities are offering sacrifices to Heaven and holding a palace banquet. Congratulatory messages must be submitted in advance, and the Emperor may take a look at them if he is interested.

Since this is part of a plan, it's unlikely that this congratulatory message will be easily collected.

"It's not surprising that something went wrong when someone was caught off guard by a well-intentioned but unprepared situation." Han Zhang remained remarkably calm.

Since passing the imperial examination, he rose to the position of Grand Secretary of the Cabinet in seventeen years. He has seen all kinds of ups and downs along the way.

Liu Hang intended to drag him down, but he might not necessarily be dragged down.

"Is there a solution?" Wang Qinruo asked doubtfully.

“There is a solution.” Han Zhang nodded.

His political skills were truly exceptional, and he withstood the test of both civil and military officials.

In his early years, he was practically a one-man army who swept through the imperial court.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to rise to a high-ranking position at the age of thirty-seven.

In terms of political maneuvering skills, Liu Hang was definitely inferior to him.

During this period, Liu Hang also set many traps, hoping to lure him into his scheme.

Han Zhang naturally did not participate.

In the past few months, he has at least completely eliminated 99% of the Korean faction's power and united all those who could be united.

He also visited those old friends from his official career.

Furthermore, no prime minister would want two members of his cabinet to be from the same faction.

With the support of Grand Chancellor Fu Bi, he wouldn't lose as long as he played it safe and steady.

This time is no different; Liu Hang sets up a trap, as long as he doesn't fall for it.

"If all else fails, we can simply refuse the congratulatory letter and shift the blame to Huang Jing," Han Zhang explained. "Or, we can have Liu Hang urge Huang Jing to send his congratulatory letter."

With the support of the Grand Chancellor, he could accomplish things much more easily.

Escape from this situation isn't difficult!

Moreover, even if he were forced to leave the field, he might not necessarily lose.

Zhang Fangping's serious expression relaxed. "That's good."

If there is such a thing as "the chosen ones" in officialdom, then Han Zhang is undoubtedly one of them.

Moreover, they are already accomplished prodigies.

At any time, he was almost unrivaled except for Grand Chancellor Fu Bi.

The trust that the elderly Koreans placed in Han Zhang cannot be judged by ordinary standards.

"My lord, Lord Zhang, Lord Wang, and Young Master Jiang, please come and have your meal!" Han Zhang's concubine, Cui, approached.

"Haha! Let's go eat." Han Zhang smiled.

With him holding things up, the sky won't fall down!

Chapter 40 The Grand Chancellor's Bias!