xymnovel Chapter 84: The Beginning of the Power Struggle
Chapter 84: The Beginning of the Power Struggle
As soon as Li Ang asked the question, Liu Hongyi and the other person beside him also turned their gazes over.
Li Deyu remained calm and composed, cupping his hands in greeting.
"Your Majesty, I believe that Prefect Xue, Lieutenant Liu, and Chief Administrator Yang all have valid points. However, it is precisely because they each have their own reasons that it demonstrates the current ambiguity of the court's system, which should be reformed and clarified."
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Ang glanced at Xue Yuanshang below, seemingly understanding something, and then asked.
"Explain in detail."
Therefore, Li Deyu said, "Your Majesty, I believe the biggest reason for this dispute is that in the past, the Shence Army was under the control of the inner court, and the outer court had no say in it. As a result, the generals in the army often abused their power and protected criminals, making it difficult to try and convict many cases in the Jingzhao Prefecture."
"Furthermore, due to the special nature of the Shence Army, which is a royal guard, it should be bound by military law according to the system. If the Prefect of the Capital interferes with the military's judicial affairs, there is a risk that the army will not accept it."
"Therefore, I believe that such cases should be handled specially. Cases below the level of murder can be sent by the Jingzhao Prefecture to the Shence Military Governor's Office, which will then send personnel to supervise the trial. The offenders involved will also be detained and managed by the Shence Military Governor's Office. After the case is concluded, it will be sent to the Secretariat for signature and approval. After Your Majesty's approval, the Shence Military Governor's Office will impose punishment in accordance with military discipline and national law."
"If a murder is involved, the case should be jointly tried by the Jingzhao Prefecture and the Ministry of Justice, with the Shence Military Governor's Office supervising the trial. Because murder cases are serious and may cause public resentment, the perpetrators should be detained by the Jingzhao Prefecture. However, after the case is concluded, it must be sent to the Secretariat and the Shence Military Governor's Office for joint signature and approval, and then submitted to His Majesty for approval. After review by the Court of Judicial Review, the Ministry of Justice will impose the punishment."
He didn't say "Lieutenant of Shence," but directly used the name of the Shence Military Governor's Office.
This also reveals the positioning and authority of this newly established agency.
Unlike the original Shence management system, the Shence Military Governor's Office was more like a place on par with the Zhongshu Menxia, specifically responsible for Shence military affairs.
The advantage of this approach is that the original lieutenant, who held a position above the outer court, has now been replaced by the entire Shence Military Governor's Office, which is now ranked above other government offices.
The downside is that from the Jingzhao Prefecture to the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and even the Political Affairs Hall, all can interfere to some extent with the Shence Army's original judicial system.
Li Ang did not show any obvious preference for this, but turned to look at Liu Hongyi and the other person beside him and asked.
What do you think of what Minister Li said?
Upon hearing this, Liu Hongyi frowned slightly.
He had to admit that Li Deyu was a very mature politician.
This setup was almost perfectly positioned to fall within the acceptable limits of the Shence Army.
The reform of Shence is a done deal, and the existing power structure will inevitably be restructured.
However, how to restructure, who will gain which new powers, and who will lose which old powers, all require room for negotiation.
It is clear that today's morning court session was the first offensive launched by Li Deyu.
According to his plan, the Shence Military Governor's Office would have to handle almost all cases involving disputes with ordinary people through the Jingzhao Yin (Prefect of the Capital).
Although the Shence Military Governor's Office could send personnel to supervise, the ultimate control was not in their own hands.
Therefore, he quickly objected: "Everyone, this old servant feels that this is not appropriate. The Shence Army bears the heavy responsibility of guarding the capital and should be independent in order to prevent anyone from trying to interfere with the Imperial Guard and plotting rebellion. Minister Li's method is actually treating the Shence Army's case as an ordinary case."
"Furthermore, during the previous audience with Yan Ying, everyone agreed that after the reform of the Shence Army, the Shence Military Governor's Office would still be in charge of all affairs of the Shence Army. The Left and Right Military Governors would be ranked after the Prime Minister. Given this, both the Jingzhao Prefecture and the Ministry of Justice should be responsible to the Shence Military Governor's Office. After all cases are concluded, they should be submitted to the Shence Military Governor's Office for approval before being presented to His Majesty. Why were they first sent to the Council of State Affairs for signature?"
Although Liu Hongyi had already agreed to the reform of Shence, he would naturally do his best to fight for it when it came to his own core interests.
It must be said that his words were reasonable and well-founded, and he had the demeanor of a court official.
Seeing this, Li Ang understood the situation.
Trust between people is built through constant testing.
Although Liu Hongyi has now sided with him, it doesn't stop him from worrying about whether he will keep his promise.
It should be noted that, according to the initial explanation, the establishment of the Shence Military Governor's Office certainly involved the sacrifice of some of its authority.
However, the price to pay is to grant the current high-ranking officers of the Shence Army a status and power comparable to that of important officials in the imperial court.
To put it bluntly, it meant transforming them from household slaves into ministers who could discuss politics with the emperor.
What he wanted was not just the power that the Shence Military Governor's Office should have, but also the right to speak with the Council of State and the prime ministers on an equal footing in terms of status and identity.
So, if it were an ordinary court official presenting a memorial, how should Emperor Li Ang react?
"What do the other gentlemen think?"
Li Ang pondered for a moment, then quickly looked at the other prime ministers in the Council of State Affairs.
Upon hearing this, Wang Ya glanced at Li Deyu and quickly said, "Your Majesty, I believe that what Prime Minister Li said is reasonable. After all, the Shence Military Governor's Office is different from the inner court. The Council of State Affairs manages all government offices. Although it is in charge of important matters with the Shence Military Governor's Office, since it involves civil affairs, the Council of State Affairs should participate. It is only right that the two sign the document together."
Jia Su had been having a tough time in the court lately, so he naturally wouldn't be the first to speak out. He quickly chimed in with a couple of comments.
Even at this point, Li Ang still did not express his opinion, but finally turned his attention to Yang Qinyi.
"Minister Yang, what do you think?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Hongyi looked over with a scrutinizing gaze.
Although the official titles are not yet finalized, from the generals of the Shence Army to the prime ministers of the Council of State Affairs, they have generally tacitly agreed that after the establishment of the new Shence Military Governor's Office, Yang Qinyi will replace Xue Jiling as the Right Commander-in-Chief in charge of the Right Army.
In a sense, when facing the Political Affairs Hall, he should be considered a comrade-in-arms with shared interests as Liu Hongyi.
However, given his consistent bias towards Li Deyu, Liu Hongyi remained quite skeptical.
Now is the time for the other party to make their stance clear.
If Yang Qinyi still sides with the Political Affairs Hall on this matter, then Liu Hongyi feels that he should consider whether to try to put forward a new candidate.
Fortunately, Yang Qinyi was also well aware of this.
After a moment's thought, he said, "Your Excellency, this old servant agrees with what Lieutenant Liu just said. The Shence Military Governor's Office was established to counterbalance the important affairs of the Council of State Affairs, and is not subordinate to the Secretariat-Chancellery."
"Moreover, the Shence Army is of a special nature and should be directly under Your Majesty's command. Therefore, this old servant believes that, regardless of the case, after the trial is concluded, it should be submitted to the Shence Military Governor's Office for signature before being reported to Your Majesty..."