Chapter 774: The Chancellor Who Was Getting Carried Away

"Whatever falls within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice, even if Chancellor Li does not remind me of it, I, Fan, will carry out my duties to the fullest!" After a moment's thought, Fan Zhi said calmly.

Noticing Fan Zhi's expression—his face composed, his gaze as still as an ancient well—but hearing his words, Li Tao felt a blockage in his heart. His eyes rolled slightly, and his smile grew even more affable as he lightly flattered: "Wensu has long been known for his uprightness, integrity, and willingness to take responsibility. I naturally believe you!"

As he spoke, his smile faded. Li Tao's expression shifted quickly, turning serious, even somewhat grave. Gazing directly at Fan Zhi, Li Tao hesitated for a moment before saying: "I have often pondered lately that this disturbance in Guanzhong, though stemming from multiple causes—both improper local governance and insufficient oversight from the court—while we, who sit in the position of chancellors and assist in governing the realm, failed to detect these flaws, leading to this unrest, causing the people of Guanzhong to suffer greatly and officials and civilians to incur heavy losses—truly, we cannot escape responsibility.

"Lately, I have been filled with worry and fear, my guilt beyond measure. Fortunately, Heaven protects the Great Han, and our generals and officials are capable, enabling this unrest to be swiftly pacified. Yet even so, when His Majesty returns to the capital, I will have no face to meet him. I intend to submit a memorial to the field headquarters, asking His Majesty to punish me. I wonder, Wensu, would you be willing to co-sign?"

Hearing this, Fan Zhi sized up Li Tao for a moment and replied: "Chancellor Li acts with public spirit and does not shirk blame. I admire this, and I shall naturally write a memorial to present to Your Majesty!"

In any case, that was the gist of it—each taking responsibility for their own affairs, each pleading their own guilt.

A trace of displeasure finally showed on his face. After a moment of silence, Li Tao broke into a smile again and changed the subject: "After this upheaval in Guanzhong, there have been many changes! The Administration Commissioner has been replaced by Duke Shou, Lord Hu left his post in sorrow, and Judicial Commissioner Shen Gou even died of illness while in office during the unrest. His Majesty's intention, besides rewarding merit, is also to punish faults and correct errors. What is your view on this matter, Wensu?"

The meaning subtly conveyed in Li Tao's soft words made Fan Zhi's heart pause. Looking at his scheming demeanor, Fan Zhi began to guess at his intentions.

As chancellors, they had both voluntarily taken responsibility for the Guanzhong unrest—how much more so the high officials directly responsible for the military and civil affairs of the circuits and prefectures? The impact of this Shu rebellion in Guanzhong was truly severe, even affecting the grand strategy of conquering Shu. It absolutely must not be handled lightly; someone had to bear the responsibility.

Hu Yanke, with his heavy prestige and advanced age, had also vacated his position. As for Shen Gou, he had already died in office—the dead were gone, and it was not appropriate to pursue blame further. Of course, Shen Gou's death likely had no necessary connection to the Guanzhong unrest, and Li Tao also intended to absolve him of blame, after all, Shen Gou was one of Chancellor Li's own men.

Fiscal Commissioner Yan Jinqing was mainly responsible for the finances of one circuit and supplied logistics for the southwestern and northwestern border armies. He also controlled a portion of the Shu captives below, but managed them very properly, and after the unrest broke out, he maintained control effectively without being drawn into the chaos. Therefore, blame could not possibly fall on Yan Jinqing.

Then, among the high officials of the circuit government, only Zhao Hongyin remained...

"In the outbreak of this unrest, Zhao Hongyin actively mobilized troops, maintained public order, defended Chang'an, and eliminated the rebel forces. He can be said to have done his utmost—he has merit!" Fan Zhi said after thinking it over.

Li Tao appeared very calm and said: "Merit is merit, fault is fault. Maintaining public order in Guanzhong is inherently the duty of the circuit government. In this disturbance, within a matter of days, it affected ten counties, with more than a few cities breached and officials and soldiers nearly all killed or wounded—it is truly hard to escape the suspicion of dereliction of duty. Moreover, what eliminated Wang Shun's rebel army was the southwestern border army and the local militia of Zhouzhi..."

"It seems Chancellor Li already has a settled decision in his heart!" Fan Zhi said.

"This time, the one most severely affected by the unrest is Jingzhao Prefecture, and those under Jingzhao Prefecture should also bear joint responsibility." Li Tao added.

Hearing this, Fan Zhi's expression finally changed—his reaction far greater than when Li Tao shifted blame onto Zhao Hongyin. The current Governor of Jingzhao Prefecture was Li Song, and Li Song was the Grand Tutor of Prince Yong, Liu Chenghsun, his appointment being to assist Prince Yong in guarding Chang'an.

His gaze sharpened as he seriously studied Li Tao, but seeing his confident and fearless demeanor, Fan Zhi took a deep breath, regained his composure, and warned in an admonishing tone: "Chancellor Li, in my view, regarding the Guanzhong matter, His Majesty must already have a settled decision. Some things are better left awaiting the imperial edict—do not act on your own authority!"

With that, he rose, made a bow, and said: "I still have some affairs to handle. I shall take my leave!"

Having said this, he walked away steadily. Watching Fan Zhi's retreating figure, Li Tao's brows furrowed involuntarily, and a hint of gravity—but more so displeasure—showed on his face. His conversation with Fan Zhi had left him feeling quite irritated.

As for Fan Zhi, he left the Hall of State Affairs without pause and went directly to the Ministry of Justice to inspect matters. Along the way, reflecting on Li Tao's reaction, he could not help but sigh inwardly: "Chancellor Li, Chancellor Li—under the rule of the current Son of Heaven, to arrogate power and act on your own authority will sooner or later bring disaster upon yourself. Take care of your own affairs!"

Over the years, though Fan Zhi had often spoken and acted in ways that offended the Emperor, he had always adhered to one principle: contending based on regulations and reason. He never crossed the line in many matters. But after serving as chancellor for several years, especially in the past two-plus years of wielding primary chancellorial power, Li Tao had become somewhat unbalanced...

"Chancellor!" In the Hall of State Affairs, Vice Minister of Personnel Shen Wenbing entered to find Li Tao.

"Guohua! What is it?" Li Tao's face was full of affability toward Shen Wenbing.

Shen Wenbing said: "The Ministry of Personnel has received a memorial from Huainan East regarding the successors for the Prefectural Administrators of Chuzhou and Sizhou. Governor Wang has submitted a memorial with recommendations and requests that the Ministry of Personnel verify and approve the appointments!"

Sizhou's Prefectural Administrator Wang Zhu was being transferred to Xuzhou, and following Zhang Yanqing, the Prefectural Administrator of Chuzhou was also being transferred. Two key positions in Huainan East had suddenly opened up, and there was no shortage of people eyeing them.

"Oh?" Li Tao's expression shifted slightly. He took the memorial and glanced over it, then pressed it firmly onto the desk, saying coldly: "Who are these Gao Bi and Zhang He?"

"Both are surrendered officials from the Southern Tang. According to Governor Wang's view, the two are experienced in governance and familiar with the conditions of the people in Huainan East. Since surrendering to the Han, they have been loyal to the imperial cause and are capable of governing the two prefectures!" Shen Wenbing replied.

"Outrageous!" Hearing this, Li Tao flew into a rage and rebuked: "This Wang Pu, what does he think he's doing? Is Huainan East the court's, or is it his Wang Pu's? The entirety of Huainan East is already filled with his people, and he's still not satisfied—now he wants to meddle in the appointments of Chuzhou and Sizhou. What are his scheming intentions?"

Over the years Wang Pu had governed Huainan East, he had indeed promoted many officials, especially former officials of Huainan. Moreover, whenever he discovered talented individuals, he would recommend them to the court for appointment, and under Liu Chengyou's favor and care, most were approved.

But in the past two years, Li Tao had grown increasingly displeased with Wang Pu's "nepotism" and "arrogant consolidation of power" in Huainan East, and had rejected many of his requests.

But who was Wang Pu? He had always been tough, believing himself wholly devoted to the public good with never a hint of personal favoritism, and thus he submitted memorials to stubbornly contend. Last year, from a thousand li away, he had clashed with Li Tao over personnel appointments in Huainan East, their memorials battling until it reached Liu Chengyou. The result? A muddled compromise—each side got a slap on the wrist. But Li Tao's disgust for Wang Pu only grew. Now Wang Pu was again meddling with recommendations for the appointments of Chuzhou and Sizhou—how could his mood possibly be good?

Seeing Li Tao's great anger, Shen Wenbing treaded carefully and asked: "Then, in your view, Chancellor, how should we reply?"

"Reject it!" Li Tao said directly.

Shen Wenbing showed hesitation: "If so, I fear Governor Wang will not let the matter rest!"

"Hmph!" Li Tao snorted lightly and said: "Reply to Wang Pu in my name as Chancellor. Tell him that the assignment and transfer of officials is naturally a matter for the court to consider, and he need not trouble himself over it. Otherwise, he risks suspicion of overstepping his authority. Let him properly manage the governance of Huainan East! There are plenty of capable officials in the realm—he is not the only one with a discerning eye for discovering talent!"

"His Majesty's previous edict stated that all ministers, both inside and outside the court, may recommend worthy men for the state. Governor Wang is also greatly trusted by His Majesty. If he refuses to let the matter rest and takes it before His Majesty again, I fear it will be disadvantageous to you, Chancellor!" Shen Wenbing reminded.

"As for His Majesty, I will handle it myself!" Li Tao's tone carried a hint of sourness: "I say, it's precisely because His Majesty favors this Wang Pu too much that he has grown arrogant from that favor and pushes his luck. If Huainan East continues in this manner, problems are bound to arise sooner or later!"

Shen Wenbing made no comment on Li Tao's words, and asked again: "Then, shall I reply according to your wishes, Chancellor?"

"Do it that way!" Li Tao said.

In truth, Li Tao's reaction was not purely out of personal self-interest; his concerns were also reasonable. In the years Wang Pu had governed Huainan East, he had enabled the various prefectures to recover rapidly from the chaos of war—people's livelihoods stabilized, hearts turned to him, tax revenues were abundant—a picture of great governance.

But at the same time, Wang Pu's authority in the locality had grown daily, and he had promoted a large number of talented people. Even if this could be explained as recommending the worthy, with him bearing joint responsibility as the recommender, many ministers at court still criticized him. Moreover, Wang Pu's forceful personality made it difficult for the court to suppress him, leading to frequent conflicts. Of course, what mattered more was the Emperor's excessive trust.

As the chief chancellor, Li Tao felt both jealousy and resentment toward these circumstances. This time, he was not planning to yield to him again. No matter what, Huainan East was governed by the court, and the court's authority must not be profaned or defied. Even if Wang Pu was ever so trusted by the Son of Heaven, when it came before the throne, Li Tao would have his say.

On the other hand, after all these years, with Wang Pu being so "arrogant," was the Son of Heaven's trust still the same as before?