In the afternoon, Yang Fan returned to the Liang household.
Wu Sansi of the Liang household had not done anything to help Yang Fan, but he felt extremely good about himself, and had always regarded himself as Yang Fan's benefactor.
Although he had never taken the initiative to provide any help to Yang Fan, objectively speaking, he had indeed played the role of covering for Yang Fan. He and his five dogs had always regarded Yang Fan as one of their own. Because of this, Empress Wu Zetian mistakenly thought that although Yang Fan did not get along with Wu Chengsi, he had an extremely close relationship with Wu Sansi.
There were three main reasons why Wu Zetian had considered making Yang Fan the Heavenly Official Doctor. First, Yang Fan had a friendly relationship with the barbarians of the southern border, and the people he selected would not be opposed by the local tribal leaders. Second, Yang Fan was hostile to the aristocratic families, and was the representative of the Han race. Third, he had the brand of the Wu faction on him.
This was also the main reason why Yang Fan had always maintained contact with Wu Sansi. As long as Wu Zetian was still in power, he would not easily abandon this layer of protection.
Wu Sansi did not treat Yang Fan as an outsider. When he saw Yang Fan come to visit, he immediately led him into the small study. With a few words, he bypassed the necessary formalities, and excitedly threw him a small booklet.
Yang Fan opened it to take a look. On it were lines of small words. He did not know who wrote them, but they were written neatly and beautifully in small regular script. Looking closely, he saw that it was a person's name, and behind it was their background, qualifications, and career history. The various details were not inferior to the official files of the Ministry of Appointments.
Yang Fan fiddled with the booklet, and asked curiously, "Your Highness, this is …"
Wu Sansi looked at Yang Fan and pretended to be annoyed. "Erlang is a clever person, don't play dumb with me. Now that you have taken up the post and been honored as the Heavenly Official Doctor, do you still not understand my intentions by giving you this list?"
Yang Fan flipped through the booklet. There were more than thirty pages in total. Each page contained one person, which meant that there were at least thirty people. If these people were all placed in important positions, they could fill up more than half of the vacancies in the southern provinces.
The reason why there was only one person per page was naturally because Wu Sansi was considering this disciple of his. If he wanted to recommend people, he had to list a reason. This booklet recorded in detail the background, background, and achievements of these people. If the records were completely true, Yang Fan would not need any more information from the Ministry of Appointments, and could just directly copy the booklet.
Yang Fan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Are these people arranged by Your Highness to serve as pastors?"
Wu Sansi said in a loud voice, "Of course! These people are either officials waiting to be elected, or they are small officials with no work. If they are still small officials, why send them thousands of miles away from the capital? "
Yang Fan pondered and said, "If these people are all placed in important positions, I am afraid that all parties in the court will oppose it …"
Wu Sansi said in a carefree manner, "All parties in the court, what side?"
Wu Sansi suddenly stood up and said in a clear voice, "You do not need to care about the aristocratic families! You do not need to care about Li Tang's royal family either! This will certainly be in line with the Emperor's wishes. As for Wu Chengsi, hehe, don't worry, let me deal with him! "
Yang Fan asked in return, "What about Prime Minister Li? All the civil and military officials in the court respect the Political Affairs Hall. The Political Affairs Hall only follows Prime Minister Li's lead. Although Prime Minister Li is from the Dan Yang branch of the Longxi Li family and is from the same branch as Duke Wei Li Jing, he is a concubine's son and was mistreated when he was young. Therefore, his relationship with the Longxi branch and the aristocratic families is not good. Now that he has received His Majesty's recognition, he has transcended the aristocratic families and formed his own faction. This is the time when he urgently needs to expand his power. Will Prime Minister Li be indifferent to these empty positions? "
Wu Sansi frowned. Although he was arrogant, he was still somewhat wary of Li Zhaode who was even more arrogant than him.
Yang Fan said again, "Moreover, although the aristocratic families are an independent force, their power is invisible and untraceable. They are integrated into the court and share weal and woe with the country. They are both a hindrance and a help. To completely separate them is as difficult as ascending to the heavens! It is easy to distinguish those who belong to the aristocratic families on the surface, but how to distinguish those who belong to the aristocratic families in secret? "
Wu Sansi's frown deepened.
Yang Fan's tone became even more sincere, "This lowly official is under King Liang's tutelage. I wish that all the vacancies in the Southern Border will belong to Your Highness and help Your Highness achieve great things. But has Your Highness ever thought that if we monopolize this benefit, the aristocratic families, Minister Li, King Wei, and Second Zhang who is currently favored by the Emperor will not let it go easily. At that time, won't Your Highness make enemies of the entire court? "
Wu Sansi's large eyes swayed a few times. He stared at Yang Fan and said, "Then in your opinion, what should we do?"
Yang Fan said respectfully, "As a tutelage, I will naturally do my best to fight for a few good positions for Your Highness. But this benefit, we cannot monopolize it all. We must give some positions to others so that they will not be satisfied. But because of the benefits they have already obtained, they will not be able to harden their hearts and go against Your Highness!"
Wu Sansi thought for a moment and his anger turned to joy. He said, "Erlang's words can be considered an honest and prudent opinion. Since that is the case, I will listen to you. You can arrange it carefully. If there are any difficulties, feel free to tell me. I will support you!"
"Many thanks, Your Highness!"
Yang Fan stood up and bowed deeply to Wu Sansi. He put the register into his sleeve and said without batting an eyelid, "Then I will take my leave!"
Wu Sansi said, "Hey! What's the rush? In a while, set up a banquet and have a few drinks with me! "
Yang Fan laughed and said, "I've just returned to the capital, and I have a lot of work to do. The Ministry of Justice hasn't been handed over, and the Ministry of Appointments hasn't taken office yet. I'm itching to be torn into two, so I really don't have the time to drink. Wait until I have settled this matter, then I will enjoy it with Your Highness! "
Wu Sansi laughed and said, "That's fine. Go and do what you need to do. Remember, I will make all the decisions for you. Just be decisive and do not worry! "
"Yes!"
…
When Yang Fan returned to the residence, he immediately called for the second steward. He took out the roll of register from his sleeve and handed it to him, saying, "Take it and quickly make a copy!"
The second steward did not say much and bowed in response. He took the register and left.
Yang Fan's residence originally only had one old steward and did not have many servants. However, in the past few days, there have been many gardeners, gardeners, coachmen, cooks, doorkeepers, and even the number of maids and servants in the backyard has increased.
The Yang family had more than ten shops in the southern city. They made a lot of money every day and could afford to keep so many people. However, Yang Fan and his wife did not like to be ostentatious, so they did not increase the number of servants. Now that Yang Fan had been promoted again and held an important position in the court at such a young age, it was normal for the family to increase the number of servants.
However, although these people had a normal background and were registered in the broker house and the government office, anyone who investigated could only prove that they were slaves who sold themselves. However, Yang Fan and his wife were very clear about their real identity. These people were sent by the 'Succession Hall' to protect the Sovereign's family.
These people were all under the second steward's responsibility. The second steward's surname was Lu, and his name was Lu Renyi. He was mainly in charge of the accounting department. The accounting department had originally been personally managed by Xiaoman. Ever since she had given birth to her son, she had devoted all of her attention to raising him. Now that Steward Lu, who was skilled at managing finances, was here, she had some time to spare.
The name list that Wu Sansi had handed to Yang Fan clearly contained the main forces of King Liang's faction. Of course, King Liang's subordinates who already held important positions in the capital were definitely not on this list. However, there was no way these lowly officials could be in direct contact with King Liang. If he could figure out these people's identities and follow the clues, he would be able to get a clear picture of the main forces of King Liang's faction. Yang Fan naturally attached great importance to this name list.
Right now, Yang Fan only wanted to figure out King Liang's faction in case he needed it. Before Wu Chengsi and Er Zhang's strength was exposed and severely weakened, Yang Fan wouldn't make a move against Wu Sansi's faction. As long as those people didn't fall, Wu Sansi would still be of great use.
In Yang Fan's plan, even Li Zhaode was a target. This was a request that Grandpa Li had personally made, so he had no choice but to agree. Moreover, based on his own understanding of the situation, he also felt that he should consider Li Zhaode as an opponent.
When Di Renjie, Ren Zhigu, and the others were prime ministers, Li Zhaode was only a lowly person in the Political Affairs Hall, and his words carried little weight. He had the least seniority among them. These prime ministers had fallen one after another in the struggle against Zhou Xing, Lai Junchen, and the other ruthless officials. Zhou Xing and Lai Junchen had also fallen from power, and the outstanding figures of both factions had been swept clean. This power vacuum had been smoothly filled by Li Zhaode.
Li Zhaode was now second only to the emperor, and his mentality had also changed. Back then, he could have put in a few words for Di Renjie, Ren Zhigu, and the others, and kept them in the capital. However, because he was unwilling to relinquish the power in his hands, he cleverly advised the emperor to make the decision to demote these prime ministers to county magistrates and expel them from the capital.
Now, he was highly regarded by the empress, and his desire to oppose the empress was growing weaker. Perhaps he still favored Li Tang, but this desire couldn't surpass his desire for fame and fortune.
If one said that his insistence on making Li Tang's heir crown prince was due to his loyalty to the Li Clan as an old subject of Li Tang's, one might as well say that it was because he coveted the merit of ascending to the throne, so that he could continue to wield power in the court. Whether it was Wu Chengsi or Wu Sansi, putting aside their old grudges with Li Zhaode, even if Li Zhaode was willing to submit to them, given their domineering and domineering personalities, once they became emperor, they would never listen to Li Zhaode's every word.
Li Zhaode had already changed from a supporter of the Li Clan to a supporter of the emperor. As long as Wu Zetian did not die, he would do his utmost to support her. As for the future, as long as he remained in power and supported the Li Clan in the future, Li Xian and Li Dan, given their cowardly personalities, would only be puppets in his hands.
This was the primary reason why Yang Fan had decided to deal with him. The other reason was that although Li Zhaode was from the Longxi Li Clan, he was now too powerful and was no longer under the control of his clan. Not only did he not care for his own clan, he often acted as an enemy. This was why Grand Duke Li had decided to deal with him.
In the court, because of Li Zhaode's acerbic and unkind conduct, he had already offended too many people. Yang Fan knew that even if he did not deal with Li Zhaode, the resentment and resentment that had accumulated in the hearts of the civil and military officials had already reached the point where they would explode. At that time, Li Zhaode would still fall.
Li Zhaode's possessiveness was too strong. The aristocratic families, the Zhang Clan, the Wu Clan, and everyone else were not allowed to share his power. He firmly controlled the power in his own hands, and even the other Prime Ministers had become his lackeys. This was a road to death. However, it just so happened that he did not know how to win over those independent officials who did not belong to the above forces. He only humiliated and urged them to do so. He only exerted his authority but did not know how to show kindness. Now, this number one person below the Emperor had enemies all over the capital, but he was still unaware of it.
If he wanted to fall, all he needed now was a straw!
…
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