xymnovel Chapter 25: First Opportunity
Chapter 25: First Opportunity
When he said this, Zheng Qin made no attempt to hide his contempt.
The Niu and Li parties have many disagreements on political views.
This naturally includes the attitude towards the power of eunuchs.
Although the specific officials involved varied, generally speaking, the Niu faction was closer to the eunuchs. People like Li Zongmin and Niu Sengru had deep connections with the eunuchs.
Even their rise to power was aided by eunuchs.
In contrast, the Li faction held a more negative view of eunuchs.
As the leader, Li Deyu was more moderate. He only advocated suppressing the power of eunuchs in his policy strategies. In practice, he would often choose to cooperate with eunuchs depending on the specific circumstances, and he would also maintain good relations with some powerful eunuchs on a daily basis.
In contrast, Zheng Qin was much more radical.
He completely rejected any association with eunuchs, and during his daily audiences with the emperor, he often lamented the harm caused by the eunuchs' monopoly of power.
Therefore, he naturally looked down on the Niu faction, which was deeply connected with eunuchs.
After listening to Zheng Qin's analysis of the situation, Chen Yixing frowned and hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"What you say makes sense. If Your Majesty truly intends to replace the prime minister, then with the power of Liu Hongyi and others, and with the cooperation of the Niu faction in the outer court, it may not be possible to completely eliminate Li Xun's faction, but it will be enough to bring him down from his position as prime minister."
"If that's the case, then what Minister Linghu said to you today was probably just to tell you to hold back and not hinder his future actions..."
Zheng Qin nodded.
For decades since the Yuanhe era, the struggle between the two parties has been ongoing, and it has long since become more than just a disagreement on political views; it has become a habitual form of opposition and sabotage.
Nowadays, even with a common enemy like Li Xun, it's impossible for the two sides to put aside their past grievances and make peace.
Therefore, on the palace road, Linghu Chu's grand principles of serving the country and the people sounded good, but his actual purpose was very simple.
The idea is that when the Niu faction makes a move, the Li faction should remain calm and observe, and not cause them any trouble.
But the problem is that, in the imperial court, sometimes sitting and waiting is tantamount to missing the initiative.
Even if the Niu and Li factions share the same interests in expelling Li Xun, waiting and seeing means that the Niu faction will claim credit for expelling Li Xun.
In this way, once the new prime minister is appointed, the other side will naturally have the upper hand.
It was precisely for this reason that Zheng Qin's attitude was ambiguous, and he consistently refused to accept Linghu Chu's words.
"Linghu Chu would not speak recklessly about such a major matter, so Li Xun's defeat and death this time is probably a foregone conclusion."
"What I find puzzling is that although Linghu Chu belongs to the Niu faction, his conduct is relatively upright. I had never heard of him being on good terms with any eunuch before, so how did he suddenly get in touch with the eunuchs and learn such confidential information..."
Although they belonged to different political parties, Zheng Tan and Linghu Chu had served in the court together for many years and were very familiar with each other's temperaments and ways of doing things.
That's why he was somewhat puzzled by Linghu Chu's sudden radicalism.
Coincidentally, at this moment, a deep worry also flashed in Chen Yixing's eyes.
However, his ideas differed slightly from Zheng Qin's.
"Master, in my humble opinion, although Master Linghu did not have a deep connection with the eunuchs before, there are many people in the Niu Party who rely on the eunuchs to advance their careers. As long as you want to make connections, there are always ways."
"Moreover, we can all see that Li Xun has designs on the Shence Army. The powerful eunuchs in the palace must have noticed this as well. Since Liu Hongyi has already taken action against Zheng Zhu, it is possible that they took the initiative to contact the Niu Party."
"Compared to that, I think the most important thing right now is to consider how to prevent the Niu Party from gaining the upper hand."
"If Li Xun leaves, it will be difficult for Shu Yuanyu to stay. Although Jia Su does not have a deep relationship with him, he is also a lucky one. If the Niu faction exerts its power, it may not be impossible to bring him down as well."
"If this happens, and the three prime ministerial positions in the Council of State are vacant, and if they are all filled by the Niu faction, then our situation will be very precarious!"
A key manifestation of the so-called factionalism that disrupts politics is the elimination of dissidents.
Over the decades, regardless of which party is in power, the first thing they do is demote and sideline officials from the other party; this has become a path dependency.
Therefore, even for the sake of self-preservation, the Li faction would never truly do nothing.
At the very least, there must be one of their people in the new Politburo leadership team.
Zheng Qin frowned, clearly realizing this as well.
"You're right, we can't just sit here and wait to die."
"Right now, Li Xun will probably fall from power soon, but we can't stop him from doing so."
"Since Liu Hongyi dared to send out the Shence Army to capture Zheng Zhu, it means that His Majesty tacitly approves of it."
"If we intervene, it will only displease His Majesty and make it even more difficult to gain the upper hand later."
"But Linghu Chu has already publicly stepped forward today. Even if we join in later, we'll only get credit for cheering him on. Given this situation..."
Zheng Qin was somewhat troubled.
Even before Li Xun rose to power, the emperor had always favored the Niu faction over the Li faction.
The reasons for this are complex, but they can be summarized into two points.
Firstly, the Li faction was a hardliner on major national affairs, which did not align well with the emperor's usual governing style, thus giving them a sense of being marginalized.
Secondly, the Niu faction had befriended many eunuchs, including not only high-ranking eunuchs from the Yuanhe era but also some newly promoted by the emperor. With these eunuchs speaking well of the emperor, the emperor's perception of the Niu faction naturally improved.
Now, the Niu faction has gained the upper hand in eliminating Li Xun.
In this situation, it is quite difficult to regain the initiative.
Zheng Qin slammed his right hand heavily on the table, his face growing increasingly grim, and he coldly snorted.
"No wonder that old bastard Linghu Chu dared to leak information to me so recklessly. I even thought he was different from the other officials of the Niu faction in the court... You scoundrel!"
These words were originally a helpless complaint, but after listening to them, Chen Yixing on the other side showed a thoughtful look in his eyes and said.
"Your Excellency, I do have an idea, but I don't know if it's feasible..."
Upon hearing this, Zheng Qin was taken aback at first, then sat up straight and said, "Go on."
"Yes……"
…………
After the audience at Yanying Hall concluded and the officials departed, Li Ang returned to the Zichen Inner Palace to continue handling state affairs.
Although he has many memories left behind by the original owner of the body.
However, before he traveled through time, he was just an ordinary person, and his understanding of many people and things in this era was very limited.
If it were any other dynasty, it would be fine, but he happened to be in the late Tang Dynasty, which is an extremely difficult starting point.
In such an era, if you want to live a peaceful life, you have to seize every second and hone your insight and knowledge.
Just as he was engrossed in reviewing the resumes of the officials he had previously transferred and the past documents and papers, a eunuch outside the palace suddenly came to report.
"I hereby report to Your Excellency that Chen Yixing, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works and concurrently Academician of the Hanlin Academy, requests an audience."