Chapter 188 Lawsuit
The matter quickly reached the ears of Prime Minister Wang.
Several staff members considered their words and spoke carefully: "Prime Minister, the promotion of the shaft plow has been delayed again and again. After all, it is a major matter related to people's livelihood. If we continue to obstruct it, I am afraid that the emperor and the queen mother will be unhappy."
Prime Minister Wang sneered: "Zuo Zhen was arrested by the Queen Mother It's so painful that I have to deal with it personally. If I don't get it back, all the ministers in the court will think that I am afraid of the Queen Mother."
"Otherwise, I will not be able to lose heart. There is no need to discuss this matter again, just proceed as previously arranged.”
Prime Minister Wang said exactly what he said, but the staff did not dare to persuade him any more and had no choice but to agree.
A few days later, An Guogong's people came back dejectedly.
"What? The blueprints were stolen?" An Guogong was furious, pointing at the leading guard and yelling: "You bastard! You can't even handle this little errand! How important are the blueprints? A dozen of you should How could we let the thieves steal it after staring at it day and night?"
The guard leader knelt down with a grimace and apologized: "You guys know the blueprint is important, so we specially divided it into two classes. Watching carefully. The journey has been uneventful. I never thought that a fire broke out in the inn last night. The boys helped put out the fire. In the chaos, some thieves stole the drawings. "
"The younger one knew something was wrong, so he searched the post house inside and outside. All the people stranded in the post house were also offended, but he couldn't find the drawings."
"The little one failed in his errand, so he has no choice but to come back. Please punish me, Lord Duke!"
Gong An Guo, with a livid face, raised his leg and kicked him all over. The leader of the guards was immediately kicked to the ground. Without uttering a word, he struggled to get up and knelt down again.
Gong An Guo gritted his teeth and said angrily: "Get out of here and get fifty pieces each."
After losing his temper, he had to go into the palace to apologize to the emperor and Queen Mother Zheng.
An Guogong entered the palace with an unlucky look on his face. When he arrived outside the Zhaohe Hall, he met Zhou Shangshu, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, who was also waiting outside the hall.
Zhou Shangshu is not tall, has dark skin, and does not have the slightest air of being a civil servant.
Zhou Shangshu came from a serious imperial examination background and worked as a river official for more than ten years. Later, he was recommended by Prime Minister Wang to join the Ministry of Industry as a minister. After the death of the late emperor, Emperor Taikang ascended the throne, and the Minister of Zhou was promoted to be the Minister of the Ministry of Works.
It can be said that Zhou Shangshu is the backbone of the Prime Minister's Party. The Ministry of Personnel, which is responsible for the promotion of officials, has always been controlled by Prime Minister Wang.
The Prime Minister's Party is powerful. In comparison, the Queen Mother Party, which has only emerged in recent years, is far behind. Take An Guogong as an example. It is true that he is the Minister of the Ministry of War. However, General Zuo, the commander-in-chief of the 100,000-strong border army stationed at Yanmen Pass, belongs to Prime Minister Wang. Most of the generals of the 200,000-strong army stationed in the capital come from Prime Minister Wang’s family. .
It is hard to say how many people he, the Minister of War, can command.
"Zhou Shangshu," An Guogong changed his usual attitude of looking higher than his head and bowed his hand politely.
Zhou Shangwen returned the gift expressionlessly without saying a word.
Knowing that he was wrong, An Guogong had to apologize: "I sent people to chase Zhou Shangshu that day because I wanted to complete the errands assigned by the emperor as soon as possible. Those who killed the talented people did not do things well and offended Zhou Shangshu, so I asked Zhou Shangshu to "Forgive me."
Zhou Shangshu said calmly: "The Duke of Guo is on an errand, so I have nothing to say. It can be said. However, there is one thing that Xianguan really wants to tell Duke Guo in front of the emperor.” They returned to Beijing together. The matter of dredging the river was naturally not as important as the promotion of the new shaft plow."
"However, there was a fire in the post house last night and the drawings were stolen. How should I explain this to the emperor?"
An Guogong looked embarrassed and was about to open his mouth to explain, but Eunuch Qi had already come out: "Your Majesty According to the decree, Duke An Guo and Zhou Shangshu are invited to come in to see him. "
In the Zhaohe Hall, Emperor Taikang sat on the dragon chair, and Prime Minister Wang was given a seat. There were also Zhang Shangshu of the Ministry of Personnel and Li Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites.
Li Shangshu is a wallflower and has been closely related to Prime Minister Wang recently. Zhang Shangshu is a die-hard Prime Minister Party.
Anguo Gong's heart skipped a beat. It’s going to be finished today!
"Zheng Shangshu is anxious to see me," Emperor Taikang opened his mouth and asked, "What do you want to report?"
An Guogong gritted his teeth and handed over his hand: "I came to the palace to plead guilty."
......
Half an hour later, Queen Mother Zheng hurried over and broke into the Showa Hall again.
Poor An Guogong was being sprayed all over by Prime Minister Wang, Zhang Shangshu, and Zhou Shangshu. Emperor Taikang, who was sitting on the dragon throne, also had an unhappy face, and his words were quite scolding.
Empress Dowager Zheng was also very upset.
How can there be such a coincidence in the world? It was a fire accident and a thief happened to steal the blueprint! This was clearly a trap, and An Guogong was caught in it by accident. Now I can't argue at all, and I am extremely embarrassed by being sprayed.
However, this matter cannot be explained in this way. Otherwise, it will become unreasonable. Even though she was the Queen Mother of Liang, she couldn't act in such a partial way.
Empress Dowager Zheng endured her anger and interceded for Duke An Guo: "Zheng Shangshu did not do his job well and deserves to be punished. The emperor fined him half a year's salary to teach him a lesson."
My mother's face cannot be denied.
Emperor Taikang agreed obediently.
Prime Minister Wang used this matter to undermine the prestige of Empress Dowager Zheng and suppress An Guogong. He felt happy in his heart, but he didn't miss anything on his face: "The drawings are gone, and we have to ask the emperor to issue an order to have Nanyang County send another one. In my opinion, this drawing does not need to be sent to the Ministry of Industry. It is sent directly to the Anguo Government. The task of copying the drawings and promoting the new shaft plow will be left to Anguo. I'll do it for you."
Zhou Shangshu quickly answered: "I agree. In the next few months, I will be busy dredging the river, and I really don't have time for this task. Just ask Zheng Shangshu to do it!”
It would be embarrassing for a minister of the Ministry of War to rush to do errands for the Ministry of Works.
Duke An Guo was squeezed out by Prime Minister Wang and Shangshu Zhou, and his face was burning.
Empress Dowager Zheng was watching from the side. He could not retreat at this time, so he had to bite the bullet and ask for permission: "I have the audacity to ask for your approval."
......
After lighting a stick of incense, Empress Dowager Zheng left the Zhaohe Palace with a sullen face and returned to Jingyang Palace without saying a word.
An Guogong followed Empress Dowager Zheng in fear.
Entering the inner hall of Jingyang Palace, Empress Dowager Zheng waved her hand and all the palace residents retreated.
An Guogong immediately took a posture to be scolded, his movements were so skillful that it made people feel distressed.
Seeing his appearance, Empress Dowager Zheng became even more angry and cursed him vehemently.
After scolding, the problems that should be solved still need to be solved.
"The Ai family immediately wrote a letter to Shaohua." Empress Dowager Zheng herself did not realize how affectionate it was to call Jiang Shaohua by her given name: "She presented this drawing and asked her to reprint it immediately. Give me a share.”
"When the drawings arrive in the capital, you immediately summon Hanlin bachelors to copy the drawings. If you still can't do this job, get out of the court as soon as possible!"