After hearing Zhou Shangjing's instructions, Song Chengren and Song Jicheng's grandparents immediately stood up and left the room without any hesitation.
Only Wang Baoren felt a little unhappy, thinking that Zhou Shangjing looked down on him.
At the same time, Wang Baoren was somewhat curious and wanted to know what important matters Zhou Shangjing and Zhao Junchen were going to discuss next.
Prior to this, when Zhou Shangjing and Zhao Junchen were negotiating, even when Zhou Shangjing and Zhao Junchen conspired to carve up the Nanjing Yamen and bring down the seventh prince, they did not deliberately avoid Wang Baoren, and they were not worried about Wang Baoren leaking these things.
go out.
But now, what exactly is it that is more important and secret than the original conspiracy between Zhou and Zhao's two parties?
Thinking of this, Wang Baoren was naturally unwilling to leave and remained seated. Instead, he snorted coldly: "What is it that cannot be said openly and openly?"
However, seeing Wang Baoren not moving, Zhou Shangjing did not speak, but quietly closed his eyes to rest, and the two of them competed for patience.
But Zhao Junchen was impatient. After he met Zhou Shangjing, he still had many things to be busy with.
Therefore, Zhao Junchen looked up at Wang Baoren and said slowly: "Master Wang, I would like to ask you to stay away for a while! Please also rest assured that until the situation in Nanjing is settled, the previous agreement between the two of us is still valid."
After Wang Baoren and Zhao Junchen met, they had already reached an agreement—Zhao Junchen would not conceal any relevant information from Wang Baoren when he faced off against Zhou Shangjing—and the agreement Zhao Junchen mentioned at this time naturally referred to this point.
Seeing that Zhao Junchen also wanted him to leave, Wang Baoren's expression became increasingly unhappy, but after snorting again, he finally stood up and left.
For a moment, only Zhao Junchen and Zhou Shangjing were left in the room.
Zhou Shangjing still closed his eyes and remained silent, seeming to be thinking seriously about something.
But this time, Zhao Junchen was a little more patient and waited quietly while drinking tea.
After a while, Zhou Shangjing slowly opened his eyes, and after looking at Zhao Junchen deeply for a long time, he suddenly asked: "Zhao Gechen, are you interested in letting the Zhou and Zhao parties merge?"
As soon as he said it, it was earth-shattering!
But Zhou Shangjing seemed to have just mentioned an insignificant matter, and continued unhurriedly: "Don't worry, I won't treat you badly. After the two parties merge, I will fully support you to rise to power and make you a member of the two parties."
co-leader!
You don’t have to worry about me breaking my promise. As long as you agree to one of my requests, after the conversation between the two of us is over, I will publicly announce this decision to the outside world! As long as it is my decision, both the Song family and the Li family will
There won't be any objections.
Moreover, once the two parties merge, the issue of ‘United Shipping Lines’ will no longer be a problem, right?”
This time, it was Zhao Junchen's turn to be shocked.
Merger of "Zhou Party" and "Zhao Party"?
What a behemoth this will be?
Isn't Zhou Shangjing afraid that Emperor Deqing will never sleep well from now on?
After being stunned for a long time, Zhao Junchen managed to regain his composure and asked: "Why did Zhou Shoufu suddenly come up with such an idea? Also, what are Zhou Shoufu's conditions?"
Zhou Shangjing slowly shook his head and said: "It's not like this idea suddenly came up. It's like Zhao Gechen has been observing my methods at close range. I have been carefully observing Zhao Gechen's actions over the years. As for Zhao Gechen's agility,
I am full of admiration for his ability and foresight, and regard Zhao Gechen as an unparalleled talent!
But after the previous conversation, I found that I still underestimated Zhao Gechen's growth... Hey, if I were twenty years younger... No, I only need to be ten years younger, and I would still have the confidence to compete with Zhao Gechen!
It's a pity that time and weather are not waiting for me. My life is approaching. Even if I beat Zhao Gechen in Nanjing, so what? After I pass away, Zhao Gechen will still have plenty of time to make a comeback... So
, instead of fighting between cranes and clams, where both sides suffer, win-win cooperation is the better choice!
What's more, today, Zhao Gechen's reputation in the government and the public has been reversed, and with the glorious military achievements of Shaanxi and Gansu, and the imperial finance is still inseparable from Zhao Gechen, it can be said that Zhao Gechen's status in the temple has been very stable! Like this
Under such circumstances, I have nothing to worry about if I hand over the 'Zhou Party' to Zhao Gechen!"
Then, Zhou Shangjing's expression became more serious, and he said: "As for the conditions I proposed, they are very simple! That is, after the two factions merge, Zhao Gechen, how do you want to control this behemoth? I will not interfere, but Zhao Gechen must have a large number of
To promote and reuse talents from the Jinjin family, I will also draw up a list and give it to Zhao Gechen for reference...
For Zhao Gechen, this condition is also extremely favorable. With Zhao Gechen’s current status and the full support of the world’s gentry, it is not an exaggeration to say that your future status in the temple will be as stable as Mount Tai!"
After listening to Zhou Shangjing's statement and feeling Zhou Shangjing's sincerity, if Zhao Junchen said that he was not moved, it would definitely be a lie.
But in the end, Zhao Junchen rejected Zhou Shangjing's proposal.
When he refused, Zhao Junchen didn't even hesitate.
Ever since he discovered that Zhou Shangjing intended to embezzle "United Shipping Company", Zhao Junchen had vaguely guessed Zhou Shangjing's true intention.
At this moment, Zhao Junchen completely confirmed his judgment.
"Zhou Shoufu, I used to think that you are the calmest and most pragmatic person in the world today, but now it seems that you have gone completely crazy!" Zhao Junchen stared at Zhou Shangjing's old face and commented solemnly: "Just because
It’s an unrealistic goal, and you’ve already resorted to any means!”
Zhou Shangjing asked back: "Oh? Zhao Gechen has already guessed my true goal?"
Zhao Junchen gritted his teeth and said: "Of course I guessed it! You want your political legacy and political ideas to be passed down forever for generations to come!"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! After a pause, Zhao Junchen could no longer suppress his anger. He stood up and paced back and forth in front of Zhou Shangjing. While pacing, he said: "Since I found out that you were trying to annex the United
After the boat sailed, I knew that your goal was not in the present, but had already seen a hundred years from now!
You are an example of ministerial power and the representative of the interests of the Jin gentry in the world, and most of the officials in the temple are from the families of the Jin gentry. Even if occasionally a child from a poor family uses the imperial examination channel to jump to Longmen and become a court official, this child from a poor family is also
You will soon be able to become a member of the Jin Gentry! Therefore, ministerial power and Jin Gentry are actually the same thing! They are just two sides of the same coin!
And your political philosophy, Zhou Shoufu, is the balance and balance between ministerial power and imperial power! Ministerial power cannot overwhelm imperial power, and imperial power cannot overwhelm ministerial power. Otherwise, once this balance of power is destroyed, the world will definitely be in chaos! You firmly believe in this,
This has been emphasized to me many times.
However, Zhou Shoufu, you also understand the general trend of history! Over the past dynasties, the imperial power has been continuously strengthened, and the ministerial power has been continuously weakened... Today, the balance of imperial power and ministerial power has reached a critical node. After you pass away,
, the ministerial power has lost its role model, the Jin gentry has lost its representative, the situation in the temple will soon change drastically, either the imperial power will be overwhelming, or an unscrupulous person like me who neither cares about the interests of the Jin gentry nor the balance between the monarch and his ministers will take over the power, you
This situation cannot be tolerated under any circumstances!
Therefore, you would rather let the Seventh Prince go for the time being, or fall out with me completely, but you must wait for an opportunity to embezzle the "United Shipping Company". All this is to strengthen the influence of the Civil Service Group and the Jin Gentry Group, and make the Civil Service Group and the Jin Gentry Group even more powerful.
Tightly bound together! Only in this way can the ministerial power have the opportunity to continue to compete with the imperial power in the future, and your ideas can continue to be passed on, right?"
After hearing this, Zhou Shangjing sighed quietly but did not deny it.
In fact, Zhou Shangjing's idea was extremely prophetic.
During the Qin, Han, Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties, the general trend was that the imperial power became stronger and stronger, and the ministerial power became weaker and weaker. By the time the Qing Dynasty further inherited and improved the Ming Dynasty system, the ministerial power was completely unable to compete with the imperial power and was completely reduced to
For the situation of "the king wants his ministers to die, but they have to die".
And Zhou Shangjing's real goal is to interrupt this historical trend.
The balance of power between monarch and ministers is Zhou Shangjing's lifelong goal. He also firmly believes that his concept is the truth of the world!
But for Zhou Shangjing's goal, Zhao Junchen only had four words to evaluate it - "wishful thinking"!
Since the ancestor dragon destroyed the six kingdoms and established the unified system, the continuous deepening of centralization of power has been an irreversible historical trend. As long as the historical trend of continuous deepening of centralization of power cannot be changed, the imperial power will continue to strengthen, and the power of ministers will definitely
Continuously weakening.
The reason is very simple. Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the imperial power has completely controlled military power.
In a way, Zhou Shangjing was a very lucky official because he met Emperor Deqing who cared very much about the evaluation of history books, was addicted to the emperor's scheming, and tried his best to avoid using violent means to overturn the table unless absolutely necessary.
If Emperor Deqing were replaced by emperors such as Ming Taizu, Ming Chengzu, Kangxi and Qianlong, Zhou Shangjing would never have the idea of contesting the imperial power, and would only survive on thin ice to protect himself under the heavy pressure of the imperial power!
There is only one way to interrupt this trend of increasing imperial power and weakening ministerial power.
That is - to completely end the feudal dynasty and make "emperor" a historical term.
And Zhou Shangjing's wishful thinking is reflected here. On the one hand, he wants to represent the ministerial power to compete with the imperial power, and on the other hand, he wants to be a loyal minister of the feudal dynasty!
Not only do you want to check and balance the imperial power, but you also want to maintain the imperial power!
How absurd! How ridiculous!
But Zhou Shangjing just thinks that he is logical and self-consistent.
After Zhou Shangjing was silent for a long time, he said leisurely: "You can understand my true thoughts. I am deeply relieved, as if I have finally found a confidant! Hey, although Song Chengren and Li He are both my close friends,
Close friends, but they still can't understand me, thinking that all the things I have done during this period are just to inherit and strengthen the "Zhou Party"!
In fact, whether the 'Zhou Party' has become a 'Song Party' or whether the 'Zhou Party' has become part of the 'Zhao Party', it is just a detail! The continuation and rise and fall of the 'Zhou Party' is not important at all, as long as I
The idea still exists in the temple. As long as the officials and gentry inherit my ambition and can still unite to check and balance the imperial power, the "Zhou Party" will exist forever, just with a different name and form! Only the imperial power and ministers can
Only with the balance of power and checks and balances, the imperial power cannot be arbitrary, and the ministerial power cannot be overstepped, can the Ming Dynasty be prosperous and prosperous for thousands of generations!"
Having said this, Zhou Shangjing stared at Zhao Junchen with his old eyes, his wrinkled old face full of expectation, and asked again: "So, Zhao Gechen is really unwilling to consider my proposal? Now that you have understood my proposal
If you really think about it, you should understand my sincerity! What’s more, my proposal is also of great benefit to Zhao Gechen!"
"It will be of great benefit to me? It will be of great benefit to me?"
Zhao Junchen laughed angrily.
When he had a private conversation with Zhou Shangjing, Zhao Junchen really felt Zhou Shangjing's sincerity and public spirit.
Zhao Junchen also believed that Zhou Shangjing really wanted to merge the two parties of Zhou and Zhao, so that he could succeed him and become the next representative of ministerial power.
But the more he understood Zhou Shangjing's sincerity and public spirit, the stronger Zhao Junchen's heart became.
This is because... Zhao Junchen also noticed another thing.
That is - underneath Zhou Shangjing's frankness and selflessness, he has always hidden a deep malice against himself!
This malice is so profound that I simply wish I could die without a burial place!