Chapter 5069 Where righteousness lies

Dali Temple Minister Dai Zhou drank the tea in his cup in one gulp, stood up and walked out: "It is not convenient for us outsiders to interfere in such palace affairs. Since the Minister of the Central Secretariat has followed the emperor's will and stepped forward, just do it yourself. I have no objection."

He walked away quickly without stopping, ignoring Liu Li's call.

With seniority and high prestige, one has such privileges. When he doesn't want to get involved, he just stays out of it and no one can do anything to him.

Liu Li was helpless and looked at Ma Zhou: "What do you think, Prince Bin?"

Ma Zhou hesitated for a moment, shook his head and said, "This matter is of great importance and has far-reaching implications. If the Minister of the Central Secretariat really drafts an imperial edict, it will be discussed by all when it reaches the Ministry of Personnel, and it will be decided here."

Although he did not say it explicitly, his attitude of opposition was evident. He just did not reject it outright for the sake of Liu Li's face. The Menxia Province was responsible for the review of the Zhongshu government orders. What he said almost expressed the Menxia Province's determination to reject the edict.

Liu Li looked gloomy and looked at Pei Huaijie: "What does the Right Prime Minister mean?"

Pei Huaijie hesitated for a moment and said, "The king's order cannot be disobeyed. If your majesty insists on doing so, we, the subjects, can only obey."

The emperor has given orders and I must obey them, even if I am called a "flatterer". But who do you think you are, Liu Li, to let me take the blame for you?
You received the order from His Majesty and completed it, so it’s all your credit. Why do you let me jump into the pit and get covered in mud?

Back then, I returned to Beijing as the governor of Henan and served as Shangshu You Pushe. Although it was just an honorary position, it was still You Pushe after all! I sincerely accepted to be your disciple, but you threw me away like a worn-out shoe. Now you want me to fight for you?
Why!

Liu Li stared at Pei Huaijie for a long time before nodding and turning to Liu Xiang who was pretending to be dead, "Yatai, tell me."

Liu Xiangdao straightened his back, as stiff and upright as a cypress tree that had just been transplanted in the Censorate. "First of all, although the Queen's consent is not required for the canonization of concubines, Your Majesty can make the decision arbitrarily, but the Queen is the master of the six palaces, and her opinion is very important. Otherwise, the concubines will disagree and chaos will arise in the tent, which will inevitably affect the government. Secondly, although the nine concubines are all third-rank, they have a sequence, and directly promoting Concubine Shen to Zhaoyi is suspected of usurpation and is not in accordance with etiquette. If the Secretariat issues an imperial edict, regardless of whether the Ministry of Personnel refutes it or not, the Censorate will initiate the impeachment procedure."

Liu Li's face was extremely ugly: "Just because I jumped a few levels, and it was a matter concerning the harem, the Censorate ignored the emperor's will?"

Liu Xiangdao refused to give in. "The laws, regulations, and rules are all there. The Censorate's duty is to maintain order. Whoever disregards the laws and disrupts order will be impeached by the Censorate. Your Majesty is the ruler of the world, so you can promote concubines at will. But before that, please change or abolish the laws and regulations. Otherwise, the Censorate will not obey your orders."

Liu Li understood Liu Xiangdao's thoughts.

Although he is regarded as a confidant of Your Majesty and promoted vigorously, he himself has political pursuits. How can a dignified Imperial Censor and the current Vice Premier become Your Majesty's lackey without principles?

Previously, the students' knocking on the palace gate and causing trouble had already made the Censorate lose face and its prestige plummeted. Liu Xiangdao was eager to restore his reputation, and this incident could be a good opportunity to show the world his "uprightness" and "rule-upholding" side.

"Later, the Secretariat will draft an imperial edict to confer the title of Zhaoyi, and we also ask the Ministry of Personnel to refute it and the Censorate to impeach it!"

Liu Li stood up, said this, and left.

The ministers in the government hall looked at each other in bewilderment. This behavior of flipping the table over a disagreement was not Liu Li's usual style...

……

Back in the duty room, Liu Li rubbed his swollen temples, took a sip of strong tea, and felt a little more refreshed.

It was not until he faced opposition from the Ministry of Personnel, the Censorate, and a group of prime ministers, who attacked him in unison, that he suddenly understood the Majesty's intention.

Your Majesty, do you really want to confer the title of Zhaoyi on Concubine Shen?
Yes or no is not important. What is important is the attitude that Your Majesty wants to express.

Your Majesty certainly knows that this move will lead to opposition from both the court and the public, but why does he insist on going his own way and even force him, the Minister of the Central Secretariat, to step in?

Your Majesty has always attached great importance to prestige, but this time he did the opposite.

He wanted to put himself in a "weak" position, letting everyone know that he, the emperor, had "shallow prestige" and "was deserted by his friends and relatives". Even the appointment of a Zhaoyi would result in opposition, criticism, and even impeachment from court officials, thus arousing sympathy from others.

and then?
Naturally, this matter was successfully implemented with an extremely resolute and tough attitude.

Menxia Province rejected it?
Impeachment by the Censorate?
The ministers disagree?

It doesn't matter. As long as Your Majesty is determined, will the ministers really stick to Your Majesty to the end for the title of Zhaoyi?
As expected of the son of Emperor Taizong, he usually seems indecisive, but he is not lacking in means.

First, appear to be very "weak", which not only leaves room for a charge, but also gives people the impression that you are shrewd and have a strong stance after reversing the situation, and your prestige will increase instead of decrease.

But in this process, he, the Minister of the Central Secretariat, became a complete villain and was reduced to a "henchman of the emperor", which greatly damaged his reputation.

And this may also be what Your Majesty is preparing for...

With his reputation damaged and being attacked by both the government and the public, he can only cling to Your Majesty's thigh tightly, otherwise the Minister of the Secretariat will inevitably be dismissed due to impeachment and obey Your Majesty's orders.

one stone two bird.

It is difficult to be a loyal minister. Loyal to the monarch? Loyal to the country? Loyal to etiquette? Or loyal to justice?
Making the choice...isn't that difficult.

Since Your Majesty can put yourself in a "weak" position and endure the slander and attacks from all walks of life in the court and the public, how can he, as a minister, be so proud of himself and retreat in the face of danger?
The king humiliates and the minister dies!

Your Majesty is treated as nothing by everyone in the court and the country. Is this the way of a minister?
This time, I will risk my half-life reputation and fame to accompany Your Majesty on this adventure!
Serve the king, even if you have to fight against the whole world, what is there to fear? !
Where justice lies, I will go even if there are tens of thousands of people against me!
He wiped his face, called the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Ren Yaxiang, and ordered: "Your Majesty wants to confer the title of Zhaoyi on Concubine Shen. You should draft an imperial edict and send it to the Ministry of Personnel for review by the Minister of the Central Secretariat, and then send it to the whole country."

Ren Yaxiang was born a military general with extraordinary literary talent. He walked like a dragon and a tiger, and was as calm as a mountain. He had a demeanor of "not changing his face even if Mount Tai collapsed in front of him". He was shocked when he heard this: "Although there is only one rank difference between Jieyu and Zhaoyi, there are still many ranks in between. Is it appropriate to jump so many ranks at once? If Jieyu Shen gave birth to a prince, it would be fine. Now she is just pregnant. If she is so presumptuous, if she really gives birth to a prince in the future, won't she be directly canonized as a noble concubine? It is not in accordance with etiquette!"

A concubine was directly promoted to a noble concubine just because she gave birth to a prince. Even a fool could understand the political implication of this. Was she trying to compete with the empress and the Eastern Palace?

Something big is going to happen!
Liu Li said coldly: "Your Majesty has made up his mind, we can only follow your orders."

Ren Yaxiang shook his head: "We are loyal to the empire and His Majesty. We are bound to die for His Majesty. We will go through fire and water if the emperor orders us to do so! However, things can be right or wrong, and orders can be correct or incorrect. Why doesn't the Minister of the Central Secretariat distinguish right from wrong and just follow the order? As a prime minister, you should be impartial and speak out directly, so as not to live up to this official robe. It is absurd to flatter the emperor blindly! I dare not agree with it, and I dare not draft such an order with such a wrong name!"

After saying this, he walked away without even looking at Liu Li's dark face.

"boom!"

Liu Li slammed the table hard, then covered his aching wrist and took a deep breath. After a while, he sighed with a sad face.

Although he was annoyed by Ren Yaxiang's stubbornness, he could do nothing about it. Although the Secretary of the Central Secretariat was the deputy of the Minister of the Central Secretariat, he was already a high-ranking official of the fourth rank and could be considered a senior official. His appointment, dismissal and transfer needed to be proposed by the Ministry of Personnel and then discussed in the Council of State before finally being reported to His Majesty for decision. It was impossible for him, the Minister of the Central Secretariat, to decide on his own.

In other words, at most he could make things difficult for Ren Yaxiang, but he could not fundamentally shake his foundation.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, so he simply called a clerk, spread out paper and ground ink, dipped the brush in ink, thought for a moment, and then started writing, writing an imperial edict in one stroke.

After the ink dried, he stamped it with the seal of the Secretariat and said to the clerk, "Send it to the Ministry of Personnel immediately and ask the Minister of the Interior to review and approve it before distributing it to the whole country."

"Here."

The clerk stepped forward and carefully rolled up the imperial edict. He took the time to glance at the contents and was immediately frightened to the point that his hands and feet began to tremble. He dared not say anything more, then walked east across the square in front of the Taiji Palace and quickly headed towards the Menxia Province.

Liu Li went to the outhouse in the backyard to relieve himself. After his stress was relieved and he felt relaxed, he returned to the duty room, sat there with his eyes closed, thinking, waiting for the clerk's decision.

If there is no mistake, it will be rejected.

Then he would take action himself.

……

The Secretariat and Sherenyuan were to the west of the Taiji Palace, while the Menxia Province and Hongwenguan were to the east of the Taiji Palace. From the geographical location, it can be seen that these two government offices were far apart and checked and balanced each other, while the Shangshu Province was outside the Taiji Palace and inside the imperial city.

In the duty room, Ma Zhou read the imperial edict from the Secretariat and handed it to Cui Shenji, the Yellow Gate Minister standing beside him: "Take a look."

"Here."

Cui Shenji took the imperial edict, read it carefully, and asked the clerk who delivered the imperial edict: "Was this written by the Secretary-General?"

"Exactly."

"The Secretary-General is very talented in writing!"

Cui Shenji placed the imperial edict on the desk, stood aside with his hands behind his back, and said nothing more.

Ma Zhou laughed and said, "Did I ask you to read the literary talent of this edict? Tell me what you think."

Cui Shenji said: "The appointment of concubines is your majesty's family affairs, and it is not for us ministers to interfere. However, the Tian family has no private affairs. If the appointment of concubines leads to instability in the harem and further affects the court, then the ministers must uphold justice and speak out against it."

This is an act that goes beyond the rules to confer the title of Zhaoyi, and it is obvious that she will be promoted to a concubine in the future, but where does this put the Queen?

A son's status is determined by his mother's status. Once today's Concubine Shen becomes a royal concubine tomorrow, her son's status will naturally rise and he will be qualified to covet the throne.

Ma Zhou sealed the edict and told the clerk who delivered it: "Go back and tell the Minister of the Central Secretariat that this edict is not in accordance with etiquette and is presumptuous. The Ministry of Personnel has discussed and rejected it."

The clerk had been prepared for this outcome and did not dare to say much. He bowed, walked out of the door and returned to the Secretariat.

Cui Shenji sighed and said, "Your Majesty is determined to do what he wants, and the Minister of the Central Secretariat is obedient. I'm afraid this matter won't be that simple."

Ma Zhou asked someone to make tea and said in a deep voice, "I am waiting for the Minister of the Central Secretariat to come and discuss this matter."

Cui Shenji was stunned, and then he heard a clerk outside the door come to report that the Minister of the Central Secretariat had arrived in person...