"Zhao Junchen, you are young and successful, and you are indeed frivolous. You don't care about anyone, but do you really think I can't do anything to you?!"
After hearing Shen Changmao's cold question, Zhao Junchen still looked as usual, and just smiled and said: "Why did Shen Chief Fu say this? You are now the chief minister of the cabinet, the leader of hundreds of officials, the most noble one, and the subordinates are right. You are naturally in awe.`"
There seems to be nothing wrong with what Zhao Junchen said, but who among the people present is not an old fox in official circles? Naturally, they can understand the deep meaning of Zhao Junchen's words.
Zhao Junchen's words specifically emphasized Shen Changmao's position as chief minister of the cabinet. The implication is obvious, that is, "If it were not for the position of chief minister of the cabinet, I would not take you seriously at all." !”
However, precisely because everyone could understand it, Zhao Junchen's seemingly respectful words were nothing more than a slap in the face to Shen Changmao.
Shen Changmao had a vengeful character. After hearing what Zhao Junchen said, he naturally became even more furious. However, after all, he had been in high and low officialdom for many years, and some cities still had it. After snorting coldly, he also counterattacked unceremoniously. : "Mr. Zhao, you have been the best at pleasing His Majesty over the years. You only relied on your boundless holy family, and you didn't even need to go to the local area to practice. You have become the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. You have achieved such an achievement at a young age. I have never seen it before. This is the first time in a hundred years. I don’t know how many officials in the whole court are jealous of you, but Mr. Zhao, you have always been dismissive. Under such circumstances, you are still in awe of me, the chief minister of the cabinet. It is really rare."
Shen Changmao's words were naturally a mockery of Zhao Junchen as a jester who only achieved his current achievements by flattering Emperor Deqing.
In addition, Shen Changmao emphasized that Zhao Junchen had no local experience, which was a hint that Zhao Junchen's foundation was unstable. He then hinted that Zhao Junchen was young and frivolous and had many enemies in the court. These hints were naturally aimed at those "yellow party members". "Official, I want the "Yellow Party" people to see clearly Zhao Junchen's disadvantages.
In response to Shen Changmao's hints and sarcasm, Zhao Junchen still had a smile on his face and said slowly: "Master Chief Assistant, you said that I am good at pleasing Your Majesty, which is true. It has always been difficult for me to circulate money and food, and Your Majesty has always been the best. I am worried. Thanks to Your Majesty's trust, I have finally made some achievements in the management of the household department over the years. The national treasury and internal funds have gradually become fuller. By sharing your worries, I have indeed gained Your Majesty's favor... …”
Having said this, Zhao Junchen showed regret again, shook his head slightly and said: "It's a pity that although Xiaguan has made some achievements in recent years, he still has a heavy burden. The current financial and food situation of the court is still not optimistic. Xiaguan I can only walk on thin ice, be careful, and never dare to live up to the holy hope... Speaking of which, I also want to find some people to share some of the burdens with me, but there are too few colleagues in the court who are good at financial management, so these burdens are still the same now. It can only be borne by the lower officials alone. The internal sufferings are really not enough for outsiders, but they are not as virtuous and respected as you, Chief Minister Shen. Now you only need to control the overall situation in the cabinet."
There is no doubt that Zhao Junchen's words are still a rebuttal to Shen Changmao, implying that the reason why he is in today's position is not only because of his flattering skills, but also because of his contribution to the government's financial management. , at the same time, none of the officials in the dynasty could replace him, so he was indispensable to Emperor Deqing. As long as Emperor Deqing was still in power, and as long as there was no fundamental improvement in the government's finances, Then your position will not be easily shaken.
At the same time, Zhao Junchen ostensibly praised Shen Changmao for being "highly respected", but in this context, the words "highly respected" were equivalent to ridiculing Shen Changmao for having nothing but profound qualifications.
——I, Zhao Junchen, am indispensable to the imperial court. Without me, the imperial court will have difficulty in cash and food turnover, so its position is stable. But what about you, Shen Changmao? If you were gone, what fundamental changes would be made to the overall situation of the imperial court? Although you, Shen Changmao, have a high status, seniority, and high reputation, if you have a solid foundation, don't bring shame on yourself.
Zhao Junchen's tone was still gentle and his attitude was still humble, but the underlying meaning was so direct.
After hearing Zhao Junchen's words, even someone as sophisticated as Shen Changmao couldn't help but suffocate slightly, not knowing how to refute.`
Indeed, although Zhao Junchen was a flatterer around Emperor Deqing, his contribution to the court's finances was real and obvious to all. People can only ignore it, but they cannot deny it.
Comparatively speaking, Shen Changmao was able to achieve his current status, but he was suspected of over-qualification. He had no outstanding achievements, especially when he became the chief minister of the cabinet, and he only took advantage of the struggle between Emperor Deqing and Zhou Shangjing. It was just a matter of chance and chance. Under normal circumstances, he would never have been given the prestigious position of Chief Minister of the Cabinet.
Therefore, although Shen Changmao was humiliated, he was unable to retaliate for a while, and ended up at a disadvantage in this verbal battle.
As a result, Shen Changmao's expression became more gloomy. After a moment of silence, he sneered: "No one is indispensable in the officialdom. Being too confident is not a good thing. Zhao Junchen, if you don't believe it, We can wait and see!"
After saying that, Shen Changmao suddenly stood up and left without even looking at Zhao Junchen.
Huang Yourong, Lin Wei, Zhang Cheng, Zhao Zhenghe and others were organizing words to prepare to counterattack Zhao Junchen. After seeing Shen Changmao's actions, they were all stunned. Unexpectedly, Shen Changmao gave up the fight. Left directly.
However, they all followed Shen Changmao's lead now. After seeing Shen Changmao's actions, they could not stay longer, and they all quickly got up and followed him.
Of course, before leaving, they did not forget to give Zhao Junchen a hard look, with hidden revenge in their eyes.
It was a pity that Zhao Junchen was so deep-tempered and thick-skinned that he completely ignored their glares and just sent them off respectfully with a smile.
When Shen Changmao and others first appeared, they were all looking for trouble. As a result, they failed to cause trouble for Zhao Junchen. Instead, they suffered a lot of humiliation in secret. In the end, they could not do anything to Zhao Junchen, so they left. Sometimes, it seems a bit bleak.
But he said that when Shen Changmao led Huang Yourong, Zhao Zhenghe and others out of Fushou Pavilion, Zhao Zhenghe, as a close confidant of Shen Changmao, saw that not only did he and others not achieve their purpose, but they also suffered a lot of humiliation. Naturally, He was a little unconvinced, but asked Shen Changmao: "Master Chief Assistant, Zhao Junchen is arrogant and domineering, and has no respect for his elders. Should we just leave like this?"
Shen Changmao looked back at Fushou Pavilion, but said coldly: "What else can be done? That Zhao Junchen has a sharp tongue. If he is determined to embarrass me, I will probably put down my body and keep arguing with him. Can’t you go down?”
After saying that, Shen Changmao's expression became more sinister, and he gritted his teeth and said: "However, being sharp-tongued and sharp-tongued can only be used for a short time. In the end, you have to rely on your own means and strength. When the morning comes tomorrow, I will naturally let him nice! "
After saying that, Shen Changmao said nothing more and walked directly towards his sedan.
However, Shen Changmao's mood at this time was more gloomy than imagined.
Compared with Zhao Junchen, Shen Changmao does not have an advantage in power or scheming. Only his noble status can overwhelm Zhao Junchen.
He came to Fushou Pavilion excitedly today because he wanted to rely on his noble status to forcibly suppress and humiliate Zhao Junchen and embarrass Zhao Junchen.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Junchen actually acted against common sense and completely ignored the gap in status. Not only did he not give in, but he also took the initiative to attack. Shen Changmao failed to humiliate Zhao Junchen, but was humiliated by Zhao Junchen.
At the same time, Shen Changmao has a strong personality and has never been good at making arguments. He only relies on words to argue, but he can't do anything to Zhao Junchen.
However, what made Shen Changmao even more heartbroken was that he suddenly discovered that although he was now the chief minister of the cabinet, he did not have many means to deal with Zhao Junchen except verbal confrontation.
To a certain extent, Zhao Junchen's insinuation was not wrong. Although Shen Changmao had become the chief minister of the cabinet, he did not have the matching strength and prestige.
Shen Changmao is naturally very aware of the danger of such a situation.
"If it was Zhou Shangjing who came here today, would Zhao Junchen still dare to be so arrogant? If Zhou Shangjing had been humiliated today, how could he be helpless against Zhao Junchen? My strength is still far from enough, but I still need to Continue to think of ways to expand...otherwise..."
While thinking secretly, Shen Changmao became more determined to expand his power!
However, Shen Changmao has always had a vengeful character and will never tolerate anything. He has made up his mind and will do everything possible to fight back against Zhao Junchen in the morning meeting tomorrow!
However, it was said that after Shen Changmao and others left Fushou Pavilion, everyone in the "Yellow Party" saw the end of a dispute, and they were all frightened and fearful.
After all, Zhao Junchen dared to ignore Shen Changmao, the chief minister of the cabinet, but others did not.
As a result, many "Yellow Party" officials subconsciously wanted to stay away from this place of right and wrong, but after a while, they all found reasons to leave.
For a time, only Zhao Junchen, Zhan Shanchang, Huo Zhengyuan, and some former "Yellow Party" officials who were determined to join Zhao Junchen were left on the second floor of Fushou Pavilion.
As a result, this party will inevitably feel a bit anticlimactic.
Zhao Junchen didn't care about this. When the "Yellow Party" officials who left calmed down and thought about what happened tonight, they would gradually find that Shen Changmao was only superficial, strong on the outside but capable on the inside. Although he had the honor of being the chief minister of the cabinet, he was Without matching power and prestige, such people cannot control the situation in the temple and will fall into disgrace sooner or later.
When they discover this, they will naturally make the right choice, sooner or later.
Therefore, Zhao Junchen still looked as usual, but with the cooperation of Huo Zhengyuan, Chen Dongxiang and others, he continued to promise benefits to those officials who stayed, win over their hearts, and further strengthen their determination to surrender to him.
When facing Shen Changmao, Zhao Junchen had a rather frivolous attitude, but when facing these former "yellow party" officials, Zhao Junchen looked cordial and had a gentle attitude.
In the end, when the banquet ended, Zhao Junchen had initially absorbed some of Huang Yourong's connections and authority, and his own power and influence had been further enhanced.
For example, Situ Han, deputy censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Lin Youlun, Shaoqing of Taichang Temple, Wang Xin, general affairs secretary, Zuo Tongzheng, etc., at the end of this banquet, they had completely changed their appearance and became "Zhao Dang" "Member.
In addition, when Zhao Junchen left Fushou Pavilion at the end of the banquet, he specially invited Huo Zhengyuan to accompany him, but there were some things he wanted to discuss secretly with Huo Zhengyuan.
…
ps: After three consecutive days of infusion, my body is finally feeling better. Thank you all for your support during this time!