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"Oh? Zhou Shoufu has another performance today, which is rare...... What else, say it! ”

After being calculated by Zhou Shangjing once, Emperor Deqing's tone was quite calm at this time, but his face became more and more gloomy, and his eyes were fierce and full of warning.

"I just thought about the overall situation, and I have deliberately put up with you once, but if you dare to make an inch again, don't blame me for turning my face unceremoniously!" - Although Emperor Deqing didn't say it explicitly, this is what his eyes mean at this time.

It's a pity that Zhou Shangjing kept hanging his head, guarding his respectful attitude as a courtier, and didn't see Emperor Deqing's eye warning.

However, Zhou Shangjing has been fighting with Emperor Deqing for so many years, and with his experience and wisdom, he naturally understands where Emperor Deqing's bottom line is, and he also knows the truth of accepting it when he sees it - as it should be.

Therefore, Zhou Shangjing was very interesting this time, and finally talked about the main topic of today's court meeting.

"Your Majesty, as far as the old minister knows, since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince went out of Beijing to investigate the chaos of the various feudal domains, there have been repeated conflicts with various clans, and there have been constant impeachments between each other, and a few days ago the Luoyang government was forced to put the Fuwang Mansion under house arrest.

Emperor Deqing's expression softened slightly, and he nodded and asked, "What Zhou Shoufu said is reasonable, this matter really can't be delayed any longer...... It's just that after watching the impeachment of the crown prince and the vassal kings, I think that what they say makes sense, and it is difficult to decide for a while! Zhou Shoufu, you are an old minister, but I don't know what you think is right and wrong in this matter? And what to do? ”

Zhou Shangjing's expression was very hesitant: "This ...... This matter involves the contradiction between the prince and the clan, and the old minister does not dare to say anything. ”

Emperor Deqing said slowly: "Since you say 'don't dare to speak', it means that you already have an idea in your heart?" Let's say, we have been together for many years, with your current qualifications and status, why do you need to look ahead and look backwards. ”

Hearing Emperor Deqing's urging, Zhou Shangjing finally put on a determined look: "The old minister thinks that Your Majesty, your idea is completely right, and the mutual impeachment between His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the vassal kings of various places during this period is reasonable!" It is true that the princes impeached the princes for violating discipline and oppressing the people, and it is not false for the princes to impeach the prince for suppressing the clan and fabricating charges, so both sides are at fault! They should all be severely punished and set an example! ”

As Zhou Shangjing's words fell, the officials of the Manchu Dynasty were suddenly in an uproar.

For the hundred officials, the mutual impeachment between the crown prince Zhu and Yu and the feudal kings of various places during this period of time is undoubtedly a very serious issue of choosing a side, and it is necessary to be cautious and bet on the winning side.

But unlike Zhao Junchen, the officials did not know the true thoughts of Emperor Deqing, nor could they guess the bias of Emperor Deqing's position - Emperor Deqing's intention to replace the prince had long been known to passers-by, but his dissatisfaction with the vassal kings was also an open secret.

Especially when Emperor Deqing summoned all the important ministers in the imperial study a few days ago, his attitude was very contradictory, one moment was to reprimand the crown prince Zhu and Yu for disturbing the political situation, and the other time was to scold the vassal kings for ignoring the court, and he couldn't see his true thoughts at all.

In this case, the officials are all cautious and dare not easily express their stance - otherwise, if the statement is wrong, it will not only attract the displeasure of Emperor Deqing, but also completely offend the prince and one of the clans.

When they went to court today, many officials who claimed to be shrewd had already secretly made up their minds and would only express some ambiguous opinions, and neither side would be offended.

Who would have thought that Zhou Shangjing once again did the opposite, not only did he not go right and left, and both sides were not offended, but he publicly stated that both the prince and the vassal king were at fault and should be punished.

In the eyes of hundreds of officials, Zhou Shangjing's approach is undoubtedly to offend both the prince and the vassal king at the same time, no matter which side wins this lawsuit in the end, he will hate Zhou Shangjing, although Zhou Shangjing is a powerful minister of the government and the opposition, but I am afraid that there will be some trouble afterwards.

Even Zhou Shangjing's henchmen and friends didn't expect Zhou Shangjing to make such a statement, and they were a little at a loss for a while.

But when the officials were shocked by Zhou Shangjing's "reckless" performance, Zhao Junchen had some admiration in his heart.

Zhao Junchen knew very well that Zhou Shangjing's statement completely catered to Emperor Deqing's true thoughts at this time, that is, to punish both the prince and the vassal king at the same time, and take the opportunity to achieve the dual goal of replacing the prince and suppressing the clan!

Therefore, when Emperor Deqing summoned all the important ministers in the imperial study to talk about this matter, he would have such a contradictory attitude, that is, he hoped that the elders and scholars would understand and choose their own sides, so that some ministers would choose to support the clan to attack the prince, and the other part of the ministers would choose to support the prince to attack the clan, and then Emperor Deqing would be able to push the boat and kill two birds with one stone.

And Emperor Deqing's thoughts, only Zhao Junchen and Zhou Shangjing guessed it in the Manchu Dynasty.

But the reason why Zhao Junchen could guess Emperor Deqing's mind was entirely because Emperor Deqing hoped that Zhao Junchen would cooperate, so he took the initiative to leak some of the foundations, but Zhou Shangjing was able to deduce that Emperor Deqing's true thoughts were completely based on his deep understanding of Emperor Deqing and the situation in the temple, and I have to say that Jiang is still old and spicy.

However, Zhao Junchen secretly admired Zhou Shangjing's old and spicy vision, but he faintly felt that there was something wrong with this matter, combined with Zhou Shangjing's previous deliberate calculation and anger to Emperor Deqing, Zhao Junchen only felt that Zhou Shangjing was not just deliberately pandering to Emperor Deqing so simple.

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On the other hand, after Emperor Deqing heard Zhou Shangjing's statement, his mood was very complicated, and while he was secretly satisfied, the secret anger in his heart also grew.

This is because Emperor Deqing found that Zhou Shangjing once again guessed his true thoughts.

Moreover, Emperor Deqing also understood that the reason why Zhou Shangjing chose to cater to his mind now was entirely because he had calculated himself once just now, so he wanted to mend the relationship between their monarchs and ministers with this statement.

In fact, this is also Zhou Shangjing's usual method of dealing with Emperor Deqing, every time he secretly calculates Emperor Deqing once, he will show his indispensable and old side of seeking the country in time, and assist Emperor Deqing to do another more important thing.

It is precisely because of this that Emperor Deqing's perception of Zhou Shangjing is very complicated, on the one hand, he thinks that Zhou Shangjing is indispensable, and some things must be handed over to Zhou Shangjing to be at ease, on the other hand, he can't help but hate in his heart, and he doesn't like Zhou Shangjing anyway.

This method of "beating a stick to a sweet date" should obviously be the emperor's method of beating his courtiers, not the strategy of the courtiers to deal with the emperor, Zhou Shangjing used such a means to deal with Emperor Deqing, which was simply a wordless humiliation for Emperor Deqing.

It's just that when Zhou Shangjing used such methods to deal with Emperor Deqing in the past, he was always very obscure, and it was not as unconcealed as today, and the officials may not have noticed any signs, but with Emperor Deqing's imperial mind, he naturally saw through it at a glance at this time.

Forcibly suppressing the complicated emotions in his heart, Emperor Deqing asked again: "Zhou Shoufu dared to speak, but he actually thought that both the crown prince and the vassal king should be punished...... So, how do you think both of them should be punished? ”

Emperor Deqing's tone was still calm, and Zhou Shangjing was still hanging his head, but with Zhou Shangjing's understanding of Emperor Deqing, he could roughly guess Emperor Deqing's mentality at this time - of course he understood that he chose to deliberately cater to Emperor Deqing at this time, which would only make Emperor Deqing feel humiliated, and the anger in his heart was almost to the limit.

In normal times, Emperor Deqing may choose to forbear and focus on the overall situation, but Emperor Deqing has been in a very bad mood these days because of the lawsuit between the prince and the vassal king, and he was taken advantage of by Zhou Shangjing to calculate just now, and at this time he noticed Zhou Shangjing's scheming calculations, but he was afraid that he would not be able to control and make some impulsive decisions.

Zhou Shangjing knows very well that what he is doing now is to walk a tightrope, and if he is not careful, Emperor Deqing will completely tear his face and lift the table, and no one will be able to bear it at that time, but he has a reason to do so.

So, after hearing Emperor Deqing's inquiry, Zhou Shangjing once again expressed his opinion.

"Your Majesty, after the old minister has seen the impeachment between the prince and the vassal king, he found that in the impeachment of His Royal Highness the prince, the crime of King Fu is the most serious, and the evidence of the crime is also the most complete!

At the same time, most of the clans in various places impeached His Royal Highness the Prince, and most of them followed King Fu's voice, obviously King Fu has now become the head of all the vassal kings, and there are also signs of collusion with various clans, which is obviously a serious violation of the imperial court discipline!

Therefore, no matter what, Your Majesty, you must severely punish the Fu Wang lineage, and you must not spare it lightly!

Then, from King Fu, it was found out that those clans that were in tandem with him were also severely punished, killing chickens and monkeys, and setting an example! ”

Hearing Zhou Shangjing's suggestion, Emperor Deqing nodded slightly, thinking that Zhou Shangjing's statement was roughly consistent with his own thoughts.

Then, Zhou Shangjing continued: "But the clans in various places are the foundation of our dynasty, and they cannot be shaken at will, and if they are too widely involved, they can't be too tough!" Moreover, now the clans around the country have rebounded, in addition to the reason why King Fu secretly connected with him, it is also because His Royal Highness the Prince's methods are too intense, and there are already deep contradictions between the clans in various places, and the clans everywhere think that the prince deliberately oppresses them, and they are all dissatisfied with the prince's investigation and judgment......

Therefore, if you want to continue to investigate King Fu and the clans in various places, you can no longer let His Royal Highness the Crown Prince be responsible, and the minister thinks that Your Majesty should send a decree to reprimand His Royal Highness the Prince, and recall His Royal Highness the Crown Prince back to the capital, so as to appease the hearts of the clan a little! But at the same time, we must choose another candidate who is acceptable to everyone and continue to investigate the chaos of the clans in various places!

Lao Chen believes that His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince has a good reputation and can convince the public, and he has always been out of the way and has no interests in the past, but now that his body has recovered, he is the best candidate! ”

As Zhou Shangjing's words fell, Emperor Deqing's face couldn't help but change slightly, and the officials were in an uproar again!

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