……

……

Based on Zhao Junchen's idea, the cabinet members quickly drafted an opinion and submitted it to Emperor Deqing through the celebrant supervisor.

Emperor Deqing also quickly made a reply and agreed with the cabinet.

Just like Zhou Shangjing guessed, Emperor Deqing was very interested in Jianzhou Nuzhen's initiative to surrender, thinking that this matter could also be regarded as one of his great achievements, but because of the interests of all parties, he would not express his position for the time being.

As a result, this matter was decided, and relevant officials were soon sent to conduct preliminary consultations with the Jianzhou Jurchens, but they were not informed to the hundred officials from beginning to end, nor were they discussed at the court meeting, and many officials had to wait until a few days later to receive the news.

This is also one of the benefits of Zhao Junchen joining the cabinet.

Before Zhao Junchen entered the cabinet, there were many major events in the court, and he had no chance to express his opinions at all, often before Zhao Junchen could express his attitude, these things had already been decided by Emperor Deqing and the cabinet elders through private consultations, and Zhao Junchen was only responsible for implementation.

Only those things that the Deqing Emperor and the elders disagreed with and disputed, or those important things that the Deqing Emperor and the elders were unwilling to take responsibility for, would be discussed and decided in the temple, and Zhao Junchen had the opportunity to express his opinions only at such a time.

But now, Zhao Junchen has also become an auxiliary minister in the cabinet and one of the internal decision-makers.

Therefore, Zhao Junchen can have a more and more far-reaching influence on the direction of the Ming Dynasty from now on.

*

In the next two days, the situation in the temple can be described as calm, and nothing major happened.

On the one hand, the hundred officials were waiting for the next good news of the Hetao war, and on the other hand, they were secretly observing Zhao Junchen's movements.

After all, according to Zhao Junchen's boast of Haikou, all the river silver will be raised within three days; Within ten days, the Ministry of Industry and the yamen in various places can start work to dredge the water transportation; Within 20 days, the first batch of money and grain arrived in the capital.

It has been three days since Zhao Junchen's boast of Haikou, but Zhao Junchen only squeezed out the first batch of river silver from the surplus silver of the household department, and there was no other action.

Seeing Zhao Junchen not moving and doing nothing, many officials were secretly excited.

Could it be that Zhao Junchen can't solve the problem of Caoyun this time, and he is going to be a heel?

Although anyone knows that Cao Yun has a problem, everyone can't get benefits, but Zhao Junchen is really in the limelight during this time, and there are not many people who hate because of jealousy among the officials, so naturally he can't help but have some gloating expectations at this time.

However, those real ministers knew in their hearts that Zhao Junchen could never have taken no action, and he must have kept his back hand, so they suppressed the impatience of the officials of their respective factions, and wanted to wait until the situation was obvious before making a move.

In fact, the guesses of these powerful ministers were not wrong, and Zhao Junchen's actions had already been carried out in secret.

Moreover, it is still a big move.

*

On this day, Li Chengru, the newly appointed head of the household department, had rushed to the territory of Jining Mansion day and night.

This year's traffic jam was caused by the collapse of the riverbank in Jining Province, and all the water transport ships were stuck in the south of Jining Province.

After hearing about Li Chengru's appearance, Su Peng, the prefect of Jining, did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly led all the officials and squires of Jining Mansion to greet him.

Seeing Su Peng's grand welcome, Li Chengru looked resolute, directly rejected Su Peng's banquet, and said: "This official came to Jining Mansion non-stop, not to drink and eat, but to inspect the river blockage in Jining Mansion!" The Su Governor doesn't have to be polite with the official, he just needs to lead the official to the river blockage! After the official understands the specific situation, he can also come up with a specific amount of river silver. ”

Su Peng is still young, only in his early thirties, but he is a confidant student of Zhou Shangjing, a young and strong faction in the "Zhou Party", and he has always been shrewd and capable.

After hearing Li Chengru's statement, Su Peng's eyes flashed slightly, and he quickly smiled and complimented: "Li Shangshu is really vigorous and resolute, and he is really a model for hundreds of officials!" Since this is the case, Xia Guan will lead the way, so that Li Shangshu can inspect the blockage of the Hetao on the spot. ”

Then, Su Peng did not let the officials and squires of Jining Mansion leave, but led everyone to the river blockage in Jining Mansion.

Because of the collapse of the river bank, the blockage of the river near Jining Mansion is indeed extremely serious, because the household department has issued the first batch of silver, and Jining Mansion has begun to organize personnel to start dredging the river, but the progress of the fortification is obviously not satisfactory.

Li Chengru was born in Qingliu and didn't know anything about river workers, so naturally he couldn't give any guidance at this time.

However, the officials and squires of Jining Mansion were extremely cooperative, and they all showed a "suddenly taught" appearance, which greatly satisfied Li Chengru's vanity, and only felt that his sage book was really not read in vain.

In a good mood, Li Chengru also had some kindness and asked, "Governor Su, what difficulties do you still have at present?" If you have any difficulties, you should raise them as soon as possible while the official is here, and the official will naturally find a way to solve it for you. ”

Su Peng smiled bitterly: "In the final analysis, there is still a shortage of silver!" I heard that the Ministry of Household handed over a total of 80,000 taels of silver to the two major yamen of Caoyun and the Ministry of Industry, but when the silver was distributed to Jining Mansion, there were only 15,000 taels left! Li Shangshu, you have also seen that in order to dredge the river as soon as possible, Xiaguan organized more than 3,000 people, not to mention other expenses, just these people's morning and evening meals are a lot of silver, which can't last a few days...... If the household department can't come up with the follow-up silver, I am afraid that the work will be stopped soon, and at that time, the river will inevitably have more sediment, and the efforts of these days will be wasted. ”

Li Chengru had long expected Su Peng's complaint of bitterness and crying poverty, and he also got Zhao Junchen's special guidance and found a good plan before leaving Beijing this time, and he was also confident at this time.

Therefore, after Li Chengru smiled, he said: "The silver deposit of the household department is also bottoming out, and it is difficult to come up with another amount of silver...... However, this matter is not difficult to solve, it depends on whether the officials have the courage and responsibility! Let me ask you, where are all the ships of the imperial court docked? ”

Su Peng's eyes flickered again, as if he had thought of something, and there was a faint sense of excitement.

But in the next moment, Su Peng had regained his composure, and replied: "It is docked ten miles south of here, because of the blockage of the river, the river water has dropped significantly, and the boats are all large ships of more than a thousand stones, and many ships have been forced to run aground...... The official in charge of Cao Yun was still angry with Xia Guan yesterday. ”

Li Chengru's expression suddenly became a little more solemn, and he ordered: "Lead the official to go to the Cao boat to take a look at the situation!" ”

After a pause, Li Chengru added: "Bring all the officials and soldiers of Jining Mansion with you." ”

Hearing Li Chengru's instructions, the officials and squires of Jining Mansion were vaguely aware that something seemed to be wrong with the situation, but Su Peng, who had always been shrewd and capable, had no doubts and immediately agreed: "The lower officials will arrange it!" ”

It didn't take long for Su Peng to gather all the officials and strong men of Jining Mansion, and led Li Chengru and all the officials and squires to rush to the place where the boat docked.

When everyone arrived at their destination, they saw dozens of large boats docked on both sides of the riverbank, even on the wide river, giving people a feeling of impermeability.

Seeing that Li Chengru, Su Peng and others led a large number of people to suddenly appear, the officials in charge of escorting the boat couldn't help but be a little nervous, and hurriedly greeted them.

Then, Su Peng hurriedly introduced each other and said: "Li Shangshu, this is Wang He Wang Qianhu of Xuzhou Bingbeidao, who is responsible for the escort of the first batch of Cao transport ships; Wang Qianhu, this is the new head of the household department, Li Chengru Li Shangshu, Li Shangshu, after he heard about the blockage of the river, he personally rushed here to inspect! ”

Hearing Su Peng's recommendation, Wang He, a thousand households in Xuzhou, hurriedly saluted Li Chengru, but Li Chengru ignored Wang He, but instead stretched out his hand and pointed to the boat in the distance, and said loudly: "Jining Mansion has no silver to organize the people to dredge the river, and the silver deposit in the household department is gradually bottoming out, but in these boats in front of us, all of them are the money and grain paid by the southern provinces for this year's autumn tax!" In that case, why not take a sum of silver directly from these boats and use it to dredge the river?

Of course, the money and grain have not yet been collected into the treasury for accounting, so it is indeed a bit unruly to take it out directly, but the current situation of the imperial court is a little difficult, so it must be done with special affairs! This official personally rushed to Jining Mansion this time, and also brought a group of household officials, just to be able to record the expenditure figures of Caoyin on the spot, so that it should be collected into the treasury in advance, and he is not afraid that there will be account problems in the future! Otherwise, it is not a way to let a large number of ships run aground here all the time!

Su Zhifu and Wang Qianhu, what do you two think? ”

Hearing Li Chengru's proposal, Su Peng smiled and said: "Sooner or later, the money and grain will be handed over to the household department, Lord Li, you are the head of the household department, if you are in charge, it is also feasible to take out a batch of silver in advance for river work, and the lower officials are naturally all based on Li Shangshu!" ”

On the other side, Qianhu Wang He's face changed greatly, and he exclaimed: "This kind of practice is absolutely not feasible!" ”

Because Wang He's reaction was too intense, the eyes of everyone present were on him.

Wang He also noticed his gaffe, but he didn't care about the image problem, and hurriedly objected again: "Please also ask Li Shangshu to be considerate of the difficulties of his humble position, this kind of approach is absolutely impossible!" There must be no changes before the boat arrives in Beijing and is recorded, this is the rule of the imperial court, how can it be changed at will?

Before the lowly duty was responsible for escorting the boat, the money and grain in the boat were sealed, and it was necessary to wait until after arriving in the capital and when it was levied into the treasury before it could be opened and counted. ”

Li Chengru disagreed, and said: "This official is the current household secretary, and the treasury is also within the scope of the official's authority, as long as there is the nod of the official, everything in the accounts is easy to say, there will be no problems!" And...... This is also what Zhao Gechen meant! ”

Speaking of this, Li Chengru looked at Wang He with a scrutinizing gaze and asked, "Why is Wang Qianhu so excited?" Could it be that there is something wrong with the money and food in the boat? ”

Wang He's face changed drastically again, and he shook his head again and again: "How is this possible?" The lowly duty has always been faithful, guarding the money and food day and night, how can there be any problems? But this matter is indeed against the rules of the imperial court, and I ask Li Shangshu to think about it again......"

But before Wang He finished speaking, Li Chengru already said coldly: "Since there is no problem, what are you worried about?" When the sky falls, there is also the official who bears it! If the official can't bear it, there is still Zhao Gechen to bear it! ”

After speaking, Li Chengru stared at Wang He with suspicion for a moment, and when he saw Wang He's sweaty and pale face, he seemed to have decided something in his heart, and waved his hand after sneering: "Someone!" Come aboard the boat with me! After getting on the boat, the household officials were responsible for keeping accounts and counting the money and grain, while the officials of Jining Mansion were responsible for controlling the situation and carrying the silver in the boat! There is still a gap of four or five hundred thousand yuan in the silver of the river workers, and the silver on this batch of boats should be enough! ”

With Li Chengru's order and Su Peng's active support, the officials and strong men of Jining Mansion began to board the ship, although Wang He had the intention to block it, and there were also a group of soldiers under his command, but he was only a thousand households, how could he have the courage to conflict with the current dynasty's household department?

In the end, under the painless obstruction of Wang He's soldiers, Li Chengru and others successfully boarded the Cao Yun ship.

Next, according to Li Chengru's instructions, the household officials were responsible for counting and keeping accounts, and the officials and strong men of Jining Mansion were responsible for carrying the silver.

But it didn't take long for the "unexpected" situation to happen.

After a household official went to the cabin to check, he quickly rushed to Li Chengru with a serious expression, and reported: "Lord Shangshu, after the official went to the cabin to check, he found that there was not only this year's autumn tax money and grain in the cabin...... Something more! ”

Li Chengru first breathed a sigh of relief, then flashed a hint of ecstasy, and finally asked with a cold face again: "Something more?" What is it? ”

The household official replied: "A lot! There is refined salt, there is silk, there is porcelain...... It should all be smuggled goods! ”

With the answer of this household official, Wang He, who was a thousand households on the side, suddenly collapsed to the ground.

Li Chengru turned his head to look down at Wang He, and asked slowly: "Say, who are you going to hand over this batch of smuggled goods to after you arrive in the capital?" You have to think clearly before answering, don't leave anything to chance! This is not an ordinary smuggling case, but a matter of using the imperial court's boats to smuggle, this is much more serious than ordinary smuggling, it is by no means something that a thousand households like you can afford, no matter how loyal you are, your boss and your backer will not be able to protect you! If you confess, you may have a chance to live! ”

Wang He's face became more and more pale, and after his expression changed for a long time, he finally said in a trembling voice: "None of this has anything to do with me, I'm just helping people!" It was the task assigned by Sheng Zongbing, who was in charge of Xuzhou Bingbeidao, and asked me to hand over all the smuggled goods to the Sitong Commercial Bank after they arrived in the capital...... I really have nothing to do with it! ”

Whether this matter has anything to do with Wang He is just a trivial matter, Li Chengru doesn't care, as long as Wang He is willing to confess to the Sitong Commercial Bank.

The proprietor of the Sitong Commercial Bank is Shen Cheng, the nephew of Shen Changmao, the first assistant of the dynasty! Moreover, Shen Changmao also has fifty percent of the dry shares in Sitong Commercial Bank, and he will receive a large amount of dividends every year!

Therefore, Shen Changmao is destined to be in big trouble this time!

Thinking of this, Li Chengru couldn't change his Qingliu nature, and couldn't help but be a little excited, and he realized the benefits of following Zhao Junchen more and more.

I think that when Li Chengru followed the crown prince Zhu Heyu and Qingliu to do things, he repeatedly challenged the ministers of the court, but the final result was often disgraced and stealing chickens and rice, but where is it like now, without moving, he got a great opportunity to overthrow the head of the court!

"It's not in vain that I rushed to Jining day and night, this trip was not in vain!"

Just when Li Chengru was inexplicably excited, Su Peng, who was watching coldly, flashed a smile of unknown meaning on his face.

He knew that his teacher Zhou Shangjing was about to take back the position of first assistant!

*

What happened in Jining Mansion soon spread to the capital.

Zhao Junchen, Zhou Shangjing, Shen Changmao and others received the news almost at the same time.

After Shen Changmao received the news, his expression suddenly changed, and he roared angrily: "Zhao Junchen, this treacherous villain! On the surface, he wanted to raise money from the river workers, but in fact he came for the old man! The old man will never die with him! ”

When he roared, Shen Changmao was still fierce and weak.

He knew that he must be in big trouble this time.

The use of cao transport ships to smuggle all kinds of goods, several powerful ministers in the temple secretly participated, which can be regarded as one of the year-end benefits of the major parties.

The carrying capacity of the Cao ship is very large, often a few ships of goods can earn tens of thousands of taels of silver profits, the local yamen did not dare to investigate, naturally it is easy to evade taxes, it is not only safe and secure, but also lucrative, Cao Yun Yamen for this situation is also a blind eye, along the river to push the boat to personal favors, but also by the way to share some profits.

It's just that the Caoyun Yamen is Zhou Shangjing's territory after all, and in previous years, it was the first to help the merchants of the "Zhou Party" to smuggle goods, and only after the "Zhou Party" had eaten and drunk enough and earned the most profits, it was the turn of other factions.

But this year's situation is very different, perhaps because Shen Changmao became the first assistant of the cabinet, he actually helped Shen Changmao smuggle goods first, Shen Changmao was smug after receiving the news, but he only felt that after he became the first assistant of the cabinet, the treatment was really different, but he didn't expect such a thing!

This kind of thing, everyone is tacit, but they can only do it but not say it, once they are caught, it will be a catastrophe!

After Shen Changmao roared a few words loudly, he also knew that he couldn't solve any problem just by roaring, and after barely calming down and thinking for a while, he ordered: "This matter must have the assistance of the Seventh Prince!" Hurry up and go to Taichang Temple, let Wang Lun, the secretary of Taichang Temple, inform the Seven Princes of the news, and let the Seven Princes go to the palace to see His Majesty as soon as possible, and try to make room for the old man...... Tell the Seventh Prince that as long as he helps the old man do this, the old man will definitely repay him in the future! ”

According to the agreement between Shen Changmao and the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian, in order to avoid criticism, the two of them will secretly contact through Taichang Temple during this time.

*

For Zhu Hejian, the seventh prince, compared with Shen Changmao's "retribution from the spring" that may not be realized, the better choice is naturally to accept the "Shen Party" forces in its entirety!

In fact, when Shen Changmao spread the news to Taichang Temple, the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian was also talking to Wang Lun, the secretary of Taichang Temple, in Taichang Temple.

After receiving the news, Zhu Hejian asked with a smile: "Shen Changmao, does he really think that Zhao Junchen is the ghost of all this?" ”

Wang Lun nodded again and again, and said, "That's right, Shen Shoufu thinks that all this is because Zhao Junchen deliberately targeted him!" ”

"It's stupid to see like that!" Zhu Hejian sighed and said, "All this is obviously Zhou Ge Lao's means!" Only Zhou Ge Lao can influence the Caoyun Yamen and let the Cao boat carry Shen Changmao's smuggled goods first, so Shen Changmao's smuggled goods will be blocked in Jining and caught by Zhao Junchen...... In the final analysis, whether it is Zhao Junchen or Shen Changmao, they have all been used by Zhou Gelao!

Hey! Jiang is still old and spicy, Zhao Junchen's approach not only helped Zhou Ge Lao get rid of Shen Changmao, but he didn't get much benefit, but he offended the princes of Gonggon! After all, the princes of the imperial court did not have Zhao Junchen's means of making money, and the use of Cao Yun smuggling was one of their most important financial routes, Zhao Junchen lifted the lid in this way, and only Zhou Ge Lao could use his influence on Cao Yun Yamen for a period of time in the future, barely maintaining this financial route, but the factions other than the 'Zhou Party' were all cut off a financial route, and there will inevitably be many people who hate Zhao Junchen's bad deeds! ”

After hearing Zhu Hejian's emotion, Wang Lun's expression changed, and he asked, "Seventh Prince, are you saying that all this is Zhou Ge Lao's calculations?" Zhou Ge old him...... Ready to do something to us? ”

When asking, Wang Lun couldn't help but panic.

After all, the people of the "Shen Party" actually know very well that the reason why they have stood tall and formed their own faction over the years is because Zhou Shangjing does not want the "Zhou Party" to form a dominant situation in the temple, so he deliberately keeps them, if Zhou Shangjing really wants to deal with them, they are absolutely powerless to resist.

Therefore, when he heard that Zhou Shangjing now wanted to deal with the "Shen Party", Wang Lun was naturally panicked.

The Seventh Prince, Zhu Hejian, nodded and said: "Naturally, there will be no fake, if you think about it carefully, isn't today's situation exactly Zhou Ge Lao's usual means?" It's no wonder that Elder Zhou Ge will suddenly make a move, the imperial court is currently the easiest time to make political achievements, and various plans will soon bear fruit, how could Elder Zhou Ge allow Shen Changmao to pick peaches? Naturally, he wanted to take back the position of head and assistant to the cabinet. ”

After a pause, Zhu Hejian asked, "So, Lord Wang, if you continue to support Shen Changmao, you will definitely be an enemy of Zhou Shangjing in the future, but how can Shen Changmao be Zhou Shangjing's opponent?" In the end, you will only be dragged by him and driven out of the temple by Zhou Shangjing! Therefore, taking this opportunity to completely abandon Shen Changmao is your best choice!

These words of mine are certainly a little cold-blooded, but I know that Shen Changmao is fierce and short-sighted, and I really can't bear to see you delay your career like this, so I said these bitter words, and I hope that Lord Wang, you can seriously consider it! ”

After Wang Lun heard Zhu Hejian's statement, his expression also changed for a long time.

He was not willing to abandon Shen Changmao so easily, but he was really afraid of Zhou Shangjing's means, not to mention that taking advantage of this opportunity to switch to the future prince Zhu Hejian was also a seemingly excellent choice.

In the end, Wang Lun gritted his teeth and replied: "The kindness of the Seventh Prince, I dare not accept it!" Please also rest assured that the Seventh Prince, I will contact the young master Zhang Cheng, the Ministry of Rites Shangshu Lin Wei and others, and persuade them to take this opportunity to switch to the door of the Seventh Prince...... Please also rest assured that the Seventh Prince's loyalty to Shen Changmao is not as good as mine, and they will definitely not refuse at this time, and I will wait for these people to be the only ones in the future, His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince! ”

Zhu Hejian's expression was indifferent, but he shook his head and said: "I am not the real prince yet, how can I recruit friends?" However, if you are willing to trust me, I will do my best to assist you in the future. ”

In this way, just when Shen Changmao was looking forward to Zhu Hejian pulling himself, Zhu Hejian had quietly hollowed out Shen Changmao's family foundation.

When this conversation ended and Zhu Hejian left the Yamen of Taichang Temple, he was also secretly relieved.

As a matter of fact, Zhu Hejian's time for infiltrating the "Shen Party" is still short, and today he is directly accepting the "Shen Party" people for his own use, and he is also taking a certain risk, and perhaps he will be directly rejected by Wang Lun, and when the time comes, not only will he not be able to annex the "Shen Party," but he will also directly turn against Shen Changmao.

But after Zhu Hejian received the news from Jining Mansion from Dongchang, he knew that he had to take a risk.

Zhu Hejian's approach is to avoid a direct conflict between himself and Zhou Shangjing!

Zhu Hejian is the most proficient in the means of the emperor's mental arts, so he also understands the horror of Zhou Shangjing the most, unless he has the righteousness of the court like Emperor Deqing, Zhu Hejian does not have much confidence to compete with Zhou Shangjing.

Therefore, now just sacrificing one Shen Changmao, you can take the "Shen Party" forces for your own use, and you can avoid conflict with Zhou Shangjing, which is naturally the best result.

"Zhou Shangjing is about to die of old age, there is no need to conflict with him, let my plan be in vain!"

Zhu Hejian thought secretly.

Just as Zhu Hejian was thinking in secret, the eunuch Jia Lun asked beside him, "Your Highness, are we going back to the house?" ”

After pondering for a moment, Zhu Hejian shook his head and said, "I can't go back to the house, we have to go to the palace to see my father!" I can't hide the matter of the 'Shen Party' people for my own use in the future, and I must explain it to him frankly...... Taking advantage of this opportunity, I want to take another step forward! ”

Jia Lun didn't particularly understand Zhu Hejian's deep meaning, but he didn't like to ask questions like Xu Qingyan, just nodded, and waited for Zhu Hejian to sit in the sedan chair, and then asked the sedan chair man to carry the sedan chair to the palace.

At this time, Emperor Deqing also received news from Jining Mansion from Dongchang and was thinking about countermeasures in the imperial study.

After Zhu Hejian entered the imperial study, he knelt down directly and said, "Father, the son has come to ask for sin!" ”

Emperor Deqing was slightly stunned and asked, "What are you guilty of?" ”

Zhu Hejian bowed his head and replied: "Just now, Wang Lun, the secretary of Taichang Temple under Shen Changmao, invited me to Taichang Temple, and it is not surprising that Erchen has often gone to Taichang Temple to learn etiquette over the years, but after going to Taichang Temple, Wang Lun said that the officials of the 'Shen Party' received the news, saying that Shen Changmao's use of the boat smuggling was exposed by Li Chengru, the head of the household, but I am afraid that it is difficult to protect myself, so I want to join the sons and get the protection of the sons...... Erchen is not an official crown prince, and it stands to reason that he can't recruit friends, but Erchen thought about it seriously and agreed to them, which violated the rules of the court, so Erchen came to his father to ask for guilt. ”

After Emperor Deqing heard Zhu Hejian's words, his eyes lit up and he asked, "Let's not mention the matter of asking for sin for the time being, can you first tell me how you thought about it at that time?" Why did they agree to Wang Lun's refuge? ”

Zhu Hejian replied in a low voice: "With the gradual rise of Zhao Junchen, the situation in the temple has undergone earth-shaking changes, Wen Guanliang, Huang Yourong and others have either collapsed, or are far away from the center of the temple, and Shen Changmao can't hold out for long, so there are only two main forces left in the temple, that is, the 'Zhao Party' and the 'Zhou Party'!" But whether it is Zhao Junchen or Zhou Shangjing, they are not easy people, they must be secretly suppressed one or two, and my father is also jealous of them, if I am not willing to accept the surrender of the 'Shen Party', they may have to vote to Zhao Junchen or Zhou Shangjing, and then their power will be further improved, and it will be even more difficult for my father to suppress them...... Therefore, Erchen agreed to their refuge. ”

Emperor Deqing glanced at Zhu Hejian deeply, and said slowly: "I have also received news about the matter of Jining Mansion, just like your concerns, I was also hesitant just now, that is, I was worried that after the fall of Shen Changmao, Zhao Junchen and Zhou Shangjing will become more and more difficult to control!" You can think of this layer, and you really live up to my expectations! Well, since they want to take refuge in you, you can accept them, the third child is about to leave the temple, and you should gradually come out. ”

A trace of excitement and excitement flashed in Zhu Hejian's eyes.

Emperor Deqing's statement means that he has acquiesced to Zhu Hejian's interference in court affairs in the future.

But on the surface, Zhu Hejian replied without moving: "Erchen obeys the order!" Since it was the father who did not blame the sons, the sons and daughters would help the father to restrain them in the future and let them cooperate with the father's actions. ”

Emperor Deqing had a smile on his face, and nodded: "You are so sensible, I am also happy!" ”

In this way, between the conversation between the two, it can be described as a father and son, filial piety, and peace.

It's just that Emperor Deqing is suspicious by nature, and with Zhu Hejian's gradual move to the front of the scene, his mentality towards Zhu Hejian has gradually changed.

A suspicious seed, after another round of watering and fertilization, has already sprouted.

*

Zhao Junchen also received news from Jining Mansion.

After receiving the news, Zhao Junchen's expression was not happy or worried, it was not a big deal to bring down Shen Changmao, it was just a part of the transaction between Zhao Junchen and Zhou Shangjing.

Sitting in the study, after closing his eyes and pondering for a moment, Zhao Junchen smiled lightly and said: "Some things, if you don't put it on the scale, it will only weigh four taels, but once you put it on the scale, it will weigh a thousand catties!" Now it's up to Shen Changmao to see if he can withstand this thousand pounds of burden! The follow-up development, even I can't guess, His Majesty's attitude is especially unpredictable, I just hope that he will turn his attention to Zhou Shangjing, so that I can have more respite......

Alas! The Hetao war will end soon, only after the dust of this war has settled, can I rest assured and boldly strive for the task of negotiating the Qincha, leave the capital and go to Xuanfu Military Town to negotiate with the Jianzhou Jurchens, and avoid the troubles for a period of time in the future......"

Between muttering to himself, Zhao Junchen looked up at Niu Fude, a staff member in front of him, and ordered: "You go to the Zhou Mansion in person, just say that what Zhou Ge Lao told me, I have already done it, and the follow-up things will require Zhou Ge Lao to exert more strength." ”

*

With Zhou Shangjing's intelligence channels, there is naturally no need for Zhao Junchen to deliberately report the news.

After receiving the news, Zhou Shangjing also looked unhappy.

It's just dealing with a Shen Changmao, it's not worth Zhou Shangjing being too excited.

In fact, after receiving the news from Jining Mansion, Zhou Shangjing's name did not appear in Shen Changmao's mind from beginning to end, and he was thinking more about the matter of the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian.

"Everyone thought that the old man wanted to deal with Shen Changmao and regain the position of first assistant this time, even His Majesty and Zhao Junchen, the big and small foxes, were all deceived...... The old man's goal was Zhu Hejian, the seventh prince, from the very beginning! Zhao Junchen said that the Seventh Prince has another true face, but it is just his words, the old man has doubts in his heart, but he can't be sure, so the old man must personally take the test of the Seven Princes, weigh his catties, and explore his heart!

Previously, Zhu Hejian and Shen Changmao had secretly teamed up! The old man knocked down Shen Changmao this time, just to test Zhu Hejian's reaction, so that he was faced with a choice and had to make a choice! This is just the beginning, the old man will let him face different situations and make different choices in the future! In the end, according to his different choices, the old man can also deduce his true temperament......

Once his true temperament is determined, the old man can only participate in this matter of competing for the heir and the throne in person! Zhu Heyu, Zhu Hejian...... Alas, pick and choose, are there only these two? ”

Thinking of this, Zhou Shangjing's brows furrowed slightly, and the wrinkles on his face deepened.

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