Although Cao Wenbin's status is far inferior to that of Zhao Junchen, and he is also wary of Zhao Junchen's power, in the face of Zhao Junchen's "humiliation", Cao Wenbin cannot remain indifferent and show no resistance, otherwise once this incident is spread, it will have various impacts on Cao Wenbin
will be immeasurable...
So, when everyone was silent, Cao Wenbin said expressionlessly: "Mr. Zhao, Boss Wu is my brother-in-law. Although the current situation of 'Rongfa Shipbuilding' is not good, I will naturally find a way to help him solve it.
There is no need to trouble Master Zhao to worry about it."
Cao Wenbin's tone was unkind, but Zhao Junchen didn't care. He just smiled and said: "Master Cao seems to have misunderstood. I don't want to overshadow the guest or take over, but I just want to help Boss Wu... In fact, these good intentions of mine,
Not just for Boss Wu, if Master Cao is willing to accept it, I will also provide help."
Cao Wenbin's expression changed, and he was vaguely aware of Zhao Junchen's thoughts. The dissatisfaction in his heart immediately dissipated a lot, but because of some concerns, he became more cautious and vigilant, and asked: "Oh? I don't understand what Mr. Zhao means.
"
Zhao Junchen sighed: "Although the major yamen in Nanjing have considerable power, they are only places of retirement and exile in the officialdom. They are like a pool of stagnant water with no hope of promotion... In addition, Nanjing is not as crowded with factions as the capital, and
It is a place where the emperor is far away, so the six ministers in Nanjing have no restrictions and have some power. As a result, the remaining officials are naturally suppressed and do not have much autonomy. They are inevitably in a difficult situation.
…”
After a pause, Zhao Junchen raised his head and looked directly at Cao Wenbin. He emphasized his tone and continued: "I have always thought that with Mr. Cao's talent, he has not only been trapped in Nanjing for many years, but also only served as the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing. It is really a bit embarrassing.
This is a shame. If Mr. Cao is willing, I can recommend Mr. Cao to your Majesty and let Mr. Cao hold a more important official position."
After saying these words, Zhao Junchen's intention to win over Cao Wenbin was clearly revealed.
Although Zhao Junchen met Cao Wenbin this time just by chance. Zhao Junchen's intention to recruit Cao Wenbin for his own use was not a temporary idea.
Long before the southern tour, Zhao Junchen had carefully studied the backgrounds of all important officials in Nanjing's officialdom in order to deal with Tang Zhen, the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing. However, Cao Wenbin, the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing, was not Tang Zhen's best friend.
, has been suppressed by Tang Zhen, has no background or backing, and also knows the situation of the Nanjing Household Department - he is the key candidate for Zhao Junchen's bribery and recruitment.
Therefore, when they were in "Yue Rongfang", although Zhao Junchen only needed to reveal his identity, Wu Rongde would definitely give in. However, Zhao Junchen took the initiative to give in, and it was not until afterwards that he sent the name sticker to the Wu family to let Wu Youzhen understand.
Who did his son provoke? All this was to lure Cao Wenbin out and take the opportunity to win over and recruit him!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Zhao Junchen said, although Cao Wenbin was a third-rank official in the imperial court, he seemed to have a noble status, but he was just an empty post. His life in Nanjing was not satisfactory, and he could only live in confusion. In this regard, taking refuge in Zhao
Junchen is also a good choice!
However, in the face of Zhao Junchen's win over and recruitment, although Cao Wenbin was a little moved, due to some concerns, he was still hesitant and did not respond to Zhao Junchen's hint, but remained silent and did not speak.
According to Zhao Junchen, Cao Wenbin's talents, scheming, and methods are all ordinary. Although he is not mediocre and incompetent, he is not much stronger. If it were not to deal with Tang Zhen, the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing, Zhao Junchen would not have seen it.
If you fall in love with him, you won't actively recruit him.
Now, Zhao Junchen said so many words sincerely, but Cao Wenbin was still hesitant. Zhao Junchen couldn't help but frown slightly, feeling that Cao Wenbin was a little disrespectful.
So, Zhao Junchen said slowly: "Since we met today, Mr. Cao's attitude towards me has been lukewarm and distant, but I don't know if Mr. Cao is worried about something? Or maybe Zhao has inadvertently offended me.
Mr. Cao? Or does Mr. Cao have any prejudice against Zhao? "
In Zhao Junchen's view, Cao Wenbin's cold reaction was due to three reasons: either he believed that Zhao Junchen was a corrupt official and was hostile to the crown prince Zhu Heyu, so he was not optimistic about Zhao Junchen's prospects;
Perhaps Zhao Junchen had offended Cao Wenbin unintentionally; or perhaps Cao Wenbin was unwilling to get involved in the party dispute between Zhao Junchen and Tang Zhen.
Therefore, seeing that Cao Wenbin was silent, Zhao Junchen asked straight to the point in order to dispel Cao Wenbin's concerns.
However, Cao Wenbin's explanation was beyond Zhao Junchen's expectations.
After Cao Wenbin was silent for a moment, he suddenly raised his head and asked: "Master Zhao also said just now that Nanjing officialdom is a place of retirement and exile. So, does Master Zhao know why Xiaguan became an official in Nanjing?"
Zhao Junchen nodded and replied: "As far as I know, Mr. Cao once offended his predecessor, Wen Guanliang, and was squeezed and suppressed by Wen Guanliang, so he was transferred to Nanjing as the Minister of Household Affairs. It has been eight years now.
"
This is one of the reasons why Zhao Junchen is confident that he can recruit Cao Wenbin, because Wen Guanliang was overthrown by Zhao Junchen. In a way, Zhao Junchen avenged Cao Wenbin.
However, Cao Wenbin shook his head and said with a bitter smile: "It seems that Xiaguan has been an official in Nanjing for many years, and the world has completely forgotten Xiaguan's true background. Now even Mr. Zhao has got it wrong..."
Hearing what Cao Wenbin said, Zhao Junchen's eyes flashed with surprise. He subconsciously raised his eyebrows and said slowly: "Oh? I'd like to hear the details."
"Xiaguan and Mr. Wen Ge are from the same hometown. Ever since he entered the officialdom, he has been repeatedly promoted by Mr. Wen Ge, so Xiaguan is actually a disciple of Mr. Wen Ge." Cao Wenbin said slowly: "I don't want to hide it from Mr. Zhao, Xiaguan
The reason why he became an official in Nanjing was not because he was excluded or reprimanded, but because the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs was powerful and controlled nearly half of our tax revenue. He was also responsible for water transportation, salt exploration and collection, and the collection and management of tax records. Mr. Wen Ge
At that time, I wanted to get a piece of the pie, so I arranged for Xiaguan to serve as the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing. However, people spread rumors and thought that Xiaguan had been squeezed out by Mr. Wen Ge. Naturally, it was a big mistake."
After hearing Cao Wenbin's explanation, Zhao Junchen became even more surprised.
Because after Zhao Junchen overthrew Wen Guanliang, he also took over most of Wen Guanliang's political assets. Wen Guanliang's former disciples also changed their identities and joined Zhao Junchen's disciples. If Cao Wenbin was once a disciple of Wen Guanliang, then Zhao Junchen should at least know
The news is right.
In fact, when they accepted Wen Guanliang's political legacy, neither Zuo Lanshan nor Zhan Shanchang mentioned the existence of Cao Wenbin. Otherwise, Zhao Junchen would have already accepted Cao Wenbin into his family!
While pondering, Zhao Junchen asked: "Is that so? So the reason why Mr. Cao keeps away from Zhao is because of the grudge between Zhao and Mr. Wen Ge?"
However, Cao Wenbin shook his head again and said: "That's not the case. Xiaguan is not foolishly loyal to Mr. Wen Ge... What's more, although Mr. Wen Ge was kind to Xiaguan in promoting him, he also owed him some things... Back then, Mr. Wen Ge
The veteran general Xiaguan was assigned to the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs in order to compete with Tang Zhen, the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing. However, Xiaguan was not Tang Zhen's opponent. He had been suppressed by Tang Zhen over the years, so Mr. Wen Ge believed that Xiaguan was incompetent.
.I abandoned the official in the Nanjing officialdom and never paid attention to him again..."
After saying that, Cao Wenbin shook his head and smiled bitterly. He continued: "Xiaguan's concern is not due to Mr. Wen Ge's kindness. It is about some people around you, Mr. Zhao... Although Xiaguan is an official in Nanjing, he also knows the situation in the capital.
.I knew that Zuo Lanshan, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, had already joined Mr. Zhao. When Xiaguan worked for Mr. Wen Ge, he was at odds with Mr. Zuo... Speaking of which, there is probably a reason why Mr. Wen Ge abandoned Xiaguan back then.
Mr. Zuo’s reason.”
Originally, Cao Wenbin's tone was still a little hesitant, but when he said this, he became much firmer and said: "I appreciate Mr. Zhao's kindness and I am also grateful for Mr. Zhao's kind invitation. But if I surrender to Mr. Zhao,
, I am afraid that there will be another dispute with Zuo Lanshan, and Mr. Zhao will also be in a dilemma at that time, so it is not that I am unwilling to surrender, but I really dare not to surrender."
Like Zhao Junchen, Cao Wenbin also made his concerns clear and straightforward.
Originally, in Cao Wenbin's view, Zuo Lanshan was the second-in-command of Zhao Junchen's faction and could be said to be Zhao Junchen's right-hand man. Zhao Junchen was never willing to offend Zuo Lanshan for his own sake. As long as he made the matter clear, Zhao Junchen would not
I will continue to struggle with it.
However, after hearing Cao Wenbin's explanation, Zhao Junchen's doubts dissipated, but there was a hint of unexpected surprise in his eyes!
According to Zhao Junchen's plan, after the southern tour is over, Huang Yourong, the current cabinet minister who stayed in Beijing to assist the government, will step down, and a position will be vacant in the cabinet. However, Zhao Junchen's own qualifications and reputation are insufficient, so he can only replace Zuo
Lanshan strives for a position in the cabinet, but in this case, Zuo Lanshan's status will surpass Zhao Junchen, and by then the "Zhao Party" may change the situation.
For this reason, Zhao Junchen has been taking precautions during this period, using various means to isolate Zuo Lanshan and weaken Zuo Lanshan's influence in the "Zhao Party". For example, when he alerted Li Lide some time ago, Zhao Junchen
It was out of this consideration that Zuo Lanshan was asked to play the role of blackface.
Now, adding a third-grade official who has conflicts with Zuo Lanshan into the "Zhao Party" will greatly benefit Zhao Junchen's plan, and it is the best thing.
In fact, even without such consideration, Zhao Junchen would still recruit Cao Wenbin for his own use - only when the subordinates have conflicts can the importance of the superiors be reflected. If the inferiors work together, then the superiors will
There is a danger of being ignored - Zhao Junchen is not worried about conflicts among his subordinates. If they are as close as brothers and unite as one, Zhao Junchen will be worried!
Therefore, after hearing Cao Wenbin's concerns, Zhao Junchen smiled and said: "If Mr. Cao's concerns are just these, then Mr. Cao need not worry. I promise Mr. Cao here that as long as Mr. Cao is of one mind with me in the future, then I will
I will do my best to promote the relationship between Master Cao and Master Zuo. Even if I cannot promote reconciliation, I will definitely be impartial in the future and never let Master Cao suffer... Unlike Mr. Wen Ge, I am very friendly to people close to me.
Not only is this person generous, but he will never abandon you, Master Cao should have heard of this."
However, despite Zhao Junchen's solemn assurance, he still could not dispel Cao Wenbin's concerns.
After Cao Wenbin hesitated for a moment, he declined Zhao Junchen's recruitment again and said: "Because of what happened back then, I have been a little discouraged over the years, but I don't want to be easily involved in the party disputes in the court. So Mr. Zhao's kindness
, I can only refuse. Please forgive me, Mr. Zhao."
Zhao Junchen sighed lightly, his expression was very regretful, but he was not very disappointed in his heart.
It is not an easy task to accept a third-rank official from the imperial court as a disciple, not to mention that this third-rank official still has some concerns in his heart.
However, Zhao Junchen believes that Cao Wenbin will definitely change his mind when things change.
At least, as Prince Zhu Heyu began to reform the Ming Dynasty's commercial tax system. Whether it was Cao Wenbin or Wu Youzhen, their troubles had just begun! At that time, they could only turn to Zhao Junchen for help!
In fact, with Cao Wenbin's refusal, Wu Youzhen on the side showed obvious regret. Apparently he hoped that Cao Wenbin would join Zhao Junchen, so that the Wu family's "Rongfa Shipping Company" could change the current situation of being in a state of limbo.
But under such circumstances, Wu Youzhen couldn't express her opinion and just sighed softly.
Everyone had their own thoughts. After Zhao Junchen sighed, he smiled again and said: "In that case, I will no longer force it, but my mind has not changed. In the future, if Mr. Cao or Boss Wu changes his mind, he can do it at any time.
You can contact me, my goodwill towards you two will always exist."
Next, Zhao Junchen deliberately changed the topic and talked about some casual matters with Cao Wenbin and Wu Youzhen. Although Zhao Junchen acted very calmly, Cao Wenbin and Wu Youzhen both felt awkward and a little uneasy after they declined Zhao Junchen.
So, just a moment later, Cao Wenbin and Wu Youzhen stood up and said goodbye to Zhao Junchen, and Zhao Junchen did not continue to persuade them to stay.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
However, before leaving, Wu Youzhen took the two mahogany boxes from Wu Rongde, placed the two wooden boxes in front of Zhao Junchen, and said: "Master Zhao, the dispute between Quanzi and you today is all because of...
These two pieces of crystal soap, this matter is naturally Quanzi's fault, these two pieces of crystal soap are now returned, please accept them, Mr. Zhao!"
After a pause, Wu Youzhen continued: "Besides, I see that Mr. Zhao seems to like this kind of crystal clear craftsmanship. It just so happened that Cao Min accidentally obtained two natural crystals many years ago. These two natural crystals
It is pure and transparent, dazzling and radiant, and extremely hard. It can be cut into gold or cracked into jade. It is rare to see. The common people thought that you might like it, Mr. Zhao, so they gave it to you as a gift from the Wu family to apologize to you."
Originally, after taking back the two "crystal pancreas", Zhao Junchen did not intend to accept Wu Youzhen's "apology gift".
However, after hearing Wu Youzhen's introduction, Zhao Junchen was slightly stunned at first, and then changed his attention.
In front of Wu Youzhen and Cao Wenbin, Zhao Junchen opened the two wooden boxes, then lowered his head and looked carefully. He saw two pieces of "crystal pancreas" placed in the larger wooden box, and the other smaller wooden box.
Inside the box, there are two crystal clear natural crystal stones!
These two crystal stones are dazzling under the sunlight, and the crystal light shines. It can be said to be magnificent, and it has a kind of beauty that makes people indulge in it. Although it has not been cut and polished, combined with Wu Youzhen's introduction, Zhao
Junchen is very sure that the thing in front of him is a diamond that will symbolize love and loyalty in future generations!
“It’s really a diamond!?”
Zhao Junchen murmured to himself, with some thoughts in his tone that no one could guess.
Otherwise, after seeing these two diamonds, Zhao Junchen's first reaction was not how precious these two diamonds were, but another rumored use of diamonds - poisoning!
This is a statement that Zhao Junchen accidentally saw in later generations - although Zhao Junchen is not sure the authenticity of this statement - diamond has hydrophobic and lipophilic properties. When humans eat diamond powder, the diamond powder becomes
It will stick to the stomach wall. After long-term friction, people will get gastric ulcers. If not treated in time, they will die of gastric bleeding. It is a chronic poison that is difficult for people to be careful about.
It is said that during the Western Renaissance, chronic poisons made from diamond powder were popular among wealthy Italian families.
What interests Zhao Junchen the most is that if this statement is true, then with the medical conditions of the Ming Dynasty, after poisoning with diamond powder, not only would it be difficult for people to be wary, but after the poisoning, the autopsy would not be able to detect it.
There are signs of poisoning!
All in all, for some reason, after Zhao Junchen saw these two diamonds, his first reaction was that they could be used to harm people.
And, after thinking of this usage, the more Zhao Junchen thought about it, the more he thought about it!
In officialdom and in party disputes, eliminating corruption is always the lowest method, but it must be admitted that this method is very effective!
For Zhao Junchen, at certain critical moments, for some enemies who are unable to resist, low-level methods such as poisoning are also acceptable!
So, Zhao Junchen thought to himself: "Since I saw it and thought about it, let's accept it. Maybe it can be used in the future..."
Although, Zhao Junchen is still not sure where he wants to use it.
All these thoughts happened in just a moment. Zhao Junchen quickly closed the box again with a calm expression. No one could guess the harmful thoughts that had passed through Zhao Junchen's mind!
…
ps: First update today! Two chapters in one!
...(To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novels will be better and updated faster!