"What did Wei Pushe say?" Empress Dowager Guo frowned and stared at Huang Men.
Huangmen hesitated and wanted to say something, but he took out a petition from his sleeve first: "This is what Wei Pushe wrote when he asked me to wait outside. It is a congratulatory petition to the Queen Mother."
"What's the use of the congratulatory letter for me?" Empress Dowager Guo was speechless, but she still took the congratulatory letter, read it once, and returned it to the eunuch: "Concubine Su is about to give birth today. Since only the chief of the clan is here, prepare some rewards for him later. Don't be impolite."
"Yes." The eunuch took the congratulatory letter and whispered to Empress Dowager Guo, looking at her expression, "Wei Pushe also said that after the birth of the heir, the Empress Dowager should inform the court immediately so that Wei Pushe can report the good news to Your Majesty in time. As for the name, Your Majesty needs to decide it personally..."
Empress Dowager Guo nodded and said, "Go ahead. I understand."
"Yes."
……
Wei Zhen was in the Shangshu Terrace at this time, pacing around in the Fuzheng Pavilion at the highest point of the Shangshu Terrace with a frown on his face.
It’s not that Wei Zhen is determined not to come to the palace, but he really has too many worries, and there are two that he needs to focus on solving today.
One of them had just been delivered by Shangshu Zuocheng Wang Ji and was placed on Wei Zhen's desk.
Wang Ji stood at the door with his hands behind his back, watching Wei Zhen walk around for nearly a quarter of an hour, and couldn't help but ask:
"I wonder what your Majesty is worried about? I am willing to serve you."
"It's none of your business." Wei Zhen was about to wave his hand to let Wang Ji leave, but after thinking for a few moments, he felt that this matter would be made public sooner or later, so it wouldn't hurt to let Wang Ji know first.
Wei Zhen sighed and pointed at the document on the table: "The document was just delivered by Boyu. Boyu can take a look at it himself."
"Yes." Wang Ji nodded calmly, walked a few steps to the desk, opened the memorial signed by 'Yuzhou Governor Chen Quan', and couldn't help but take a breath.
The emperor was often away at war. According to the agreement between the emperor and Wei Pushe himself, Wei Zhen could check and review any memorials on government affairs submitted to Luoyang by officials from prefectures and counties.
The ministers all knew this. As long as the memorial was sent to Luoyang, it was obvious that Wei Zhen was going to handle it on behalf of the emperor. If it involved something extremely important, they would send someone to Yecheng or Yingzhou to deliver the letter.
Wang Ji only read it once, then closed the memorial and looked at Wei Zhen sternly: "This matter is of great importance. I hope the Minister of Justice will think twice to avoid disputes in the court."
Wei Zhen sighed again: "I know what Bo Yu said, but this matter is really complicated."
"Governor Huang surrendered from Shu and has only followed Your Majesty, not the other ministers. In addition, Governor Dong of Yingchuan has a bad reputation, and Your Majesty has shown mercy to him several times last year. Huang Gongheng's impeachment of Dong Bojun should be true. But Dong Bojun's father is Weiwei Dong Gong, and I am in power with him and the other two in Luoyang. I am afraid that the court and the public will suspect that I am excluding him, which will only arouse suspicion!"
Wang Ji reminded him, "Although it is true, the governors of each state have always been assigned by the Secretariat. If you say that this was all done by Governor Huang alone, I'm afraid Mr. Dong will find it hard to believe."
Wei Zhen nodded: "That's right! It's raining heavily, and there's impeachment. It's hard to make a decision! How about this, I'll put this matter aside for now, and we'll talk about it after the rain stops."
Wang Ji shook his head: "I think it is inappropriate."
"Inappropriate?" Wei Zhen frowned and looked at Wang Ji: "Inappropriate in what way?"
Wang Ji bowed and said, "May I ask the Minister of the Court, have you and Mr. Dong ever known each other?"
Wei Zhen thought for a few moments and said, "We can't say we know each other, but we often discuss official matters in the same palace. At present, I am in the Shangshutai and Mr. Dong is in the Privy Council, so we don't talk very often."
Wang Ji said, "Since there aren't many, why don't you invite Mr. Dong to your home for a banquet? It's hard to talk about this kind of thing in Taichung, but can't we talk about it in private?"
"In short, this is a problem of Mr. Dong's family, not the Prime Minister's. Why should the Prime Minister worry about it? Wouldn't it be better to talk about it openly?"
Wei Zhen thought for a moment and said, "It is okay to invite Mr. Dong to a banquet, but not at home. The two of us are here in Luoyang to supervise the affairs, so how can we have a private banquet?"
"Bo Yu, go to the Privy Council for me! Tell them to invite Mr. Dong to come to Taichung for a banquet tonight!"
"I understand. I will go to the Privy Council to find Mr. Dong right away." Wang Ji bowed, then turned and walked out.
In the evening, Dong Zhao arrived at the Shangshu Terrace as promised.
Inside the Regent Pavilion, two banquet tables were placed facing each other, with six dishes on each table, which was considered very frugal for a senior official in the court.
However, when it comes to banquets, the most important thing is not the specifications of the food and wine, but the banquet and the people attending the banquet.
"How come Gong Zhen has the leisure to entertain me today?" Dong Zhao walked into the hall with a smile.
Wei Zhen smiled and said, "It's been a long time since I last drank with Mr. Dong. Today, when I have some free time, I will invite Mr. Dong to come to Taichung to chat for a while."
"please!"
"Okay, it's been a while since we've had a feast together." Dong Zhao nodded: "I have nothing to do today, let's drink and talk slowly!"
Wei Zhen nodded.
Just as the two of them were toasting each other, talking about the emperor's great victory in the war and some trivial matters in Luozhong, Wang Ji knocked softly outside the closed door and said:
"Puye, I have something important to ask you." Dong Zhao looked at Wei Zhen and said, "Is it Wang Boyu from the voice?"
"It's him." Wei Zhen answered loudly, "Bo Yu, come in."
Wang Ji pushed the door open and entered. He bowed to Dong Zhao first, and then said to Wei Zhen, "Report to the Minister of the Court, a message has come from the palace, saying that Concubine Su has given birth to a prince for Your Majesty in Changle Palace!"
Wei Zhen nodded: "I understand. Boyu, go ahead and pass this news to Yecheng as soon as possible."
"Follow the order!"
As soon as Wang Ji closed the door, Dong Zhao smiled and raised the wine jar again: "The prosperity of the royal family's offspring is indeed a great joy!"
"Yes, Lord Dong is right." Wei Zhen said with emotion: "Having many offspring is certainly a good thing, but there are also hidden worries. It all depends on how Your Majesty arranges it."
"The Holy Emperor is here, so it's certainly not our turn to worry about this matter." Dong Zhao said with a smile: "Even if there is a need to worry, it should be Gong Zhen who should worry. I'm afraid that day will not come for me."
"Alas." Wei Zhen sighed: "If I talk about worries, I do have one right now. I hope Mr. Dong can give me some advice."
Dong Zhao was a man full of schemes. He came to the banquet just waiting for Wei Zhen to say this.
Dong Zhao nodded: "Gong Zhen, please tell me, what is there to worry about?"
Wei Zhen said, "Mr. Dong, you know about this heavy rain, right? It has been raining intermittently in Luoyang for seven or eight days, and according to the news in Xuchang, it has been raining for nearly ten days. Although there are times when the rain stops, it is rare to see sunny days."
Dong Zhao also shook his head. "It's strange to say. Previously, the Shangshutai of Yecheng sent a message to Luoyang, asking them to pay attention to the summer and autumn rains. I was wondering why this happened. But I never thought that it would rain in August, just like the fourth year of Huangchu."
Wei Zhen said: "The four states of Sili, Yuzhou, Yanzhou, and Jingzhou have been continuously building water conservancy projects this summer. We have done everything we can and accepted God's will. The court has done everything it can."
Dong Zhao continued, "There are many state affairs, and I have something to ask. Zhao Yan has sent a message back from Xiangyang, saying that Wen Pin of Jiangxia is seriously ill and will not live long. He also requested that the court send someone to Jiangxia to take over."
"Gong Zhen, do you have any opinion on this matter?"
Wei Zhen was slightly stunned: "How old is Wen Zhongye this year? Just over 60, right?"
"He's already sixty-five." Dong Zhao said, "According to common sense, it's rare for a general to live to a ripe old age. It's time to choose someone to go to Jiangxia. But right now, all the important officials of the court are in Hebei, and I don't have anyone to send for the time being."
"Then let Zhao Yan keep an eye on it. Lord Dong will send a fast horse to Yecheng to report the news, so that Your Majesty can personally select someone to make the decision." Wei Zhen said, "I have another matter here, and I would like Lord Dong to take care of it."
"This morning, Huang Gongheng submitted a petition to the court impeaching the governor of Yingchuan on the grounds that he was not doing a good job in building water conservancy projects. I don't know how to deal with this for the time being, so I would like to ask Mr. Dong for some advice."
Dong Zhao looked at Wei Zhen in surprise for a long while, then asked, "When did Gong Zhen know about this?"
Wei Zhen smiled bitterly and spread his hands, saying, "Mr. Dong, don't doubt me. I just found out about this today. Mr. Huang impeached Bo Jun, and this matter has absolutely nothing to do with me!"
"Mr. Dong also knows that Huang Gongheng has always been a group leader but not a party member. And I..."
"Gong Zhen, you don't need to explain. I know your character." Dong Zhao stretched out his hand to stop Wei Zhen: "Bo Jun is my only son. His fault is my fault. There is no way to avoid it."
"Gong Zhen, do you know how Bo Jun was chosen as the governor of Yingchuan?"
Wei Zhen quickly shook his head, pretending not to know.
Dong Zhao sighed and said, "Your Majesty wanted to reward me for my advice, but I declined on the grounds of my old age. So Your Majesty gave the great county of Yingchuan to Bo Jun as a reward."
"What did Huang Gongheng say specifically?"
Wei Zhen thought for a moment and said, "The dredging and damming of Jiahou Canal and other rivers have not met expectations and are much slower than those in the surrounding Chen County."
Dong Zhao nodded: "I know about this. Gong Zhen is a sensible gentleman, so you don't need to worry about this matter. I will send a letter to Xuchang and ask Bo Jun to ask for demotion. Then I will submit a memorial to Yecheng, asking Your Majesty to select a virtuous person to serve in Yingchuan."
Wei Zhen sighed, "Don't worry, Lord Dong. The impeachment of a provincial governor cannot be covered up no matter what. I'm sure that with Lord Dong's grace and honor, His Majesty will make arrangements, perhaps the Secretariat, perhaps..."
Before Wei Zhen finished speaking, Dong Zhao stood up and bowed slightly: "I feel a little unwell, so I will go home first."
"Farewell."
Wei Zhen stood up with surprise and asked Dong Zhao, "We haven't finished eating yet, Mr. Dong, why don't you come back later?"
Dong Zhao smiled bitterly and said, "I, Dong Zhao, have been smart all my life, but my son is such an ignorant person. He always troubles me. Gong Zhen is still young, so you should pay more attention to your son, so that you won't be like me when you are old, always worrying about your son!"
Dong Zhao walked out of the hall slowly, his back seemed inexplicably desolate, and even Wei Zhen felt sad.
How did it come to this? (End of this chapter)
