Although Huang Yourong has a somewhat arrogant temper and is not very clever in his methods, he is not a stupid person to be able to become the elder of the court.
In fact, Huang Yourong had already seen his position in the court very clearly.
If the situation in the court is like a chess game, then in the past twenty years, there are only two people in the court who can be called chess players - that is Emperor Deqing and the chief minister of the cabinet Zhou Shangjing.
As for other people, no matter how powerful or powerful they are, or whether they are of high or low official rank, they are just pawns in their eyes.
Although Huang Yourong is the elder of the pavilion, he is still the same!
To Emperor Deqing, Huang Yourong was just a chess piece that could be used to check and balance Zhou Shangjing, the chief minister.
Therefore, Emperor Deqing has been secretly supporting and sheltering Huang Yourong in recent years. This is to prevent Zhou Shangjing's influence from expanding too much and causing the situation in the court to escape his control.
For Zhou Shangjing, the first assistant, Huang Yourong was just a chess piece that could be used to confuse Emperor Deqing.
Therefore, when Zhou Shangjing was fighting overtly and covertly with Huang Yourong, no matter how much he gained the upper hand, he would never kill them all. This was to avoid a situation in which his own family was the dominant one in the court, which would make Emperor Deqing even more scrupulous and suspicious.
But no matter what, Huang Yourong is just a chess piece - maybe a more important chess piece, but no matter how important the chess piece is, it is still just a chess piece!
Naturally, Huang Yourong would not be reconciled to this!
Therefore, Huang Yourong has been frantically fighting for power over the years. He will fight with all his strength for any yamen, any power, and any official position. He is the most power-hungry among the cabinet ministers.
In a way, Huang Yourong and Zhao Junchen have the same goals. They both urgently need greater power and influence, so that they can reverse their fate of being just pawns.
However, although Huang Yourong is not willing to admit it, his scheming, methods, and city government are far different from those of Emperor Deqing and his chief minister Zhou Shangjing. They cannot be compared. No matter how hard he struggles, he is still unable to resist.
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Huang Yourong is not a determined person. After a series of setbacks, after realizing that no matter how hard he tried, it was useless, he didn't know when. Huang Yourong began to gradually accept the reality that he was just a chess piece.
Then, Huang Yourong discovered that chess pieces also had their own benefits - Emperor Deqing would protect him, Zhou Shangjing would show mercy to him, and he could fight for power and profit openly without worrying about failure or revenge - such a life could actually be very nourishing.
Very comfortable.
But deep in Huang Yourong's heart, there has always been some kind of fear and worry - chess pieces. After all, they are just chess pieces. Once they lose their use value, they will be abandoned at any time!
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But now, Huang Yourong's fears and worries seem to have finally become a reality!
In today's morning meeting, Emperor Deqing has been secretly helping Zhao Junchen - this is not surprising, after all, Emperor Deqing's most favored person over the years is Zhao Junchen. And Emperor Deqing cannot do without Zhao Junchen's financial management skills for the time being.
——Huang Yourong had already expected this.
However, while Emperor Deqing secretly helped Zhao Junchen, he also watched helplessly as Huang Yourong's power was damaged and allowed Yan Pengfei and Liu Quan'an to be detained pending trial. This matter is worthy of scrutiny.
Emperor Deqing should have continued to protect Huang Yourong! If Huang Yourong's power in the court was greatly damaged, how could he check and balance Zhou Shangjing? If Huang Yourong could not check and balance Zhou Shangjing, then how could the balance of power among the major factions in the court be affected?
Isn’t it about to be broken?
Some time ago, another of Huang Yourong's confidants - Tang Zheng, the minister of the Ministry of Industry - was impeached by Zhao Junchen's group and lost his position. He could still find some reasons. After all, Zhao Junchen made a sudden and well-prepared move. Lian Deqing
The emperor had no way to reverse the situation.
But this time, the main reason why Yan Pengfei and Liu Quan'an were detained pending trial was still because of Zhao Junchen's insidious methods. But if Emperor Deqing hadn't secretly fueled the situation, Yan Pengfei and Liu Quan'an would not have done anything.
He could lose his position so easily.
Obviously, Emperor Deqing's attitude and positioning towards Huang Yourong had quietly changed!
What does this mean? Huang Yourong has been in officialdom for many years and still has some political sensitivity, so the more he thinks about it, the more frightened he becomes.
——In fact, before Huang Yourong knew it, with the downfall of the former cabinet minister Wen Guanliang, Cheng Yuandao from the prince's party entered the cabinet and became the new cabinet minister, the death of Xiao Wenruan, the prince's grand master, and the sudden rise of Zhao Junchen, in the court
There is a faction of forces in China, and all these factors have caused all the forces in the court to lose their previous balance!
In other words, in the eyes of Emperor Deqing, Huang Yourong, as a chess piece to check and balance Zhou Shangjing, had long lost its original value. For the same reason, Zhou Shangjing no longer expected Huang Yourong's existence to continue to confuse Emperor Deqing!
As the situation in the DPRK became unbalanced, Emperor Deqing and his chief minister Zhou Shangjing, out of their own considerations, would inevitably reintegrate the various factions in the court to bring the forces in the DPRK and China back into balance.
However, judging from the attitudes of Emperor Deqing and Zhou Shangjing, there was no place for Huang Yourong in their next plans! - That's why Emperor Deqing and Zhou Shangjing acquiesced in Zhao Junchen's attack on Huang Yourong!
To put it bluntly, in the eyes of Emperor Deqing and Zhou Shangjing, with the changes in the situation in the DPRK, Huang Yourong had lost its original use value!
But as mentioned above, once the chess pieces lose their use value, they will be abandoned at any time!
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In fact, all of the above have been vaguely guessed deep in Huang Yourong's heart, so in recent days, Huang Yourong has always felt an inexplicable uneasiness in his heart, but Huang Yourong has never dared to go deeper.
Consider it, because such a result is too terrifying for him!
Huang Yourong has always remembered how miserable and embarrassed the front cabinet old man Wen Guanliang was after he became an abandoned son!
However, when the cruel reality was truly revealed in front of him, Huang Yourong no longer had any room to avoid it, but he could only accept the reality and seriously consider these changes and realities that were very terrifying to him.
Huang Yourong thought of a lot for a while!
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"Mr. Huang Ge! Mr. Huang Ge! What's wrong with you?"
Between trance and deep thought, Huang Yourong heard the voices of Huo Zhengyuan and others.
Then, Huang Yourong finally came to his senses and found that before he knew it, he had left the palace with the support of his cronies and arrived outside the Meridian Gate.
"What's wrong?" Huang Yourong asked slowly, but his voice was a little hoarse: "I was a little dazed just now, what are you talking about?"
Ever since the early morning session, Huang Yourong had been indulging in his own conjectures. Although he knew that Huo Zhengyuan, Lin Wei, Zhang Cheng and others beside him were saying something to him, he didn't hear a word.
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Seeing Huang Yourong's blank expression, Young Master Lin Wei thought that Huang Yourong was not satisfied with the result of today's morning meeting, so he comforted him and said: "Mr. Ge, although we failed to overthrow Zhao Junchen in this morning's meeting, we were bitten by Zhao Junchen in return, but in the end we still turned around.
The original situation of being unable to fight back has caused Zhao Junchen to suffer a heavy loss. So there is no need for you to be depressed or angry. The days will be long in the future, and sooner or later we will find a way to regain our position!"
Lin Wei, the Minister of Rites, also had the same view. He thought that Huang Yourong was unhappy about what happened in court this morning, so he encouraged him and said: "Yes, even if Zhao Junchen is temporarily profitable, he is just a Minister of the Ministry of Households after all. You
It is Mr. Ge, whose power and influence is far beyond that of Zhao Junchen. Even if he suffers some losses, he will be able to recover sooner or later. What's more, during His Majesty's southern tour, Mr. Ge will definitely stay in Beijing to assist the government, and Zhao Junchen will
Accompany me as we drive south. At that time, all matters in the DPRK and China will be decided by you. Can't you find a way to fight back? Besides, it is a pity that Yan Pengfei and Liu Quan'an are detained pending trial, but we will not let Zhao
Junchen has benefited from it."
On the other side, University Scholar Huo Zhengyuan frowned and considered: "What Lin Shangshu and Zhang Shaofu said is reasonable, but Zhao Junchen's counterattack today seems to have been prepared, but it is really strange. Is it possible that he knew our plan in advance? Yes.
Did we accidentally leak the news? Or did Chen Dongxiang betray us? In my opinion, this matter must be investigated to the end, otherwise we will suffer losses in the future!"
Seeing his friends comforting him, encouraging him, or giving him advice, Huang Yourong sighed secretly.
Whether it is the young master Zhang Cheng, the Minister of Rites Lin Wei, or the scholar Huo Zhengyuan, they are all smart people, and they are not lacking in experience and ability. Especially the scholar Huo Zhengyuan, in terms of intelligence and quick wit, he is actually still above Huang Yourong!
However, after all, they are not cabinet ministers, they stand at different heights, and they lack the subtle political sensitivity and long-term overall vision! Therefore, even now, they still have not discovered the real crisis, and their eyes are just staring at the
Zhao Junchen’s party struggle.
In fact, Huang Yourong wasn't much better! He didn't discover these things until he saw Emperor Deqing's attitude in court this morning!
However, Huang Yourong did not intend to explain to them, otherwise it would only cause unnecessary panic!
Although Huang Yourong is not as scheming as Zhou Shangjing, Zhou Shangjing, a real powerful official in the city, will keep Huang Yourong in the position of Pavilion Elder. In fact, it is because of his disdain for Huang Yourong and believes that Huang Yourong cannot pose a real threat to him.
——But after all, I have been serving as the cabinet boss for many years, and I still have the minimum ambition to bear the panic on my own.
Therefore, Huang Yourong hid all the emotions in his heart and squeezed out a smile again, barely regaining his former smiling tiger appearance.
"You are right, things have not reached the worst yet, and it will take a long time. We will always find a way." As if to convince himself, Huang Yourong said slowly: "But because of this, we must make preparations early.
, don’t be negligent! ... Now we have been unable to take advantage in the fight with Zhao Junchen. I think the officials below must have some ideas and want to find a chance to appease you. Mr. Zhang, you have always been highly respected, so I will leave this matter to you.
I'll give it to you. At this time, we can't have any problems with our rear.
As for Zhao Junchen's preemptive strike this time, he seems to have been prepared for it. If you think about it carefully, it is indeed a bit strange. Is it the leak of the news or Chen Dongxiang's treason? We must also find out. Academician Huo, I will leave this matter to you.
Here you go.
In addition, we have been busy fighting openly and secretly with Zhao Junchen these days, and our official duties have been delayed a lot. Others are fine, but Mr. Lin, as the Minister of Rites, as His Majesty’s southern tour is approaching, it is your Rites Ministry that is the busiest.
When the time comes, many things cannot be delayed any longer. Otherwise, Zhao Junchen and the others will only find excuses to criticize."
After a pause, Huang Yourong murmured: "The more this time comes, the less we can let others look down on us. Now is the time to prove our ability and value. If next... maybe we can be redeemed.
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Seeing that Huang Yourong finally returned to normal, although some of his words were puzzling, Lin Wei, Zhang Cheng, Huo Zhengyuan and others finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, because of Huang Yourong's instructions, they no longer stayed, said goodbye to Huang Yourong one by one, and went to do their own business.
Among them, Huo Zhengyuan was the best at observing words and expressions. When he left, he couldn't help but subconsciously glance back at Huang Yourong, with a trace of exploration and doubt flashing across his expression.
He knew Huang Yourong very well. Although Huang Yourong always looked like a "smiling tiger" on weekdays, pretending that he was a deep and dangerous person, in fact Huang Yourong was not as dangerous and deep as he pretended to be.
When Huang Yourong heard about the incident, he became even more irritable and furious.
After the morning session ended today, Huo Zhengyuan was already prepared to bear Huang Yourong's anger, but what he didn't expect was that Huang Yourong looked blank at first and didn't know what he was thinking. Then he quickly regained his composure and arranged everyone in an orderly manner.
Doing things - this is completely different from Huo Zhengyuan's original imagination.
"What is going on in this? There seems to be some change that I didn't expect... Huang Gelao thought of it, but I didn't expect... what exactly is it?" Huo Zhengyuan thought secretly, with a pensive look on his face.
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After all the friends left, Huang Yourong also came to his sedan chair.
When the attendant waiting beside the sedan saw Huang Yourong's appearance, he did not dare to neglect. While he diligently opened the curtain of the sedan for Huang Yourong, he asked cautiously: "Master, are we going back home?"
Huang Yourong didn't answer, he just sat in the sedan chair, closing his eyes and thinking about something.
And Chang Sui didn't dare to make a decision privately, he just waited quietly.
After a long time, Huang Yourong suddenly opened his eyes and asked, "After the morning court today, will Mr. Shen Changmao and Shen Ge leave the palace?"
Generally speaking, after the morning court, the cabinet elders have considerable freedom of movement. Sometimes they will stay in the Wenyuan Pavilion in the palace to handle court affairs, and sometimes they will go back to the palace directly.
Today, after the morning meeting, Huang Yourong was thinking about his own affairs, but did not pay attention to the movements of another pavilion elder, Shen Changmao.
"Back to my lord, I saw Mr. Shen Ge going down to court and leaving in a sedan chair. I think he is going back home."
After Huang Yourong hesitated for a moment, a trace of firmness flashed across his expression, and he ordered in a deep voice: "Go back to the house first. After returning home, send someone to send my name card to the old man in Shen Pavilion. Tell him that I will invite him at noon today." Let’s get together at Shangxian Building.”
After hearing Huang Yourong's instructions, Chang Sui couldn't help but be stunned.
You should know that although Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao cooperated from time to time, they were hostile more often. Especially in recent days, because they were competing for the job of staying in Beijing to assist Emperor Deqing during his southern tour, the two cabinet ministers did not get along well. unhappy.
At this time, Huang Yourong suddenly asked Shen Changmao to meet, which was really strange.
However, Chang Sui did not dare to question Huang Yourong's decision and just agreed quickly.
In fact, after Huang Yourong thought carefully, he not only wanted to meet with Shen Changmao, but also formed an alliance with Shen Changmao!
Huang Yourong was not willing to become an abandoned son! But he also understood that once Emperor Deqing and Zhou Shangjing made up their minds, he would have no way to resist!
Therefore, at this time, Huang Yourong needs Shen Changmao's help!
To be precise, it is the mutual help between the two!
After all, the situations between Shen Changmao and Huang Yourong are almost the same!
Therefore, as long as he gives some benefits to Shen Changmao and clearly explains the stakes, Huang Yourong is confident that he can still form an alliance with Shen Changmao.
And as long as the two elders form an alliance, they can always have more power to protect themselves when facing Emperor Deqing and Zhou Shangjing, as well as Zhao Junchen, who fishes in troubled waters!
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As the current court elder, Huang Yourong's every move has the eyes of other factions watching.
Therefore, the news that Huang Yourong had an appointment with Shen Changmao spread quickly - in fact, Huang Yourong did not intend to hide the news!
The major factions also have their own opinions on Huang Yourong's actions.
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The first person to get the news was Zhou Shangjing, the chief assistant.
Although Zhao Junchen controls the West Factory and has the intelligence network of Tongji Temple, Zhou Shangjing also controls Shuntian Mansion and has been running it for many years. He is far more well-informed than Zhao Junchen in the capital.
When Xue Gui, Yin of Shuntian Prefecture, asked to see Zhou Shangjing, Zhou Shangjing was practicing calligraphy. This was Zhou Shangjing's habit. Although he is now nearly 70 years old, he still persists.
"Oh? Huang Yourong made an appointment with Shen Changmao?" After hearing Xue Gui's report, Zhou Shangjing suddenly paused slightly with the wolf hair in his hand, then raised his head and raised his gray eyebrows: "Is the information accurate?"
"The official has confirmed it again and again and it is absolutely accurate." Xue Gui quickly replied.
Zhou Shangjing seemed to be smiling but not smiling, but there was a flash of light in his seemingly dim old eyes, and he said: "I originally planned to wait until His Majesty's southern tour to reorganize the distribution of power in the court, but I didn't expect Huang Yourong to be a little smarter than expected... However, after all, it is a little late, and it will depend on their fate... If it is normal, I will take the opportunity to do something, but now that the southern tour is approaching, the focus is not here... Sigh..."
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When Zhao Junchen got the news, he was handling official business at the Yamen of the Ministry of Revenue.
At times like this on weekdays, Zhao Junchen always likes to bring official matters to his residence and handle them in his study.
But now that there is turmoil in the Ministry of Household Affairs, Zhao Junchen needs to sit in the Ministry of Household Affairs to calm people's hearts and prevent accidents.
After getting the news about Huang Yourong's appointment with Shen Changmao, Zhao Junchen was slightly stunned, but he didn't care, just thoughtful.
"It seems that after what happened now, Huang Yourong has finally understood the changes in the situation between the DPRK and China, and also figured out where his real worries lie. Joining forces with Shen Changmao is a good move. If it is ordinary, it may not be impossible. Self-preservation... It's a pity that he realized it too late. With my next plan, he is destined to be buried with Prince Zhu Heyu. Now his alliance with Shen Changmao will not only fail to protect himself, but will also implicate him. Shen Changmao, but this is beneficial to me. Anyway, my next goal is Shen Changmao’s turn..."
Thinking like this, Zhao Junchen smiled softly and told the Xichang fan who sent the news: "Convey this news to Your Majesty. Our Xichang is your Majesty's inspection yamen. After getting this kind of news, we must let you know." Your Majesty knows."
After Xichang Fanzi agreed, he turned around and left.
According to the information Zhao Junchen obtained afterwards, when Xichang conveyed the news of Huang Yourong's meeting with Shen Changmao to Emperor Deqing, Emperor Deqing was originally reviewing the memorial. After receiving the news, his expression did not change and he just snorted coldly. Finally, he said: "This old guy Huang Yourong is not stupid enough after all!"