Inside the Chongzheng Hall, with Li Jing and others resigning and leaving, nearly 30% of the officials were gone, making the court seem rather empty.

As for the discussions among Li Jing and others regarding the appointment of the Governor of Henan and Zhao Ning as a candidate for the civil service examination, these matters were ultimately dropped.

Chen Fan spoke up, saying, "Your Majesty, with Li Jing and others resigning, a large number of positions have become vacant. In order to ensure the normal operation of the various government offices and the implementation of government affairs, these positions need to be filled as soon as possible!"

"Yes, Grand Tutor is right!"

Liu Hong nodded, then looked at the officials and asked, "Do any of you have anyone to recommend?"

"Your Majesty, I recommend Xiahou Cai for the position of Grand Master of Ceremonies!"

Cao Song immediately recommended Xiahou Dun's father without any favoritism.

"allow!"

"Your Majesty, I recommend my elder brother, Yuan Cheng, for the position of Grand Master of the Palace!"

Immediately afterwards, Yuan Feng also pushed out his elder brother.

"allow!"

Liu Shu: "I recommend Liu Biao..."

Xun Shuang: "I recommend..."

Liu Hong accepted all the recommendations made by the crowd.

Soon, all the positions of the Nine Ministers, as well as some important posts, were divided up among several families.

In the imperial court, high-ranking officials from the scholar faction were also completely purged.

The few remaining scholars and officials were somewhat helpless in the face of this situation.

Seeing that the major matters were almost resolved, Liu Hong smiled and then looked at Chen Fan, Hu Guang, and Yuan Feng.

"Grand Tutor, Minister of Education, Minister of Works, and as for the remaining important vacant positions, the three ministers will go to the Imperial Academy to select a group of students to fill them."

As for the remaining vacancies, appointments will be made after this year's performance evaluations!

"Your humble servants obey!"

Chen Fan and the other two bowed in agreement.

Then Liu Hong said loudly, "Alright, everything is done. All of you should go back to your posts and keep to your posts. If you have done a good job, I will naturally reward you handsomely!"

"Your Majesty, we humbly obey your command!"

"Dismiss the court!"

After saying this, Liu Hong stood up, waved to the officials, and then walked towards the rear hall.

"Your Majesty, we respectfully bid you farewell!"

All the officials bowed in unison, and only after Liu Hong left did they turn and walk away.

Chang Le Palace.

The ladies from all the families who had been summoned by the Empress Dowager gathered here, and the ladies chatted happily with Dou Miao and Dong Shi.

The entire palace was filled with joy and harmony.

Just then, a young eunuch hurriedly came to the palace gate, whispered a few words to the female official Xiao Hong, and then left in a hurry.

Xiao Hong arrived at the palace with a solemn expression and bowed to Dou Miao.

"Empress Dowager!!"

"Hmm? Is there something you need?"

Seeing that Xiao Hong looked a little unnatural, Dou Miao couldn't help but ask.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hong did not answer immediately, but instead cautiously glanced at the ladies in the palace.

Seeing this, Madam Yin was the first to react: "Oh, since the Empress Dowager has business to attend to, then this concubine will take her leave!"

"Yes, yes, we'll take our leave now!"

The other ladies also rose to take their leave!

"Oh, ladies, you're not outsiders, please sit down!"

Dou Miao smiled, stopped the ladies, then looked at Xiao Hong and said in a deep voice:

"Xiaohong, just say what's on your mind!"

"Yes! News has just arrived that many ministers at today's court assembly have resigned from their posts before His Majesty!"

Xiao Hong then embellished the story of what had happened at the court meeting and told it to Dou Miao.

Upon hearing the last part, Dou Miao's face instantly darkened.

"Hmph, these people are so ungrateful! In this time of national crisis, they are still so selfish and self-serving, daring to pressure the emperor while I'm away? Do they really think the emperor can't do without them?"

Dou Miao snorted coldly, her face already covered in frost, and her words revealed her dissatisfaction with those scholars.

"What the Empress Dowager says is true. Those scholars used to pride themselves on being noble and appearing to care about the country and its people, but in reality they are a bunch of selfish and corrupt people. Now that they have voluntarily resigned, it is not a bad thing!"

Cao Song's wife also chimed in at the opportune moment, her words filled with disdain for those scholars. It seems that the couple shared the same hostility towards scholars.

"Madam Cao is right. Now that they are gone, the Emperor and I are quite happy to be able to relax!"

Dou Miao nodded, agreeing with Madam Cao's words.

Dou Miao then glanced around at everyone in the palace and said in a deep voice:

"Now that so many officials have resigned, creating so many vacant positions, we naturally cannot hand them over to outsiders!"

"The Empress Dowager is right. Only when our own people assist His Majesty can the Han Dynasty be better governed!"

Upon hearing this, everyone, especially the wives of the imperial family and maternal relatives, couldn't help but show their joy and chimed in with their agreement.

Dou Miao nodded, then looked at Xiao Hong:

"Xiao Hong, convey my imperial decree: appoint the head of the Yin family as the head of the temple."

The head of the Wang family is appointed as the Vice Minister of the Imperial Stud!

Liu Dai was appointed as the Assistant Minister of the Imperial Household Department!

.....”

Soon, all the relatives and members of the imperial family in Chang Le Palace were appointed by Dou Miao and assigned to the positions of second-in-command under the Nine Ministers.

While Lady Yin was delighted, she also said respectfully:

"Your Majesty, the court is currently facing difficulties. My husband is highly regarded by Your Majesty and His Majesty and has been entrusted with important responsibilities. In order to repay the imperial family's kindness, I request Your Majesty to revoke the Yin family's tax exemption authority!"

"Yes, Your Majesty! We have been blessed by the country for generations, and now we should stand with His Majesty in times of need!"

The others immediately chimed in, requesting the Empress Dowager to revoke their family's tax-free privileges.

Dou Miao hesitated and said, "How can this be? Your families have all made contributions to the court and the Han Dynasty. How can those privileges be taken away so easily?"

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!