The Choice Settled
Xiao Lingyan, "This man never takes sides, is upright and honest, and is wholeheartedly loyal to you, Father Emperor. He is also extremely skilled at investigating cases. I think that once he goes to the border, those demons and monsters will surely reveal their true colors."
Xiao Ge asked, "But he's the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. If he leaves, who will take care of all those big issues at the Court of Judicial Review?"
In the past few days, while preparing provisions, ministers from various factions have been taking turns to perform their duties, doing everything in their power to secure their own interests and try to place their ministers in the teams to transport provisions and investigate the situation. This is especially true of the factions of the Crown Prince, the Third Prince, and the Fourth Prince.
As Xiao Ge watched their performance quietly, he also pondered who would be the best person to send to the border.
Representatives from all three parties definitely need to be sent; each party needs to send one person. Otherwise, how can we expect to see their exciting performance?
But Xiao Ge knew that in order to save the lives of 100,000 soldiers on the border and prevent the border from being breached, the leader sent to the border had to be a royalist, impartial, respected by the people, and extremely capable.
He may have a few candidates in mind, but when it comes to making a decision, he suspects that they may have been secretly bribed by various factions, or that they have been promised great benefits or threatened before departure. Therefore, he is always hesitant to make a decision on the candidates.
With the provisions ready and the delivery team about to depart, Xiao Ge was so worried that he couldn't sleep because he couldn't decide on the personnel.
His good sons were willing to risk the lives of 100,000 soldiers to eliminate the second and Fifth Prince, so they might sabotage the delivery of these supplies. This concerns the lives of 100,000 soldiers and the peace of the border; there can be no room for error.
He had naturally considered Zhang Changshen as well.
This person is upright and intolerant of injustice. Because of his outstanding and irreplaceable abilities, he is unfazed by any attempts to bribe him, making him an ideal candidate.
Xiao Ge felt completely at ease sending him.
But he was gone for several months. With him gone, the Court of Judicial Review was leaderless, and if trouble broke out, no one could handle it.
Therefore, he was very hesitant.
Xiao Lingyan, "Wu Zong, the Right Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, is capable of the job."
Xiao Ge frowned. "How can this be?"
Although there were many officials in the capital, Wu Zong, though only Principal Fifth Rank, always stood at the end of the line during court sessions and had little say. But Zhang Changshen was only Principal Third Rank, and Wu Zong was a prominent figure in the Court of Judicial Review.
Xiao Ge had a good idea of who the capable people were in each government office. In addition, Wu Zong was Kang Shilin's third apprentice, so he naturally remembered Wu Zong.
He was a very capable young man, and he had a similar demeanor to Zhang Changshen. Zhang Changshen valued him highly and even groomed him as his successor.
But Wu Zong was still too young; most importantly, his superiors, who were of higher rank than him—the fourth-rank Left Vice Minister and Right Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review of Court of Judicial Review— were still there. Even if Zhang Changshen left the capital, it would not be Wu Zong's turn to take charge of the Court of Judicial Review.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be so worried.
"Father Emperor must have considered sending Lord Zhang to the border, right? Why didn't he make a decision? It's simply because the two Vice Ministers of the Court of Judicial Review couldn't handle the affairs of the Court of Judicial Review. Although seniority is important for officials in our Great Jin, ability is even more important, isn't it? Especially in the Court of Judicial Review, there's no place for those who hold positions without doing their jobs."
"The Left and Right Vice Ministers lack ability; they have only held high positions for many years because their families have great influence in the court. The Great Jin belongs to our Xiao Family; it is not something that their aristocratic families can control. It was fine before, but now that we need to send Zhang Changshen out, they cannot handle the responsibility, so one of them must make way for Wu Zong."
Hearing this, Xiao Ge smiled bitterly and pointed at Xiao Lingyan, saying, "You really are a child. Do you think I want to be held hostage? It's true that the Great Jin Dynasty belongs to us, but the aristocratic families contributed a lot when the country was established. Now, after years of development, their influence is deeply entrenched. How can they be dismissed so easily?"
"Don't dismiss him. You can transfer him. Promotions in name only are demotions for them. Left Vice Minister Tang Guanming is getting old, almost sixty years old. His energy is waning, and he's no longer up to the task of handling cases. If Father Emperor promotes him by one or two ranks, I don't think he'll object."
Xiao Ge frowned in thought, then nodded. "Alright, I'll consider what you said. If there's nothing else, you may leave."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I take my leave." Xiao Lingyan bowed and left without any hesitation.
After he left, Xiao Ge did not immediately summon the ministers who had been waiting outside for a long time. Instead, he pondered alone in the main hall for a long time before summoning the ministers in.
Not long after, Zhang Changshen was summoned by the emperor, and soon news spread that he had been appointed as an imperial envoy, leading several ministers and five hundred Imperial Guards to deliver grain to the border. Tang Guanming, the former Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review of Judicial Review, was transferred to the Ministry of Rites, and Wu Zong, the former Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, was promoted to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites of Tang Guanming and took over the administration of the Court of Judicial Review.
This result, while unexpected, was also quite reasonable.
After all, such a major incident occurred at the border, it was impossible for the emperor not to have some suspicions. It was quite normal for him to send someone like Zhang Changshen, who was neutral and capable, to the border to deliver grain and investigate the situation.
As for the Court of Judicial Review, everyone knows who is truly capable and who holds high positions simply because of their family background and seniority.
The Emperor's arrangement is perfectly reasonable.
Only a few princes were restless and anxious.
Zhang Changshen used to be a man of absolute integrity at the Court of Judicial Review. No matter who pleaded for him, whether they were members of the imperial family or officials, he could always turn them down and deal with them as he saw fit. If anyone tried to trip him up or threaten him, he would only sentence them to a harsher sentence and would never back down.
If he goes to the border, with his abilities, he'll definitely find out something. Wouldn't that expose what they've done?
"How about we..." The prince's advisor made a Zhang Changshen gesture.
Another aide disagreed, saying, "With so many Palace Guards, how can we do this without alerting anyone? If we're discovered, and accused of having a guilty conscience and harming court officials, how can His Highness remain in the position of Crown Prince? What are your true intentions? Are you perhaps sent by another prince to harm His Highness?"
"How dare you speak like that? I think it's you who's talking. Where were you the other day? I saw you sneaking around whispering with the Third Prince's men. Is that why you're trying to turn the tables and get rid of me from His Highness's side?"
Seeing the two advisors arguing, the crown prince became so enraged that he wanted to hit them.
"Get out of here, all of you!" he shouted.
"Your Highness..." The two who were arguing turned around and looked at the Crown Prince.
"Roll!"
The two men had no choice but to bow and take their leave. After leaving the room, they glared at each other angrily, snorted coldly, and went their separate ways.