Huan Wen carefully held the jug of wine and glared at him. He then sighed softly, "Among the three provinces and six ministries, the imperial court has always intended to not have a chief official in the Hall of Secretaries. Although I, Huan Wen, have replaced Sun Xiji's position as the Left Servant of the Menxia Province, the Menxia Province has never been able to achieve anything. Logically speaking, it should have been the echo of the Hall of Secretaries. But now the Hall of Secretaries is in a stalemate with the Hanlin Academy. They can't make any noise and the Menxia Province has become a pitiful worm. However, the six ministries are powerful and this is not a long-term solution. The pivot of the household is not damaged and the running water is not rotten. It is time to change some of the pillars of the imperial court. Sun Yin, This Old Man wants to test you. He has already given you a question. You will answer it. Tell me roughly about the direction of the imperial court and why it is like this. "
Sun Yin smiled, "Then let's start with two of the three imperial edicts. Lu Baijie has been promoted to Minister of War and Yuan Guo has been promoted to Minister of Rites. Now the Gu Lu has changed from General Gu Jiantang to the villain Tu Chen Zhibao and then to the Tangxi Sword Saint of the Lu family of Yangzhou. The people of the Gu Lu have gradually scattered and can no longer be as united as before. With Guangling Taoist Lu Shengxiang entering the Ministry of War, the Ministry of War is truly the Emperor's Ministry of War. The Gu Lu has only the form but not the spirit. Before the second master Chen Zhibao left his post, he suppressed the treasurer Huang 'E. The original backbone of the Gu Lu, Gu Jiantang, purposely turned a blind eye to it. He took the initiative to send a message to the imperial court that the surname of the Gu Lu is no longer Gu. The Emperor has the final say on what the surname of the Gu Lu should be. With the departure of the Gu Lu, only the Zhang Faction was left. It should have been a scene of a higher level, but the Grand Secretary did not do so. In fact, for the past ten years, the Grand Secretary had intended to cut off his own branches and leaves. He expelled Yuan Guo and Han Lin and deliberately distanced himself from the Hanlin Academy where he had made his fortune. He allowed the Crown Prince Yin Maochun to change factions. In the end, he let the two tigers, Zhao Youling of the Ministry of Appointments and Wang Xionggui of the Ministry of Revenue, fight. Zhang Lu made an unexpected choice and kept the relatively weak Minister of Revenue instead of Zhao Youling. It could be said that the Zhang Faction in the imperial court had been retreating step by step over the past few years. But it did not matter. As long as the Grand Secretary was in charge of Zhang Lu, no one dared to make trouble. The Grand Secretary had been dormant in the Hanlin Academy for more than ten years, and no one knew that he had made the first move. The layout in the Shangshu Province was the middle stage that many people could only see through the fog. The next stage was probably the end. The Minister of Rites did not let the Crown Prince Yin Maochun, who was widely expected to take over. Obviously, this was the first step in the final stage of the struggle for power between the Emperor and the Prime Minister. Both sides had a tacit understanding. In the next few years, Yin Maochun would end the situation of the Imperial Secretariat being a piece of sand without a leader. He would become the Grand Secretary in name and the second in power, sharing the limelight with the current Minister Zhang Julu. The Minister of Rites, Yuan Guo, would take over the Grand Secretary's position. He would not be the rightful next master of Zhang Lu, Wang Xionggui from the Ministry of Revenue. In addition, with Old Master Huan overseeing the Shangshu Province, he would be a peacemaker. The three provinces would be harmonious and would not consume too much of the national power for the struggle between the factions. As for Zhao Youling from the Ministry of Appointments, he would at most be given the title of Grand Secretary before his death. After his death, he would be given an extremely high ranking posthumous title. Although he would lose his position first, he would still be able to gain face. Generally speaking, it would be acceptable. Moreover, with his in-law, Yin Maochun, taking over the position first, Zhao Youling would also have to avoid arousing suspicion. "
Huan Wen nodded repeatedly and said with a smile, "Then after I, old man Huan, die, who would be in charge of the Shangshu Province? You, Sun Yin, should not have any extravagant hopes. Before I die, I will definitely send a secret memorial to His Majesty to not let you gain too much power. "
Sun Yin's expression was calm and tranquil. With a smile, he said, "It's not like Grand Secretary Zhang is the only one with the ability to play this game of chess. Since the Prime Minister Yin Maochun has already surfaced, there will naturally be another Prime Minister. Right now, he is acting as a hidden dragon in the abyss. However, as to who this person is and where he is located, I, Sun Yin, cannot guess. I will probably have to wait for quite a few years. However, this person will definitely not be the Grand Secretary or Left Servant She Daren's disciple. "
Huan Wen laughed aloud and said, "Kid, you're not bad. In the next twenty, thirty years, it will probably be like this. Later on, this Old Man will bring you to Green Eyes' residence. You can play a few games of chess with him. Green Eyes will most likely bear a grudge against you after you lose, so you will be able to play your part in the Shangshu Province even more peacefully. You won't have to be a lackey. "
Yao Baifeng's expression was displeased. He released a heavy cold snort.
Sun Yin hesitated for a moment. He then asked curiously, "Old man, why did you give Subarang Jin a punch?"
The corners of Huan Wen's lips curled. "Jin Lanting, that kid, being a parental official for the common people of Liyang shouldn't be bad. Being a subject of His Majesty is even more loyal. However, when it comes to being a person, he is a bit too dishonest. I gave him a punch for his own good, so that he won't become too complacent and think that just because Green Eyes and I are backing him up, he can put everyone in his eyes. That's right, Old Yao, this kid formed a clique in the Imperial College. I helped you vent your resentment and spread the word that I will return the money he was familiar with. Can you help me return the money? "
Yao Baifeng said with a cold laugh, "Do you think I will help you pay this money?"
Huan Wen shook the empty wine pot. With a helpless expression, he said, "No money, no wine, there is no way to continue living like this."
Sun Yin continued to ask, "I heard that the new King of Beiliang sent troops to the border of Youzhou and refused to accept the imperial edict?"
Huan Wen said with a smile, "He chose the lesser of two evils. In this way, the imperial court should know that the new King of Liang is not a pushover. In the future, if they want to control Beiliang, they will have to think twice. There won't be too many moves on the surface, such as bestowing posthumous titles. However, there will be more moves in the dark, such as transporting grain from the south into Liangliang. Speaking of which, when discussing posthumous titles during the Jellyfish Awakening Season, Yan Jiexi only counted as half of the people who spoke with a conscience. The other half was just putting on an act. Only you, Yao Baifeng, foolishly made a big mistake. In the future, the Imperial College will definitely be Jin Lanting's. That's good. I don't want you to have an official position anyway. If you want to study, you should go into seclusion. Studying is better than anything else. After Li Yang unified the Spring and Autumn Period, His Majesty has been very tolerant of the scholars of the world. There has never been a literary prison. I don't want it to happen to your Yao family. "
Yao Baifeng said with emotion, "Since he can tolerate the world, why can't he tolerate a dead person's posthumous title?"
Huan Wen rolled his eyes. "Yao Baifeng, oh Yao Baifeng, have you become stupid from studying? Is the ruler not human? Can't he have seven emotions and six desires? You should be content. Being able to have such a wise ruler is already the greatest fortune of a subject. "
Yao Baifeng sighed.
Huan Wen handed over the wine pot. "Old Yao, I beg you. Give me a good pot of wine. My stomach is full of old wine worms that are rebelling against me!"
Yao Baifeng could do nothing about it. He took the wine gourd and left the pavilion.
Huan Wen chuckled and said, "Sit down. The pedantic old scholar has finally left. You and I can say some rebellious words."
After Sun Yin sat down, he said softly, "Between the previous emperor and the current emperor, there is a King of Beiliang. Between His Majesty and the Crown Prince Zhao Zhuan, it is our Grand Secretary. The Great General is high and the Emperor is far away. He has three hundred thousand elite soldiers. With Beimang watching, the court does not dare to kill the Xu family. They can only wait for Xu Xiao to die and use his posthumous title to disgust people. But Grand Secretary Zhang …"
Huan Wen glanced at this young scholar and slowly asked, "You are so smart. Does Beiliang know?"
Sun Yin replied with a question, "I came to Great Peace City not for the emperor, but for the common people. Does Old Master Huan believe me?"
Huan Wen stared at Sun Yin and then said with a sigh, "There was once a scholar called Xun Ping who also had such ambitions. In the end, he died very miserably."
In the courtyard outside the pavilion, a group of spring orioles chirped, fighting over the warm branches of the trees under the warm sunlight.
Huan Wen suddenly said, "Beimang marched south, the King of Beiliang defended the northwest gate for the Central Plains, the court did not help, Hsu Fengnian died in battle at the border. If this is really the case, Huan Wen hopes that he was already dead at that time and could not see this scene. "
Sun Yin said calmly, "If there really is a day when the court celebrates, when I go to the grave to toast, I will definitely tell Old Master."
Huan Wen laughed and scolded, "You bastard!"
Sun Yin scolded back expressionlessly, "Old bastard!"
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