Chapter 280 Resigning from Office in One Move, Known Throughout the Land
This was in the morning.
The main hall of the Phoenix Pavilion in the Ziwei Palace.
A meeting of the Political Affairs Hall was held on time as usual.
The Council of State Affairs is an administrative meeting jointly attended by the three high-ranking officials of the Phoenix Pavilion, the Luan Terrace, and the Wenchang Terrace.
The highest officials of these three provinces all held the real power of prime ministers, the very same prime ministers that the people of the land talked about with great interest.
However, if only the highest-ranking officials from these three provinces attend the meeting, there will only be four or five people.
Moreover, they hold high positions and great power, so they are not necessarily given full authority, nor are they easily granted to others.
Therefore, the Empress of the Great Zhou Dynasty later participated in the Council of State Affairs meetings under other official titles, nominally called Tongpingzhangshi, Canzhizhengshi, etc., which could also be called Prime Minister.
However, this position of prime minister was rather dubious, as it was appointed by the emperor to participate in discussions in the Council of State Affairs, which was a different way of sharing the power of the prime minister.
The attendees in the Political Affairs Hall today consisted of both of these types, totaling about ten people.
As the highest-ranking official of the Phoenix Pavilion and concurrently holding the position of Luantai, Master Di was the undisputed chief minister of the court.
He, as the "pen of the Council of State Affairs," convened and presided over today's Council of State Affairs meeting.
Inside the main hall, Master Di sat at the head of the table, taking notes.
The seating arrangement of the officials in the imperial court was clearly defined.
One by one, the agenda items were presented in an orderly manner, and the officials were engaged in heated discussions.
Before long, when the sun was high in the sky, a certain fat old man put down his pen, and the political discussion was suspended.
A group of palace maids in colorful robes, their foreheads and eyebrows mimicking plum blossom makeup, entered the main hall. Their lotus-like steps were perfectly synchronized. They presented the imperial pastries bestowed by the Empress as a token of her appreciation, and then bowed their heads and retreated.
After a short rest, the gentlemen drank tea, tasted cakes, and chatted about various matters.
Shen Xisheng suddenly realized that his official hat was a little too tight, pressing slightly against his chin.
I was a little nervous before and didn't notice, but now that I'm resting with the gentlemen in the hall, I'm only realizing it now.
However, in such situations, it is certainly inappropriate to raise your hand to pull or scratch.
As censors who supervise all officials, they should set an example by doing so.
As the Vice Censor-in-Chief and deputy head of the Censorate, his speech, conduct, and attire required to be more rigorous and meticulous than those of ordinary censors.
Every time he went out to court, it would take up most of his time just to put on his clothes.
Shen Xisheng was dressed very formally today, because he had something important to do.
At this moment, in the last seat of the Political Affairs Hall, Shen Xisheng, wearing a tall crown and a light scarlet official robe of the fifth rank, sat upright.
The palace maids in colorful robes, who were delivering the imperial pastries, passed by him with smiles on their faces, but he didn't even glance at them.
Today, he is participating in this highest decision-making meeting of the empire's central government under the title of "Participating in State Affairs".
Previously, Shen Xisheng, as the Inspector of Jiangnan, had returned from his inspection tour and was rewarded with this opportunity by Her Majesty the Empress for his meritorious service in comforting disaster victims and investigating the rice case in Jiangzhou.
Although I'm just a nobody at the very bottom.
Shen Xisheng sat upright, his hand quietly slipping into his sleeve to touch a stack of memorials.
Hearing the lively conversations of his seniors around him, he glanced sideways at the scholars and officials seated in the front row of the Hall of State Affairs.
The atmosphere of the conversation was pleasant and harmonious.
But Shen Xisheng remained vigilant, carefully considering every word he heard.
Do you really think these cheerful and easy-going husbands are harmless?
Among the dozen or so people in this government office were loyal old officials who were determined to stay and leave, and lackeys planted by the King of Wei and the King of Liang.
There were respected and virtuous old ministers who remained aloof, as well as fence-sitters who secretly colluded with the Wei clan;
There was even a case where Princess Chang Le spoke highly of him and promoted him to the position of "Vice Chancellor".
In addition, Wei Xusi, the Prince of Wei, and Wei Sixing, the Prince of Liang, both nephews of Her Majesty the Empress, were not only granted the title of prince with a fief of one thousand shi (a unit of grain), but also held the official position of "Tongpingzhangshi" (a high-ranking official in charge of state affairs), which allowed them to participate in this meeting of the Council of State Affairs.
However, Wei Xusi, the Prince of Wei, claimed to be suffering from a minor illness recently and did not attend the meeting today; only Liang Sixing, the Prince of Liang, came.
Shen Xisheng glanced at Wei Sixing, who was sitting not far away across from him. Wei Sixing was holding a cup of tea and smiling as he looked at Master Di.
This King Liang was impeccably dressed, with a gentle smile, and appeared to be a kind and benevolent man.
However, the current turmoil in Yingzhou has kept the princes of the Wei clan busy and has temporarily brought some peace, without causing too much trouble.
Shen Xisheng withdrew his gaze and waited quietly for a while.
After an elderly, white-haired official in a high seat in front of them told a little anecdote that had happened a few days ago, everyone laughed heartily.
Shen Xisheng suddenly stood up, took out a stack of memorials and examination reports from his sleeve, and presented them with both hands:
"Gentlemen, a few days ago, I reviewed the performance evaluations of local officials in the first half of the year by the Ministry of Personnel and discovered a rather interesting performance evaluation report."
"His Majesty has recently emphasized on several occasions that there is a lack of fresh blood in the court and that it is necessary to recruit talents without being bound by convention."
"I have a feeling that this local official has some impressive achievements, but I am not very experienced. I am not sure if I am right. Now that I have some free time, I hope that you senior officials can take a look and give me some advice."
Shen Xisheng stepped forward, meeting the sidelong glances of everyone in the hall.
The men in purple robes reacted in different ways.
Some were surprised, some remained calm, and some immediately glanced at the fat old man at the head of the table, who was writing with his eyes down.
These expressions quickly subsided. The position of Censor-in-Chief was not insignificant; he was a fifth-rank official in the capital, appointed and dismissed by the emperor, and considered a high-ranking official. There was no need to offend him.
The officials took the examination certificates with great curiosity and passed them around for a while. Soon after, exclamations of admiration and praise began to fill the hall...
The meeting in the State Affairs Hall adjourned around noon.
The arrangement that would determine the fate of a young county magistrate in his official career seemed to be just a minor episode during a break in the meeting.
However, a newly drafted imperial edict appointing and dismissing a sixth-rank noble official in the capital has been approved by the Council of State Affairs and is being rapidly sent to the Phoenix Pavilion.
It would then be presented to a certain empress's desk along with a series of imperial edicts concerning important military and national affairs, where the empress or a female official in charge of writing would mark it with a red circle or add the character "敕" (edict).
At the entrance of the Phoenix Pavilion, among the departing officials.
An elderly, white-haired official who had previously reviewed the examination results and strongly recommended the candidate stopped, thought for a moment, and turned to his colleague who was helping him, sighing with emotion:
"This young man seems to be only twenty years old. Such a young Imperial Censor must be the youngest in this dynasty, or even the entire dynasty... Ouyang Lianghan, when he comes to the capital, I will have a good meeting with him to see what kind of talent he is."
Colleagues joked that it was:
"Your Excellency was away from the capital last year while you were recuperating. Ouyang Lianghan caused quite a bit of trouble, angering His Majesty and being demoted to county magistrate. I never expected him to be promoted back. It's clear that Your Excellency values talent."
He paused, then chuckled, "But this Ouyang Lianghan is indeed a handsome man, as dashing as an immortal, and still unmarried. Ha, I've heard that the Grand Secretary has a young granddaughter who hasn't married yet..."
In the hall where the tea had cooled down, Master Di calmly finished organizing the minutes of the morning council meeting, got up as usual, and delivered them to Her Majesty the Queen for review.
Not long ago, during the process of a young county magistrate being promoted to a higher position by Ling Shenxisheng, he did not speak at all, but instead kept his head down, drinking tea or taking notes.
Only after everyone had reached a consensus and turned to report the recommended official positions did the fat old man come to his senses, uttering only one word:
"Can".
...
It's August, and the dog days of summer are not yet over.
The scorching heat of midsummer was not only burning down on a Buddhist temple under construction in Jiangzhou, Jiangnan Province.
Luoyang was also bathed in the scorching sun, and it was sweltering from early morning.
Summer days are long and nights are short; the sky is just beginning to brighten.
At the entrance of the residence of a certain Imperial Censor in Xiuwenfang, a carriage slowly drove away from the neighborhood and headed towards the magnificent Great Zhou Imperial Palace in the distance.
Inside the carriage that was taking officials to court, Shen Xisheng was impeccably dressed, but soon after he got into the carriage, beads of sweat began to trickle down his temples.
He covered his sweaty forehead with a white silk handkerchief, took a sip of his iced drink, turned around, opened the carriage curtain, and let out a long breath.
Since the day before yesterday, his brow has been furrowing slightly from time to time, and he's doing it now, muttering to himself:
"What exactly is the meaning of my nephew Lianghan's refusal of the imperial edict? Is he dissatisfied? How could that be..."
More than a month has passed since that intermission meeting at the Politburo where talent was recommended.
Shen Xisheng had thought he would see Ouyang Rong in the capital soon, and it was almost certain that he would, so he was quite looking forward to it.
The Imperial Censor, who was under his direct command, was one of only four highly coveted positions.
In the Censorate, besides the chief censor-in-chief and the deputy censor-in-chief, the highest-ranking official was the Attendant Censor, who could also manage a group of ordinary supervising censors.
In the capital, countless people with higher official positions than Ouyang Rong were desperate to get ahead, but none of them had a way to do so.
However, a few days earlier, the envoy sent by the Ministry of Personnel returned to the capital, bringing back an unopened imperial edict.
He declined the official appointment in Beijing.
The reasons given back were also rather absurd:
I want to continue working on water management in Jiangnan and do my part for the local people.
This young county magistrate, who was so engrossed in controlling the floods, even asked the imperial envoy Song Hao to bring a memorial from Longcheng County to the imperial court.
The memorial entitled "Ten Memorials on Water Management in Jiangnan" was accompanied by a map of the water systems in Jiangnan.
That's... pretty abstract.
It's really fun and hardcore, right?
The officials in the Ministry of Personnel were also somewhat bewildered.
However, he still presented these ten memorials and the water map to the emperor.
Two days have passed, and there has been no response from Her Majesty the Queen; it's as if the stone has sunk into the sea.
I don't know if it was because it gave me a headache, but I threw it in the trash can...
Even Shen Xisheng, the recommender, never expected Ouyang Rong's actions.
The day before yesterday, he went to see Master Di immediately and reported the matter with a worried expression.
He had originally planned to plead for his friend's beloved disciple, but to his surprise, the Master showed no displeasure upon hearing this.
Even when Ouyang Lianghan was being assigned the position of Imperial Censor, he, who had remained calm throughout, surprisingly chuckled, walked to the window with his hands behind his back, looked at the scenery for a while, and then turned back in a good mood to ask, "Xisheng, what do you think?"
“…” Shen Xisheng.
What does he think? What else can he think?
Ouyang Rong's refusal of the position of Imperial Censor was somewhat disrespectful to Shen Xisheng.
After all, Ouyang Rong was originally supposed to be his direct subordinate. Now that he has refused the position of Imperial Censor, it seems that he is not grateful for the kindness he has shown. Could it be that he is not satisfied with the position?
Inside the carriage, Shen Xisheng gently shook his head. It shouldn't be.
After pondering for a while, I remembered the Master's laughter.
The Imperial Censor looked thoughtful.
"Did Master already know? Nephew Lianghan, did you have prior contact with Master, or is it simply a matter of tacit understanding...?"
He glanced out the window; the carriage was passing through a bustling street along the Luo River, a place of revelry and noise that lasted all night.
"Regardless, you're even more famous now."
Shen Xisheng chuckled and shook his head.
Just as he was about to leave for the morning court session, his virtuous wife, who usually stayed home to take care of her husband and children and rarely went out, turned to ask him about the matter of a certain young county magistrate who had declined an official position in the capital. She asked her husband if he knew him, her eyes filled with curiosity.
The sudden promotion of a lowly seventh-rank county magistrate to the prestigious sixth-rank Imperial Censor wouldn't normally generate much buzz.
At most, officials within the system might sigh with envy, and some officials with no hope of promotion might feel a pang of jealousy and resentment.
However, a seventh-rank county magistrate resigned from his promising official position, gave up the record of being the youngest censor in the dynasty, and went to the remote Jiangnan region to manage the floods for the country bumpkins, and never came back.
This is quite a shock in the entire world of resigning from official positions.
Folks, upon closer inspection, who is this idiot... no, who is this saint? Wait, Ouyang... Lianghan? The scholar who prepared his coffin last year, dared to speak out against the emperor, and was subsequently demoted to Jiangnan, a renowned gentleman?
The name is correct; I'm satisfied and leaving.
Originally, this anecdote about resigning from office was only being discussed in a small circle within the imperial system, such as the Six Ministries of the Ministry of Personnel, just the day before yesterday.
But since yesterday, for some reason, well, it may have been some officials who, after returning home, told their wives, children, and servants about it as gossip after dinner, and now the news of Ouyang Lianghan's resignation from the capital has gradually spread to the streets of Luoyang.
Even today, the name Ouyang Lianghan is the most searched topic in Luoyang, spreading widely in the streets and alleys and during casual conversations. It has overshadowed the recent gossip about a top poet from the Great Zhou literary world who took his friends to a brothel to listen to music, lavishly invited a courtesan but didn't pay her.
If someone is currently dealing with bald monks and overseeing the construction of the pagoda, and is currently in Luoyang,
Upon learning that he had personally led the troops to conquer the imperial examinations, he remarked with a sigh: "The folks in Luoyang are just too full, they're smothering each other with their own petty grime, and they're just bored out of their minds."
In any case, Ouyang Rong has now become famous in Luoyang.
He devoted himself to flood control, yet no one paid attention; he resigned from his post and became known throughout the land.
But with fame comes trouble.
In the capital city at that time, from the court to the common people and in brothels, there were those who considered themselves superior and were quite envious, cursing Ouyang Rong for deceiving the world, pretending to be a hypocrite, and seeking fame and prestige.
Some tavern scholars and butchers in the marketplace laughed and praised Liang Han as a true gentleman, which was indeed true.
Even within the high walls and deep courtyards of mansions with red walls and yellow tiles, at a private gathering of a small circle of ladies with extremely high standards for family reputation and aesthetic appreciation,
The talented and beautiful young lady in her palace dress raised her chin, tossed the green scroll in her hand against the red wall, and drunkenly declared that she would meet Ouyang Lianghan and that her words would make him fall at her feet.
His arrogant words suddenly caused a small circle of unmarried ladies with their hair tied up in high buns and their eyebrows painted with delicate makeup to cover their mouths and bury their faces in their chests, laughing so hard their hair was askew.
But among them was a pretty young lady with a wavy bun on her head and bright moon pearls in her ears. She held a black cat in her arms and spoke coldly to defend the upright gentleman she had never met, while slightly mocking her female companion... Then, there was another round of coquettish playfulness.
In Luoyang, some were envious, while others longed to get to know him.
Such fame is truly unpredictable.
With his thoughts in mind, Shen Xisheng went to the Ziwei Palace for the morning court session.
Since the rebellion in Yingzhou, this empress has been quite diligent in her duties, and she has not gone to Shangyang Palace to indulge in music, men, or the rare pills and beasts offered by the Yin-Yang School practitioners.
Inside the magnificent palace where all the officials were gathered, Shen Xisheng, who was standing at the front, slightly raised his eyes.
He glanced at the figure of the old woman high above him on the golden dragon throne.
There was also the image of the Master standing at the very front of all the officials, his back straight and meticulous.
Before the Yingzhou Rebellion, at the urging of the two Wei princes, His Majesty originally had plans for a distant expedition to expand the territory, but was strongly dissuaded by the Master.
Confucius argued that the main focus should be on reforming domestic affairs and strengthening the nation, rather than wasting resources on territorial expansion, and cited the example of Emperor Taizong.
His Majesty was naturally indignant, but ever since the rebellion in Yingzhou exposed the ugly side of the Wei family... the rebellion has now been gradually quelled, but His Majesty seems to have not mentioned the agenda of expanding the territory for a long time.
Shen Xisheng suddenly sensed something amiss. He couldn't help but glance at Master Fang's composed back.
No unexpected events occurred during the entire morning court session.
In reality, morning court sessions are usually quite tedious; the so-called power struggles and intrigues mostly take place behind the scenes.
If even the morning court session leads to a complete breakdown in relations, then it's the final moment, with one side resorting to desperate measures and abandoning all semblance of dignity.
However, Shen Xisheng's back was covered in sweat, but he was prepared and wore a light inner shirt. The expensive Western Region merchants in the West Market assured him that the fabric would definitely cover his sweat.
The practical effect is indeed quite good, so that sweat stains won't seep out and I can draw a map to show my colleagues behind me.
This is yet another censor's tactful little trick.
Shen Xi sighed. He had originally planned to pass it on to his nephew Liang Han, and give him a new undershirt as a celebration gift for his promotion.
After all, he shouldn't be the only one to suffer.
It's a pity that my nephew Lianghan didn't pass... No worries, let's save it for him for now.
Shen Xisheng maintained a serious expression and left the main hall with the officials who had finished their court session.
During the court assemblies these past two days, no one mentioned Ouyang Rong's resignation or the Ten Memorials on Water Management. Her Majesty the Empress seemed unaware of these matters, and the court and the public remained silent, as if they had been forgotten.
This period of calm, however, put him on high alert.
Shen Xisheng and several of his fellow members of the Baoli faction gathered together. After descending the steps in front of the hall, they looked around and spotted the Master's figure. They tacitly walked towards him.
Just then, a palace maid dressed in plum blossom makeup walked quickly over, stopped in front of a fat old man, bent down and spread her hands, indicating something.
Master Di nodded and left with the palace attendants.
Some observant officials overheard the conversation, and a little news quickly spread throughout the square.
Her Majesty the Empress invited the Master to visit Shangyang Palace together.
All the officials turned their heads in disapproval.
or2 (First day of going to bed early and waking up early!)
(End of this chapter)
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