Because it was summer and the heat was unbearable, the customers in the hot pot restaurant quickly dispersed after dinner time.
The two came out of the private room on the second floor and went down the stairs to find that the lobby below was empty. They said goodbye to Lou Suzhen and Zhu Hao was about to go home.
Zhu Hao was secretly amused.
The sky is clear and the sun is bright, and someone actually wants to help him realize his dream, arrange a new home for him, and prepare for taking a concubine. Thinking about it, Zhu Hao feels that things are too mysterious. How did he come to this point?
After sending Lou Suzhen to the carriage and watching the carriage go away, Zhu Hao remembered Lou Suzhen's smile before.
Is this a matchmaker for him?
To put it bluntly, it sounds a bit like the old bustard, or the work done by the queen in the Water Margin.
"Why bother?"
Zhu Hao thought for a moment and realized that Lou Suzhen was right. Since she was a nice person, should she really send him away? It was better for such a stunning beauty to be included in his room. He couldn't take advantage of others in vain.
…
…
June passed.
Autumn seems to be far away, but it’s just a little cooler in the morning and evening, and it doesn’t seem so hot anymore.
Zhu Si's wedding is progressing very quickly, and it is about to enter the final step of selecting three people, but the candidates have not been finalized yet.
The marriage was completely managed by Queen Mother Zhang. She wanted to find a daughter-in-law whom she could control and stabilize her adopted son.
A son will move towards his own mother, and a daughter-in-law will always move closer to her, the real master of the harem, right? This future queen was chosen by her hand in hand, and she must listen to her, the real queen mother, no matter what!
Furthermore, if the queen and her concubines give birth to a prince, she, the queen mother, should take him and raise him.
It is a bit troublesome to get close to a son raised by someone else, but if he is a prince born in the palace, it will be much easier to win over him. To say the least, if the emperor is not to his liking and suddenly "dies suddenly" or something, there is no need to adopt another son.
Just help your grandson to the throne.
Zhu Si himself didn't have much idea about who should be the queen.
This is Zhu Si's private matter, and Zhu Hao is not allowed to mention it. Zhu Si and Zhang Zuo almost never mention anything about post-election matters in front of Zhu Hao.
Zhu Si did not leave the palace that day, but he sent a large number of memorials about the dispatch of military supplies in the northwest.
Zhu Hao started reviewing in the afternoon and continued until evening. There was still a mountain of memorials and accounts waiting for him to review. Zhang Zuo returned to the palace midway. When he came back, he brought Huang Jin and another Zhu Hao.
A young eunuch Hao had never seen before.
"Zhu'er, go and show Eunuch Zhang some tea."
Huang Jin ordered the little eunuch behind him.
The little eunuch had red lips and white teeth and ran all the way to find tea.
Zhu Hao heard the sound and looked up, wondering what Zhang Zuo and Huang Jin were doing.
Zhang Zuo is in his forties, and Huang Jinshang is only thirty. Is it necessary to train a young eunuch to serve as his right-hand man? Or is this a young eunuch whom Zhu Si specially asked to cultivate?
Not long after Zhang Zuo sat down, the young eunuch brought tea.
Zhang Zuo picked up the tea cup and took a sip, then asked Huang Jin to report to Zhu Hao a case that was being investigated by the Dongchang recently, which mainly involved the Xuanfu's money and food deficit.
Then Huang Jin withdrew. The young eunuch listened respectfully and then withdrew.
Zhu Hao frowned slightly, pointed in the direction of the door, and then winked at Zhang Zuo, meaning, what is going on?
"This little guy's name is Zhu'er. He is an inconspicuous little player in the palace, but he is very good at making troubles. He gradually wins His Majesty's favor. After the roll call, he will follow our family and work with Eunuch Huang."
Zhang Zuo was also helpless.
After all, the emperor is a child at heart. Anyone who pleases him will want to be promoted and reused in an unusual way to show his authority.
But the problem is, now the little eunuch who doesn't know the details is actually allowed to follow Zhang Zuo and Huang Jin out of the palace and come to see him?
Zhu Hao said: "Aren't you afraid... of revealing my identity?"
"Probably... not so. This little guy is currently serving in the ceremonial supervisor's study room... Mr. Zhu doesn't have to worry about him gossiping outside. He has been checked and has no background. Xiaomen
He was born in a small family, and his family was so poor that he was sent to the palace. In the past few years, he had no one to take care of him, and he was often hungry. Your Majesty also looked at him pitifully..."
Zhang Zuo's words still couldn't reassure Zhu Hao.
If he was really a little eunuch with no legs, how could he be seen by the emperor?
Do you even find him lovable?
As far as Zhu Hao could think, the power of personnel in the palace was basically in the hands of the Queen Mother Zhang. This little eunuch had nothing to do with the Queen Mother Zhang. It was a critical moment after the election. Maybe the Queen Mother Zhang wanted to place a chess piece next to the emperor?
Even if Empress Dowager Zhang didn't have that thought, the cunning old women and eunuchs around her would come up with suggestions, and even Yang Tinghe might take the initiative to offer suggestions.
Have to guard against it.
Zhang Zuodao: "Originally, the Ministry of Punishment wanted to seize Zhengde. Twelve years later, the late emperor spent a lot of money in the Xuan Mansion, which led to northwest self-examination. It was said that there was a major deficit. Jingcang has been auditing the accounts for more than a month, and there is no result yet...
"
"The new Minister of Punishment, Lin Shangshu, is running errands for Mr. Yang Ge. His Majesty asked several questions at the court meeting, but he answered incorrectly. Fortunately, Mr. Sun of the Ministry of Revenue helped to deal with it, and His Majesty did not lose face. So far, the Ministry of Punishment has not found anything.
Fame..."
Zhu Hao smiled and said, "Your Majesty seems to be very concerned about this matter?"
What Zhu Hao meant was that if Yang Tinghe wanted to investigate the Xuanfu's deficit, then let him check it. Xuanda was not the basic base of the Xinhuang system, so what if he found out something?
Zhang Zuo smiled bitterly and said: "Your Majesty can't even think about it or not. Among the northwest frontier armies, only the pool of water in Xuanfu can still be stirred up. If even the military power of Xuanfu is lost, then all the border troops will be out of your control."
.I heard that Li Shilang, the chief executive of the Trilateral Government, has been sending secret messages to the capital recently, but I don’t know where he has sent them... Dongchang has been involved in the investigation, and there is no result yet. I am afraid that someone has a connection with Yang Ge Lao Liancheng."
The Northwest Army will write a letter to the First Assistant University Scholar in Beijing?
It doesn't matter whether this matter is big or small.
Before Li Yue took office, he maintained an attitude of strictly maintaining neutrality and relying on neither side. However, after going to the northwest, he may have discovered that the military and political affairs in the northwest were firmly controlled by the civilian clique, especially the fact that many of Peng Ze, Minister of War, had many old troops on the three sides.
, it makes sense that Li Yue secretly communicated with Yang Tinghe in order to be able to do a good job, and also to get a chance to be promoted.
Although border generals had contacts with Beijing officials, this kind of thing was taboo in all dynasties, but it was forbidden repeatedly. Even Qi Jiguang, a famous anti-Japanese general, had to seek refuge with Zhang Juzheng in exchange for smooth leadership.
Zhang Zuo added: "Isn't this matter involving Nanhu Huang Butang? He is the leading financial management expert in this dynasty. Many officials secretly praise him, but he is disliked by Mr. Yang Ge... The Ministry of Punishment is investigating the Xuanfu's unclear intentions.
Take Huang Butang for surgery? The muddy water in this court is really too deep."
Zhang Zuo sighed.
How easy was it when you were a flattering eunuch in Prince Xing's Mansion? At most, you only needed to be in charge of the accounts, and there were only a few people who could engage in intrigues.
But now that he has reached the position of Chief Eunuch, Chief of Ceremonies, there are too many things involved in the court, the personnel are complex, and there are many factions. Just dealing with Yang Tinghe makes him feel that his brain is not enough. At the same time, it also makes him understand that he must assist the new emperor to consolidate his power.
, unable to do it with his ability, he can only rely on Zhu Hao.
This is also an important reason why Zhang Zuo never competes with Zhu Hao for favor.
If you know that you are not capable enough and still fight, you will be humiliating yourself, or you will fall out of favor.
"Mr. Zhu, our family knows the surface of many things but does not understand the inside. If there is anything I say that is wrong, please bear with me... Just ask Huang Butang, are you planning to let him enter the court to replace Sun Lai?
Location? If you have any ideas, you might as well tell us, we will keep it safe and won’t announce it to the outside world.”
Zhu Hao smiled and replied: "You have to find a suitable person to be the Minister of Nanhu, right? If Eunuch Zhang has any candidates who he thinks he can trust and entrust, you can tell him about it. Your Majesty and I will make a good reference. The imperial court involves ministerial levels."
The appointment and dismissal of personnel cannot be explained clearly in a few sentences, and the overall situation must be taken into consideration."
"ah."
Zhang Zuo smiled and nodded, "Okay."
…
…
As the chief eunuch and eunuch in charge of rituals, Zhang Zuo was extremely powerful.
But in the eyes of people in the Xinhuang system
, his ability is only that much, and everyone who knows the basics knows that he must listen to Zhu Hao when doing things.
But for outsiders...especially those officials in the court who strictly adhere to neutrality or those in Yang Tinghe's faction who want to protect themselves, they naturally want to curry favor with him.
Zhang Zuo, like Tang Yin, is a famous person.
Zhu Hao asked Tang Yin to ask the merchants for their opinions, that is, as a close minister of the new emperor, to inquire about the merchants' demands.
The people Zhang Zuo met and the things he heard were beyond the reach of officials at Zhu Hao's level.
To put it bluntly... As the internal minister, Zhang Zuo's position is too critical. Sometimes he will think about recruiting a group of his own people in the court, for example, those who are willing to give him gifts, or Zhang Zuo feels that this person can do things for him...
If Zhu Si listens to Zhu Hao in everything, and Yang Tinghe falls in the future, then Zhu Hao takes over the government and presides over the government, what sense of presence does Zhang Zuo still have in the government?
When the time comes for the two of them to fight, it will be boring.
Now Zhu Hao takes the initiative to show his kindness.
Eunuch Zhang, do you think there is someone you admire, or there is a young person in your family who wants to join the court as an official, or in the future, through your relationship, he wants to get a royal guard, a military position in the Duwei Mansion, etc. You can
Just mention it, if you have something to do, you can sit down and discuss it carefully. It doesn’t mean that I can arrange everything.
The emperor asked me for my opinion. We can discuss it privately and discuss the matter with the new emperor.
Zhu Hao expressed this meaning, and Zhang Zuo felt like he stood up instantly.
Not only does Your Majesty listen to me, but Mr. Zhu will also accept my opinions. Then I don’t need to think about how to fight Zhu Hao in the future. We should all work in harmony and assist the new emperor. Anyway, Zhu Hao will be his foreign minister from now on, and I will be
Even if my supervisor, the ceremonial supervisor, and the eunuch who hold the seal are not in conflict with each other, they still perform their duties, right?
In the dead of night, the memorial was finally reviewed, and Zhang Zuo packed up and prepared to return to the palace.
When Zhu Hao sent Zhang Zuo away, he made a special mention: "Has Your Majesty mentioned the Imperial Supervisor's errands to Eunuch Huang recently? In the next two years, the Imperial Supervisor may make a lot of purchases, involving huge funds; what I mean is
Let Eunuch Huang put aside his duties as the Admiral of the East Factory for the time being and let him concentrate on his work in the Imperial Supervisor. Next, we will strive to gain control of the Imperial Supervisor."
With Zhu Hao's previous words as a basis, Zhang Zuo didn't feel at all that Zhu Hao was squeezing out anyone among the internal officials.
Zhang Zuodao: "In the palace, there are mostly old eunuchs left by the late emperor. How to arrange it requires careful planning. I'd rather trouble Mr. Zhu to worry about it."
It means that you can make your own arrangements however you want. I don't have the ability and I won't interfere too much.