……

……

At this time, Emperor Deqing was in a very conflicted mood.

As Zhao Junchen said, although the matter of "Eight Kings Boat Travel" seems to be true and false, it is a matter of great importance and sensitive timing, so it can only be secretly investigated and dealt with, and must not be announced to the public!

In this way, Emperor Deqing was a little embarrassed under the rat trap, and he didn't know if he should continue to investigate Zhou Shangjing's guilt!

If you continue to investigate, you must investigate the matter of the "Eight Kings Boat Trip", but whether the matter of the "Eight Kings Boat Trip" is true or not, as long as it is broken, it will inevitably cause an uproar and bring a heavy blow to the prestige of the royal family.

However, if he does not continue to investigate, it will be equivalent to acquiescing in Zhou Shangjing's rhetoric, and Emperor Deqing will not be able to bring down Zhou Shangjing, so how can Emperor Deqing be willing? What's more, if the matter of the "Eight Kings Boat Trip" was just Zhou Shangjing's deception, and it scared Emperor Deqing away, then this matter would be a great shame for Emperor Deqing for the rest of his life!

Therefore, after hesitating for a long time, Emperor Deqing still couldn't make up his mind.

Emperor Deqing was a decisive and assertive man, and such a hesitant situation as today had not happened for many years.

*

After hesitating, after hearing Zhao Junchen's suggestion, Emperor Deqing was not angry, but just confirmed: "You mean, I shouldn't continue to pursue this matter, just let Zhou Shangjing go?" ”

Zhao Junchen lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, at this time, the overall situation should be the priority. You don't have to be obsessed with the gains and losses in front of you, as the so-called future is long. There may not be no better opportunities in the future. ”

After a pause, Zhao Junchen secretly observed Emperor Deqing's expression. After seeing Emperor Deqing's frowns, he added: "However, after all, Zhou Shangjing is guilty of defrauding the monarch, even if there is a big reason, there can be no punishment!" According to the minister's wishes, Your Majesty, you can take the opportunity to remove Zhou Shangjing's position as the first assistant and weaken Zhou Shangjing's influence of power, but still retain his position as the elder of the cabinet, so that you can set an example. It will not force Zhou Shangjing to take risks and publicize the matter of the 'Eight Kings Boat Trip'! ”

After hearing Zhao Junchen's suggestion, Emperor Deqing was still a little hesitant and still couldn't make up his mind.

After pondering for a moment, Emperor Deqing said slowly: "That's it, I still have to think about these things seriously, so I won't mention them for the time being...... I have left you behind this time, except to ask for your opinion. There's one more thing for you to do. ”

Zhao Junchen vaguely guessed Emperor Deqing's thoughts, but he still pretended not to know, and said respectfully: "Please also ask Your Majesty to command." ”

I saw Emperor Deqing with a calm face, and ordered word by word: "I want you to investigate everything about the 'Eight Kings Boat Trip' in detail!" Of course. This matter cannot be made public, so you can only investigate and collect evidence in secret for the time being, and wait for me to make a decision. Do it again! ”

Between the words, Emperor Deqing's tone was somewhat murderous—obviously. The "Eight Kings Boat Trip" successively violated several taboos of the Deqing Emperor, regardless of whether the affairs of the Japanese invaders had anything to do with them or not. The eight vassal kings behind the "Eight Kings Boat Trip" are definitely about to suffer a catastrophe!

Perhaps, in the next period of time, there will be eight feudal kings whose titles will be revoked.

Zhao Junchen understood Emperor Deqing's intentions, and his face also had a murderous aura, and he responded in a deep voice: "The minister has the order." ”

Next, after seeing that Emperor Deqing had no other instructions, Zhao Junchen took the initiative to leave and leave.

Before leaving, Zhao Junchen secretly glanced at Emperor Deqing's expression again - only to see Emperor Deqing's brows furrowed, his eyes flashing thoughtfully, and he still seemed to hesitate to hold Zhou Shangjing accountable.

Perhaps, Emperor Deqing is still unwilling, and he is struggling to think of a way to break the current situation.

According to Zhao Junchen's understanding of Emperor Deqing, he only feels that everything is a five-five number, and it is still uncertain whether Zhou Shangjing will be convicted, everything depends on Emperor Deqing's considerations and mood.

"Zhou Shangjing's plan has certainly succeeded, but with the appearance of the 'Eight Kings Boat Trip', the situation has been reversed...... However, if that's all, he still can't get out of danger, and Emperor Deqing will never be reconciled, and there will be some action next, and the game between the two will probably continue for a while......"

When leaving the temporary imperial study, Zhao Junchen thought secretly.

*

It's a pity that Zhao Junchen still underestimated Zhou Shangjing's old scheming and deep calculations, and also underestimated Emperor Deqing's decisive decision.

In fact, the matter of "Eight Kings Boat Line" is not Zhou Shangjing's last hole card!

Zhao Junchen originally thought that the game between Emperor Deqing and Zhou Shangjing would last for a long time, and the development of things should be like this!

However, on this very night, a secret letter from the capital was delivered to the Deqing Emperor.

I don't know what was written in this secret fold, but after Emperor Deqing received the secret fold, he was furious and smashed all the objects at hand.

After venting, Emperor Deqing finally calmed down, and then, Emperor Deqing actually found Zhou Shangjing, who was under house arrest in the Humble Administrator's Garden, and talked with Zhou Shangjing secretly for most of the night.

No one knows what Emperor Deqing and Zhou Shangjing had secretly discussed. But on the morning of the next day, Emperor Deqing bypassed all the ministers and suddenly issued a holy decree - saying that Zhou Shangjing "used power for personal gain" and "shielded the clansmen", so he removed Zhou Shangjing from the position of first assistant and fined him for three years, but for the sake of Zhou Shangjing's hard work, he still allowed Zhou Shangjing to stay in the cabinet and "make meritorious contributions" as "guilty and retained"!

You must know that the crimes of "using power for personal gain" and "shielding the clansmen" can be big or small, and for Zhou Shangjing, it is just not painful, and all kinds of crimes that can really put Zhou Shangjing to death, such as "bullying the monarch", "forming a party for personal gain", etc., have all been gently bypassed in the holy decree of Emperor Deqing.

For a while, the game between Emperor Deqing and Zhou Shangjing came to an abrupt end at the climax!

The final result was that both sides took a step back, and Emperor Deqing punished Zhou Shangjing lightly, but removed Zhou Shangjing's position as the first assistant, but still retained Zhou Shangjing's authority, and Zhou Shangjing accepted Emperor Deqing's punishment and did not fight back again, which was regarded as giving Emperor Deqing a step down.

Then, before the ministers could react, Emperor Deqing issued another decree, saying that the southern tour was over, and urged the relevant yamen to prepare as soon as possible and return to Beijing in the shortest possible time!

Obviously, the root of all this is because of the secret fold that Emperor Deqing received!

It is precisely because of this secret twist that Emperor Deqing stopped fighting with Zhou Shangjing, and hurriedly ended his southern tour and wanted to return to Beijing as soon as possible!

Therefore, what exactly is the content of this secret fold has become something that all ministers want to know.

It's just that Emperor Deqing's secrecy work is very good, and no matter how the ministers inquire, they can't get the slightest information, so they can only secretly guess in their hearts.

However, unlike the vast majority of officials, Zhao Junchen is very clear about the content of this secret fold.

In fact, for some reason, before Emperor Deqing received the secret fold, Zhao Junchen already knew the details of this secret fold!

……

…… (To be continued.) )