After hearing Emperor Deqing's instructions, Zhao Junchen couldn't help but be stunned, and felt a little surprised.
Today, Zhao Junchen has fully understood his position in Emperor Deqing's mind as a favored minister who was used to make money and take the blame. He seemed to be a confidant, but in fact he did not have the complete trust of Emperor Deqing.
For example, Hong Jin, the commander of the Jin Yiwei, Wang Shou, the Minister of War, and Liang Fuchen, the governor of the three sides, are the real officials of the "Imperial Party". Zhao Junchen is at best a marginal figure in the "Imperial Party".
However, the "hidden story" Shen Changmao is going to tell next will undoubtedly be an extremely sensitive and confidential matter. The fewer people know about it, the better. Logically speaking, Emperor Deqing should hide it from Zhao Junchen! However, Emperor Deqing Zhao Junchen was deliberately left to listen. This situation naturally made Zhao Junchen very surprised.
However, in an instant, Zhao Junchen understood Emperor Deqing's thoughts.
Last night, the memorial that Zhao Junchen submitted to Emperor Deqing listed in detail the circumstances surrounding the Japanese pirate rebellion in Suzhou, making Emperor Deqing mistakenly believe that Zhao Junchen was well aware of the matter. Now Shen Changmao claims that the Japanese pirates' rebellion was There was another hidden secret behind the chaos. In order to avoid being deceived by Shen Changmao, Emperor Deqing naturally needed Zhao Junchen's circumstantial evidence.
Next, Zhao Junchen thought that all the news about the Japanese pirate rebellion in Suzhou was given to him by Zhou Shangjing after secretly forming an alliance with him, but he admired Zhou Shangjing's methods and calculations even more. Obviously, Zhou Shangjing had already calculated it. This is why he spent so much effort to bribe him in the first place, just to foreshadow today's situation!
Now, only with his own circumstantial evidence can the "hidden truth" mentioned by Shen Changmao be convincing!
While thinking secretly, Zhao Junchen glanced at Zhou Shangjing and saw that Zhou Shangjing's expression was very contradictory. He seemed to be still annoyed by Shen Changmao's decision. Although his plan succeeded, there was no flaw in his expression. This The depth of Bancheng Mansion is even more shocking.
"This Zhou Shangjing has really taken everyone into account... Anyway, I want to see what the foreshadowing of your move is!"
Soon, all the ministers left the temporary imperial study. Only Emperor Deqing, Zhou Shangjing, Shen Changmao, and Zhao Junchen were left.
Until today, Zhao Junchen did not know that Shen Changmao was bribed by Zhou Shangjing, but it is obvious that Shen Changmao did not know about the secret alliance between Zhao Junchen and Zhou Shangjing.
Therefore, when only the four of them were left in the room, Shen Changmao glanced at Zhao Junchen, still a little hesitant, and said to Emperor Deqing: "Your Majesty, there is something hidden inside. It is best that as few people know about it as possible , Although Mr. Zhao is an important minister of the imperial court, it would still be inappropriate if he stayed here to observe..."
Emperor Deqing waved his hand and said: "It doesn't matter. Xichang has been secretly investigating the Japanese pirate rebellion in Suzhou, and Zhao Junchen has always kept his mouth shut. I am very confident about him."
As he said that, a trace of impatience flashed across Emperor Deqing's expression, and he added: "Now, I just want to know what the hidden secret you mentioned, Mr. Shen Ge, is!"
After Shen Changmao was silent for a moment, he suddenly sighed and said slowly: "Your Majesty, don't you find it strange? The Japanese pirates have not caused trouble for many years, why did they suddenly attack? In addition, those two Japanese pirate ships were along the Yangtze River. Entering Suzhou, there was no warning beforehand. Why is this? You know, since our country implemented the policy of banning the sea, in order to prevent ships from entering and exiting at will, they stationed navy barracks at the Yangtze River port. There are three naval camps inside. Qianshui Army! The two Japanese pirate ships are both large ships. It stands to reason that their appearance cannot be hidden from the patrol water army. But in fact, the Japanese pirate ships entered and exited the Yangtze River without any hindrance. What happened here , it can be said to be very strange!”
Emperor Deqing's eyes flashed, thoughtfully, and then turned his gaze to Zhao Junchen, hoping to get Zhao Junchen's explanation.
Zhao Junchen took a step forward and explained: "Your Majesty, I am also surprised by this matter, and deliberately sent a Xichang officer to inquire. The three thousand naval troops at the Yangtze River port are under the jurisdiction of Jiangyin Military Town, and according to Jiangyin According to Fang Hui, the commander of the military town, the Japanese pirates seemed to have a very good understanding of their patrol time and patrol routes, and they actually found the gap between the two naval battalions to change defenses very accurately, and entered the Yangtze River without anyone noticing!"
After receiving Zhao Junchen's explanation, Emperor Deqing seemed a little dissatisfied. He turned to look at Shen Changmao and motioned for Shen Changmao to explain further.
Shen Changmao sneered and said: "I'm afraid this is the excuse of Jiangyin Military Town. How can it be trusted? In fact, if my prediction is correct, the officers and soldiers of Jiangyin Military Town would have been bribed by others. !Those two Japanese pirate ships were deliberately let in!"
This time, before Emperor Deqing could express his views, Zhao Junchen had already taken the lead and questioned: "Mr. Shen Ge, your inference is a bit taken for granted, isn't it? Jiangyin Military Town is stationed at the Yangtze River Port and is responsible for coastal defense and maritime bans. Fishing boats and merchant ships entering and exiting are all subject to jurisdiction, which is a huge advantage. How can they be bribed by Japanese pirates? If Japanese pirates want to bribe Jiangyin Military Town, they will definitely need a large sum of money, but if Japanese pirates have such a large sum of money , why bother to become pirates? Besides, even if the officers and soldiers of Jiangyin Military Town are a little corrupt, they are by no means fools. How could they release Japanese pirates into the Yangtze River for a little money? Once an accident occurs, Jiangyin Military Town will There is absolutely no way to get rid of the relationship! Don’t you, Mr. Shen Ge, understand the stakes here?"
On the side, Emperor Deqing nodded and said: "Zhao Junchen is right! Mr. Shen Ge, do you think Jiangyin Military Town was bribed by Japanese pirates? Is there any conclusive evidence?"
Shen Changmao still sneered: "If Jiangyin Military Town was bribed by Japanese pirates, it would only be a trivial matter! I would not be so cautious and would only dare to report the matter to His Majesty alone! In fact, according to what I have collected, The news is that the person who bought Jiangyin Military Town was not the Japanese pirates, but someone else! It was this person who not only bought Jiangyin Military Town, ignored our country's maritime ban policy, and used smuggling to make huge profits, but also for certain purposes , colluded with the Japanese pirates to harm Suzhou, and Jiangyin Military Town was also manipulated by this person, thinking that the two Japanese pirate ships were just ordinary smuggling merchant ships, so they were allowed to enter the territory without any inspection, which caused the disaster in Suzhou The Japanese pirate rebellion!"
Emperor Deqing frowned, vaguely guessing something, and asked: "Oh? This man is very capable. Not only can he bribe military towns, he can also collude with Japanese pirates, but I don't know where he came from?"
In the opinion of Emperor Yi Deqing, this person's origin may be very sensitive. If not, Shen Changmao would not be so cautious, and Zhou Shangjing would not regard it as his trump card for a comeback!
However, Shen Changmao reported a very unfamiliar name: "This person's name is Qian Xianru, and he is the shopkeeper of a shipping company!"
"Oh? How could the shopkeeper of a mere boat shop have such great abilities?" Emperor Deqing questioned coldly.
Shen Changmao's expression did not change, and he just said slowly: "Although this person is not a big shot, the boat company behind him has a profound background that no one dares to underestimate."
"What kind of boat trip? Why don't I know?" Emperor Deqing asked again.
Shen Changmao replied: "This boat shop was originally called 'Six Kings Boat Shop', but now it is renamed 'Eight Kings Boat Shop'. The boss on the surface is Qian Xianru, but the real boss is someone else. "
"Hachio Boat Shop? That's quite a statement! What is the origin of this boat shop?"
When asking, Emperor Deqing's expression seemed disdainful, but he felt vaguely uneasy in his heart.
At this moment, Zhou Shangjing, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke.
"The reason why this boat shop is called the 'Eight Kings Boat Shop' is not because it sounds loud, but it is worthy of its name! Because there are eight shareholders behind this boat shop, and they are all kings of our dynasty! They are King Lu, Su King, King of Liao, King of Zhou, King of Dai, King of Ji, King of Ding, King of Yong!”
"What!?"
After hearing Zhou Shangjing's explanation, Emperor Deqing felt like his head was suddenly dizzy!
At the same time, Emperor Deqing finally understood what Zhou Shangjing’s trump card was!