Chapter 27 Yang Zheng
Before daybreak, Yu Guangcai was called away by the people in the palace, making the house restless. Many servants who were not on night shift were also woken up and forced to start a new day of hard work.
He knew that Prince Rui cared about the Shenji Camp, but he didn't expect that he would be called over before dawn. This was pure torture for him!
Yu Guangcai cursed in his heart, but when he really saw Xie Chengyan, he still bowed respectfully and said with a smile: "Hey, what's the matter with you so early in the morning, Your Highness?"
Yu Guangcai was promoted after the death of the previous emperor. During this period, Xie Chengyan had a lot of important tasks to attend to, so he had no dealings with the Ministry of War.
Yu Guangcai's question, seemingly asking something he already knew, infuriated him. He was always annoyed by people who beat around the bush. "Minister Yu, aren't you asking something you already know? Didn't Minister Lu explain the Ministry of War to you before he returned home?"
"Your Highness, please don't rush me."
Yu Guangcai calmly pointed at the memorial on the table. There was a red seal at the corner, and the handwriting on it was very familiar to him.
Yu Guangcai then spoke: "I have to deal with this memorial from the cabinet."
Xie Chengyan took the memorial. The elegant handwriting on it was clearly the work of a scholar. The cabinet members were all civil officials, ruling the empire through the written word. After Emperor Yin Jing gave the cabinet the power to approve documents, even more lawlessness reigned. Xie Chengyan had always despised the cabinet members' demeanor, but he had never imagined that his former study companion would actually join the cabinet.
In fact, he knew Yang Zheng's talent. At the age of sixteen, he offered suggestions for controlling floods in the south. At the age of seventeen, his policy paper on rectifying the commercial market of Yin State became famous in the literary circle. The Taifu at that time praised him highly and said that he was a capable official and should stay in officialdom.
Yang Zheng was the same age as him. Xie Chengyan recognized his talent and, like many people in the palace, believed that he was born to be an official. So, the year before Yin State moved its capital, Yang Zheng went to the cabinet. At the age of eighteen, he was the youngest cabinet minister in the decades since the cabinet was established.
As soon as the sun rose, Xie Chengyan arrived at the cabinet and placed the memorial with the red seal in front of Yang Zheng. He said bluntly, "Sir Yang, the cabinet has extended its hand too far. Aren't you afraid of backlash in the future?"
If the ministers have too much power, the emperor will be wary of them and they will inevitably be killed by the emperor.
This was originally taught to him by Yang Zheng, and now he asked it back.
Yang Zheng wore a crimson cloud-patterned cross-collared robe, a black gauze hat, and a silver belt. He always had a blank expression on his face, so when he listened to Xie Chengyan's interrogation, he explained calmly, "How many casualties have there been in the Shenjiying's gunpowder production?"
He raised his eyes to look at Xie Chengyan, his face covered by a plain white brocade strip. "How did your eyes get injured, Your Highness? Have you forgotten?"
"The battle in the south hasn't stopped yet, and Dayin must find a way to break the impasse. However, the prince's Divine Machine Camp is costly and exhausting, and is no less than another war."
Xie Chengyan sneered and said, "What is Lord Yang's position now? The Yin Kingdom? Or the Emperor?"
Today, the Yin Kingdom has a new master. The previous emperor passed away and the crown prince Xie Xun ascended the throne. However, because he is too young, it is basically the Empress Dowager Xu and a group of ministers in the cabinet who are in charge of the government.
When the cabinet was first established, it was to help His Majesty share government affairs. Who would have thought that its power would now be comparable to that of the emperor?
The assistant ministers should be in charge of the emperor, but the current emperor is only an eight-year-old child, and the Empress Dowager Xu who holds power behind the scenes is the master.
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