"Please show us the Emperor's handwritten letter."
Su Wanwan gave a cold laugh.
He immediately wrote a secret letter to Lu Xingjian via express courier: "Appoint Zhang Yong as the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial."
Lu Xingjian pondered for a long time after receiving the letter.
Authorization was granted anyway.
Meng Yue was greatly surprised, and after much hesitation, he still dared to offer his advice:
"Your Majesty, Zhang Yong has held military power for a long time, and now that he has also been given the seal of office, I fear that a second Liu Jin will emerge."
Liu Jin started as the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, gradually gained military power, and eventually became the most powerful man in the country.
If Zhang Yong were to become the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, his power would likely be even more concentrated, allowing him to seize power faster than Liu Jin and posing a greater threat to imperial authority.
Lu Xingjian said calmly, "It's alright."
...
Zhang Yong was appointed as the new Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, while Wei Bin returned to his position as the Secretary Eunuch.
Wei Bin's mood was as gloomy as still water, but he dared not show it in the slightest.
It was Zhang Yong who warned him to prioritize loyalty to the emperor and not to make any mistakes.
Learning from Liu Jin's example, he was cautious and dared not offend Zhang Yong.
How did it end up that he was demoted back to his original position and Zhang Yong replaced him?
Su Wanwan was busy getting the Six Ministries and the Cabinet to formulate plans for pacifying refugees and suppressing bandits in various places. With Zhang Yong traveling between Kunning Palace and the Cabinet, things became much more efficient.
Until a memorial appeared on his desk.
The memorial first described the remnants of Liu Jin's traitorous faction, and then turned its attention to the treacherous officials in the palace who allowed their subordinates to wreak havoc on all sides.
They were practically calling out Su Wanwan by name.
Su Wanwan gave a cold smile.
After enduring so much, Chief Minister Li has finally made his move.
She summoned Zhang Yong and Qian Ning and showed them the memorial.
"What do you two think about this?"
Zhang Yong said, "Your Majesty, I will go and inquire with the Cabinet."
Qian Ning, however, was quick to veer off-topic: "The younger brother of the former garrison eunuch Liao Tang, Liao Peng, was an official in Henan. Some say that the rampant theft in Henan, which impoverished the people and caused them to lose their wealth, was all due to Liao Peng's tyrannical rule and extortionate taxes. Does this treacherous official in the palace refer to Liao Tang?"
Su Wanwan said coldly, "Whether it is true or not, we'll know once we arrest and interrogate the official who wrote the memorial."
Zhang Yong arrived at the cabinet.
"Your Excellency, the palace is furious about this memorial and is eager to arrest the person. I persuaded them a few times before I managed to get the chance to come and ask you first."
Li Dongqian's eyes were cool.
This is forcing him to put aside his own family for the greater good.
This Empress Su is no pushover.
"As dusk approaches, how can an official from outside the palace enter without permission? I urge Eunuch Zhang to persuade the palace not to obstruct the flow of information."
Zhang Yong looked at Li Dongqian with a forced smile.
"Chief Minister Li has served in office for many years, so he naturally understands the principle of blending in with the crowd. Don't you agree?"
Li Dongqian narrowed his eyes.
"That's well said. I wonder whose light Zhang Gonggong wants to associate with, and from which dust?"
Zhang Yong laughed heartily, then his expression turned serious:
"You jest, Your Excellency. We are all the Emperor's men. Whose glory can we share, whose dust can we be associated with?"
Since Li Dongqian wasn't going to back down while he was ahead, Su Wanwan wasn't going to be lenient either.
The official was immediately arrested, and the walking official, a junior official from the Ministry of Justice, was flogged fifty times outside the Meridian Gate and stripped of his official rank.
At the time of the execution, Li Dongqian and others had just finished their shift and watched helplessly as the official was beaten and screamed in agony, his flesh and blood flying everywhere.
Liu Zhong, a Grand Secretary who had recently joined the cabinet, staggered.
The official who was beaten was his prized student.
Li Dongqian reassured Liu Zhong: "Your life is not in danger."
The truly deadly caning doesn't make a sound; each strike lands on the kidney area in the lower back. Superficial damage is minimal.
His internal organs were all shattered, and he coughed up blood; he was certain to die.
Liu Zhong sighed deeply, his face ashen.
It was Li Dongqian who instructed him to have such a memorial written in hopes of gaining the palace's favor.
Little did they know that this would bring about an unexpected disaster.
He entered the cabinet after Liu Jin's downfall, making him the least senior member.
Liu Zhong quickly submitted a memorial requesting to return home to sweep the tombs.
When an official is impeached or makes a mistake, submitting a memorial requesting retirement can test the emperor's mind or express his remorse.
The emperor would usually try to persuade them to stay.
After all, people are needed to do the work.
Liu Zhong had only been in the cabinet for half a year and was reluctant to resign, so he used this method to test the emperor's intentions.
Su Wanwan promptly approved Liu Zhong's leave request, serving as a warning to Li Dongqian and the others.
However.
Retaliation came quickly.
Qian Ning rushed in to report: "The official silver being transported from Shandong to the capital has been robbed by bandits in the south of the city!"
Su Wanwan: ? ? ?
"Nothing happened in Shandong, and nothing happened in Beizhili. But something happened after we entered Beijing?"
Qian Ning's expression was grave. "Not only that, but the various government offices in the capital have failed to catch any thieves, and they can't even find any trace of them!"
This is a blatant slap in the face to the imperial court, and even more so, a slap in the face to the emperor.
A cold glint flashed in Su Wanwan's eyes, "Are the Five Cities Garrison and the Shuntian Prefecture constables all dead?"
"From this day forward, I hereby appoint Qian Ning, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, to oversee the patrols."
But she didn't stop there.
He also had a memorial impeaching the Minister of War circulated among the cabinet and the six ministries.
The memorial stated that Wang Chang, the Minister of War, was originally a mediocre talent with little reputation. He had joined Liu Jin, who had just been promoted to Minister of War. It was advisable to have him explain himself, or to reassign him to a less important post and appoint a more capable person instead, which might quell the banditry.
This clearly shows their stance: the blame for the rampant banditry should be placed on Minister of War Wang Chang.
Li Dongqian smashed his teacup in anger.
"A hen crowing at dawn, how absurd!"
Yang Ting tried to calm Li Dongqian down: "Calm down. With bandits rising up everywhere and the situation unstable, this action is reasonable."
Li Dongqian sneered, "Jiefu, you are also a well-read man. Your son Yongxiu was my student, and now he has become the top scholar in the imperial examination. Don't you know the consequences of Empress Lü's usurpation of power and Emperor Wu's usurpation of power?"
Yang Ting's expression turned slightly embarrassed.
"His Majesty is in the prime of his life; how could it be as serious as the Grand Secretary makes it out to be?"
Empress Su was once Yang Ting's student, and Yang Ting actually admired and approved of some of Empress Su's political measures.
Li Dongqian refused to budge and grabbed Yang Ting, saying, "Jiefu, the new Minister of War must be nominated by us!"
They all concurrently held the position of Minister of Personnel and had the power to recommend new Minister of War.
This position is simply too crucial.
The pool of recommended officials was very broad, covering the Six Ministries in Nanjing, the Six Ministries in Beijing, and the governors of the Nine Border Regions.
...
Su Wanwan made a rare trip to the East Garden to pick up Yan Ge'er from school, and she even brought Yan Ge'er along.
Even though Yang Zhen was already a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, he still took half a day every day to come here to teach Yan Ge'er to read.
This serious attitude surprised Su Wanwan.
After all, Yan Ge'er is not a prince, so teaching him wouldn't offer much of a future.
It's really a waste of his talent to sacrifice his regular job time to teach a young child.
Unlike his previous simple clothes, Yang Zhen was now wearing a blue official robe, looking more energetic, calm and reserved.
Yan Ge'er still remembered Yang Zhen, and stared at him with wide eyes.
Su Wanwan smiled and said, "Congratulations, Lord Yang, on becoming the top scholar in the imperial examination."
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