“Name?”

“Zhou Bin.”

“Which village head are you from?”

“The first village of Jia division, West River Township, He’yin County, Zhengzhou…”

On the last day of February, in front of the third gate on the west side of Xuande Tower, due to the appearance of a special serial number, many people, including a middle-aged official in scarlet robes passing by, turned their heads to look, but quickly turned back. After all, there had to be this first village of Jia division, and it should be located in He’yin.

This was because the Emperor held a military review and grand gathering in He’yin after recovering Dongjing that year.

“Time of registration?” The clerk in charge of recording immediately returned to normal. “Where is your original residence?”

“March of the third year of Jianyan, original residence in Ruzhou.” The village head named Zhou Bin replied cautiously.

“The time is correct.” The clerk said, finally putting down his pen again, then frowned. “But Ruzhou is so close, why not go home?”

This question aroused the curiosity of the scarlet-robed official next to him, who began to size him up again.

“Allow this Yashi (low-level government official) to know, there are two reasons for this matter.” The village head named Zhou Bin, seeing the high-ranking official looking over, although timid, answered fluently, as if he had studied. “One is that I was conscripted into the rebel Zhang Yu’s army at that time and was pardoned and resettled, so I couldn’t choose where to go. The other is that later, in the fourth year of Jianyan, I was allowed to return to my hometown, but after inquiring, I learned that the entire town had been taken away by Zhang Yu, and there were not many men and women left. So I simply settled down nearby and started a family on the spot…”

After listening, the Ministry of Revenue clerk sighed slightly, then lowered his head to record: “It was all like this in those years, saying it was far away, but it was actually only three or four years… Judging by your appearance, you have studied and married a woman from Hebei, so you were made village head?”

“Yes.” Village head Zhou answered simply.

“I actually know people like you, having experienced those things, all thoughts are extinguished, and you just want to settle down properly.” The Ministry of Revenue clerk continued to record, but then sneered. “Is that right?”

“Yes.” The village head was still straightforward.

“Alright, here’s the situation.” The Ministry of Revenue clerk put away his smile and said seriously. “We previously handled the interest-free village production loans in Kaifeng Prefecture, so we know a little. Now, among the village heads along the river, there are few like you. Most are retired soldiers from the Imperial Guards, and they are not easy to talk to. Since you have studied and know their inner thoughts, stay here and help us negotiate for two days… It won’t delay you from getting the loan in three days, and it includes food and lodging. Later, your county will have a kind of announcement assignment, one person facing ten villages, specifically for the village heads of military and civilian villages to explain government decrees and make summaries. The money is not much, but the work is not much either, and it counts as an errand, and there are free Dibao (official gazettes) to receive… Would you like to come?”

“Since Yashi is giving me face, how could I not come?” Village head Zhou quickly responded.

At this moment, the middle-aged official in scarlet robes, who had been watching for a while, finally turned around. After crossing the bustling Imperial Street and entering the Dibao (official gazette) office diagonally opposite, he put that scene behind him.

This scarlet-robed official was none other than Supervising Censor Li Jing.

It is said that since ancient times, officials have avoided censors. Moreover, in the Song Dynasty, the Censorate, which had the ability to restrain the prime ministers, was extremely important. And Li Jing was already the highest-ranking Supervising Censor in the Censorate.

Therefore, as soon as he entered the Dibao office, many officials gathered in the courtyard bowed and saluted, but also avoided him as much as possible.

Li Jing, who was just over thirty years old, was quite embarrassed, but he had no choice but to walk inside along the path cleared by the crowd, until someone called out from afar:

“Is that Shuyi (Li Jing’s courtesy name)? Come and sit here.”

Li Jing took a closer look and saw that Chen Gongfu, the Minister of Personnel, was sitting alone on a long bench in a corner of the courtyard. He was overjoyed and quickly stepped forward to greet him… A scarlet-robed official opposite Chen Gongfu also stood up with a smile, naturally giving his seat to Li Jing.

It is said that although Chen Gongfu was the most vigorous opponent of Daoxue (Neo-Confucianism), he had opposed it from the beginning, rather than changing his stance later to follow the wind. This made Chen Gongfu still maintain a detached but unresolved relationship with many of the court’s minority factions, including the Li Gang brothers.

Moreover, regardless of anything else, both sides were still old乡党 (fellow villagers) from the southeast (Li Gang and Li Jing brothers were from Shaowu, Fujian, and Chen Gongfu was from Linhai, Taizhou), and there was still political kinship. In addition, Chen Gongfu was now a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Personnel, with a prominent and important position. Although he was free-spirited and upright, he was somewhat old. Therefore, the relationship between the two sides had always been relatively decent.

“Minister Chen, does a dignified Tian Guan (Minister of Official Appointments) also have to condescend to wait for the Dibao (official gazette)?” After sitting down, Li Jing immediately switched to his southeastern accent and asked with a wry smile, his words unusually polite… This politeness was more for Chen Gongfu’s age than his official position.

“The Supervising Censor can come to wait in person, so how can I, a high official, not come?” Chen Gongfu replied casually, still with that free-spirited nature. “Besides, look at this courtyard full of scarlet and green robes, have you and I ever been missing?”

“That’s true.” Li Jing also sighed slightly as he looked at the officials in the courtyard. “Rather than saying that so many people are condescending, it’s better to say that the weight of today’s Dibao is far beyond what a subordinate task of the Court of State Ceremonial can compare to… Minister Chen, does the Ministry of Personnel have no say in this?”

“Of course there is a say.” Chen Gongfu replied frankly. “But it has all been rejected by the Department of State Affairs. Presumably, the Emperor is holding on tightly and doesn’t want to interfere, and he believes that Hu Quan is a useful person.”

“If that’s the case.” Li Jing stroked his knee thoughtfully. “It should be in a couple of years, when Hu Quan’s qualifications are enough, he will gradually turn the Dibao into a Si (department), and then promote it to a Jian (directorate)… It can’t be a Bu (ministry)… It’s just that this important position, held in the hands of one person for many years, will inevitably be mixed with some personal tendencies.”

“The Emperor wants to use Hu Quan’s personal tendencies to control the Dibao.” Chen Gongfu still said what he thought, his words straightforward to an unbelievable degree. “There should be no changes before the Northern Expedition succeeds, just like the several prime ministers. After Chancellor Zhao consolidates the foundation, Chancellor Zhang will move forward with unwavering determination…”

Li Jing finally fell silent for a moment, then couldn’t help but smile wryly: “Minister Chen also knows these two sentences?”

“Although I don’t know what today’s Dibao will say, these two sentences have already spread everywhere.” Chen Gongfu also laughed. “Chancellor Zhang is not a person who can hold his breath. Isn’t it because of the hints made by Grand Councilor Zhang that Shuyi came here early to wait and see what’s going on?”

Li Jing was silent for a moment and did not respond.

Chen Gongfu smiled and also turned to look at the courtyard.

As time drew closer to evening, more and more officials poured into the Dibao office, waiting for the Dibao, which had been building momentum for today, to be printed… Unlike in the past, the current Dibao already had its own printing workshop. Except for some special supplements, there would be a special summary edition every ten days, a full sixteen pages, which collected the information of ten days and printed it on a large scale to reduce costs.

However, before this kind of printing, due to the existence of proofreading, typesetting, and engraving, various information would inevitably be leaked in advance, so it was unlikely that today’s phenomenon would occur.

This time, there was indeed a reason:

First of all, of course, it was Zhang Jun, Zhang Deyuan’s big mouth… After this guy told Emperor Zhao his impressions of reading *Water Margin* that day, he received the comment "moving forward with unwavering determination." He couldn’t help but spread Emperor Zhao’s comment dozens of times in various formal and informal occasions throughout February.

Correspondingly, everyone also roughly knew that Chancellor Zhang seemed to have come up with an extraordinary dialogue between the ruler and his subject, creating a big news story, but the Emperor had said that it was not convenient to reveal it for the time being.

Subsequently, the other prime ministers present, as well as Censor-in-Chief Li Guang, Kaifeng Prefect Yan Xiaozhong, and many close officials who were present at the time, all verified this news… Moreover, almost everyone also said that the Emperor should have given clear instructions that he would wait until the promotion of Mulberry-Dyke-Fish-Pond as a public property of the village had entered the right track before publishing Chancellor Zhang’s memorial through the Dibao.

Finally, at the end of February, seeing that the Dibao for March 1st was about to come out, not only were the Imperial College students who participated in the proofreading not allowed to leave and send messages privately, but even the palace had sent the Imperial Guards to guard the printing room. These actions, in turn, verified the previous claims—Chancellor Zhang had indeed made a big news story!

“It should have been printed long ago.” Looking over the Imperial Guards in full armor, Chen Gongfu, with his gray hair, turned back to face Li Jing in front of him. “It’s just that Hu Quan is deliberately delaying the time…”

“How long can he delay it?” Li Jing, who was just over thirty years old, looked at the sky and sneered.

When Chen Gongfu heard this, he was slightly moved, but suddenly changed the subject: “Shuyi is also wearing scarlet robes now.”

Li Jing was slightly stunned, then smiled again: “All thanks to the Emperor’s grace.”

“That’s also true.” Chen Gongfu nodded, then suddenly asked again: “In that case, do you have any plans to be assigned to a prefecture?”

Li Jing was shocked in his heart and wanted to answer, but after thinking about it, he could only remain silent.

Seeing the other party’s reaction, Chen Gongfu realized something, but did not press the issue, but quietly waited for the Dibao to be released.

The last few words of the two people, seemingly few, actually hit Li Jing’s sore spot.

It must be known that before the reorganization of the Censorate, there was only one purple robe and one scarlet robe, namely the Censor-in-Chief and the Supervising Censor in charge of miscellaneous affairs… The former was the de facto head of the Censorate, and the latter was the de facto deputy head, but it was not a permanent position… The rest were all green robes.

However, as everyone knows, the current Emperor of Jianyan has always been generous in some aspects. Since he moved to Nanyang, the Song Dynasty court has been intermittently reforming the official system in the direction of conforming to reality. Naturally, the Censorate was no exception. The Censor-in-Chief was promoted to the third rank, not to mention that the former position of Supervising Censor in charge of miscellaneous affairs was directly abolished and turned into a proper Vice Censor of the Censorate, with a rank of three, also wearing a purple robe.

As the saying goes, when the water rises, the boat floats. The Supervising Censor was directly promoted to the fifth rank, wearing a scarlet robe.

So, Li Jing said that it was the Emperor’s grace, and he was not wrong at all.

However, the key to the problem was not what kind of robe, but that since Li Jing had reached the position of Supervising Censor, although there was still a deputy head position vacant in front of him, it was unreasonable to go directly from the fifth rank to the third rank, from a scarlet robe directly to a purple robe. Generally speaking, at this time, a Supervising Censor like Li Jing, with such qualifications, had no reason not to seek a foreign assignment.

Especially Li Jing, who was only in his early thirties when he reached the prominent position of Supervising Censor, had a truly bright future:

If he was lucky, he could completely imitate the path of Minister of Justice Ma Shen. If something went wrong somewhere, he could ask to go out to appease and supervise, and take the opportunity to stay and become a Pacification Commissioner, and then return to become a Minister.

And if Ma Shen had somewhat caught up with the special period of "three years as a Minister and five years as a Prime Minister," then at the very least, given Li Jing’s current status, it was certain that he could be assigned to a top-tier prefecture and return to become a Vice Minister, and then calmly ascend to the Secret Pavilion.

Of course, the official robe would definitely be purple at that time.

And at that time, counting the time, Li Shuyi would probably be less than forty years old… A purple-robed Secret Pavilion official under forty years old, what more could he ask for in this life?

But who let Li Jing have another identity?

Everyone knew that he was Li Gang, Li Boji’s third younger brother! And everyone also knew that the two were very far apart in age. It was more like a father-son relationship than a brotherhood.

At the same time, everyone also knew that although Li Jing had passed the imperial examination more than ten years ago, he was able to rise rapidly and steadily essentially because he was Li Gang’s third younger brother.

Emperor Zhao, as well as Li Gang, who was far away in the southeast, only regarded Li Jing as a tool, a mouthpiece for Li Gang to stay in the court.

So, whether or not he was assigned abroad, could it be his own business?

Just as the two old villagers from the southeast were thinking face to face, as the sun set in the west, the shadow of the wall of the Dibao office gradually covered the entire courtyard. Suddenly, the gate of the printing workshop was opened together, and then countless laborers carried out dozens of baskets, and inside the baskets were Dibao with the fragrance of ink.

Immediately, the lower-ranking officials in the Dibao office and some small officials in green robes swarmed forward and collided with the Imperial College students who came out to register. The two sides began to hand over in the corridor… Individuals were not qualified to receive the Dibao. They needed to report their official position and the department they represented in order to receive a fixed number of Dibao.

Chen Gongfu, the dignified Minister of Personnel, naturally did not need to queue up to receive it in person. Soon, relevant officials from the Ministry of Personnel took the Dibao and hurriedly sent it to their Minister, while Li Shuyi ignored etiquette and stood up directly behind Chen Gongfu, taking advantage of other people's newspapers.

However, after Minister Chen opened the Dibao on the bench and glanced at it a few times, he immediately got up, put his hands behind his back, and twirled the Dibao and left, leaving behind Supervising Censor Li Jing, whose face was pale, and the Dibao office, which was gradually boiling.

Not to mention when Li Jing reacted and when he went back to write a report to his brother, just say that Grand Secretary Chen Gongfu left the Dibao office with his hands behind his back, came to the Imperial Street, found his donkey cart on the side of the road and sat directly on it. The cart, carrying its master, started but did not return home. Instead, it went to the residence of another high-ranking court official.

When he arrived here, the master of the house had not yet returned, but Chen Gongfu entered as if there was no one there, directly entered the inner hall of the person's house and sat on the guest seat. Not only that, but the mistress of the house even came out to meet Minister Chen and left three sons to serve in the inner hall.

Obviously, Chen Gongfu had a close relationship with the master of the house, and the friendship between the two sides had reached a certain level.

After waiting for about two quarters of an hour, the master of the house returned. When he heard the family report, he seemed to have expected it, and then went directly to the inner hall to meet Chen Gongfu… It was none other than the current Censor-in-Chief Li Guang, Li Taifa.

When the two met, they did not exchange pleasantries. Chen Gongfu put down the Dibao in his hand, picked up the tea and took two sips before speaking: "No wonder Taifa was unwilling to tell me that day. Zhang Deyuan really overturned the sky?!"

When Li Guang heard this, he sat down with a wry smile, ignoring his three sons standing by his side: "Actually, it's not just because of how fiercely Zhang Deyuan stirred things up this time, but the Emperor gave instructions in person that day. As a minister, I really need to pay attention to some things… Of course, Zhang Deyuan really made too much of a splash, so I was suppressed on the spot and it was difficult to make a rebuttal at the time."

"Overturning the sky is overturning the sky, but it is not necessarily necessary to rebut it." Chen Gongfu shook his head. "Although some of the articles were too out of line, the principle of single-mindedly moving north is still correct, and the principle that the Northern Expedition is related to the fundamental foundation of the country is also correct… Why ask for perfection?"

Li Guang was stunned for a moment, then sighed: "What can I do now?"

Chen Gongfu frowned: "Compared to this, let's talk about another thing first… Are these five suggestions really Zhang Deyuan's own ability?"

"Of course not." Li Guang sighed again. "I have been thinking about it for many days, and this is what I think… Expanding the army and alliances are inherent in the topic and do not need to be said; the so-called "settling the rear" is to send Quan Bangyan and Guo Zhongxun, two former subordinates of Zong Zhongwu, to Jiangxi to lead troops and garrison, which is somewhat ruthless, and I am afraid that it was an idea from Lü Zhi; and the fifth thing, building wealth, that is, making a three- to five-year plan for the Northern Expedition, should be Minister Lin's idea, he has inner talent… Only the fourth thing, that is, rectification, I really can't figure out who came up with this idea. After thinking about it, the possibility of Liu Ziyu is greater, but it can't be Qu Duan, right?"

"Perhaps only Zhang Deyuan can explain this kind of thing clearly, but he will never explain it clearly." Chen Gongfu also shook his head. "But it doesn't matter. No matter who came up with the idea, it shows that after this internal and external exchange, Zhang Deyuan's bag has characters who can come up with and dare to come up with these ideas. And Zhang Deyuan himself dared to publicly reveal these five things, and he is indeed worthy of being called "moving forward with unwavering determination for the sake of the Emperor and the overall situation." From now on, no one can regard him as a means for the Emperor to restrain Chancellor Zhao, but as a truly genuine West Office Prime Minister."

Li Guang was silent for a while before nodding heavily.

"Are you thinking about how to explain to Li Gongxiang in the southeast?" Chen Gongfu suddenly asked again, looking at his old friend's face.

"Yes." Li Guang sighed again and again. "It's difficult… Not to mention anything else, how can I explain the two things, settling the rear and rectification, to Li Gongxiang? I was clearly in front of the Emperor that day, but I remained silent and allowed these two things to pass?"

"What's there to explain?" Chen Gongfu sneered and shook his head. "You are two years younger than me, but you still have that old-fashioned thinking… Just because you have the kindness of Li Gongxiang's appreciation, you have to be his vanguard for the rest of your life? If you really want to talk about the kindness of appreciation, isn't the current Emperor also kind to you?"

"The Emperor is the Son of Heaven…"

"To repay the Emperor's kindness, you have to die and remonstrate; to repay the Prime Minister's kindness, you have to be a dog?" Chen Gongfu became more and more impatient. "Do you know that even his own brother can't stand Li Boji's domineering style? You are still guarding the so-called Li Gongxiang faction. What do you want to do as a leader? You don't know that this so-called Li Gongxiang faction has long been gone. Even if there is, it is not the party that was once the subject of the world's prestige, and it's not your turn to be the leader!"

Li Guang was stunned for a moment, but then shook his head: "It's not just to explain to Li Gongxiang. The main thing is that I can't feel at ease. Not to mention anything else, what about the Supreme Emperor, who also appreciated you and me?"

"It's still the same sentence. If we are talking about the kindness of appreciation, isn't the current Emperor also kind to you?" Chen Gongfu seemed to have expected this question. "Besides, how shallow was the Supreme Emperor's appreciation for you? When you first had the merit of supporting him, he also wanted to use pro-war people to win people's hearts, so he promoted you to Supervising Censor in one fell swoop. But when he wanted to negotiate a peace, he demoted you to Tingzhou Wine Tax in one fell swoop… So indecisive, treating talents as bargaining chips and means, is this the bearing that a ruler should have? On the contrary, His Majesty has promoted you again and again, and in two or three years you have reached the position of head of the Censorate, enjoying the dignity of half a prime minister for many years, and he did not forget to specifically retain you even during the White Horse Incident. Isn't this appreciation?"

Li Guang was silent again.

"Do you know why I came to you today?" Chen Gongfu pursued closely.

Li Guang reluctantly shook his head: "Isn't it for the five things that Grand Councilor Zhang said on the Dibao?"

"Yes and no." Chen Gongfu finally sighed. "Taifa, I came for this matter, but the main thing I want to say is not about these things, but about worrying about you…"

Li Guang was finally stunned.

"To be honest, your family has a profound academic background, high intelligence, and a reputation, and you always have the demeanor of a famous minister, but you have two major problems in your personality." Chen Gongfu said coldly in front of Li Guang's three adult sons. "First, you are resentful and fond of fame. You clearly know the general right and wrong of things, and you clearly know the good and bad of people, but you always have to argue and fight over small things for the sake of a breath of fame, doing meaningless things!"

"I also know this problem." Li Guang raised his teacup embarrassedly to cover it up. "It's not just you who said it, I try to change it…"

"That's all right." Chen Gongfu continued coldly, ignoring the embarrassment of the Li family and his sons. "The key is that you don't know the overall situation! It's okay to be resentful and fond of fame in small matters, but you still have to be resentful and fond of fame in big matters. You don't know that for the sake of a little fame, you will futilely ruin the overall situation, and you may end up with a disgraceful reputation in the history books, but you are still complacent."

Li Guang finally couldn't bear it anymore: "Brother Guozuo, don't slander people… When have I ever done anything to ruin the overall situation?"

"I ask you, is the Northern Expedition right or wrong?" Chen Gongfu was not afraid at all.

Li Guang opened his mouth to speak, but he did not expect the other party to ask directly again: "Is it the overall situation?!"

Li Guang wanted to say more, but Chen Gongfu had already asked again: "The original text of the memorial on the Dibao wrote that the Emperor said that after this matter is published in the newspaper, let's see who has anything to say… Have you written the relevant memorial these days, and have you revised it I don't know how many times, preparing to say tomorrow that the third and fourth things of Grand Councilor Zhang are slightly inappropriate?"

Li Guang's face finally changed drastically, and Li Mengbo, his eldest son, also changed his expression below him… Others didn't know, but Li Mengbo knew very well that his father had such a memorial, and he did revise it many times. After all, he, the eldest son, helped with polishing and copying every time.

"What's inappropriate? Isn't it just that you feel that if you don't speak, you will be criticized by your former colleagues in Jiangnan, and then lose public opinion support?" Chen Gongfu sat still and threw the teacup in his hand on the ground, smashing it to pieces. "In the end, you are still fishing for fame and trying to please both sides! Li Taifa! Do you think that in the current situation, you are still allowed to be a person who is bright on all sides?!"

Li Guang's three sons had already been shocked and speechless, and Li Guang looked at the fragments of the porcelain cup on the ground. Although his face was equally pale, he still tried his best to argue: "Brother Guozuo, why is it so? Our decades of friendship, knowing each other since we were young, is always true, right? Why do you have to say such bad words again and again today?"

"It's good that you still know that our decades of friendship is true." Chen Gongfu stroked his gray beard and sighed faintly. "Li Taifa, tomorrow is the Grand Assembly. You'd better not submit that memorial for the sake of our decades of friendship, otherwise I will naturally have a memorial impeaching your private morality immediately afterwards, and then a letter of severance, submitted to Lü Benzhong's tabloid…"

Speaking up to here, Chen Gongfu got up and picked up the Dibao on the table, put it behind his back, but turned his head and said the last sentence to his old friend who was already stunned: "Taifa, if it weren't for decades of friendship, why would I come here in such a hurry today, and say such bad words, I hope you think about it carefully."

After speaking, the Minister of Personnel finally walked out with the Dibao in his hand.

"Daddy!"

After Chen Gongfu left, Li Guang was stunned on the spot, but his eldest son reacted quickly and still sent him out in person, then hurried back to the inner hall and faced his father. "Uncle Chen is gone."

Li Guang came back to his senses and stared blankly at his son: "What does he mean? Why does he want to break off the friendship?"

Li Mengbo lowered his head and thought for a while, then said cautiously: "The son roughly guesses that Uncle Chen's meaning has several levels… One is that Li Gongxiang in the southeast has been idle for many years and has long been out of breath; the other is that Uncle Chen was persuaded by Grand Councilor Zhang after all, and should unite internally and externally to concentrate on the Northern Expedition, and he really believes that his father's words at this time are somewhat contrary to the overall situation… Otherwise, why would he say the words to break off the friendship?"

Li Guang remained silent… Although he did not speak, he already felt that his son was right.

As an old friend of decades, Chen Gongfu understood him, and he also understood the other party. Li Guang knew very well that Chen Gongfu was not a villain who followed the trend and was swayed by the wind. A villain who was swayed by the wind would not insist on criticizing Cheng Xue for decades when Daoxue was flourishing, and he would not have opposed Cai Jing and advocating war to the point where he, like himself, did not see the light of his career until he was fifty or sixty years old.

But then again, just as Chen Gongfu believed that Li Guang was resentful and fond of fame, Li Guang had also long noticed a big problem in Chen Gongfu's personality—perhaps because he had been frustrated for a long time in his early years, this person was often willing to compromise on some small problems for the sake of the so-called overall situation recognized in his heart.

This matter was exactly like this. It should be that Chen Gongfu was persuaded by Zhang Deyuan and recognized the statement that the Northern Expedition was related to the foundation of the country, and believed that the Northern Expedition was the so-called current first overall situation. Therefore, for the sake of this overall situation, he was willing to accept outrageous behaviors such as writing a review for the Second Saint, and sending troops to the south to suppress the opposition, in order to promote the smooth implementation of the matter.

Relatively speaking, he, Li Guang, was also a bit persuaded by Zhang Jun and recognized that the Northern Expedition was the general trend, but his problem was that he was unwilling to accept those outrageous actions.

For a long time, the personalities of the two people have been like this, and similar differences have always existed, but what Li Guang did not expect was that this difference would actually reach the point where the two people's decades of friendship would be severed.

Was he really wrong?

Or was Chen Gongfu wrong?

Or were both of them not wrong, but Emperor Zhao's attitude towards Zhang Jun's words had already foreshadowed that the situation had reached a new stage, a stage where Emperor Zhao had to abandon the opposition for the sake of the Northern Expedition, or the opposition had already lost its power?

Of course, it was also possible that Chen Gongfu was deliberately scaring him, right?

In short, Li Guang had a sleepless night.

The next day, March 1st, was the day of the Grand Assembly, so although he lacked energy, Li Guang still got up early to prepare to go to court, but at this time, the Censor-in-Chief was surprised to find that his memorial, which had been prepared but had also brought him great trouble, had disappeared.

The memorial that was placed on his desk had disappeared out of thin air.

Li Taifa was stunned at first, then relieved, and finally, under the pressure of time, hastily put on his official uniform and walked out the door. When he looked at his three sons waiting in front of the door, he finally realized… It turned out that Chen Gongfu came here yesterday not to scare him, but to scare his sons?

The old guy, who was almost sixty years old, was bullying three young men who had just come of age. Was he still following the principles of Wude (martial virtue)?

However, that morning, Li Guang once again refreshed his understanding of his old friend. Some people really did not follow the principles of Wude—the Minister of Personnel actually took the lead in submitting a memorial after the court meeting began, suggesting that several censors who had served in the Censorate for a long time be transferred to prefectures, and then promote new people to enter the Censorate!

The first one was Li Jing.

Interestingly, Li Jing did not object, but went with the flow, accepted the Ministry of Personnel's arrangement, and went to Xingqing Prefecture.

In addition, at the Grand Assembly that day, because Minister of Justice Ma Shen submitted a memorial stating that Grand Councilor Zhang Jun's memorial was inappropriate, Emperor Zhao issued an edict on the spot, ordering the senior officials of the Secret Pavilion to discuss it together, and all officials to discuss it in groups.

Among them, 27 senior officials of the Secret Pavilion agreed with Grand Councilor Zhang Jun, and 6 thought it was inappropriate; among the officials, 136 agreed with Grand Councilor Zhang Jun, and 17 thought it was inappropriate.

Immediately, Emperor Zhao displayed the list of those who agreed to those who thought it was inappropriate, and officially issued an edict: "The court has made a decision, and it will be carried out according to what Grand Councilor Zhang Jun said."