This is destined to be a long and difficult negotiation. In order to make Eunuch Lu more satisfied and to show his sincerity, Cunzhao not only told him the contents of the plan, but also explained to him all the details, such as the dispatch of personnel, the situation between ourselves and the enemy, etc. .
Because his words were too lengthy, Lu Xinzhong had to stop and think slowly. After a moment, he roughly understood the strategy proposed by the other party: taking advantage of the current serious situation, prepare to repair armor soldiers and polish swords and guns frequently to challenge Liu's party. of military power. However, in order to prevent his subordinates from being disloyal and leaking secrets, in the name of "preparing for accidents", he ordered craftsmen from each battalion to build instruments and send them to the warehouse; when the time was right, he would open the warehouse and quickly launch a mutiny. .
Eunuch Lu only thought about how to get benefits from them and had no interest in these so-called grand ambitions, so he agreed perfunctorily, and then began to change the topic.
Cunzhao listened patiently. Eunuch Lu's request was only three points: 1. Strictly guard all the gates, and do not allow foreign ministers to pass in memorials and disturb the holy hearing. All progress is decided by the emperor; 2. All palace purchases and construction, etc. When something needs to be bought and sold in the market, the imperial army should be sent to travel with the miscellaneous eunuch; 3. After the matter is completed, all the evidence of Liu's party and so on will be sent to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Except for the first offender Liu Zhennian, the others will be handed over to the chief eunuch. Dispose of it as appropriate and then present it to the emperor.
Cun Zhao was really relieved. Eunuch Lu did not put forward any harsh conditions. The first and third clauses were just to strengthen the power of the chamberlains. This might undermine the prestige of the Qingliu Party, but after all, it had nothing to do with them; as for the second clause ... He didn't even pay attention and couldn't see the way through it.
But the emperor's uncle Tai Su became more energetic at the side. After all, he was scheming. He immediately realized what Eunuch Lu was thinking. With a smile, he moved his chair forward and said, "Eunuch Lu, this arrangement is not always going to happen." Let you take care of it?"
Lu Xinzhong glanced at him and smiled knowingly: "You don't know, we are the first to take the imperial edict for this kind of thing, but we have no power, so we can only convey it to various yamen and hand it over to the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Household Affairs Those adults are on hand to take care of it. If I have your help today, I can do my own thing and take care of the worries of the court."
After hearing this, Tai Su glanced at Cun Zhao secretly, patted his shoulder, and said gently: "Cun Zhao, what's wrong with what Eunuch Lu mentioned? Now we are about to eradicate the treacherous officials and do this unprecedented thing. If it’s a righteous act, don’t worry too much.”
After listening to what he said, Cun Zhao gradually understood what was going on. Although he felt a little guilty, he still nodded and said: "Since uncle has said this, what reason do I have to refuse? Eunuch Lu, The matter is settled. When you come tomorrow, we will act according to the plan."
Satisfied, Eunuch Lu immediately bowed, said no more, and walked straight out of the house. He stepped out of the door and turned to look at the big plaque hanging on the door lintel: "Loyalty, Liveliness, Righteousness and Boldness". He couldn't help but secretly sneer a few times, thinking to himself: "I expected that these clan members are high-ranking, and they are all gentlemen." . Now I see that they are just serving the public good for their own benefit and only focus on fame and fortune. What is the difference between them and the rest of us? 'Thinking of this, he became more and more proud and walked away.
Eunuch Lu returned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and met with Shen Jing. He had already thought of an excuse to cover it up, so he said that he had never seen the prince. He only talked a few words with Lan Yuan, expressing his impartiality, and would go there tomorrow. A trip will resolve the crisis. After hearing his explanation, Shen Jing was very relieved and no longer regarded the matter as a top priority. He asked him to go back early tomorrow morning and rewarded him with ten taels of silver. Eunuch Lu worked hard all day long, and finally he could go back to his apartment to rest. He fell asleep and managed to have a peaceful night.
In the early morning, the sun had not yet penetrated the thin clouds, and Eunuch Lu was still sleeping soundly. However, there was a lot of movement in the palace. A group of ministers were walking in a hurry, stepping over unstable stone slabs, making "clunking, clucking, clucking" sounds one after another. After they walked through this paved road, dozens of pairs of boots stepped on the steps one after another, and walked straight into the lobby of Zhongshu Provincial Department.
"Have Liu Zhennian come today?" Lu Zhixian was sitting upright on the chair to the east and asked Zeng Liang quietly beside him.
"I heard someone say last night that General Liu didn't plan to come because he was afraid of being angered again," Zeng Liang said with a smile, "But what's the use of him coming? There are no civil servants in the dynasty who are willing to say a word for him... …”
"Oh, Lord Ye, please sit down here." Seeing Ye Yongjia coming, Lu Zhixian quickly interrupted his chat with Zeng Liang and saluted.
"Didn't this meeting to select provincial ministers stop a few days ago for Gao Shangshu? Why did it start again today?" Seeing Ye Yongjia sit down, Lu Zhixian turned his head again.
Zeng Liang said: "This matter is something that many ministers are eagerly looking forward to, especially those of us in the Qing Dynasty. We have submitted many memorials and are waiting for the approval of the Ministry of Education. Su Shen was also uneasy, so he suggested that Liu Zhennian should be elected immediately. This matter is It was Niu Yuan's decision during his lifetime. He could not openly disobey it, so he could only let us do it."
Lu Zhixian was a little excited: "If Liu Zhennian doesn't come, who can put pressure on us? This meeting must be the final word!"
Ye Yongjia sneered slightly and dusted off his trouser legs. Zeng Liang saw this and shook his head at Lu Zhixian: "I'm afraid there will be no shortage of disputes."
"How……"
Before Lu Zhixian could express his doubts, he heard a voice outside the door: "Su Shenzhen is here!" A handsome official came in, waved his hand, and stopped talking.
Su Zongshan took the hat in his hand and bowed to every official before he got up to his seat and put the hat on the pear wood table.
"Prime Minister Liu has already stipulated that this year's provincial ministers will be elected by you. This is the good intention of selecting talents. In order to facilitate inspection, I ordered the secretary office to prepare paper and pen to record the people you have recommended, and then follow the public opinions , report to the prince, and the cabinet ministers can make a decision."
Everyone responded absently: "Yes."
Su Zongshan asked the secretary to research the ink, then he looked both ways and asked, "Do you have anyone you would like to recommend?"
All the officials suddenly fell silent. They looked at each other, not knowing what the other person was planning, for fear of offending someone by saying something.
Lu Zhixian was very surprised when he saw such a scene. He was stunned for a while, and then he stood up slowly for some reason. Zeng Liang wanted to hold him, but unfortunately he didn't have time, so he could only stare at him nervously. Everyone also stared at him nervously.
"Everyone, Chen Shangshu is a person we admire and should be in charge of state affairs. Why are you keeping silent and not recommending him to work in Zhongshu Province?" Lu Zhixian was the first to speak.
