The Prime Minister was responsible for assisting the Emperor, keeping the people in peace, keeping the officials away from him, and being courteous to his colleagues. Even when Wu Zetian was acting on her own, even though her orders were absolute and her words were absolute, she had actually considered it over and over again before making the decision.
The candidate Prime Minister's ability, moral character, reputation, seniority, track record since he became an official, loyalty to the sovereign, and relationship with his colleagues, all of these had to be repeatedly weighed and compared. When it came to Princess Taiping, these issues had to be considered even more.
This was especially so even though Li Dan had absolute trust in her and had boldly delegated power to her, she was not the Empress, and she was not as mighty as Wu Zetian in the past. She also had to consider whether the choices she made would be acceptable to the masses. If the masses opposed her, it would be a heavy blow to her rising popularity.
Therefore, Princess Taiping patiently listened to the two ministers for a long time. She solemnly wrote the names of the six candidates on a piece of paper. Then she said, "Very well, I have an idea. Put the resumes of the Prime Minister candidates here. I will consider them carefully tonight. Come early tomorrow and we will choose the Prime Minister as soon as possible. "
It was already dusk. Guo Yuanzhen and Princess Taiping had to leave immediately. Otherwise, they would be in time for the curfew. The new dynasty had just begun and the curfew was much stricter than before. Even though they were important officials, it would be a big problem.
The two bowed to Taiping and left. Taiping walked them to the entrance of Yin An Hall and returned to the hall. She ordered people to light candles and looked at the list of six people. She thought about it over and over again and finally decided on Xuzhou Provincial Governor Yao Chong and Luo Provincial Governor Song Jing.
These two men, in terms of seniority, reputation, ability and moral character, were the best of the best. It was just that these two men did not interact much with Taiping and could not be considered as members of Taiping's faction. This made Taiping somewhat hesitant.
Now, Princess Taiping not only had the Emperor's trust and support, but also had the absolute majority of supporters in the Political Affairs Hall. Therefore, her political views could be unimpeded.
She was worried that these two people would change the situation in the Political Affairs Hall. Once these Prime Ministers did not agree with her, it would affect her control of the political power.
These days, although she had been working hard on the affairs of the country day and night, she felt unusually satisfied. It was a fascinating feeling to be able to decide all the important matters of the world with a single word. She did not want to lose everything she had now.
Yao Chong, Song Jing …
After thinking for a long time, Taiping said to himself, "If I don't agree, they won't be able to become prime ministers. How can they not be grateful to me? At that time, if I try to win them over, I might be able to get them to join my sect … "
Princess Taiping was still very confident. Under the situation where there were no other talents to choose from, she could only set her target on these two people. She then found a reason to convince herself.
Princess Taiping had already made up her mind. She raised her head and saw Mister Mo sitting in the corner of the hall, reading through the documents of the candidates for prime minister. She could not help but smile and said, "It's getting late. Mister should take a rest."
Mo Yuhan raised her head and patted her waist. "Tomorrow, Prime Minister Guo will come to inquire about the final candidate. It's best if we can confirm it tonight."
Taiping raised his eyebrows and asked, "Oh, did Mr. Mo get anything?"
Mo Yuhan said, "I've thought about it repeatedly, and I feel that the most suitable candidates are Yao Chong and Song Jing. I wonder what Your Highness thinks?"
Hearing this, Taiping smiled happily and said, "Haha, the biggest role of the prime minister is to choose talents to assist the Emperor. In my opinion, Mister Mo has a pair of sharp eyes and is the real talent for prime minister. "
Mo Yuhan laughed and cupped her hands. "Princess is overpraising me. How can an ordinary person reach the height of the Heaven stage? I'm just a commoner. If I want to become prime minister, I'll have to wait until Your Highness becomes the Emperor. "
Taiping smiled and put this matter aside. She only said, "I'm also interested in these two people. It's a pity that I'm not familiar with them. If I had other suitable candidates, I would definitely not use them.
Alas! But it's hard to find a prime minister. Although His Majesty trusts me, the prime minister I choose must be able to convince the public. After thinking about it, I can only choose them. Now, I can only wait for them to arrive at the capital and then show them grace and let them join my sect. "
Mo Yuhan said, "Your Highness is right. However, I have another candidate here. If I worship him alone, I'm afraid it'll attract the attention of the public. If I recommend him together with Yao and Song Jing to the Emperor, it'll be easy to pass."
Taiping asked curiously, "Oh? Who is it that has the qualifications to be prime minister that I didn't think of? "
Mo Yuhan said, "Cui Shi, Cui Chenglan!"
Taiping asked in surprise, "Cui Shi?"
Mo Yuhan said, "That's right. Princess, this Cui Shi has sent people to visit more than once, intending to enter Princess's tutelage."
Princess Taiping frowned in disgust. She said, "This person is greedy and has a bad character. In the past, he was originally under my tutelage. Seeing Wu Sansi's power in the court, he sided with Wu Sansi. After Wu Sansi died, Empress Wei took over the reins and he sided with Empress Wei. He's really a slave of three families. How can he be used? "
Mo Yuhan smiled. "When the water is too clear, there are no fish. When one is too observant, there are no disciples. It's human nature to seek fortune and avoid calamity. Why does Princess take it to heart? This person was once prime minister. If Princess agrees to restore him to prime minister, His Majesty will most likely agree.
Once this person is restored, he can only rely on Princess. Most importantly, this person is a descendant of the main branch of the Cui family. The Cui family is the top aristocratic family in Shandong. If Princess wants to rule the world, won't it be easier if you have the support of Shandong's aristocratic family? "
Princess Taiping was enlightened. After thinking for a while, she said, "In that case, this person must be used."
Mo Yuhan twirled his beard and smiled. The crimson light reflected in his eyes like a smear of dark red blood.
…
None of his close friends knew about Yang Fan's departure. He purposely hid the news. The only person who knew was Shen Mu.
After the Chang 'an incident, the government hall was empty. The Emperor urgently transferred Guo Yuanzhen back to the capital. The Hidden Sect's roots were in the west region. Guo Yuanzhen was the most important governor that the Hidden Sect befriended in the west region. Once Guo Yuanzhen left, Shen Mu dared not delay and had to rush to the west region to contact the new governor. Therefore, he was not in the capital. Therefore, Yang Fan's departure was even easier.
Ah Nu had followed Young Master Lu everywhere since young and had been to many places. Although Japan was an overseas country, she had never been there. However, in this era, China was the center of the world. The Barbarian Wilderness was not very attractive. Therefore, she took this journey calmly.
The ones who were really happy were Shanghai Wan 'er and Yang Nianzu. Yang Nianzu was so excited last night that he did not sleep. Now that he was about to set off, he could not help but doze off. He could only sit in the carriage and force his eyes open.
As Shanghai Wan 'er was a woman, she brought more luggage. She even brought a national medicine master who was proficient in gynecology. It seemed that Shanghai Wan 'er planned to have another child when she traveled east with her husband. However, she had passed the optimal age for childbearing. For safety reasons, she had to be well-prepared.
After bidding farewell to his family, Yang Fan led the carriages to Vermilion Bird Avenue. He told Wan 'er and Ah Nu, "You two go out of the south gate first and go to Mount Ba. Wait for me there."
Wan 'er knew where Yang Fan was going. She nodded and agreed. The carriages continued forward while Yang Fan rode to Princess Taiping's residence.
In the Yinan Palace, Princess Taiping's face was gloomy. The three prime ministers, Guo Yuanzhen, Dou Huaizhen and Cen Xi, kept quiet out of fear.
Princess Taiping said angrily, "What is there to discuss about this? The Crown Prince of the country should have a legitimate eldest son! Chengqi is the eldest son of the first wife. Longji is the third son of a concubine. How can he be the Crown Prince? "
Guo Yuanzhen bowed and said, "Princess, originally, there was no objection to having the eldest son as the heir apparent. Moreover, King Song, Chengqi, was appointed as the crown prince twenty-six years ago. When the Heavenly Empress ascended to the throne, Your Majesty was demoted to the position of heir apparent and Chengqi was still the crown grandson.
Now that His Majesty has ascended the throne, it is reasonable to have Chengqi as the Crown Prince. However, King Ping Longji has made great contributions to the country. If King Ping did not kill Wei Dang, I don't know what the world would be like. Therefore, His Majesty is quite hesitant. "
"Outrageous!" Princess Taiping flicked her sleeve and said unhappily, "His Majesty is confused! Can a prince go against the ancestral law just because he has made great contributions to the country? If there are no rules, it will be the source of disaster! What do Chengqi and Longji have to say? "
Dou Huaizhen hurriedly said, "The two princes are still unaware of this. His Majesty wants us to discuss this with Your Highness first. However, after the court officials have discussed this matter, I believe the two princes will soon hear about it. "
Princess Taiping glanced at him and asked, "So what are the opinions of the court officials?"
Dou Huaizhen bowed and said, "The court officials also have different opinions. Most of them think that King Song Chengqi should be the Crown Prince. However, there are also many court officials who support King Ping Longji as the Crown Prince, and most of them are military generals."
This result was within Princess Taiping's expectations. Li Longji was originally not qualified to be the Crown Prince. However, Li Longji was the one who killed Wei Dang. As a result, many military generals were promoted. These military generals did not care about the ancestral law. They only admired leaders who were willing to live and die with them, so they naturally supported Li Longji.
As for the civil and military officials, they still respected the ancestral law. Even though many of the important officials were promoted because Li Longji killed the important officials of the Wei Dang Faction, when it came to the matter of the Crown Prince, they still chose to choose the Crown Prince.
Hearing that most of the civil and military officials supported Li Chengqi, Princess Taiping felt a little more at ease. However, her Imperial Brother was actually wavering on who should be the Crown Prince. This made Princess Taiping very wary.
Li Longji was bold and capable. He was not an easy person to deal with. Compared to Li Longji, Li Chengqi's personality was more like the Prince of Xiang. Choosing him as the Crown Prince was beneficial to the long-term plan of peace.
The matter of choosing the Crown Prince could not be delayed. Even if it was only a bud, it had to be nipped in the bud! Thinking of this, Princess Taiping raised her eyebrows and said in a deep voice, "You all go back first. I will go see the Son of Heaven immediately."
The three Prime Ministers acknowledged and withdrew. On the side, Chief Historian Jiang Tianyan hurriedly reported, "Your Highness, there are still many officials waiting to receive you outside the residence. In addition, there are several important official matters that need to be resolved today …"
Princess Taiping angrily said, "What matter is more important than choosing the Crown Prince? We'll talk about it when I return. "
Princess Taiping rolled up her sleeve and stood up to leave. Chief Historian Jiang hurriedly reminded her, "Yesterday, Your Highness said that the Grand General Who Supports the State will come to pay a visit today."
Princess Taiping's footsteps paused. After a moment of thought, she said, "When the Grand General arrives, tell him that I am busy with official business and have no time to receive him today. Tell him to return first. Once I have finished my business, I will send someone to arrange a time with him."
Chief Historian Jiang bowed in acknowledgment. Princess Taiping hurriedly rushed to the Imperial Palace.
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