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"Li Chunchen... This is the second time I have heard his name in recent times!... Moreover, every time I hear this name, it means bad news...
I heard his name a few days ago, after Li Ruan snooped into the secret box of Emperor Deqing's imperial study, and discovered that this Li Chunchen had secretly impeached me for committing fraud and misappropriating special funds during the period of supervising the construction of the palace..."
While muttering to himself, Zhao Junchen's expression was a little sinister, and he secretly recalled Li Chunchen's past experiences in his heart.
The first time Zhao Junchen met Li Chunchen was after the examination last year and before the palace examination. Li Chunchen ranked fourth in the examination at that time, second only to Zhou Suwen, the grandson of Zhou Shangjing, Zhao Shancai, a talented man from the south of the Yangtze River, and Zhao Junchen's full support.
These three people, Zeng Wei, the new generation of the "Zhao Party", are enough to prove that this person has extraordinary talents. If he had participated in another session of the conference, he might still be ranked first.
Moreover, Li Chunchen, like Zhao Junchen at that time, was also keenly aware of Xiao Wenxuan's potential and possibilities. Taking advantage of Xiao Wenxuan's failure, he actually wanted to use him for his own purposes. If Zhao Junchen hadn't taken action first, Xiao Wenxuan would now be
Maybe he will become Li Chunchen's staff.
From this alone, we can see that Li Chunchen has extraordinary vision and ambition - without vision, he would not be able to detect Xiao Wenxuan's potential; without ambition, he would not be able to succeed when he was only a prospective Jinshi.
Just win people's hearts in advance and accumulate strength.
Later, during the imperial examination, Li Chunchen published an article that attracted the attention of both the government and the public - "Theory of the Hanging Sword"!
In summary, "Hanging Sword Theory" mainly elaborates on the future reform direction of the imperial court's "esoteric system", which has three aspects: First, the court should lower the threshold for officials to submit secret reports to the emperor and expand the number of people who are qualified to submit secret reports to the emperor.
Secondly, officials’ secrets were no longer forwarded through the General Administration Department, but directly to the emperor, reducing the risk of leaks; thirdly, when court officials used to submit secrets for impeachment, they
It is necessary to find real evidence, but from now on we should adhere to the principle of "hearing and telling things". There is no need to insist on real evidence. You only need to hear some rumors to submit secrets.
According to Li Chunchen, if the court follows this policy, it will be equivalent to having a sharp sword hanging above the heads of all officials, which will make all officials feel at risk and no longer dare to defy the court's laws!
As soon as this "Hanging Sword Theory" was published, it immediately caused an uproar in the whole court, and all the ministers strongly opposed it!
After all, if Emperor Deqing had followed the strategy of "The Theory of the Hanging Sword", there would inevitably have been a situation where "no one is involved behind the scenes, and no one is involved under the name", and the officials would no longer have any secrets in front of the emperor.
It can be said that the power of ministers can no longer compete with the power of the emperor, and all ministers will become fish in the eyes of the emperor.
In the end, due to the strong opposition of the officials, Emperor Deqing treated both Li Chunchen and "The Theory of the Hanging Sword" coldly. Not only did he lower Li Chunchen's ranking in the imperial examination, but he also never discussed "The Theory of the Hanging Sword" again.
the opinion of.
However, this "Hanging Sword Theory" is undoubtedly the best means for Emperor Deqing to further expand his imperial power. How could he give up so easily?
After the palace examination, Emperor Deqing appointed Li Chunchen as the General Affairs Secretary from the seventh rank. Apparently, he wanted to familiarize Li Chunchen with the process of submitting imperial memorials in advance and pave the way for his subsequent plans.
At the same time, because of this "Hanging Sword Theory", Li Chunchen has been ostracized and suppressed since he entered the officialdom. However, this man is very scheming and good at forbearing, and he has never shown any dissatisfaction.
, he is also very low-key when doing things on weekdays, and never lets anyone catch his flaws. He is obviously waiting for his opportunity to rise!
In the past six months, Emperor Deqing saw that the limelight had passed, but he secretly summoned Li Chunchen for talks many times, which was obviously a big deal.
Regarding this situation, both Zhao Junchen and Zhou Shangjing were extremely concerned and fearful!
However, Li Chunchen is too low-key. Although Zhao Junchen has always sent people to keep an eye on him, he has never received any useful information. The long-term lack of harvest has also made Zhao Junchen's ears and eyes slack.
In addition, Li Chunchen himself acted cautiously and almost missed an extremely critical piece of information!
That is - under the instruction of Emperor Deqing, Li Chunchen secretly rebuilt the Da Nei Hsing Factory, which was once a powerful factory, and he himself is the current factory director of Da Nei Hsing Factory!
*
In the study room of the Zhao Mansion, the person who reported relevant information to Zhao Junchen was Zhang Yuer.
At this time, after hearing Zhao Junchen's muttering, Zhang Yu'er also frowned and said softly: "Yes, I feel that every time this Li Chunchen appears, he will more or less bring trouble to the master, no matter the article "
"The Theory of the Hanging Sword", the last secret impeachment, or the secret reconstruction of the inner factory this time, are all quite threatening to the master. Could it be said that this person is deliberately making things difficult for the master? "
While speaking, Zhang Yu'er still spoke softly, but her eyes were flashing with murderous intent.
Unknowingly, the threat of Li Chunchen has become more and more serious and cannot be ignored. He seems to be low-key and silent, but every time he behaves, it is scary. No one knows what he will do in the future.
.
In Zhang Yuer's view, it would be better to eradicate unstable factors like this as soon as possible!
Zhao Junchen slowly shook his head and said: "According to my observation, whether this person has great ambitions or is dedicated to working hard, I am afraid that he has determined to be a supreme minister a long time ago, and for himself.
He had planned everything, and he was still very deliberate and unscrupulous... Therefore, he may not have deliberately targeted me, in his eyes I should just be an eyesore blocking the road!"
"Treat me as a roadblock? Is he worthy?"
As he spoke, the murderous look in Zhang Yuer's eyes became even stronger.
Zhao Junchen glanced sideways at Zhang Yu'er and warned: "This Li Chunchen seems to be just an insignificant seventh-grade official, but secretly he has been appointed by His Majesty as the factory director of the inner factory. He has a heavy weight in His Majesty's heart. You
Don’t act rashly! This is a critical period for several of our plans, and it’s best not to arouse a violent reaction from His Majesty, otherwise a lot of variables will inevitably occur!”
During this period of time, Fang Ru has been focusing on the care of the fetus and nourishing the body, and has gradually transferred all the powers in her hands to Zhang Yu'er, so the power Zhang Yu'er controls now is quite strong.
At the same time, although Li Chunchen is now the factory supervisor, his apparent identity is still just an ordinary low-level official of the imperial court, and he has almost no bodyguards around him.
Therefore, if Zhang Yuer wanted to secretly get rid of Li Chunchen, it would not be a particularly difficult task.
After hearing Zhao Junchen's warning, Zhang Yu'er hesitated, and finally sighed: "Okay, Yu'er just listens to the master's orders."
Zhao Junchen shook his head slightly, but then showed admiration and continued: "What's more, don't underestimate this Li Chunchen. In my eyes, this person's scheming methods are the strongest among the younger generation in the court." This person is even better than Zhou Suwen, the direct grandson of Zhou Shangjing. Even if Zhao Shancai comes back from the dead, although he is good at strategizing and resourceful, he is good at planning others but not good at planning himself. He is not as good at forbearance as Li Chunchen. , it may not be possible to be stronger than him... As for the young people under my sect, they are only just adequate at the moment, and they are even worse."
Zhang Yu'er asked unconvinced: "The younger generation is the strongest? How about compared to the seventh prince Zhu Hejian?"
Zhao Junchen shook his head again: "The strengths of the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian are ruthlessness, caution, and forbearance. This is also the most difficult part of him to deal with... However, after he truly becomes the crown prince, will he be able to maintain these advantages? I deeply express my feelings. Doubt! Of course, from the current point of view, Zhu Hejian is not weaker than Li Chunchen, but in the long run, unless Zhu Hejian successfully inherits the throne, he may not be stronger than Li Chunchen."
Hearing Zhao Junchen's comments, Zhang Yu'er couldn't help but be stunned. She had been living in the shadow of Zhu Hejian for many years, and was almost killed by Zhu Hejian. She had always been afraid of Zhu Hejian. In her mind, Zhu Hejian was definitely the king of the imperial court. The top figures of the younger generation, even the old guys in the temple, may not be able to overpower him, but they did not expect that Zhao Junchen's evaluation of Li Chunchen was so high, and that he was even more powerful than Zhu Hejian.
As a result, Zhang Yu'er dared not ignore Li Chunchen's threat, and secretly made up her mind to send more force to keep an eye on this person.
At the same time, Zhang Yu'er's bright eyes turned, but she suddenly smiled and said sweetly: "But Yu'er still feels that this Li Chunchen cannot be regarded as the strongest person in the younger generation of the imperial court. Compared with He is far away from the truly strongest young generation. He is simply a world away and cannot be compared to the same person!"
Hearing what Zhang Yu'er said, Zhao Junchen was stunned at first, but when he noticed Zhang Yu'er's water-cut eyes staring closely at his face, he immediately understood what Zhang Yu'er meant, and couldn't help laughing, and said: " Oh, that’s right! Just looking at my age, I can be considered a member of the younger generation of the imperial court... I fight with Emperor Deqing, Zhou Shangjing and the others all day long, but I subconsciously attribute myself to the older generation!"
Just like that, the two of them laughed and joked with each other, but soon got back to the topic.
Zhang Yu'er still spoke softly, but her expression had returned to seriousness, and she continued to report news related to the inner factory to Zhao Junchen: "According to the current intelligence, the strength of the inner factory is quite weak, and the core members only have about More than ten people were all personally recruited by Li Chunchen, and they all had low status. Most of them were unsuccessful people in the outer court and the inner court. There were only a few hundred peripheral members, and most of them were people from the three religions and nine streams of the people...
It is worth noting that Li Chunchen completely bypassed the inner court when he rebuilt the inner factory, and never borrowed the power of the East-West Second Factory and Jinyiwei. Therefore, the East-West Second Factory and Jinyiwei were unaware of the reconstruction of the inner factory from beginning to end. From this aspect, the Inner Factory cannot even be regarded as an institution affiliated with the Inner Court. Because of this, the influence of the Inner Factory has been unable to expand...
But everything has advantages and disadvantages. When the inner factory is rebuilt, the power of the inner court is completely abandoned. This means that the existence and operation of the inner factory will not be penetrated and affected by the inner court at all. It can be said to be completely independent and self-contained system! And the inner factory is completely independent and self-contained system! Every time the factory recruits new core members, they need to be personally assessed by Li Chunchen. Only those who are completely trustworthy can join the core of the inner factory and know some of the secrets of the inner factory. Therefore, the reconstruction of the inner factory is extremely hidden and completely It was hidden from the eyes and ears of all the major factions!
This time, if Xu Qingyan hadn't accidentally discovered the Jianzhou Jurchen spy who was connected to the inner factory, and if the inner factory hadn't wanted to take the opportunity to plant a double agent within the Jianzhou Jurchens, so We took the risk of revealing the existence of the inner factory to this person, and we are afraid that we will still have to keep the reconstruction of the inner factory in the dark!
But even so, even if the strength of the inner factory is not strong, we know the existence of the inner factory in advance, but because the daily activities of the inner factory are too hidden, it is extremely difficult to penetrate. We can only collect some details at present. The intelligence on the surface still has no clue about the core secrets of the inner factory - especially the reasons for the reconstruction of the inner factory, the scope of powers and responsibilities, the targets, etc."
After introducing the relevant information about the internal factory to Zhao Junchen, Zhang Yuer's eyebrows became more and more frowned. She just felt that this internal factory was like a shrinking bastard, giving people nowhere to start.
On the other side, Zhao Junchen also had a solemn expression and murmured: "The reasons for the reconstruction of the internal factory, the scope of powers and responsibilities, and the targets... Yes, if these things are not clear, it will really make people sleepless and sleepless!"
Zhang Yu'er was worried in her heart and couldn't help but ask: "Sir, do you think His Majesty is rebuilding the inner factory this time to target us? Could it be that one of our plans has been noticed by His Majesty?"
Zhao Junchen shook his head directly and said: "If your Majesty is aware of a certain plan of ours, he will not rebuild an internal factory that is temporarily too weak to be used against us, nor will he hold back at all, but directly call in the imperial army. Seal the city and send out the imperial guards to capture it... With our current strength, it is simply not enough to resist His Majesty's table-turning tactics!"
During the question and answer period, Zhao Junchen's thinking became much clearer, and he murmured and asked: "Yu'er, why did your Majesty appoint Li Chunchen to rebuild the inner factory and serve as factory supervisor? Why did he need to do this when he was rebuilding the inner factory? Deliberately bypassing all support from the outer court and the inner court, you would rather endure the temporary weakening of the inner factory's strength and be unable to be reused, but you must maintain the independence of the inner factory?"
Zhang Yu'er pondered for a moment and replied: "Although the inner factory was affiliated to the inner court after Liu Jin established it, now it does not have much to do with the inner court. In addition, your majesty also ordered me to rebuild the west factory. Now it is not a particularly unexpected thing to arrange for a minister from outside the court to rebuild the inner factory. After all, His Majesty has always been worried about the abilities of the eunuchs in the inner court...
However, His Majesty originally gave the order to me to rebuild the West Factory. On the one hand, I was an important minister of the imperial court and had sufficient reputation and ability. On the other hand, I was also uneasy and wanted to get the me involved with the factory guards and further damage my business. Reputation... But today's Li Chunchen is in a different situation from the old master. His official position is extremely low and he does not have enough prestige. There is no need for your Majesty to ruin his reputation, so... it is because he does not have any factional background, no Will it be influenced by several powerful ministers in the DPRK, and why did he publish an article "On the Hanging Sword"?
Could it be said that His Majesty finally lost his patience and planned to reform the court's secret system based on the "Hanging Sword Theory"? And the inner factory will be the organization responsible for receiving and forwarding the imperial secrets in the future? This is Why was the inner factory established?”
Zhao Junchen nodded first, then shook his head and said: "Your idea is very possible, but the reason for the reconstruction of the internal factory is definitely not that simple!
Just looking at how after the inner factory was rebuilt, it quickly recruited people from all walks of life to serve as informants, and even tried to plant a double agent within the Jurchens in Jianzhou. We knew that it would be an intelligence agency just like the East and West Second Factory. !
What's more, if it was just a purely agency that dealt with the secrets of the imperial court, there would be no need to be so secretive, and it would be so desperate to seek independence like it is now!
In my opinion, the inner factory must be responsible for supervising the inner court, otherwise it would not deliberately bypass the inner court's help when it was established. This is obviously aimed at the inner court! Therefore, the reason for the reconstruction of the inner factory, the scope of powers and responsibilities , the target is most likely not us, but the inner court!"
"Inner court? How is that possible?" Zhang Yu'er whispered softly, her eyes widened, feeling unbelievable.
Zhao Junchen asked again: "How is it impossible? Yu'er, do you think His Majesty trusts the East and West Second Factory?"
Zhang Yu'er immediately shook his head and said: "Dongchang has been established for too long. It can be said that it is sluggish and has accumulated countless abuses. In recent years, it has messed up too many things one after another and has been rectified several times by His Majesty. It is obvious that he is not trusted, so His Majesty The West Factory was rebuilt only last year, but I didn’t expect that the master’s ability and means were too strong. After the reconstruction of the West Factory, he quickly made many achievements and the momentum quickly approached the East Factory. His Majesty was afraid that the master would have too much control over the west factory, so he let the master soon I resigned from the position of director of Xichang, but Xichang still retained my influence after all. In addition, Xichang’s performance after the master left was only ordinary, so Your Majesty also no longer trusts Xichang!”
Zhao Junchen nodded and said: "This is probably one of the first reasons why Your Majesty rebuilt the inner factory... Let me ask you again, the seventh prince Zhu Hejian has been secretly infiltrating various yamen in the inner court for many years. Do you think that with His Majesty's acumen? With suspicion, are you really unaware of it?"
Zhang Yu'er was startled, but soon showed a happy smile, shook her head and said: "Our Majesty is not easy to fool, although he is occasionally tricked a few times, but that is only because he is arrogant and underestimates the enemy, and he can afford to lose. , with his political sensitivity and suspicion, the deeper the seventh prince Zhu Hejian penetrates into the inner court, the greater the possibility that he will notice such a situation, and it is absolutely impossible for him to be unalert!"
Zhao Junchen nodded again and said leisurely: "If your Majesty has vaguely noticed that the inner court forces have been infiltrated by others, plus the East and West Second Factories cannot be reused, then why did your Majesty secretly rebuild the inner factory, and then During the reconstruction of the inner factory, they deliberately bypassed the influence of the inner court and tried their best to seek the independence of the inner factory. They also chose Li Chunchen, a man who had nothing to do with the various factions in the imperial court, as the factory director. All this makes sense. !
Perhaps, the inner factory will be responsible for handling the secrets of the imperial court in the future, but the resistance to this matter is huge and must be a matter in the future, and the current goal of the inner factory is most likely to investigate the infiltration of the inner court!
Therefore, we don’t need to be too nervous about the reconstruction of the inner factory yet... The person who should really be nervous at this time should be the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian!"
Hearing what Zhao Junchen said, Zhang Yuer became even more excited.
Seeing the seventh prince Zhu Hejian in bad luck is undoubtedly a delicious feast for Zhang Yuer!
"Sir, tell me, does Zhu Hejian know about the reconstruction of the inner factory?"
Zhao Junchen thought about it for a moment, shook his head and said: "Most likely I don't know that your Majesty deliberately bypassed all forces inside and outside the imperial court when rebuilding the West Factory. Zhu Hejian's forces are now forming a tripartite confrontation with me and Zhou Shoufu. , coupled with His Majesty’s suspicion and caution, I’m afraid he will also hide it from Zhu Hejian!”
Zhang Yu'er's eyes flashed brightly and she asked again: "So, Zhu Hejian is going to be unlucky?"
Zhao Junchen shook his head again and said with a smile: "The strength of the inner factory is too weak, and it is still in its infancy. How can it be so easy to investigate Zhu Hejian?... What's more, for Zhu Hejian's wolf ambition, sooner or later, Germany will have to give way. Emperor Qing knows, but this opportunity should be grasped by ourselves, and we cannot let the internal factories disrupt our steps!"
Having said this, Zhao Junchen looked up at Zhang Yu'er again and asked: "You defected to me from the seventh prince Zhu Hejian. Then before you defected, otherwise would you leave some arrangements with him?"
Zhang Yuer nodded and said: "There are a few people who are still under my control, but they are on the fringes of the Seventh Prince's influence and cannot do much."
Zhao Junchen suddenly smiled and said: "There is no need for them to do too much... Weren't you just curious about who is stronger and who is weaker in the scheming methods of Li Chunchen and Zhu Hejian? This is an opportunity! You can arrange it and let the seventh prince him 'Unintentionally' I learned about the reconstruction of the inner factory and the reasons for it. Let's just watch the show next!
The reason for the reconstruction of the inner factory is most likely not against us, but considering that this yamen may be responsible for implementing the reform of the imperial court's close policy in the future, it is a hidden danger after all. It is also a good thing to let Zhu Hejian and Li Chunchen fight against each other, no matter who wins Whoever loses, we can all reap the benefits."
Hearing Zhao Junchen's plan, Zhang Yu'er smiled even more and joked: "Yu'er just said it, this young generation in the whole dynasty is completely different from the master! Although Li Chunchen and Zhu Hejian are two You should not be underestimated, but you can only be manipulated by the master without knowing it!"
Zhao Junchen smiled and did not respond to Zhang Yuer's compliment. He just continued: "However, this Li Chunchen really needs further attention! It has only been a year since he entered the official career, but he has secretly become an internal factory. Governor, this promotion speed is even faster than mine back then, and it may go even further in the future. We must test out his true nature and way of thinking before he rises completely... Speaking of which, I remember Li Chunchen's My father is a wealthy businessman in Huizhou and Zhejiang, right?"
Before reporting the news to Zhao Junchen, Zhang Yu'er had already found out the specific situation of Li Chunchen, and immediately nodded and said: "His father's name is Li Zeguang. He is quite powerful among Hui and Zhejiang merchants, and this man is very cautious in doing things. At the beginning, Sir, when you took action to crack down on those Hui and Zhejiang merchants who were illegally smuggling and unwilling to join the "United Shipping Company", you collected a total of eighty-two smuggling merchants, but in the end only eighty-one of them were arrested. The smuggler, the remaining person is Li Zeguang, because all the evidence related to him is not conclusive enough, and it is a bit troublesome to convict him, so we let him escape!"
"In other words, although this Li Zeguang is a Hui-Zhejiang businessman, he has never joined the United Shipping Company?"
"That's exactly what happened. It should be because he wanted to deliberately distance himself from the master. Now, under the pressure of the 'United Shipping Company', Li Zeguang's trading company is gradually weakening and has gradually given up the shipping and smuggling business."
After Zhao Junchen pondered for a moment, he ordered: "Send someone to inform the United Shipping Company that they will further target Li Zeguang's business in the future. I will give them three months. After three months, all Li Zeguang's businesses must be bankrupt, and finally It's good that the Li family owes a huge debt! After all, Li Chunchen is the factory supervisor, and he has the ability to help the Li family, so I want to see what his choice will be when the time comes, whether to let the family fall into disrepair, or to Use the power of the internal factory to protect it? Or... he will ask me for help? "