The Prime Minister and many court officials had already been convicted. Tomorrow would be the third day before the execution. It was time to issue an official edict to the world.
The case of rebellion had been settled, and the vacated positions of the officials involved needed to be rearranged. In reality, the Six Ministries and other yamens were easier to deal with, unless the vacated officials were ones that Wu Zetian found an eyesore. Then, as long as the officials moved up one rank, the transfer of power could be easily completed.
What truly troubled Wu Zetian was the selection of the Prime Minister. Three vacancies had suddenly appeared, and the Prime Minister was not someone who could be casually promoted. This person first had to be suitable for Wu Zetian's liking, and also had to be trustworthy. At the same time, he had to enjoy high prestige and status in the court. Once he became Prime Minister, he had to be able to control the situation. Otherwise, he would be like Fu Youyi. Once someone like that was transferred to the central government, he would only be a decoration.
Wu Zetian seriously pondered for several days but still could not make a decision. She could only put the matter aside and think about it later. However, no matter who was promoted to become Prime Minister, Li Zhaode was clearly the most senior. Wu Zetian added him to the position of Internal Censor and promoted him to the number one Prime Minister.
In Wu Zetian's mind, other than the Prime Minister, the other important candidate was the Three Laws Department. She wanted to use this opportunity to make some adjustments to the Three Laws Department.
Wu Zetian was a wife who had usurped her husband's power, and a mother who had usurped her son's position. There were many people in the world who were dissatisfied with this. She had to be on guard against 'the conspiracies of the generals and ministers' and 'many people rebelled against the rule'. She had to be on guard. Moreover, she had become Empress as a woman. This was an unprecedented miracle and went against the will of the people. If she wanted to sit firmly in this position, she needed to be ten times more powerful than a male Emperor to intimidate the world.
She lived deep in the palace. To intimidate the officials and monitor the world, she needed eyes and ears.
Her eyes and ears were the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court was originally only responsible for reviewing serious cases. The power of sentencing was in the Ministry of Justice. After she came to power, she increased the power of the Imperial Censorate and turned it into a second Ministry of Justice. Therefore, among the three departments of justice, the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court were especially important. They were her eyes that monitored the officials and her ears that listened to the thoughts of the officials.
Now, only half of her eyes and ears remained.
She didn't like the way she used the Ministry of Justice. At the very least, it gave her a feeling that it wasn't very effective.
Zhang Chujin was the former Minister of Justice, but Zhou Xing wanted this position. Between Zhang Chujin and Zhou Xing, she chose Zhou Xing. Who would have thought that Zhou Xing would become so arrogant after his success that he actually participated in the fight for the position of crown prince and colluded with Wu Chengsi. She decisively eliminated him. But this time, the Ministry of Justice lacked a successor.
The current assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice was Cui Yuanzong, and the position of minister was vacant.
Cui Yuanzong was born in the Zhengzhou Cui Clan, a branch of the Qinghe Cui Clan. Although his family was not so close to the Cui family in Qinghe, Wu Zetian still had some fear. No matter if it was the nobles in Shandong or Guanlong, they had always opposed her becoming the Empress and even the Emperor.
However, the power of aristocratic families was deeply intertwined and not so easy to eradicate. There was no one available in the Ministry of Justice. Without Cui Yuanzong, it would be even more difficult to find a capable person to take charge of this important yamen.
The current Chief Justice was Xu Zeheng. This person was an old official from the time of Emperor Gaozong. He was a strict official and was not an official who passionately supported her as the Emperor, but he had never spoken against her. Moreover, the role of the Supreme Court was weaker than that of the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate, so she could temporarily ignore it.
Next was the Censorate.
Lai Junchen and Zhou Xing were the same. They were both ordinary men who had been promoted by her. These two had no connections to the aristocratic families, and had nothing to do with the complicated system of officials from the previous dynasty. They had worked hard. Although they did not study, they were skilled. They helped her take over the two important yamens, the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate, and helped her establish the most important pair of eyes and ears.
Zhou Xing had been arrogant and arrogant. Now that he had been executed, the only person she could rely on was Lai Junchen. Her most trusted eyes and ears were only left with the Censorate. This made her feel somewhat uneasy. She felt her control was weakening, as if there was an invisible hand slowly taking the court out of her control.
"With Lai Junchen in the Censorate, I can rest assured. However … if I want to rest easy, one of the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Justice must be absolutely under my control!"
Wu Zetian thought to herself, "With the frequent changes in personnel, it is not appropriate to make any moves for now. Moreover, I do not have a suitable candidate in my hands. This matter can be put aside for now. Once I find someone who is loyal, reliable, and capable enough to help me control the vital points, I will then place him in the Ministry of Justice! "
As Wu Zetian thought of this, her brush paused slightly. She stopped at the position of Cui Yuanzong in the Ministry of Justice on the promotion list submitted by Li Zhaode. She wrote a line of small words, "No! The position of Minister of Justice can be temporarily vacant! "
She decided that the position of Minister of Justice would be temporarily vacant. Cui Yuanzong would still be acting as the Minister of Justice. Once she found a suitable candidate, she would promote Cui Yuanzong to Minister of Justice and appoint someone she trusted as an Assistant Minister. It would be like the combination of Zhang Chujin and Zhou Xing. This would strengthen her control over the Ministry of Justice.
Wu Zetian closed the memorials Li Zhaode had submitted to the various ministries. She said to Wan'er, "That's it. Immediately send someone to deliver this to Minister Li. Tomorrow, when the edict is issued, all the new officials will immediately take up their posts. The affairs of the state cannot be delayed! " After she finished speaking, she stretched and said, "I am a little tired. Accompany me to the Hall of Flying Fragrance to relax!"
"Yes!"
Shanghai Wan'er took the memorials with both hands and beckoned Xiao Hai over. She gave him a few instructions in a low voice and gave him a look. Xiao Hai understood and immediately took the memorials and quietly left Wu Cheng Hall. Xiao Hai held the urgent document the Emperor had approved. As soon as he walked out of the main hall, a small eunuch who was patrolling in the courtyard came up to greet him. He said, "How are you, Eunuch Hai?"
Xiao Hai nodded arrogantly at him. When he came closer, he lowered his voice and said, "Everyone has finished taking care of government affairs. They are now heading to the Hall of Flying Fragrance."
The eunuch did not say anything else. He only nodded and turned to the east. Xiao Hai looked at his back and then turned to the Hall of Governmental Affairs. Shanghai Wan'er accompanied Wu Zetian to the Hall of Flying Fragrance. Wei Tuan'er, who had already been notified, had already spread out a bamboo mat in the hall. She put a basin of ice on it and used it to chill Wu Zetian's favorite fermented rice. She waited for her arrival.
When Wu Zetian arrived at the Hall of Flying Fragrance, Wei Tuan 'er helped her to take off her court attire and put on a light robe. She walked barefooted to the mat and sat down to drink a cup of cold fermented rice. Then she lay down with "Lady Zhu" as her pillow. She listened to Tuan' er and Wan 'er talking beside her. When she heard something interesting, she would laugh and chime in. Beside her, there was a feather fan waving gently. The cool breeze blew gently and she gradually recovered.
At this time, a palace maid came in and said, "Everyone, Princess Taiping requests an audience!"
Wu Zetian recovered and was in a good mood. She smiled and said, "Ling Yue is here. Call her in!"
After a while, Princess Taiping, who was still dressed as a man, walked in with big strides.
Wu Zetian saw her angry look and couldn't help but laugh. She said, "Oh! What's going on? Who dares to bully my precious daughter? Did he have some unpleasant quarrel with the son-in-law? "
Princess Taiping snorted heavily and said, "Him? He dares! Give him some guts! "
After that, Princess Taiping sat down on the mat, still looking angry. Wu Zetian sat up. Tuan'er quickly put a pillow under her waist. Wu Zetian smiled and said, "Good girl, what are you unhappy about?"
"Daughter …"
Princess Taiping wanted to say something but stopped. Wu Zetian smiled knowingly. She said, "You little girl, you always have a big mouth. Why are you hesitating today?"
Wu Zetian waved her hand and said with a smile, "All right, all of you can leave. I want to talk to Ling Yue."
Shanghai Wan'er and Wei Tuan'er left. The palace maids and eunuchs also left slowly. Wu Zetian held Princess Taiping's hand and put it in her palm. She gently stroked it and said, "Good girl, what is the matter? You don't have to be afraid to talk to your own mother, right?"
Princess Taiping said, "Isn't it because of Lai Junchen? Other people can't interfere in this matter. I can only ask mother for justice. "
Wu Zetian was startled. She said, "Lai Junchen? What did Lai Junchen do to make me unhappy? "
Princess Taiping said, "Lai Junchen is extremely daring. He actually sealed up his daughter's shop. That was an industry that she had spent all of her savings to purchase. Originally, she was thinking of compounding interest and profit to earn some money for her family. Who knew … not only did he want to confiscate his daughter's shop, he even captured the person who was managing the shop for his daughter."
Wu Zetian was taken aback and cried out involuntarily, "No way? Lai Junchen is so daring? Does he know that it is your shop? And on what basis did he confiscate it? "
Princess Taiping sneered. "Rebellion! Of course it is rebellion! Ah Niang, think about it, for so many years, as long as they offended Lai Junchen, which one of them did not commit treason? "
Wu Zetian was startled. Her expression gradually became serious.
She had now roughly guessed her daughter's intention. It seemed that she wanted to plead for mercy on behalf of someone else.
Wu Zetian had always opposed the imperial children interfering in government affairs. With their special identity, once they got involved in politics, it would undoubtedly cause more turbulence. More factions would be formed, resulting in endless political disputes. If this was a sign that her daughter intended to intervene in politics and cultivate her trusted followers, she must nip it in the bud.
Wu Zetian said seriously, "Where did my daughter's shop get confiscated by Lai Junchen? Who was the person who was taken away by him? "
Princess Taiping didn't seem to notice the dangerous glint in Wu Zetian's eyes. She angrily said, "My daughter's shop is in the South City. There are 16 shops in total. I spent a lot of effort to buy them. Now the one who takes care of the shop for me is Yang Fan, the Left Officer of the Yulin Academy! "
"Yang Fan?"
Wu Zetian's eyes suddenly became deeper.
…
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