After hearing Zhao Junchen's plea and request for advice, Zhou Shangjing took a deep look at Zhao Junchen, his eyes full of reproach, as if he was close to his elders and saw a naughty junior who did not listen to advice and got into trouble.
But that's all. Zhou Shangjing didn't feel angry, nor did he feel as if he was facing a powerful enemy like Zhao Junchen. On the surface, he was still very calm, as if he was still at ease.
However, seeing Zhou Shangjing's performance, Zhao Junchen's heart sank.
Afterwards, Zhou Shangjing shook his head and sighed, and said: "Junchen, although you have been walking on thin ice every step of the way, it has been very smooth. Although there have been a few stumbles, they are just a few."
It's just a small setback that doesn't matter, but there has never been a painful lesson...
So, Junchen, although you are talented and intelligent, you are also self-taught in many official rules. You have always understood that in the temple, it is not only you who plots against others, but others will plot against you, but it is never impressive enough...
Just like what happened this time, Junchen, you only focus on the benefits of staying in the center of the temple as the sole leader after I left the capital. You also just want to stand by and let your Majesty take me away, and you will benefit from it.
, but ignored that you yourself might also be His Majesty’s target, which is why we now have to leave the capital!
Alas, your Majesty's method this time is really clever... Although I have pointed out your faults, Junchen, if you change places, I may not be able to understand all the pros and cons in time. "
Zhao Junchen still looked like he was bowing his head and listening to the instruction. He once again admitted his mistake and said: "This junior is greedy for profit and has no regard for the overall situation. I have let you down, Chief Minister Zhou. I will definitely remember today's lesson in the future... But the current top priority must still be conceived.
After you and your juniors left the capital, the situation in the center of the temple changed...
To be honest, your majesty’s move today was really without warning. Unexpectedly, this junior’s little thoughts were completely taken advantage of by your majesty. What makes this junior even more anxious is that... I still can’t figure out why your majesty.
Must the two of us be separated from the center of the capital? In the following period, as the two of us went out to inspect the capital, His Majesty completely lost the checks and balances of his ministerial power. There will inevitably be some big moves, but will Your Majesty actually do it?
What big move is there, but this junior has no clue at all!"
Zhou Shangjing shook his head and sighed again, and continued: "The Holy Heart is unpredictable, and it has been like this since ancient times. That's why it is said that accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger! But I can guess some signs of His Majesty's Sacred Heart being arbitrary this time!
In fact, given that you are well-informed, Junchen, I am sure you will receive the news in a few days, that is...our Highness the Crown Prince will return to the capital soon!"
Hearing Zhou Shangjing's explanation, Zhao Junchen was immediately shocked again!
Zhao Junchen was shocked, not because Prince Zhu Heyu was about to return to the capital early, but because he had not received the relevant news in time!
You must know that Zhao Junchen has always attached great importance to collecting intelligence and has established several intelligence agencies. For such important events as Prince Zhu Heyu is about to return to the capital, Zhao Junchen should receive the news in advance no matter what.
Moreover, according to Zhou Shangjing, Zhao Junchen was so well-informed that it would take a few more days to receive the relevant news. This situation was like being deaf and blind to Zhao Junchen!
Seeing Zhao Junchen's reaction, Zhou Shangjing patiently explained: "About this matter, it's natural that you, Junchen, couldn't receive the news in time!
During this period of time, His Highness the Crown Prince has been responsible for investigating the crimes of vassals in various places. Although he has achieved great results, he has also caused a lot of troubles. For a time, he was hiding from the new imperial envoy Wang Youlun who was unwilling to hand over power and responsibilities. In the end, he was still blocked by Wang Youlun.
In the state capital, he was then placed under house arrest!
Logically speaking, after Wang Youlun placed His Highness the Crown Prince under house arrest, he has been busy cleaning up the troubles His Highness the Prince has made during this period. Only after he has cleared up all these messes will he return to the capital with His Highness the Crown Prince.
Therefore, His Highness the Crown Prince originally had to wait for a while before returning to the capital.
At the same time, Wang Youlun was highly valued by His Majesty and had a close relationship with His Highness the Seventh Prince. Therefore, after His Highness the Seventh Prince was forced to leave the capital and go to Nanjing for business, His Majesty sent a secret edict to Wang Youlun, and His Highness the Seventh Prince also did the same.
I sent someone to send a secret letter to Wang Youlun. I guess they all wanted to warn Wang Youlun that Wang Youlun must try to delay the time and not allow His Highness the Crown Prince to return to the capital before His Highness the Seventh Prince.
After all, if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is the first to return to the center of the capital, while His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince is still stranded in Nanjing, coupled with the current positions of you and me, the matter of deposing the crown prince may be changed again!
Therefore, after Wang Youlun received His Majesty's imperial edict and the secret letter from His Highness the Seventh Prince, he immediately began to delay the time. He has not shown any intention to return to the capital with His Highness the Crown Prince. He just wanted to wait and see the situation change and wait for the Seventh Prince.
His Royal Highness took the lead in completing matters in Nanjing.
It's just that after our prince's highness has gone through various experiences, his mind and decision-making have grown a lot. He knows very well that he must return to the capital center as soon as possible. Maybe he has also received the message that the seventh prince has already left the capital center and is going to the capital center.
News about Nanjing, so in order to return to the center of the capital as soon as possible, he did everything he could...
In the end, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince... suddenly disappeared while he was under house arrest!"
At the end, even Zhou Shangjing couldn't help but have a weird expression.
Although he was mentally prepared, Zhao Junchen was still shocked again when he heard this!
"Missing? The prince is missing?"
Zhou Shangjing nodded again and said: "It is not appropriate to say that he is missing, because he also left a letter to Wang Youlun, saying that he just wanted to return to the capital in advance to see His Majesty, so he left without saying goodbye, so that Wang Youlun did not have to worry about it.
Panicked by his sudden disappearance.
Hey! Although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was under house arrest by Wang Youlun during this period, he is the crown prince after all. Wang Youlun's house arrest was just a helpless move, so he never dared to go too far, and the supervision during the house arrest was not strict.
, let alone being rude to each other, it was not difficult for His Highness the Crown Prince to get away, but no one expected that he would actually do this!
However, the sudden disappearance of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was a major event after all, so Wang Youlun immediately blocked the news and sent an eight-hundred-mile horse to report the news to His Majesty. That's why Junchen, you were unable to receive the information immediately.
Estimating the time and itinerary, His Royal Highness should have entered Henan by now. Moreover, he has hidden his identity and only has a few followers with him. It is difficult to determine his whereabouts, but it should only take another three to five days.
Return to the capital!"
When Zhou Shangjing complained to Zhao Junchen, he did not explain where he had received the relevant information in advance. Of course, Zhao Junchen knew what was going on and did not ask further questions. However, if Zhao Junchen did not guess wrong, he would report the news to Zhou Shangjing as soon as possible.
The person in question is Wang Youlun himself - according to Zhao Junchen's inference, although Wang Youlun is Zhou Shangjing's political enemy on the surface and has a close relationship with the seventh prince Zhu Hejian, in fact it is very likely that he has been secretly subdued by Zhou Shangjing!
Although he had some speculation in his mind, Zhao Junchen did not directly state it. He was just shocked by the information revealed by Zhou Shangjing.
Although Prince Zhu Heyu often does unexpected things, this time's incident was still completely beyond the limits of Zhao Junchen's imagination.
Then, Zhao Junchen frowned and said slowly: "If this is the case, I understand why Your Majesty decided to let the two of us leave the capital temporarily this time!
After all, once His Highness the Crown Prince returned to the temple center early, and what he did during the investigation of the crimes of various vassals, generally speaking, his merits outweighed his faults. In addition, His Highness the Seventh Prince is currently stranded in Nanjing, unable to do anything.
Returning to the capital, there might be something to talk about when dealing with the situation in Nanjing. Considering that the current positions of Zhou Shoufu and the juniors are all in favor of His Highness the Crown Prince, they are always in trouble with His Highness the Seventh Prince... Under such circumstances, the Crown Prince should abolish the throne.
Things are likely to change again!
Therefore, His Majesty made a decisive decision and quickly transferred the two of us out of the capital. In this way, even if His Highness the Crown Prince returns to the capital early, he will still be in an isolated and helpless situation, and there will naturally be no variables in the matter of the crown prince's dethronement!
"
Zhou Shangjing nodded lightly, but then shook his head slowly, and said: "But I estimate that reducing the variables of the prince's dethronement is just one of the goals of your majesty's plan. Taking advantage of the period when you and I leave the center of the capital,
Time, Your Majesty will definitely not miss the opportunity. He will definitely take the opportunity to expand the imperial power and suppress the power of the ministers. The situation in the entire temple will be affected!
Therefore, before you and I leave Beijing, we must leave some backup and make complete preparations. We must not let His Majesty do whatever he wants! The governance of the country is for hundreds of officials to control the people on behalf of the Emperor.
, officials, and the people are all indispensable. If the imperial power is too great and cannot be restrained, it will be the way to cause chaos!"
Having said this, a trace of worry finally flashed across Zhou Shangjing's old face.
*
Next, Zhao Junchen and Zhou Shangjing walked and talked. During the conversation, they seemed to have completely abandoned their selfishness and factionalism, and wanted to work together to deal with the changes in the temple in the coming period.
Conversations between smart people never need to be long. With the minds and methods of Zhao Junchen and Zhou Shangjing, when discussing countermeasures, they all understood the subtleties and drew inferences from one example. When the two of them walked outside the Forbidden City, they had already agreed on most of the issues.
related countermeasures.
Afterwards, Zhao Junchen naturally expressed his admiration, then sent Zhou Shangjing to the sedan with a respectful expression, and finally stood there and respectfully sent Zhou Shangjing away in the sedan.
However, as he watched Zhou Shangjing's sedan go away, the obedience and respect in Zhao Junchen's expression gradually faded, his face was covered with ice, and his eyes were particularly sinister.
The next moment, Zhao Junchen whispered coldly: "Zhou Shangjing...he is lying!"
*
The information revealed by Zhou Shangjing to Zhao Junchen—that Prince Zhu Heyu was returning to the center of the capital without authorization—should not be false.
But precisely because this news was not false, Zhao Junchen concluded that Zhou Shangjing must have deliberately concealed a lot of key information from himself this time, trying to mislead his thinking.
The reason why Zhao Junchen made such a judgment is also very simple, that is - there is no need for Zhou Shangjing to disclose this key information to himself!
For Zhou Shangjing himself, it is undoubtedly more advantageous to let Zhao Junchen find out later and keep it in the dark, while he has exclusive access to this information and then uses the information gap between the two parties to seek various benefits for himself!
Regarding the overall situation of the imperial court, regardless of whether Zhou Shangjing disclosed this information to Zhao Junchen, in the face of Emperor Deqing's plan to divert the tiger away from the mountain, Zhao Junchen must fully assist Zhou Shangjing to resist the threat of Emperor Deqing's expansion of imperial power.
Therefore, no matter how you look at it, there is no need for Zhou Shangjing to reveal this news to Zhao Junchen.
But Zhou Shangjing still chose to share this key information with Zhao Junchen.
With Zhou Shangjing's scheming and wisdom, every word and every action he makes has profound intentions. He will never do useless things, and he will never aim without aim.
Therefore, why Zhou Shangjing deliberately revealed to Zhao Junchen the information about Prince Zhu Heyu's unauthorized return to the capital is worth pondering.
In fact, since meeting Emperor Deqing in the imperial study today, Zhao Junchen always felt that something was wrong with all the things that happened next, but he couldn't figure it out at the beginning.
But after Zhao Junchen noticed Zhou Shangjing's strange behavior, and after repeated pondering and testing, he came to a conclusion that made his hair stand on end!
That is - after Zhou Shangjing believed that he was old and ineffective, he wanted to eliminate all important hidden dangers that threatened the stability of the country before he left the temple.
The "important hidden dangers" in Zhou Shangjing's eyes include not only the seventh prince Zhu Hejian, whom he has been deliberately targeting for this period of time, but Zhao Junchen himself is also Zhou Shangjing's target!