Regarding Wei Ping's actions, Zhao Junchen always felt that he was inseparable from the chief assistant Zhou Shangjing. Unfortunately, Zhao Junchen only speculated on this and had no actual evidence.
But similarly, Zhou Shangjing knew that it was impossible for Wei Ping to commit suicide out of fear of guilt, but he had no evidence. Moreover, he had already kicked Wei Ping out, so it was not convenient for him to step in for Wei Ping at this time.
Therefore, when Gu Quan listed Wei Ping's various crimes in the morning court the next day, Li Lide brought out all the evidence found by the Ministry of Justice, and Zhao Junchen himself served as circumstantial evidence. Wei Ping's poisoning death case, which shocked both the government and the public, suddenly came to an end. Stopped.
After going down to court, Zhao Junchen sat in the sedan chair, deep in thought.
What he was thinking about was not Wei Ping's affairs. To Zhao Junchen, Wei Ping was just a small person, and being poisoned was just a trivial matter, and the matter was over.
What Zhao Junchen is thinking about now is a strange thing that happened in the court hall before going to court today.
After Wen Guanliang was defeated by Zhao Junchen and was insulted by Shen Changmao, Huang Yourong and others, he barely managed to hold on for nearly a month in the court. Finally, he could no longer hold on. Today before going to court, he resigned from Emperor Deqing, intending to retire. Return to his hometown and withdraw from the court.
However, to Zhao Junchen's surprise, Wen Guanliang's statement actually aroused strong opposition from Shen Changmao and Huang Yourong to retain him.
Especially Huang Yourong, in order to retain Wen Guanliang, he even gave a long speech in the early court, talking about "Wen Ge's old assistant has a good government and has benefited the government and the public, how can he abandon the country", and "the country can be without me, Huang Yourong, but "You cannot live without Wen Ge for a day", and so on and so forth, "Wen Ge's retirement from office is a loss for the imperial court and a great misfortune for the people."
When Huang Yourong said these words, it was as if it was someone else who had insinuated that Wen Guanliang was too old to be reused a few months ago.
Faced with Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao's efforts to persuade them to stay, Emperor Deqing could not deny it, while Wen Guanliang looked ugly.
But in fact, in recent months, the two factions Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao have been attacking Wen Guanliang openly or covertly, and Wen Guanliang was embarrassed because of this.
"What kind of drama is this singing?"
Sitting in the sedan, Zhao Junchen frowned and murmured to himself.
...While Zhao Junchen was thinking secretly, Xu Qingyan's voice sounded outside the sedan.
"Master, Master Zhan is here."
Hearing Xu Qingyan's reminder, Zhao Junchen opened the curtains next to the sedan, only to find that Zhan Shanchang's sedan was already walking side by side with Zhao Junchen's.
At this time, Zhan Shanchang also opened the curtains on the sedan chair and looked at Zhao Junchen with inexplicable excitement on his face.
"Has the matter been cleared up?"
Zhao Junchen asked softly.
Hearing Zhao Junchen's inquiry, the excitement on Zhan Shanchang's face became more obvious. He said in a gloating tone: "My lord, I have already investigated Wen Guanliang's matter. Haha, it turns out that Shen Changmao, Huang Yourong and the others I still don’t want to let go of Huang Yourong, Huang Yourong is in trouble.”
Zhao Junchen nodded and sighed: "As expected."
Throughout the ages, there has always been an unspoken rule in Chinese official circles, that is, no matter what a person did while serving as an official, or how many people he offended, after returning to his hometown as an official, as long as he no longer participates in court disputes, all the past events will be lost. Everything will be wiped out, there will be no pursuit, and there will be no need to worry about retaliation.
In a way, this is a kind of gentleman's politics, and it is also a rule that officials deliberately follow for the sake of their own future.
However, Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao now do not allow Wen Guanliang to retire and return to his hometown. It is clear what their intentions are.
Secretly lamenting the cruelty of the political struggle, Zhao Junchen asked: "What is going on? Let me tell you."
While they were talking, the sedan the two of them were riding in had already left the official road near the palace and arrived at a place where the bustling people gathered.
Seeing the inconvenience of talking like this, Zhao Junchen said again without waiting for Zhan Shanchang's reply: "Master Zhan, can you take your casual clothes with you? If you do, why don't you change into casual clothes with me, get off the sedan and walk? There is a bean sprout not far ahead. The stall tastes good. I go there often these days. Today, Mr. Zhan will go there with me. How is the local flavor?"
It has been a long time since the beginning of winter, and the New Year is approaching. Although the winter snow has arrived late, the temperature is already very low, and court clothes are inconvenient. Most of the officials' sedans are equipped with thick casual clothes.
Although he didn't understand why Zhao Junchen would eat such crude food as "bean curd", this was a rare opportunity to get closer to Zhao Junchen. Naturally, Zhan Shanchang would not let it go. After hearing Zhao Junchen's inquiry, he shouted Said: "If you are a gentleman, you will naturally go with me when you are a low-ranking official."
At the orders of the two men, the sedans stopped. After changing into their casual clothes, Zhao Junchen and Zhan Shanchang each took one or two attendants and walked towards the front of the street.
Zhan Shanchang was obviously not used to walking on the folk streets, but in front of Zhao Junchen, he still looked enthusiastic and admired the liveliness of the folk from time to time.
"Tell me what's going on."
After hearing Zhao Junchen's inquiry, Zhan Shanchang also put away his politeness and said with a cheerful smile: "Since Mr. Zuo and the others abandoned darkness and turned to light, Wen Guanliang's power in the central temple has been greatly reduced, and he has become a lonely man. Mr. Ge Although his position looks noble, without the help of the officials below, it is just a decoration. Your Excellency, you have seen how miserable Wen Guanliang has been these days. However, Wen Guanliang has been running officialdom for many years, so naturally it is more than just that. There are many people of his in various local government offices and key yamen."
Zhao Junchen nodded in understanding and asked, "Are these forces targeted by Shen Changmao and Huang Yourong?"
Zhan Shanchang smiled even more cheerfully and explained: "It's not just that they were targeted. The two of them are fighting for it now. The rest is just a matter of return. There are many people in the Salt Transport Department who are Wen Guanliang. This one The Yamen is famous for being rich, but it is too important to carry out large-scale rectification and replacement. In order to compete for these positions and officials, Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao refused to give in, and now they are in a stalemate."
Zhao Junchen asked calmly: "So the two of them thought of Wen Guanliang?"
"That's right." Zhan Shanchang said, stroking his palms: "As the saying goes, when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. Since Wen Guanliang lost power, his former officials have either been pulled down or found new forces to join them. As for all of them, Those in the Salt Transport Department, because their position was so critical, faced the threats of wooing from Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao at the same time, did not dare to express their attitude at will. At this time, most of them were neutral and waiting for a price. Under such circumstances, As their old master, Wen Guanliang's attitude and tendency are very important."
After a pause, Zhan Shanchang smiled even more cheerfully: "So whether it is Shen Changmao or Huang Yourong, they have been coercing Wen Guanliang for a long time, trying to persuade Wen Guanliang's disciples to join them before resigning. Unfortunately, neither Wen Guanliang nor Not daring to offend, the matter just kept dragging on. As a result, both Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao lost their patience, and the temptation turned into coercion, and they refused to let him retire and return home."
Zhao Junchen sighed and said: "It seems that Mr. Wen Ge is in doom."
Zhan Shanchang nodded and said: "That's it. Wen Guanliang has no way out now. No matter who he helps, he will attract a full-power attack from the other side. He has lost power. If Huang Yourong or Shen Changmao attacks him with all their strength, all kinds of things will happen." How can we get away with impeachment and various charges? Wen Guanliang is determined to divide the remaining powerful disciples equally between Shen Changmao and Huang Yourong, but neither Shen Changmao nor Huang Yourong will be satisfied. As a result, Wen Guanliang is afraid that it will be late. No guarantee."
Zhao Junchen said with emotion: "A tiger fell to Pingyang and was bullied by a dog. Although Wen Guanliang can't be called a tiger, and Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao, the two elders, can't be said to be dogs, the situation is similar, and people can't help but sigh."
Zhan Shanchang smiled and said: "Adults can still see clearly."
Zhao Junchen nodded, but suddenly said to Xu Qingyan who was following him: "Qingyan, when you return home, send a message to each of the three elders, saying that I will invite them to the dinner tonight, and ask them to come to the banquet. "
Xu Qingyan nodded in agreement, but Zhan Shanchang's eyes lit up and he asked: "Sir, do you mean that we should also share some of the benefits?"
In fact, because Zuo Lanshan, Gu Quan and others had defected to Zhao Junchen one after another, Zhao Junchen was originally the easiest to accept Wen Guanliang's remaining forces.
However, Zhao Junchen gave up on this.
First of all, when you eat meat, you always have to leave some soup for others. If they are greedy and take advantage of all the benefits, Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao will definitely not look good on Zhao Junchen. And Zhao Junchen doesn't want to have too much contact with them right now. Conflict. After Zhao Junchen gave up these forces, Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao, in exchange, have never caused trouble to Zhao Junchen these days. Even in various positions in the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the three parties have cooperated on many occasions. .
Especially Huang Yourong, he has always turned a blind eye to Zhan Shanchang's little actions in the Ministry of Rites these days.
Secondly, and most importantly, Zhao Junchen could not tolerate these officials who were formerly subordinate to Wen Guanliang to defect to him again. Now, except for Liu Changan and the Ministry of Revenue, almost all of the officials under Zhao Junchen came from Wen Guanliang's subordinates. These officials Because of the same origins and experiences, people have now gathered together intentionally or unintentionally, and have become a relatively independent small group under Zhao Junchen. If the number of people and their power increases again, the relationship between Zhao Junchen and them will be determined by who is the host and who is the guest. But it's hard to say, Zhao Junchen is not confident that he can control it.
It is also for this reason that Zhao Junchen has spent so much effort in integrating the forces under his sect these days.
Of course, it was difficult for Zhao Junchen to tell Zhan Shanchang his thoughts like this, so after hearing Zhan Shanchang's inquiry, Zhao Junchen said coldly: "Master Zhan, I know you have always had hatred for Wen Guanliang, but how can you do it because of this?" Has such hatred blinded the mind? Haven’t you realized that if this situation is not under control, you, Mr. Tong and Mr. Zuo will all be implicated and eventually get into trouble? "
Zhan Shanchang is not stupid. Hearing what Zhao Junchen said, after calming down and thinking for a moment, his face suddenly changed!...