Zhou Lu was thinking about the principles mentioned by Zhou Shangjing just now. When she heard Zhou Shangjing's sudden change of topic, she couldn't help but be stunned.
But Zhou Lu was a smart person after all. After thinking about it, she quickly understood what Zhou Shangjing meant.
"Master Chief Assistant, you are saying..." Zhou Lu asked hesitantly: "This Zhao Junchen has not found his position in the officialdom?"
But Zhou Shangjing shook his head and said: "It's not that he didn't find the right position, it's that he didn't find his position at all."
Speaking of this, Zhou Shangjing's expression revealed a hint of regret: "This Zhao Junchen, since he came back from Lu'an Mansion to provide disaster relief, his character has changed greatly. He is no longer as arrogant, domineering and arrogant as before.
, not only learned the forbearance and fortitude, but also acquired the means and scheming that cannot be underestimated. In just a few months, he became his own faction in the court, and his power and influence increased greatly. It is really amazing..."
After a pause, Zhou Shangjing sighed and said: "However, for me, it is easier to deal with him. In the past, Zhao Junchen was just a favored minister in front of His Majesty. Apart from financial management,
He doesn't have any other abilities, but if I want to deal with him, His Majesty's protection and intervention will be attracted immediately, and there is no way to do it for a while; on the contrary, now, he seems to have increased his power, but just by virtue of
The things he has done these days, as long as I provoke him a little bit, I'm afraid I won't even need to do it myself, and Your Majesty will be the first to let him go!"
Zhou Lu couldn't help but agree, nodded and said with a smile: "What the Lord Chief Assistant said is absolutely true. Although Zhao Junchen's power has increased greatly in recent days, he has been promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, gained power in the West Factory, and also recruited many party members.
, but in the final analysis, all of this still relies on His Majesty's support for him. However, he and Your Majesty are not of the same mind.
If your majesty learns of these things, I am afraid that Zhao Junchen will end up in a terrible way."
After hearing what Zhou Lu said, Zhou Shangjing finally nodded in agreement and said softly: "This is Zhao Junchen. He is not sure about his position, wavering between ministerial power and imperial power. If he positions himself as a favored minister who relies on the imperial power,
, serve His Majesty wholeheartedly, then at least until His Majesty passes away, he will be rich and worry-free. Even if the Crown Prince ascends the throne in the future, considering his support, no matter how much the Crown Prince hates Zhao Junchen, he will still keep some of his
Descendants will not let his Zhao family cut off their bloodline."
While shaking his head, Zhou Shangjing continued: "If he is not willing to be controlled by your majesty today and is worried that he will be killed by the prince in the future, then he should get rid of the imprint of imperial power as soon as possible and turn to the ministerial power to work together with all the officials in the court.
Advancing or retreating, although there would be some risks in doing so, it would also allow him to get rid of control and compete with the prince openly. However, he could not make up his mind, and in the end he could only play both sides like now.
Secretly stumbling upon the prince, and at the same time supporting the prince's party, Cheng Yuandao, to join the cabinet under His Majesty's instructions. It seems to be pleasing to both sides, but in fact it offends both sides."
Zhou Lu nodded and added: "Yes, according to the information I got, since Zhao Junchen became the director of the West Factory, the relationship between the other two cabinet elders has gradually become alienated, and the day before yesterday, Zhao Junchen supported Cheng Yuandao to join the cabinet. After that, the two pavilion elders became even more dissatisfied and gossiped a lot about Zhao Junchen behind his back."
Zhou Shangjing smiled and said: "This is inevitable. The existence of Xichang itself is a shackles placed on the necks of hundreds of officials by the imperial power. Zhao Junchen became the director of Xichang, and the two old guys Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao How can we not be on guard against Zhao Junchen? As for Cheng Yuandao's entry into the cabinet, Zhao Junchen directly offended them... In the past, before Zhao Junchen became powerful, he wanted to have both sides and please everyone in the cracks, and no one would care. , but now Zhao Junchen's power has gradually grown, and the cracks in the past can no longer accommodate him. If he continues to please both sides of the cracks like before, it will only make everyone feel uncomfortable, not only Huang Yourong Shen Changmao and the others are like this, and so is Your Majesty. The various changes directed at the Prince these days have made Your Majesty somewhat wary of him, and the sending of young people from the Luo family to work in the West Factory is proof of this."
Speaking of this, Zhou Shangjing's eyes flashed with a gleam, his voice was low, and he said slowly: "Actually, it's not just His Majesty, Huang Yourong, Shen Changmao and others who feel uncomfortable... Now even I feel a little uncomfortable... …”
…………
If Zhou Shangjing is uncomfortable, then the person who makes Zhou Shangjing uncomfortable will definitely be in trouble.
At least, in Zhou Lu's view, this is a truth, and there has been no exception for decades.
Thinking like this, Zhou Lu couldn't help but sigh for Zhao Junchen.
In fact, not long ago, Zhou Shangjing admired Zhao Junchen quite a lot, and even had plans to cooperate. He also personally asked Zhao Junchen about his camp position.
However, Zhao Junchen could not escape the control of Emperor Deqing. Instead, he unknowingly became more attached to Emperor Deqing.
If it was just like this, that would be it, but while Zhao Junchen relied on Emperor Deqing, he also helped Emperor Deqing expand his imperial power and suppress the ministerial power represented by Zhou Shangjing!
Since Zhao Junchen became the Minister of the Ministry of Hubu, the money and food of the Ministry of Hubu have been controlled at will by Emperor Deqing. It is difficult for Zhou Shangjing, the chief minister of the cabinet, to intervene; and after Zhao Junchen became the director of the West Factory, the scope of control was directly expanded. The power of factory guards in the hands of Emperor Deqing, not to mention the fact that Zhao Junchen was forced by Emperor Deqing to support Cheng Yuandao's entry into the cabinet.
Therefore, as Zhou Shangjing said, Zhao Junchen's current existence has already made him a little uncomfortable.
In fact, Zhou Shangjing also understood in his heart that most of the time Zhao Junchen did this out of necessity. With Emperor Deqing's methods, Zhao Junchen would never be able to escape Emperor Deqing's control.
But what you understand is what you understand, and what you stand on is what you stand for. As a representative of the ministerial power, Zhou Shangjing could not watch the imperial power gradually increase, and eventually completely suppress the ministerial power.
A few days ago, Zhou Shangjing and Zhao Junchen worked together to deal with the prince. Before the situation was determined, Zhou Shangjing was still tolerant and would not deliberately target Zhao Junchen.
But now, the plan for the prince has been completed, and it will not make much difference whether there is Zhao Junchen or not. Therefore, Zhou Shangjing's attention has finally shifted to Zhao Junchen!
…………
On the other side, after listening to Zhou Shangjing's words, Zhou Lu finally understood why Zhou Shangjing had always been reticent, but today she talked to him so much.
As an old man in the Zhou family, Zhou Lu is very aware of some of Zhou Shangjing's habits.
Whenever Zhou Shangjing wants to deal with someone sincerely, he will have more verbal discussions with his close friends.
By doing this, even if the person doing the work can understand Zhou Shangjing's thoughts, it will also allow Zhou Shangjing to sort out his thoughts on his own.
Therefore, Zhou Lu said nothing more and just asked for instructions: "Master Chief Assistant, what do you want to do?"
While asking, Zhou Lu herself was also thinking about how to deal with Zhao Junchen.
After all, Zhao Junchen's current power and influence are considerable, and it is not easy to deal with him.
Reveal to Emperor Deqing that Zhao Junchen framed the prince? I'm afraid it won't work. Zhou Shangjing was also involved in this matter. Once exposed, everyone will be in trouble. Instead, he will help the prince Zhu Heyu escape.
Using Chu Jiayi's identity to make a fuss and saying that Zhao Junchen is harboring imperial prisoners? It's not okay. After all, Zhao Junchen personally handled the case of King Gong'an. Emperor Deqing will not doubt Zhao Junchen because of this. Zhao Junchen only needs to say that he does not know.
With Chu Jiayi's identity, there won't be any trouble.
Impeaching Zhao Junchen for taking bribes and forming cliques to keep secrets? I'm afraid it's even more impossible. Prince Zhu Heyu has used these charges to impeach Zhao Junchen countless times. But in the eyes of Emperor Deqing, these are just minor details, and he doesn't care at all.
Don't hinder Zhao Junchen in the slightest.
…
After thinking about all the ways, Zhou Lu suddenly discovered that although according to Zhou Shangjing's description just now, Zhao Junchen seemed to be easy to deal with and looked completely in danger, in fact, Zhao Junchen knew how to do things in a measured manner.
He was quite cautious, and even though he did a lot of things, he didn't leave any loopholes. If he wanted to deal with him, he had no place to start for a while!
In spite of herself, Zhou Lu actually admired Zhao Junchen.
While thinking about it secretly, Zhou Lu gently shook her head, no longer thinking about it, and just listened carefully to Zhou Shangjing's instructions.
Zhou Lu knew that although she could not do anything against Zhao Junchen, Zhou Shangjing was different.
Although Zhou Shangjing had refuted it before, Zhou Lu still believed that Zhou Shangjing's mental skills were definitely the best in the current dynasty.
Sure enough, Zhou Shangjing already had a method in mind. After hearing Zhou Lu's inquiry, he just said quietly: "Zhao Junchen is now being relied on by His Majesty as his arm, but we cannot knock him down in one breath, otherwise it will only cause His Majesty to rebound..."
…Let’s test it out first and try to drive a wedge between Zhao Junchen and His Majesty.”
As he spoke, Zhou Shangjing raised his head slightly and confirmed to Zhou Lu: "I heard that refugees from all over the country who come to Beijing to complain have received relief from the porridge sheds run by 'Yue Rongfang' on the way?"
Zhou Lu nodded and said: "That's right. If it weren't for the relief provided by these porridge sheds in Yuerongfang, many refugees would have starved to death on the way to Beijing."
Zhou Shangjing smiled softly and said: "It seems that Zhao Junchen's change of heart is greater than I imagined. He is actually much softer than before, and he also cares more about his reputation than before."
After a pause, Zhou Shangjing said slowly with a slightly cold voice: "In that case, we might as well help Zhao Junchen. You immediately send people to spread some rumors among the refugees, including the Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple, and the Procuratorate.
Although the Yamen is unwilling to accept their case, Zhao Junchen and the prince have always been hostile, so he will definitely make the decision for them. By the way, I would also like to tell the refugees that the porridge shed relief at Yuerongfang along the way is also Zhao Junchen's wish.
"
After listening to Zhou Shangjing's instructions, Zhou Lu couldn't help but be stunned and asked: "Master Chief Assistant, why are you doing this...?"
Zhou Shangjing's voice became even colder: "Think about it, the prince's reputation is now ruined because of these refugees, but Zhao Junchen has built a good reputation through these refugees. What will your majesty think? How will he treat Zhao Junchen? Even, your majesty Will he allow Zhao Junchen to reverse his infamous reputation?"
Zhou Lu's eyes lit up, she bowed and said, "Master Chief Assistant is brilliant!"
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PS: Second update, please like! (To be continued. Please search Piaotian Literature, the novel will be better and updated faster!)