Chapter 81. The country is peaceful and the people are safe (Part 1.
"Junchen, you have always been the closest to His Majesty. In your opinion, His Majesty has indeed begun to make plans for the Crown Prince now? His Majesty is now in the prime of his life and in good health. If nothing happens, he will probably reign for at least ten years. , I always feel that supporting the prince so eagerly is not like His Majesty’s usual practice.”
Upon hearing Zhou Shangjing's inquiry, Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao also turned their attention to Zhao Junchen.
Zhao Junchen smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying: "It is true that Your Majesty is getting closer to the juniors, but the thoughts in His Majesty's heart cannot be guessed by the juniors. Sir, you have been assisting Your Majesty for decades, but you are still not sure of His Majesty's thoughts. Not to mention the younger generation? However, from the younger generation’s point of view, it is true that His Majesty does not like the current crown prince, but it is also true that he has never had the idea of changing the crown prince. With His Majesty’s personality, even if he does not like the prince, he will still put the country first. Among all the princes and princes nowadays, there is indeed no one more suitable to be the crown prince than Zhu Heyu."
Vaguely, Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao seemed to sigh softly when they heard Zhao Junchen say this.
After Zhou Shangjing took a few sips of the tea in the cup, he said slowly: "I have been thinking these days, have we suppressed the prince too much over the years?"
Zhao Junchen's expression changed and he asked, "What do you mean by what the Chief Assistant said?"
Zhou Shangjing sighed softly, put down the tea cup in his hand, and said quietly: "I have read the history books, but there are few cases where the prince was found to be innocent and was abandoned. Now we have suppressed the prince's party too much, resulting in the prince having no power. If there is no power, there will be no action, if there is no action there will be no fault, and if there is no fault there will be no danger. Perhaps what we do going forward is to protect the prince."
Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao had obviously never thought about the problem from this perspective, and they were both stunned.
On the other hand, Zhao Junchen nodded and said: "It is true. The prince's style and ideas are incompatible with your majesty. It is only because the prince has been suppressed by us over the years and has not gained much momentum that your majesty can rest assured of the prince. However, if the prince's power grows, the power of the temple will I have clashed with His Majesty again and again like before, and with His Majesty’s temperament, I’m afraid you will feel uneasy.”
Huang Yourong hesitated and said, "Master Chief Assistant, are you saying that the reason why His Majesty is so eager to increase the authority of the Crown Prince is because we have suppressed the Crown Prince too much?"
Seeing Zhou Shangjing slowly nodding, Shen Changmao, Huang Yourong, and Zhao Junchen all looked thoughtful.
But more still hesitant.
No longer suppressing the prince's party, or even taking the initiative to increase the prince's authority, seems to have some benefits in the long run, but everyone understands better that this is no different from playing with fire, and everyone here will be burned to death if they are not careful.
The prince has never lacked ability. The reason why he has been mediocre over the years and has even been teased and applauded by everyone here. Apart from the prince's overly fierce and forward temperament, it is more because he has no power in his hands. He can help the government and the public. He also has too few people. If the prince's power is allowed to grow, there is no certainty that everyone here will be able to suppress him.
"The tiger is too dangerous when it comes out of the cage. It is easy to release it, but it is difficult to lock it back in."
After pondering for a long time, Shen Changmao expressed his opinion. He obviously disagreed with Zhou Shangjing's statement. Huang Yourong also nodded in agreement.
Zhou Shangjing turned his eyes to Zhao Junchen. After Zhao Junchen hesitated for a moment, he said softly: "But locking the tiger in a cage will make people less aware of the threat. Your Majesty will feel that he can control it, and he will also eat and drink well." We will raise and feed Tiger Si, and when the time is right, we will open the cage with our own hands. By that time, Tiger Si will be stronger and stronger, which will make it more difficult to deal with. We simply open the cage now. Tiger Si is still young, so it will be easier for us. Deal with it, let it bite a few people, make a few mistakes, and your Majesty will be more alert and get a few more docile pets."
Zhou Shangjing nodded and said: "What Junchen is thinking is exactly what I am thinking. Now His Majesty's thoughts are obvious. No matter how we suppress it, Your Majesty will still gradually increase the power and influence of the Crown Prince in order to ensure that the Crown Prince can successfully succeed to the throne in the future. This is We cannot violate it no matter what. Even if we can suppress it for a while, we cannot suppress it forever. On the contrary, it will increase your Majesty's determination to support the prince."
After coughing twice, Zhou Shangjing continued, "The most important thing is that although His Majesty is in his prime, he is still in his fifties after all. It took nearly ten years to train the current Crown Prince. If we don't make some changes and His Majesty gets older, I'm afraid we won't have time to train a new prince. Then even if we are dissatisfied with the prince in the future, if there is no time, His Majesty can only do one thing. Go dark."
After hearing what Zhao Junchen and Zhou Shangjing said, Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao remained silent, both considering the pros and cons, and the elegant room became extremely quiet for a while.
Although Zhao Junchen kept speaking in accordance with Zhou Shangjing's wishes and seemed to agree, in fact he was full of hesitation in his heart.
Once the prince gains power, Zhao Junchen knows best how much of a threat it will be to everyone here - especially Zhao Junchen himself.
Nowadays, the Prince's Party has just gained a foothold in the Metropolitan Procuratorate and has not yet been fully controlled. In recent days, the number of attempts by the Metropolitan Procuratorate to impeach Zhou Shangjing, Huang Yourong, and Shen Changmao has increased by 30% to 50%. As for the impeachment Zhao Junchen’s discount has more than doubled! It was only because Emperor Deqing kept suppressing it that it did not affect everyone.
However, although Emperor Deqing suppressed these zhezi, he did not reject them. He just received them in the zhezi box and may use them at any time in the future.
The prince had just gained a foothold in the Metropolitan Procuratorate, but he had caused so much trouble to everyone. What if he was allowed to have real power again? By that time, Zhao Junchen, who is most hated by Zhu Heyu, may be the first to bear the brunt and be in the greatest trouble.
But this is not the main problem.
Nowadays, all the key government offices in the temple have been divided up and firmly controlled by the four people here. If the prince is allowed to take power, then everyone here must divide their power!
But, who gets the power? How much does each person get? This kind of thing is probably more difficult to solve than the issue of who should stay in Beijing to assist the government.
In other words, it cannot be solved at all.
The power in your hands is the lifeblood of the four people here. Reducing power and power is more uncomfortable than killing them. Even Zhao Junchen is not immune to this.
Subconsciously, Zhao Junchen raised his head and looked at Zhou Shangjing. Zhao Junchen thought that since Zhou Shangjing suddenly mentioned this matter, he must have a solution in mind.
However, Zhou Shangjing didn't say anything. He allowed everyone to remain silent and just sipped the tea slowly, as if the matter had nothing to do with him.
………
Finally, after a long silence, Zhou Shangjing suddenly sighed softly and said slowly: "Speaking of which, after the Spring Festival, there will be a southern tour, and all arrangements and preparations will begin soon."
After hearing Zhou Shangjing's words, everyone was stunned and didn't understand why Zhou Shangjing mentioned this matter.
"Yes, we will start making arrangements as soon as the New Year is over." Zhao Junchen suddenly thought of something, a strange color flashed in his eyes, and slowly said: "Your Majesty, as the regulations of the Southern Tour expand, arrangements need to be made There will be more and more places, and these arrangements will be left to the younger generation."
Shen Changmao frowned and asked, "What does Junchen mean by this?"
As the regulations for the southern tour expanded, money was spent like water, and the person responsible for the arrangements had a lot to gain. Zhao Junchen's sudden mention of this matter seemed to Shen Changmao to be a bit of a show off.
Zhao Junchen smiled slightly and continued: "It's just that the prince doesn't want to leave these matters to the younger generation. I'm afraid that if the prince wants to come, if I are responsible for such things, not only will the people and money be wasted, but the money will be stolen by the younger generation." After saying this, Zhao Junchen laughed at himself, shook his head slightly, and then said: "He has repeatedly given tricks to His Majesty these days, and wants His Majesty to find someone else. The candidate he recommended is Bao Wenjie, the Minister of Rites. Speaking of which, Bao Wenjie has been in charge of the Ministry of Rites for many years. It is more legitimate for him to be responsible for the Southern Tour."
As Zhao Junchen finished speaking, Huang Yourong's eyes lit up and he said with his hands, "This is a great idea, Junchen. Since the prince wants to seize the matter of the southern tour, just let him seize it. Nowadays, the treasury in the treasury is rare. There is enough money, and His Majesty has very high expectations for this southern tour. However, given the prince's temperament, if he is responsible for this matter, he will definitely be frugal. In this case, Your Majesty will also be dissatisfied with him. It is one of them; no matter how thoughtful the arrangements made during the southern tour, they will inevitably waste people and money. As long as we make a little fuss and make things worse, resentment will boil between the government and the public, and the prince will get into trouble. The reputation he relies on will also be damaged because of this, and this is the second one; the most important thing is that once this matter goes wrong, Your Majesty will also have doubts about the prince's ability to do things. At that time, as long as you and I wait, By man-made publicity, he is promoted as a person with high ambitions and low abilities. Even His Majesty may have the idea of exchanging reserves when the time comes. This is the third one. This plan can be said to kill three birds with one stone. Wonderful! It is really wonderful! "
On the other side, Shen Changmao also nodded repeatedly while he was pondering, and said: "Indeed, in this way, our interests are not harmed, but we have also achieved the purpose of letting the prince take power, and we can take back such power at any time. Indeed, It’s appropriate, and it’s really a rare idea.”
Hearing the praise from Shen and Huang, Zhao Junchen looked calm, smiled softly, and asked: "Oh? Why did the two seniors say this? How did the junior ever say that he would give up such an errand to the prince? The junior just said that he wanted to steal this job from the prince. However, since I have the trust of His Majesty, and I am the most loyal to His Majesty, I naturally do my duty at this time."
As Zhao Junchen finished speaking, Shen and Huang's smiles froze, and a trace of embarrassment flashed across their expressions.
Indeed, this job is extremely lucrative. Even if Zhao Junchen is willing to give up, he cannot explain it to his officials, so he will not give up easily.
Dealing with the prince is something that everyone here has to do, so naturally Zhao Junchen cannot be the only one whose interests are harmed.
At least the other three people present here must give Zhao Junchen some compensation.
After all, Zhao Junchen suddenly mentioned this matter, implying that he wanted to seek a deal.
Regarding this, Shen and Huang were not angry at all. Transactions of interests were commonplace in officialdom.
"In that case, Junchen, why are you willing to give up this job to our Crown Prince?"
Zhou Shangjing looked at Zhao Junchen with interest and asked.
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