Ministry of Personnel.
Before arriving at the Ministry of Personnel, Yu Changsi had already sent a message to Chen Ke, the Minister of Personnel, so he went directly to the back wing of the office building, bypassing the main hall. This wing had three rooms: a study and a bedroom, where Chen Ke usually rested when he was tired from working. Whenever Yu Changsi came to see him, they would meet here alone.
But Yu Changsi felt something was off today, because there was another person in the side room besides Chen Ke.
Chen Changyun.
This gave Yu Changsi a bad feeling.
We already made plans together, so why did you make plans with someone else?
Even if he had an appointment with someone else, they should have discussed it in the office lobby. Could it be that Chen Changyun barged in on his own?
While pondering to himself, Yu Changsi still wore a broad smile and greeted them, "Gentlemen Chen, I apologize for disturbing you."
Chen Ke and Chen Changyun stood up at the same time and said with a smile, "Mr. Yu has arrived."
Yu Changsi stepped aside and said modestly, "Please sit down, gentlemen. I am but a commoner. You are too kind to ask for a seat."
Chen Changyun said, "Although Mr. Yu is a commoner, he is the most powerful commoner in Dajing, so it is only right that he should be treated this way."
As he spoke, Chen Changyun glanced at Chen Ke and said, "Minister Chen and Mr. Yu, please continue your conversation. I'll take my leave now."
Chen Ke smiled and cupped his hands in greeting to Chen Changyun, saying, "Please take care, Lord Chen."
After Chen Changyun left, Yu Changsi suppressed his smile, handed a list to Chen Ke, and then sat down in the chair that Chen Changyun had just sat in.
After Chen Ke finished reading the list, Yu Changsi said, "Chen Changyun came to see you at this time, so he must have given you a list as well, right?"
Chen Ke nodded and sighed, "His list and the Left Prime Minister's list are so different!"
Yu Changsi said, "Then it will be up to you, Minister Chen, to weigh the options."
Chen Ke stared at the list and said, "To be frank, the Left Prime Minister's list is fair and impartial, and compared with the Central Secretariat, the Left Prime Minister's Office is truly thinking about the court."
"Minister Chen's words are enough."
Yu Changsi stood up, cupped his hands to Chen Ke, and said, "The Left Prime Minister's Office needs Minister Chen's fairness, and Da Jing needs Minister Chen's fairness even more. I will convey Minister Chen's attitude to the Left Prime Minister truthfully."
Chen Ke stood up to return the greeting and said, "Mr. Yu, please take care."
...
In the days following the establishment of the Central Secretariat, Yuan Xiu stayed in the Imperial New Hall, and he and Wei You were nowhere to be seen all day. State affairs were handled by Wen Taihe and the Central Secretariat headed by Yuan Li, and the two sides used their political power to openly and secretly compete with each other.
At the first court assembly after the establishment of the Central Secretariat, Yuan Xiu, sitting on the dragon throne, smiled broadly and seemed to be in a very good mood, but his sunken eye sockets and pale face indicated that he had been clearly lacking rest recently.
At the court meeting, Chen Ke announced the final list of officials at the central government level. Yuan Xiu made only symbolic adjustments to a very few individuals and then finalized the appointments of all officials at the central government level based on Chen Ke's list.
This list shocked all the officials!
Not a single left-wing official is on the list!
Of the four central ministers, Xu Shouli and He Yin remained calm, while Yuan Li and Chen Changyun were quite pleased with themselves. They looked at Wen Tai and saw that he was calm and appeared to be resting with his eyes closed.
After the court session, the Left Party officials, unable to tolerate it any longer, swarmed after Wen Tai.
"The central government has gone too far!"
"Prime Minister, if this continues, we're all doomed!"
"What's wrong with Minister Chen? Doesn't he understand the principle of 'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold'?"
"Left Prime Minister, you need to come up with a plan quickly..."
Wen Tai stopped and glanced displeasedly at the assembled officials, saying, "The four ministers of the Central Secretariat were appointed by His Majesty himself, and the mid- and lower-level officials were drafted by Minister Chen. Are you questioning His Majesty's and Minister Chen's decisions?"
"Let me give you a piece of advice: at this time, you should focus on doing your job properly and not overthink things, otherwise..."
"At best, you'll be stripped of your official robes; at worst, your life will be in danger!"
Someone asked, "Are we just going to passively take the beating like this?"
“If you act uprightly and honestly, what are you afraid of? Who would hit you for no reason?” Wen Tai waved his long sleeves, put his hands behind his back, and strode forward, saying sternly, “Disperse, everyone, get back to work!”
When Wen Tai returned to his residence, Yu Changsi already knew about what had happened in the court and was waiting with Wen Hu in the council hall.
Yu Changsi said, "This Chen Ke not only didn't use our list, but he also eliminated all our people. That Chen Changyun, he actually managed to bribe Chen Ke!"
Wen Tai shook his head slightly and said, "Chen Changyun doesn't have that much power."
Yu Changsi asked, "Does the Left Chancellor mean...it's related to His Majesty?"
“It shouldn’t be His Majesty. For the sake of stability in the court, he doesn’t want me to be sidelined all at once.” Wen Tai sat down in his chair and said, “But among the four people in the Central Secretariat, besides Chen Changyun, there may be others who want to get rid of me.”
"Prince Xin!" Yu Changsi immediately realized.
Seeing Wen Tai nod, Yu Changsi analyzed, "Given Prince Xin's status and current power, he could indeed persuade Chen Ke to betray him, and..."
Yu Changsi seemed to suddenly realize something and said in surprise, "The Imperial Palace has just been completed, and His Majesty wants to enjoy himself. He can both put aside state affairs and rest, and use Prince Xin to get rid of the Left Prime Minister's Office. But at the same time, Prince Xin can also take this opportunity to control the court and sideline His Majesty."
“If Prince Xin wants to achieve his goal, our Left Prime Minister’s Mansion is his biggest obstacle, so he is the one who most wants to deal with us!”
Wen Tai smiled and said, "Sir, your analysis is the same as mine."
Wen Hu asked, "But the emperor is a suspicious man. Does he really trust Prince Xin so much?"
Wen Tai said, "Prince Xin is a child who grew up with the Emperor and the Eldest Princess. He is one of the few people the Emperor trusts. But whether the Emperor trusts Prince Xin or not is not important, as long as the Emperor dares to give him the opportunity to wield power."
"Why?" Wen Hu asked doubtfully.
Wen Tai looked at Yu Changsi and said, "Sir, what do you think?"
"The Left Prime Minister is right."
Yu Changsi looked at Wen Hu and said, "Back then, the emperor used Zhao Huan and Yuan Zhang to eliminate the Empress Dowager's faction and the Power Faction. Later, he used the Left Chancellor to oust Zhao Huan and Yuan Zhang. Now he is using Yuan Li to deal with the Left Chancellor's office. Our emperor is very skilled at this kind of thing, so he is very confident."
“In his eyes, even if the power falls into the hands of Prince Xin in the future, he is confident that he can take the power back by doing the same thing.”
Wen Tai said, "The same tricks won't work if you use them too much. One day they'll get burned."
Yu Changsi sighed, "It's a pity about our list. It really became Chen Ke's touchstone and revealed his true colors."
"In my opinion, this list is not only a litmus test for Chen Ke."
After a pause, Wen Tai's face turned cold, and he continued, "It could also be his death warrant."
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