The revitalization of the Tang Dynasty began with the Ganlu Incident.

Chapter 119: Three Pages of Imperial Writing

Wang Ya unfolded the imperial edict and saw that the contents written on it were exactly the same as what Song Shukang had said, clear and without a single superfluous word.

Even when Song Shukang left, he specifically gave him these instructions.

"My lords, His Majesty has decreed that this edict should be issued by the Secretariat immediately, without delay..."

The implication is that the content of the edict has already been decided, and there is no need for discussion or debate; the Central Secretariat should simply issue the edict accordingly.

Wang Ya naturally understood and cupped his hands, saying, "Please inform His Majesty that I and several other ministers will draft the edict and have our servants prepare it before sunset at the latest and send it to the palace."

"Then I'll have to trouble you gentlemen..." Song Shukang bowed in return, took two steps back, and quickly left the Hall of State Affairs.

The remaining three stood in the hall, looking at the imperial edict in front of them, their expressions all very complicated.

After a moment, Wang Ya spoke, saying to the attendant beside him, "According to the system, the imperial edict for the transfer of officials must be signed by all the prime ministers. Go to the Ministry of Personnel and invite Prime Minister Linghu here."

Upon hearing this, the attendant immediately bowed and accepted the order, then hurried off to the Ministry of Personnel.

Seeing this, Li Deyu's expression changed, but Wang Ya's actions were completely reasonable, and such a big matter could certainly not be kept from Linghu Chu.

Therefore, he didn't say much, but just coughed lightly and said.

"Since Lord Linghu has not yet arrived, Lord Zheng and I will go back and wait. Once everyone is here, we will write the preface together and send it to the Imperial Secretary for drafting."

After saying that, Li Deyu pulled Zheng Qin along, and the two turned and left.

Sitting down again in the public room, Zheng Qin's brows relaxed slightly, and he couldn't help but sigh.

"This time, the Sage has truly caught everyone off guard..."

"However, Wenrao, you just asked me to wait a moment. Does that mean you've already guessed what was going on?"

Upon hearing this, Li Deyu also gave a wry smile and said.

"Today in court, His Majesty suddenly appointed Brother Zheng as Prime Minister. I guessed that His Majesty would inevitably make a major adjustment to the power structure in the court, but I did not expect the adjustment to be this significant..."

Recalling the contents of the imperial edict, Li Deyu himself was also shocked.

It is no exaggeration to say that almost all the official positions mentioned in this edict are the most important official positions in the entire court, except for the prime minister.

With just one imperial edict, all these official positions underwent a complete reshuffle, demonstrating that the emperor's determination this time was likely far greater than he had previously imagined.

"Indeed, who could have imagined that His Majesty would reshuffle so many officials at once? When the news gets out tomorrow, the entire court will be in complete shock..."

Zheng Qin couldn't help but sigh again, but only for a moment before he regained his composure and frowned.

"But the more this is the case, the more we need to think carefully about what the Sage intends for the future of the court."

Personnel appointments have always been the most crucial part of the governance process.

It can be said that before any policy is implemented, the first thing to consider is who should be chosen to do it.

Therefore, the changes in official positions can often reveal what kind of situation the policymakers want.

Li Deyu nodded, but did not speak immediately.

After a moment's hesitation, he picked up his pen and rewrote the appointments he had just heard on the paper in front of him.

Then, he stood up, took out a can of tea, brewed a pot of tea himself, divided it into two cups, and placed them in front of him and Zheng Qin respectively.

He took a small sip before sitting down again.

"Have you come up with an idea?" Zheng Qin picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then looked up at Li Deyu across from him and asked.

"The most important thing is balance..."

Li Deyu spoke slowly, but his brows remained tightly furrowed, clearly indicating that he was still mentally analyzing the current situation.

He took out three more sheets of white paper, picked up a pen, and wrote several names on each sheet.

Then, pointing to the first piece of paper, he said, "Brother Zheng, please look, these are people from the Niu Party..."

Zheng Qin's gaze fell on the paper, and he frowned as well.

"Linghu Chu has now become prime minister, while Niu Sengru, although he failed to enter the Secretariat, concurrently manages the Ministry of Rites and the Salt and Iron Transport Office. In addition, the Censorate was given to Du Cong, and the Court of Judicial Review was given to Yang Sifu."

"In this way, they all gained the power to intervene in the imperial examinations, taxation, the censorate, and the judiciary..."

Although he already had a general idea in mind, Zheng Qin still couldn't help but feel a sense of pressure when he actually read it aloud.

Li Deyu remained silent, but instead flipped to the second sheet, saying, "This is the power that you and I can mobilize..."

Zheng Qin's gaze shifted downwards, and he saw another piece of paper with several names written on it: Li Deyu, Zheng Qin, Xue Yuanshang, and Chen Yixing.

The number of people was about the same, but his brows furrowed even more.

"It seems the sage is still leaning slightly towards the Niu Party..."

Zheng Qin's tone was somewhat low.

The reason is simple: among the people on their side, Li Deyu was not moved, and although Xue Yuanshang received a part-time job and was given the Purple Gold Fish Bag, these were all honorary titles. His main job was still to be in charge of the Jingzhao Prefecture, so it was actually the same as not being moved.

So, the biggest changes on Li's side were Zheng Tan's appointment as prime minister and Chen Yixing's transfer to the position of Minister of Personnel.

Judging by the gains alone, this is not a small amount, but compared with the bulls, it is somewhat lacking.

Upon hearing this, Li Deyu shook his head and said, "I returned to the capital earlier than Niu Sengru, so it's normal that they benefited more this time... What I'm concerned about is that the Emperor's arrangement is probably not a coincidence, but rather has a deeper meaning."

As he spoke, he placed the two pieces of paper together, pointed to the names on them, and said.

"Ministry of Rites, Court of Judicial Review, Censorate, Salt and Iron Transport Office... Capital Prefecture, Ministry of Personnel, Hanlin Academy..."

"Brother Zheng, take a look at these official titles, have you noticed anything?"

Zheng Qin frowned, pondered for a moment, and hesitated before saying, "The Ministry of Rites is in charge of the imperial examinations, the Court of Judicial Review reviews criminal cases, the Censorate is in charge of supervision, and the Salt and Iron Transport Office needs to interact with officials from various regions..."

"These government offices involve a large number of routine affairs that require the responsibility of many low-ranking officials. So, did the Sage value the reputation of Niu Sengru and others among the literati?"

Compared to the Li faction, the Niu faction's advantage lay in its absorption of a large number of mid- to low-ranking officials, especially Niu Sengru, who was known for his integrity, self-discipline, and promotion of scholars from humble backgrounds, and enjoyed a high reputation among the literati.

In contrast, the members of the Lee faction are more concentrated among mid- to high-ranking ministers.

"That's not all, Brother Zheng, haven't you noticed that, apart from the Ministry of Rites, the other government departments are all necessary for implementing the military census?"

Li Deyu spoke slowly, and one sentence made Zheng Qin suddenly realize the truth.

"I see. To investigate the military register, a large number of officials in the court will inevitably be involved. With the Censorate and the Court of Judicial Review in place, whether it is a matter of moral failings or involvement in criminal cases, the Niu faction has ways to deal with it."

"However, if the Emperor intended for the Niu Party to interfere with the Shence Army's military expenses, why wasn't it the Commissioner of Revenue?"

Zheng Qin frowned slightly. To this day, salt and iron revenues have become a major source of income for the imperial court every year.

As a result, the position of Salt and Iron Transport Commissioner was usually held concurrently by the prime minister, and at least half of the Shence Army's military expenses came from salt and iron.

Therefore, by controlling the Salt and Iron Transport Office, one could indirectly grasp the military expenditure of the Shence Army, but its influence remained limited.

It should be noted that the taxes collected by the Salt and Iron Transport Office would ultimately be distributed through the Department of Finance.

So theoretically speaking, the person who should really be influencing the Shence Army's military spending is actually the Director of the Treasury...

Upon hearing this, Li Deyu smiled.

Then he unfolded the third sheet of paper. Zheng Qin looked at it intently and saw that only two names were written on it.

...Wang Ya, Minister of Works, and Li Shi, Director of Revenue...