Chapter 154

The Great Chancellor is usually so composed, how could he be this enraged? Hearing the words "furious," Chen Yan muttered to himself, knowing that the matter was definitely not small, and asked: "Do you know what happened?"

"It's about today's Great Court session..."

The guard gave his reply with a very anxious expression, suggesting: "The situation is urgent, could you speak while we walk, my Lord?"

"Fine, lead the way!" Chen Yan flipped up, called for Zhu Yi, and headed out.

Watching their departing backs, Li Tan shook his head helplessly and sighed: "Fine, today's activity for cultivating sentiment will have to be done by me alone again..."

On the way to the Heavenly Office, the guard recounted in detail the entire process of what happened at the Great Court session today, as well as the reason for the Great Chancellor's fury.

After listening intently, Chen Yan twitched the corner of his mouth and summarized in his heart: "So, that old scoundrel Zhao Qian plagiarized my strategy and, in the name of corruption, had the Censor impeach the Great Chancellor's direct faction in court..."

"And threw out a pile of meticulously prepared evidence, leaving the Great Chancellor with no way to step down in public?"

What happened at the Great Court session could be summarized in two words...

Revenge!

Revenge from the Grand Minister of Justice, Zhao Qian!

He found a naive Censor to use as a blade, and with extreme stubbornness, attacked the Great Chancellor's direct faction—the Deputy Minister of Justice, Qin Zhao, and the Market Management Officer, Lu Miao—in front of the Emperor and all the officials...

And all kinds of evidence were prepared extremely thoroughly.

And those two officials were important chess pieces the Great Chancellor had planted in the Autumn Office and the Earth Office!

Heavenly Office.

Outside the Council Hall.

"Great Chancellor, Lord Chen Yan has arrived!" The guard entered the hall to report.

"Hmm." Yuwen Hu responded expressionlessly, signaling for him to bring the person in.

The air pressure in this hall is chillingly low! The moment Chen Yan stepped into the Council Hall, he felt the implication. He walked cautiously to Yuwen Hu and bowed respectfully: "Your subordinate greets the Great Chancellor!"

The Grand Marshal Yuwen Heng, the Grand Imperial Rectifier Shang Ting, the Nayán Pei Xun, and other high-ranking officials were seated on the left and right, their faces gloomier than the next.

Chen Yan could roughly understand this suffocating atmosphere...

The other side had reason and evidence, his own side had been caught off guard, and they were forced to be led by the nose, compelled to punish their own direct confidants...

They had lost both face and substance, and their authority had been challenged.

The feeling of being stifled was imaginable...

Although the Great Chancellor had temporarily suppressed it in court, it was only shelved; eventually, a choice had to be made.

"Rise!" Yuwen Hu waved his hand.

"Many thanks, Great Chancellor!" Chen Yan nodded and stood straight.

"Have you heard about today's court affairs?" Yuwen Hu stared straight at Chen Yan and asked directly.

"On the way here, I learned a little..."

"A Yan, what is your opinion?" Yuwen Hu asked again.

He was in such a rush to summon his favorite general because he wanted to hear his opinion.

After all, this kid's viewpoints were always incisive and had unique insights...

Chen Yan pondered for a moment, and after phrasing his words, he spoke slowly: "Your subordinate believes that while this is a bad thing, it is also not without its merits..."

As soon as these words were spoken, they drew the attention of all the big shots in the hall, with a hint of strangeness in their gazes.

"Oh?"

"A good thing?"

"Where does the good come from?"

Hearing a different perspective, Yuwen Hu was immediately intrigued, his expression relaxing quite a bit, "Tell me about it..."

Chen Yan did not hesitate at all; after careful consideration, he spoke methodically: "Using the name of corruption to drive the Censor to impeach is the Grand Minister of Justice's attack, but it is also his counterattack, which shows that the two Old Pillars of State can no longer sit still..."

"Once they move, there will be more flaws!"

Everything has two sides.

From another angle, finally forcing them to act is a good thing.

Only with action can there be flaws, and only then can they be better targeted!

This was a life-and-death struggle, not suitable for dragging on for a long time; delay leads to changes...

"Someone!"

"Grant a seat to Mirror Master Chen, and bring tea!"

Yuwen Hu nodded repeatedly. After calling the guards outside the hall to give orders, he looked at Chen Yan again, "Continue!"

Several guards responded and did as told, bringing a chair and pouring hot tea.

"The Grand Minister of Justice used the name of corruption to force you, Great Chancellor, to deal with Lord Qin Zhao, Lord Lu Miao, and others to appease the hearts of the court and the public..."

Chen Yan smiled indifferently, stroked the armrest of the chair, and spoke.

He paused, then continued: "But we can raise the stick high and let it fall gently!"

The intentions of the two Old Pillars of State were very clear: they wanted to use their own spears to attack them...

Forcing the Great Chancellor to consider the overall situation, to convince the officials and the people, to swallow this bitter fruit, and to shake his power.

But such a fierce and aggressive offensive could be perfectly countered with the "delay" tactic!

Yuwen Hu's anger subsided quite a bit. He calmed his emotions, turned his jade thumb ring, and said in a deep voice: "You mean, loud thunder but small raindrops?"

"Do you have a specific strategy?"

Intuition told him that the child before him, who spoke with such conviction, might really have a way to deal with it perfectly.

"Great Chancellor, have you forgotten that the power of personnel appointment and removal lies in the Heavenly Office?"

Chen Yan's gaze sharpened, the corners of his mouth curling into a profound smile, and he said playfully: "You can directly dismiss Lord Qin Zhao, Lord Lu Miao, and others, and make symbolic punishments..."

He paused, changed the subject, and continued: "And since the positions are vacant, you can take the opportunity to promote a few more of your own direct faction!"

Why has the power of personnel appointment and removal been so important since ancient times?

And why is the Minister of Personnel called the Heavenly Official?

Because personnel is politics!

Even if someone is knocked down, they can be replaced very quickly.

"Good kid, good idea!"

Yuwen Heng was stunned for a moment, his eyes suddenly lighting up. He pointed at Chen Yan and laughed loudly: "This move directly makes the old scoundrel's calculations fall through for the most part!"

Not only was their strength not weakened, but they also promoted their own people...

There was no substantial loss.

At most, it was just a loss of some prestige...

"A Yan, your strategy must not stop here, right?" Yuwen Hu pressed his hand, signaling Yuwen Heng to shut up, leaned back in his chair, and asked.

"Nothing can be hidden from you, Great Chancellor..."

Chen Yan gave a fawning smile, cupped his hands in flattery, and said: "Lord Qin Zhao and the others can be left idle for a period of time. After the limelight passes and things calm down, they can be sent out to the provinces as Governors!"

The "delay" tactic is also known as using time to dilute memory.

Just like the classic saying from Chen Yan's former era, the internet has no memory...

People who are pushed to the forefront, after a period of precipitation, will be forgotten by the world, and eventually, they will be quietly transferred.

And these officials like Qin Zhao, who are temporarily shelved, can be sent to replace those powerful regional officials who are not of the Great Chancellor's faction.

Being reused after being slighted will only make them more grateful to the Great Chancellor and more hostile toward Zhao Qian and Dugu Zhao.

After all, the grudge of suppression has been thoroughly established...

Who can resist not taking revenge?

"Not bad, very well considered!" Yuwen Hu nodded, very much in agreement, and ordered Pei Xun, "Do as A Yan says!"

Killing three birds with one stone; after turning the tables, they were the ones who profited.

They even completed a united front in disguise and consolidated their camp.

"As you command!" Pei Xun nodded in response.

"Great Chancellor, the Grand Minister of Justice has made his move; it would be impolite not to reciprocate..." Chen Yan's eyes flashed with a hint of malice, and he smiled.

He couldn't swallow this breath.

Especially being plagiarized so openly!

"A Yan, listening to you, it seems you already have a counterattack strategy?" Yuwen Hu stood up, hands behind his back, and asked.

"I have a few clues!" Chen Yan smiled enigmatically.

Yuwen Hu's eyes were full of appreciation, and he laughed heartily: "Good, very good!"

"Then I leave it entirely to you to handle!"

"Go ahead and do it; I will cover for you in everything!"