"Zhao Junchen is hereby conferred the title of Young Master of the current dynasty and a bachelor of Dongge University. After returning to Beijing, he can join the Wenhua Pavilion to assist the government, and canonize him as the immortal Xin Chengbo. He will be given a salary of 800, a jade plaque and ten pearls.
Three thousand gold and silver each, please give me this!"
As Emperor Deqing finished speaking, before everyone else could react, Zuo Lanshan said loudly: "Your Majesty is wise!"
In Zuo Lanshan's original idea, Zhao Junchen's final reward would be considered as achieving his goal as long as he could ensure that he would join the cabinet to assist the government and be conferred a title of nobility. However, now Emperor Deqing not only awarded Zhao Junchen the Young Master and the Young Master at the same time.
There are two titles of Dongge University Scholar, which means that Zhao Junchen will be an old member of the Dongge from now on, and Zhao Junchen was also canonized as the "Immortal New Uncle"!
The earl is the lowest rank among the nobility in the Ming Dynasty. The so-called "immortal" means that it cannot be inherited and replaced. This kind of title is naturally the lowest rank, but after all, it is a super-grade earl position. It is the highest rank in the court.
The only honor among officials, "Zhao Party" will definitely gain momentum in the future!
In fact, Emperor Deqing deliberately weakened Zhao Junchen's titles and rewards, but he was worried that Zhao Junchen was too young and if he made further achievements in the future, the court would be embarrassed that he would not be rewarded.
But such a generous reward was still completely beyond Zuo Lanshan's expectations, so Zuo Lanshan was extremely excited. As soon as Emperor Deqing finished speaking, he continued to express his praise, as if he was afraid that Emperor Deqing would regret it.
On the other side, Shen Changmao and Cheng Yuandao looked at each other with gloomy expressions, and looked at Zhou Shangjing with expressions full of complexity and doubt.
The two of them spent a lot of words and thoughts in vain, but in the end they still failed to reduce Zhao Junchen's reward, and all this was because of Zhou Shangjing's "righteous speech"!
While feeling helpless, Shen Changmao and Cheng Yuandao were also confused. They didn't understand why Zhou Shangjing, who was also Zhao Junchen's political enemy in the DPRK, deliberately sought benefits for Zhao Junchen this time.
"Could it be that Zhou Shangjing wants to deliberately praise and kill Zhao Junchen?... After all, the higher the reward Zhao Junchen receives, the more he will be feared by His Majesty in the future... If this is the case, Zhao Junchen will be proud for a while, but in the future
I'm afraid it will end badly..." Shen Changmao secretly guessed in his heart.
In fact, Shen Changmao's speculation is very close to the truth.
As Zhou Shangjing gets older, sooner or later he will retire and return to his hometown and stay away from the temple. However, he and Emperor Deqing have been fighting openly and secretly for decades, and they have never allowed Emperor Deqing to take advantage. He can't help but worry that he and Emperor Deqing
His grievances will affect future generations of the family, so he has been trying to ease relations with Emperor Deqing in recent years.
But Zhou Shangjing seems to have all the power in the government, and he often has no control over it. As the leader of the officials, the leader of the "Zhou Party", and the representative of the ministerial power, he must protect the interests of the officials and cronies, otherwise he will inevitably be affected by the officials.
However, if he took action to protect the interests of officials and cronies, he would inevitably conflict with Emperor Deqing, and the relationship between the two parties would never be able to ease.
However, the rapid rise of Zhao Junchen gave Zhou Shangjing an opportunity to find another way - if Zhao Junchen became the main target of fear in Emperor Deqing's heart, Emperor Deqing's hostility towards Zhou Shangjing would gradually fade, and when Deqing waited
When the emperor finds that he can no longer control Zhao Junchen, there will even be opportunities for cooperation between the two parties. By then, the descendants of Zhou Shangjing's family will naturally have nothing to worry about.
In fact, if it weren't for Zhou Shangjing's deliberate connivance, Zhao Junchen's rise would not have been so rapid.
Nowadays, Zhao Junchen's power and influence has completely exceeded Emperor Deqing's bottom line, and is also very close to Zhou Shangjing's expectations.
However, seeing that the plan was about to be completed, Zhou Shangjing still showed no abnormal behavior at this time. Under the gazes of Shen Changmao and Cheng Yuandao, he still looked like an old man with his head down and low energy, as if he had not participated at all just now.
Discussion is general.
On the other side, when Emperor Deqing saw Zuo Lanshan's excited expression, a hint of evil flashed in his eyes.
Zuo Lanshan obviously willingly became Zhao Junchen's lackey and had no ambition to split the "Zhao Party". In this way, this person would be completely useless to Emperor Deqing.
Therefore, after Emperor Deqing conveyed his decree, he turned to Zuo Lanshan and said: "Mr. Zuo Ge, now I have not only recruited Zhao Junchen to assist the government, but also ennobled him. This matter is extraordinary.
For Fanxiang, there must be an important minister who rushes to Shaanxi and Gansu to convey the decree... After much thought, I have decided that it is most appropriate for you to be responsible for this matter, so you can go to Huamachi Camp...
...Well, I will ask Bao Wenjie, the Minister of Rites, to go with you."
Hearing what Emperor Deqing said, the expressions of everyone in the imperial study changed slightly. Shen Changmao and Cheng Yuandao turned their eyes to Zuo Lanshan, their eyes full of gloating and excitement.
The current situation of the imperial court cannot be separated from Zhao Junchen's turnover of money and food, so the imperial court cannot weaken Zhao Junchen's rewards, but it cannot allow Zhao Junchen's power to expand too much, so suppressing the "Zhao Party" forces is still the proper meaning of the title.
!
Now Zhao Junchen is presiding over the border defense on the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu. If Zuo Lanshan, the second-ranking figure of the "Zhao Party", is transferred from the capital, then the "Zhao Party" will be leaderless and will be left to their own devices.
The most important thing is that only one member of the "Zhao Party" in the cabinet is enough. While Zuo Lanshan is away from the capital, various factions will naturally have ways to kick Zuo Lanshan out of the cabinet.
Even though Zhao Junchen joined the cabinet to assist the government, he was still unable to make too many waves.
As Emperor Deqing finished speaking, several scheming elders in the imperial study understood in just a moment the various subsequent effects of Zuo Lanshan's departure from the capital.
However, Zuo Lanshan didn't seem to understand these things at all. He didn't react or resist at all. There was still some joy on his face, as if he thought he was going to Shaanxi and Gansu in person to deliver Zhao Junchen's order.
It was an honor, but he immediately accepted the order and said: "I obey the order!"
Emperor Deqing still looked serious, and ordered with a gentle expression: "After you, Mr. Zuo Ge, arrived at the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu, conveying my reward decree to Zhao Junchen was only one of them. There are three other things you need to do.
Please note that the first is to confirm that the evidence of the victory on the Wei River is true, and to escort the enemy commander Bogen to the capital; the second is to urge Zhao Junchen to rush back to the capital with you, and not to let him continue to stay in Shaanxi and Gansu, and the third is to confirm it on my behalf
As for Mr. Liang Ge's condition, he has been seriously ill since he arrived in Shaanxi and Gansu. There has been no news yet. I am really worried. He will still need to be fully responsible for the recapture of the Hetao by the imperial court in the future. "
Zuo Lanshan lowered his head and said: "I understand and will definitely handle it properly for Your Majesty!"
Next, Emperor Deqing discussed some court matters with the elders, especially the details of sending troops to regain the Hetao. Everyone in the Imperial Study Room needed to dare to make up his mind before tomorrow morning.
During this period, Zhou Shangjing took the opportunity to mention to Emperor Deqing that scholars all over the world were panicking because of a "literary disaster", and hoped that Emperor Deqing could stop the factory guards from monitoring and arresting scholars as soon as possible.
When Emperor Deqing started this literary disaster, he did not originally want to arrest many scholars and imprison them. He just saw that scholars all over the world were gradually criticizing the government and took action to crack down on them. Now he saw Zhou Shangjing and other ministers.
After asking for instructions, I thought that the court would still have many things to deal with in the future, all of which would be inseparable from the support of public opinion from scholars, so I agreed to the requests from the elders.
When it got dark, Emperor Deqing saw Zhou Shangjing and Cheng Yuandao, two old ministers, gradually unable to hold on any longer. They finally ended the conversation and asked the elders to leave the imperial study.
*
After all the pavilion elders left the Imperial Study Room, Emperor Deqing's expression became more solemn. After frowning and thinking secretly for a moment, he ordered the eunuch beside him: "Pass on my decree, summon the factory supervisor of the East and West Second Factory to come to the Imperial Palace.
In the study, I have something to tell them."
As Emperor Deqing's decree spread, two middle-aged eunuchs quickly rushed to the imperial study room.
One of these two eunuchs was named Wu Xinyan and the other was named Kong Zhen. They were the chief eunuchs of the Li Supervisor and the Royal Horse Supervisor respectively. After repeated rectifications of the East and West Second Factory, these two were the current directors of the East and West Factory.
After Wu Xinyan and Kong Zhen saluted and said hello, Emperor Deqing slowly said: "There are three things for you to do. First of all, I have collected some memorials from various officials in recent days to impeach the cabinet minister Zuo Lanshan.
It is now being stored in the Supervisor of Ceremonies. Wait until Zuo Lanshan leaves the capital tomorrow and reveal the various evidences listed in these impeachment memorials to the various censors in the Metropolitan Procuratorate, but do not let them know that this is my
the meaning of……"
Upon hearing what Emperor Deqing said, Wu Xinyan and Kong Zhen both expressed surprise. Knowing that Zuo Lanshan might not be able to sit in the position of Pavilion Elder for long, they quickly agreed.
Emperor Deqing continued: "As for the second thing, it is to send people to secretly investigate the specific situation of the officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs! Zhao Junchen's money and grain turnover, financial management and accounting skills are unparalleled among the officials.
But the officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs should have learned some of Zhao Junchen’s skills over the years. Now the imperial court relies too much on Zhao Junchen for its money and food operations. This situation must be reversed as soon as possible! Therefore, I want to know who among the officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs is.
He has the best financial management skills, who is not so loyal to Zhao Junchen... In addition, at the same time, we must send people to pay attention to all the officials and people in the government and the public who are good at financial management, and report to me in time if they find any!"
Wu Xinyan and Kong Zhen were shocked again, but still did not dare to neglect and quickly accepted the order.
After a pause, Emperor Deqing hesitated for a moment, and finally said: "There is a third thing... Send someone to secretly investigate whether the seventh prince Zhu Hejian has had secret contact with Shen Changmao and Cheng Yuandao during this time.
thing……"
At this point, Emperor Deqing's expression became extremely serious, and he said: "These three matters all involve secrets. If the East-West Second Factory still fails to do things well, or even leaks the news again, then don't blame me again. Take action to rectify it!"
The three matters ordered by Emperor Deqing were each more sensitive than the last, and successively involved Zuo Lanshan, Zhao Junchen, Cheng Yuandao, Shen Changmao, Zhu Hejian and others.
After Emperor Deqing's repeated cleaning and rectification of the East and West No. 2 Factory, people are now in a state of panic and everyone is in danger. Now hearing Emperor Deqing mention the rectification again, Wu Xinyan and Kong Zhen were frightened. Terrified, he quickly promised: "Your Majesty, please rest assured that this servant and others must be doing things with their heart, and they will never dare to disappoint Your Majesty again!"
Emperor Deqing nodded with satisfaction, and then waved them to leave the imperial study.
After Wu Xinyan and Kong Zhen left the imperial study, Emperor Deqing was still sitting behind the imperial desk and was silent. Even if the eunuch beside him reminded Emperor Deqing that it was time for dinner, he ignored it, but no one was there. We know what Emperor Deqing was thinking at this time.
*
However, the news that Zhao Junchen wiped out one hundred thousand troops of the Mongolian coalition in one fell swoop and would soon join the cabinet to assist the government and be named the new Chengbo spread throughout the capital very quickly.
For a time, the people were talking excitedly and inexplicably. The officials were seriously considering the future changes in the court structure. Several powerful ministers also had their own plans and secret preparations.
But Zuo Lanshan ignored these things. After leaving the imperial study, he returned to his mansion, ordered people to arrange carriages and horses, packed his luggage, and prepared to rush to Shaanxi and Gansu to convey Zhao Junchen's message to Zhao Junchen after the morning session. The decree of reward.
However, he said that just when Zuo Lanshan was about to get everything ready, his youngest son Zuo Kuiwen, who was studying in the Imperial College, hurried back to Zuofu.
After rushing back to Zuofu, Zuo Kuiwen immediately found Zuo Lanshan and asked excitedly: "Father, I heard the news that Mr. Zhao Junchen and Zhao wiped out 100,000 Mongolian allied troops in one fell swoop on three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu. Horse, and when His Majesty was discussing the reward with the cabinet elders, both Shen Shoufu and Cheng Ge elders believed that the court should not allow Zhao Junchen to directly join the cabinet to assist the government for the time being. However, in the end, because of your father's persistence and hard work, Zhao Junchen finally Or did you become an assistant minister in the cabinet? In the end, His Majesty asked you to go to Shaanxi and Gansu in person to convey the decree to Mr. Zhao?"
When Zuo Kuiwen asked, Zuo Lanshan was slowly sipping tea, and then nodded and said: "Actually, Mr. Zhao was finally able to obtain the reward of joining the cabinet and becoming a knight at the same time, mainly because of Mr. Zhou Ge's impartial words. Your Majesty, he It is difficult to judge the situation, but as a father, I did play some role and said some fair words!"
After hearing Zuo Lanshan's answer, Zuo Kuiwen's face was full of annoyance and he said loudly: "Father, you are confused! Why can't you understand? Whether it is His Majesty or the powerful officials in the court, they are all We don’t want Mr. Zhao’s power to expand too quickly, and we will never allow the ‘Zhao Party’ to have two cabinet minister positions! If Zhao Junchen is allowed to join the cabinet to assist the government, doesn’t it mean that father, you will be targeted by them soon, and eventually you will be Do you want to lose your position as Pavilion Elder? Now that my father is about to leave the capital, wouldn’t it mean that you have no power to resist and are being slaughtered?"
There are three daughters and one son in Zuo Lanshan, and Zuo Kuiwen is not only the youngest, but also Zuo Lanshan's only son, so Zuo Lanshan has always doted on Zuo Kuiwen. At this time, Zuo Kuiwen's speech was inevitably a little bit... Not respectful enough.
But Zuo Lanshan was also used to Zuo Kuiwen's willfulness. He was not angry after hearing Zuo Kuiwen say that he was confused. Instead, he asked with interest: "Did you think of these things yourself? Or was it yours?" Did your classmate Zhang Bowen remind you?"
After Zuo Kuiwen was stunned for a moment, he replied: "Some of them were reminded by Zhang Bowen, but most of them were thought of by me... Father, how did you know that Zhang Bowen talked about this matter with me?"
Zuo Lanshan nodded with a smile and said: "It's good that you can think of this... As for the reason why I know that Zhang Bowen talked to you about this matter, it's because I have already sent people to secretly investigate several classmates around you. My friend, that Zhang Bowen receives a sum of money every month from a business firm owned by Shen Shoufu, and Shen Shoufu uses Zhang Bowen to find out about his father from you! Now, Zhang Bowen takes the initiative to talk to you about these things, I'm afraid that's what Shen Shoufu means, probably because he wants to take the opportunity to drive a wedge between my father and Mr. Zhao."
Zuo Kuiwen couldn't help but be stunned and asked: "Zhang Bowen is Shen Changmao's man? Father, why don't you ever remind me?"
Zuo Lanshan still smiled and said: "You are still naive. If I tell you these things in advance, there may be flaws. My father also hopes to use this blog post to pass on some true or false news to Shen Changmao... ...And now I am telling you the truth, but I estimate that I will leave the capital soon. Just like your guess, because Mr. Zhao has joined the cabinet to assist the government, when my father leaves the capital tomorrow, he will inevitably suffer With the criticism from various factions, he should not be able to keep his position in the cabinet, but Mr. Zhao is now in the limelight. If he can protect it, his father will not fall. In the end, he should be sent to a certain province to serve as the feudal chief. When the time comes, you will also follow your father to take office, so there is no need to hide it from you."
Zuo Kuiwen was even more stunned and asked: "So, father, you have understood these things for a long time? Then why do you still recommend Mr. Zhao to join the cabinet to assist the government? Is Zhao Junchen worthy of your loyalty? For him, even Are you willing to sacrifice your own career prospects?"
"Loyalty..." Zuo Lanshan seemed to be smiling, but he was noncommittal. He just stood up and said slowly: "Kui Wen, come with me to the backyard garden. I should let you know some truths!"
…
Well, the second update, a 4,000-word chapter, a total of 11,000 words updated today.
Tomorrow will be another 10,000-word update, which will end the plot in Beijing and return to the plot in Shaanxi and Gansu.