After reading the memorial, Zhu Qiyu's brows furrowed slightly, but his face still didn't look good.
This Zhang Rui matter is finally figured out.
As the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, although Wang Wen was fair most of the time in the selection process, it was certainly impossible to be completely impartial and selfless in the court.
What's more, Zhang Rui is Gao Gu's protégé after all, and Gao Gu's original demotion was related to Luo Tong's plan to imprison him. This was regarded as a crime against Tianyan. Zhang Rui was treated coldly because of this, and it cannot be regarded as Wang Wen's deliberate action.
Of course, even according to the standards, Zhang Rui's evaluation can only barely meet the standards for promotion, and cannot be considered particularly outstanding. Therefore, there is no problem with the Ministry of Personnel's conclusion.
After understanding Zhang Rui's resume, some things are self-evident. Since Zhang Rui belongs to Gao Gu's sect, he can be regarded as an official of the clear lineage.
Originally, the Qingliu lineage was gaining momentum in the court and was full of talents. Therefore, Zhang Rui, who was sent to another place and was an official who had been sent to Nanjing for retirement, would naturally not receive much support.
However, today is different from the past. With the frequent occurrence of various cases in the DPRK and China, the Qingliu lineage has been suppressed continuously. First, Shang Ren, Peng Shi and others were demoted, leaving the Qingliu lineage without the third generation of leading figures. , had no choice but to support backup candidates like Xu Youzhen and Zhou Hongmo who each had obvious shortcomings.
Subsequently, the Du Ning case was exposed, which dealt a heavy blow to the Qingliu family. As one of the most promising candidates in the court to become the Qiqing, Du Ning will undoubtedly succeed Chen Xun and shoulder the responsibility in the future. For so many years, both Chen Xun himself and the entire Qingliu lineage, even when Gao Gu was around, had devoted a lot of effort to the people who held the banner of Qingliu.
But now, Du Ning has been defeated. Although he has saved his life, there is no room for improvement. The Qingliu lineage is no longer dead, but completely without a successor.
During this period of time, Chen Xun has been silent in the court. On the one hand, it is because of his son's case. On the other hand, I am afraid it is also because, except for him, there is no one in the court who can take action. .
There are still a few officials from Qingliu in the East Palace. However, let alone their own abilities and qualifications, just talking about the current relationship between the Tian family, when will the officials in the East Palace be able to get ahead? Or even, can they? Getting ahead is always a problem.
And after a series of blows, the prestige and status of the Qingliu lineage, or Chen Xun, who is now the leader of Qingliu, in the court is also declining day by day.
Therefore, at this time, whether it is Qingliu or Chen Xun himself, they urgently need an important minister who can succeed Du Ning, occupy a place in the court, and can stand firmly on his side at critical moments.
Zhang Rui is the most suitable!
Although he was involved in Gao Gu and sat on the bench for several years, this also allowed Zhang Rui to avoid various disturbances in the court in recent years.
Putting aside the factions, Zhang Rui's own political achievements, qualifications and abilities can all stand the test. It's just that for officials at this level to go further, they need more than just these, and they also need to have someone in the DPRK. Enough power and just the right opportunity.
Now that Gao Gu has completely left the political center, it is not unacceptable for Zhang Rui to switch to Chen Xun.
Of course, this process is not simple. After all, it is difficult to establish mutual trust if you just switch to someone else's job casually.
Therefore, Zhu Qiyu guessed that Chen Xun should have been looking for candidates for nearly a year. At the same time, his son's previous case had re-established contact between him and Gao Gu. This situation Next, whether it was Gao Gu who took the initiative to make the connection, or Chen Xun took the initiative to ask Gao Gu for help, in any case, Zhang Rui was accepted as his disciple.
In this way, the next step is naturally to find a way to transfer Zhang Rui into the center. However, this involves two problems. One is why the first person to recommend Zhang Rui was Luo Qi and not Chen Xun. What is the relationship between myself, these three people, or between Chen Xun and Luo Qi now?
The second is, why didn't they directly elect Zhang Rui to the central government at the beginning, but instead made a false move and let Zhang Rui succeed Zhangzhou prefect?
A mystery was solved, but the matter was not completely clarified. Instead, it became more and more confusing. However, in any case, one thing Zhu Qiyu was certain of.
That is, his previous feeling was not wrong. This matter was by no means just a simple court battle. There must be intricate relationships hidden behind it. However, he currently has too little information to restore it. Just the truth.
Instructing Lu Zhong to continue investigating the recent correspondence between Gao Gu and Zhang Rui, Zhu Qiyu asked him to step back. Although his current guesses could be justified, there were still too many speculations in them. Further confirmation is needed, but Gao Gu is far away in Nanjing, and it will probably take a lot of time to verify the correspondence between him and Zhang Rui.
So next, we can only see if Shu Liang can gain anything...
This time, Shu Liang's movements were far less fast than Jin Yiwei's. It was only when there were only five days left before Ting Tui that Zhu Qiyu received Shu Liang's reward.
However, I have to say that waiting is meaningful. The news Shu Liang got this time is far more and more in-depth than Lu Zhong...
"Chen Mao?"
Zhu Qiyu looked at the memorial in front of him, frowning, and couldn't help but look at Shu Liang who was serving below.
He really didn't expect that in such an incident involving mostly civil servants, Chen Mao, a noble man, would be involved inexplicably.
Shu Liang obviously also knew the weight of this news, his face was unusually solemn, and he nodded.
"Back to the Emperor, it is indeed true. In accordance with the Emperor's order, I have set up many spies in the capital to monitor every move of the important ministers in the court. At the same time, I have ordered people to carefully trace back the recent records of the several adults involved in this matter. Among the news, the most eye-catching one is the exchange between Ningyang Marquis Chen Mao and cabinet minister Luo Qi."
After saying these words, Zhu Qiyu's face suddenly darkened. As soon as the name Chen Mao came out, he faintly realized something and said immediately.
"Keep talking!"
"yes!"
Shu Liang bowed and then continued to speak.
"Originally, I went to check on Mr. Zhang Rui and Mr. Zhang. Because this is the year of the Beijing Inspection, this Mr. Zhang returned to Beijing to report on his work and is still temporarily living in Beijing. After such an investigation, I found out that Mr. Among the people he had close contacts with, in addition to some Qingliu Ci ministers, there were also Ningyang Marquis Chen Mao and Cabinet Minister Luo Qi."
"Following this clue, I discovered that Master Zhang and Mr. Luo Ge were old friends. They were both Jinshi scholars in the fifth year of Xuande. They studied in the same department and studied in the same academy. Since then, they have been studying in the same academy. After Gao Xueshi was demoted to Nanjing, Zhang Rui often wrote letters to Luo Ge, and the two had a very good relationship."
"Zhang Rui came to Beijing this time because he was trying to find a way to be transferred to another wealthy place as a governor so that he could take a step further. Therefore, during his stay in Beijing, he would go around everywhere every day, and the one he found the most was Mr. Luo Ge."
Having said this, Zhu Qiyu also thought about it. Indeed, Zhang Rui and Luo Qi were Jinshi in the same discipline. This relationship is quite useful in the officialdom.
From this point of view, it is not surprising that Luo Qi came forward to recommend Zhang Rui, but...
"Then what does this matter have to do with Chen Mao?"
"Back to the Emperor, Zhang Rui has been running around the capital for many days, but with little success. After all, he was Gao Gu's disciple before, and Mr. Gao had some issues with Master Wang before. After all, the Jingchao is in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, Zhang Although Rui and Mr. Luo Ge have a good friendship, Mr. Luo Ge was not willing to wade into this muddy water at the beginning."
Zhu Qiyu nodded, this is not difficult to understand.
Although Luo Qi joined the cabinet, his connections and qualifications in the court were not enough. Moreover, even in the cabinet, he was considered a newcomer. If he wanted to get involved in the election, Wang Ao and Chen Xun were in office at the time. At that time, Wang Wen had forcefully pushed him back. Let alone a bachelor ranked at the bottom of the district, he was afraid that Wang Wen would find any reason to excuse him as soon as the memorial came up.
"So, Chen Mao intervened?"
Frowning his brows, Zhu Qiyu asked, Shu Liang nodded and said.
"According to the information obtained by this servant, Zhang Rui had not been deeply involved with Ningyang Hou before. He would send some ritual gifts during festivals. This time Zhang Rui came to Beijing and visited Ningyang Hou once, but there was no He stayed for a short time before leaving, but what is strange is that after learning about Zhang Rui's difficulties, Ningyang Hou took the initiative to go to Zhang Rui's residence. "
"The two talked for about an hour, and the specific content is unknown. However, after that, Chen Mao went to Mr. Luo Ge's residence again on the second day, and then on the third day, Mr. Luo Ge recommended Zhang Rui The memorial was sent to the cabinet."
Is this so...
Zhu Qiyu lowered his head and thought for a moment, feeling more and more that things were too complicated to see clearly.
When these pieces of information were gathered together, it seemed that Zhang Rui, with the help of Chen Mao, persuaded Luo Qi to agree to recommend him.
However, there are still problems. First, there is no evidence. The only information currently available is that Zhang Rui, Chen Mao, and Luo Qi visited each other. However, the specific content of the conversation is unknown. This is As a result, their current conclusions can only be reasonable inferences, but cannot be confirmed.
The second is, as an honorable minister, what is Chen Mao’s motive for intervening in the selection of civil servants? Even if he has his own purpose, then why would Luo Qi help him and Zhang Rui? You must know the identity of Chen Mao, the Marquis. His role among civil servants is limited.
In this incident, Chen Mao did not appear on the surface from beginning to end, which means that Chen Mao could not give Luo Qi any help in the court. Luo Qi recommended Zhang Rui, but she had to face Wang Wen's pressure can still only be borne by himself.
Moreover, another point is that in this whole matter, in addition to Luo Qi, there was also Chen Xun. If Zhang Rui found Luo Qi through Chen Mao's path, then, before, based on Jin Yiwei's information, Zhang Rui found Luo Qi. The speculation that Chen Xun took Zhang Rui under his sect through Gao Gu's relationship contradicts this.
So, after pondering for a moment, Zhu Qiyu asked again.
"Apart from these, is there any more concrete news? In addition, has the connection between Chen Xun and Zhang Rui been investigated?"
After hearing this, Shu Liang hesitated before saying.
"Back to the emperor, I have also checked the connection between Chen Shangshu and Zhang Rui. However, there is not much worth paying attention to. After Zhang Rui came to Beijing, he did visit Chen Shangshu several times. However, every time the two of them When we meet, even in private, there are usually other people present, and the number of times Zhang Rui visits Luo Ge's old residence far exceeds the number of times he visits Chen Shangshu."
"The only thing worth noting is that after learning that Mr. Luo Ge recommended Zhang Rui, Chen Shangshu took the opportunity to ask a few questions. Although he only knew that it was related to Zhang Rui and the specific content was unknown, at that time, people around him There were many other officials, and the morning meeting started not long after the conversation, so the conversation should not have been too deep. In addition, I have not found out that Chen Shangshu and Mr. Luo Ge have any close contacts. Please also ask Your Majesty, please forgive me."
Don't you have any close contact?
Zhu Qiyu tapped lightly on the desk in front of him, but there was still an unsolved mystery in his heart.
If Luo Qi and Chen Xun's actions in this morning meeting were not discussed in advance, then could it be said that Zhang Rui was seeking refuge from both sides?
This was not impossible, but Zhu Qiyu soon shook his head and denied this speculation.
Judging from the current situation of Chen Xun in the court, what he is looking for is not only a helper, but more importantly, he is looking for a successor for the Qingliu lineage.
In this case, Chen Xun's first criterion for this candidate is that his factional position must be clear, and no one can rely on him.
Otherwise, Chen Xun would not be able to do his best to help him...
However, just when Zhu Qiyu frowned, Shu Liang thought for a while and spoke again.
"Your Majesty, there is another reason why I think this matter is being done behind my back..."
"explain."
So, Shu Liang bowed and spoke carefully.
"After I found out that Marquis Ningyang might be involved in this matter, I remembered what Duke Cheng Guo told me earlier about the sea trade meeting where Marquis Ningyang suddenly took action to defend him."
"Marquis Ningyang did not communicate with Duke Cheng about this matter in advance, and Duke Cheng did not ask Marquis Ningyang for help, so I thought that this matter might be related to the Supreme Emperor."
"So, the servant went to find the two Mongolian guards who were left behind in Bedu. They learned from their mouths that about a few months ago, they had been sent to A secret letter arrives at Ningyang Hou Mansion..."
(End of chapter)
