Zhu Cihong knew that Zhang Xin and Liu Chang were in the same boat and did not want to see each other.
However, he remembered that Shen Zhanran had told him to maintain the stability of the capital.
Then he thought that Chen Biqian, as a member of the Donglin Party, had a sense of justice and did not blindly participate in party struggles.
In his early years, he was listed as a general in Donglin because of his opposition to the eunuch party. Later, he was promoted by Chongzhen and appointed governor of Henan. During his tenure, he also made outstanding military achievements and was later moved to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Industry.
Recently, Chen Biqian has become very close to Zhang Xin, Liu Chang and others, which may be due to Chongzhen's emphasis on military exploits, promotion of military men, and suppression of Donglin Party members.
Zhu Cixiang thought of this and felt that Chen Biqian should have the possibility to fight for it, so he asked the young eunuch to bring them in.
After Zhang and Chen saluted and exchanged a few polite words, Zhang Xin turned the topic to Zhu Cihong's personal guard, who was temporarily guarding the city.
When Zhu Cixi heard this, he deliberately showed dissatisfaction on his face.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Xin turned a blind eye and continued to talk about the harm of this matter.
On the contrary, Chen Biqian on the side looked embarrassed, but did not speak.
Just when Zhu Cihong was about to retort, he suddenly saw Zhang Xin with a solemn look on his face and said: "Your Highness, because Your Majesty attaches great importance to military personnel, there is a lot of discussion in the capital now."
"Nowadays, there are many crises. If you don't follow the rules, I'm worried that officials will be frightened and people's resentment will boil over. The situation will then be difficult to control. Please think twice!"
When Zhu Cihong heard this, he sneered in his heart and pretended to be angry: "If my father doesn't reuse military generals, how will he be able to repel the rebels and recover the country?"
Zhang Xin saw that Zhu Cixiang was angry. After being slightly stunned, he said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, please be careful what you say!"
"You must know that warriors are vulgar and ignorant of etiquette. If they are allowed to hold high positions, they will definitely bring trouble to the court. Therefore, our court has always used civility to control military affairs."
"Although we need them to fight now, we also need civil servants to be in charge. This is safe!"
Zhu Cixi sneered: "If it's as you said, my father was wrong?"
Zhang Xin glanced at Zhu Cixiang with some surprise, then pretended to be respectful and said: "Your Majesty is in a big chaos, and he is biased out of urgency. It is understandable..."
"presumptuous!"
Zhu Cixiang shouted loudly before Zhang Xin could finish his words: "Now we are facing a formidable enemy. My father is fighting everywhere for the sake of the country and the country."
"As a member of the cabinet, you don't want to share the worries of the emperor and father, but wantonly slander the emperor. This is your loyalty to the emperor and the way to be a minister..."
Zhang Xin did not expect that Zhu Cixiang, who had always been weak, would speak so harshly. He was a little panicked for a moment and hurriedly motioned to Chen Biqian who was standing aside to speak.
Chen Biqian saw Zhang Xin's gaze and hesitated for a while. Just as he was about to step forward to dissuade him, he heard Zhu Cixi's voice: "Chen Shangshu, I heard that Huang Nilu of your Ministry of Industry was assassinated. I don't know why. In this case, have you ever caught the assassin?"
When Chen Biqian heard this, he knew that Zhu Cihong was using this to warn him not to get involved in this matter.
Because catching the assassin should be the responsibility of Shuntian Mansion and has nothing to do with him.
However, Huang Nilu was his subordinate and was assassinated in the Ministry of Industry. As Minister of the Ministry of Industry, he could not escape his involvement.
In addition, Huang Nilu was assassinated after a dispute with Liu Chang, and his recent closeness to Zhang Xin and Liu Chang had attracted criticism from many people in the court.
After listening to Zhu Cixiang's words, he hesitated for a moment and then decided not to help each other. He knelt down to plead guilty and said: "This lowly official is incompetent, please punish me!"
When Zhu Cihong heard this, he knew that Chen Biqian was not Zhang Xin's group. He was about to calm down and draw him over when he heard Zhang Xin's voice: "It is the duty of Shuntian Prefecture to apprehend the assassin, what does it have to do with Chen Shangshu? "
"Furthermore, what we are discussing now is His Highness's abuse of personal guards and violation of conventions. Please do not change the subject!"
"Then interrogating Xu Yunzhen should be the responsibility of your criminal department, right? Why, after several months, there is still no result?"
As soon as Zhang Xin finished speaking, an angry voice came from outside the door.
Then Jiang Dejing was seen striding into the main hall, and behind him, a young eunuch ran in with an innocent face.
Jiang Dejing glared at Zhang Xin
, then he knelt down to plead guilty and said: "I have been disrespectful and trespassed, please punish me!"
It turned out that when Jiang Dejing learned that Zhu Cixiang had returned to Beijing and was hesitating whether to ask for an audience immediately, he accidentally heard that Zhu Cixiang was being made difficult at the city gate, and he was immediately furious.
Later, he learned that Zhang Xin and Chen Biqian had gone to Duanben Palace. Worried that they would force Zhu Cihong and kill Shen Zhanran, they hurried over.
When he came to Duanben Palace, he happened to meet the eunuch who went to deliver the order, so he entered Duanben Palace naturally.
Unexpectedly, when he arrived at the door, he heard Zhang Xin's persecuting words. He became even more angry and immediately reprimanded loudly.
Zhang Xin was quite proud these days. When he was reprimanded by Jiang Derjing, he immediately retorted: "As an important official of the imperial court, you act so recklessly. How can you afford His Majesty's trust?"
"If it was your mistake that affected the war, what kind of crime should you be responsible for?"
"Because of my fault?"
Jiang Dejing shouted loudly and immediately stood up angrily, but suddenly remembered that Zhu Cixiang had not asked him to stand up yet, so he knelt down respectfully.
Zhang Xin saw that Jiang Dejing had lost his momentum and was about to take advantage of the situation to attack. Unexpectedly, Zhu Cixi interrupted his rhythm and said in a deep voice: "Jiang Qing, please get up and speak!"
Jiang Dejing glanced at Zhu Cixi gratefully, and then took the opportunity to stand up to gain momentum.
When he stood up straight, he immediately looked at Zhang Xin and shouted: "A few days ago, rumors broke out in Beijing. Shuntian Mansion has already captured the person who spread the rumors."
"If it weren't for the unprovoked intervention of your Ministry of Punishment and the forcible release of the rumor mongers, the capital would be filled with rumors, and how could the Queen be so angry..."
"I haven't asked you why you did this, but now you dare to blame me..."
"That's nonsense. Our Criminal Department has always enforced the law impartially. How could we ever..."
...
Zhu Cixiang listened to the argument between the two and realized that in the past few days in the capital, besides talking about how brave the rebels and Jurchens were and how difficult it was to defend the capital, the most widely circulated news was that Chongzhen had disliked the Zhou queen and wanted to accept Zuo Xianmei as his concubine. thing.
What's more, it is said that the reason why Chongzhen re-employed generals was not necessary for the war, but to promote Zuo Liangyu in an unusual way, so as to enhance Zuo Xianmei's status.
Seeing that the two of them were becoming more and more rude, Zhu Cihong was about to stop them when he suddenly heard that Huang Nilu was dissatisfied with what the Ministry of Punishment had done and went to the Ministry of Punishment to argue with Zhang Xin. Unexpectedly, he had a conflict with Liu Chang.
The night Huang Nilu left in anger, he was assassinated at the official office of the Ministry of Industry.
If the patrolling soldiers hadn't happened to pass by and frightened the assassin away, Huang Nilu would have died long ago.
From then on, except for a few people such as Jiang Dejing and Zuo Maodi, no one in the court dared to go against Zhang Xin and others, causing them to become more and more arrogant.
When Zhu Cixiang heard this, he remembered that when he went to Kunning Palace before, there was not even a palace attendant around Princess Zhaoren. This must be because Zhang Xin and others suppressed Zhou Hou.
He originally planned to suppress the arrogance of Zhang Xin and others and maintain a balance. But now thinking that he was fighting for his life outside and Zhang Xin and others bullied Empress Zhou in this way, a murderous intention suddenly surged in his heart.
However, after these days of battlefield experience and the fact that he has been studying Zhu Yuanzhang's strategic minutes, he has a deeper understanding of Zhu Yuanzhang's previous teachings. Although he cannot be said to be a completely different person, he is a completely different person than when he left the capital.
Therefore, although he had murderous intentions, his expression was calmer, like an outsider.
When Jiang Dejing saw Zhu Cixiang's description, he thought he was frightened, fearing that he would lose courage and be manipulated by Zhang Xin and others, so he immediately fought back without giving an inch.
Zhang Xin was a little worried when he saw Zhu Cixiang angry earlier.
Seeing his dull look at this moment, I thought he was strong on the outside but weak on the inside, and he was becoming more and more domineering.
While the two were arguing, a young eunuch came in to report that Liu Chang, the deputy director of the household department, Dai Mingshuo, the deputy director of the military department, and Sun Chengze, the deputy director of the criminal department, were outside seeking an audience.
