"...What's the point of just waiting to die! I'm certainly afraid of death, but I'm even more afraid of dying with regrets!"
After hearing what Zhang Decheng said, Zhao Junchen narrowed his eyes slightly and his expression became more serious.
Obviously, in this power struggle, it was not just Zhao Junchen who made up his mind.
Zhou Shangjing also has his own persistence and path.
To a large extent, Zhou Shangjing also firmly believes that he is righteous.
After a moment of silence, Zhao Junchen asked again: "Doctor Zhang, you just said that if Zhou Shoufu continues to work hard, he may die within half a year... Is this statement meant to scare Zhou Shoufu from taking a serious rest?
Or tell the truth?"
Zhang Decheng shook his head solemnly and said: "Of course I tell the truth about this kind of thing! In fact, if Zhou Shoufu continues to work hard, half a year of life is considered the best situation, provided that Zhou Shoufu always keeps a happy mood and a calm mood!
But if in the next period of time, Zhou Shoufu suffers some huge blows, and becomes emotionally agitated and heartbroken, I'm afraid..."
Zhao Junchen's eyes flickered and his expression was incomprehensible.
After another long silence, Zhao Junchen raised his hand and patted Zhang Decheng's arm, and said seriously: "Doctor Zhang, I hope you will try your best to treat Zhou Shoufu! At least until the situation in Nanjing is completely settled, you must try your best to stabilize Zhou Shoufu's condition. Absolutely
Don’t let anything bad happen to him!”
Zhang Decheng looked unhappy: "Doctors are kind-hearted. I always go all out when treating patients. You don't need to remind me about this kind of thing! In fact, you have now delayed me from formulating a diagnosis and treatment plan for Zhou Shoufu!"
Zhang Decheng has always had such a bad temper, and Zhao Junchen has long been used to it. Naturally, he will not blame him at this time. He just smiled and nodded: "If this is the case, it is best!"
After saying that, Zhao Junchen stopped pestering Zhang Decheng and quickly walked into Zhou Shangjing's recovery bedroom ahead.
*
Since Zhou Shangjing arrived in Nanjing and stayed temporarily in the East Garden, Song Chengren vacated the best room in the East Garden as Zhou Shangjing's temporary bedroom.
Not to mention how luxurious and elegant the decoration of this bedroom is, the key point is that it is spacious and bright, with plenty of sunlight.
When Zhao Junchen stepped into the room, it was already approaching early morning, but there was still no darkness in the room to obstruct his vision, allowing Zhao Junchen to carefully observe Zhou Shangjing's physical condition.
Zhou Shangjing was not lying on the hospital bed as expected, but was sitting at the head of a round table, chatting with the two old men on the left and right beside him.
Among them, the old man sitting on Zhou Shangjing's left hand was Wang Baoren who entered the room one step ahead to visit Zhou Shangjing.
At this moment, Wang Baoren's expression was very complicated, as if he was sad that the rabbit had died, as if he had lost something, and as if he was gloating about his misfortune.
As for the rich old man sitting on Zhou Shangjing's right hand, it was the first time that Zhao Junchen had met him, but looking at his very similar appearance to the two brothers Song Qiwen and Song Qili, he guessed that this old man should be the leader of the Jiangnan Jin gentry.
Song Chengren.
Compared with Wang Baoren's complex expression, Song Chengren's expression was much simpler, and his worry and sadness were simply beyond words.
In addition, Song Jicheng, the direct grandson of the Song family who also entered the room first, stood behind Song Chengren with his hands lowered in a respectful manner.
After Zhao Junchen's eyes quickly swept over Wang Baoren and Song Chengren, he focused on Zhou Shangjing and kept observing carefully.
Overall, Zhou Shangjing was more energetic than Zhao Junchen expected. His seemingly dim old eyes still shone with shrewdness and wisdom, and his back was still straight and straight. He did not just lean on the back of the chair, and he could move his hands and feet.
Still familiar and calm.
But after not seeing each other for several months, Zhou Shangjing had obviously lost a lot of weight, and could even be regarded as skinny and out of shape. His skin was as dull as if it were wrapped in a dead color, and his old face, which was originally covered with wrinkles, was as withered and yellow as wax. When he and he
When Wang Baoren and Song Chengren were talking, there was also an obvious sound of heavy breathing.
Obviously, Zhou Shangjing's physical condition is indeed extremely poor.
Zhao Junchen seemed to see an enchanting spirit floating quietly behind Zhou Shangjing, patiently waiting for his mission to begin.
After careful observation, Zhao Junchen walked up to the round table and sat directly opposite Zhou Shangjing, making eye contact with Zhou Shangjing.
Zhao Junchen's behavior was quite disrespectful and offensive, but Zhao Junchen's subsequent statement was even more vicious.
"Zhou Shoufu, seeing that you are still alive and in good spirits, this junior will feel relieved! Otherwise... if there is no one to play in a chess game, it will be too boring. Even if you go against the odds and come back, you will not be able to win."
Now that he understood the determination of both parties, Zhao Junchen no longer had any courtesy at this time, but went straight to the point and declared war on the spot.
After hearing this, Wang Baoren, Song Chengren, and Song Jicheng all changed their expressions slightly, especially Song Chengren and Song Jicheng, the grandfather and grandson, who couldn't help but glare at Zhao Junchen.
On the contrary, Zhou Shangjing still looked calm. Ever since he decided to rob the "United Shipping Company", he knew that Zhao Junchen would completely fall out with him.
He had prepared everything a long time ago, both psychologically and realistically.
Therefore, Zhou Shangjing just smiled and nodded: "Since I received the news that Junchen was appointed by His Majesty as an imperial envoy and will soon arrive in Nanjing, I know that the game of chess in Nanjing is not over yet. I can still hold on with energy.
Also to wait for Junchen to enter!"
After a pause, Zhou Shangjing suggested with great interest: "Taking this opportunity, in the presence of Grand Master Wang and the head of the Song family, how about you and I make a bet?"
Zhao Junchen did not ask about the content of the bet, nor did he care what the bet was. He refused directly: "Now that the chess game has begun, the winner must be determined next. The winner takes all, and the loser retires. In this situation
What’s the point of setting up another gambling game? It’s just superfluous!”
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Zhao Junchen was not exaggerating when he said "winner takes all" and "loser retires".
The two sides will then start a game over the control of "United Shipping Lines".
And the existence of "United Boat Line" is so important!
For Zhao Junchen, the fundamental reason why he continues to stand tall in the temple is his ability to control the court's finances. If he can only watch Zhou Shangjing take away the "United Shipping Company", Zhao Junchen's control over the court's finances will be
The power will be greatly weakened, and it will no longer be indispensable in the eyes of Emperor Deqing. It will definitely be the end of the rabbit and the dog.
For Zhou Shangjing, he would rather fall out with Zhao Junchen than seize the opportunity to embezzle "United Shipping Company" because he is keenly aware that the existence of "United Shipping Company" not only greatly weakens the financial resources of "Zhou Party", but also greatly weakens the financial resources of "Zhou Party".
To a large extent, the Jiangnan Jingentry Group's support for the "Zhou Party" was shaken.
Nowadays, Zhou Shangjing seems to have the upper hand, but this advantage is actually Zhou Shangjing's biggest crisis.
If Zhao Junchen can make a complete comeback next, the Jiangnan gentry will receive an obvious signal, that is, Zhou Shangjing is indeed old and is no longer Zhao Junchen's opponent, otherwise he will not be defeated by Zhao Junchen despite having the upper hand.
A comeback from a desperate situation.
As a result, the Jiangnan Jinshen Group, which had once wavered in its stance because of the "United Shipping Company", would no longer hesitate and would definitely change its stance and quickly abandon the "Zhou Party" and support Zhao Junchen.
After all, throughout the ages, the fine tradition of the gentry class has always been "whoever wins, they help."
Once the "Zhou Party" loses the basic support of the gentry class, and Zhou Shangjing's life span is over, the final result will inevitably be that it will fall into pieces, be absorbed and divided by major forces, and then completely withdraw from the stage of history.
On the other side, Zhou Shangjing also felt Zhao Junchen's determination after hearing this, and couldn't help but frown.
But the next moment, Zhou Shangjing returned to his usual gentleness and confidence, and asked: "Junchen, aren't you curious about what the content of my bet is?"
Zhao Junchen was still completely merciless, shook his head and sneered: "The situation has progressed to this point, and I have no trust in the credibility of Zhou Shoufu... Junior! We have agreed in advance to work closely together in Nanjing.
To carve up all the benefits left after the six departments in Nanjing were abolished, we must also seize the opportunity to completely cut off the chance of His Highness the Seventh Prince to rise to power...
The result? The junior helped Zhou Shoufu without reservation, but Zhou Shoufu wanted to seize the opportunity to embezzle the United Shipping Company. Moreover, Zhou Shoufu clearly had the opportunity to completely overthrow the Seventh Prince, but he still left him a glimmer of hope... such a backstab.
, the junior has not only suffered heavy losses, but also has a profound memory, how can he dare to continue to trust Zhou Shoufu?"
Hearing Zhao Junchen's accusation, Zhou Shangjing also shook his head and said slowly: "Junchen seems to have misunderstood some things. Let's talk about them one by one! Hey, when you sent Huo Zhengyuan to Nanjing, did you have any reservations?
Let’s not mention the matter of assisting me for the moment, but in my opinion, I have never broken my promise from beginning to end!
After the imperial court abolished the six ministries in Nanjing, such as the Nanjing Inspectorate and the Nanjing Imperial College, it became the case that both you and I want to compete for the benefits of the division, but I do not intend to monopolize it. Even if Zhao Gechen does not go to Nanjing in person, I will
He will definitely leave part of the benefits to the 'Zhao Party'... If Junchen wants to use this to accuse me of breaking promises, he should at least wait until I get it all, right?
Junchen, you are also accusing me of not taking the opportunity to completely overthrow the seventh prince. In fact, I have exposed all the doubts about the seventh prince to your majesty. Then you only need to let nature take its course and wait for your majesty to take action. Under such circumstances, if
If I go too far, I will completely ruin the reputation of the Seventh Prince, and His Majesty will be unhappy!
After all, His Majesty has always intended to elevate the Seventh Prince to the position of Crown Prince. Even if the Seventh Prince is not a suitable candidate for the Crown Prince, it should be up to His Majesty to detect doubts and correct mistakes by himself. If we ministers overstep our authority, wouldn’t we be secretly accusing Your Majesty of being short-sighted?
?With the temperament of our Majesty, in order to maintain his own dignity, he might try his best to protect the Seventh Prince, which would be counterproductive!"
At this point, Zhou Shangjing probably talked too much and his breath was a little unsteady, so he picked up the tea cup in front of him and took a sip of ginseng tea. After half a meal, he finally regained some strength and continued: "Finally, Junchen also
Accusing me of embezzling "United Shipping Lines"... This incident may be regarded as a backstabbing by me, but it definitely cannot be regarded as a breach of promise by me, because I never promised that I would not take action against "United Shipping Lines", right? From my point of view,
Junchen should blame himself for neglecting to take precautions at this time."
Hearing Zhou Shangjing's defense, Zhao Junchen sneered even more: "Zhou Shoufu has really taken care of himself! OK, I believe that Zhou Shoufu doesn't intend to take the benefits for himself. Even if I don't come to Nanjing, he will leave some leftovers for me, but
...You didn't take advantage of the situation and kill the Seventh Prince. Are you really thinking about the overall situation? I'm afraid it's more about the interests of the 'Zhou Party', right?
After all, once the Seventh Prince completely loses his hope of ascending to the throne, His Highness the Crown Prince's position will be temporarily stable, and the relationship between His Highness the Crown Prince and the younger generation has been greatly eased, and they have cooperated in many aspects. Once His Highness the Crown Prince is
With his status firmly established, the younger generation will undoubtedly gain greater benefits. Wouldn't Zhou Shoufu be happy to see this?
On the contrary, a shaky and precarious Seventh Prince will undoubtedly be of greater benefit to the 'Zhou Party'! Under such circumstances, no matter His Majesty, the Crown Prince, the Seventh Prince, or even the junior himself, all need to take the lead in stabilizing the situation.
Only then will the 'Zhou Party' have the opportunity to realize their respective intentions, and Zhou Shoufu will be more calm when joining forces, right?"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! At this point, Zhao Junchen's eyes became colder: "As for Zhou Shoufu taking the opportunity to embezzle the 'United Shipping Line'... 'United Shipping Line' has been a powerful force for this period of time.
Those who support Zhou Shoufu, so that Zhou Shoufu's layout in Nanjing can be smoothly realized, the 'United Shipping Company' must take the greatest credit. However, Zhou Shoufu not only did not repay the favor and reward according to merit, but turned his back and ruthlessly arrested the merchants and seized the industry, so what?
Do you still have the nerve to say that your credibility has not been lost?"
In fact, Zhao Junchen and Zhou Shangjing are destined to become enemies. At this time, it seems that there is no point in debating who is right and who is wrong. It is just a waste of time.
But the reality is exactly the opposite. Zhao Junchen and Zhou Shangjing must first debate clearly who is right and who is wrong before they can formally confront each other.
This has nothing to do with things like wrongdoing, guilty conscience, morality, etc., but is related to whether both parties should abide by certain unspoken rules in the subsequent game.
Because Zhou Shangjing currently has all the advantages, if Zhao Junchen wants to make a comeback, he will have to find another way and use some unconventional methods. However, these unconventional methods will definitely break certain rules in the officialdom.
Zhao Junchen was criticized by all parties and became the target of public criticism.
Therefore, Zhao Junchen had to be the first to prove that it was not him who broke the rules on his own initiative, but Zhou Shangjing who broke the rules first, so Zhao Junchen's subsequent extraordinary measures were just retaliation.
In official circles, this is crucial.
Perhaps he was speechless or lacked energy. After Zhou Shangjing heard Zhao Junchen's rebuttal, he didn't respond for a long time.
In the end, Zhou Shangjing just asked again: "Junchen, you really don't want to know what the content of the bet I mentioned is?"
Zhao Junchen took a deep look at Zhou Shangjing's old face, and suddenly smiled again: "No need, after observing Zhou Shoufu's many tricks at close range over the years, I can guess what Zhou Shoufu's bet is!
Let me guess, this bet should be... As long as I can win this game, Zhou Shoufu will no longer interfere with the Jiangnan gentry's change of position from now on, even if the Jiangnan gentry have decided to cooperate with the United Shipping Company
'Cooperation, you will never stop it! On the contrary, if the junior cannot win this game, Zhou Shoufu will not put forward particularly harsh conditions! In short, this bet must seem to be extremely beneficial to the junior, so Zhou Shoufu will
I am very confident that this junior will definitely agree to this bet, right?"
This time, Zhou Shangjing, who had always been the master of wisdom, couldn't help but be stunned.
Because Zhao Junchen's guess is very close to his true thoughts.
Zhao Junchen's face showed sarcasm: "If you want to take it, you must give it first! Such methods are always unfavorable to Zhou Shoufu! But the same method has been used too many times, how can the younger generation be fooled again? Zhou Shoufu is too underestimated.
A junior!
If the junior agrees to this bet, it means that he will have the opportunity to cooperate in depth with the Jiangnan Jin gentry in the future. Therefore, when he competes with Zhou Shoufu next time, he cannot completely hurt the Jiangnan Jin gentry and must show mercy to them!
However, the Jiangnan gentry are the basic base of the "Zhou Party" and the die-hard supporters of Zhou Shoufu. If the younger generation is only thinking about the follow-up cooperation and cannot attack them hard, then it will be self-defeating. How can it still make a successful comeback?
It’s like two people fighting each other. If one party cannot directly attack the other party’s vital points, how can it still win?”
Seeing the change in Zhou Shangjing's expression, Zhao Junchen knew that he had guessed correctly.
Then, Zhao Junchen became more and more sure of one thing.
Perhaps he was worried that his body would not be able to hold on, or perhaps he was wary of Zhao Junchen's lawless behavior, or perhaps Zhou Shangjing no longer wanted to see more turmoil in Nanjing...
All in all, Zhou Shangjing, who has always been a master of wisdom, actually felt guilty this time.
Therefore, after Zhou Shangjing met Zhao Junchen, he emphasized that he had never broken his promise or violated his moral principles, and he also took the initiative to propose a bet that seemed to be beneficial to Zhao Junchen... All these actions were to make Zhao Junchen follow up.
When counterattacking, your hands are tied and you cannot break the rules as you please.
But Zhou Shangjing ignored one point.
That is - Zhao Junchen is a good student.
In the past two years, Zhao Junchen has been trying his best to avoid a head-on confrontation with Zhou Shangjing, but he has also been carefully observing and studying Zhou Shangjing's political methods.
To this day, Zhao Junchen has not only learned a lot from Zhou Shangjing, but is also very familiar with Zhou Shangjing's various common methods.
Therefore, after Zhou Shangjing proposed a bet, Zhao Junchen immediately guessed that Zhou Shangjing wanted to use the bet to restrain his behavior, and the bet must be related to the Jiangnan Jin gentry, because all of Zhou Shangjing's plans during his stay in Nanjing were
It was developed around stabilizing the fundamentals of the gentry class.
With these premises in mind, it is not difficult to guess what the specific content of Zhou Shangjing's bet is.
On the other side, after Zhao Junchen completely guessed Zhou Shangjing's thoughts, he couldn't help but look at Zhao Junchen for a long time, and found that he seemed to have greatly underestimated Zhao Junchen's growth rate.
The next moment, Zhou Shangjing said slowly: "Master Wang, Head of the Song family, please forgive me for being rude... Please leave the room for a moment. I have something urgent and want to talk to Zhao Gechen in private."