Prime Minister

Chapter 1097 Transferring Power

Chapter 1097 Transferring Power

The fifth room of the Zhongshu.

They were Cai Jing, the Inspector of the Household Department.

The head of the Lifang Department was Bi Zhongyan, the great-grandson of Bi Shi'an, the prime minister during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong.

The Lifang was Zeng Kang, an old colleague of the Zhongshu Regulations Office.

The one in the barracks was Xu Xi.

Wang Zhen, the criminal justice minister, is the great-grandson of former Prime Minister Wang Dan.

Confucius Fang Wangxiu.

Everyone greeted Zhang Yue one by one.

Zhang Yue thought that Zeng Kang and Xu Xi were both promoted by the emperor himself, and the Secretariat had been almost invisible in the eyes of the emperor over the past year.

Cai Jing and Bi Zhongyan were both his own people.

Bi Zhongyan was recommended by Wu Chong, the old Taishan, in a letter. Lu Gongzhu and Ouyang Xiu also admired him very much.

One month before he claimed to be ill, Zhang Yue promoted Bi Zhongyan to the position of Zhongshu Jianzheng.

After Zhang Yue claimed to be ill, Wang Gui continued to cause trouble for Cai Jing and Bi Zhongyan, finding all kinds of excuses and charges to slander the two.

To be honest, this is human nature.

When Zhang Yue was the Vice-Chancellor in charge of the court's finances, he wanted to revise the labor service law. However, the Judge of the Ministry of Agriculture, Kumamoto, and the Minister of the Three Departments, Li Chengzhi, both old officials of the New Party, did not listen to his advice. Finally, Li Chengzhi was forced to leave. After seeing that Zhang Yue was appointed as the Grand Secretary of the Zizhengdian, Kumamoto realized that he was no match for him, so he finally joined Zhang Yue.

The situation where one of them walked away while the other one retreated.

The same was true for Wang Gui. Cai Jing and Bi Zhongyan, as the Censors of the Secretariat, were not his confidants, so he was not able to use them smoothly.

So they used various assessments, arranged difficult and troublesome tasks, and used nitpicking to force the two men to submit. This is the old trick used in the officialdom to play tricks on people.

In the end, Cai Jing, who had followed Zhang Yue the longest, could not withstand Wang Gui's tactics and was forced to "surrender".

Bi Zhongyan, who had only followed Zhang Yue for a month, actually withstood Wang Gui's provocations (according to historical records, Wang Gui and Chong did not get along well, so Wang Gui used Zhongyan as Chong's man, and repeatedly looked for faults in Chong in order to harm him, but in the end he found no opportunity, so he stayed and did not move).

Zhang Yue did not expect that Bi Zhongyan, who changed his career halfway, would not buy into Wang Gui's account at all. It should be noted that Zhang Yue's friendship with Bi Zhongyan was not as deep as Cai Jing's.

But in fact there are two kinds of people in officialdom, one is the gods who have descended to the earth, and the other is the cattle and horses who take the blame.

Wang Gui didn't dare to do anything to Bi Zhongyan, but he dared to do something to Cai Jing.

Everyone came forward one by one to greet him.

Zhang Yue said: "I will come to the Secretariat again, and all the red tape will be waived. Your Majesty will give me full authority to lead the conquest of Xia."

Zhang Yue said to everyone in a serious tone: "From today on, all official documents concerning Shanxi, Hedong and Xixia must be submitted to me for review first. No copies may be sent without permission!"

The officials of the five departments and the clerks all agreed.

Xu Xi's expression was slightly strange.

"In addition, Your Majesty is not feeling well, so we have to share your work. From today on, I and Prime Minister Wang will take turns to stay overnight in the Secretariat. What do you think, Prime Minister Wang? Of course, I will be on duty today!"

Zhang Yue asked Wang Gui.

Upon hearing this, Wang Gui secretly groaned. He was old, so how could he stay on duty in the Secretariat like Zhang Yue?

Wang Gui glanced at Yuan Jiang, who remained silent. Wang Gui smiled and said, "Of course."

The Inspector of the Fifth Office of the Secretariat also realized that the situation was different. Zhang Yue's return to the Secretariat was extremely powerful and he seemed to be trying to take control of all the power.

The first of the three things a new official does when he takes office was to set fire to Wang Gui.

Wang Gui weighed Zhang Yue's intention and ordered his attendants, "Put up the duty room immediately and draw up a list of the clerks who will stay on duty tonight."

Zhang Yue smiled and said, "Prime Minister Wang is really thoughtful."

Wang Gui smiled, and everyone else went about their business. Yuan Jiang went back to his own hall to rest in a bad mood.

Zhang Yue and Wang Gui were left in the hall to talk.

Wang Gui coughed lightly, and the clerks serving on both sides retreated voluntarily, and the doors and windows of the hall were closed one by one.

The clerks acted swiftly and decisively. They were all shrewd people in this government hall, and people without a keen sense of smell would not be able to survive here.

Wang Gui smiled and said, "I think the new prime minister is so powerful today that I am impressed by him."

There was no one around, so in a private setting, Zhang Yue immediately stood up and respectfully said to Wang Gui, who was sitting on the chair: "Lord Wang, you can't say that. If you hadn't appointed me as a Jinshi, I wouldn't be where I am today!"

"Those were just for outsiders to see."

Wang Gui nodded when he saw Zhang Yue's attitude, and then said: "Du Zhi's words are too kind. In this dynasty, there is no such thing as a master and a disciple. You and I don't have the title of master and student, but I am grateful that you can remember the friendship between us back then."

"I still remember Emperor Renzong..."

Zhang Yue listened to Wang Gui talking about a long story of old imperial history. In fact, he had violated some taboos in his paper, but Wang Gui had gone against all odds and included himself in the top ten, and finally won the appreciation of Emperor Renzong.

Wang Gui had decades of experience in officialdom, and he was always meticulous and considerate in his work.

If you underestimate him because of his reputation as a minister of three orders, you will suffer greatly. To be honest, Zhang Yue is not afraid of the bold moves of Wang Anshi, Lu Huiqing, and Zhang Dun, but he is afraid of such people who hide their true intentions.

Wang Gui finally said to Zhang Yue earnestly: "Duzhi, the officialdom is a place where human feelings are valued. People who are inhumane will not go far!"

Zhang Yue said: "I'm grateful for your advice."

Always learn from your enemies as if they were your teachers.

After Wang Gui finished speaking, he immediately ordered someone, "Ask Zeng Jianzheng to bring the hall books."

When Zhang Yue heard the word "tangbu", his heart moved.

What is a hall book?

The power of the Prime Minister!

As we all know, the personnel power of civil servants in the Song Dynasty was divided into three levels. The first level was Liuneiquan, and the second was Shenguanxiyuan. These two managed most of the civil servants, which was called Libu Zhushu.

There is another level of appointment by the emperor himself.

In between the two is the Zhongshutang appointment. For example, more than half of the prefects in the Song Dynasty had to be appointed by the Zhongshutang.

Zhang Yue knew all too well about Tangchu. When he passed the imperial examination and was appointed as an official, he had connections with Liuneiquan, but after the imperial examination, he was directly admitted to Tangchu.

In other words, he is an official directly under the Political Affairs Hall.

The officials directly under the Zhengshitang in the whole country are from the Qingjian and below, as well as those who have been promoted or given the salary of Zhongsan Dafu.

After a while, Zeng Kang, the censor of the Secretariat, held a book in his hands and placed it in front of Zhang Yue and Wang Gui. Only the prime minister could read it.

When Zhang Yue opened the hall book, in addition to the names of officials, there were also their birth years, seniority, a summary of their merits and demerits, and the main relatives, which were submitted monthly for reference.

In addition there is 'Tangque'.

Most of the Tangque are good and great positions, and there are also some particularly important and difficult positions, even as small as the appointment of a county magistrate.

This booklet was coveted by so many officials, but it was quietly placed in Zhang Yue's hands. Zhang Yue sighed in his heart, someone once said that if there is a word in the world that can fully describe the four great classics, it is the word "compilation".

This is a power that I never had when I participated in politics before, but now it is right in front of me.

Zhang Yue flipped through two pages, restrained his impulse, put the hall book aside, raised his teacup and said, "I've read it."

Wang Gui nodded and said to Zeng Kang, "Put it away first."

After Zeng Kang left with the hall book, Wang Gui said to Zhang Yue: "From now on, you and I will discuss the hall together."

Zhang Yue nodded. Wang Gui was afraid that he would be unhappy if he claimed to be "ill", so he took the initiative to show his goodwill to him. He took the initiative to hand over the hall books on the first day of his appointment as prime minister.

What is the power of the prime minister?

Xuan Ma's appointment as prime minister was just a formality, but this small hall book was the real thing.

Zhang Yue smiled and said, "Thank you, Prime Minister Wang."

(End of this chapter)