Old man Liu Yijing is clearly trying to fight for power.

As for why he wanted to involve Han Yu, the reason was very simple, that is, he needed to prove his own ability in front of His Majesty.

How do you prove your ability? As the chief minister of the cabinet, if you can't even control the cabinet, how can you be considered capable?

Liu Yijing hopes to get the support of the entire cabinet.

However, Han Yu also knew that it would be difficult for Liu Yijing to do this.

There are not just one or two Grand Secretaries in the current cabinet, but five.

In addition to himself and Liu Yijing, there were Shen Guan, He Zongyan, Zhu Guozuo, and another one, Shi Jikai, who had not yet taken office.

Although on the surface, these cabinet ministers do not have much power and none of them is capable of becoming a powerful official.

But everyone knows that none of the people in this cabinet are easy to deal with. These few people are just more cautious and do not have such a strong desire for power, nor are they willing to do anything for it.

But just because the desire for power is not that strong doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

Everyone knew that the late emperor trusted the Donglin Party. After the late emperor ascended the throne, it was only a matter of time before the Donglin Party grew stronger and took action against the cabinet.

With the resignation of Fang Congzhe, the chief minister of the cabinet, many people have realized the problem.

As for the cabinet ministers, they were not necessarily willing to listen to the Donglin Party. Since they could not defeat them, they simply gave up their positions and returned home.

In fact, everyone thought so before, but no one expected that the late emperor would pass away so suddenly.

After the death of the previous emperor, everyone was waiting for the current emperor's actions and wanted to see his opinion.

Sure enough, the current emperor did not disappoint him and took action against the Donglin Party right away.

At a time like this, it was natural that many people wanted to take advantage of the situation. Previously, the Donglin Party was so powerful that no one dared to do anything. Now that they had the opportunity, they naturally couldn't let it go.

You should know that there are two very important conditions for entering the cabinet in the Ming Dynasty.

One is family background. You have to be a member of the Hanlin Academy. Only Hanlins can enter the cabinet. This condition is not just a saying. There may be a few exceptions, but it is not universal. The majority of cabinet ministers are from the Hanlin Academy.

In addition to this condition, there is another one, which is to be a chief examiner. If you want to become a cabinet minister, you must have served as a chief examiner, either the provincial or the metropolitan examination. This depends on the support of His Majesty.

However, he could never take the step of being the chief examiner. The reason was very simple: there was a saying that there was a teacher in the imperial examination hall.

The meaning is very simple, that is, your examiner is your teacher. He will be your guide in officialdom, and you should be loyal to him as much as possible; and he will also try his best to promote you.

Originally, this was an unspoken rule, but now it has become widespread. Even the emperor has to acquiesce to this rule, and it is also the main way for civil servants to form cliques and factions.

As for why the emperor didn’t care?

In fact, it is very simple. The court’s control over the local areas is not that strict, and sometimes what the emperor says is not as effective as what the ministers say.

As long as the emperor could control the cabinet minister, he could control the officials of his faction. When something happened, the emperor only needed to find the main person and there was no need to pursue it further.

With such a relationship, the power of the cabinet minister was supported. Whatever the cabinet minister wanted to do, there were people below to help him and support him.

In other words, behind every big boss in the court, there is actually a small faction.

Several cabinet ministers in the court were all like this. Although their factions were not as powerful as the Donglin Party, it did not mean that they did not have any.

Normally these people kept a low profile and were unlikely to cooperate. Because no one trusted the other, they did not fight the Donglin Party.

But things are different now.

The East Factory is holding on to the Donglin Party, and coupled with the Emperor's ambiguous attitude, several bigwigs of the Donglin Party have also been arrested by the East Factory. Now the situation of the Donglin Party has taken a sharp turn for the worse.

It would be a shame for these people if they didn't step up and give them a few kicks at this time.

After defeating the Donglin Party, everyone can divide up the legacy left by the Donglin Party. How many official positions will that require?

Even if the ministers in the cabinet are not tempted, those in the faction behind him will be tempted and will push him forward.

Besides, would these cabinet ministers not be tempted?

Who doesn’t want to be the chief minister of the cabinet?

Who is willing to give up the power in their hands?

There is no such person. If one really wants to indulge in the beauty of nature, then why bother being an official?

Looking up at Liu Yijing, Han Yu fell into deep thought.

It was obvious that these people were ready to take action. Now they were claiming to be uniting with me, but in reality they were forcing me.

If I don't agree, then these people will kill me directly. They will definitely not be polite to me. As for the other few people, they are probably already united.

This put Han Yu in a dilemma.

Of course, this is not what he is most worried about.

At worst, he could just give up his official position, which wouldn't be a big deal. But now Han Yu felt that things were going to get bad, and the Donglin Party was probably doomed this time.

Although Wei Zhongxian was holding on to the Donglin Party, Han Yu was not too worried. Even if a few people were removed, it would be of no use.

Wei Zhongxian's power was clear; he couldn't completely wipe out the Donglin Party. The Donglin Party's influence wasn't limited to just a few people in the court. The vast majority of officials and provincial governors throughout the country were members of the Donglin Party, which was the reason for the Donglin Party's strength.

If Wei Zhongxian wanted to defeat the Donglin Party, he had to place his own people in the party or cultivate his own representatives among the civil servants.

But this is too difficult and definitely not something that Wei Zhongxian can do now.

Now, if Liu Yijing and others take action against the Donglin Party, things will take a sharp turn for the worse and become uncontrollable.

Because their people know where the Donglin Party has people, they will choose to replace them and directly overthrow the Donglin Party.

The Donglin Party's position will be replaced by Liu Yijing and his people, which is a very troublesome matter. If it really comes to that, the Donglin Party will be in an irretrievable situation.

Han Yu did not want to see the Donglin Party fall, but the current situation did not allow it.

Liu Yijing actually found me, which proved that they were ready. Whether I participated or not, they would take action.

Once they choose to take action, if I don't follow them, I will lose my position in the cabinet and attacks will follow.

In fact, the reason for their attack was very simple. After Zou Yuanbiao and others stepped down, Han Yu might become the leader of the Donglin Party.

Although I am not the leader of the Donglin Party now, who can tell the truth about the matter?

Han Yu's thoughts were swirling around in his head, and he felt a mess. He wanted to slam the table and yell at the old fox. But reality wouldn't allow it!

Liu Yijing sat aside and didn't seem to be in a hurry. He just looked at Han Yu quietly, waiting for him to give a satisfactory answer.