Before the Lantern Festival arrived, Tang Ning's annual leave had not yet been completed, so he was summoned to the ministry again.

This time there is a major event, and he, as a servant of the ministry, cannot be absent.

Emperor Chen took Tang Huai's position as the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and now that the imperial examination is imminent, he must choose another person to come up as soon as possible and sit in the Ministry of Rites.

Although the power of the Ministry of Rites was cut again and again by Emperor Chen, it still had to be passable in terms of face, and at this critical moment, the position of the secretary of the Ministry of Rites was vacant and unorthodox.

In the past, when there was a vacancy in the head of the department, the first consideration of the imperial court was naturally the second-in-command who was familiar with the affairs of the ministry.

But Liu Feng, the former waiter of the Ministry of Rites, has long been relegated to other states because of his life style, and now the waiter of the Ministry of Rites is temporarily appointed by the Hanlin Bachelor, and the Hanlin Academy is still too busy, and with the qualifications of the Zhou Bachelor, it is not enough to be qualified for the position of Shangshu.

Bachelor Zhou's qualifications are insufficient, and those Lang Zhong and the like in the Ministry of Rites are naturally not considered.

Therefore, the new Ministry of Rites had to select people from other departments.

The minimum official position of this person cannot be lower than the fourth grade, and he must have a certain level of seniority in the court, which is in line with the promotion process of Beijing officials, and the officials have been screened, and there are not many people who meet these two requirements.

There are only a few officials in the third grade, each of them is in charge, and transferring it belongs to demolishing the east wall and making up the west wall, besides, among the six departments, which one is not more important than the Ministry of Rites?

Not to mention the three products, there are no superfluous officials in Beijing, and the Imperial Doctor, Dali Siqing and others are also a minister, and it is not easy to transfer.

From the fourth rank to the third grade, this is the habit of the imperial court to choose officials, this is exactly the way from the squire to the scholar, from the adjutant to the chief official, but where there is a potential official, Emperor Chen will put him in the position of the fourth grade, not from the third grade.

Moreover, according to the usual practice, whether it is under the Zhongshu Sect, or the Shangshu Province, as well as important departments such as the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of Households, and the Ministry of War, there are two adjutants of the four products, and the transfer of one will not affect the operation of the headquarters, and it also happens to make room for future generations.

Tang Ning walked into the yamen of the ministry, and a palm man bowed down and said, "Lord Tang, Lord Shangshu is waiting for you in the yamen." ”

The last time Tang Ning met Concubine Shu in the palace, in the few words of chatting, he had actually decided on something, and Fang Hong already knew it at this moment.

The position of the secretary was decided by two ill-intentioned people, which made Tang Ning suddenly feel embarrassed.

Tang Ning walked into Shang Shuya, and Fang Hong arched his hand and said, "Lord Fang." ”

"Lord Tang is polite." Fang Hong returned the salute, poured a cup of tea himself, and said, "Lord Tang sit." ”

After Tang Ning sat down, he handed a fold to Tang Ning and said, "This is the list of candidates for the Ministry of Rites and Rites drafted by the Ministry of Officials, Lord Tang will take a look." ”

Tang Ning opened the fold, many of the names on it were very unfamiliar to him, he had only walked around the six departments in the past few years, and he was not familiar with the officials of the three provinces and other departments.

He looked at the person at the front of the line and asked, "Who is this Lord Shen Yeshen?" ”

Fang Hongdao: "Lord Shen is a waiter of the Yellow Gate, serving in the province. ”

Tang Ning looked at Fang Hong and asked, "This Lord Shen, has a relationship with Lord Fang?" ”

Fang Hong looked at Tang Ning and said with some embarrassment: "Lord Shen and I are Jinshi in the same year, and our personal relationship is not bad. ”

The two brothers of the Fang family have completely different personalities, Fang Zhe belongs to the type of dead pig who is not afraid of boiling water, and Fang Hong's personality is a little straight, but since Zhao Yuan is planning to compete for the position, even if Fang Hong is upright, if he does not pave the way for him in the future, it will seem stupid.

But paving should also pay attention to methods, and if you are Fang Zhe, you will never do it so obviously.

In the list of officials, the first person is naturally strongly selected, unless Emperor Chen has any dissatisfaction with him, he will generally not be selected, but he will consider many things, including the person's party, relatives and friends, etc., so this person should be extremely cautious.

Tang Ning looked at him, shook his head, and said: "Although it is said that the external move does not avoid revenge, and the internal move does not avoid relatives, but it is inevitable that someone is chewing the root of the tongue behind his back, and Lord Fang should not put him first, otherwise His Majesty will see it, and some thoughts will be born in his heart." ”

Fang Hong's face was slightly red, he lowered his head, and said, "What about Lord Tang's opinion?" ”

"There's no hurry." Tang Ning waved his hand, looked at the second name, and asked, "Who is this Qi Long?" ”

Fang Hong explained: "Master Qi is a squire in Shangshu, who has reigned for more than ten years, and his reputation is very good. ”

Tang Ning asked straight to the point, "What about the relationship with the Fang family?" ”

Fang Hongdao: "Nodding friends." ”

Although the position of the Ministry of Rites is of great use, at the critical moment, it can have more right to speak, and it is natural to arrange for one's own people to rest assured.

Now that the goal of winning the heir has been established, Tang Ning and Fang Hong don't have to beat around the bush so much.

Mo Rebellion can't be chosen, otherwise it will arouse Emperor Chen's suspicion, and this matter must not happen before Zhao Yuan has the strength to win the heir.

People who don't have anything to do with it can't be chosen, otherwise this opportunity will be wasted.

But after Fang Hong introduced the people on this list to him one by one, Tang Ning found that except for that Lord Shen, the rest of the people had no deep friendship with the Fang family.

If this is the case, it will not be easy to quietly arrange the position of the Ministry of Rites to this Lord Shen.

Tang Ning frowned slightly, looked at the name of the last person, and asked, "Zhang Yan, this name sounds a little familiar, which lord is it in the court?" ”

Fang Hongdao: "Master Zhang is a scholar of Zhongshu and the son of a scholar of Zhang, but the Fang family and the Zhang family have never had any contact......

"Wait......" Tang Ning raised his hand to interrupt Fang Hong's words and asked, "How many bachelors surnamed Zhang are there in the court?" ”

Fang Hong thought for a while and said, "Just one." ”

Tang Ning pointed to Zhang Yan's name and said, "It's him!" ”

……

The Imperial Study.

Emperor Chen opened the fold handed over by the minister, his expression was slightly different, and said: "I thought he would put Shen Ye first, after all, they were Jinshi in the same year, and their personal relationship was not bad, but I didn't expect that he actually ranked Shen Ye last." ”

He looked at the name of the first place and asked, "Who is Zhang Yan, it sounds familiar......

Wei Jian said: "Back to Your Majesty, Master Zhang is the son of Scholar Zhang, and he is currently serving in Zhongshu Province. ”

"It turned out to be the Zhang family." Emperor Chen's face showed a sudden expression, and said: "The Zhang family has always been low-key as officials, and I have no impression of it......

Wei Jian smiled and said: "Scholar Zhang has a strict family education, and the Zhang family is also low-key, Your Majesty forgot, back then, Scholar Zhang punished His Majesty for endorsement, and His Majesty was punished if he couldn't recite it, so he went to the emperor to complain......"

Thinking of the past, Emperor Chen shook his head, a smile appeared on his face, and said, "No wonder, it's no wonder that he is the son of a scholar Zhang Daxue, so it's not strange." ”

"Fang Aiqing is still as calm as ever." Emperor Chen thought for a while and said: "The Zhang family knows the etiquette and etiquette, let him be in the Zhongshu Province, it is better to go to the Ministry of Rites, that position is more suitable for him, let the Hanlin Academy draw up the decree......"

Wei Jian bowed and said, "Obey." ”

He slowly withdrew from the main hall and happened to meet Zhao Yuan, who personally brought soup to Emperor Chen.

Wei Jian paused, suddenly looked at Zhao Yuan, and asked in a low voice, "Why haven't you seen the little girl of the Zhang family following His Highness recently?" ”

Zhao Yuan glanced at his mouth and said, "You didn't see it, I was still playing with Sister Zhang yesterday......"