Di Renjie, the secretary of Dali Temple, Li Qiao, the doctor of the Imperial History Terrace, Yao Chong, the secretary of the Ministry of Officials, and Wang Xiaojie, the secretary of the Criminal Department, were sitting together in a painting boat on the Luoyang River.

In addition to the four of them in the whole room, there is not even a subordinate for use, the four people each occupy one side of the Eight Immortals table, and their hands are either stroking the edge of the steaming teacup, or gently tapping on the tabletop, the atmosphere in the room is also particularly heavy at this moment, giving people a feeling of anxiety and depression.

From time to time, Di Renjie either glanced at Li Qiao, or Yao Chong glanced at Wang Xiaojie, the secretary of the Criminal Department, and the four of them looked at each other, but in the solemn atmosphere, no one was willing to take the lead in speaking.

They already knew what happened in Luoyang City during the day today, and even as soon as they learned the news, the first reaction of the four of them subconsciously was to immediately send someone to persuade them, hoping to let these people disperse before His Majesty arrived in Luoyang.

And just when they learned the news and were about to send someone to persuade them, or they planned to go to persuade them in person, they received a decree from the palace, and there was only one sentence in the edict: "Your Excellency, let's rest in the mansion, if you really want to think about the stability of the court, you might as well think about how to deal with the aftermath of this matter." ”

Everyone received the same will, and everyone completely understood at the moment they received the will, this is a real decisive battle between His Majesty and the five surnames and seven wangs, and the nobles of the wealthy families.

But then again, in this silent war, as long as either side wins, the benefits will be unimaginable, after all, this war is related to the foundation of the country, as well as the century-old interests of the major power families.

Therefore, they are not surprised at all that the wealthy nobles headed by the five surnames and Qiwang will pour out the connections that the entire Tang Dynasty can gather, and they are bound to risk death to directly admonish His Majesty.

"Is this data accurate?" Imperial Doctor Li Qiao looked at the thrilling number on the note, and his back was cold.

"After Luoyang Mansion Yin just handed His Majesty the chapter, after he came out of the palace in a hurry, he gave me such a list, I guess there will be no mistake. So many officials were involved, obviously thinking that in my Datang, now His Majesty will definitely not do the law to blame the public, after all, it involves 500 people up and down in my Datang officialdom, if Your Majesty wants to stabilize the court officialdom and not bring local government affairs to a standstill, naturally you can't punish these officials who risk death at will. But...... Gathering so many people here to risk their lives to admonish, have they ever thought about Your Majesty's face? They have to force His Majesty to comply, or to express to His Majesty their determination to be broken rather than destroyed. Di Renjie shook his head and said, and then picked up the teacup and wanted to take a sip, but because of the seriousness of this matter now, he picked up the cup and glanced at the green tea, and then let go of the mood in an instant.

Seeing Di Renjie's actions like this, Wang Xiaojie, the secretary of the criminal department, still kept his mouth shut and did not say a word, and his eyes were on Yao Chong, the secretary of the ministry.

This incident, not only a ministry can cooperate with His Majesty to solve the matter, given that the current number of court officials involved has exceeded their imagination, plus those who have meritorious titles in the Tang Dynasty, this time I am afraid that since His Majesty ascended the throne, it has encountered something more dangerous than the famine in the previous two years, and if it is not handled well, it may put the entire court or the Tang Dynasty in a situation from which it will never recover.

Yao Chong, the secretary of the ministry, looked at the three pairs of eyes that were all on him, and also sighed before he spoke, and then said unhurriedly: "This incident is too much for the noble family headed by the five surnames and seven wangs, so forcing Your Majesty the palace, how can Your Majesty not be angry?" The few people sitting here, presumably like below, have a little understanding of our Majesty's temperament, they have always been soft and hard, and they have never even cared about the evaluation of themselves by the people of the world, but because of this, Your Majesty has been established as the crown prince and now has ascended the throne as the emperor of my Tang Dynasty, for so many years, but he has put all his mind on the well-being of the people in the world, and has never had any vices! Although the East Palace was not frugal back then, His Majesty was in charge of the household department, until he inherited the heroic and wise palm of Emperor Taizong, and never did anything that was not virtuous, even in the years when the first emperor was in poor health as the crown prince, His Majesty has always been strict with himself and self-discipline, and has never been extravagant and lascivious, don't forget, when it comes to the richest person in the world, except for Your Majesty, there is probably no one in the world who can compare, right? I'm afraid that the money in my Datang treasury is not as much as that of Taiyi City, right? But did Your Majesty spend all this money on himself? In the first two years of the famine, His Majesty did not hesitate to pay Miss Bai to buy high-priced grain from the wealthy families in those places out of her own pocket, and now although the treasury does not have much silver, His Majesty has put these money into the social income of the Tang Dynasty, and has not wasted a penny extravagantly. And...... The most important thing is that His Majesty has had any major deviations in any decision-making over the years, whether it is when he was the crown prince or in prison, or after he ascended the throne? Now that Datang can have such a prosperous and powerful atmosphere, His Majesty is indispensable, in contrast, the contribution made by the noble and wealthy families headed by the five surnames and Qiwang to my Datang Jiangshan Sheji is simply ...... I think that such a comparison is an insult to His Majesty. They have now gathered nearly 3,000 people to risk their lives to give direct advice, whether it is for the stability of our Datang Society, or for the interests of their own family, I think you all know ...... well. ”

"Lord Di, Master Li, and I mean, how can we, as courtiers, help Your Majesty through the current difficulties at this critical moment, as well as the possible misjudgment of Your Majesty by the people of the world. Your Majesty has always been virtuous, and all the ministers in the court know it, but not all the people in the world are above the court, and they can understand Your Majesty's wise exploits like us, and Your Majesty and the five surnames and seven wang These noble and wealthy families are not dealing with each other, and now we need to consider how to let these people splash dirty water on Your Majesty and pollute Your Majesty's virtuous ...... when the dog jumps over the wall. Wang Xiaojie, as the secretary of the Criminal Department, said with some dissatisfaction after interrupting Yao Chong's unhurried flattery of Li Hong's words.

On the other hand, Yao Chong was not angry, he still took a sip of the teacup unhurriedly, and listened to Wang Xiaojie quietly, until the three of them looked at him again, and then continued to say slowly: "The lord is worried about the humiliation of the ministers, the lord is humiliated by the death of the ministers, whether it is in the next place, or Lord Di, or Lord Wang, you have followed Your Majesty to the east and west, and you all understand Your Majesty's temperament. Now I just want to say that Your Majesty has always acted wisely and decisively, and there has never been any mistake in decision-making, so if we, who are courtiers, want to share your worries and solve problems for Your Majesty, then we must have no doubt that Your Majesty will support any of your Majesty's decisions, not ...... now. ”

Yao Chong paused slightly, looking at the calm expressions on the faces of the three people, and there were no fluctuations in dissatisfaction, before he continued to speak: "As courtiers, we can't doubt Your Majesty's decision-making at all, on this basis, all of you have received Your Majesty's dictation at the first time of the incident, so it is obvious that Your Majesty is completely showdown with the wealthy nobles led by the five surnames and Qiwang this time, even if it is more than 500 officials up and down the Tang Dynasty officialdom, His Majesty will resolutely ban the source of court officials who recommend others to the government led by the five surnames and seven hopes, so I think that what we can do as courtiers now is ....... ”

Yao Chong's eyes began to flicker, with a sneer on the corner of his mouth, and his tone changed from unhurried to sharp, and continued: "As the right-hand man that His Majesty relies on in the court, I guess I will not choose to speak and intercede for the noble family headed by the five surnames and Qiwang at this moment, so I will not hide your next plans ...... below." ”

"Oh? Please also ask Lord Yao to speak directly, so that I can also refer to one or two, so that I can share the worries and solve problems for Your Majesty at this critical moment, so as to fulfill the responsibility of the minister. Li Qiao's eyelids jumped, his hand holding the teacup tightened, and Yao Chong, who looked a little unfathomable, and asked with a hint of toughness.

Yao Chong smiled slightly, looked at the three of them and said, "In the lower body, I am the secretary of the ministry, what I can do for Your Majesty at this time is ...... Check the assessment materials of the officials in previous years, and look for them, whether the more than 500 officials today can have their own policies when they were in their positions, and can they fulfill their responsibilities when they are in power, so that if you can find some people who only eat royal food and corpse vegetarian meals, wouldn't it be possible for Your Majesty to reduce the risk of being slandered by others when making decisions to deal with these people? ”

At the end, Yao Chong's face flashed with a smile of successful conspiracy, and in an instant, his whole face was like the face of a cunning and treacherous old fox in the eyes of the three of them.

Di Renjie was the first to react, and looked at Yao Chong's smug smile and laughed with him, just before Yao Chong said his plan, Di Renjie had actually thought about this aspect in his heart, but because he was not in charge of the ministry, his understanding of these officials was naturally relatively poor compared to Yao Chong, so when making decisions in this regard, there must be a trace of ideological hesitation.

Now seeing that Yao Chong, who is the head of the six Shangshu, took the lead in making such a suggestion, his heart suddenly became enlightened and relaxed.