After hearing this, Zhu Hejian's eyes flashed: "Oh? How does Zhou Shoufu evaluate the juniors?"
Wang Baoren did not hide anything, and immediately recounted in detail all Zhou Shangjing's previous comments about Zhu Hejian.
When talking about words such as "ruthless", "profound city", "vicious", "excessive behavior" and so on, the tone is even more accentuated.
While recounting, Wang Baoren's attitude seemed casual, but his eyes were fixed on Zhu Hejian's expression, not missing the slightest expression.
After hearing this, Zhu Hejian's expression naturally changed drastically. He was a little shocked, a little aggrieved, and even a little angry.
"How does Zhou Shoufu treat the junior like this? Just based on some baseless things that cannot withstand scrutiny, he makes such malicious speculations about the junior... It is really annoying! How can the reputation of the junior be slandered by others at will? No way.
! This junior must report this matter to my father! Even if he is the chief minister of Zhou, I will impeach him!"
After saying that, Zhu Hejian stood up suddenly and walked quickly to the desk, wanting to write a memorial to impeach Zhou Shangjing. He seemed to be upright and not afraid of the shadow, and did not care that Emperor Deqing would be influenced by Zhou Shangjing and suspect him.
In fact, Zhu Hejian was not worried that this matter would arouse Emperor Deqing's suspicion.
First of all, Zhu Hejian always acted cautiously and left no room for error. Even Zhou Shangjing did not find any conclusive evidence. Just some speculations were not enough to convince Emperor Deqing; secondly, Emperor Deqing did not fully trust Zhou Shangjing in the first place.
Zhou Shangjing had misled and deceived Emperor Deqing not once or twice before; in the end, it was because even if Emperor Deqing was suspicious, he would only arrange for the East and West Second Factory to conduct investigation and verification, while Zhu Hejian was confident
Secretly manipulated the investigation results of the East and West Second Plants.
As for the Da Nei Hsing Factory, which was secretly rebuilt by Emperor Deqing, its strength and foundation are far from sufficient, and currently it is not enough to threaten Zhu Hejian.
The most important thing is that Zhu Hejian believed that...Wang Baoren would definitely prevent him from impeaching Zhou Shangjing.
On the other side, Wang Baoren did not see any flaws in Zhu Hejian's expression changes. After seeing Zhu Hejian's fierce reaction, he really tried to dissuade him.
"I hope His Highness the Seventh Prince will be careful! If you impeach Zhou Shangjing directly like this, there is absolutely no way you can affect him in the slightest. Instead, I will be put on the spot!"
While talking, Wang Baoren stood up and came to the desk, closing the blank memorial that Zhu Hejian had just opened.
Later, Wang Baoren patted Zhu Hejian's shoulder in a friendly manner and advised: "After all, there was no third person to witness the conversation between Zhou Shangjing and me. Even if you use this to impeach Zhou Shangjing, as long as Zhou Shangjing refuses
Admit it, no one can do anything about him, but it will cause all kinds of unnecessary trouble! Not only will Zhou Shangjing definitely blame me for stirring up trouble, but His Majesty may also be affected by Zhou Shangjing's remarks. After all, you
I also know that His Majesty's temperament...is really a bit too cautious."
After being stopped by Wang Baoren, Zhu Hejian struggled with his expression, but in the end he got off the donkey and stopped when he was ready. He wrote angrily: "Are we just going to let Zhou Shangjing slander and smear this junior at will?"
Wang Baoren shook his head and smiled and said: "The pure will themselves be pure. If you have a clear conscience, why do you care about this slander? When you stand in the spotlight, you will definitely be targeted and plotted by all parties, and you will also be subjected to various petty actions.
People throw dirty water, this is bound to happen, sooner or later you need to get used to it."
Zhu Hejian sighed, but he was still aggrieved.
Wang Baoren will not easily believe Zhu Hejian's innocence because of Zhu Hejian's realistic performance - in order to deceive Wang Baoren smoothly, Zhou Shangjing also expended his efforts to use the real and the fake, and the method of changing the real and the fake - but Wang Baoren does not care whether Zhu Hejian is innocent or not. .
Compared with Zhou Shangjing, Wang Baoren is a more pure power animal. As long as Zhu Hejian can help him realize his long-cherished wish and become a highly respected minister, even if he finds out that Zhu Hejian is not actually a bloodline of the old Zhu family, he will pretend not to know the truth at all. .
After seeing Zhu Hejian's indignation and reluctance, Wang Baoren cooperated again and persuaded: "What's more, Zhou Shangjing is already dying, why is your highness arguing with a dying person?"
A ray of light flashed through the depths of Zhu Hejian's eyes again, and asked: "In your opinion, Zhou Shoufu is really terminally ill?"
Wang Baoren nodded: "Nine times out of ten! Some signs are absolutely impossible to fake! When I met Zhou Shangjing, he first used tonics to strengthen his physical condition and pretended that he was not seriously injured, but soon it was revealed Not only is my body weak and my eyes dull, but I am also sweating from the cold... I also know a little bit about medical skills, and I can at least distinguish the difference between hot sweat and sweating. Although the phenomenon of sweating can be faked with medicine, but It will only be hot sweat, not weak sweat."
After hearing this, Zhu Hejian felt a little relieved. He couldn't wait to see Zhou Shangjing's painful appearance when he died of stomach disease.
Wang Baoren returned to the topic again and said: "Now we know that the reason why Zhou Shangjing deliberately set up a situation to make things difficult for His Highness is because he misunderstood His Highness's true nature. He was obviously just trying to make excuses, but he thought he was selfless and had long-term plans... It’s really laughable!
But people are always getting more and more stubborn, and Zhou Shangjing is even more stubborn because he is a thief when he is old. Naturally, it is difficult for us to reverse his prejudice... Therefore, in the face of this trap set by Zhou Shangjing, His Highness still We have to find a way to get through it. Only by overcoming this difficulty can His Highness be able to secure his position in the reserve smoothly in the future."
Regarding Zhou Shangjing's various speculations about Zhu Hejian, Wang Baoren commented that they were all based on speculation and were obviously deliberately showing favor to Zhu Hejian.
But at the same time, Wang Baoren deliberately misused the word "groundless".
The idiom "comes from groundless ground" was originally used to describe news and rumors that are not completely unfounded. However, there are always people who are not knowledgeable and misunderstand this idiom from the literal meaning, thinking that this idiom means that news and rumors are groundless.
With Wang Baoren's knowledge and knowledge, it is naturally impossible to misunderstand this idiom, so he deliberately misused this word, implying that he also secretly doubted Zhu Hejian's true nature, but he would still support Zhu Hejian... provided that Zhu Hejian gave himself enough benefits and commitments.
Of course, Zhu Hejian understood Wang Baoren's hint and pretended that he was not aware of Wang Baoren's wrong choice of words at all. Instead, he showed gratitude and said: "Master Wang, you have not been instigated by Zhou Shangjing and are still willing to trust this junior. It is naturally the best." However! As the saying goes, 'It takes time to see people's hearts.' Grand Master Wang, you will be with me for a long time in the future, so you will naturally have the opportunity to understand my true nature!
After Zhou Shangjing, an old thief, dies of illness, the position of chief minister of the cabinet will be vacant. From the perspective of the younger generation, among all the officials in the dynasty, only Wang Taishi, who is an experienced pillar of the country, can stabilize the situation of the dynasty.
, so after this junior returns to the capital, he will definitely recommend Taishi Wang to his father with all his strength, not only to let Taishi Wang join the cabinet to assist the government again, but also to recommend Taishi Wang to become the head of the cabinet's assistant ministers! "
Zhu Hejian promised two things to Wang Baoren, one is "long-term companionship" and the other is "chief minister of the cabinet".
But Wang Baoren did not believe in these promises that could not be fulfilled immediately. He just turned around and returned to his seat to sit down. He nodded casually and said with a smile: "If I can stay with the Seventh Prince for a long time and contribute to the imperial court, I will naturally wish for it.
.”
After saying that, Wang Baoren began to pour tea and drink by himself.
It is obvious that Wang Baoren will not give up the hawk when he sees the rabbit. Unless Zhu Hejian is willing to provide some benefits that can be cashed in immediately, Wang Baoren will not further support Zhu Hejian, nor will he show his trump card to Zhu Hejian.
As for what benefits Wang Baoren wanted, he had made it very clear just now. He wanted the two of them to completely establish a solid teacher-student relationship and completely bind the interests between them.
Zhu Hejian originally wanted to wait until Wang Baoren showed his cards and abilities before promising to become his disciple.
But now the situation is very clear. Zhou Shangjing has made it clear that he has laid a trap and is waiting for Zhu Hejian to jump in. He also wants to win the support and cooperation of Wang Baoren. Wang Baoren has an ambiguous position and is waiting for a price.
, if Zhu Hejian cannot win Wang Baoren to his side as soon as possible, but instead lets Zhou Shangjing win over Wang Baoren, then Zhu Hejian will be even less sure to successfully overcome the current difficulties.
Thinking of this, a trace of shame and anger flashed deep in Zhu Hejian's eyes, and he felt that none of these old foxes were good.
But he still made a decisive decision and made a decision quickly.
Zhu Hejian lowered his head and pulled out a memorial from the desk, then walked quickly to Wang Baoren, presented the memorial to Wang Baoren, and asked for instructions: "Actually, this junior has already prepared this memorial.
I have always wanted to submit it to the center of the imperial court for my father to judge, but because the content of this memorial is related to Taishi Wang, I want to ask Taishi Wang for his opinion. In recent days, I have not had the opportunity to meet with Taishi Wang for a detailed discussion, so
It’s only been delayed until now... I’d like to ask Taishi Wang to review and give advice.”
Seeing that Zhu Hejian had already prepared this memorial, Wang Baoren's eyes flashed, and he quickly took the memorial and opened it to read.
The content of this memorial was Zhu Hejian's petition to Emperor Deqing, saying that he had been playful and distracted in recent years and had made almost no achievements in knowledge. He also admired Wang Baoren's knowledge and character and learned a lot from Wang Baoren, so he hoped that
Emperor Deqing could allow himself to follow Wang Baoren to learn Confucian classics for a long time, and let Wang Baoren teach him and explain his doubts. He also hinted that once he took over the throne, he would pay homage to Wang Baoren in public at the court meeting.
After seeing these contents, Wang Baoren couldn't help but laugh.
As long as Emperor Deqing agreed to this memorial, Wang Baoren could truly become Zhu Hejian's mentor - at least in the eyes of the world.
Wang Baoren is now also the Crown Prince's Grand Master, and is also nominally the Crown Prince's teacher, but it is only in name. No one will ever truly regard him as the Crown Prince's teacher.
Taking the early Ming Dynasty as an example, Zhu Yuanzhang's crown prince was Zhu Biao, his crown prince was Li Shanchang, the chief civil servant at the time, and Zhu Biao's actual mentor was Song Lian.
After both Li Shanchang and Song Lian were implicated because of Hu Weiyong's death, Zhu Biao could sit back and watch Li Shanchang being implicated in the nine clans, and even personally presided over the arrest and interrogation without any scruples at all, but he must try to protect Song Lian.
Lian, even if he was confronting Zhu Yuanzhang, he would not hesitate to have a conflict.
This difference is because Li Shanchang is only a teacher in name and has no fraternal feelings with Zhu Biao. Therefore, even if Zhu Biao stands by and adds insult to injury, no one will blame him. But Song Lian is the actual teacher and the real teacher.
He taught Zhu Biao his knowledge, so Zhu Biao must try his best to rescue Song Lian. If he doesn't rescue Song Lian, his popularity will be destroyed in one day.
But now, with this memorial, Wang Baoren can completely implement his teacher-student relationship with Zhu Hejian, and the interests of both parties will be completely bound together.
After seeing the smile on Wang Baoren's face, Zhu Hejian asked softly: "Master Wang, do you think this memorial is suitable? If it is suitable, I will send someone to send it to the center of the imperial court and give it to my father for review."
Wang Baoren nodded slightly reservedly and said: "Well, compared to Zhou Shangjing, Li He, Cheng Yuandao and the others, my knowledge is actually slightly inferior... Let me teach His Highness from now on.
I really feel the pressure to resolve my karma.”
Zhu Hejian hurriedly said: "If anything, you and the other pavilion elders are just different in specialization. How can you say that you are not as knowledgeable as them? It is a lifelong honor for juniors to study with Grand Master Wang!"
Wang Baoren smiled slightly, nodded again and said: "In that case, please send this memorial to the center of the capital. After His Highness the Seventh Prince officially takes over the throne, the two of us can officially disclose the relationship between teacher and student."
When Wang Baoren expressed his stance, he had already made up several stories in his mind, all of which were about the deep teacher-student relationship between him and Zhu Hejian, how much his sincere teachings to Zhu Hejian had benefited Zhu Hejian, etc.
Under Wang Baoren's secret promotion, these stories will soon spread among the people and become the favorite stories of the world.
In this way, in the eyes of the world, Wang Baoren and Zhu Hejian will be completely bound. If Zhu Hejian dares to fall out with Wang Baoren in the future, his reputation and reputation will be ruined.
Zhu Hejian did not immediately notice Wang Baoren's little thoughts, but he also didn't care. He just changed the title immediately and said: "Since you think this memorial does not need to be revised, my student will send it to the capital now.
"
After saying that, Zhu Hejian once again summoned his confidant Guo Shouzhong, and directly issued an order to Guo Shouzhong in front of Wang Baoren, asking Guo Shouzhong to immediately find someone to send his apprenticeship memorial to the central court overnight.
After Guo Shouzhong took the order and left, when Wang Baoren and Zhu Hejian got along, the atmosphere became much closer.
But after waiting until this time, Wang Baoren was finally satisfied and finally willing to make suggestions and advice for Zhu Hejian from the bottom of his heart. By the way, he showed some of his trump cards to Zhu Hejian.
*
"Your Highness, you don't have to stand, sit next to me, and let's carefully discuss the follow-up countermeasures! Zhou Shangjing has publicly stated to me that he will specifically plan to target you. His plan is not easy to deal with, and we must deal with it carefully."
Seeing that Wang Baoren was finally going to help him, Zhu Hejian finally relieved his dissatisfaction a little. After nodding, he sat aside respectfully and asked for advice: "Please give me some advice, teacher!"
After Wang Baoren took a deep look at Zhu Hejian, he said slowly: "When He Ming served as the prince's master, it was not just a false position, but a real person who taught the prince knowledge. I heard that your highness, you were also with the prince in the past.
Have you studied with He Ming for a while?"
Zhu Hejian sighed, nodded first, and then shook his head: "Master He was focused on teaching the third brother of the prince back then, and the student was not the prince, so naturally he was not taken seriously. Once he was teaching important content, he would deliberately
The students were sent away, so the students did not inherit much of Taishi He's true biography. They only occasionally listened to a few words and deduced and understood on their own...
It's ridiculous when you think about it carefully. The students obviously regarded the emperor's mental skills and knowledge that Taishi He was good at as a standard, but Taishi He was dismissive of the students. Although Taishi He had high hopes for the third brother of the prince, but
The third brother of the prince just turned his nose up at Taishi He’s knowledge and clamored for his father to find another teacher for him.”
Wang Baoren shook his head and said: "No wonder! If Your Highness had learned the true story of He Ming's success in three to five years, you shouldn't have been in such a quandary during this period! The time it took you to go from behind the scenes to the stage was too short, not only was it also
If you are not used to being the center of attention, and you don’t understand the specific countermeasures of those in power when they are standing in the light and presiding over the overall situation, your methods are only suitable for use in the dark, and when used in the light, they will naturally backfire!"