Chen Xi led his troops to pacify the main force of the Central Plains rebels and immediately returned to Dengzhou. Then he submitted a memorial to the court to explain the battle, and to express his intention to go to Jiangnan to quell the Japanese pirates, and temporarily handed over the quelling of the Central Plains to Ma Zhongxi, Lu Wan and Hu Lian to take charge.

Chen Xi did not intend to take Hu Lian to Jiangnan. Hu Lian would continue to serve as the governor of Henan and be responsible for governing the Yellow River, placing disaster victims and traitors in the Qing Dynasty.

After Chen Xi submitted a memorial, Kuaima had delivered the news to Zhu Houzhao in just one day. The cabinet and the emperor received the good news that Chen Xi led the army to defeat the thief army at the same time.

Zhang Yuan was not sure that Chen Xi had posted a secret letter to Zhu Houzhao, and thought he was exclusive news, so he quickly went to report the good news to Zhu Houzhao, but he encountered a nail in the Ganqing Palace.

Zhu Houzhao said: "It is a matter of time before, Shangshu Chen won the battle. I have said before, what's the point of making a fuss about this? Now it's just a few thief leaders, destroying tens of thousands of their troops, and it's still some time before the rebellion is completely quelled."

Zhang Yuan asked hesitantly: "But Lord Shen proposed to go to Jiangnan to pacify the Japanese pirates. I wonder if I should let Lord Shen stay in the Central Plains?"

Zhu Houzhao shook his head: "The main force of the rebels has been eliminated, the war has basically subsided. How can I use a knives to kill chickens? Next, let it be handed over to Lu Wan, Hu Lian and others. Shangshu Chen has successfully completed the war in the Central Plains. My idea is to allow him to go to Jiangnan to rectify the Jiangnan officialdom, and then lead troops to completely wipe out the Japanese pirates!"

Zhang Yuan looked serious.

Although the emperor has issued an order to ask Zhang Yong to go to Nanjing to serve as a garrison eunuch, the power of the nobles and civil officials in the Nanjing officialdom is also very large. Before, Zhang Yuan wanted to take the position of a garrison eunuch and control the Jiangnan officialdom based on this. After things change, he could only change his plan and accelerate the layout to control the Jiangnan authority, so that Zhang Yong would be undermined if he left.

If Chen Xi goes to Jiangnan at this time, his plan will be completely failed.

Zhang Yuan said: "Your Majesty, the rebel leader has not been completely arrested. The leader Yang Hu, Zhao Hon, Liu Hui and others are still active in the southern Shandong and Jiaodong Peninsula. Now Lord Shen leads his troops south, which seems too hasty... The previous cabinet's opinion also asked Lord Shen to stay in the Central Plains for ten days and half a month, and wait until the bandits are resolved before continuing the journey."

Zhu Houzhao frowned: "Do you have the final say in the court? Or do you listen to me? Or do you listen to Master Xie and the others?"

Zhang Yuan quickly said, "Of course everything is followed by Your Majesty's orders."

"Will it be over?"

Zhu Houzhao said angrily, "What I need to hear now is that you act completely according to the memorial of Shangshu Chen, instead of making comments here... No matter how capable you are, can you be as good as Shangshu Chen? They all pretend to be big in front of me, and speak well. If you lead the troops, you will give up. Now, Shangshu Shen said that the Central Plains is no big deal, so listen to him and reject all the objections."

After saying that, Zhu Houzhao stood up and went back to the inner hall without looking back.

...

...

Zhang Yuan was not willing to leave the Ganqing Palace because he had not had time to do many things, and muttered: "Fortunately, Zhang Yong had not arrived in Jiangnan yet. Now Shen Zhihou goes first, which means that all the authority of Jiangnan falls into Shen Zhihou's hands... It's so lively now."

Just as he went to Silijian, footsteps came from behind him. He turned around and looked over and found that Xiao Twist was following him.

Zhang Yuan hurriedly asked, "Do you have something to tell us?"

Xiao Guozi said angrily: "You really treat yourself as a dish? If your Majesty has something to do, why don't you say it just now, teach you a lesson and then call you back?"

Zhang Yuan snorted coldly: "You little guy, can you speak?"

Xiao Zhuozi sneered: "Eunuch Zhang, our family is chasing you, just want to remind you not to think that we don't know the dirty things you did in private? You want to take control of Jiangnan's authority and contact local officials and generals in private, thinking that we don't know? If our family complains to you in front of His Majesty, you will be unable to take advantage of it!"

"You little thing, dare you threaten our family?"

Zhang Yuan glared at him. He and Xiao Tuozi were able to stay in harmony for a while ago, but in a blink of an eye, he turned against him because of the power of Jiangnan. Now he is even more powerful. Xiao Tuozi does not give Zhang Yuan any face. However, Zhang Yuan, as the head of the internal supervision, did Xiao Tuozi not do anything.

Xiao Tiaozi said, "Just think that our family threatens you, what do you want? You can't be without a bottom line, otherwise you are not qualified to be a human being, so just be a beast! Seeing those stupid things you did, our family didn't complain to you in front of His Majesty, it's because of the fact that we were serving His Majesty in the East Palace before, don't be shameless!"

After saying this, Xiao Twisted Zi and left. Zhang Yuan didn't react for a while. He was stunned for a while before he came to his senses and murmured: "Is this dog crazy? How did our family commit crimes? How much does the Jiangnan incident have to do with him?"

Zhang Yuan didn't understand why Xiao Tiaozi was so angry. He vaguely felt that something was unknown to everyone, but at the moment he didn't think about Xiao Tiaozi's affairs at all, but he just returned to Silijian with questions all over his body to deal with the matter.

...

...

It is no secret in the cabinet that Shen Xi led the decisive victory in the Central Plains battlefield.

That day, Xie Qian came out of the palace and returned to the gate of the mansion. He saw a carriage parked there and waited for the people on the carriage to come down. Xie Qian couldn't help but frown. It was Zhang Mao who had not seen for many days.

Unlike before, when he always saw Zhang Mao, he always met Xia Ru. This time, Zhang Mao came to visit alone. Xie Qian probably knew what Zhang Mao was talking about. After coming forward to see him, he said lukewarmly: "You can just go in and talk."

Zhang Mao had a cunning smile on his face and walked in with Xie Qian. He said congratulations as soon as he arrived in the yard: "Yu Qiao is indeed capable of knowing people. Shen Zhihou made great contributions in the Central Plains. The chaos that had been delayed for more than a year was basically calmed down after he went there for only a month. Haha, the capital is already safe, and the next step is to pacify the sea border..."

Zhang Mao was there to compliment, but Xie Qian was not helpful when he heard this and frowned.

When he arrived at the main hall, Xie Qian asked Zhang Mao to sit down and said directly: "What's the matter with the British Duke, but it's okay. Otherwise, I won't listen to you just tell me how many skills Shen Zhihou has, right?"

Zhang Mao smiled and said, "Yu Qiao, you are still so anxious. As an old friend, it is not normal for you to go around and play with family? You have to be so disgusted! This is not... When you let Zhihou go to the south, you asked him to bring Yaochen with you. Yaochen lived up to his expectations. He made some contributions to quelling the rebellion this time, and it can be said that he has military achievements."

Xie Qian frowned: "I heard what you mean, are you planning to let your grandson take over your title? This... are you too hasty?"

Xie Qian certainly understood that Zhang Mao could not mention Zhang Lun's military merits for no reason. Since he said that, it was to make some hints to him. Now I think it was only the issue of the successor of the British Duke.

About a hundred years ago, Zhang Mao, who was only nine years old, was admired by Emperor Chenghua and replaced his father Zhang Fu into the Governor's Office of the Five Army. Now, sixty years have passed, and Zhang Mao wants to implement the problem of successor as soon as possible.

Not only did he inherit the title of Duke of England, Zhang Lun also had to inherit his grandfather's position in the Governor's Office of the Five Army. It was obviously not Zhang Mao himself who could help, but he had to be endorsed by the civil servant group.

Now Shen Xi has helped Zhang Lun to obtain military merits. Zhang Mao urgently needs the civil servant leader to build momentum for Zhang Lun to take over the Governor's Office of the Five Army. With the support of Xie Qian, the chief minister of the cabinet, no one in the court will oppose Zhang Lun's rise to power.

Zhang Mao laughed: "It's just a pleasure to talk to Yu Qiao. I'm not young anymore. I've been getting worse every year in recent years. How many days will I have to survive? Young people are not good at it, so they can only go out to experience one or two. The northwest dare not let Lun'er go. For fear of something wrong, they want him to go to the Central Plains... Fortunately, it's Shen Zhihou, if someone else is not able to let Lun'er adapt to the life in the army so quickly, and he will not be able to achieve outstanding military achievements."

Xie Qian frowned when he heard this and thought to himself: "I really need to check it carefully when I look back. How did Zhang Mao's grandson who was not even speaking well obtain military merits? Isn't it because Shen Zhihou deliberately falsely to flatter the British Duke?"

Originally, Xie Qian looked down on young people, so he repeatedly suppressed Shen Xi. Now even Zhang Lun is suspicious.

Xie Qian said: "So, Mr. Zhang is going to abdicate and give way to the wise?"

"Haha, even if you don't abdicate, you can let my grandson enter the Governor's Office earlier to adapt."

Zhang Mao smiled and said, "This matter depends entirely on you, Qiao. You rely on the people from the Governor's Office. Even if you report the memorial, Your Majesty will not listen. However, Yu Qiao has a wide range of connections. If you are willing to help with some activities... I believe Yaochen will definitely make a difference in the court."

To allow Zhang Lun to be an official position of Zhang Mao, he must rely on the activities of Chinese officials in the court. His ability or military merits cannot be the main factor, but the most important thing is to rely on personal connections.

Zhang Mao was not dead. Taking advantage of his remaining strength to discuss cooperation with Xie Qian, it was equivalent to sending an olive branch to Xie Qian. If Xie Qian was willing to help, Zhang Mao would not be able to use him in vain. Both parties are in a mutually beneficial relationship.

Xie Qian said in embarrassment: "Young people should try more... Now Yao Chen is following Zhihou to Jiangnan to pacify the Japanese pirates, and I am afraid he will not be able to come back for a year or two. Now let's talk about these things, aren't you a little too hasty?"

Zhang Mao smiled and said, "Even if Yaochen is not in the capital, it will not prevent me from helping him do something. What does Yu Qiao think?"

Xie Qian was speechless for a while, and after a while he said angrily: "What do you think? Tell me directly. I am now disturbing Shen Zhihou's big stall in the Central Plains to go to Jiangnan to pacify the Japanese pirates. If you hide it, I will see you off."

"Haha, Yu Qiao, you are not young anymore and you are so angry. Where do you want to make a fuss?"

While Zhang Mao was joking, he took out a book from his arms, which had listed all his plans and stuffed them into Xie Qian's hand, and said, "Look at it Yu Qiao. If you think it is appropriate, you can help with the activities in the court. If it is not appropriate, you can mention it, and I will modify it as appropriate."

Xie Qian did not agree to Zhang Mao directly because he hadn't thought that he could ask Zhang Mao for help if he had anything to do.

Now Xie Qian no longer cares about Zhang Mao, but instead repeatedly weighs the pros and cons in many things.

Xie Qian said he wanted to study it, but Zhang Mao couldn't help but say goodbye first.

After Xie Qian picked up Zhang Mao's plan and read it, he was frightened: "The people in the court are either planning for their own interests or running for their own nephews. Is there someone who is sincere in serving the country and the people?"

After thinking about it, it seemed that only Chen Xi met the standards he set... Chen Xi was selfless in many things, and he thought he was also such a person.

In order to decide the matter of Chen Xiping the Japanese pirates in the south earlier and to stabilize the officialdom in Jiangnan, Xie Qian called Yang Tinghe overnight to discuss.

"...Zhang Yuan was only doing things for the eunuchs before. Now he sent people to contact him everywhere, as if he wanted to control the entire Jiangnan officialdom."

Xie Qian passed the news he got to Yang Tinghe to know.

Yang Tinghe said: "It's not that the news just came out, that His Majesty agreed to let Shen Zhihou go to Jiangnan earlier. No matter what Eunuch Zhang makes, it will probably be disintegrated by Shen Zhihou."

"Is the message confirmed?"

Xie Qian frowned because he disagreed with the vote he submitted to Chen Xi that day, and wanted Chen Xi to stay in the Central Plains to completely resolve the local rebellion before setting off for Jiangnan. He took advantage of this period of time to stabilize the situation in Jiangnan.

As for Zhang Yong, Xie Qian was not very worried, because Xie Qian felt that Zhang Yong was more knowledgeable, which was related to the contribution Zhang Yong made when he was a military eunuch in the army.

Yang Tinghe nodded: "The palace will issue an order tonight. In about two days, Shen Zhihou will set off from Nanyang Prefecture to Jiangnan. He may have arrived in Nanjing one step earlier than Zhang Yong and Eunuch Zhang... But the march is hard to say, I am afraid that Shen Zhihou will lightly ride to go first. The Jiangnan officialdom is so chaotic, don't he want to get a piece of the pie?"

Xie Qian was not very satisfied with Yang Tinghe's words and frowned and said, "What's the point of getting a piece of the pie? It's just to deal with military and political affairs. Do you think Shen Zhihou is the same as Zhang Yuan and others?"

Although Xie Qian was dissatisfied with Chen Xi, he did not allow others to question Chen Xi's character and ethics. Xie Qian has always been reserved for whether Shen Xi would form a clique in the court for personal gain, because Xie Qian felt that even if Chen Xi was arbitrary, he would have promoted him. If Chen Xi had a bad character, it would only mean that his vision was not good.

Moreover, Xie Qian didn't think there was any problem with Chen Xi's moral character, so he did not accept other people's attacks on Chen Xi's moral character.

Yang Tinghe knew Xie Qian's mentality and quickly saluted: "Please forgive me for saying a word, but now it seems that he may indeed arrive in Nanjing first and decide everything first."

"No one can tell what hasn't happened." Xie Qian said, "If he throws the three armies down and goes to Nanjing, it means that he is obsessed with greed, maybe..."

Xie Qian said a little, but did not continue. It probably means that Chen Xi might have a different purpose, so he could only let Yang Tinghe think about it himself.

Xie Qian took out the plan that Zhang Mao left for him during the day and handed it to Yang Tinghe: "Men, look at the things on it."

Yang Tinghe read the content and asked in surprise: "Mr. Zhang's meaning is to let Yaochen take over his position, and Yaochen will be the one who will preside over the affairs of the Governor's Office in the Five Army?"

"He wants to..."

Xie Qian said angrily, "But can Yaochen really stand it? Now Yaochen goes out to make military achievements with Shen Zhihou, and it seems that he has gained something. The next step is to ask the British Guild to submit a report to His Majesty and let Yaochen enter the Governor's Office of the Five Army. Yaochen will be able to stand alone within a few years."

Yang Tinghe looked worried: "I'm afraid the Governor's Office will also take good control over it at that time."

Xie Qian looked at Yang Tinghe with a cold expression: "Men's husband is quite wary of him... Are you afraid that he will disrupt the country in the future?"

Yang Tinghe quickly denied: "I don't think that the thick one will develop to that point, but I still have to be prepared. Now I try to arrange for people who have nothing to do with him to control important responsibilities in the capital, such as the Ministry of War..."

Xie Qian hesitated for Yang Tinghe's words and finally shook his head: "If you let Bo'an be the Minister of War, you would be too young, but if you let others come, you will be worried. I think that Minister Lu is unbearable..."

Halfway through his words, Xie Qian was always very vigilant towards Lu Wan. No matter how capable Lu Wan is or how dazzling Lu Wan achieved in the quelling of the riot in Shandong this time, it was not in Xie Qian's eyes.

Xie Qian said again: "But now we must beware that Zhang Yuan will gather Chinese officials in the court. Even if some people have bad records before, as long as they can withstand the temptation of eunuchs, they can still be used by the court. Otherwise, they may be the same as Liu Jin's mistake in the chaos of the country back then!"

Yang Tinghe nodded heavily: "I will remember Mr. Xie's words, so I will definitely not let Zhang Yuan do whatever he wants in the court!"

...

...
To be continued...