Because there were too many undecided matters, the morning meeting the next day was still a major meeting and was held in the Huangji Hall.
However, the rest of the things were basically not controversial, and most of the officials were mentally prepared, so the meeting progressed very quickly. After many things were discussed, they were quickly decided, and there was no
There were too many controversies.
First of all, after another discussion, Emperor Deqing officially announced the imperial court's intention to set up a pilot shipping company to rectify commercial taxation, and handed over the matter to Zhao Junchen. At the same time, under Zhao Junchen's operation,
, the imperial court also reiterated its determination to severely punish smuggling activities, and Zhao Junchen, as the Minister of Household Affairs and in charge of the world's taxation, naturally became one of the main persons in charge of the imperial court's suppression of smuggling activities.
Secondly, after Zhao Junchen obtained the power to rectify the commercial tax, Emperor Deqing suddenly announced that he had taken back the power of the West Factory and the Inner Transport Warehouse from Zhao Junchen, and re-handed these two yamen to the Twelve Supervisors of the Inner Court.
It is clear that this was Emperor Deqing's balancing measure to prevent Zhao Junchen's power from growing too fast. In this regard, except for the "Zhao Party" officials, everyone was happy to see the results and almost did not encounter any controversy.
Third, with the efforts of the "Zhao Party" officials, the truth about the dismissal of Zhan Shanchang, the Minister of Hubu, Liu Chang'an, the Minister of Officials, and Gu Quan, the censor of Zuoqiandu, was soon revealed.
All the evidence that convicted the three people was refuted one by one, and a large amount of evidence that could prove the three people's innocence appeared, so Emperor Deqing reinstated the three people's official positions.
At this point, the losses suffered by the "Zhao Party" during Emperor Deqing's southern tour have been completely restored.
At the same time, because Zhan Shanchang, Liu Changan, Gu Quan and others were wrongly accused, Huang Yourong, as the main person responsible, was in an increasingly embarrassing situation. He was once again subjected to many impeachments and criticisms, but this time, he was still willing to support Huang Yourong's "Yellow Party"
"The number of officials was even smaller. It was only because of Emperor Deqing's non-committal and the full protection of Chief Assistant Shen Changmao that Huang Yourong did not collapse immediately. However, the signs of his loss of power became more and more obvious, and almost everyone could see it.
come out.
Finally, when the imperial meeting was about to end, Emperor Deqing suddenly asked about the recent situation of Liang Fuchen, the governor-general of the three sides, and made it clear that Liang Fuchen had worked hard to guard the border for the imperial court over the years. He should be greatly rewarded and appointed as appropriate.
With heavy responsibility.
Obviously, in order to stabilize the situation and strengthen his control over the central government, Emperor Deqing was preparing to transfer Liang Fuchen, an important official of the imperial party, back to the capital. Today's various statements were just to build momentum in advance.
All the major forces in the DPRK were well aware of the profound meaning of Emperor Deqing's actions, and had secretly made preparations.
Finally, after all the backlogged government affairs of the imperial court were dealt with, the great court meeting finally came to an end.
Although this major court meeting progressed very quickly, there were too many things to deal with. So when it ended, it was already close to noon.
When the leaders of the major forces in the court left the Huangji Hall, they all had different considerations regarding the outcome of today's court meeting.
Today's imperial meeting seemed to go smoothly, but it also had many far-reaching impacts and many noteworthy things happened.
When Shen Changmao stepped out of Huangji Palace, his brows were furrowed and his expression was a little gloomy.
It stands to reason that Shen Changmao is very proud of himself now, and he should not have such an expression in the first place.
But during today's court meeting, there were indeed some situations that made Shen Changmao feel doubtful and angry.
Nowadays, Shen Changmao is eager to expand his power, and what he is most concerned about is naturally his own strength.
Before and after today's imperial meeting, Shen Changmao suddenly discovered that the number of officials who gathered around him to flatter him and deliberately try to please him was actually smaller. During the imperial meeting, when Shen Changmao made his position clear, the officials who supported him There are not as many voices as yesterday.
After Shen Changmao observed carefully, he found that these changes were all due to the change in attitude of the "Yellow Party" officials. Yesterday, those "Yellow Party" officials saw that Huang Yourong was about to fall, and they all regarded Shen Changmao as their The only way out is to try their best to please Shen Changmao. Not only have they been gathering around Shen Changmao to deliberately flatter him, but they can't drive them away. When Shen Changmao expressed his views at the court meeting, these "yellow party" officials They all agreed immediately and never missed a single opportunity in order to win Shen Changmao's favor.
But on the occasion of today's big court meeting, most "Yellow Party" officials' attitude towards Shen Changmao was much colder. On the contrary, their attitude towards Zhao Junchen became much warmer. Before the big court meeting started, they would talk to each other from time to time. You will see some "Yellow Party" officials deliberately approaching Zhao Junchen, getting close to Zhao Junchen, and establishing friendship; when the big court meeting begins, some "Yellow Party" officials even take the initiative to cheer for Zhao Junchen and boost his momentum. When Zhao Junchen expresses certain opinions, these "Yellow Party" officials will immediately stand up and express their agreement, and their attitude is actually even more enthusiastic than that of "Zhao Party" officials.
Logically speaking, this situation should never happen. According to the agreement between Shen Changmao and Huang Yourong, Huang Yourong would take the initiative to persuade the "Yellow Party" officials to switch to Shen Changmao. Today, after Huang Yourong's persuasion, The attitude of "yellow party" officials towards Shen Changmao should be more enthusiastic, but in fact, the attitude of most "yellow party" officials towards Shen Changmao has become increasingly cold.
Just looking at the performance of the "Yellow Party" officials today, they clearly want to take refuge with Zhao Junchen wherever they appear to be seeking refuge with Shen Changmao.
Seeing these circumstances, how could Shen Changmao not know that his plan to annex the "Yellow Party" had gone awry?
Therefore, when the court meeting ended, Shen Changmao's expression was quite gloomy.
"Shen Shoufu, please stay."
Just when Shen Changmao left Huangji Palace, Huang Yourong's voice suddenly sounded behind him.
Shen Changmao turned around and saw that Huang Yourong was walking towards him quickly. His expression was slightly panicked and angry.
Behind Huang Yourong were still Lin Wei, the Minister of Rites, and Zhang Cheng, the young master. However, Huo Zhengyuan, the great scholar, and Chen Dongxiang, the minister of the Ministry of Works, were missing.
After seeing Huang Yourong, Shen Changmao's expression became even more sinister. He sneered and said: "Mr. Huang Ge, you are really good at it. Shen is ashamed of your ability to build a plank road to cross Chencang secretly. He originally thought that Huang Ge was planning to fight with him. Shen cooperated, but I didn’t expect Mr. Huang Ge that you just made a false shot and would eventually follow Zhao Junchen’s path. However, under the current situation, Mr. Huang Ge really thought that Zhao Junchen could protect you."
Apparently, after seeing the changes in the attitudes of the "Yellow Party" officials, Shen Changmao mistakenly believed that Huang Yourong had deceived him and violated the agreement between the two. In the end, he chose to cooperate with Zhao Junchen, intending to bring the "Yellow Party" to All the authority and connections were transferred to Zhao Junchen.
On the other side, Huang Yourong saw that Shen Changmao had misunderstood him, but he hurriedly explained: "Shen Ge, please don't misunderstand me. I never deceived you. In fact, I was deceived."
Shen Changmao frowned and asked: "What's going on?"
Huang Yourong explained quickly: "After yesterday's court meeting, I announced our agreement to a few close friends. At that time, both Lin Shangshu and Zhang Shaofu were a little reluctant. On the contrary, University Scholar Huo Zhengyuan and the Minister of Industry Chen Dongxiang expressed his agreement. At that time, I wanted to persuade Lin Shangshu and Zhang Shaofu. I also saw that Huo Zhengyuan and Chen Dongxiang defended me in every possible way yesterday, but they were deceived by them and thought that they were still against me. He was so loyal that he left the matter of contacting and persuading other officials to them."
At this point, Huang Yourong's expression flashed with hatred. He continued: "I never thought that Huo Zhengyuan and Chen Dongxiang's performance in protecting me yesterday was just a disguise, just to deceive my trust. The two of them were actually They secretly defected to Zhao Junchen behind my back. After getting the task of convening and persuading other officials, the two of them broke the disguise. Not only did they not follow the old man's instructions, but they took the opportunity to lure everyone to join Zhao Junchen. I don’t know what means they used, but all the officials were moved by their persuasion, so they deliberately tried to please Zhao Junchen today, but on the contrary, they alienated Mr. Shen Ge."
After Huang Yourong finished speaking, Lin Wei also explained: "As for these things, I can testify that Huo Zhengyuan and Chen Dongxiang did betray Mr. Huang Ge. Today, before the big court meeting started, Mr. Huang Ge I planned to find them to inquire about the progress of the matter, but they all deliberately avoided Mr. Huang Ge. After Mr. Huang Ge figured out the cause of the matter, the big court meeting had already begun, and they failed to notify Chief Shen in time."
At the same time, Young Master Zhang Cheng said with a gritted expression: "Huo Zhengyuan actually betrayed Mr. Huang Ge at this time. I will never forgive him in the future."
After hearing the explanations from Huang Yourong and others, Shen Changmao looked at Huang Yourong with a strange expression and asked: "In other words, Huo Zhengyuan and Chen Dongxiang officially betrayed you yesterday and blatantly tampered with you, but you didn't do anything until today. Know the truth”
After Huang Yourong was silent for a moment, he smiled bitterly and said, "If a tree falls, who will take me seriously now?"
For a moment, Shen Changmao didn't know whether he should despise Huang Yourong's incompetence or pity Huang Yourong's betrayal and separation.
After thinking for a moment, Shen Changmao suddenly asked: "Mr. Huang Ge personally persuaded Lin Shangshu and Zhang Shaofu yesterday, and there must be some results. I wonder if Lin Shangshu and Zhang Shaofu have made a decision?"
Lin Wei and Zhang Cheng looked at each other, their expressions were a little sad, but they didn't say much.
On the other side, Huang Yourong said quickly: "After my hard persuasion, Lin Shangshu and Zhang Shaofu have agreed to my persuasion. From now on, they will advance and retreat together with Mr. Shen Ge."
After hearing Huang Yourong's answer, Shen Changmao's expression became slightly better.
As long as he can get the support of Lin Wei and Zhang Cheng, Shen Changmao will have gained nothing.
However, seeing half of the benefits he was talking about being taken away by Zhao Junchen, Shen Changmao would not accept it no matter what.
Therefore, after gently promising some benefits to Lin Wei and Zhang Cheng, Shen Changmao looked serious and said slowly: "Now, because of the bewitchment of Huo Zhengyuan and Chen Dongxiang, the position of the officials under Mr. Huang Ge has changed." The changes are gradually in favor of Zhao Junchen, but after all, it is just a bias and has not yet become a foregone conclusion. Since Huo Zhengyuan and Chen Dongxiang can pull them over to Zhao Junchen's side, then as long as we work hard, we can also pull their position back. The next step In a few days, I asked Huang Ge Lao, Lin Shangshu, and Zhang Shaofu to take the trouble to personally contact and persuade the officials who were bewitched. They must change their minds and Zhao Junchen must not take advantage."
After hearing Shen Changmao's instructions, Huang Yourong immediately nodded and said, "Please don't worry, Chief Shen, the three of us will try our best to handle it. I just mistrusted Huo Zhengyuan and Chen Dongxiang before, and they took advantage of it, but as long as If the three of us personally take action, we will definitely be able to turn the situation around again."
On the other side, seeing Huang Yourong acting cocky in front of Shen Changmao, Lin Wei and Zhang Cheng looked at each other again, with somewhat complicated expressions.
Huang Yourong was about to fall, but he completely lost his former pride.
Yesterday, Huang Yourong was still able to maintain a certain demeanor in front of Shen Changmao because he still had some trump cards. But now that he has lost his trump cards, he can no longer remain calm. In order to get Shen Changmao's support, he can be calm. An An's return to his hometown for retirement, Huang Yourong has completely lost his footing and completely obeys Shen Changmao's orders.
However, Lin Wei and Zhang Cheng were Huang Yourong's loyal confidants after all. Seeing Huang Yourong's appearance, although they were helpless, they could only follow him.
In fact, if it weren't for Huang Yourong's smooth career, the two of them might not have agreed to join Shen Changmao.
While Shen Changmao was talking to Huang Yourong, Zhao Junchen also left the Huangji Palace, his expression also thoughtful.
Zhao Junchen did not pay much attention to the conversation between Shen Changmao and Huang Yourong. For Zhao Junchen, the annexation of the "Yellow Party" was only part of his plan, and it was a relatively unimportant part. No matter how much the final harvest is, it is just the icing on the cake, and Zhao Junchen doesn't really care.
In addition, Zhao Junchen has handed over this matter to Huo Zhengyuan and Chen Dongxiang, and now they are employed without any doubt.
Therefore, compared to Shen Changmao, Zhao Junchen was more concerned about changes in the court structure.
Therefore, when the great court meeting was over, Zhao Junchen had more, broader, and far-reaching things to think about than Shen Changmao.