A Change of Officials at Court

The Empress Dowager's passing was kept secret, and very few people knew about it.

Then, Divine Lord Zhenyuan displayed his Law Power in a high-profile manner late at night, making people wary and afraid to make any rash moves.

But there are no shortage of people with good intentions in this world.

Zhang Xuezhou used Wei Zifu's song to calm the broken bridges between heaven and earth, allowing them to return to their original positions and merge.

What the new emperor calmed were the turbulent speculations in his heart.

The time came sooner than the new emperor had imagined. Although the Empress Dowager had laid a contingency plan before leaving, allowing him to temporarily leverage her power, this period would not last long.

It could be one year, two years, or three years.

This period may seem long, but it is far too short compared to the refinement period required to enter the Sole Self Realm.

When the new emperor was vying with the Empress Dowager, he felt that the Empress Dowager was too controlling and too suppressive of him.

When the new emperor performed the ancestral rites, he established his official status based on the real and fake Crimson Sky Swords, and the Empress Dowager could only take care of him.

The former made him resent the Empress Dowager for serving three reigns for too long, while the latter made the new emperor feel that the time was too short, wishing that the Empress Dowager could live for another ten years.

"Dongfang Shuo, when do you think it would be appropriate for me to take over the reins of government?"

As the new emperor walked out of his private quarters and headed towards the main hall of the Weiyang Palace, he couldn't help but engage in some casual conversation.

But as the new emperor chatted idly, Zhang Xuezhou's gaze inadvertently swept over the emperor's hand, only to find that the emperor's right hand had unknowingly clenched into a fist.

"The Great Han Dynasty belongs to His Majesty. His Majesty can take over the government whenever he wants," Zhang Xuezhou replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"There are things I know, but my subjects may not," the new emperor said. "Some people simply refuse to listen to me. What should I do about that?"

"If you don't listen, you'll be dismissed," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"If he has the ability and prestige..."

"The imperial court has undergone several rounds of official changes, and no one possesses the prestige to hold power for many years!"

Zhang Xuezhou shook his head.

Emperor Jing defeated the King of Liang, eliminated the most threatening of the vassal kings, and sent away the most powerful Grand Commandant Zhou, turning him into a terracotta figurine to be buried with him.

Among the civil officials, the most renowned was Chao Cuo, Emperor Jing's teacher, who was executed by being cut in half at the waist.

With the deaths of all the feudal lords, military generals, and civil officials, the Great Han Dynasty's official system became loose and could no longer form a unified force.

It seems that Xu Chang is currently the prime minister and Zhuang Qingdi is the censor-in-chief, but these people have only been in office for two or three years. Their decrees are still difficult to reach remote areas, let alone establish sufficient prestige.

"With General Li Guang in charge, His Majesty has nothing to fear from any force," Zhang Xuezhou said with a smile.

"That's what they say, but there are very few who can replace them," the new emperor mused.

"It seems His Majesty has some candidates in mind," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"Xu Chang and Zhuang Qingdi are jointly controlling the court. Only by removing them both can we prevent the court officials from taking sides, so that I don't have to be mindful of their opinions to ensure the smooth implementation of my decrees," the new emperor murmured. "My uncle Tian Fen has many followers and previously served as Grand Commandant. It wouldn't be difficult for him to secure a position, but I still need at least one loyal and devoted person."

"Loyal and faithful..."

Zhang Xuezhou hesitated for a moment.

With the new emperor taking control of the government, replacing Xu Chang and Zhuang Qingdi was an inevitable event, but the question was who would replace them.

The new emperor may seem to have only mentioned the simple requirement of 'loyalty,' but those who could replace the prime minister and the censor-in-chief all required high intelligence and strength to complete the replacement.

The new emperor had very few loyal followers, and even fewer capable ones.

If Tian Fen's loyalty was based on his connections, others either lacked ability or connections, making it extremely difficult for them to meet the new emperor's demands.

Without enough replacements, it will be difficult for the new emperor to directly control the government.

"Does Your Majesty still remember Han Anguo?"

After thinking for a long time, Zhang Xuezhou finally remembered someone who seemed both reliable and unreliable.

"Han Anguo?"

The new emperor's face wrinkled slightly.

He certainly knew Han Anguo; he was an official introduced through bribery.

The other party was once the most important member under King Liang. After King Liu Wu of Liang died, he was purged by the kings who succeeded State of Liang, thus falling into the infighting within the royal court and being sidelined.

Han Anguo possessed immense strength and wisdom, but the new emperor saw him only a very limited number of times, leaving Han Anguo with no opportunity to demonstrate his loyalty, and the new emperor also failed to perceive any loyalty from him.

"This man may not seem loyal to His Majesty, but he has always wanted a place to stand," Zhang Xuezhou said with a smile. "He didn't choose Anle Palace back then either!"

"You mean he had no choice but to choose me, and therefore had no choice but to follow me loyally?" the new emperor asked.

"That's probably how it will be!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded.

While Zhang Xuezhou may not be familiar with Han Anguo, Zhang Xuezhou is familiar with Qimeng Haige and understands the mentality of such people very well.

It can be said that Han Anguo was disloyal, but when he was currying favor with the imperial court, he was bound to be dutiful and dutiful, and in most cases he would obey the new emperor's orders.

Most importantly, Han Anguo had no real power base in Chang'an City, and the other party was on good terms with Tian Fen and others, so it was unlikely that things would turn out badly.

"Then I understand!"

The new emperor nodded, a hint of satisfaction appearing on his face.

Although he would eventually discover Han Anguo's special characteristics through careful consideration and there was a certain probability that he would choose him, he was clearly satisfied with Zhang Xuezhou's reminder.

Zhang Xuezhou's appointment as Grand Master of the Palace was a mess. Since taking office, he went to the court once and did a day's work. However, Zhang Xuezhou was quite good as a "Censor-in-Chief" and still maintained the high standard of answering the new emperor's questions.

With a choice in mind, the new emperor felt a sense of relief, his tense mind much more relaxed than when he listened to Wei Zifu sing.

"Xu Chang and Zhuang Qingdi are conservative in their actions and have not made any great contributions, but they have never made any mistakes," the new emperor said in a low voice. "How do you think we should find fault so that I can reasonably replace them?"

"Your Majesty, finding the wrong person is too difficult; I still haven't resigned from my post!"

The officials in the imperial court were not a one-man show by the emperor, who could be arbitrarily transferred according to his whims.

Even when the Empress Dowager impeached Zhao Wan and Wang Zang, she chose to try them based on their crimes, which allowed her to successfully remove them from their high-ranking positions.

Generally speaking, as long as they don't make any major mistakes, officials can remain secure and even rise through the ranks based on their years of service in the court, until they reach a certain limit.

Even if an official is impeached for a mistake, most of the time it's just a minor punishment, usually involving a fine of some salary, and that's it.

Leaving aside the dismissals of Xu Chang and Zhuang Qingdi, even though Zhang Xuezhou, the Grand Master of the Palace, is still in office.

"It will be soon," the new emperor said with a headache. "Once Li Guang catches the culprit, I will give him a good scolding and then punish him severely. He will definitely be dissatisfied with you and use your long-standing dereliction of duty as an excuse to remove you from your position as Grand Master of the Palace!"

"Will it work?"

"It should work, right?"

The new emperor replied uncertainly.

It's quite bizarre for an official to become like Zhang Xuezhou, but the fact that Zhang Xuezhou became a Grand Master of the Palace was unexpected in itself.

Not only did Zhang Xuezhou never expect to rise to a position below the Nine Ministers, but the new emperor also never anticipated the level of support Anle Palace would provide for this matter.

After Zhang Xuezhou was appointed Grand Master of the Palace, Han Anguo was appointed Commandant of the Northern Regions. The new emperor appointed two important positions below the Nine Ministers in succession. He also tried other people, but found that they were directly rejected. Anle Palace did not support any other people to take office.

Although it's unclear what the Empress Dowager of Anle Palace saw in Zhang Xuezhou, it's difficult for someone who's been promoted to a higher position to resign.

At least according to the Imperial Zhuang Qingdi Qingzhai, Zhang Xuezhou had no chance of being impeached.

"Or you could think of some other good ways to cause trouble," the new emperor pondered. "You'd better set a good example of resigning, so I can refer to it later!"

The new emperor wanted his subordinates to hold positions of real power, but it was rare for an official to rise to such a level as Zhang Xuezhou, who had to hide and flee to avoid disaster.

Compared to the usefulness of Zhang Xuezhou serving as a Grand Master of the Palace, he clearly preferred Zhang Xuezhou to offer occasional suggestions and reminders, rather than having to hide away and only meet once every few months.