Chapter 1666: Xie Changling fulfills his promise

Cao Song was imprisoned, and the political situation in the court changed suddenly.

The ministers of the Secretariat worked together to recommend Chen Guanfu to enter the Secretariat.

Emperor Yuanding was caught off guard by this move.

He asked Xie Changling, "Is this also Minister Xie's intention?"

"The Secretariat is understaffed; logically, the personnel should have been filled last year. It was delayed until now for various reasons. Now that the major affairs in the Northwest are settled, it is not appropriate to continue delaying. Looking at all the colleagues in the court, Chen Guanfu is a model in terms of both seniority and age. This minister agrees with Chen Guanfu entering the Secretariat; I hope Your Majesty can approve it as soon as possible."

Xie Changling spoke with justification, and his reasons were impeccable.

Emperor Yuanding, however, felt that he had been toyed with. "You had already discussed this? What if I do not agree?"

"Does Your Majesty have other candidates?" Xie Changling asked directly.

Emperor Yuanding gritted his teeth and did not deny it.

He indeed had other candidates.

He favored Master Zhao from the Jixia Academy to enter the Secretariat.

Master Zhao's martial arts cultivation was ordinary, only at the Second Rank, but his attainments in scholarship were recognized by the world as a great Confucian. Moreover, many of Master Zhao's ideas coincided with his own.

If Master Zhao entered the Secretariat, he would no longer be in an isolated situation. When implementing policies, he would have room to maneuver.

"I wonder which official Your Majesty favors?" Xie Changling asked again.

Emperor Yuanding first kept a straight face, then immediately performed a Sichuan opera face-change, asking with a smile: "How about Zhao Jichong, the Reader-in-Waiting?"

"Official Zhao?"

Xie Changling understood in his heart.

Long before today, he had considered Emperor Yuanding's reaction and accurately predicted the candidate Emperor Yuanding favored. As expected, it was indeed Zhao Jichong, who came from the Jixia Academy, was in his early fifties, and was at the golden age for an official.

He reacted decisively: "According to Your Majesty's wishes, why not let Official Zhao enter the Secretariat together with Chen Guanfu? I wonder what Your Majesty thinks?"

Emperor Yuanding was speechless, his mood extremely complex.

Excitement, agitation, stifled anger, suspicion, sudden realization...

The other party had already calculated everything.

Hahaha...

He had been nervous for nothing for so long.

He gritted his teeth and asked: "There is only one vacancy in the Secretariat; with both entering the Secretariat, may I ask how Minister Xie intends to arrange it?"

Xie Changling said as a matter of course: "Since Official Cao has repeatedly offended the Imperial countenance and refuses to repent, why not take this opportunity to remove all his duties and let him reflect properly. We cannot delay the court's affairs because of him alone. Official Chen and Official Zhao are both shrewd and capable people; their entry into the Secretariat can be described as adding wings to a tiger."

"Do all the ministers favor these two?" Emperor Yuanding was a bit unwilling; he had clearly achieved his goal, but he always felt something was missing. It was not satisfying.

He was secretly hoping to drive Chen Guanfu out.

"Official Chen and Official Zhao are both pillars of the state. I hope Your Majesty can approve it as soon as possible, so that the two can join the Secretariat early and share the worries for Your Majesty and the court."

"Is there no one who has any objections?" Emperor Yuanding raised his voice, disregarding his face and exposing his thoughts.

The ministers all shook their heads in denial.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, we have no objections!"

"This minister also has no objections!"

"Please Your Majesty issue an edict to summon the two officials for an audience!"

The ministers urged Emperor Yuanding to hurry up with the procedures and finalize the matter. The Secretariat had a table full of official documents piled up and needed new people to join and share some of the pressure.

Moreover, with Chen Guanfu entering the Secretariat, there would be room for buffer regarding the affairs in the Northwest.

No matter what demands Marquis Pingjiang made, let Chen Guanfu go and negotiate; the father and son could pull at each other as they pleased. Everyone could just stand by and watch; wouldn't that be delightful?

Emperor Yuanding's anger rose; he wanted to flare up, but thinking of his goal, he endured it. He decisively followed the ministers' wishes: "Proclaim Chen Guanfu and Zhao Jichong for an audience!"

A few days later, the Emperor issued an edict officially appointing the two to enter the Secretariat. Cao Song was removed from the list!

The news reached the Heavenly Prison, and Chen Guanlou personally went down to the Grade-A prison to tell Official Cao this unfortunate news.

Cao Song did not believe it at first. "Stop spouting nonsense. How could His Majesty let Chen Guanfu enter the Secretariat? It's simply absurd! His Majesty is already too late to restrict the Hou Fu; how could he lift a rock only to drop it on his own feet?"

Chen Guanlou looked at him with a half-smile, watching his death-struggle; it was really quite interesting.

"If I say that the other person entering the Secretariat at the same time is Zhao Jichong from the Jixia Academy, do you still think I am spouting nonsense?"

"This... Zhao Jichong entered the Secretariat?" Cao Song was shocked.

Chen Guanlou nodded. "That's right! The Imperial edict has already been issued to the world; how could this be fake? I wouldn't be so bored as to fabricate a lie just to provoke you."

"How is this possible! This... Hahaha..."

Cao Song seemed to have received a great shock, laughing up at the sky until tears came out.

"How could His Majesty treat this old man so harshly? This old man has charged into battle for His Majesty for many years, not hesitating to enter the game with my own body. But His Majesty... How innocent is this old man!"

Cao Song wailed loudly, unable to control himself.

"This old man has been imprisoned for less than a month, and His Majesty couldn't wait to remove me from office and give the position to those two people. Chen Guanfu is fine, at least he has led troops in battle for many years and has been tempered in the court for more than ten years; his seniority is barely enough. What virtue or ability does Zhao Jichong have? The highest official position he has held in his life is Reader-in-Waiting. A scholar who has been frustrated for many years, nothing more than backing from the Jixia Academy, yet he can replace this old man. On what grounds!"

Chen Guanlou looked at his frantic appearance and tutted twice, feeling very emotional.

"Perhaps I can answer this question. Just because you talk about orthodoxy everywhere and go against the Emperor everywhere. Conversely, Zhao Jichong thinks what the Emperor thinks and worries about what the Emperor worries about, so he replaces you. You want to be a straight-talking official, using the Emperor to polish your reputation, treating the Emperor as a stepping stone to fame and fortune; if he doesn't deal with you, who would he deal with?"

"Impossible! I am a loyal official!" Cao Song wailed at the sky. "I am a loyal official; I should not be treated like this."

"Official Cao, think about it. This is your second time in the palace. Last time you were imprisoned, I didn't see you so anxious."

"It's different! Last time and this time are completely different. Last time, this old man ensured there was a chance for a comeback. Now, this old man has been removed from office, and I am old; I can never go back. This old man is miserable!"

Cao Song no longer hid the pain in his heart, nor did he care about others' ridicule.

He just wanted to vent, just wanted to tell of his pain.

He was stifled!

"Look at you, you keep saying you are a loyal official, but in reality, your heart is full of fame and fortune. You are just a vulgar person, yet you insist on pretending to be a sage. Now that you are eating the bitter fruit of your own making, what are your thoughts?"

Chen Guanlou kicked him while he was down, stabbing a knife directly into the other party's heart.

Cao Song didn't care about anything anymore.

Ridicule or mockery, he didn't care anymore.

Falling into this situation, it was his bad luck, his miscalculation.

"This old man never expected Xie Changling to be so swift and ruthless. This old man underestimated him. The late Emperor was muddled; why did he promote Xie Changling back then? Now that the power of the Prime Minister suppresses the Imperial power, if the late Emperor had a spirit in heaven, I wonder what his thoughts would be!"

"If he didn't promote him, should he have promoted you?" ===== CHAPTER 1667 =====