After muttering a few words to himself, Zhou Shangjing fell into silence again. His eyes were slightly closed, as if he was gradually falling asleep, and as if he was waiting for something.
About a quarter of an hour later, Zhou Quan, the steward of the Zhou Mansion, appeared outside the door of the study and reported through the door: "Master, Mr. Song Qiwen, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, wants to see you."
Zhou Shangjing slowly opened his eyes, sighed and said, "Bring him to the study to see me."
Zhou Shangjing had obviously expected Song Qiwen's request for an audience and had been waiting for him.
After all, Zhou Shangjing's various statements in court this morning were without any warning. He did not discuss with the core figures of the "Zhou Party" in advance. Although everyone in the "Zhou Party" chose to support Zhou Shangjing out of their long-standing trust, they
The "Zhou Party" is an extremely large interest group. As the leader of the "Zhou Party", Zhou Shangjing is only the spokesperson of the interests of the "Zhou Party" in the final analysis. He suddenly wants to lead the "Zhou Party" to another path. Now he must
I need to give everyone in the "Zhou Party" an explanation.
Especially the situation at today's court meeting is extremely special. Zhou Shangjing is at the same time opposing Emperor Deqing and the quasi-Crown Zhu Hejian. The consequences of this cannot be taken lightly even if the "Zhou Party" is as powerful as Zhou Shangjing. You must understand Zhou Shangjing's actions.
s reason.
Therefore, not long after Song Qiwen left the morning court, he rushed to the Zhou Mansion to ask to see Zhou Shangjing, precisely to inquire about Zhou Shangjing's true intentions on behalf of the "Zhou Party".
A moment later, Song Qiwen arrived at Zhou Mansion's study, saluted and said, "Disciple Qiwen, I have met my mentor."
After hearing Song Qiwen's words, Zhou Shangjing couldn't help but smile.
When Song Qiwen participated in the imperial examination, Zhou Shangjing was the examiner, so he can indeed be regarded as Zhou Shangjing's student. However, since Song Qiwen became the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Zhou Shangjing wanted to let him take charge of his own affairs and never allowed him to be regarded as his "mentor".
"" was used to refer to himself, so Song Qiwen always called Zhou Shangjing "Master Chief Assistant".
Now Song Qiwen once again calls Zhou Shangjing his "mentor", which has two meanings. One is that he is now meeting Zhou Shangjing in a private capacity without any intention of questioning; the other is that no matter what Zhou Shangjing's true thoughts are, he will stand on his side.
Zhou Shangjing's side.
After understanding this, Zhou Shangjing felt both relieved and helpless.
Song Qiwen's loyalty is a good thing, so Zhou Shangjing can rest assured to hand over the staff to him. However, Song Qiwen is too rigid in Zhou Shangjing's kindness and prestige, and inevitably lacks some personal insights and courage, which makes Zhou Shangjing unable to feel at ease.
The "Zhou Party" was entrusted to him.
In fact, if Song Qiwen could directly question at this time, or even openly question Zhou Shangjing's actions in court this morning, which harmed the overall interests of the "Zhou Party", Zhou Shangjing would be happier.
Zhou Shangjing is already very old, and he must consider his successor. If the two brothers Zhou Suhai and Zhou Suwen are his chosen family successors, then Song Qiwen is the first in line to succeed his political legacy, regardless of age, seniority,
In terms of prestige and ability, Song Qiwen is the leader of the next generation of the "Zhou Party" - in a certain respect, in Zhou Shangjing's eyes, Song Qiwen is more important than the two brothers Zhou Suhai and Zhou Suwen.
Unfortunately, perhaps Zhou Shangjing's personal aura over the years has been too strong, which has greatly affected Song Qiwen's growth, and Song Qiwen has always lacked the awareness to be independent.
Zhou Shangjing has kept Song Qiwen in the position of Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs over the years, just to let Song Qiwen cultivate his prestige and connections, so that he can successfully complete the transfer of power after he retires and becomes an official. However, Song Qiwen has always been unable to get rid of his dependence on Zhou Shangjing.
Xing can be said to follow every step. He can perfectly implement Zhou Shangjing's ideas, but rarely has his own ideas.
Thinking of this, Zhou Shangjing sighed secretly in his heart, and the look of Zhao Junchen suddenly flashed through his mind.
Compared with Song Qiwen, Zhao Junchen is the complete opposite. He has too many ideas and is too powerful, and can easily lose control. In Zhou Shangjing's view, with Zhao Junchen's temperament, he will definitely leave his name in history in the future.
, but it may not be "famous for eternity", it may also be "infamous for eternity"
Soon, Zhou Shangjing no longer thought too much, and did not show any abnormal emotions on the surface. He just asked: "Did Li He, Zhang Bochong, Du Bai and others ask you to come to see me? For what happened in court this morning?"
Song Qiwen hurriedly replied: "I hope that my teacher will learn from this. The disciples and others have no intention of questioning. It's just that we really can't understand the meaning of what you did in the morning, teacher, and we are worried that we may misjudge our teacher's intentions."
, it’s not helpful, so I want to ask my mentor for advice, so that I can cooperate with my mentor in the future.”
After a pause, Song Qiwen finally couldn't hold it any longer and said: "Now everyone knows that the seventh prince Zhu Hejian is about to become the new crown prince. You deliberately suppressed him. Not only did you offend your majesty today, but you will also offend him in the long run."
It is extremely disadvantageous to see... Therefore, the disciples and others really cannot understand your intention, teacher.
The disciple believes that when the Crown Prince Zhu Heyu repeatedly opposed us, the most you did, my teacher, was to secretly punish him, but never directly confronted him. Now that the Seventh Prince has a much gentler attitude than the Crown Prince, there is really no need for us to fight with him.
He is the enemy...
Especially His Majesty, who took the opportunity to punish Du Bai this morning and made Du Bai change from Zuodu Censor to Youdu Censor. Although his official rank has not changed, he is still half a head lower than Wang Youlun, making him more responsible for the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
His control has been greatly affected, and His Majesty's actions are obviously meant as a warning... Therefore, all colleagues are a little worried. If we still have to openly confront the Seventh Prince in the future, I'm afraid it will be
The loss will be heavier.”
Seeing that Song Qiwen finally couldn't help raising his doubts, Zhou Shangjing was actually a little happy.
Then, Zhou Shangjing said slowly: "Actually, I am in trouble with the Seventh Prince today. It was not a sudden decision. I have been preparing for it for half a year in advance!"
Song Qiwen couldn't help being shocked after hearing this.
Half a year ago, Emperor Deqing had just had the idea of abolishing the crown prince, and the seventh prince Zhu Hejian had just received attention. Zhou Shangjing had already wanted to deal with Zhu Hejian from that time?
There are some things that Zhou Shangjing will not tell Zhou Suhai, but Song Qiwen is the heir to his political legacy, so he must know the truth.
Therefore, when Zhou Shangjing saw Song Qiwen's doubts, he patiently replied: "A few years ago, I had a vague feeling that in addition to the factions in the temple, there was another force secretly.
Wanting to influence the situation in the court, this force is not powerful, but it is very smart. It has never been able to let me catch the tail. Moreover, it is well versed in timing and the means of making a big move. Every time it takes action, it is just right, but the most important thing is
A little effort in the local area can affect a lot of things."
Then, Zhou Shangjing's expression became more meaningful, and he said: "Then, after careful observation, I discovered some patterns. This dark force has some inner court background, and its target is obvious, that is Prince Zhu Heyu. , has always been secretly stumbling upon him. The prince has always accomplished nothing in recent years and made many mistakes. In addition to his own shortcomings in vision and ability, it is also largely related to the secret operations of this force."
"Is there such a thing?" Song Qiwen couldn't help but be dumbfounded.
Zhou Shang nodded and said: "Originally, I thought all this was just a delusion due to my suspicious nature, but when the former Crown Prince and Grand Master He Ming was brutally killed by so-called bandits on his way to office, his proud disciple Zhao Shancai defected to the Crown Prince. Also after dying inexplicably, I finally confirmed that this force does exist!
Hey! He Ming's methods and wisdom are on par with me. If the prince gets his assistance, his status will be as stable as Mount Tai! That Zhao Shancai also got He Ming's true biography. After assisting the prince for only a few months, he has significantly changed the prince's situation. It was a bad situation, but they died suddenly like this. Could it be a coincidence?... Therefore, the goal of this force is obvious, and that is for the position of crown prince!
You just said that Prince Zhu Heyu was quite hostile to me at first, but I never took action against him. That was not only because I believed that he would be easy to control after he ascended the throne, but also because I wanted to find out this power from Zhu Heyu. The root of the foot."
Song Qiwen was shocked again and asked quickly: "Teacher, are you saying that this force has something to do with the Seventh Prince?"
Zhou Shangjing said leisurely: "I never doubted him at first. He was too clean at first. But half a year ago, I was reminded by Zhao Junchen that the deaths of masters and apprentices He Ming and Zhao Shancai were all related to the seventh prince Zhu Hejian." There is a relationship, and then I found the exact target... Thinking about it carefully, the seventh prince and the prince have always been close to each other on the surface, and the prince also trusts him very much. He has adopted many of his suggestions, which all seem very good. Good, but the end result is counterproductive!”
Song Qiwen frowned and said, "Could it be Zhao Junchen who is sowing discord? This person has always used conspiracy tactics."
"Of course Zhao Junchen wants to sow discord, but what he said may not be false! I will also investigate it myself!" At this point, Zhou Shangjing's expression gradually became serious: "After having a clear goal, I will investigate the progress It’s much faster, but the more I investigate, the more frightened I become…”
After saying that, Zhou Shangjing took out a booklet from the desk and handed it to Song Qiwen.
Song Qiwen took the book and took a look, only to see that there were many names written densely on the book, and their origins were marked behind the names.
These people have different origins, some are court officials, some are private businessmen, some are descendants of nobles, and some are eunuchs in the inner court, but without exception, each name has a cross drawn on it.
Song Qiwen was undoubtedly a smart man. He immediately raised his head and asked, "They...are all dead?"
Zhou Shangding nodded and said: "These people are all suspected by me to be related to that force, because they were more or less involved in the things that stumbled the prince Zhu Heyu, but since the seventh prince came to power, After the signs gradually became apparent, I was planning to further investigate them, but they died one after another, some died of sudden illness, some died of accidents... Among them, the most important person was a wealthy businessman named Bigan in the capital. , he has some relationship with Chen You, Duke of Jing, and many people who are related to that force will take money from him. After I saw people related to this force dying one after another, I deliberately let Shun go to protect him. Tianfu found a reason to put him in jail, but he died by hanging himself that night!"
Song Qiwen also had a solemn expression, squinting his eyes slightly, and said: "The seventh prince's gradual rise to power happened at the same time as the deaths of these people. What a coincidence...could it be said that the seventh prince saw that the general situation had become a success? , so you are killing people and silencing them, trying to clean yourself up and eliminate your flaws?"
Zhou Shangjing shook his head and said: "Maybe it is, maybe it is not. I still can't find any evidence, but if it is true, the seventh prince is so thoughtful and ruthless, it is really shocking!"
After a pause, Zhou Shangjing continued: "Although I can't find any evidence, I have been testing him secretly for the past six months!
After the prince formed an alliance with Zhao Junchen, I secretly built up momentum and encouraged those young people to betray the prince and switch to him, hoping to test his true attitude towards the prince. In the end, he quickly gave in to all the people who had come to him. Qingliu became his disciple. From then on, the Qingliu people not only never promoted the prince, but also began to slander him. This may not be his intention;
After he formed an alliance with Shen Changmao, I brought down Shen Changmao to see how he treated his allies. As a result, he not only abandoned Shen Changmao immediately, but also took the initiative to annex the "Shen Party" forces. ;
Today, I deliberately dealt with him. I also wanted to test his responsibility and see if he was as flawless and selfless as the rumors said. The result was very obvious, and I could see that he obviously wanted to make himself His cronies will take the blame on his behalf..."
Song Qiwen murmured: "He is ruthless, has a deep city, is addicted to power, seeks advantages and avoids disadvantages, and is greedy for fame. If this is the case, it only means that the seventh prince is not as noble as the rumors in the world, but since ancient times Most emperors are like this, and at most they are just another current His Majesty... However, if he is really related to that secret force, it means that he is still a vicious, cruel, extreme and unfeeling person. If that is the case, …”
Zhou Shangding nodded and said: "If that's the case, after he inherits the throne, we ministers will have to relive the scene of Taizu... Hehe, after Taizu established the country, how many ministers had to pay themselves before going to the morning court? Prepare the coffin in advance? How many people died in an unknown manner and the nine tribes were implicated? Although His Majesty has various shortcomings today, he at least understands that the overall situation is the most important, and he also values the reputation of history books. He will never do it unless it is absolutely necessary. Use drastic measures, but if my inference is true, the more tolerant His Highness the Seventh Prince is now, the more unscrupulous he will be after inheriting the throne. By that time, not to mention that the Zhou Party cannot be saved, you and I and others will The family inheritance is probably in danger!"
Song Qiwen finally understood Zhou Shangjing's true thoughts and asked, "Do you want me to tell Mr. Li Ge and the others about this news?"
"It's not necessary for too many people to know for the time being. You just need to help me appease them." Zhou Shangjing shook his head and said, "But I have a next step plan here, and I need your cooperation!"