Insufficient balance

  "Your Highness, you don't know, today at court, the atmosphere was really great!" Dou Huaizhen said with a flushed face, and he hurried to the residence of Princess Taiping as soon as possible, describing the situation on the court in detail.

  Although Princess Taiping had already received the news, she listened with great interest as Dou Huaiyuan told it again, because Dou Huaiyuan's mimicry of facial expressions and actions was very entertaining, and Princess Taiping was also happy to enjoy herself once more.

  Dong Huai Zhen smiled and said, "Those few old brothers, their faces were so red, I almost burst out laughing at the time, but I managed to hold it in and maintain my calm demeanor."

  Xiao Zhizhong, who was standing beside them, couldn't help but smile and chimed in: "You're still saying you're bearing with it, but I clearly saw that everything is written all over your face. Haven't you seen how Zhang Shanggong (Zhang Yue) keeps looking at you? At the time, I really worried that you two would start a fight."

  Dong Huai Zhen shook her head and said, "How dare he hit me? This afternoon in the council hall discussing the 'Three Rivers Law', didn't Director Zhang agree with us? Even if he has a hundred grievances in his heart, reason is on our side, all he can do is swallow his anger."

  Xiao Zhizhong said, "This time we won completely, the greatest credit naturally goes to Xue Lang, Sanhe Fa... I admire him; secondly, the credit should go to Lu Xianggong (Lu Xiangxian), Sanhe Fa came out of Lu Xianggong's mouth, that was earth-shattering and reasonable."

  Tai Ping listened to others praising Xue Chongxun, her smile remained unchanged on her face, but in her heart she was more comfortable. She had not spoken until now, and when mentioning Xue Chongxun, she immediately spoke up, of course, her tone was not as complacent as Dou Huai's, but rather calmly said: "Chongxun still needs to be tempered, don't praise him too much, lest he becomes arrogant... actually I used to hold Liu An in high esteem, who would have thought that he hesitated for a long time and couldn't even come up with a plan, in this regard, he is not as good as Chongxun."

  The bureaucrats next to him pondered Taiping's words, weren't they just flattering their own son? Xiao Zhizhong thought: Where did Liu An get the guts to cut off Taiping's financial path? Xue Chongxun had that guts, but it was relying on his identity, of course he wasn't afraid. If it were Liu An's position, even if he figured out the Sanhe Law, wouldn't he have to worry about the interests of those above?

  However, Xiao Zhizhong was more cautious in his words and deeds than Dou Huaijian. Although he thought so in his heart, he followed the peaceful mood and said: "Xue Lang is brave and resourceful, decisive in his actions, and absolutely incomparable to ordinary people; but Your Highness's trust also eliminated Xue Lang's worries about future troubles, which is also very important."

  Tai Ping said: "Lu Xiangxian initially did not refuse my recommendation to promote him to the position of Prime Minister, I know his attitude is still leaning towards me... This person is just too proud, and even on a day like today, he didn't come to visit."

  Dong Huai Zhen smiled and said: "Isn't it just for fame?"

  Xiao Zhizhong furrowed his brow and said: "How can you say that? Can entering or leaving the princess's mansion really affect one's reputation?"

  Cong Yizi is the courtesy name of Duan Huizhen, this word is really ironic, Duan Huizhen not only did not end up with one person, but also attached himself to several powerful officials...

  He heard Xiao Zhizhong's words, his face pulled down, and he said somewhat unhappily: "Do you have to be stubborn with me? The princess is the emperor's own sister, her status is noble and high. People like Lu Xiangxian are just that kind of moral character. The more powerful you are, the colder they become. Do I need to explain it so clearly for you to understand, old brother?"

  Tai Ping smiled and said, "Don't mind Lu Xiang Gong, he's always been that kind of person. If he didn't attach so much importance to reputation, the outcome of today's court session wouldn't have been so good... Ah, what do you think of Zhang Shuo?"

  There are six prime ministers in the court now (originally seven, but Liu Youqiu was exiled to Lingnan, leaving only six). Five of them tend to be peaceful, and the last one who has not been won over is Zhang Shuo, so Taiping asked this question.

  Xiao Zhizhong murmured, "Ordinarily, I haven't seen Zhang Yue or his trusted followers entering or leaving the Crown Prince's mansion. He might be leaning towards the Crown Prince in his heart, but he is different from those people like Liu Youqiu."

  Tai Ping nodded and said: "Zhang said that such a person has a good foundation and talent, with both literary and military skills. If we can win him over, it would be a very good thing."

  Xiao Zhizhong said: "I'm afraid it's very difficult, he is now the prime minister, Your Highness can't pull him in like you did with Lu Xiangxian. This person is not greedy for wealth or beauty, he does things properly and has a strong sense of integrity, it's very hard..."

  "People always have weaknesses." Taiping said calmly.

  Dong Huai Zhen was just lost in thought with her head down, when suddenly she had an epiphany: "I know what Zhang said values most!"

  "Tell me," Taiping asked with great interest.

  "Power and position." Du Huai-zhen said with confidence, "I can guarantee that he is very concerned about power and position! I heard that he used to accept bribes frequently in the past, but now he has managed to restrain himself and even gained a reputation for not being greedy for wealth, because compared to money, he values power and position more; there's another thing, I'll tell you, Your Highness will understand once you hear it. In the past, Zhang said was the Minister of War, later he was promoted to be the Minister of War and concurrently the Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat, his rank became higher than that of the previous Minister of War, but he felt that others were not respectful enough to him because they relied on their seniority, so he found ways to force them into retirement."

  Taiping Princess was quite pleased after hearing this, "Since that's the case, it's easy to handle. Just find a way to put pressure on him and let him know that if he doesn't behave, he'll be demoted from Chang'an. If he really values his position so much, he'll naturally know what to do."

  Xiao Zhizhong hastily advised: "This method may not work, Zhang says the city is very deep and can be bent or stretched. If he likes the crown prince, even if he is demoted, he will not surrender."

  Princess Taiping said coldly, "If he can be won over, that's good. If not, find a way to demote him out of Chang'an, so he won't gather another group of imperial historians like this time and cause me trouble again."

  The Zhang Yue mentioned by Taiping is indeed a flexible person. The plan to impeach and dismiss officials was actually made by him, and Zhang Yue was the highest-ranking big shot among the people directly involved in this matter. He had an unpleasant private relationship with Yao Cong and others, but he successfully completed the three steps by grasping the public heart, unexpectedly being defeated by Xue Chong's unexpected move.

  Failure did not make Zhang Say angry, but instead quickly adjusted his mentality. Not only did he strongly support the "Three Rivers Law" in the Prime Minister's Council, but also wrote an article praising innovation within a few days. Zhang Say was originally very talented with words, and the articles he wrote spread quickly... As a result, Zhang Say's impartiality became known throughout the court and the countryside, perfectly demonstrating his principle of prioritizing the country and its people above all else. The Three Rivers Law was good, and he did not belittle it just because it was proposed by an opponent.

  "Law, Fu's dispute" Zhang said lost, but lost is not bad. If there was no Xue Chongxun's unexpected move, Zhang said rigorous layout would not have been lost; and his final praise for the Sanhe law was simply a brilliant stroke, reversing the trend.

  Zhang said to his nephew Zhang Jishi with a sincere heart: "Respecting one's opponent is the most basic cultivation; being able to yield and stretch is the most basic ability. Xue Chongxun's 'Three Rivers Method' is absolutely a stroke of genius, losing is just losing, it's not unjust."