一朝天子一朝臣 One Son of Heaven, one set of ministers. The Handian dictionary defines it as: when one person takes office, the staff below are replaced. The Taiwan Ministry of Education dictionary adds that it carries a disapproving sense of appointing one’s own trusted people.
门生故吏 Students and former subordinates. The phrase appears in the Book of the Later Han: “The Yuan family spread favor for four generations, and its students and former subordinates filled the realm.”
站队 To stand in line. Handian gives a second meaning: to align oneself with someone. Its example reads: “He could not tell right from wrong, and he stood in the wrong line.”