GBP Chapter 1141 What slanderous words have His Highness and Yang the Madman whispered to the Emperor fo
Chapter 1141 What slanderous words have His Highness and Yang the Madman whispered to the Emperor fo
Emperor Zhu gently tapped the armrest of the dragon throne, pondering in his heart how to define the powers of the cabinet, but his face remained calm and composed.
After a long while, Yang Shaofeng stepped forward, bowed to Emperor Zhu, and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that in order to clarify the powers of the cabinet, we must first determine the cabinet's position."
"Is the cabinet to replace the prime minister and oversee all ministries, directorates, temples, and monasteries? Or is the cabinet to act as a secretariat and advisory body, merely serving to offer advice and guidance?"
As Yang Shaofeng finished speaking, the entire court fell silent.
Most of the officials secretly admired Yang Shaofeng's audacity.
Good heavens, after finally getting to power, he abolished the Left and Right Chancellors, completely concentrating the power of the emperor and the chancellor in one person, and you, Yang the Madman, actually want the cabinet to replace the chancellor's position.
So, what exactly was the purpose of the abolition of the Left and Right Chancellors by the Emperor?
Only Li Shanchang was utterly despondent after his despair.
tired.
Destroy it.
We finally managed to abolish the Left and Right Chancellors after much effort, and the burden on our shoulders was finally lightened a little. But you, Yang the Madman, have to bring us back to square one with just one sentence, and even more outrageous than before.
Li Shanchang glanced at Emperor Zhu discreetly, and tried to make a last-ditch effort: "Your Majesty, I believe that the Grand Secretariat is a place of honor. It is enough to be able to consult with Your Majesty on good matters. There is no need to talk about replacing the position of Prime Minister, let alone about overseeing all ministries, directorates, temples and academies."
After a slight pause, Li Shanchang made up his mind and bowed directly to Emperor Zhu, saying, "Your Majesty, I am honored that Your Majesty has not abandoned me because of my lowly status, but has entrusted me with the responsibility of Grand Secretary after re-employing me. How could I not do my best to assist Your Majesty?"
"However, I am already over sixty years old, and my energy is not what it used to be. As for replacing the position of Prime Minister, I am afraid I am not capable of doing so."
"Moreover, the system of the Six Ministries and the Imperial Archives is a way to check and balance each other. If the Grand Secretariat were to govern all the ministries, directorates, temples, and academies, I'm afraid the Grand Secretariat would have too much power, which would be detrimental to the stability of the court."
"Your Majesty, I urge you to reconsider."
Emperor Zhu grunted expressionlessly, but Liu Bowen suddenly stepped forward and said, "The Duke of Han said that his energy is not as good as before, but I seem to remember that the Duke of Han took a concubine a couple of years ago?"
As Liu Bowen finished speaking, Emperor Zhu's eyes lit up.
Oh right, we almost forgot, you, Li Shanchang, just took a concubine a couple of years ago.
What, you have the energy to take concubines, but not the energy to be our slaves?
Do you have some complaints about Old Zhu?
Yang Shaofeng quickly stepped forward to add insult to injury: "Your Excellency, the Duke of Han just said that the cabinet has too much power. I think the Prime Minister has too much power, while the cabinet has too little."
"The reason is that the prime minister is only one person, and there are countless affairs of state. No matter which prime minister has a body of bronze and iron and the talents of a sleeping dragon and a phoenix, he probably cannot be in charge of everything."
"The cabinet consists of everyone. Apart from the Grand General's Office, the Imperial Library, and the Court of Judicial Review, all other ministries, directorates, temples, and academies belong to the cabinet. Each cabinet minister performs his duties well and fulfills his responsibilities, which makes it easier for government orders to be implemented."
"Your Majesty, I urge you to reconsider."
Li Shanchang looked at Liu Bowen, then at Yang Shaofeng, and finally looked at Emperor Zhu with a bewildered expression.
No, when did the three of you reach a consensus?
Has His Highness and Yang the Madman spoken ill of the Emperor again?
Or did you secretly summon the two of them after you came to power?
Emperor Zhu remained expressionless.
This benefited Emperor Zhu, whose face was not very fair to begin with, so even if he blushed, it wouldn't be very noticeable.
Black Sesame Dumpling stepped forward and said loudly, "Father, I think the Duke of Ying is right."
Liu Bowen and Xu Da immediately stepped forward to join the group, bowing to Emperor Zhu and saying, "Your Majesty, we second your proposal."
As soon as Liu Bowen, Xu Da, and others finished speaking, the officials in the court immediately understood what was going on.
It's normal for Yang the Madman to dare to start a group. If he didn't dare to start a group, he wouldn't have earned the nickname "Yang the Madman" that everyone hates.
To put it bluntly, Yang the Madman was no good person to begin with; there wasn't a single official in the entire court who hadn't been tormented by him.
However, the fact that His Highness the Crown Prince, Marquis Chengyi, and Duke of Wei also joined the delegation at the first opportunity indicates that, like the previous messy matters such as "upgrading Ningyang County to a directly administered area of the Central Secretariat," "granting Dengzhou Prefecture permission to open a border market," and "implementing a progressive tax rate on land," were all pre-arranged.
The only exception might be that the Duke of Han was involved in all those messy and messy things in the past, but this time, it was the Duke of Han who was betrayed by the Crown Prince, Yang the Madman, Marquis of Chengyi, and the Duke of Wei.
So... let's make things difficult for the Korean prince.
Li Shanchang stared blankly at the assembled civil and military officials.
Did you secretly discuss this with your superiors?
So you've all come here today to plot against me, haven't you?
Li Shanchang's face grew increasingly dark. Suddenly, he gritted his teeth, stamped his foot, and bowed directly to Emperor Zhu, saying, "May I ask Your Majesty, if we follow the words of the Imperial Son-in-Law, then what exactly are the powers of the Cabinet? Which ministries, directorates, temples, and academies will be incorporated into the Cabinet, and which are not?"
Emperor Zhu suppressed the wildly upturned corners of his mouth and said, "Didn't the Duke of Ying just say that, apart from the Grand General's Office, the Imperial Library, and the Court of Judicial Review, all other ministries, directorates, temples, and academies will be placed under the cabinet?"
“We’ve been thinking that the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Railways, the Ministry of Transportation, the Ministry of Works, and other ministries, directorates, temples, and monasteries could indeed be incorporated into the cabinet.”
"Of course, the Duke of Ying is still quite young and lacks experience as an official. His proposals are bound to have shortcomings, and the Duke of Han needs to help him improve them."
"..."
Li Shanchang suppressed the urge to fight Emperor Zhu and Yang the Madman to the death, and bowed, saying, "In that case, I request that the Shandong Provincial Governor Wang Guangyang be transferred and that the Imperial Son-in-Law be invited to join the cabinet to assist in matters such as the cabinet reform."
Emperor Zhu nodded slightly and uttered a single word, "Approved," leaving Wang Guangyang utterly dumbfounded.
What do you mean?
So, I've just finished writing the second five-year plan for the Shandong Provincial Administration Commission, and now I'm going to be dragged into the cabinet to be a beast of burden?
Seriously, can you guys at least give us advance notice next time you do something like this, you bastards!
If I had known I was destined to become a servant in the cabinet, why would I have bothered burning the midnight oil to write the second five-year plan for the Shandong Provincial Administration Commission?
Yang Shaofeng was equally dumbfounded.
No, when we were discussing selling Li Shanchang last night, you old drudge didn't seem to mention selling me, did you?
Only Hu Weiyong, who was standing next to Wang Guangyang, almost burst out laughing.
Is this what Yang Dianfeng called involution?
Roll it up, roll it up, just roll it up!
They're all fighting tooth and nail, so I can finally enjoy a few more peaceful days in Liaodong!