All of the officials looked at Fang Yun, their gazes uncertain.
They all had the same thought. Fang Yun's true goal was definitely not to revert to the ways of etiquette.
Similarly, Fang Yun's true goal was not to get rid of Kang Ha-chuan and Li Wenying.
The officials who supported Fang Yun were still guessing Fang Yun's true intentions, but the officials who opposed or were neutral had already come to a conclusion.
If Fang Yun wanted to expand his power, he naturally had to find an effective way to remove some officials. Now it seemed that etiquette would be Fang Yun's main method of eliminating dissidents.
However, before Fang Yun officially made a move, no one could object.
After all, Jingguo had the Hall of Rites, and the human race had the Confucian school. As long as Fang Yun did things strictly according to the Confucian school's standards, it would be difficult for others to retaliate.
Moreover …
Many officials looked at the Hall of Rites scholar behind Fang Yun.
No one knew how much support the Hall of Rites gave to Fang Yun. Even the Left Prime Minister did not receive such explicit support from any of the Notre-Dame.
Fang Yun scanned the officials and said, "After the war with the barbarians, Jingguo has many things to do. The fruits of our victory cannot be stolen. In order to stabilize Jingguo, in order to make Jingguo more stable and prosperous, and in order to deal with the coming invasion of the demon world, I call for the officials of Jingguo to start with themselves. Every day, they will begin to revert to the ways of etiquette. When every official is able to abide by etiquette, we will proceed to the second step, which is to promote etiquette to the people. "
The officials immediately began to think about the new phrase, "a day of etiquette."
Fang Yun looked at the Imperial Censor of the Overwatch Council and asked, "Master He, the Overwatch Council monitors my words and actions. If an official violates etiquette, will the Imperial Censors participate?"
The Imperial Censor of the Overwatch Council, He Mingxiang, said seriously, "The human race values etiquette. If an official violates etiquette, the Overwatch Council will participate."
He Mingxiang only talked about etiquette, not etiquette.
Fang Yun nodded, not minding He Mingxiang's word games. He looked at Right Prime Minister Cao Dean and Assistant Prime Minister Yang Xuwen and said, "Master Cao, Master Yang, I would like to order the Overwatch Council to report officials who have violated etiquette in the near future and include them in the evaluation. Do you two elders object?"
Cao Dean immediately said, "Respect is the most important thing for a scholar. This official agrees."
Fang Yun stared at Yang Xuwen.
Fang Yun was not in charge of the Overwatch Council. If he forcefully issued an order, the Overwatch Council could feign compliance and even have the right to resist. However, if the Cabinet reached a consensus and drew up an imperial edict with a jade seal, if the Overwatch Council dared not act, Fang Yun would have an excuse to take down the Overwatch Council's imperial censor.
After all, Jingguo was still ruled by the Imperial Cabinet and the Emperor in name. Opposing the Imperial Cabinet's decision was equivalent to opposing the entire Jingguo.
Yang Xuwen was silent for a few breaths and said, "Old Man will not oppose this. However, does this matter still need to be discussed?"
Fang Yun nodded and said, "Since Master Yang does not oppose this matter, then the Cabinet has reached a consensus. As for the details that Master Yang is worried about, the Cabinet can discuss it later. I will still have to trouble Master Yang. "
Yang Xuwen froze and frowned slightly, but did not say anything.
Some of the officials who supported the royal family secretly thought that things were bad. Fang Yun was too treacherous. He knew that Yang Xuwen would not stand out to oppose at this time, so he asked Yang Xuwen if he opposed, not if he agreed. This allowed Fang Yun to take the initiative and unify the Cabinet's will.
After all, Fang Yun was not the Left Prime Minister. He was a great scholar of the four realms, Xusheng. The key was that Jingguo had done a great service for the human race. Yang Xuwen was a man who cherished his reputation. At least for now, he would not risk offending so many people and powers to oppose Fang Yun on such a small matter. Furthermore, Fang Yun had left him some face. He would not be excluded from this matter. In the future, he would have the right to participate.
Fang Yun looked at the curtain and said, "The Cabinet has reached a consensus. Today, we can draft the edict. Master, please give your instructions."
Behind the curtain, Jing Jun did not immediately reply.
However, the officials already understood that the Empress Dowager would not oppose because Fang Yun had the reputation of righteousness. Once the Empress Dowager opposed, it would be tantamount to rejecting the entire Cabinet. After that, Fang Yun and Cao Dean would definitely join forces and use the Cabinet's methods to oppose the royal family. But Yang Xuwen had already agreed, so he could not oppose Fang Yun and Cao Dean.
The officials even suspected that Fang Yun must have an extremely high-ranking official behind him giving him advice. Otherwise, no matter how talented Fang Yun was, he could not have grasped the methods of the Imperial Court so quickly.
After all, the Cabinet's methods of struggle were completely different from that of a county magistrate.
Many people looked at the Right Prime Minister, Cao Dean, suspecting that he had become Fang Yun's shadow aide. They sighed inwardly. This meant that Cao Dean had abandoned his independence as the Right Prime Minister and was completely leaning towards Fang Yun.
This also meant that even now, Fang Yun's power was close to Mount Liu's peak. He was only one step away from turning some of the yamen's supervisors into his people.
What they did not know was that Fang Yun had long ago deeply understood the meaning of collective will and the meaning of the big picture. After becoming the Left Prime Minister, he naturally used this method. It had nothing to do with Cao Dean.
After several hundred breaths, Jing Jun's voice came from behind the curtain.
"This matter cannot be done overnight. Wait for the Cabinet to draft the edict, then we can make a decision."
The officials were relieved. It seemed that the Empress Dowager was also well versed in the art of struggle. She knew that she could not directly refuse Fang Yun. So, she delayed for a while. If there was a chance for a turn for the better, if not, she could only agree. This was far better than agreeing on the spot.
Jing Jun's decision later represented the Empress Dowager and the royal family to convey to Fang Yun that the royal family was not weak and could be bullied.
Fang Yun nodded. "Then this humble official will order the Cabinet to draft the edict. We will wait for news tomorrow."
Some of the officials frowned. Fang Yun's words seemed ordinary, but in reality, he was issuing a deadline warning. It was a bit overbearing. Afterwards, they were relieved. This meant that Fang Yun's methods would not be as sinister as Mount Liu's. Many things would be put on the table.
Sheng Boyuan, the Minister of Appointments, huffed coldly. "Minister Fang, you became famous at a young age. You are full of vigor. When you speak, you should consider the entire court."
"I understand," Fang Yun said.
A few of the Imperial Censors hesitated for a while. In the end, they did not report Fang Yun. After all, Fang Yun did not directly order the Empress Dowager and the Emperor to give the result tomorrow.
After the court was dismissed, the officials returned to their respective offices.
The Left Prime Minister's Pavilion's library was busy. They began to draft two edicts. One would require a ceremony every day. The other would order the Overwatch Council to report the misconduct of officials and include them in the evaluation.
As for the main hall of the Overwatch Council, there was a heated discussion.
The Overwatch Council was formed by the Imperial Censorate. The first official in charge was the Head Imperial Censor, followed by the Left Imperial Censor, the Right Imperial Censor, the Left Deputy Imperial Censor, the Right Deputy Imperial Censor, and then the various Imperial Censors.
When Jingguo was founded, each province had two Imperial Censors. The capital had one. Later, each of the Six Ministries had one. The rest of the yamen had one.
At present, there were 11 Imperial Censors in Mishou, Jiangzhou, Xiangzhou, Yanzhou, Dongyun, and the capital. Including the seven Imperial Censors, there were 18 Imperial Censors in the Overwatch Council.
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