"But I don't know, what is a national scholar? What is an ordinary person?"
After Wei Huai was silent for a moment, he slowly said in his unique hoarse voice: "The so-called ordinary people are doing things that everyone can do, and everyone has thoughts. Jiao Jun is pure, but he is in a sedan chair, and he is in a good mood, and he is looking forward to it.
"Oh?" Zhao Junchen seemed to agree but didn't care. He picked up the tea cup at hand, took a sip, and said softly: "I'm not afraid to tell you, since I entered the officialdom, I have been scheming with others. I am always cautious in everything, walking on thin ice when dealing with superiors and subordinates. Although I have not made any mistakes or omissions yet, I still feel inadequate when dealing with them. The ambition and self-righteousness at the beginning have been worn away by today, and I no longer dare to think highly of them. I no longer dare to look down on others. [No pop-up novel website]"
After saying that, Zhao Junchen put down the tea cup and looked up at Wei Huai, who still looked calm: "But because of this, I understand a truth. That is, in this world, we are all just ordinary people. Well, although I am always pretentious, I am always insignificant. I always think that I am unique, but the world will still function without anyone else. I always feel that no matter how difficult things are, as long as I calm down and work hard, I can find a solution. But the fact is exactly the opposite. In the final analysis, your and my understanding of ourselves are actually just based on our imagination of ourselves. Mr. Wei, do you think this is true?"
"Although they are just a few words, they are thought-provoking. Sir, it is no accident that you have achieved what you have today." Wei Huai nodded in agreement at first, and then changed the topic. He continued: "However, adults should not belittle oneself. Of course, as the adults said, this world is too big, and you and I are just a small part of it. Without everyone, reincarnation will continue to happen. But if someone really has extraordinary power, So without him, even if the world continues to operate, there will always be some changes for better or worse. And some things, if left to different people to do, will also get different results, good or bad, sir. Is this true?"
Zhao Junchen smiled. Said: "There seem to be countless truths in this world. But I don't know that the so-called 'truth' always has two sides and are contradictory. No matter how you say it, it will work."
Wei Huai also nodded and said: "So, it doesn't matter how you say it, what matters is how you do it."
Zhao Junchen nodded and did not continue to refute. He just looked at Wei Huai again. He smiled and said, "I thought Mr. Wei was a member of the Royal Guards and was a member of the army. I didn't expect that his eloquence would be so remarkable."
Wei Huai patted his stumped legs on the wheelchair and said softly: "Ever since these legs were interrupted, I can no longer be regarded as a soldier. In this world, there are no legs." A disabled soldier."
At this point in the conversation, Zhao Junchen seemed to have finally been convinced. After nodding with a smile, he asked: "Just now, Mr. Wang said that the so-called national scholars can do extraordinary things, have extraordinary thoughts, and receive extraordinary treatment, but I don't know what he means." What's going on? What's on your mind? What's your treatment?"
After listening to Zhao Junchen's repeated probing, he finally got to the point. A gleam flashed in Wei Huai's eyes and he said in a deep voice: "I have served in Jinyiwei for more than seventeen years. I have served as the Qianhu of Beizhen Fusi and Nanzhen. Fusi's town support envoy, I can't say that he achieved great results during his tenure, but he never made any mistakes. He also had a lot of dealings with Dongchang. He has rich experience and has his own strategies for this. If your Excellency can Leave the affairs of the West Factory to me, and I can guarantee that in the future, any disturbance in the officialdom and among the people will not escape your eyes and ears; all the forces and changes in all parties will not affect your safety; and your Majesty will be even more distant. Don't do it adults. And this is the extraordinary thing that only I can do."
Zhao Junchen nodded and motioned for Wei Huai to continue.
"Ordinary people have selfishness, greed, and weakness. However, after these years of life being worse than death and looking like a useless person, these things have been abandoned long ago. If you use me, I will be like a reborn parent. The grace of rebuilding; and everything I have will be attached to you, I will be loyal to you, I will never betray you at any time, and I will consider and plan for you wholeheartedly. This is the extraordinary heart that only I have."
"So, what about extraordinary treatment?"
Seeing that Wei Huai had already kept silent when he said this, Zhao Junchen asked further.
Wei Huai's pale face suddenly showed a smile. His pale teeth were exposed in the smile, and his expression became more gloomy. He said slowly: "In this world, you always get rewards after giving. My treatment is rewarded. It is only after you have paid so much for me that I dare to ask for it from you."
Wei Huai's voice was extremely hoarse, and you had to listen carefully to understand what he was saying. When he said this, he seemed calm, but the hissing sound in his throat and tongue revealed what was going on in his heart. Real emotions.
However, such a hissing sound is like a poisonous snake spitting a message, which makes people feel chilly.
…………
After Wei Huai said goodbye and left, Zhao Junchen looked at the empty main hall of Zhao Mansion with a thoughtful expression.
On the side, Xu Qingyan couldn't help but said: "Master, this Wei Huai's appearance and temperament are completely different from what Qin Wei said before. I just looked at him from the side and I always felt chilled in my heart. Master, are you really going to use it?" he?"
Zhao Junchen said quietly: "After experiencing such a change, anyone's temperament will change drastically. I only choose people based on whether they are loyal and attentive. As for the rest, they are just details."
Xu Qingyan couldn't stand Wei Huai, so he curled his lips and said, "He thought he was a national scholar just now. I don't know if he is really that capable."
Zhao Junchen shook his head and said slowly: "In this world, everyone is pretentious, but the difference is that the reason why most people have such thoughts is because they don't know how to look at the sky from a well, but there are always some people , understands the depth of the world, and therefore understands his own strengths and weaknesses, this Wei Huai is not like the former."
After a pause, Zhao Junchen said to Xu Qingyan: "Send someone tomorrow to find out who the Jin Yiwei who framed Wei Huai were. If they are not too important people, taking advantage of this opportunity to rebuild the West Factory, most of them will It can be done easily. In this world, although the service is given first and the reward is paid later, if the reward is given first, the person doing the service will feel more at ease, right?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the next few days, Zhao Junchen's life was monotonous and busy. Every day, he first went to the morning court with all the officials, listened to Emperor Deqing's anger because of the lack of progress in the He Ming family murder case, and then returned home in a low-key manner. Then he was either planning in Fuzhong or traveling around Beijing, working hard on the reconstruction of the West Factory.
Fortunately, Wei Huai does have some abilities. He is very knowledgeable about factory guard matters, and with his help, the progress has finally been much faster.
In this way, five days passed. The shelves in the West Factory were finally erected. The composition of the personnel has also been basically determined.
All that is left is to announce it to the outside world.
………
The next day, go to the morning.
Zhao Junchen followed the officials into the Hall of Supreme Harmony in a low-key manner. Not long after, as Zhang De and Eunuch Zhang said, "Your Majesty has arrived," Zhao Junchen also knelt down to greet him along with all the officials.
I saw Emperor Deqing coming to the imperial steps. He looked at the ministers for a few times, and his eyes paused briefly on Zhao Junchen, Zhou Shangjing, Prince Zhu and Yu. Then he sat down on the dragon chair and said slowly: "My lords, please get up."
The voice was neither happy nor angry. Emotions are ordinary.
However, all the officials in the Hall of Supreme Harmony were stunned when they heard Emperor Deqing's words.
Without him, for the past seven days, the situation in the morning court every day has been almost the same without any changes. After Emperor Deqing arrived, he did not let the officials get up, just let them kneel, and then asked He Ming about the progress of the murder case. After learning that there was no progress in the case, Long Yan was furious, scolded all the courtiers in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and then walked away without handling other court affairs.
But today, Emperor Deqing actually asked his ministers to stand up! How could the officials not be surprised by such a sudden change?
Although the ministers were puzzled, they were not willing to keep kneeling like this, so they all stood up.
However, before Zhao Junchen stood up, he seemed to hear a faint sigh, the voice was old, and at a glance, it was from the chief assistant Zhou Shangjing.
There was no time to think about the reason for Zhou Shangjing's sigh. On the other side, Emperor Deqing, who was on the imperial steps, slowly said: "Today, before I went to court, I took a special look at the almanac and found out that the Chunwei Examination was not far away from Jinke. There is only half a month left. However, in recent days, due to the He Ming family murder case, they have never been able to discuss it. Today, there is no room for delay, especially the Jinke Examination. If the selection of the examiner is delayed, I am afraid it will cause uneasiness among the students. What do you think, sir?"
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
Over the past few days, Emperor Deqing's attitude has been extremely tough. Today's sudden change to a gentle discussion made the ministers really uncomfortable. For a while, all the ministers were silent, but no one dared to express their attitude.
Seeing the silence of the ministers, Emperor Deqing frowned and asked again: "My beloved sir, do you have a suitable candidate to provide?"
There are two candidates for the chief examiner of the Spring Wei Examination, also known as "Zongzai", who are bachelors with Jinshi background and officials below the level of Shangshu, deputy capital censor or above. There are also eight other examiners, mostly Hanlin.
These positions can be said to be highly sought-after. Not to mention the honors they bring. Once these examiners set questions and mark papers, once they are biased, they can affect who can be selected and who cannot be selected. And the candidates who passed the spring examination , will also become the disciples of the examiners, and will be easy to win over in the future, thereby expanding their influence.
In fact, as for the candidates for examiners and co-examiners, the major factions in the DPRK have already had their favorite candidates. However, these days, Emperor Deqing is only concerned about the progress of the He Ming family murder case and does not deal with other court affairs, so That was the delay.
Now, after hearing Emperor Deqing's questioning again, the officials finally reacted and came out one after another.
"Your Majesty, I recommend Cheng Yuandao, a scholar from Wenhua Palace University. Cheng Yuandao is a leader in the literary world and has a very high reputation among scholars. The imperial examination fraud case in three provinces has just passed. With Cheng Yuandao as the candidate for the examiner, he can also An Shizi’s heart.”
Cheng Yuandao, a scholar at Wenhua Palace, has always been a die-hard supporter of the prince. Since Wen Guanliang left office, his voice for joining the cabinet has become stronger day by day, and he will be recommended. Naturally, he is an official from the prince's faction.
Afterwards, many officials from the prince's faction did not mention it.
"Your Majesty, I recommend Huo Zhengyuan, a scholar from Wenyuan Pavilion. Scholar Huo passed the exam in three years and became famous for a while. If he serves as the examiner, he will definitely be able to inspire a lot of students who are taking the exam and can better select talents for your majesty. .”
Huo Zhengyuan, the great scholar of Wenyuan Pavilion, was a member of the Pavilion Lao Huang Yourong, and was one of several high-ranking members of the cabinet. Huang Yourong is the most greedy for power. How could he be missing at this time? At this time, he actually did not hesitate to make recommendations in person. As he finished speaking, a group of officials started cheering for Huo Zhengyuan.
"Your Majesty, I believe that Wang De, a scholar from Dongge University, is of high moral character. He is fair, and his knowledge is second to none. He should be the best candidate to be the chief examiner."
Shen Changmao was naturally not far behind, and at his signal, many disciples came forward to recommend him. And this Dongge University Scholar Wang De is naturally Shen Changmao's man.
"Your Majesty, I believe that Mr. Song Qiwen, the Minister of Civil Affairs, is a capable man and has rich experience. The knowledge of Li and Li, the bachelor of Baohe Palace, are among the best in the court, and they can be powerful examiners. selection."
Song Qiwen, the Minister of Civil Affairs, and Li He, the grand scholar of Baohe Palace, were all disciples of Zhou Shangjing, the chief minister of the cabinet. As this voice appeared, nearly half of the courtiers in the whole court came out to agree, showing a preemptive attitude.
And while the four major factions, Chief Assistant Zhou Shangjing, Prince Zhu Heyu, Ge Lao Huang Yourong, and Ge Lao Shen Changmao, are vying for the candidate of the chief examiner, Zhao Junchen's faction, which has suddenly emerged as a new force in the DPRK in recent days, is There was some silence, everyone from Zhao Junchen on down was silent.
Without him, Zhao Junchen's faction has just emerged and lacks sufficient background. There are only two people at the ministerial level: Zhao Junchen, the minister of household affairs, and Zuo Lanshan, the minister of the ministry of industry. However, Zhao Junchen is not qualified enough, and Zuo Lanshan is in charge of the ministry of industry and the minister of industry. The imperial examination has nothing to do with it, and he is not known for his knowledge, so he is not qualified.
As for people at the level of bachelor, there is no one in Zhao Junchen’s faction.
Therefore, the ministers of Zhao Junchen's faction could only watch the fun at this time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The morning court seems solemn, but once factional power struggles are involved, it will be no different from the vegetable market, and even more noisy.
Looking coldly at the major factions attacking each other, praising one's own strengths and exposing the weaknesses of the enemy, all the normally dignified ministers of the DPRK and China were blushing and salivating during the arguments. Zhao Junchen couldn't help shaking his head and laughing.
"enough!"
After the ministers argued for a long time, Emperor Deqing finally seemed to be impatient. He slapped the imperial case with his hand, frowned and shouted loudly.
As Emperor Deqing shouted, the ministers realized that they had lost their composure. Seeing that Emperor Deqing was angry, they couldn't help but keep silent.
Emperor Deqing first snorted angrily, and then said: "These days, the court affairs have been delayed, and we finally discussed some serious matters. Let's see how decent you are like this!?"
Then, Emperor Deqing pondered for a moment, as if he was seriously considering the previous suggestions of the ministers, and then said: "I have thought about it, and the examiners for this term will be Song Qiwen, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Li Li, the Grand Scholar of the Baohe Palace. Let’s take the post with the two beloved ministers. As for the eight fellow examiners, it will be decided by the Ministry of Rites. What do the ministers think?”
Hearing what Emperor Deqing said, the ministers were stunned again.
You know, Song Qiwen, the Minister of Civil Affairs, and Li He, the great scholar of Baohe Palace, were both the chief assistants of Zhou Shangjing!
In recent years, Emperor Deqing has been intentionally or unintentionally suppressing Zhou Shangjing's power and influence in the court. Therefore, the candidates for the spring examinations in recent years have been officials and bachelors from other factions in the court.
Not only the courtiers, but also Zhao Junchen, who had always been closest to Emperor Deqing, was a little confused at this time and did not understand what Emperor Deqing was planning.
However, Emperor Deqing approved it, and Zhou Shangjing, the most powerful faction in the court, fully supported it. Although other factions were unwilling to accept it, they also opposed it one after another. However, after some debate, they were powerless and still could not change the result.
Later, Song Qiwen, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Li He, the great scholar of Baohe Palace, were overjoyed and hurriedly came out to thank the Lord for his kindness.
………
After the candidates for the examination of Chunwei were finally determined, Emperor Deqing's face suddenly darkened and he raised his voice: "The Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Seven or eight days have passed since the murder of He Ming's family. , have you found any clues and progress?"
As Emperor Deqing mentioned the matter again. The originally lively court suddenly fell silent.
Then, several officials from the Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple and the Metropolitan Procuratorate came out to kneel down. After looking at each other for a few times, Feng Pei, the Minister of Punishment, replied in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, although I am very capable, We are doing our best to investigate, but the clues in this case are obscure. There has been no progress yet, but please rest assured, Your Majesty..."
However, Feng Pi's words were just over halfway. He was interrupted by Emperor Deqing, who saw an angry look on his face and shouted loudly: "Let me feel at ease? How can I feel at ease? Are you going to say again that there will be progress in the near future? This You said something yesterday! You said it the day before yesterday! You said it the day before yesterday. I endure it again and again. I wait and wait. After enduring it for so many days, I ask you, where is the progress!?"
Emperor Deqing shouted angrily, but he once again returned to his previous state in the morning.
The officials of the Third Division knelt down one after another, not daring to refute, and bowed their heads to listen to the instruction.
"I gave you a ten-day deadline to solve the case. Now seven or eight days have passed, but you have made no progress at all! Ha! This is the Sanfa Division that I rely on as my arm! It looks like I can no longer have any expectations for you. Already! Where is Zhao Junchen!?"
As Emperor Deqing asked, Zhao Junchen quickly stepped out of the queue and said respectfully: "I am here."
"I asked you to rebuild the West Factory, how are you preparing now?"
Following Emperor Deqing's inquiry, all the officials in the court were in an uproar!
Emperor Deqing plans to rebuild the West Factory!
And they didn’t know the news until now!
Zhao Junchen ignored the uproar among his colleagues and simply replied: "Your Majesty, everything is fully prepared and we are just waiting for your Majesty's imperial edict."
After hearing what Zhao Junchen said, Emperor Deqing's face became slightly broad, and he continued: "In this case, I will issue an order now. From now on, I will establish the West Factory again. As for the position of the director of the West Factory, you will temporarily hold the position. , and the first thing after the establishment of the West Factory is to work with the Sanfa Division to investigate the He Ming family murder case! You must investigate this case for me in the shortest possible time!"
At this time, Zhao Junchen naturally would not refuse to agree, so while the officials were looking at him in disbelief, he loudly responded: "Your Majesty, Zhao Junchen, accept the order!"
However, just as Zhao Junchen finished speaking, Prince Zhu Heyu on the side finally came to his senses and objected loudly: "Father, you can't do it. The reconstruction of the West Factory is of great importance, so we should..."
However, just as Zhu Heyu opened his mouth, Emperor Deqing waved his hand and interrupted him impatiently, saying angrily: "What? The Three Law Departments in the outer court are useless, and the factory guards in the inner court are useless. Is it possible that I can't build it anymore?" An effective yamen? Is it possible for my prince and grand master to have his entire family wiped out so easily? Is it possible to let the murderer go unpunished!? I have made up my mind. If anyone wants to object, I will just issue a military order here. If you say that I can detect the case immediately, then I will withdraw from the West Factory!"
Seeing Emperor Deqing's statement, Prince Zhu Heyu was naturally dissatisfied and wanted to issue a military order to personally take charge of the matter.
However, before he could speak, he was pulled by the Crown Prince and Grand Master Xiao Wenruan behind him. The Crown Prince turned around and saw Xiao Wenruan with a reproachful look on his face, shaking his head slightly at him.
Although the prince was unwilling to give in, he always respected Xiao Wenruan the most, so he could only stop and sigh.
On the other side, Zhao Junchen thought that the chief minister Zhou Shangjing would object to this matter. After all, once the West Factory was rebuilt, the imperial power would be greater, which would not be a good thing for the officials in the court. But when he looked up, he saw that Zhou Shangjing at this time was actually just He was silent and showed no objection at all.
In his mind, Zhao Junchen finally realized what had happened in the past few days.
In these days, Emperor Deqing would ask about the progress of He Ming's family murder case every morning in the morning, and got angry about it. He emphasized that his attitude was on the one hand, and laying the groundwork for the reconstruction of the West Factory today was the real reason; and today, Zhou Shangjing asked Zhou Shangjing to He held the position of examiner and gave Zhou Shangjing such a big advantage. It was both appeasement and transaction. "I have given you face and benefits, so you also want some face benefits from me." Emperor Deqing mentioned the matter of being the examiner of the general examination. That's probably what it means to stay in discussions today.
"That's it, the emperor's mind..."
Zhao Junchen looked at Emperor Deqing, then at Zhou Shangjing, and sighed secretly in his heart.
The most controversial part of this matter was that Zhao Junchen, a foreign minister, was appointed as the director of the West Factory. However, Emperor Deqing's words of "temporarily concurrent" also blocked Youyou's mouth.
As a result, the prince was stopped by Xiao Wenruan, Zhou Shangjing remained silent and did not express his position. Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao, the two cabinet ministers, saw that no one came forward, so they also fell silent. There were also a group of officials from the Zhao Junchen faction who shouted "Your Majesty is wise!" , this matter has just been settled.
The reconstruction of the West Factory has been completed.
As for Zhao Junchen, in addition to being the Minister of Household Affairs and the Minister in charge of the internal transportation treasury, he now had the title of Factory Supervisor of the West Factory.
From this, anyone can predict that Zhao Junchen will definitely increase his power.
But Zhao Junchen couldn't foresee whether this matter would be good or bad for him!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ps: Two chapters in one are presented. (To be continued. Please read.)
