Zhu Mou's voice was dull, but there was always a sense of indifference in it.

At this time, another person arrived.

He has a dignified appearance, dark skin and a square face, and he seems to have a sense of righteousness. Although he is just an ordinary cloth robe, he feels that he is wearing a righteousness.

This person is the current Minister of Justice, Yan Yingyuan.

At the beginning, this person served as the Shuntian Prefecture Yin. Later, the Shuntian Prefecture Yin was promoted from the third rank to the second rank, and he was smoothly promoted to the Secretary of the Organization Department.

Later, the emperor carried out reforms and merged the Organization Department into the Ministry of Personnel, so that the Ministry of Personnel was once again in charge of the subordinate officials' official positions, and he served as the left minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

After a few years, his qualifications have been enough. Last year, he was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Justice. This can be regarded as a prosperous official career. He will join the cabinet in a few years.

"Yan Budang is here, sit down quickly."

Zhu Mou was very polite to Yan Yingyuan, and the arrogance on his face was restrained unconsciously.

Zhang Tongchang, the minister of industry at the side, looked worried, but did not have an attack.

Zhao Langxing, the right servant of the Ministry of Personnel, did not change his expression.

"Your Majesty, this matter is a forced party fight."

Yan Yingyuan has been an official for many years and has always been known for his courage in taking office. He was a local official and had a deep understanding of the civil society, so he was deeply trusted by the emperor.

"Party fight?" Zhu Mou said softly: "Some things cannot be done without fighting. If you don't want to fight, the people behind will push you to fight."

Yan Yingyuan shook his head, feeling quite embarrassed about Zhu Mou's refusal to listen to dissuasion.

He knew that the reason why Zhu Mou was able to compete with the chief minister in the cabinet as a member of the clan relied on the emperor's favor.

Therefore, among the many cabinet ministers, Zhu Mou has always been aloof from others. He has never cared much about fame, fortune, wine, sex and wealth.

After all, as long as the emperor's favor is there, it will be done.

It is precisely because of this that there is a sense of arrogance in his heart, which is quite frank.

If you make friends with others, you will definitely be a top-notch good friend.

But this is an officialdom, and it is normal to try and compromise with each other. Even if an arrogant person has great kindness, it will not last long.

Yan Yingyuan heard that Yan Chongxin, the first assistant, would retire at the end of the year to take care of himself.

In this way, Zhu Mou, who is the second assistant, will be promoted to the first assistant naturally, which will further increase his arrogance.

Therefore, among the four cabinet ministers, the first assistant, Yan Chongxin, was the most polite to Zhu Mou, while the other group assistants, Feng Xianzong and Du Yinzhen, were both friendly towards him.

According to legend, when Yan Chongxin married his daughter, several members of the cabinet were exposed, and they hurried back.

Although the time was short, since we still met and were chatting, suddenly Mr. Zhu Ge seemed to have bumped into a friend and left without even saying hello.

The two pavilion elders were placed there, which was quite embarrassing.

From then on, conflicts within the cabinet suddenly arose, and there was no longer the harmony of the past.

Moreover, there are rumors in official circles that the cabinet will be expanded from four to five people this time. In other words, even if Zhu Mou is the chief assistant, two more people will be added to the cabinet.

If the two people who are promoted do not want to see him, even if Zhu Mou takes the position of chief assistant, it will be difficult for him to last.

"Zhongtang, Your Majesty seems to think that the party strife is serious now and is determined to put an end to the strife. You cannot be stubborn at this time."

Yan Yingyuan hurriedly advised.

Zhu Mou said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty does not want to see Old Man Yan this time."

"Lao Yan wants to become an official, and the cabinet needs to add two people. If there is no fight at this time, can I still be the chief minister?"

As soon as these words came out, the three of them instantly felt happy.

It turns out that he wanted to prepare for a rainy day!

From this point of view, the rumors are true, and Yan Chongxin's appointment to the official position is a done deal.

In this way, the right few people came.

Who doesn’t want to sit in a cabinet position?

Although theoretically the Minister of Civil Affairs is the first candidate, the unspoken rule of who puts the imperial power at the top is nothing at all.

The eight ministers, local governors, as long as they are senior officials of the third rank or above, there is a slight possibility, even if the possibility is not high.

Zhang Tongchang instantly put on a genuine yet enthusiastic smile. As Minister of Industry, he had great opportunities.

Zhao Langxing on the side was also inexplicably excited.

This time there was a big upheaval in the officialdom. As the right minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, he had a good chance to move up a step and serve as the left minister of the Eight Ministries, or become the governor of a province or the official of a feudal frontier.

Only Yan Yingyuan remained deep in thought.

He has the Holy Scroll and is on good terms with Zhu Mou, so he has a good chance of entering the cabinet.

Moreover, he believed that after joining the cabinet, he would not be able to do much more than the current Minister of Justice.

He understood that Zhu Mou was trapped in an unsolvable situation at this time.

Emperors are always very suspicious, even Zhu Mou is no exception.

Therefore, the chief minister of the cabinet does not have an absolute say in the candidates to join the cabinet. Two candidates can only make one decision.

But how qualified can the new cabinet assistant be?

Feng Xianzong had followed the emperor from Luoyang, Henan, and Du Yinzhen was a civil servant who submitted to the Huguang shogunate. In addition, he had been in the cabinet for many years, so he not only had seniority but also had a wide network of contacts.

Ministers who join the cabinet can only be used as decorations for a short period of time.

This also means that Zhu Mou will be restrained for a long time.

This was extremely difficult for him, who was so arrogant, to accept.

So he wanted to control the cabinet from the beginning. He didn't have to keep his word, but he also had to be stronger than Yan Chongxin.

Once you plan for cabinet candidates, you will inevitably fall into party disputes.

The official position is a carrot and a pit.

Being the chief assistant does not mean that there is no need to arrange manpower in the eight departments and localities.

"The sacred scroll in the middle hall is very large, but now it is worse than still when it moves."

Yan Chongyuan persuaded again: "The emperor has always known about the cabinet and will definitely make appropriate arrangements..."

There was a trace of anger in Zhu Mou's eyebrows, but he quickly covered it up and said in a deep voice: "The situation is compelling and we have to do something."

Zhang Tongchang said: "Yes, this matter must be fought for. If we take one step back, others will take two or three steps forward."

"Feng Zhongtang and Du Zhongtang will not sit idly by and ignore it."

As the minister, Zhao Langxing wanted to say a few words, but when he saw Yan Yingyuan frowning and said nothing, he immediately stopped talking.

Zhu Mou heard this and praised: "As expected of Grand Master Zhang, he really knows the way of power."

Zhang Tongchang smiled, feeling very annoyed.

Although his grandfather Zhang Juzheng was rehabilitated in the Shaowu Dynasty, his reputation among the government and the public was not good.

It is undeniable that everyone recognized the power of the whip method, but they were deeply criticized for Zhang Juzheng's monopolization of power and his role as a unique powerful official in the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, when you praise Zhang Juzheng's reforms, New Deal, etc., he will be happy, but once the words are about power, it is tantamount to scratching his sore spot.

Yan Yingyuan shook his head.

It would be fine if he was an ordinary person, but Zhu Mou had recruited Zhang Tongchang for many years and had known Zhang Tongchang for many years. How could he make such a small mistake?

Although Zhu Mou was a bit arrogant before, he was straightforward, informal, and generous, and he won a lot of good reputation, but he has changed a lot in the past two years.

Zhao Langxing also sighed in his heart, how did Zhu Zhongtang become so fast?

Afterwards, Zhu Mou didn't say much. He just said "Fight without breaking up, fight secretly for the master" and then he was gone.

Specific measures were not stated.

This made several people sigh inwardly.

"Among the three of us, the one Zhu Mou can push to the top most is probably Yan Yingyuan."

After getting on the carriage, Zhang Tongchang frowned: "I'm afraid I, a minister, may not take it seriously, and it's impossible for him to occupy both places."

"So, if you can't find a job in the cabinet, then go to a good place."

In the court, the cabinet commands the eight ministries.

But the eight parts are not equal in name. They all have their own order.

Among them, the Ministry of Personnel is the first, and he is respected as the Heavenly Official. Even ordinary ministers in the cabinet must treat him kindly and not dare to speak falsely.

Therefore, starting from the Song Dynasty, the Minister of Civil Affairs has always been the first candidate for prime minister.

Even Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Personnel was the first replacement candidate for ministers of various ministries.

The Zuo Shilang of the main department is less likely to advance than the Zuo Shilang of the official department.

The second ranked one is naturally the Ministry of Accounts.

Nowadays, the Ministry of Household Affairs has been reduced to three, the Ministry of Finance collects taxes, the Ministry of Civil Affairs is in charge of household registration and land, and the Ministry of Household Affairs can only be reduced to storage.
To be continued...