Chapter 611: Who Will Be the Left Prime Minister?

As night fell, a carriage rushed into Xingdao Fang. Over a hundred guards stood watch on either side. Inside the carriage sat Zhang Jun, who had just been promoted to Right Prime Minister. Leaning comfortably against the carriage wall, he narrowed his eyes to observe the streets—details he used to overlook now came alive before him.
Groups of children were playing and chasing each other, refusing to go home even in the dark. Two women sat outside their respective homes, asking about each other’s dinners, their tones filled with comparison and showmanship. A drunkard hid near his home, frantically washing his face with ice and snow…
Zhang Jun smiled and closed the carriage curtain. He was truly triumphant—after years of striving, his wish had finally come true. The council had unanimously approved the empress dowager’s proposal, officially appointing him as Right Prime Minister of the Secretariat.
As the head of all officials, the Right Prime Minister held immense power when the emperor was absent. Unfortunately, the power to handle state affairs rotated among the prime ministers; otherwise, even Li Linfu’s authority in the past would not compare to his own now.
Though he hadn’t regained control over state affairs, Zhang Jun was still satisfied. All he wanted was this title—the title of Right Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty.
The carriage swayed gently. Zhang Jun closed his eyes, thinking carefully about his conversation with Li Qingan later—this would be his formal report before taking office.
In fact, Zhang Jun understood that Li Qingan had chosen him as Right Prime Minister not because of his abilities, but because he truly wanted to appoint Pei Min or those from the Secretariat—true statesmen. He just needed Zhang Jun as a temporary replacement. Once Li Qingan ascended the throne, Zhang Jun’s role as Right Prime Minister would end.
This was also why Li Qingan was using his son—so that he would willingly step down in the future. Zhang Jun understood all this and didn’t care. All he wanted was the title. As long as he could hold the position of Right Prime Minister, even for just a year, he would be satisfied.
The carriage gradually slowed and stopped in front of Li Qingan’s ZhaoMansion gate. Zhang Jun got out of the carriage, adjusted his clothes, and strode quickly toward the steps.
Generally, visits between high-ranking officials followed strict protocols. First, a time was agreed upon. When it approached, the host would send their son or brother to wait, then emerge personally to greet the guest. It was unacceptable to let the guest wait outside the gate—this was not only rude but also a sign of extreme disrespect.

Of course, if one shows up uninvited, that’s another matter. In such cases, the visitor would wait in the carriage rather than stand at the gate like a beggar, eagerly waiting for the host to come out, which would be embarrassing. However, at Prince Zhao’s mansion, there was an exception. Li Qing’an’s son was only over a year old and unable to greet guests on his father’s behalf, nor did he have any brothers to assist him. Li Qing’an wouldn’t wait outside in the cold wind in advance, and even if he arrived early, the visitor wouldn’t dare wait in the carriage. After all, Li Qing’an was a highly powerful figure—just like when summoned by the emperor, the prime minister could only stand in the scorching sun with nothing to do.

Zhang Yun stepped up the steps and said to the gatekeeper with a smile, “Please go inform your lord that Zhang Yun has arrived.”
“It’s the prime minister! Please wait a moment; I’ll go right away!”
The gatekeeper rushed off. Zhang Yun stood in front of the mansion gate, waiting patiently with his hands behind his back. After a while, footsteps came from inside, and soon the side door opened. Li Qing’an stepped out smiling, “I’m sorry for making Prime Minister Zhang wait so long!”
Zhang Yun felt a sudden sense of relief. Li Qing’an had come out personally to greet him instead of having his guards lead him in. In his memory, Li Qing’an rarely came out himself to welcome guests; he always had his guards do it. Zhang Yun felt greatly honored.
“Not at all! It’s me who arrived early and disturbed Your Lordship’s rest.”
“Prime Minister Zhang, you’re too kind. As far as I remember, this seems to be the first time you’ve visited my mansion!”
“I’ve wanted to come for a long time, but I was afraid Your Lordship might refuse to let me in because of my large appetite.”
Zhang Yun’s humor made them both laugh, and the atmosphere immediately became relaxed. “Please! Please! Come in! We still have some rice in our pantry; we can afford to host you.”
The two walked into the mansion laughing. Li Qing’an invited Zhang Yun to his study, which was a great honor. For a man to invite a friend into his study was like a woman letting someone see her wardrobe—such treatment was reserved for those with a special relationship.
Zhang Yun was surprised that Li Qing’an hadn’t taken him to the guest room but instead to his study, feeling greatly honored by the attention. He realized how much Li Qing’an valued him.
The two sat down in the study. Li Qing’an’s beloved concubine, Ru Shi, served them fragrant tea, which was also a very high honor. Zhang Yun had never heard of Li Qing’an having his concubine serve tea to guests; usually, it was the maids or guards who did it.
Li Qing’an’s meticulous attention to detail made Zhang Yun realize that today’s meeting would be extraordinary. Li Qing’an must have important matters to discuss with him. But instead of jumping straight into the topic, Zhang Yun first chatted about everyday matters.

“I heard that Your Highness has taken in another adopted daughter—what wonderful news!”
Li Qing’an sighed and said, “Ah! To be honest, I’m not afraid of the Prime Minister mocking me, but I really love children. Yet I have only one son and one daughter, so my family is rather lonely. Thankfully, the Queen is about to give birth. I hope she can give me another child.”
“Actually, I think it’s because Your Highness has too few wives and concubines. So far, he has only five, which is somewhat against the rituals. The ministers in the court also have some complaints about this!”
“Is that so?” Li Qing’an smiled. “Then I wonder about Prime Minister Zhang’s household…”
Men always feel a bit proud when talking about having many women, whether they’re servants or prime ministers. Zhang Yun stroked his beard and chuckled, “I only have one wife, but twenty-four concubines—nothing worth mentioning! Really nothing!”
In fact, the rituals clearly specify how many wives a man can have. Depending on his status, the higher his rank, the more wives he can take, and he must take enough. If the leader only eats vegetables and tofu, how can his subordinates afford to eat meat every day? That’s why Zhang Yun said the court officials were critical of Li Qing’an having few wives.
But no matter how many wives one takes, there’s an upper limit. Exceeding it is against the rules. The ancient Zhou rituals were like today’s marriage laws—there’s a limit set, but men’s desires have no limit. So, alternative solutions emerged. The number of wives refers to those with official status, while those outside that status can be possessed without limit. For example, although there were quotas for Emperor Li Longji’s concubines, he still had forty thousand of them. Similarly, there were “third,” “fourth,” “fifth,” “sixth” wives, and so on…
Male hormones remain the same throughout history, so the essence doesn’t change.
After joking around for a while, the conversation gradually shifted to today’s main topic. Li Qing’an took a sip of tea and said lightly, “I invited the Prime Minister here today because there’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”
Zhang Yun perked up, knowing it was time to get to business. He smiled and said, “Your Highness, please go ahead!”
“Hmm!” Li Qing’an pondered for a moment before saying, “After Prime Minister Pei was assassinated, one seat in the Council of State was vacant, violating the rule that the number must be odd. Now that Prime Minister Zhang has been promoted from Left Prime Minister to Right Prime Minister, a seat as Left Prime Minister has become available. I wonder, Prime Minister Zhang, who do you think would be suitable to take that position?”
“Well…”

Zhang Yun hesitated slightly, as if he hadn’t considered this question. In fact, he had thought about it long ago. The Left Chancellor, or Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, served as a check on the power of the Right Chancellor. Orders issued by the Secretariat could be rejected if the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat deemed them inappropriate. For this reason, when Li Linfu became Right Chancellor, he appointed his puppet Chen Xilie as Left Chancellor; when Yang Guozhong became Right Chancellor, he appointed the weak-willed Wei Jiansu as Left Chancellor—out of the same logic.

Although the throne was currently vacant and many major decisions were made jointly by the Political Council, Zhang Yun still attached great importance to the position of Left Chancellor. He was most worried about Wei Tao taking on that role. While major decisions might not be affected, he feared difficulties in handling minor matters. If Wei Tao used the Secretariat’s power to reject his proposals, his role as Right Chancellor would be meaningless.

Now that Li Qingan had raised this issue, Zhang Yun knew Li Qingan must have thought it through as well. He decided to first understand Li Qingan’s thoughts before offering his own suggestions, so as to better achieve his goals.

“I haven’t fully considered the matter of the Left Chancellor position. I wonder if Your Highness has any suitable candidates?”

Li Qingan chuckled and said, “It doesn’t matter. I just wanted to hear Chancellor Zhang’s thoughts. It’s fine if it’s not yet mature!”

Seeing that Li Qingan insisted on hearing his opinion first, Zhang Yun subtly expressed his views. “Although Minister Cui is young and talented, his experience is still limited, so he’s not suitable for the position of Left Chancellor. Zhang Gao has always been upright and selfless, with an excellent reputation. I think he would be more suitable for this role.”

He only mentioned Cui Ping and Zhang Gao, never mentioning Wei, Lu, or Wang—essentially signaling to Li Qingan that the Left Chancellor position should not fall to Wei’s faction, otherwise, conflicts would arise and government affairs would grind to a halt.

If the Political Council became dysfunctional, it would be perfect for the Secretariat to take over government affairs—this had been Li Qingan’s original plan. However, the Secretariat was merely a temporary solution; it could never truly replace the Political Council. With two decision-making bodies in the court, just like the Southern Yamen and Northern Yamen in Tang Dynasty history, chaos would eventually ensue, ultimately harming the people of the Tang Dynasty.

Since Pei Zunqing had already left, the Secretariat could gradually merge with the Political Council.

Li Qingan smiled and said, “Perhaps Chancellor Zhang didn’t understand my meaning. I actually have two questions. First, since the Political Council currently has an even number of members, it makes sense to make it odd. The second question is who should be the Left Chancellor?”

He paused. Li Qing’an glanced at Zhang Yun’s expression and, seeing him deep in thought, slowly continued, “Although Zhang Gao is an honest and capable person, he is too rigid and unwilling to adapt. If he becomes the Left Prime Minister, some policies might not even be implemented in a year. I think he would be more suitable to head the Ministry of Punishments. It would be more appropriate for him to serve as the Minister of Punishments. The position of Left Prime Minister requires sufficient local experience—someone who can adapt while still adhering to principles. For this role, I recommend Cui Ning.”
It turned out that Li Qing’an had his eye on Cui Ning. Zhang Yun thought for a moment. This person seemed fine—capable and adaptable. He nodded and smiled, saying, “Your Highness means to add Cui Ning to the Political Council, increasing the number of members to seven, right?”
Unexpectedly, Li Qing’an shook his head. “What I mean is to reduce the Political Council to five members.”
……