Chapter 1921. What’s coming one after another (2).
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Set the time back to more than an hour ago.
Following Zhao Junchen's order, after Li Chuanwen entered Nanjing City, he went straight to the Nanjing Rites Yamen.
According to the information known to Li Chuanwen, after the seventh prince Zhu Hejian ousted the Six Ministries of Nanjing, he placed all the main officials of the Six Ministries of Nanjing under house arrest in the Yamen of the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing, under the supervision of Bao Wenjie, the Minister of Rites.
However, when Li Chuanwen arrived near the Nanjing Rites Yamen, he just raised his head and glanced at the Nanjing Rites Yamen. His expression changed on the spot, and he quickly hid his figure and hid aside.
It turned out that at the gate of the Nanjing Rites Yamen, Bao Wenjie was personally seeing off a certain distinguished guest.
This distinguished guest has a strong build, a brave temperament, and capable manners. It can be seen that he is from the military, and his status is definitely not low. However, when he came to visit Bao Wenjie at the Rites Yamen, he was dressed in civilian clothes. He was obviously deliberately keeping a low profile and hiding his identity.
When Bao Wenjie said goodbye to this person, he kept whispering something with a very serious expression; while the visitor bent slightly, took the initiative to put his ear close to listen, and kept nodding in agreement.
Obviously, the status of this distinguished guest is not low, otherwise Bao Wenjie would not personally escort him outside the Hubu Yamen.
But at the same time, when this visitor came into contact with Bao Wenjie, it was obvious that Bao Wenjie was the main focus, otherwise his attitude would not be so humble.
As for Li Chuanwen, the reason why his expression changed slightly and then quickly hid was because he recognized the visitor's identity on the spot.
This visitor's name is Leng Ling, and he is a member of the Jinyiwei Deputy Qianhu.
In the Ming Dynasty, the Jin Yiwei was undoubtedly a shocking existence, and as the middle-level commander of the Jin Yiwei, Qianhu, the deputy of the Jin Yiwei, had an even more impressive status. Ordinary dignitaries would have to smile when they saw a Jin Yiwei with such status.
But Leng Ling... has a more noble status than the ordinary Jin Yiwei Deputy Qianhu.
Because this person is always with him and is one of the leaders of Emperor Deqing's personal bodyguards! He can be said to be Emperor Deqing's absolute confidant!
In the past two years, Emperor Deqing either sent people to the Zhao Mansion to convey decrees, or went in and out of the Zhao Mansion in person incognito. As a result, Leng Ling also entered the Zhao Mansion several times, and was silently remembered by the experienced Li Chuanwen.
It was in his mind that Li Chuanwen recognized Leng Ling's identity at a glance.
More than three months ago, after Emperor Deqing decided to send the seventh prince Zhu Hejian to Nanjing to "sacrifice his ancestors", he arranged a team of Jinyi guards to escort him. This team of Jinyi guards was headed by Qianhu Li Yong, and was assisted by deputy Qianhu Leng Ling.
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According to recent news, some major events are currently taking place in Zhanyuan where the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian lives temporarily. Nanjing garrison eunuch Xi Cheng, Nanjing garrison Xu Shengying, and university scholar Huo Zhengyuan are facing each other, almost fighting each other.
In the end, it was Jin Yiwei Qianhu Li Yong who suddenly took out an imperial edict and managed to control the situation.
As Li Yong's deputy, Leng Ling not only did not stay in Zhanyuan to help Li Yong control the situation, but rushed to the Nanjing Hubu Yamen as soon as possible to report the news to Bao Wenjie...
The most important thing is that as a deputy Qianhu who always accompanies the driver, Leng Ling is unexpectedly humble in front of Bao Wenjie...
Li Chuanwen was the head of the Zhao family's staff. He had rich experience and was used to conspiracies. So when he saw this scene, he immediately realized that something was wrong, and various inferences quickly emerged in his mind.
In the end, Li Chuanwen concluded that Bao Wenjie must have a secret connection with Emperor Deqing!
Only the endorsement of Emperor Deqing can make a high-minded escort like Leng Ling take the initiative to show humility!
Just when Li Chuanwen was guessing like this, Bao Wenjie's instructions had come to an end, and Leng Ling nodded in agreement again, then said goodbye to Bao Wenjie, then got on his horse and quickly ran towards Zhanyuan.
As for Bao Wenjie, he stared at the direction Leng Ling left with a solemn expression and pondered for a long time before finally turning around and returning to the Nanjing Rites Yamen.
After Bao Wenjie returned to the Nanjing Rites Yamen, Li Chuanwen deliberately stayed there and waited for nearly a quarter of an hour more, then appeared from the corner and walked to the Nanjing Rites Yamen, announcing that he was here on behalf of Zhao Junchen and wanted to see the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing.
The meaning of Cao Wenbin.
Because Li Chuanwen came on behalf of Zhao Junchen, he was quickly received by Bao Wenjie, and because Li Chuanwen deliberately stayed there and waited for a while, Bao Wenjie did not doubt that Li Chuanwen had seen the scene where he had just said goodbye to Leng Ling.
After knowing that Zhao Junchen had arrived in Nanjing as an imperial envoy, he quickly arranged a meeting between Li Chuanwen and Cao Wenbin.
After meeting Cao Wenbin, Li Chuanwen first explained Zhao Junchen's instructions to Cao Wenbin, and told Cao Wenbin to try his best to stabilize the officials of the Six Ministries of Nanjing to prevent too much backlash after Zhao Junchen read out the imperial decree.
But then, Li Chuanwen took matters into his own hands and asked Cao Wenbin about the details of the Six Ministries in Nanjing.
After the conversation ended, Li Chuanwen approached Bao Wenjie again.
"Shilang Bao, you are also an insider. Naturally, you know that the central government of the imperial court is about to abolish the six departments in Nanjing... What my cabinet minister means is that after he announces this decree, he must try his best to stabilize the Nanjing government and the opposition, and must not cause too many problems.
Turbulence and backlash! So I arranged for me to meet with Cao Wenbin as soon as possible. This person is the internal agent arranged by my cabinet minister in the Nanjing Sixth Ministry. He can try to persuade the Nanjing Sixth Ministry officials from the inside and reduce the resistance of the Nanjing Sixth Ministry! But..."
In an office room of the Nanjing Libu Yamen, after Li Chuanwen and Bao Wenjie met again, they deliberately put on a worried look and expressed their worries straight to the point.
Seeing Li Chuanwen's appearance, Bao Wenjie naturally did not dare to neglect him and asked: "It's just what? Mr. Li just said it!"
Li Chuanwen frowned and said slowly: "However, after I communicated with Cao Shilang just now, I found some extremely bad signs! That is Wu Xingren, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel of Nanjing, and Shen Xinwen, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites of Nanjing! According to what Cao Shilang said
, one of these two people has a surly and irritable temper that is difficult to control, and the other is self-righteous and ignorant, and both of them have tough attitudes. After my cabinet ministers read out the imperial decree to abolish the six departments in Nanjing, these two people will most likely reject the decree on the spot.
, publicly expressed opposition, and even encouraged all walks of life in Nanjing to resist together..."
Having said this, Li Chuanwen continued to observe the changes in Bao Wenjie's expression from the corner of his eye, and continued: "In this case, the imperial court's plan to take over the six ministries in Nanjing will inevitably have many complications, although my cabinet ministers will definitely have other means to control them by then. situation, but it is better to avoid such variables as much as possible... Therefore, when my cabinet ministers announce the decree, it would be best if Wu Xingren and Shen Xinwen have no strength to fight to the death!"
Bao Wenjie naturally understood Li Chuanwen's hint.
After pondering for a moment, Bao Wenjie slowly said: "For this period of time, Wu Shangshu and Shen Shangshu have been under house arrest, and they have been anxious. They cannot eat well and cannot sleep well, so... when Zhao Gechen announces the imperial edict, On that day, Wu Shangshu and Shen Shangshu happened to be so ill that they even lost the strength to speak. This kind of thing is not surprising."
Hearing Bao Wenjie's response, Li Chuanwen immediately laughed, stood up and raised his hands and said: "In this case, I hope that Minister Bao will take care of these two ministers seriously!"
After saying that, Li Chuanwen said goodbye to Bao Wenjie and left.
Obviously, Li Chuanwen and Bao Wenjie had agreed on a conspiracy and cooperation in just a few words. Bao Wenjie was responsible for secretly poisoning Wu Xingren, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel of Nanjing, and Shen Xinwen, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites of Nanjing, "coincidentally" fell ill. This made the two of them unable to resist the imperial court's decision to abolish the six departments in Nanjing.
However, when Li Chuanwen said goodbye and left the Nanjing Rites Yamen, his expression quickly became serious.
In any case, both Wu Xingren and Shen Xinwen were the second-rank ministers of the imperial court. Even if they were only the six ministers of Nanjing, their status was much higher than that of a minister like Bao Wenjie.
There seems to be only one level difference between the Minister and the Minister, but for court officials, this level gap can be described as a huge chasm.
It was extremely rare in all dynasties for Zhao Junchen to be directly promoted from the Minister of Household Affairs to the Secretary of the Household Department.
If a minister wants to be promoted to minister, the normal situation is that he first leaves the capital to serve in a local area. He has served as a feudal official at various levels for more than ten years, and has accumulated enough political achievements in the positions of chief envoy, governor, governor, etc. Only after you have gained enough qualifications can you have the opportunity to attack the position of Six Ministers.
But just now, after Li Chuanwen secretly suggested that Bao Wenjie secretly assassinate two ministers of the Sixth Department of Nanjing, Bao Wenjie agreed to the proposal without any scruples.
When he was in the capital, Bao Wenjie was a low-key and cautious person, and it was said that he would never easily agree to Li Chuanwen's proposal.
But this time Bao Wenjie agreed to Li Chuanwen's proposal without hesitation, which could only mean one thing.
That is, Bao Wenjie, who seems to be low-key and uncontested in Nanjing, actually has quite amazing authority!
This kind of authority can only come from Emperor Deqing!
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Time returns to the present.
In Jiangdong Building, Li Chuanwen told in detail how he met Bao Wenjie, and also focused on describing his speculations and his temporary test of Bao Wenjie.
"So, if my guess is true, then this Minister Bao is definitely His Majesty's secret confidant. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain the various behaviors of the deputy Qianhu Lengling, and it is even harder to explain why he has such courage and dares to do nothing.
Agree to my proposal without hesitation!"
After hearing Li Chuanwen's analysis, Zhao Junchen couldn't help but fell into deep thought.
Generally speaking, Zhao Junchen agreed with Li Chuanwen's inference, and was even somewhat grateful that he had sympathized with Li Chuanwen's old age and misfortune, so he took on what seemed to be the easiest and easiest task - that is, secretly contacting Cao Wenbin, his internal correspondent in Nanjing Sixth Department -
It was handed over to Li Chuanwen.
Only Li Chuanwen's caution and experience could keenly discover these strange things.
However, Zhao Junchen still felt vaguely that something was wrong.
Zhao Junchen has had many contacts with Bao Wenjie, and he has a relatively good understanding of his background and temperament.
He was originally the core member of the "Princeling Party", and among the elite members of the "Princeling Party", he was also a rare pragmatic person with the ability to do practical things.
However, as the prince Zhu Heyu gradually lost power and the throne became unstable, and Zhu Heyu was still too idealistic and did not know how to adapt, Bao Wenjie became a little discouraged and gradually alienated the prince Zhu Hejian.
He also gradually broke away from the "princeling party".
However, after Bao Wenjie left the "Princeling Party", he did not switch to the sect of the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian like other "Princeling Party" members, and made trouble for the old master, Prince Zhu Heyu. Instead, he became a neutral official without any party background.
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All in all, Bao Wenjie has both integrity and ability. Even though he has been enemies with Zhao Junchen many times, Zhao Junchen has never been truly hostile to him. Instead, he secretly admires him.
Because of this, it was naturally difficult for Zhao Junchen to imagine that someone like Bao Wenjie would become Emperor Deqing's secret eyes and ears, or even become a key link in Emperor Deqing's conspiracy plan.
After all, the reason why Bao Wenjie strongly supported Crown Prince Zhu Heyu back then was because he could not stand Emperor Deqing's grandiose achievements and power play.
What's more, Bao Wenjie was a former "princeling" backbone, and Zhao Junchen also tried to win over him several times, so he knew a lot of confidential information. Not only did he have direct access to the various secret calculations of the "princeling", he even knew about it.
Some of Zhao Junchen’s inner thoughts.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! If Bao Wenjie is really a member of Emperor Deqing, many secret actions of the "Princeling Party" and "Zhao Party" would not have been hidden from Emperor Deqing, and Emperor Deqing knew about it in advance
After learning these secrets, they will inevitably intervene... In this way, the temple structure will never become what it is now!
The most important thing is that Zhao Junchen understands Emperor Deqing's behavior very well.
In the temple, Emperor Deqing's real confidants were basically those nobles who controlled the military power, and in addition to that, there were some powerful eunuchs in the inner court.
However, Emperor Deqing never tried to take the civil servants of the DPRK as his confidants. Even during the period when Zhao Junchen was the most favored, he was only the favorite of Emperor Deqing, not the confidant of Emperor Deqing.
I have never had the opportunity to integrate into the "imperialist" circle.
The reason why Emperor Deqing made this choice is also very simple - civil servants need to actually do things, and as long as they actually do things, they will definitely do something wrong. Therefore, if Emperor Deqing adds a certain civil servant to the "imperial party", it means that the civil servant will do something wrong.
After messing up something, Emperor Deqing had to personally clean up the mess, and he also had to clearly show his favoritism and protection. This situation was not conducive to Emperor Deqing's control of the temple.
Bao Wenjie was also a civil servant. Although he was a low-key civil servant with both ability and ethics, Zhao Junchen still couldn't imagine that Emperor Deqing would make an exception and include Bao Wenjie in the "Emperor Party", fully trust Bao Wenjie, and even pass on some confidential plans
Leave it to Bao Wenjie to take full responsibility.
Considering these circumstances, Zhao Junchen always felt that there was something wrong with Li Chuanwen's conclusion.
But for the various doubts about Bao Wenjie, Zhao Junchen could not think of any other explanation for a while.
"It seems that in addition to the head-on confrontation with Zhou Shangjing, I must also find a way to find out the details of Bao Wenjie..."
While Zhao Junchen was thinking deeply, he heard someone outside the door reporting that Xu Qingyan, who had gone to Zhanyuan to inquire about information, had rushed to Jiangdong Building to meet Zhao Junchen.
Not only Xu Qingyan arrived, but Huo Zhengyuan, Jiang Zheng, Guo Min, Ouyang Bo and others who had been staying in Zhanyuan also rushed to Jiangdong Tower with Xu Qingyan.
After hearing the news, Zhao Junchen temporarily suppressed his suspicions and immediately summoned Xu Qingyan, Huo Zhengyuan and others.
After Xu Qingyan led Huo Zhengyuan, Jiang Zheng, Guo Min, Ouyang Bo and others into the room, Zhao Junchen was about to stand up to greet him when he saw Huo Zhengyuan and Guo Min among the crowd knelt down and bowed their heads to him on the spot.
Seeing such a scene, Zhao Junchen couldn't help but be shocked.
That's all for Guo Min. Huo Zhengyuan is a great scholar of the current dynasty and his status is second only to himself among the "Zhao Party". Why should he kneel down to him?
Zhao Junchen quickly helped the two of them up - mainly because he wanted to help Huo Zhengyuan.
However, neither Huo Zhengyuan nor Guo Min was willing to stand up, but solemnly apologized to Zhao Junchen!
"Zhao Gechen, I was entrusted with the important task by you and was fully responsible for the situation in Nanjing. As a result, I have messed up everything to this day! Please punish me! Otherwise, I will have no shame in getting up!"
When expressing his stance, Huo Zhengyuan, who had always been wise and elegant, cried with a hint of trembling.