"Your Majesty, Huang Ke, pays homage to Minister Zhao!"
Early the next morning, a middle-aged civil servant with a lean face and capable manner came to visit Zhao Junchen.
This middle-aged civil official is naturally Huang Ke, the inspector-general of Liaodong.
Zhao Junchen observed Huang Ke carefully for a moment, then nodded slightly, raised his hand slightly and said: "No need to be polite, sit down and talk."
When Huang Ke sat aside with a respectful attitude, Zhao Junchen asked with a smile: "Ximen Sheng has always guarded against me having contact with anyone in private. It is not an exaggeration to say that I am under house arrest! Why did he let you come alone?
See me?"
Huang Ke bowed his head and replied: "After the official expressed his intention to come to see Zhao Cabinet Minister, General Ximen originally wanted to accompany him, but he soon encountered strong opposition from General Li, General Gan, and General Xu.
It was said that he was worried that Ximen Shen would take the opportunity to interfere with Xiaguan's investigation, so in the end only Xiaguan came to see the cabinet minister."
Zhao Junchen laughed and said: "Various situations have been out of control many times, Ximen Sheng must feel very uncomfortable now..."
Huang Ke nodded and said: "When I came to see Zhao Cabinet Minister alone, General Ximen's expression was indeed frighteningly cold."
Having said this, Huang Ke hesitated for a moment, but then suddenly changed the topic and asked seriously: "Xiaoguan heard that just when Zhao Gechen left the capital to inspect Liaodong, Xiaguan's mentor also left the capital at the same time.
I went south for inspection, and I also heard that... my mentor has been in poor health recently, and I have been worried... I hope Zhao Gechen can tell me what the specific situation of my mentor is like?"
The "mentor" mentioned by Huang Ke, that is, the person who left Beijing at the same time as Zhao Junchen and was responsible for patrolling south, naturally refers to Zhou Shangjing, the chief minister of the dynasty.
When Huang Ke went to Beijing to take the exam, the examiner was none other than Zhou Shangjing. After entering the official career, he was also valued by Zhou Shangjing and received key promotions. Therefore, Huang Ke always regarded Zhou Shangjing as his teacher and called him his "mentor".
However, Huang Ke is not a member of the "Zhou Party" now, and even has a bad relationship with the "Zhou Party". Many officials of the "Zhou Party" call Huang Ke a "traitor" and "three surnames".
"House slave", "ungrateful person".
In fact, after Huang Ke was elected as an official, he was initially considered a member of the "Zhou Party". Zhou Shangjing was quite optimistic about his future and took care of him many times, either explicitly or covertly. Huang Ke naturally rose to the top and was regarded as a leader.
The leader of the new generation of "Zhou Party".
However, the "Zhou Party" is essentially a collection of corrupt officials and treacherous ministers, with intertwined interests. On the surface, Huang Ke gets along well with everyone in the "Zhou Party", but in fact he has never been used to what the "Zhou Party" does.
atmosphere.
After Prince Zhu Heyu began to participate in government affairs, he soon showed a completely different and upright style, which was highly praised by the Qingliu people. However, after Huang Ke came into contact with Zhu Heyu several times, he completely ignored Zhou Shangjing's past.
Enqing, resolutely left the "Zhou Party", joined Prince Zhu Heyu's sect, and became a member of the "Prince's Party".
This practice of repaying kindness with hatred and burning bridges across rivers naturally aroused the collective hostility of the "Zhou Party".
However, Huang Ke is not currently a member of the "Princeling Party", because after he had deeper contact with Prince Zhu Heyu, he soon became unable to tolerate the "Princeling Party"'s pragmatic attitude of being high-minded and low-handed.
He broke away from the "princeling party" again.
Later, Huang Ke once got very close to the former cabinet boss Shen Changmao, but soon distanced himself again and severed the relationship.
In the end, due to his repeated changes of government, Huang Ke was naturally not favored by all forces and was completely reduced to an official figure with no backing or backing.
This is also the reason why everyone in the "Zhou Party" always calls Huang Ke a "house slave with three surnames".
In fact, if Huang Ke had no backing, no backing, and was not favored by all forces, he would not have been assigned by the imperial court to serve as an inspector in Liaodong.
Because Liaodong Town has a dominant family and is domineering, being an official in Liaodong has never been a good job. Not only is all the money and money stolen by Liaodong Town, but it also often becomes the center of the imperial court and Liaodong Town.
Punching bags and scapegoats are an official graveyard.
Looking back on Huang Ke's career experience in recent years, Zhao Junchen nodded slightly and explained: "Zhou Shoufu is getting older, and it is inevitable that his health will not be as good as before, but I believe that he can still hold on, and Mr. Huang does not need to be too nervous."
Don't worry too much... Actually, you can write your own letter to express your regards to Zhou Shoufu."
After hearing what Zhao Junchen said, Huang Ke's expression calmed down slightly, and then he shook his head with a wry smile and said: "Since Xiaguan decided to leave the 'Zhou Party', my mentor has cut off contact with Xiaguan. In the past few years, Xiaguan
I wrote to my mentor many times to express my greetings, but he never wrote back to me... After I heard that my mentor was ill, I was worried that I would only make him unhappy, so I didn't dare to greet him directly.
I can only worry in my heart."
Zhao Junchen smiled softly and explained: "After all, you are a disciple that Zhou Shoufu once valued. In my opinion, Zhou Shoufu still values you very much in his heart, but...
The impact of your breaking away from the 'Zhou Party' was really bad. If Zhou Shoufu easily forgives you, doesn't it mean that he can be betrayed by others at will? So Zhou Shoufu has ignored you all these years, more just
Just to show off to others."
After a pause, Zhao Junchen added meaningfully: "In fact, before I came out of Beijing to inspect Liaodong, I also asked Zhou Shoufu for advice, and Zhou Shoufu recommended you to this cabinet without any hesitation at that time.
, I believe that if we encounter any difficulties during our inspection of Liaodong, we can come to you to discuss countermeasures and seek support!
Zhou Shoufu also said that although you betrayed him and broke away from the 'Zhou Party', it was only because your ambitions and political opinions were inconsistent. However, he has always had great trust in your ability and temperament, and believed that you were enough to shoulder the responsibilities during critical periods.
Heavy responsibility, this has never changed!
Precisely because it was Zhou Shoufu's recommendation, after I arrived in Liaodong, although everyone thought that you had colluded with Liaodong Town, I still believed in your position and loyalty, and believed that everything you did in recent years was just for the purpose.
It’s just a temporary measure to paralyze Liaodong Town!
Therefore, I still secretly contacted you as soon as possible, and I am also assured that you can actively get closer to Liaodong Town and further win the trust of Liaodong Town... All this is to wait until today to entrust you with important tasks!"
Hearing what Zhao Junchen said, Huang Ke's expression alternated between joy and sadness. After changing like this for a long time, he suddenly stood up, bowed deeply to Zhao Junchen, and said: "I would like to thank Zhao Junchen for his trust, and I will never thank you for your trust."
It will disappoint my mentor!"
As he spoke, Huang Ke's voice sounded sobbing, but his tone was firm.
Seeing Huang Ke's appearance, Zhao Junchen also shook his head and sighed: "Being an official in Liaodong has always been a hard job. There is no oil and water, but there are many scapegoats. Not only do you have to encounter Jianzhou Jurchen invasions from time to time, but also
To be caught between the imperial court and Liaodong Town and suffer the consequences... I have really wronged you over the years!"
"Xiaoguan doesn't feel aggrieved. If it's an easy job that's full of oil and gas, he won't like it."
Hearing what Huang Ke said, Zhao Junchen secretly envied Zhou Shangjing.
Zhao Junchen has countless fans and cronies, but none of them has the courage to "prefer to travel to the mountains".
It is said that Zhou Shangjing has been running the government and the public for many years, and has a solid foundation and a strong foundation, but what are foundations and foundations? It means that no matter where they are, Zhou Shangjing can easily find a large group of strong and capable disciples to work for him.
…
In Henan, Zhang Bozhen, the governor of Henan, is his disciple; in Shanxi, Sun Miao, the prefect of Lu'an, is his disciple; in South Zhili, Liu Mu, the chief envoy, and Lu Yang, the inspector-general, are all his die-hard supporters, even if they are
In the Liaodong region, where the central ruling power of the imperial court was weakest, there was an old student like Huang Ke who still cared about his kindness.
In Zhao Junchen's eyes, regardless of the corruption and treachery of these people, just looking at their methods and wisdom, they can all be regarded as outstanding talents, even if they are placed in the inner circle of "Zhao Party".
He belongs to the top class, which is enough for Zhao Junchen to place high hopes on him and regard him as a helping hand, but among the "Zhou Party", he can be seen everywhere.
It's a pity that no matter how much Zhao Junchen admires this kind of foundation and heritage, no matter how hard he works, he will definitely not be able to catch up in a short time. He can only spend time gradually operating and saving up slowly.
Thinking of this, Zhao Junchen shook his head slightly and said: "In that case, let's talk about business... Do you already have an understanding of the current situation in Liaodong Town?"
Huang Ke quickly calmed down his abnormal expression, nodded seriously and said: "After being summoned here by Ximen Sheng, I have already heard from him about the recent changes in Liaodong Town!
According to Ximen Sheng, Zhao Gechen and Liaodong Commander-in-Chief He Yu were accidentally kidnapped by thieves of unknown origin four days ago. Zhao Gechen managed to escape on your own yesterday morning and returned safely to the Liaodong Army.
But He Yuze is still trapped in the hands of the thieves, and his fate is still uncertain...
After Zhao Gechen got out of trouble, you said that those thieves were related to the Jianzhou Jurchens, but everyone in Liaodong Town was dubious and hesitant to know whether they should investigate in this direction...
And in the early morning of the day when Zhao Gechen escaped, that is, around midnight last night, General Li Zehe of the East Road in Liaodong Town was poisoned, set on fire, and assassinated. Li Zehe blamed the Liaodong Cavalry Qianhu Shicheng for this incident, but Shi
Cheng firmly denies it...Xiaguan was summoned here by Ximen Sheng to be responsible for judging this assassination case!"
After a pause, Huang Ke raised his head and glanced at Zhao Junchen secretly, and then said: "Also, although Ximen Sheng didn't say it clearly, his subordinates could tell that many senior military attachés in Liaodong Town were suspicious of this kidnapping.
From the beginning to the end, you, the cabinet minister, directed and acted on your own, so I am very guarded against you...
At the same time, with He Yu's fate uncertain, there are already signs of splitting in Liaodong Town. Ximen Sheng and Shi Cheng are of the same faction and are still loyal to He Yu, while the three participating parties, Li Zehe, Xu Zha, and Gan Cheng
General is the other faction, and they are already planning to betray He Yu... The two factions are currently in deep conflict, and have reached the point where they want to eliminate each other.
Alas, after hearing the news, even though the official had already guessed that something unexpected had happened due to the frequent actions in Liaodong Town these days, he was stunned and it took him a long time to finally accept the situation!"
When Huang Ke expressed his speculation, he had been secretly observing the changes in Zhao Junchen's expression, obviously wanting to test Zhao Junchen's true role in this series of events.
However, Zhao Junchen's expression did not change at all, and he just said: "Yes, in the past few days, the changes in Liaodong Town have been unprecedented and dizzying... However, in my opinion, this is also a
This is a great opportunity to reverse the situation in Liaodong Town that has been overwhelming for nearly a century!"
Huang Ke nodded seriously and said: "The cabinet minister is wise, and the lower officials also think so!"
But the next moment, Huang Ke said: "However, I would like to ask Minister Zhao to forgive me and tell me frankly that many of your methods of dealing with Liaodong Town are wrong."