……

……

Obviously, Li Chengru was deliberately waiting for Zhao Junchen.

But perhaps because of the hesitation in his heart, Li Chengru looked at Zhao Junchen from a distance, but he didn't move.

Zhao Junchen has always cared about his face, and at this time, he was naturally smiling and took the initiative to greet him - as long as he pinched Li Chengru this time, he would naturally have a lot of opportunities to establish his prestige again in the future, but at this time, he had to deliberately put down his body and try to reduce Li Chengru's resistance in his heart.

Zhao Junchen walked quickly to Li Chengru, and said with a smile: "Why didn't the old boss get together with the Qinglius, or go to the household yamen to take office?" Why are you waiting for me here? Oops, let the old boss wait for a long time, forgive me! ”

Li Chengru's expression stiffened, and instead of answering, he asked, "I was really waiting for you, I just wanted to ask you something...... I heard that you and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince have turned enemies into friends? I was appointed by His Majesty as the head of the household, is it really your idea and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? ”

Zhao Junchen nodded and said: "Indeed, I have joined forces with His Royal Highness the Prince, this matter is already known to everyone, and the old boss was able to reinstate the head of the household, and it was all recommended by His Royal Highness the Prince, otherwise why would I deliberately give up this favor?" These two things, naturally, will not be fake! ”

Li Chengru hesitated: "But ...... Why didn't His Royal Highness the Crown Prince mention this matter to me directly? ”

Zhao Junchen sighed and said, "The old boss was born in Qingliu, so he naturally understands the changes in Qingliu's position during this time!" Since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was snubbed and suppressed by His Majesty, the Qingliu people gradually began to favor His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince, and after His Royal Highness the Crown Prince turned enemies into friends with me, the Qingliu people completely abandoned His Royal Highness the Prince......

Ha! In my opinion, the Qingliu people have long had the intention of completely abandoning His Royal Highness the Prince, and after receiving the news that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has joined forces with me, they must have breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts, right? Because they can finally change their doors in a bright way! Whether there is such a thing or not, Qingliu will eventually abandon His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and this matter just allows them to find a grandiose reason!

Hehe, as the so-called good birds choose trees to perch, and gentlemen do not stand under dangerous walls! Qingliu is obviously a good bird and a gentleman, so naturally they disdain people like me to join the stream! ”

Hearing Zhao Junchen's ridicule, Li Chengru's expression was a little embarrassed.

On the other side, Zhao Junchen put on an expression full of emotion, and sighed: "His Royal Highness the Prince, when he recommended you as the head of the household department this time, he did not have mixed personal thoughts, nor did he expect anything in return, everything was out of consideration for the overall situation, His Royal Highness the prince thought from the bottom of his heart that you were the best candidate for the new head of the household department!"

As for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, why didn't he directly inform you of this matter, he should also be worried that you would be in a dilemma, right? If you still choose to continue to support His Royal Highness the Crown Prince because of His Royal Highness the Prince's recommendation, you will inevitably gradually distance yourself from the Qinglius, but if you get His Royal Highness the Prince's recommendation and quickly abandon His Royal Highness the Crown Prince like the Qinglius, you will also have a disturbed conscience! Therefore, in order not to let you be in a dilemma, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince simply did not inform you of this matter.

However, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is a real gentleman, and he does not ask for anything in return out of a public heart, but I am not, so I will clearly inform you of this matter, at least I can't let His Royal Highness the Prince's mind go down the drain! ”

After hearing this, Li Chengru was both moved and scrupled in his heart, and his expression was uncertain.

In fact, Li Chengru is indeed in a dilemma now!

From the perspective of his inner thoughts, Li Chengru also wants to be the same as the Qingliu "gentlemen do not stand under the wall", the reputation of the seventh prince Zhu Hejian is not inferior to that of the crown prince Zhu Heyu, and it is also a good choice to take refuge in the past, and he can also maintain a relationship with the Qinglius.

However, if Li Chengru became the head of the household because of the prince Zhu Heyu, he changed his court and abandoned the prince Zhu Heyu in a blink of an eye, and his officialdom reputation would be completely ruined, who would dare to reuse Li Chengru in the future? Even if Li Chengru took refuge in Zhu Hejian, the seventh prince, I am afraid that Zhu Hejian will look down on Li Chengru in his heart and secretly guard against one or two.

In comparison, a little guilt is nothing.

Just like Zhao Junchen said, the Qingliu people can simply abandon the crown prince Zhu Heyu because they found a grand reason, but Li Chengru became the head of the household because of the recommendation of Zhu Heyu and Zhao Junchen, but it is not suitable to use this reason.

Under the contradiction in his mood, Li Chengru secretly thought: "If the crown prince Zhu Heyu's position as the prince is still stable, I am naturally unwilling to abandon him...... But sooner or later, he will be deposed, and my career will have another twist and turn...... But if I abandon the prince directly like this, I'm afraid that no one will dare to use me in the future, which is really a dilemma......"

Seeing Li Chengru's expression change, Zhao Junchen naturally understood Li Chengru's hesitation.

So, Zhao Junchen said again: "The world is always unpredictable, His Royal Highness the Prince's current situation is indeed not good, but who dares to protect him from being deposed in the future?" You must know that just half a year ago, His Royal Highness the Prince's position as the prince was still extremely stable!

The Sacred Heart is unpredictable, who knows if Your Majesty will change his mind again? Now His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has been entrusted with the important task of investigating the violations of discipline and government by the vassal kings in various places, although this matter is extremely tricky, but if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince handles it properly, it will naturally turn the situation around......

I also understand the contradiction in the old boss's heart, but if the old boss really can't make up your mind, why not wait for a while to see the change in the direction of the wind? In my opinion, the best choice for you, old boss, at the moment is to continue to support His Royal Highness the Crown Prince! If Your Majesty changes his mind in the future, and His Royal Highness the Prince's position is stable again, then the old boss will have the skill of sending charcoal from the dragon, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will naturally miss your friendship! If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is really deposed, if you change the court at that time, no one will say anything, you are just a little later than other Qingliu to take refuge in the Seventh Prince, as long as you are still the head of the household, who would dare to despise you?

Of course, the old boss probably also cared about the cooperation between His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and me, thinking that I was not the same person as the old boss, which would affect his evaluation of the government and the opposition...... But to be honest, these situations are all old Huang Li, since I led the imperial border army to annihilate the Mongol coalition army, and assisted the imperial court to send troops to recover the Hetao area, my evaluation of the government and the opposition has been reversed, and in the future under the history of the pen, who dares to say that it is a shame for the old boss to cooperate with me? ”

Between the words, Zhao Junchen's speed of speech was unhurried, but he was long and talking, obviously trying to take advantage of Li Chengru's hesitation to persuade him in one fell swoop.

In the end, it did pay off.

After listening to Zhao Junchen's persuasion, Li Chengru's expression finally became a little firmer, obviously making up his mind.

I saw Li Chengru looking up at Zhao Junchen, and said slowly: "After the early dynasty just now, Cheng Ge Lao and they invited me to get together, and wanted me to join them in His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince, but I hadn't made up my mind at that time, so I refused them, Cheng Ge Lao and they were very unhappy, so they waved their sleeves on the spot...... Alas, when I think about it this way, I didn't have much choice in the first place!

So far, I have been recommended by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince as the head of the household, and I will naturally serve His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in the future! Since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince chose to cooperate with Zhao Gechen, then in the future, as long as Zhao Gechen does not violate my bottom line of principles, I am also willing to cooperate with Zhao Gechen to a certain extent to deal with household affairs, but I want to make it clear in advance that the person I am loyal to is His Royal Highness the Prince, not you Zhao Gechen! ”

Hearing Li Chengru's words, Zhao Junchen only felt that he couldn't cry or laugh.

On the one hand, he stated that he would cooperate with Zhao Junchen to do things, and on the other hand, he emphasized that the person he served was Zhu Heyu and not Zhao Junchen, what is this? The Ming Dynasty version of "descending Han but not Cao"?

In the final analysis, I just want a torii!

It's just an archway, Zhao Junchen is naturally willing to give it to him!

Zhao Junchen has never lacked the means of "boiling frogs in warm water", as long as Li Chengru expresses his willingness to cooperate with Zhao Junchen, then sooner or later he will completely lose his autonomy and can only obey Zhao Junchen's orders.

So, Zhao Junchen suppressed the sarcasm in his heart, still welcomed with a smile, and said: "This is natural, I have a cooperative relationship with His Royal Highness the Prince, if I encounter something in the future, I will naturally discuss it with the old boss, I will never force it, and I will never regard the old boss as a subordinate, and when His Royal Highness the Crown Prince returns to the capital, the old boss will no longer have to take care of me, just obey His Royal Highness the Prince!" ”

Li Chengru's expression softened slightly, and he nodded, "That's good!" ”

Zhao Junchen invited again: "According to His Majesty's will, the two of us need to go to the Yamen of the Household Department as soon as possible to sit in town and deal with the affairs of Caoyun, and the old boss will go with me, how about it?" ”

Li Chengru hesitated slightly, nodded again, and said, "It's okay!" ”

In this way, Zhao Junchen and Li Chengru took a sedan chair together and went to the Yamen of the household department.

With Li Chengru's expression of support, Zhao Junchen has become more and more confident in his heart, and he is about to set off a purge campaign in the household yamen!

The household department is Zhao Junchen's taboo, and no one else can interfere, it was like this in the past, and it will be the same in the future!

*

At the same time that Zhao Junchen persuaded Li Chengru, the seventh prince Zhu Hejian was furious in the study!

"What? After Li Chengru was appointed by his father as the head of the household, Cheng Yuandao wanted to force Li Chengru to immediately express his support for me? Just because Li Chengru didn't immediately express his attitude, Cheng Yuandao and they just waved their sleeves away? Darn! These clear streams are really not enough to succeed and more than to lose!

Cheng Yuandao himself is also from a Qingliu background, don't they know what kind of character these people are? The clear streams belong to donkeys! You can only touch it along the hair! As long as you deliberately compliment them and say some high-sounding and obedient words, it is easy to fiddle with their minds! But if you force them to choose, and don't give them face and room at all, it will only provoke their toughness, and in the end it will be counterproductive! Cheng Yuandao They did this, it was simply forcing Li Chengru to throw himself into the crown prince and Zhao Junchen!

With Zhao Junchen's means, now I am afraid that Li Chengru has been subdued! It's a pity, it's a pity! If I can receive the news in time and bring Li Chengru under my door, I will have one more Shangshu to support me in the future, and I can also insert a nail in the household department to check and balance Zhao Junchen's financial power...... Now, because of Cheng Yuandao's nonsense, they missed a great opportunity! ”

Seeing Zhu Hejian's anger, Jia Lun coldly persuaded: "It's also that Zhao Junchen's approach is too unexpected, we didn't expect him to recommend Li Chengru to be the head of the household, when we received the news, it was already too late!" However, there may be a turning point in this matter, as long as His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince personally comes forward to recruit Li Chengru, Li Chengru may not change his mind. ”

After Zhu Hejian calmed down and pondered for a moment, he snorted lightly: "It's too late!" I'm not an official prince yet, so at this time, I can only let people take the initiative to take refuge, but I can't come forward to recruit friends by myself, otherwise it will affect the evaluation! This time, not only can I not directly recruit Li Chengru, but after Li Chengru expresses his support for the prince, I will also send a letter to praise him, saying that I have no intention of competing with the prince, and I also appreciate his loyalty! All in all, we must not stiffen the relationship, we must leave Li Chengru a room for hope, and it will be easy to take him for my own use when I find a suitable opportunity in the future, or after I officially become the prince! ”

After Jia Lun agreed, Zhu Hejian said again: "Also, you personally go and warn those eunuchs in the imperial study, and tell them that no matter what news they receive in the future, they must inform me as soon as possible, some news they think is useless, but in fact it is crucial!" Like Li Chengru's situation this time, it must not happen again! ”

"Yes!" After receiving the order, Jia Lun seemed to think of something, and said: "By the way, when it comes to the imperial study, there are rumors in the inner court that Your Majesty admires Li Ru'an, the Shaanxi-Gansu prison army, and the position of the eunuch in charge of the imperial study has been vacant, just for him to keep it deliberately, and he will take office after Li Ru'an returns to Beijing!" This Li Ru'an is not our person, he suddenly appeared, and I don't know the details, if he becomes the chief eunuch of the imperial study, it will be difficult for us to find out the news of His Majesty from the imperial study in the future, and we must take precautions. ”

Zhu Hejian pondered for a moment and ordered: "Find out the details of this Li Ru'an as soon as possible, if the origin is innocent, find a way to collect it for your own use!" …… I'm fit to come forward in person."

"Understood, I'll do it!"

*

At the same time, Zhao Junchen and Li Chengru had arrived at the Hubu Yamen together.

Headed by Hong Zhengshuo and Ma Sen, all the household officials went out of the door of the household department to greet each other, and their attitudes could be described as trembling and full of awe.

There is a saying in the officialdom that "the current official is not as good as the current management", and now Li Chengru is the current head of the household department, and Zhao Junchen is only a temporary cabinet minister, but the awe in the hearts of the household officials is completely because of Zhao Junchen!

Li Chengru can be described as an old puppet, when Zhao Junchen was still a household servant, he could be completely elevated, and now Zhao Junchen is an old man, Li Chengru can become the head of the household department is all because of Zhao Junchen, this household yamen is afraid that Zhao Junchen has the final say!

The door and door in this, the household officials naturally understand it in their hearts.

What's more, everyone still remembers the scene of Zhao Junchen's last time when he was in charge of the household department, "fell ill and fell into a coma on the spot", and in the end, the household officials all took responsibility, not to mention, but also attracted the hostility of hundreds of officials because of the three strategies for raising food, which can be described as miserable.

In fact, the trembling of the household officials is not wrong, Zhao Junchen came to the household yamen this time to find fault!

Under the grand welcome of everyone in the household, Zhao Junchen had a cold face, not at all like the kind appearance he had when he persuaded Li Chengru just now, but he completely ignored the greetings of everyone in the household department, and walked directly into the household yamen.

Seeing Zhao Junchen's sudden change of face, Li Chengru only felt uncomfortable.

What made Li Chengru feel even more embarrassed was that when he saw Zhao Junchen's cold face, he couldn't help but feel awe - this is also a matter of course, after Zhao Junchen experienced battlefield killing, he can no longer be regarded as an ordinary civil servant, when he deliberately shows his might, it is completely different from the deliberate swagger of the court ministers on weekdays.

However, Li Chengru had already promised to cooperate with Zhao Junchen, so at this time, he had to endure the discomfort in his heart, and also entered the household yamen with Zhao Junchen with a cold face.

When the household officials saw such a scene, they became more and more uneasy after looking at each other, and hurriedly followed behind the two.

Entering the lobby of the household department, Zhao Junchen sat directly on the main seat, waved his hand to stop the people in the household department from saluting and greeting, and directly reprimanded: "You and other people in the household department are really not angry!" This pavilion has just found a plan for you to prepare for the front-line war logistics, and you are helpless again in the blink of an eye because of the matter of Cao Yun! The household department is in charge of the court's money and grain, which is the most important part, if you are repeatedly helpless, you only know how to ask for help from the cabinet and borrow money from Your Majesty, what use does the court have to support you! ”

Under some reprimand, all the household officials were discouraged and did not dare to speak out.

Of course, those officials who were born in the "Zhao Party" all had the same posture on the surface at this moment, but their hearts were full of schadenfreude.

They didn't dare to speak out, but Zhao Junchen wouldn't let them go.

Zhao Junchen directly called the name of Hong Zhengshuo, the left waiter of the household department, and asked coldly: "Hong Shilang, the household department is now headed by you, then I will ask you!" The Ministry of Industry needs to urgently dredge the Cao Canal Road, how much silver is needed in total? And how to distribute it? How much money can the household department take out at the moment? How much did the first silver cost? How much silver is there left? ”

Whether in officialdom or in the workplace, there is a law.

That is, when a boss is inspecting a certain department, if he has good intentions, he will ask some general questions, such as "what difficulties have you encountered", "what achievements have you made", "what are your plans and goals for the future", etc., which are easy to answer and not easy to make mistakes.

But if he is deliberately finding faults, he will ask for some specific numbers, just like Zhao Junchen is now!

After all, no one can remember all the statistics, not to mention that they change frequently, and it's easy to find fault! If you answer ten, the deliberately provocative boss will say that the number "ten" is too much or too little, in short, you are not doing well, you are not capable, and you deserve to be scolded and trained.

Hong Zhengshuo is also a veteran of officialdom, so he naturally understands Zhao Junchen's thoughts, but the official level crushes people to death, and Zhao Junchen's official position is one level higher than him? Therefore, Hong Zhengshuo could only reply at this time: "If you go back to Zhao Gechen, the household department still has about 200,000 taels of silver, but the silver deposit has bottomed out, so it can't be used for river work, and at most 100,000 taels of silver can be taken out!" The Ministry of Industry needs about 800,000 taels of silver to dredge the Cao Yun, of which about 60 percent will be distributed to the Yamen along the Cao Yun, and the Ministry of Industry and the Cao Yun Yamen are each divided into 20 percent, and there is still a gap of about 600,000 taels of silver, and the first batch of silver needs to be invested at least 200,000 taels, but the follow-up silver must also be taken out within 20 days. ”

Zhao Junchen's expression became more and more dissatisfied, and he sneered: "This pavilion asks you for specific numbers, and what is your answer?" Around? Probably? Most? About? Here you can send tens of thousands of taels of silver from the outside! The situation of the household department is so difficult, it should be carefully calculated, how can it be fooled?

Also, you said that the amount of silver needed by the Ministry of Industry to dredge the water transportation is 700,000 taels, who set this number? Is this the statement of the Ministry of Works? Or is it the statement of the Caoyun Yamen? They ask for money with their mouths wide open, and you, as the head of the household, believe it completely? If they ask you for eight million denarii, will you give it too? Didn't you do the math yourself? ”

Hong Zhengshuo knew that no matter how he expressed his position at this time, he could only usher in more fierce suppression by Zhao Junchen, so he kept silent and just blindly listened to the training.

Zhao Junchen saw Hong Zhengshuo's appearance, sneered, and turned his target to Ma Sen, the right waiter of the household department, and asked: "Ma Shilang, let me ask you, you have been in the household department for a long time, and in previous years, the household department has also encountered temporary blockage of Caoyun, how to solve it?" ”

Ma Sen only felt wronged, he was Zhou Shangjing's protégé, and his position in the household department was also the result of Emperor Deqing deliberately mixing sand with the sphere of influence of Zhao Junchen and Zhou Shangjing, so he rarely participated in the specific affairs of the household department in the past, and how did he know how the household department solved the Cao Yun matter in the past?

So, Ma Sen also said stubbornly: "The lower officials, the lower officials don't know!" ”

Zhao Junchen smiled angrily, turned his gaze to the household officials behind the two, and asked, "Can any household officials give a definite answer to these questions in this cabinet?" Could it be that everyone in the household is a wine bag and rice bag? ”

As Zhao Junchen's words fell, a Tobu Lang came out.

This person's face can be described as a roe deer's head, and his complexion is also a little sickly pale after long-term indulgence in wine, it is one of Zhao Junchen's most trusted officials in the household department, Jiang Qian.

This person has a frivolous personality and likes the wind and moon, and he is by no means a gentleman, but he is the most proficient in numbers and calculations, and he knows all the numbers in the household accounts.

What's more, he got a message from Zhao Junchen last night and had already done his homework in advance.

After standing up, Jiang Qian said loudly: "Elder Zhao Ge, the lower officials can answer these questions. ”

"Oh? Go ahead! ”

"At present, the household department has a total of 196,400 taels of silver! Aside from all kinds of daily expenses, you can take out a total of 83,000 taels of silver! However, this time, the Ministry of Industry Yamen and the Caoyun Yamen asked for 800,000 taels of silver from the Lion of the Ministry of Households, which was far more than in previous years, and it should be because they deliberately bullied several chief officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs who were not familiar with the affairs of the Ministry of Households!

According to the situation in previous years, in such a situation, it was enough for the household to take out 500,000 taels of silver, and the silver gap of the household department was only 420,000 taels! After all, it's just that the river is suddenly blocked, and this situation is often not serious! In the early stage of dredging the Cao Yun, the household only needs to take out 80,000 taels of silver, and the household can just take out this silver, but just like Hong Shilang said, the follow-up silver must be made up within 20 days, otherwise the previous work will be wasted!

In addition, this year's Cao Yun has been delayed, in order to let the autumn tax and grain in various places enter the treasury on time, and wait until the Cao Yun is unimpeded, it is also necessary to take out 5 to 70,000 taels of silver, in order to win the support of the Cao Yun Yamen, and to encourage the Cao workers to work hard, otherwise, the autumn tax money and grain will not enter the treasury until the New Year! ”

Zhao Junchen's expression was slightly dark, and he nodded: "It seems that there are still people in the household department who understand!" But...... The two household servants, but one only knows how to be vague, and the other is pretending to be stupid and ignorant of it! In the past, the household department has always been an example of the major yamen, but in a short period of time, it has fallen into such a situation, but I have found the reason! ”

After speaking, Zhao Junchen's eyes turned to Hong Zhengshuo and Ma Sen again, and said coldly: "Hong Shilang, Ma Shilang, according to the opinion of this pavilion, the two of you should not stay in the household department and cause chaos now, go back to your house and think about it behind closed doors, and seriously reflect on your own mistakes!" Can you two be convinced of such a decision by this cabinet? ”

Hong Zhengshuo and Ma Sen glanced at each other, and they could see the grievances and pain on each other's faces, but they didn't dare to refute, they just said in unison: "I'm convinced!" I went back to my house and thought about it behind closed doors, and I didn't dare to make trouble for Zhao Gechen again! ”

At the time of the statement, Hong Zhengshuo and Ma Sen were already seriously considering their own future in their hearts!

Because of Zhao Junchen's various methods, during their tenure in the household department, the two of them not only attracted the hostility of hundreds of officials, but also lost their prestige within the household department, and naturally they will not be able to stay in the future.

Fortunately, the backers of these two people are Emperor Deqing and Zhou Shangjing, respectively, and they will not completely ruin their careers, and it may be a good thing to take the opportunity to change to a yamen.

Thinking of this, Hong Zhengshuo and Ma Sen's mood was actually a little relaxed.

……

The bug had a cold and cough a few days ago, and he was so flustered that he didn't dare to tell everyone that after self-isolation for a period of time, he finally recovered today.

I wish you all good health.

……