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Although Wang Baoren and Tang Zhen were a little more pompous when they appeared, which made Zhao Junchen a little dissatisfied, as always, Zhao Junchen did not come out, but stepped forward and took the initiative to greet Wang Baoren and Tang Zhen.

On the contrary, Su Changzhen was still standing in place, not paying much attention to Wang Baoren and Tang Zhen.

Coming to Wang Baoren and Tang Zhen, Zhao Junchen smiled and said, "The two seniors are Lord Wang Baoren and Lord Tang Zhen, right?" The junior Zhao Junchen has seen two seniors. ”

Seeing Zhao Junchen taking the initiative to greet him and having a humble attitude, a trace of surprise flashed in the eyes of Wang Baoren and Tang Zhen.

Then, Tang Zhen glanced at Wang Baoren unobtrusively, and signaled that Wang Baoren was the main player.

Such a scene fell into Zhao Junchen's eyes, but Zhao Junchen's eyes flashed with thought-it seemed that the relationship between Tang Zhen and Wang Baoren was closer than expected.

After looking at Zhao Junchen for a moment, Wang Baoren's old-fashioned and solemn old face actually squeezed out a smile, and he returned the salute: "It turned out to be Lord Zhao, I have heard your name for a long time, but unfortunately the old man has been away from the capital for many years, and he has never had the opportunity to return to Beijing, and it is not until today that we meet for the first time...... Well, when I saw it today, Lord Zhao was younger than the old man expected, and he really had a bright future. ”

And Tang Zhen also smiled and said, "Yes, I have also been friends with Lord Zhao for a long time, but I have never seen each other. However, Lord Zhao has been in charge of the household department in recent years, which can be described as a remarkable achievement, and I am the most clear as the secretary of the household department in Nanjing, but I am also sighing that it is not as good! Especially the Sichuan salt policy reform a few days ago. It was actually a big deal to introduce Jin merchants into Sichuan. Although it has not yet seen results, it will be a few years away. I'm going to give up half of the country to Sichuan Salt...... What's more, Lord Zhao is still so young, it is really the back waves of the Yangtze River pushing the front waves...... In comparison, idle old people like me and Wang Shangshu are far behind. ”

"The two seniors praised it falsely, how can the little achievements of the juniors be compared with the two seniors." In the face of Wang Baoren and Tang Zhen's ecstasy soup, as well as the edge hidden in the dark, Zhao Junchen became more and more humble, but in addition to humility, there was also a subtle counterattack: "The younger generation will accompany him to the south this time." But I have the intention of asking for advice and learning from the two seniors. ”

Wang Baoren didn't seem to be used to such hypocrisy and politeness, so he quickly restrained his smile and said, "Ask for advice...... There are opportunities in the future, so there is no need to rush. Now the most important thing is the arrival of His Majesty, Lord Zhao, I don't know when His Majesty will come to Xuzhou? ”

Zhao Junchen replied: "Governor Su and I took a fast boat to Xuzhou to inspect the preparations for the welcome here. But it must be coming soon. ”

Speaking of this, Zhao Junchen's eyes narrowed slightly, and he deliberately added a nonsense: "Well, Zhou Shoufu is now driving by His Majesty's side." When I came to Xuzhou, he was playing against His Majesty Xià Go, and I took a look before leaving. It's hard to solve, it's exciting. ”

Between the words, Zhao Junchen's expression seemed a little meaningful.

I've already said that. There are no more than two reasons for these dignitaries and dignitaries in Nanjing to be officials in Nanjing. Or they are old enough to retire in Nanjing, or they lose the party struggle and are excluded from the center of the temple, and Nanjing is their place of denunciation and exile!

Wang Baoren and Tang Zhen are only over 50 years old now, far from the age of retirement, and the reason why they are officials in Nanjing and have not been able to return to the capital for so many years is naturally because of the second reason - they lost the party struggle and were exiled here in disguise.

And the person who made them lose the party battle was also Zhou Shangjing, the first assistant of the dynasty!

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Zhou Shangjing, the first assistant of the current cabinet, a miracle that has stood in the court for more than 30 years, and the biggest minister in the Ming Dynasty for hundreds of years!

For all the ambitious officials in the DPRK, Zhou Shangjing is their ultimate goal, over the years, I don't know how many prominent, powerful and prominent ministers have launched an impact on Zhou Shangjing's position, these ministers are either deep in the city, or resourceful, or decisive and resolute, all of them are outstanding for a while, but they are also defeated under Zhou Shangjing, between the changes of the situation, Zhou Shangjing's political enemies one after another, up and down, I don't know how much has changed, but Zhou Shangjing's power is more and more stable and far-reaching.

Now, Wang Baoren and Tang Zhen, who are standing in front of Zhao Junchen, are also one of Zhou Shangjing's former defeated generals.

Zhao Junchen suddenly mentioned Zhou Shangjing at this time, naturally he was uneasy and kind.

Sure enough, after hearing that Zhou Shangjing was about to appear, Wang Baoren's expression changed slightly, and then his expression became much gloomy, and his eyes flickered, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

On the other side, Tang Zhen also smiled slightly and stared, but then he glanced at Zhao Junchen, and added some caution in his eyes, as if he had guessed Zhao Junchen's plan, but although he guessed, he still couldn't control the change in his mood.

They were defeated by Zhou Shangjing in the party struggle back then, and were exiled to Nanjing for many years, and now they naturally still have some psychological shadows, and after hearing the news of Zhou Shangjing, it is inevitable that there will be some emotional fluctuations.

However, both of them are veterans of the ups and downs of the sea for many years, and they have honed their minds by lurking in Nanjing for many years, so they quickly controlled their respective emotional fluctuations, and their expressions returned to normal.

Wang Baoren looked solemn, with some rigidity, and looked north along the Grand Canal, and said slowly: "Really? The old man has not seen Zhou Shoufu for ten years, when the old man was only forty-three years old, he was already in the cabinet, becoming the youngest cabinet old man at that time, it was the most proud time in life, but he was too proud, and he lost his caution, so people grabbed the handle and was driven to Nanjing to serve as the secretary of the ministry...... Hehe, it's been ten years, and for the court officials, this decade should be the most glorious decade, but the old man was trapped in Nanjing to waste his time, and today, his energy and body are not as good as before, and it may be difficult to make a difference......"

Tang Zhen also smiled and said: "Yes, I am the same, when His Majesty intended to let me enter the cabinet to become a cabinet elder, but before it became a fact, I suddenly appeared on many charges, and I was impeached in public by more than 20 imperial historians in the early dynasty...... It's just that I don't know if Zhou Shoufu still remembers me, speaking of which, I learned a lot from Zhou Shoufu, but I don't know if these things still have a chance to be displayed. ”

Between the two of them, they seemed to be talking, and they seemed to be muttering to themselves, their expressions seemed to be flat, and they seemed to contain a little perseverance.

Seeing the appearance of Wang Baoren and Tang Zhen, Zhao Junchen couldn't help but secretly admire in his heart.

Although Zhao Junchen does not know how much of Wang Baoren and Tang Zhen's appearance at this time is sincere and how much is disguised, it is obvious that after many years of dormant in Nanjing, Wang Baoren and Tang Zhen still have not lost their original ambitions and aspirations.

Based on this alone, they are much stronger than the two pavilion elders Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao today.

Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao, these two people, under the repeated suppression of Zhou Shangjing over the years, have already lost their initial confidence, although they will fight with Zhou Shangjing from time to time, but it is just a routine, most of the time, they are just played by Zhou Shangjing, but they dare not really resist, Zhou Shangjing took a step forward, they took a step back, self-protection is the limit, and they have never seriously resisted.

According to Zhao Junchen's conjecture, the reason why Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao were able to keep the position of the elder of the pavilion was not because of how powerful their methods were, but because Zhou Shangjing did not kill them all, and kept them as "political enemies" to avoid the formation of a situation in which the court was dominant, otherwise it would cause further suspicion of Emperor Deqing!

Therefore, in a way, the fact that Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao can have today's power shows that they are "harmless", otherwise Zhou Shangjing would not have kept them - and the political enemies who could really threaten Zhou Shangjing had already been driven out of the imperial court by Zhou Shangjing, or exiled to Nanjing.

For example, Wang Baoren and Tang Zhen are like this.

It can be said that compared with Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao, Wang Baoren and Tang Zhen and others are much more powerful in terms of resourcefulness, city government, means, etc., and although Nanjing's power and status are not as good as Beijing's, it is the land of the hidden dragon and the crouching tiger!

It is precisely because he understands this that Zhao Junchen suddenly mentioned Zhou Shangjing's existence, which is to divert the eyes of Wang Baoren and Tang Zhen, so that they can focus on Zhou Shangjing, while Zhao Junchen took the opportunity to hide in the dark and plot, observe the reality of both sides, and finally make a profit!

Moreover, Zhao Junchen is not afraid that Wang Baoren and Tang Zhen will not take the bait - if Wang Baoren and Tang Zhen do not take the bait, it means that they have lost their original ambitions and ambitions, and they are just mediocre people, which is a good thing for Zhao Junchen.

"It seems that during my stay in Nanzhili this time, there will definitely be a good show, but I don't know if I have any fish to touch after the water is muddy!"

In a way, politicians are always afraid that the world will not be chaotic.

Between thoughts, looking at Wang Baoren and Tang Zhen's true and false feelings, Zhao Junchen smiled and said: "Your Majesty's southern tour will stay in Nanzhili for a long time, and I think the two seniors will have a lot of time to catch up with Zhou Shoufu." ”

"Really? Then I'm relieved. After Wang Baoren glanced at Zhao Junchen, his expression became more and more indifferent and calm, and he said slowly: "To be honest, over the years, the old man has really missed Zhou Shoufu. ”

"Yes, I haven't heard Zhou Shoufu's teachings for many days, but I don't know if Zhou Shoufu's realm is getting higher and higher." Tang Zhen laughed, but turned his attention to Zhao Junchen again, and said: "However, if I have time, I also want to discuss the matter of Sichuan salt reform with Lord Zhao. ”

Zhao Junchen smiled and didn't answer, but with the responses of Wang Baoren and Tang Zhen, he already had a little understanding of the current mentality and style of the two.

And at this moment, suddenly a sharp-eyed Nanzhili official pointed to the north of the canal and shouted: "Look, everyone, the southern patrol fleet has arrived!" The Southern Patrol has arrived! ”

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…… (To be continued......) I1292