Just as Zhao Junchen formulated a new plan based on the reconstruction of the internal factory, Zhao Junchen's other plans did not stop and were still advanced simultaneously.
For example, the official launch of the "Three Saints of the South China Sea".
At this time, a middleman was needed to "accidentally" discover that "Tongji Temple" had been secretly enshrining the "Three Saints of the South China Sea", and then report this matter to Emperor Deqing.
The "middleman" chosen by Zhao Junchen was the second-ranking figure in the inner court, the eunuch Xu Sheng.
On this day, Xu Sheng was warmly entertaining Li Ru'an, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Study Room, who was visiting the imperial palace.
In the inner court, the status of the eunuch in charge of the imperial study is very special. Although he is of lower rank and has little power, he has the opportunity to accompany the emperor every day. Perhaps an unintentional word may affect the emperor's mind. It can be said that it is the most important thing. It's crucial, it's important.
The current eunuch in charge of the imperial study, Li Ruan, is the eunuch in charge of the imperial study that Emperor Deqing has been most satisfied with in recent years. He also has outstanding military achievements in Shaanxi and Gansu, which Xu Sheng dare not underestimate.
What's more, before Li Ru'an became the eunuch in charge of the imperial study, he had stayed in the imperial palace for a period of time and was Xu Sheng's confidant. His ability to serve as the eunuch in charge of the imperial study was largely due to Xu Sheng's introduction and the relationship between him and Xu Sheng. It can be said that they have a close relationship and share weal and woe. Now that he has become the eunuch of the royal study, he still has not forgotten his roots. He often visits Xu Sheng to ask for advice, and his attitude is still humble and cautious. This attitude also makes Xu Sheng more and more satisfied. He only feels that Li Ruan is worthy of him. To be honest, Li Ru'an would never hide the affairs of the Royal Horse Supervisor, and even secretly considered letting Li Ru'an take over his position in the future.
Today Li Ru'an came to visit again, and Xu Sheng went out to greet him in person. He invited Li Ru'an to the lobby of the Yumajian Yamen with a smile, and his attitude was quite friendly.
"How's that? Why do you have time to come to the Imperial Horse Prison today? You don't have to stay in the Imperial Study Room to accompany the Holy Master?"
After the two sat down, Xu Sheng asked while drinking tea, his attitude was very casual.
Li Ruan explained with a smile: "In recent days, the imperial court has not had many important government affairs, and His Majesty did not stay in the Imperial Study Room for a long time. It was the same today. His Majesty only processed a few memorials and then left the Imperial Study Room. Went to the harem."
Xu Sheng raised his eyebrows, put down the tea cup in his hand, and asked with an inexplicable smile, "Your Majesty went to Concubine Hui's place today?"
Li Ruan nodded and said: "Governor Xu is wise, Your Majesty still went to Concubine Hui's place today... In total, in the past five days, this is the third time His Majesty has gone to Concubine Hui's place!"
The smile on Xu Sheng's face became more and more unclear, and he nodded and said: "In this case, Concubine Hui is probably going to go crazy. It's best to tell the maids of the Shang Palace Bureau not to touch Hui recently." Concubine Hui did not dare to act against His Majesty, and Zhao Gechen was unwilling to stand up for her, but with her status in the palace, she had no scruples to vent her anger on poor people like us. "
Li Ru'an agreed deeply, nodded repeatedly, and then praised Xu Sheng for being "kindhearted" and "caring for his subordinates", making Xu Sheng even more beaming.
The so-called Concubine Hui is Zhao Junchen's clan sister Zhao Ying'er. It stands to reason that Emperor Deqing has frequently gone to sleep in her palace in recent times. For a concubine in the palace like her, it is undoubtedly something worth boasting about, but this time
The situation is somewhat different.
Ever since the night of New Year's Eve, when Emperor Deqing took advantage of his drunkenness to favor Zhao Ying'er's maid Zhang Zhaodi, his love and obsession with Zhang Zhaodi became even more uncontrollable!
During this period of time, every time Emperor Deqing went to Zhao Ying'er's palace to sleep, the person who slept with Emperor Deqing was Zhang Zhaodi, not Zhao Ying'er. Every time Emperor Deqing favored Zhang Zhaodi, Zhao Ying'er could only hide in the side room.
Gritting my teeth, crying silently, but there was nothing I could do.
Zhao Ying'er's only support was that she had a powerful brother, Zhao Junchen, but in this matter, Zhao Junchen was completely unwilling to stand up for her, and even sent someone to send her a message, urging her to be "virtuous and generous"
.
In this way, the fact that Emperor Deqing frequently went to Zhao Ying'er's palace to sleep was not something worth boasting about, but a great humiliation for Zhao Ying'er. No wonder Xu Shenghui thought that Zhao Ying'er was "going crazy"
", he will vent his anger on the palace maids and eunuchs at any time.
After being praised by Li Ru'an, Xu Sheng deliberately showed off his knowledge and said: "Actually, it's no wonder that His Majesty loves Zhang Zhaodi so much. His Majesty's temperament has always been towards gentle and submissive women, and in the current harem,
But none of the important concubines have such a temper!
The empress... to be offensive... is already very old. She only eats food and prays to Buddha every day and doesn't care about foreign affairs. It can be said that she has no interest. Although Xiao Guifei is a mother, her son is more valuable, but her personality is too strong. Recently, she was abandoned because of the crown prince.
I was at odds with His Majesty over the Li issue, which annoyed His Majesty a lot. Although Concubine Shu Zhang Jiamin was favored, we can all see that she was still a calculating woman in essence, although she pretended to be gentle in front of His Majesty.
Although she looks considerate, there are still many differences compared to Zhang Zhaodi's docile character due to her nature; as for Concubine Hui Zhao Ying'er, not to mention, she is simply shrewd and reckless. It's no wonder that His Majesty doesn't like her, if she doesn't have a
The clan brother of a powerful official in a foreign dynasty may have been relegated to the cold palace by His Majesty a long time ago!
In this way, the appearance of Zhang Zhaodi naturally made His Majesty's eyes brighten and he was especially fond of her... From what we can tell, Zhang Zhaodi will probably leave Concubine Hui's palace soon and be canonized as a concubine by His Majesty."
Speaking of this, Xu Sheng laughed and added: "Logically speaking, as servants, we are not qualified to comment on the concubines in the palace, so we will just tell you these words, how can you be a thousand
Don't spread the word, otherwise our family will not be able to reap the benefits."
Li Ru'an also smiled, nodded repeatedly and said: "Director Xu is wise and can see through the essence at a glance. The junior also benefited a lot after hearing Governor Xu's advice. These words are only known to Governor Xu and the junior. Naturally, the junior does not dare to spread them.
...But, regarding His Majesty’s recent frequent visits to Concubine Hui’s palace to sleep, I have another opinion in my mind, and I don’t know whether it is right or wrong. I hope Governor Xu can give me some advice.”
Xu Sheng was still very interested and asked: "Oh? Ru'an has always been very knowledgeable. What do you think about this? Tell me."
Li Ru'an lowered his head slightly and said: "Speaking of which, Your Majesty has already passed the age of knowing his destiny. When ordinary people reach this age, they are already more than willing to deal with matters between the beds, but the relationship between people
The physique is completely different. Our Majesty is still in the spirit of a dragon and a tiger, without any hindrance, and is not inferior to many men in their prime... In other words, His Majesty's physical strength and spirit are still at their peak. Judging from His current state
Look, he can still rule personally for at least ten more years... So, our days of serving His Majesty will still be long in the future."
Hearing what Li Ruan said, Xu Sheng couldn't help but fell into deep thought, and felt that Li Ruan's words had a deeper meaning.
After a moment, Xu Sheng looked up at Li Ruan and asked directly: "You mean... we can't take sides with the Seventh Prince too early yet?"
Li Ruan carefully explained: "A few days ago, under the introduction of Wu Xinquan, the Chief of Ceremonies, I had a secret conversation with His Highness the Seventh Prince. His Highness the Seventh Prince treated me very kindly. Such an attitude was incompatible with His Majesty and the two princes.
They are completely different, so of course the younger generation can understand the tendencies of the various yamen in the inner court, and also believe that His Highness the Seventh Prince's succession to the throne is most beneficial to us...
But this junior just feels that if His Majesty will continue to be in charge for a long time, there will be too many variables in the past ten years. Even if we have to make bets in advance, we cannot go bankrupt. It is best to retain some capital in case something happens in the future.
In case of unexpected changes, there is still a chance to make a comeback.”
After a pause, just like Xu Sheng just now, Li Ruan added: "Of course, these words should not be said by the junior, that is, the junior completely trusts Governor Xu and regards Governor Xu as his teacher, so he dares to
I hope you, Governor Xu, will smile after hearing these words from your heart, but please do not tell anyone else, otherwise I will definitely be despised by His Highness the Seventh Prince."
Xu Sheng indeed regarded Li Ru'an as a confidant, and he was not surprised at this time. Instead, he looked thoughtful and waved his hands: "Don't worry, this is a private message between you and me. Naturally, our family will not spread it to outsiders! However, the inner court
You also understand my current attitude. Although our family is a eunuch in charge of the royal horse, there are some things that we can only go with the flow and cannot be independent... However, your words do make sense, and let our family think about it carefully these days...
…”
After saying that, Xu Sheng continued to remain silent. It was obvious that Li Ru'an's words touched him a little.
For a great eunuch like Xu Sheng, he was accustomed to the vagaries of the world in the palace, so he was accustomed to pursuing short-term interests. Now after hearing Li Ruan's reminder, he thought that his secret surrender to the seventh prince Zhu Hejian was actually a matter of fact.
It was a risky bet, and it would take at least ten years to reap the rewards. For a while, I thought that my investment, risks, and returns were not proportional, and I should be more cautious.
Seeing that the conversation between the two fell into silence, Li Ruan rolled his eyes, but while Xu Sheng was concentrating on the matter and had no time to think about more things, he said: "By the way, there is one more thing, junior
I would like to ask Governor Xu for help."
"Oh? What else is going on? You and I are not outsiders, that's for sure." Xu Sheng asked absently.
Li Ruan said slowly: "Since this period of time, His Majesty has been focusing on rectifying the officialdom of Shaanxi and Gansu, and wants to completely eradicate Zhao Gechen's influence. The factory guards are also cooperating with Liang Fuchen's frequent activities under His Majesty's instruction! Today, they have
It was quite effective, gradually clearing up those local officials and civil servants who had close relations with Zhao Junchen, either transferring them to idle posts, or dismissing them after conviction... And His Majesty's next goal is to continue to remove Zhao Junchen from the Shaanxi-Gansu border army.
Influence, and our Royal Horse Supervisor will also have to contribute when the time comes, is that so?"
Xu Sheng came back to his senses, nodded and said: "That's right, our Royal Horse Eunuch has always been responsible for assisting Your Majesty in supervising the army. Whenever something happens in the army, we will send out eunuchs to supervise the army, and this time is no exception!
Our family has received your Majesty's imperial edict, asking the Royal Horse Supervisor to send several loyal and reliable eunuchs to the Shaanxi-Gansu border army again to assist Liang Fuchen in reorganizing the Shaanxi-Gansu army. We must eradicate Zhao Junchen's influence in the Shaanxi-Gansu border army at one stroke.
However, the Shaanxi-Gansu frontier army had just defeated the Mongolian coalition and recovered the Hetao area. Both soldiers and generals were arrogant. It was not easy to get this thing done. If you were not careful, you would be triggered.
In the event of a mutiny, the good situation in the northwest frontier may be ruined, and the Royal Horse Supervisor will also take the blame. Our family is worried about this matter these days."
Li Ru'an also had a troubled expression and said: "This is the matter. This junior wants to ask Governor Xu for help! The thing is like this. Governor Xu, you also know that this junior also participated in the Shaanxi-Gansu War as a supervisor, and he also took advantage of the opportunity.
He has established some connections among the Shaanxi-Gansu Border Army and has quite a few middle-level officers as his confidants... Supervisor Xu, please see if our Royal Horse Supervisor can deliberately avoid these people when we rectify the Shaanxi-Gansu Border Army.
To prevent them from being innocently implicated?”
Hearing Li Ru'an's request, Xu Sheng not only did not feel embarrassed, but perked up and said with his hands: "Haha, I'm so sleepy that I encountered a pillow. Ru'an, you have a confidant in the Shaanxi-Gansu border army, why didn't you tell me earlier?"
explain?
With the help of these people, Yuma Jian can completely use the strategy of division and co-optation when rectifying the border troops. As the saying goes, if you have soldiers in your hands, don't panic, as long as some powerful military attachés are willing to protect the eunuchs of Yuma Jian.
Escort, even if a mutiny occurs in the barracks, it can be suppressed quickly. When the time comes, our Royal Horse Supervisor will not only have no fault, but also achieve greater achievements!"
After a pause, Xu Sheng actually urged: "Who are your confidants in the Shaanxi-Gansu border army? Write a list and give it to us as soon as possible!"
Li Ruan was also well prepared and immediately pulled out a list from his sleeve and handed it to Xu Sheng.
Xu Sheng unfolded the list and saw that the list was full of names he had never heard of before, such as Liu Manniu, the garrison officer on the North Road of Guyuan Town, Li Pi, the official of Linhe Qianhu on the South Road of Yulin Town, Qian Qian of the North Road of Guyuan Army Town.
House official Nie Cheng and so on.
The official positions of these people can be said to be neither high nor low. They are naturally powerful figures in their own defense zone. It is not an exaggeration to call them emperors, but in the eyes of the central government, they are just like cats and dogs.
But precisely because of this, Xu Sheng was particularly satisfied. These people's official positions were not high, and the Royal Horse Supervisor's protection of them would not attract the attention of the court, but they all had real power in their hands and could be put to use, enough to assist the Royal Horse.
Horse supervisors have accomplished many things, which can be said to be a sure profit.
Therefore, Xu Sheng did not have any doubts, and immediately took the list into his arms, nodded and smiled at Li Ruan: "Very good, these characters are suitable for each other. Don't worry, our family will definitely tell those eunuchs to be extra careful."
Take care of them, but you must also send them a message, asking them to actively cooperate with the eunuchs of the Royal Horse Supervisor! When the big thing is done, not only will they not be implicated, but they may also be able to take the opportunity to get promoted and make a fortune!"
Li Ruan also nodded with a smile and said: "It is best if these people can help Governor Xu. I hope Governor Xu can rest assured. I will send them a secret letter after I return and ask them to fully cooperate with the Royal Horse Supervisor."
work."
As he spoke, Li Ruan kept smiling on the surface, but his heart was full of cold calculations, thinking secretly: "The three goals of meeting Xu Sheng today have been completed. The first is to gradually shake the Royal Horse Supervisor.
Supporting Zhu Hejian, and secondly, using the Royal Horse Prison to protect Zhao Junchen’s military cronies... In this way, there is only one last goal left... Calculating the time, it’s time to get the news."
Just as Li Ru'an was thinking deeply, he saw a young eunuch from the Royal Horse Guards hurriedly ran into the room, rushed to Xu Sheng's side, and was about to speak in Xu Sheng's ear.
However, after Xu Sheng turned to look at Li Ruan, his expression turned cold and he said: "If you have anything to say, just say it directly. Ruan is the person I trust the most, and there is no need to hide anything from him."
After hearing Xu Sheng's reprimand, the young eunuch no longer hesitated and reported directly: "Director Xu, we just received news that we have found traces of the 'Three Saints of the South China Sea'!"
"What did you say!" Xu Sheng stood up suddenly and asked loudly: "I found traces of the 'Three Saints of the South China Sea'? Where? Where did you find it?"
After his birthday, Emperor Deqing was extremely obsessed with the immortal "Three Saints of the South China Sea" and wanted to find traces of this immortal. However, there was no information about the "Three Saints of the South China Sea" in either the classics of various schools or folklore.
"Any record of this deity made this immortal appear even more mysterious, and Emperor Deqing became more and more eager to search for the "Three Saints of the South China Sea".
Regarding this situation, all the eunuchs in the inner court were well aware of it, and they all knew that whoever found the information about the "Three Saints of the South China Sea" would be a great achievement, so they launched their own intelligence agencies to find them.
Clues, Xu Sheng is certainly no exception.
However, Xu Sheng was originally calm and thought that there was little hope in this matter, but he did not expect that he actually won the first prize, and he couldn't help but be very excited for a while.
The young eunuch replied: "The person who first heard the news was not our spies outside the palace, nor the spies from Xichang, but an old low-level eunuch in the palace. He is usually only responsible for cleaning the roads in the palace and
Inconspicuous, but he is a believer in the 'Tongji Temple'. Every time he takes a vacation, he goes to the 'Tongji Temple' to offer incense and worship the gods... When he went to the 'Tongji Temple' to worship the gods yesterday, he accidentally heard, 'Tongji Temple'
'There is an immortal with mysterious origins enshrined in a hidden temple in the country. The immortal's immortal name is the 'Three Saints of the South China Sea'. He thought that we were collecting relevant information, so he immediately reported it."
"Tongji Temple? I have also heard of this temple. It seems that many low-level eunuchs in the palace are believers of this temple. The teachings of this temple are quite nondescript. They worship gods and Buddhas of various sects at the same time. But now the details
If you think about it carefully, it is quite consistent with the legend of the 'Three Sages of the South China Sea' who are the leaders of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism... Are the two really related?"
While muttering to himself, Xu Sheng could no longer sit still, and immediately stepped out and said: "No, I must report this matter to Your Majesty as soon as possible, and I can't let others take the lead!"
"Hold on, Governor Xu!"
At this moment, Li Ruan suddenly stood up and said.
Xu Sheng turned around and asked: "What's the matter, why did you stop me? This matter cannot be delayed. Once Wu Xinquan and the others take the lead, our Royal Horse Supervisor's limelight will be suppressed by the Li Supervisor again!"
"
Li Ru'an shook his head and said: "Director Xu, we don't know whether this news is true or false at the moment. If the rumor is false and makes your majesty happy for nothing, then we will not have merit, but fault! Yes!
I think it is better for Governor Xu not to rush to report to His Majesty, but to go to the Tongji Temple in person and confirm the news with his own eyes!"
After saying that, Li Ruan turned to look at the young eunuch who reported the news, and asked: "Did the old eunuch who found out the news about the 'Three Saints of the South China Sea' tell anyone else about it?"
The young eunuch shook his head repeatedly and said: "At present, only our Royal Horse Supervisor knows that the villain has controlled the old eunuch, just because he is worried that he will tell the news to other inner court offices."
Li Ru'an nodded and advised Xu Sheng again: "Director Xu, the news has not spread yet, and there is still time. Just in case, we'd better find out whether the news is true or not."
After hearing Li Ru'an's persuasion, Xu Sheng hesitated for a moment and thought that what Li Ru'an said was reasonable. He finally changed his mind and said, "Okay! Let's go to the 'Tongji Temple' in person to check whether the news is true or false!"
Having said this, Xu Sheng hesitated again and asked Li Ru'an: "Ru'an, do you want to go with me? In this way, if it is true that the 'Tongji Temple' secretly enshrines the 'Three Saints of the South China Sea',
After reporting it to His Majesty, you can also get a share of the credit."
Li Ru'an shook his head repeatedly and said: "This junior's promotion speed has been fast enough. Even if this credit is really divided into my head, it will be useless. It is better for Xu Du to take it all. At that time,
We, the Royal Horse Supervisor, can truly compete with the Li Supervisor!"
This is Li Ruan's third goal today - to prevent Xu Sheng from reporting the news to Emperor Deqing immediately after receiving the news about the "Three Saints of the South China Sea".
These tasks of Li Ruan were naturally arranged by Zhao Junchen, and Zhao Junchen also made it clear when assigning the tasks that Li Ruan must not get too involved in the affairs of the "Tongji Temple" and only needed to slightly influence Xu Sheng's thoughts.
Just fine.
According to Zhao Junchen's arrangement, Xu Sheng went to the "Tongji Temple" first to find out the truth, not only to increase the credibility of the matter, but also to take the opportunity to examine Zhang Daoquan's magic skills, and also to allow Zhang Daoquan to adapt in advance.
If Zhang Daoquan couldn't deceive someone like Xu Sheng, then don't expect him to be able to deceive Emperor Deqing in the future.
At the same time, after Zhang Daoquan first passed the test of Xu Sheng, he would not be too panicked when he contacted Emperor Deqing later.
"Okay! Ru'an, you really know your heart, and it's worthy of our family's trust and respect for you! Don't worry, if our family succeeds in the future, we will never forget your benefits!"
On the other side, Xu Sheng was relieved after hearing Li Ruan's answer, and felt more and more that Li Ruan was loyal and reliable. After patting Li Ruan's shoulder heavily, he no longer wanted to waste time, and hurriedly left the room and led people to "Tongji Temple"
"Inspected.
Watching Xu Sheng's back gradually fade away, Li Ru'an's original gentle expression gradually faded and turned into one of deep fear and disdain.
The fear is directed at Zhao Junchen, who is manipulating everything behind the scenes. Everything in the Royal Horse Prison today is undoubtedly under Zhao Junchen's control. Not only is Li Ruan a pawn of Zhao Junchen, Xu Sheng's thoughts and reactions are also all under Zhao Junchen's control.
As Junchen expected, in the end Zhao Junchen naturally became the winner behind the scenes again.
The disdain was directed at Xu Sheng - he was manipulated by Zhao Junchen without even realizing it, and he just thought he was getting a big deal!
As his thoughts were turning, Li Ruan suddenly snorted coldly, and then walked out of the room.
"Who am I to make fun of Xu Sheng? I am just a chess piece...but I already have a trump card in my hand, and I will be able to turn around sooner or later!"