Yan Song was a little surprised when he heard his son's proposal, saying that it was still possible for Qin Dewei to support Zhai Luan in order to make progress by retreating or to muddy the waters.
But his son also said that he would recommend or support Qin Dewei's teacher. What kind of joke is this? Doing good deeds and sending warmth?
Faced with his father's confusion, Yan Shifan asked again: "If Zhang Chao joins the cabinet, can he seize power from Xia Yan and your father?"
Yan Song said with great confidence: "Definitely not!"
It is not Yan Song's boast. Among the ministers over the age of twenty-five, no one can seize power from Yan Song and Xia Yan. There will be no third powerful minister in the cabinet.
The cabinet does not have a clear division of responsibilities and powers, and everything depends on personal cultivation.
Zhang Chao, on the other hand, has average political ability and ambition. If he joins the cabinet, he will be like another Gu Dingchen, just filling in and not getting much real power.
So Yan Shifan slapped the case and said: "That's the truth! Zhang Chao has already entered the Wuyi Hall of Zhixi Garden. Even if he enters the cabinet again, what will happen?
Moreover, Zhang Chao’s real power now comes from being in charge of the Ministry of Ceremonies. If Zhang Chao were to give up being in charge of the Ministry of Ceremonies and join the cabinet, it would actually be equivalent to being promoted openly and secretly!
Therefore, Zhang Chao's entry into the pavilion has no practical benefits for him other than gaining the title of pavilion elder. Even if he becomes a pavilion elder like Zhai Luan and Gu Dingchen, it will not hinder us."
Yan Song sighed and expressed his plan: "Based on my thinking, my original intention is to recommend Xu Zan, the Minister of Civil Affairs, to the cabinet. This is the real rise and fall.
Then you can persuade your majesty to let Xu Zan be on duty at Wenyuan Pavilion. This will squeeze Qin Dewei, and you can't always passively wait for Qin Dewei to come to the cabinet to seize power.
Later, he promoted Huo Tao, the censor of Zuodu, to be appointed as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and obtained the crucial office of the Ministry of Personnel.
Your Majesty, thinking of the great gifts and discussions in the past, should not prevent Huo Tao from changing his position, so this year's political situation can be regarded as a great success for me."
Yan Shifan thought for a while and then said: "My father's idea is not wrong, it is a very orthodox idea. Under normal circumstances, this is a feasible approach.
But father, have you discovered that orthodox thinking has never been useful to Qin Dewei?"
Then Yan Shifan organized some speeches and said confidently: "A court game is like a chess game. Chess players like us must do two things in particular!
First, every chess move must take into account the following moves, not just the current situation! Second, you must predict your opponent, and even predict your opponent’s prediction!”
Yan Song was in a daze, feeling that his son was becoming more and more like Qin Dewei. He didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.
Yan Shifan continued: "If you think about it from another person's perspective, father, your method can be easily targeted and cracked.
As long as Qin Dewei supports Zhai Luan, he can easily suppress Xu Zan. After all, Zhai Luan is more qualified. According to the rules, Zhai Luan should have been in the cabinet!
Secondly, Xia Yan would not watch his enemy Huo Tao take control of the most important official department of the outer dynasty, and neither would Qin Dewei!
So if you, father, propose the plan of Xu Zan joining the cabinet and Huo Tao taking over the civil service, it will be opposed by both Qin Dewei and Xia Yan, and then you, father, will face an extremely disadvantageous situation!"
Yan Song subconsciously asked: "Then what do you think? Supporting Zhang Chao's entry into the cabinet will disgust Qin Dewei at best. What can we gain?"
Yan Shifan replied: "Facing someone like Qin Dewei, you have to be surprised, so it's best to follow my method.
In other words, they may not really support Zhang Chao's entry into the cabinet, even if they let the wind out and say that they want to recommend Zhang Chao to the cabinet!
So thinking from Qin Dewei's perspective, can he openly oppose his teacher's entry into the cabinet? After all, from a superficial point of view, joining the cabinet is similar to being a prime minister, which is the greatest honor for a civil servant!
Therefore, as a disciple, Qin Dewei cannot openly oppose! He has no other choice and is restricted to death! Only in this way can we control Qin Dewei!
Then Xia Yan must have his own plans. If, father, you support Zhang Chao, how should Xia Yan treat Zhang Chao?
In other words, Xia Yan will definitely be worried that if he openly opposes Zhang Chao, will it lead to a break with Qin Dewei?"
Then Yan Song also understood his son's thinking. The biggest significance of supporting Zhang Chao was not to gain anything, but to disrupt the plans of Qin Dewei and Xia Yan.
At the same time, if Qin Dewei is not willing to let Mr. Zhang join the cabinet, he must ask himself to withdraw his recommendation, and then he will have to pay for it, and he can go along with the situation.
When masters compete with each other, they can use false and false weapons to disrupt the opponent's rhythm, which is half the battle. As for the rest, you can take advantage of the situation when the opponent is confused.
Time passed day by day, and in the spring of April, two more little lives were born in the Qin Mansion.
Mrs. Gu gave birth to a daughter, and Miss Wang gave birth to a boy. It can be said that everyone was happy.
It is foreseeable that the Qin family, which has a small population, is likely to experience a population explosion in the next one or two generations.
Qin Dewei was also very happy, but it was a pity that Ming officials did not have maternity leave and had to go to work when they should.
Moreover, a place like Wenyuan Pavilion has to maintain the circulation of official documents every day, so it is really inconvenient to be absent from work for a long time. This is the worst place to be in the Zhi Center.
When I was inspecting affairs at the Yiwu Yamen that day, the Japan Embassy Bureau presented a list of names in the early morning and reported: "After recent inspections, these are the Japanese who are relatively respectful in the Japanese mission."
The so-called most deferential Japanese people are implying that they can be considered as candidates for new exploration and joint distribution.
Although Qin Zhongtang accepted the list, he didn't read it carefully and just put it aside.
Ling Kongmu felt that his efforts had been underestimated, so he couldn't help but remind him: "Zhongtang said that we should issue a few more Kankai to Japan. It is of great importance and should not be given to others lightly. It must be carefully investigated."
Qin Dewei couldn't help but laugh, "Actually, from my point of view, it doesn't matter who you send it to, so why should you care so much?"
Ling Kongmu: "..."
Qin Zhongtang felt that Ling Kongmu was very serious about his work and had good enthusiasm for work, which was rare among low-end miscellaneous officials who generally had a dawdling mentality, so he was willing to give some more advice.
Then he asked: "Back then, the imperial court issued a Kanhe to the King of Japan. Who has the Kanhe now?"
Ling Kongmu had been hanging out in the Japan Pavilion for so long, and gradually learned a lot about the inside story. He replied: "Currently, the only alliance in Japan should be in the hands of the powerful minister Ouchi."
Qin Dewei laughed and said: "By relying on exploration and cooperation to pay tribute and trade, we can easily get several times the profit. With such a temptation of interests, how can we avoid taking things by force with the habits of the Japanese?"
No matter who the extra cards are given to, there is no telling who will take them away after returning to their country.
That’s why I say that it doesn’t matter who the additional Kanhe cards are sent to. What’s important is who comes to pay tribute with the Kanhe cards next year, and let’s see what the attitude of the person who comes is.”
Ling Kongmu suddenly realized that Qin Zhongtang was still thoughtful.
At this time, Qin Zhongtang's confidant Fang You from Zhongshushe rushed in and shouted: "An obituary has been sent to the cabinet! Mr. Gu Ge is gone!"
When Qin Zhongtang heard this, he didn't care about the Japanese affairs, so he stood up and walked out.
As he walked away, he gave instructions to Fang Shiren: "You return to Wenyuan Pavilion to guard, contact Commander Xu who is on duty outside Renshou Palace, and collect information from all parties. I will go to the Gu Mansion to pay my respects!"
Fang Sheren was stunned. At this time, shouldn't he meet with the party members as soon as possible, actively connect with all parties, gear up, and make thorough preparations for the next battle?
Elder Gu Ge has left and the tea has gone cold. Is it still necessary to go to Gu Mansion so actively?
That is to say, Qin Zhongtang doesn't know what Fang Sheren is thinking at this time, otherwise he would definitely call him "Jianzheng"!
As a Jiajing man, shouldn’t we pay our respects to the person who invented the concept of “Jiajing man”?
When they reached the right gate of Chang'an, Fang You and Qin Zhongtang parted ways. Looking at the back of the young man on the tall horse, Fang Sheren suddenly thought about Qin Zhongtang's deep meaning.
As one of the major places for imperial examinations, Suzhou Prefecture had a very powerful group of scholars, and Gu Dingchen was the leader of the "Suzhou Gang".
The purpose of Qin Zhongtang's active visit to the Gu Mansion to pay his respects must be to gain the hearts of Suzhou scholars and strengthen his own power base!
It is strange to say that the Suzhou Gang has not been very lucky in recent years. Except for Gu Dingchen, there are few Suzhou people among the cabinet ministers. At present, the most powerful people in the DPRK are from Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Henan.
But the scholars in Suzhou have a strong foundation after all. If there is no leader for a while, Qin Zhongtang seems to be able to recruit them. As long as political needs arise, Nanjing and Suzhou can also be from the same hometown!
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the truth should be like this. Fang You secretly sighed, it’s true that people can’t be judged by their appearance!
If someone says that Qin Zhongtang is immature, that is nonsense! How can an immature person have such long-term and far-reaching ideas?
When Gu Dingchen's obituary was delivered to Wuyi Palace and then transferred to Renshou Palace, it happened that Eunuch Qin, who had come to report on the work of the East Factory, took over.
Not daring to neglect this kind of news, Eunuch Qin hurried to the back hall. Under normal circumstances, Emperor Jiajing would practice immortality here every day.
From a distance, you can see a long row of exquisite boxes placed under the corridor, each box containing several pieces of silverware.
Emperor Jiajing was looking back and forth with interest, picking up one or two pieces of silverware to play with from time to time.
The two people behind Emperor Jiajing were Guo Xun, Marquis of Wuding, and Duan Chaoyong, an alchemist.
Eunuch Qin was also secretly surprised. Has Guo Xun returned to the emperor's sight again?
When Guo Xun was in his heyday, he was the number one military minister. A few years ago, Lord Guo was dismissed from his post due to an unwarranted blow from Qin Dewei and went home to retire. Unexpectedly, he was still struggling in isolation.
Of course, whether Guo Xun struggled or not had nothing to do with him, Eunuch Qin himself.
Eunuch Qin came over in a hurry, but now he was not in a hurry. He deliberately stood still not far away for a while to observe what was going on.
After Emperor Jiajing saw the silverware, Guo Xun reported to Emperor Jiajing: "I asked Gao Shi Duanchao to use it at home and test it in a secret room. It turned out that this man refined immortal silver using a secret method and made more than a hundred utensils.
"
Duan Chaoyong added: "If you use these silverware as eating utensils, you can achieve immortality; if you use them for fasting and rituals, you can achieve immortality! In addition, if you use the secret method to refine the silver, you can also sponsor your majesty's mystical cultivation!"
Immortality, gods, and wealthy patronage were the words that Emperor Jiajing loved to hear most and wanted to hear the most. Long Yan was immediately delighted.
He also said with great relief: "I have been praying to heaven for a year for longevity, and it has come true here."
Eunuch Qin roughly understood what was going on. Guo Xun recommended the alchemist Duan Chaoyong to Emperor Jiajing. Emperor Jiajing had a good impression of Duan Chaoyong, and then he was not so demanding about Guo Xun.
Then the Qin eunuch stopped watching, stepped forward, and said to Emperor Jiajing: "I just received the obituary. Mr. Gu has died at home."
Emperor Jiajing showed a look of regret on his face. Gu Dingchen was also a favorite, and he often showed ingenious flattery. It would be a pity to lose him like this.
Moreover, with the death of his favorite minister for many years, Emperor Jiajing's desire for immortality was touched again, and he subconsciously sighed softly.
Duan Chao used his observation skills and took the opportunity to say: "Your Majesty is the destined emperor. He is originally a fairy. If you don't see his spirit, why? He has had too many contacts with ordinary people.
Nowadays, all mortals have a lifespan and their bodies contain the energy of death. When Your Majesty comes into contact with ordinary people, he comes into contact with the energy of death. Therefore, it is difficult to cure the disease and it is difficult to seek immortality."
Emperor Jiajing was stunned and asked doubtfully: "So what?"
Duan Chaoyong continued: "Your Majesty lives in a deep palace, meditates in seclusion, and has no contact with outsiders. Then gold can be harvested and the elixir can be obtained!"
Emperor Jiajing frowned and thought, could it be that the lack of efficacious signs in his quest for immortality was due to what Duan Chaoyong said? If he really wanted to seek immortality, would he have to meditate alone and not be able to interact with others?
Thinking about the characters in mythology, it seems that they all have the experience of practicing in seclusion.
Eunuch Qin couldn't stand it anymore and coughed slightly to remind the emperor. The obituary of the great scholar Gu Dingchen was still waiting for a response. Emperor, you have to show a polite attitude!
Emperor Jiajing looked at Guo Xun, who had made outstanding contributions, and said: "From now on, you will also enter the Zhiwuyi Palace."
Guo Xun was overjoyed, this meant that Emperor Jiajing trusted him again!
Then Emperor Jiajing said to Duan Chaoyong: "I will give you the title of Zhongfu Xuanzhong Gaoshi, and I will give you a mansion and an alchemy room to refine the magic weapons with your heart!"
Finally, Emperor Jiajing turned to the Qin eunuch and "sent Qin Dewei to the Gu Mansion on my behalf to offer condolences and sacrifices!"
For Gu Dingchen, this standard is considered very high, and it can be called a death with mourning and honor.
Many times, to select an envoy, you only need to send an eighth-grade traveler from the Department of Travel. But this time, having a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering to serve as the envoy, the standards are really not low.
After finishing the matter, Emperor Jiajing began to think about the issue of praying for immortality again. One or two years is not a long time, so can he rest assured that he will be in seclusion?
Thinking of this, Emperor Jiajing issued another decree: "The relationship between cabinet ministers is very important and cannot be lacking for a day. The ministers of the cabinet department are ordered to collectively select candidates!"
The Qin eunuch was once again a little surprised. In the past ten years, after Emperor Jiajing came to power, all the ministers he appointed were basically arbitrary. It was rare to consult the courtiers in this way. What was the purpose of this?
Qin Dewei came out of Gu Mansion and returned to the middle hall of Wenyuan Pavilion. He had just sat down and before he had time to drink water, he saw a eunuch walking outside the door.
Generally, the presence of eunuchs in Wenyuan Pavilion represents the emperor's imperial edict. Qin Dewei did not dare to be rude and quickly got up to greet him.
After receiving the order, Qin Dewei was extremely speechless. He had just returned from Gu's Mansion, so he was going to run away again?
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
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