While it was said that the current emperor was easily fooled, that was only true in certain aspects.
If he were truly a foolish person, how could he have excelled in everything from music and chess to calligraphy and painting?
It was simply that his mind was not focused on the matter of being an emperor.
Having served by his side for so many years, Liang Shicheng understood that if this matter were to escalate.
Inflicting a thousand damages on the enemy while suffering eight hundred oneself.
For him, that would undoubtedly be a matter of breaking bones!
After all, even though he had been granted the status of a jinshi by the emperor and now held a high position, stripped of these accolades, he was still nothing more than a eunuch.
The emperor could deal with them, these inner court officials, without needing the approval of the outer court at all.
The emperor's favor was everything to them; losing the emperor's trust meant the end of his days.
"Then, according to your opinion, what should be done?"
After a moment of hesitation, Liang Shicheng looked at Han Mo again.
"Grand Commandant, this matter was originally very simple, but you have made it too complicated!"
Han Mo cleared his throat and deliberately created suspense.
"How is it simple?"
Liang Shicheng looked at Han Mo with some confusion.
"Grand Commandant, when you were looking at the ledgers just now, did you notice that many of the people on this list were servants who came from Cai's estate! These individuals, while still servants, managed to hold court positions of the fourth or fifth rank, and these people only knew of Chancellor Cai and not of His Majesty…"
As the saying goes, a wise person understands with just a hint. By the time Han Mo said this, Liang Shicheng had grasped his meaning, while only Zhao Huan still looked at Han Mo blankly.
"Indeed, a single word from you has awakened me from my dreams!"
Liang Shicheng let out a long sigh of turbid air. Han Mo's words were enough.
Indeed, compared to Han Mo's suggestion, his own original idea was far inferior.
It wasn't just Cai Jing; none of the people around the emperor lived a life of austerity. The emperor had known about this for a long time.
It wasn't the first or second time the emperor had visited Cai's estate. Even if he were insensitive to numbers, he couldn't possibly have no understanding of Cai Jing's living standards!
How much was Cai Jing's annual salary from the court? Did anyone know better than the emperor?
Even if the Cai family originally had some wealth, it couldn't possibly sustain the extravagant lifestyles of their entire family, old and young!
Where did this money come from? Wasn't it as obvious as a louse on a bald man's head?
But why had the emperor never spoken up, nor ever requested that the relevant authorities investigate in this direction?
For years, memorials impeaching Cai Jing for corruption and selling official positions had been submitted one after another, but in the end, all these memorials were thrown into the incinerator.
Was the emperor truly foolish and ignorant?
A man who could observe whether the peacock stepped forward with its left leg or its right leg when it ascended, could he truly not notice these details?
When all the answers were pieced together, the reason why the emperor kept Cai Jing was actually very simple: he was just used to him.
To give a simple example, before Cai Jing took office, if the emperor wanted to issue an imperial decree.
First, he had to find a Shuzhong attendant to draft the edict. If the Shuzhong attendant felt the emperor's command was absurd, they could directly return the draft.
If the emperor still insisted, the Shuzhong attendant who drafted the edict could refuse to write it for the emperor.
Of course, there wouldn't be just one Shuzhong attendant; if you were unwilling, someone else would surely be willing.
After finally passing this hurdle, the imperial decree would finally leave the palace.
Then it would be sent to the Zhongshu Menxia, for the prime minister to sign the decree and affix his official seal.
If it were rejected here, all the previous procedures would be in vain.
Don't think this sort of thing was rare. Throughout the entire Northern Song Dynasty, the number of imperial decrees that were rejected was truly countless.
This showed how great the prime minister's authority was.
In the past, Emperor Taizu appointed Zhao Pu as prime minister, but the three prime ministers at the time resigned on the same day to resist Zhao Pu's appointment.
This directly led to the emperor's appointment edict not even being able to leave the Zhongshu Province.
Even though Emperor Taizu was furious, he ultimately had no solution.
Zhao Pu himself did not recognize the imperial decree personally signed by the emperor.
In his helplessness, the then Hanlin Academician Dou Yi came up with a plan for him.
He had the Emperor's brother, Zhao Guangyi, who was then the Prefect of Kaifeng and concurrently the Pingzhangshi of Zhongshu Menxia, sign the decree, only then was the appointment edict able to leave the Zhongshu Province.
Even if it was by chance, and the prime minister gave face to the emperor, the imperial decree would still be sent to the Objections Department official in the Zhongshu Menxia. Before the Yuanfeng reforms, this department was also called the Censorate.
If this hurdle could not be passed, even if the prime minister had agreed and the emperor had agreed, the imperial decree still could not leave the Zhongshu's gate.
This department was also the department the emperor found most troublesome. Returning imperial decrees was their basic duty.
Before Cai Jing, the scholars and officials of the Song Dynasty had no fear of death. What with raising coffins for remonstrance and the like, as long as the emperor dared to put on airs, there was nothing they wouldn't do.
Let alone raising coffins for remonstrance, they had even spat in the emperor's face and burned imperial decrees in front of him.
Even Wang Anshi, who was as strong as he was during the reform period, was helpless against this department. Wang Anshi once wanted to appoint an official, but although this person was very talented, he had character flaws.
Therefore, the emperor's decree was rejected seven consecutive times when it reached here.
Finally, Wang Anshi, the stubborn prime minister, was thoroughly enraged and replaced the entire Objections Department, only then was the emperor's decree able to leave the Zhongshu Province.
Did you think it ended here?
Even if the emperor's decree passed through the Zhongshu Menxia and reached the entire Great Song Dynasty, if it was proven that the execution of the command was not good, the censors could still impeach and amend the imperial decree.
As for the edicts issued without going through this process, even if personally handwritten by the emperor, it might not matter for trivial matters.
But if it concerned the administrative system, personnel appointments, or national laws and regulations, even if the emperor issued a decree, ministers could refuse to execute it.
This entire system, while indeed a protection for the entire civil official group, greatly limited the power of imperial authority.
But all of this vanished with Cai Jing's rise to power.
Through a series of reforms, Cai Jing greatly strengthened the emperor's inherent authority.
By the time of Cai Jing's third tenure, the punishments for ministers who refused to execute the decrees issued by Emperor Huizong had greatly increased, with severe cases even leading to direct demotion and exile.
It was precisely because of these reforms that Emperor Huizong's absurd commands could be widely implemented.
Under these circumstances, how could the emperor punish him for a small matter of corruption?