The direction of the imperial court has always been changing.

For the ministers of the DPRK and the Central Committee, how to grasp this direction is a very, very important personal cultivation, and it can also be said to be a very, very important personal ability.

With this ability, it is possible to be invincible in officialdom and to cope with the changing situation more easily and quickly.

Ministers who can blend in with the top level basically have this ability. For example, the four scholars in the cabinet have a good idea in their hearts.

This time, when the General Staff Office was established, the four scholars in the cabinet knew what His Majesty was going to do, and with the constant wind direction during this time, they were even more determined that His Majesty was going to sort out the nobles and relatives.

Cabinet duty room.

Han Yi and the four of them sat and drank tea and ate snacks and chatted, and things were inseparable from the yamen of the Staff Office.

Han Yi spoke more directly, so he directly addressed Sun Chengzong.

"I don't know what Elder Sun Ge thinks about the matter of the chief of staff?" Han Yi asked with a smile.

As soon as this topic came out, the room fell silent, and several people all turned their heads to look at Sun Chengzong.

Huang Kezhang also said in a timely manner: "Yuan Keli and Lord Yuan are a more suitable candidate. If Lord Sun thinks it is appropriate, we can support Lord Yuan. ”

After hearing this, Sun Chengzong's eyes swept over the faces of Han Yi and Huang Kezhang, with a smile on his face, but he was very disdainful in his heart.

The two of them didn't have a good heart at all. The matter of the chief of staff has always been only rumors, not facts.

Anyone who works in the court knows that this kind of thing that only has rumors and does not see the facts is mostly true. But you can't take it seriously yet, because you don't know when it's going to be fake.

Is Yuan Keli suitable to be the chief of staff?

The answer is very appropriate.

Do you support him yourself?

The answer is very supportive.

But did these people present support Yuan Keli?

Sun Chengzong did not believe that their support would support Yuan Keli at all.

Once Yuan Keli becomes the chief of staff, then there are many things that he and Yuan Keli can do, and these few people present can be willing to let Yuan Keli be the chief of staff?

Don't say anything about the civil official family, Sun Chengzong doesn't believe in this kind of thing at all. Once you have picked your own head. These guys are definitely blowing wind in the back. At that time, you won't necessarily be able to figure out something for yourself.

Now His Majesty's appearance is obviously using the position of Chief of Staff to seduce people. As for who you want to hook, you don't have to think about it.

At this time, I am not so stupid to wade into this troubled water.

So Sun Chengzong said with a smile: "It's groundless, how can you take it seriously? Besides, this kind of thing should be the discretion of His Majesty's Sacred Heart, so don't worry about those of us who are courtiers. ”

Listening to Sun Chengzong's words, Xu Guangqi glanced at Han Yi and Huang Kezhang, and didn't pay attention to the two of them at all.

Xu Guangqi knew very well the thoughts of Han Yi and the others, but he was not ready to get involved.

Although there are only four people in the cabinet, the competition is not weak at all, and if you are not careful, you will be beaten down by the rest of the people. The current situation is that no one wants to fight anymore, so they rarely do things that are out of line, and fools will do things like this that test His Majesty's bottom line.

Seeing Sun Chengzong's resolute attitude, Han Yi knew that his temptation was useless, Sun Chengzong, the old fox, was obviously not blinded by power, and he didn't fall for himself at all, nor did he give himself a chance.

So Han Yi said: "Since Elder Sun Ge said so, then we won't say anything." What we have to do now is to make a good deal of His Majesty's visit to Shandong as soon as possible. ”

Seeing that Han Yi took back the topic, Sun Chengzong didn't care, but said: "The candidate who accompanied His Majesty to Shandong this time, I don't know if Han Ge has any ideas?" ”

It is impossible for Han Yi to go, so there are only three left: Sun Chengzong, Xu Guangqi and Huang Kezhang.

Among these three people, why do you have to follow two, among which Huang Kezhang will definitely follow. Whether it is His Majesty, or Sun Chengzong and Xu Guangqi, it is impossible for them to keep Han Yi and Huang Kezhang in the capital together.

In other words, among Xu Guangqi and Sun Chengzong, only one person could go to Shandong with him. So after this topic was raised, the atmosphere instantly became a little solemn.

Xu Guangqi glanced at a few people and said, "Let's go with Elder Sun Ge." ”

In fact, according to the rules, Xu Guangqi is the second assistant, and it is most appropriate for him to go. So when they heard Xu Guangqi say this, several people didn't react.

Han Yi smiled playfully and asked, "What does Xu Ge Lao mean by this?" ”

Now the cabinet is divided into three factions, and no one dares to do anything excessive. If he can provoke a fight between Xu Guangqi and Sun Chengzong because of this, it will really be a good thing for Han Yi himself. It may not be possible, but you can give it a try.

"I'm not familiar with many things, and my time in the cabinet is relatively short, so Sun Ge is more suitable." Xu Guangqi said directly, he didn't bother to talk to Han about this matter.

Sun Chengzong glanced at Han Yi, then at Xu Guangqi, and said, "It's better to leave it to Your Majesty to decide, let's not discuss it as courtiers." ”

Several people were a little helpless, and they all handed it over to His Majesty to decide, which was also His Majesty's original intention, and no one was willing to step deeper, so everything was left to His Majesty to decide. This is the power that the emperor can take back.

Of course, there are disadvantages, and it is not easy to take responsibility when encountering things.

Han Yi glanced at Sun Chengzong and Xu Guangqi helplessly, the two old foxes were all slippery, and they didn't give themselves a chance at all, it seemed that they had to take their time.

This was the end of the cabinet meeting, and the four of them continued to drink tea and eat snacks, talking and laughing.

In the West Garden.

Zhu Youxiao looked at Xu Xi, the Duke of Dingguo who was kneeling in front of him, the expression on his face was a little helpless, and then he waved his hand and said, "Get up, a dignified Duke of Guo, what does it look like to kneel here?" ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Xu Xi stood up and said in a respectful tone

"Alright, let's talk about what's going on." Zhu Youxiao looked at Xu Xi and said slowly: "You Dingguo Gong ran to the palace to ask for guilt, there must be an explanation." No one has impeached you during this time, so why did you ask for guilt? ”

"Back to Your Majesty, this is self-examination. Zeng Zi said, 'My day and three provinces and my body: seek for others but not be loyal? Making friends and not believing them? Are you used to it? Although the minister did not dare to compare himself with a saint, he could still do it by self-examination. ”

"Then tell me what you have introspected?" Zhu Youxiao looked at Xu Xi and said slowly.

"The minister feels ashamed of the court and His Majesty!" Xu Xi said with a look of shame: "Suddenly, half of my life has passed, but the minister found that Yu Guo has no merit and no righteousness to the people, which is really ashamed!" ”

"Discipline in the family is not strict, things are done in a mess, and the minister is really useless. Every time I think of this, I feel ashamed in my heart. A few days ago, the minister rummaged through the accounts at home, and found some account books in the house, which made the minister even more ashamed. ”

"What kind of ledger?" Zhu Youxiao said quietly.

"It's salt."

Xu Xi said directly: "After the minister went down to ask, I found out that some of this salt was a reward from the palace a few years ago, and some of it was received from the family. The salt in the courtier's house could not be sold, so they sold it to the salt merchants. ”

"Salt merchants then use them to collect salt and sell it, and after several changes of hands, the price of salt remains high. The common people eat salt expensively, and the salt tax in the court is small, all because of this. ”

When the minister reflected, he was really ashamed. The minister is willing to return the profits from the raw salt, please punish Your Majesty! ”

Speaking of this, Xu Xi knelt down again, his tone was firm, his face was ashamed, and even his eyes were red, and tears were repeated.

Zhu Youxiao looked at this scene, and his head was a little big.

Isn't it good for these courtiers to be honest?

Why are all of them drama spirits?

This salt-led matter is clearly a nest, and it is not a new thing in Daming. The dignified Dingguo Gong was ashamed of this matter, and it was just a joke.

Besides, in the matter of occupying the nest, the big head is not in Xungui at all, but on Xunqi's side.

The earliest started was in the Hongzhi period, when the imperial court changed the grain to the silver to the silver, and those relatives began to draw salt from the palace.

Emperor Hongzhi gave Empress Zhang's maiden family 1.5 million stone salt introduction, and since then this matter has not stopped. Not to mention anything else, there are a lot of them in Lao Fuwang's family.

Originally, the salt merchants wanted to use money from the imperial court to buy salt, but now the salt merchants can't buy it if they have money, so they can only buy it from the hands of the nobles and relatives.

At the same time, the imperial court also issued a lot of salt introductions. The annual salt production of Daming is limited, but there are many salt sources circulating in the market. Many salt farms have to queue up to receive salt, and they can't even get salt in line, which makes the Yangzhou Transshipment Division a fat shortage of yamen.

If you want to get salt, you have to go through the back door, the price of salt is very high, and at the same time, it also breeds private salt, which produces greater corruption.

It's a very big hole, and it's too difficult to solve. In comparison, Zhuang Tian's tax payment is a pediatric. Once the salt is moved, it is moved from top to bottom.

Zhu Youxiao looked at Xu Xi, he didn't understand why he had turned this matter up?

"Alright, I know about it." Zhu Youxiao looked at Xu Xi and said slowly: "What should I do about this matter, let me think about it." Aiqing, you should step back first. ”

After Xu Xi heard this, his heart trembled, this is different from what he imagined!

It stands to reason that after he said these things in front of His Majesty, His Majesty was not very happy to accept it?

Didn't you say that Your Majesty was short of money? It's all money.

However, since His Majesty said so, Xu Xi did not dare to delay, and hurriedly said: "The minister retired." ”

After Xu Xi left, Zhu Youxiao's face sank and he turned his head to look at Chen Hong.