The wind is mild and the sun is shining.

Walking in the magnificent and majestic palace, Li Bingxue had no interest in the surrounding scenery, glanced at Lu Shen's face, and said in a low voice: "After this transaction, I hope Your Majesty can allow you to rest for a while." ”

Lu Shen smiled and said, "I hope so, when did you and Senior Sister become so close?" I didn't even notice it. ”

Li Bingxue couldn't help but think of the Northern Expedition, when she led the Feiyu Battalion to aid Dingfeng Dao, fought side by side with Lin Xi, and blocked the main cavalry of the Jing Army under the command of Qing Yu Zhongwang.

It was the first time they got along without the interference of outsiders, observing each other without the influence of Lu Shen.

The memory flashed in his mind, Li Bingxue raised his chin slightly, and snorted lightly: "This is the secret of me and Sister Lin, of course I can't tell you." ”

"Okay, if you don't say it, you won't say it."

Lu Shen is also free and easy.

Li Bingxue changed his words and said, "Why did Your Majesty summon me today? It is said that you are the person in charge of the investigation of the rebellious party, and your majesty can see you alone. ”

Lu Shen glanced at the eunuch leading the way in front of him, and said softly: "Maybe Your Majesty wants to reward you and the Feiyu Camp in person." ”

Li Bingxue frowned and said, "Then why don't you summon Sister Lin?" After all, the Seven Star Army worked harder than the Flying Feather Battalion this time. ”

Lu Shen felt a strange emotion in his heart, although Lin Xi would not mind this, but according to the meticulousness of the Son of Heaven's thoughts, and he knew that Lu Shen and Lin Xi had a marriage contract, it stands to reason that he would not deliberately make biased decisions.

With this in mind, he reminded, "Whatever happens, don't get excited. ”

"Well, I understand."

Li Bingxue nodded.

When the two came to the East Warm Pavilion of the Wende Palace, they learned that the Son of Heaven had not only summoned them today, but they were the latest to arrive.

Walking into the hall, Lu Shen looked at the scene in front of him and was slightly surprised.

The Son of Heaven sat behind the imperial case as usual, and there were several important ministers in the hall, namely Li Daoyan, Xue Nanting, Qin Zheng, Liu Shouguang, Zhang Xu, and Hanlin Scholar Zhong Cheng.

Unlike in the past, all the courtiers were seated instead of standing, and although it was just an ordinary round stool, it was also an extremely rare scene.

There is a seat in front of the emperor has always been the king's reward for the ministers of the humerus, and Lu Shen has only seen Li Daoyan have this treatment before.

There were also two round stools beside Zhang Xu, which were obviously reserved for Lu Shen and Li Bingxue.

Lu Shen had no distractions, and went straight forward and saluted: "Your Majesty, the list of chaotic parties has been summarized here, please take a look at it." ”

He held up a thick file with both hands, and the great eunuch Lu Shizhou hurriedly took it, and then respectfully placed it on the imperial case.

Li Duan glanced at the file in front of him, and then said gently, "Sit." ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Lu Shen and Li Bingxue responded in unison.

Li Duan opened the file at this time, there was no obvious anger on his face, and he said while flipping through it: "Wang Yan, Guo Congyi, Ning Yuanfu, Le Qinyi, and Hu Hai were executed in Ling Chi, and the men in the family were all sentenced to beheading, and the women were sold to the sect and punished with no family assets. ”

"Chen Xuegao, Zuo Yushan, Le Minghong and other thirty-seven people, beheaded, confiscated their homes, exiled their relatives to Taiping Prefecture, and will not be hired forever."

"Qin Zhiheng, Zheng Lianxing, Yan Huanming and other five hundred and ninety-four people were sentenced to death by hanging, and their relatives were not allowed to be officials within three generations."

"In addition, there are four gate valves, including Si Che Cha De'an Guo Clan, Yongxin Wang Clan, Changle Ning Clan, and Xingshan Le Clan. It is not only necessary to investigate whether they are related to the rebellion in Beijing, but also to strictly investigate and deal with all illegal acts such as committing adultery, bullying the good and tyranny, and embezzling land and property. ”

"So be it."

Li Duan closed the file, and his calm tone reached everyone's ears.

Today he did not consult these important ministers, and no one in the hall objected.

Lu Shen's heart moved, although the Son of Heaven did not say it explicitly, it was foreseeable that the four gate valves would also peel off their skins if they did not die, and it was very likely that they would decline from now on.

Jiangnan Jiu family, four fell at a time.

Everyone needed time to digest the deep meaning and impact of the Son of Heaven's disposition, but Li Duan obviously wouldn't give them time to think on this occasion, and continued: "I have already read the list drawn up by Li Xiang and Xue Xiang for the vacancies of the various ministries in the DPRK and the Central Committee, and there is basically no problem, but there are still two Shangshu missing. ”

Li Daoyan raised his eyebrows slightly, and said respectfully: "The matter involves the important responsibility of the ministry and the court, and it should be judged by His Majesty. ”

Li Duan said sincerely this time: "Li Xiang doesn't have to be too humble, I need your advice." ”

Li Daoyan pondered for a moment and said slowly: "Your Majesty, the position of the secretary of the ministry is very important, and it is related to whether the court situation can be stable, so it must not be ignored." The old minister thought about it again and again, and recommended Master Zhong to be promoted to the secretary of the ministry. ”

Hearing this, Lu Shen couldn't help but look at Zhong Cheng, a Hanlin scholar sitting opposite.

He is over forty years old, with a white face and a short beard, gentle eyes, and an elegant bookish air.

Under the normal procedure, the Hanlin Bachelor is known as the Minister, and under the normal procedure, he should first transfer the Book of Rites, and then transfer the Book of the Ministry of Officials, and then he can enter the Chinese Book.

Li Daoyan's recommendation is reasonable, although it is a little faster, but considering the current situation of the court, it is not abrupt.

Li Duan didn't look at Zhong Cheng, he looked at the old man fixedly for a few moments, and then looked at Xue Nanting and asked, "How is Xue Xiangyi?" ”

Xue Nanting replied calmly: "The minister agrees with Li Xiang's recommendation. ”

Li Duan nodded, and then said to Zhong Cheng: "Zhong Aiqing, I handed over the officials to you, and I hope you can be diligent and self-motivated with your heart and state affairs." ”

Zhong Cheng immediately stood up and saluted: "The minister's decree, Your Majesty's earnest advice, the minister must keep it in mind." ”

"Regarding the book of the household department, I have a candidate."

Li Duan looked around at everyone, and then said: "Yin Jingqingshan of Yongjia Mansion, who has been conscientious and hardworking for many years, and has a lot of talent in governance, it just so happens that Jing Guogong praises him quite a lot, so I decided to promote him to be the head of the household department, can the Qing family have any objections?" ”

Naturally, no one had any objections.

On the night of the rebellion, Jing Qingshan did not hesitate at all, made a stand at the first time, and sent people to run around to gather forces to escort King Qin, although his actions were not the decisive factor affecting the situation, but this loyalty was very rare.

There are clear rewards and punishments, which is the basic rule of the operation of the imperial court.

Li Duan continued: "The Zhong Qing family took over as the ministry, and the Hanlin Academy could not be in charge without a bachelor, and I also have a candidate, you can refer to it in detail." ”

Li Daoyan suddenly glanced up at the Son of Heaven.

Sensing the old man's complicated gaze, Li Duan slowed down his tone and said: "Li Shizhi, the left attendant of the Criminal Department, is quite famous for being an honest official, and he is good at commenting on scriptures and interpretations, and his article skills are even more known to the government and the public. I decided that he would take over as Master of Hallym. ”

As soon as these words came out, everyone subconsciously looked at the old Zuo Xiang.

From the Zuo Shilang of the Criminal Department to the Hanlin Bachelor, the grade is flat, but the doorway here is extraordinary.

The squire of the Criminal Department does hold great power, but even if he is promoted to the secretary of the Criminal Department, he cannot participate in the key decisions of the imperial court in many cases.

In other words, under the premise that the two rulers are in power, only the official department of the six Shangshu can squeeze into this core of power.

Although the Hanlin Bachelor is a noble official position and cannot participate in the decision-making of major affairs in the court for the time being, it is the only way for Xuanma to worship the prime minister.

Especially in the period when the dynasty was in a stable state, there was no possibility of ascending to the sky in one step, and this procedure was indispensable, and Zhong Cheng was an example of this.

Li Bingxue, who was sitting at the bottom, suddenly became a little boring.

She knew that these arrangements of the Son of Heaven must have implied deep meanings, and these spirits in the court must be thinking hard at the moment, but she was not interested, and she even felt that it was not as good as honing her martial arts in the mansion.

Turning his head to look, Lu Shen's expression was solemn, not much different from the others.

However, in Li Bingxue's opinion, Lu Shen is young and handsome, and he is more eye-catching to look at, so he is naturally different from those people.

The arrangement of the Son of Heaven seemed abrupt, but everyone was not too surprised, and reacted after thinking for a while.

The promotion of Li Shizhi to the rank of Hanlin Bachelor was, on the one hand, a reward for the two years of consideration of the overall situation of the Zuo Prime Minister, as well as a reward for Jinlin Li's firm stance in this rebellion, and on the other hand, it was to appease the hearts of the people in Jiangnan through this move.

Although Guo Wang Ningle's four gate valves will definitely be cramped and pulled out, the Son of Heaven understands the truth of moderation.

This time, he has taken back the power of the Beijing army and calmly installed people in the court, and the actual loss of the Jiangnan clan is far more than the fall of the four families.

If the Son of Heaven is not properly appeased, it is difficult to guarantee that there will be no turmoil in the thirteen states south of the Yangtze River.

I believe that in addition to promoting Li Shizhi, the Son of Heaven will also have some other means, such as throwing out some noble but powerless official positions, or lifting other gate valves high and gently putting them down.

Everyone's eyes converged on the left prime minister Li Daoyan.

To their surprise, the old man slowly got up and said, "Your Majesty, the old minister shouldn't have shirked. However, it is rare for a father and son to be officials in the same dynasty, and it is even more inappropriate to hold the same authority. Thanks to His Majesty's favor, the Li family has been like a fire cooking oil and flowers over the years, which can be described as extremely rich. Stealing that the prosperity must decline is the truth of the world, and the lack of greed is the root cause of the disaster. ”

Li Duan looked at the old man steadily, and after a little silence, he bowed his head and said: "Li Xiang is bright and upright, and he has always had the style of the ancients, which is a great fortune for the country, and it is indeed inappropriate for me to think about it." ”

Li Daoyan knew very well that the Son of Heaven had no malicious intentions in this arrangement, but he also had bitter intentions.

Although Li Shizhi behaved very honestly in that rebellion, with Li Daoyan's understanding of this eldest son, he stayed in the mansion honestly and ignored what was going on outside the window, which in itself was treacherous.

It's a pity that some words can't be said directly, one is that Li Shizhi really did not participate in the rebellion, and the other is that the things he did before are definitely not tolerated by the Son of Heaven, which is related to the fate of thousands of people in the Jinlin Li family.

On the one hand, the overall situation of the imperial court, on the other hand, the rise and fall of the family, the old man can only choose a compromise method that is temporarily suppressed and arranged separately.

"The old minister thanked Your Majesty."

Others didn't hear that there was a bit of gloom in the old man's tone at the moment.

Li Duanwen said: "Although this move is inappropriate, but with Li Shizhi's achievements over the years, how can I turn a blind eye? In this way, after Chen Chun went to Dingzhou to assassinate the history, the left waiter of the Ministry of Rites has been vacant, so he asked Li Shizhi to move to the left waiter of the Ministry of Rites, responsible for the examination ceremony of the spring next year. ”

In terms of real power alone, the Ministry of Rites is relatively low among the six departments, but as mentioned before, if you want to enter the Zhongshu of the Great Qi, the Hanlin Academy, the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Officials always have to go around, especially the latter two.

Li Shizhi is still in tune this time, but anyone with a discerning eye knows that this is a reward from the Son of Heaven, not to mention that he can also preside over the imperial examination, which is a beauty that countless Wenchen dream of.

Above the officialdom, the relationship between the teachers and the disciples has always been extremely strong.

Li Daoyan was slightly stunned, he realized that the Son of Heaven was determined to appease the hearts of the people in Jiangnan by giving grace to the Li family, which was an irrevocable will.

Li Duan showed a faint smile on his face and said, "Li Xiang, I have already given way, don't continue to prevaricate." ”

"The old minister has thanked Your Majesty for your grace."

Li Daoyan finally received this grace.

He slowly sat back on the round stool, his face calm and unwavering.

The old man quickly accepted this reality, he has been an official for forty-one years, and has experienced too many ups and downs, so that he will not be in chaos because of this.

What's more, he is not helpless against the eldest son who is becoming more and more difficult to see through his mind.

After all, there is that last resort.

(End of chapter)