In Shangxian Tower, while Zhao Junchen was tasting all kinds of delicacies, he did not know that something that would affect his life in a certain way was happening inadvertently. [No pop-up novel website]
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In the palace, in the Yangxin Hall, Emperor Deqing was dealing with court affairs, but he looked a little absent-minded, as if he was thinking about other things.
Today's situation between the government and the opposition is relatively stable, and among the things that can affect Emperor Deqing's mind, apart from the matter of Prince Zhu and Yu leaving the capital to handle the case, there are only two major factions, Zhao Junchen and Huang Yourong, left in the court. There was a fierce party dispute.
And what Emperor Deqing is thinking about now is the party dispute between Zhao Junchen and Huang Yourong!
Zhao Junchen controlled the three major bureaucracies of the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Industry, and the West Factory, and Huang Yourong was one of the cabinet ministers in the court. They were all important figures in the court. The party struggle between the two people, It will inevitably bring about great changes in the situation between the government and the opposition. Therefore, not only Emperor Deqing is paying attention, but now all interested people in the government and the opposition are paying close attention and do not dare to miss any changes during the period.
But Emperor Deqing paid attention to this matter from a different angle than others.
Emperor Deqing was more concerned about the changes in Zhao Junchen during this time.
Speaking of which, since Zhao Junchen went to Lu'an Prefecture for disaster relief and returned to the capital, the changes have been so great that even Emperor Deqing found it incredible.
And such changes can be said to be both good and bad.
The good thing is that Zhao Junchen is more capable of doing things. He was also better able to figure out Emperor Deqing's thoughts. Under the auspices of Zhao Junchen, not only the money turnover of the Ministry of Revenue and the inner treasury became increasingly abundant. It greatly satisfied Emperor Deqing's desire for great achievements and extravagance, and many things did not require Emperor Deqing's initiative. Zhao Junchen had already prepared them in advance. In this way, Emperor Deqing was naturally extremely satisfied. .
But the bad thing is Zhao Junchen's many words, deeds and actions during this period. Emperor Deqing was often surprised, such as the suppression and counterattack against the Metropolitan Procuratorate's Yamen a few days ago, and now he took the initiative to provoke a party dispute with Huang Yourong. Although Zhao Junchen would have a lot of legitimate reasons to convince Emperor Deqing every time, he still gave Emperor Deqing a feeling that it was difficult to control.
Therefore, Emperor Deqing's mood towards Zhao Junchen today is quite complicated. That is to say, I feel that I am increasingly inseparable from Zhao Junchen. At the same time, he began to be more and more wary of Zhao Junchen.
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However, this time Zhao Junchen and Huang Yourong were able to gain the upper hand in the party dispute. While it surprised many people, it also made Emperor Deqing understand many things - that is, unknowingly, today's Zhao Junchen, although not yet a cabinet minister. However, his power and influence among the government and the public is no less than that of a senior official in the government.
After accepting this reality. Emperor Deqing actually found it somewhat acceptable for Zhao Junchen to gradually get out of his control.
After all, even the emperor cannot completely control a court official.
In fact, the attitude of emperors towards their ministers also changed constantly with the status of their ministers.
As for the court officials below the cabinet elder, Emperor Deqing could not care about their thoughts, could forcibly control their words and deeds, and abandon them as soon as he was summoned.
However, the elders in the court who had a solid foundation and had many disciples all over the world were by no means comparable to ordinary ministers. They already had the confidence to bargain with the emperor. Therefore, while Emperor Deqing tried his best to control them, he also needed to win over them as much as possible. them.
But now Zhao Junchen obviously has a power and influence comparable to that of the court elder, but it made Emperor Deqing feel that his attitude towards Zhao Junchen also needed to change.
After all, the current Emperor Deqing is still inseparable from Zhao Junchen. If he wants to continue to control Zhao Junchen, if he just asks for it by force, it will only arouse Zhao Junchen's dissatisfaction, but he also needs to give Zhao Junchen more sweetness. Only then can Zhao Junchen continue to serve Emperor Deqing willingly!
However, Emperor Deqing was a little troubled by how to win over Zhao Junchen and how to give him favors.
After all, at a young age, Zhao Junchen is already the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Superintendent of the West Factory, and is also in charge of the internal transportation warehouse. If he is given any more authority, I am afraid it will only cause dissatisfaction between the government and the opposition, but it will not be a big deal. suitable.
And if some false titles and honors are given to Zhao Junchen, let alone Zhao Junchen's qualifications and reputation are too shallow to be promoted to a noble title, and those false titles are just false after all, and they may not be able to achieve the win-win effect.
In this way, Emperor Deqing couldn't help but feel a little troubled when he couldn't think of an effective way, and subconsciously frowned slightly.
While Emperor Deqing was thinking about it, a piece of paper in his hand suddenly caught Emperor Deqing's attention.
This is the news that Chang Hong, the daughter of Zheng Guogong Chang Wei, plans to marry Zhang Mu, the son of Ning Guogong Zhang Dai, so Zheng Guogong and Ning Guogong jointly submitted a memorial to request Emperor Deqing to grant the marriage.
Although the two families of Zheng Guogong and Ning Guogong can be regarded as nobles for generations, they have not produced any outstanding figures in recent generations, and their influence in the government and the public has gradually faded. Therefore, Emperor Deqing did not regard the marriage of these two families. Mind you, I just approved it casually.
However, this document asking Emperor Deqing to grant a marriage actually provided Emperor Deqing with a way to win over Zhao Junchen!
That is, granting marriage to Zhao Junchen! !
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After thinking of a way, Emperor Deqing couldn't help but perked up. He turned to the eunuch Zhang De and asked, "Speaking of which, how old is Zhao Junchen now?"
When Emperor Deqing asked, Zhang De naturally did not dare to be negligent and quickly replied: "Reporting to your majesty, Zhao Shangshu is extremely talented and is loved by your majesty. Although he is already the second-rank minister in the court, he is still young. , his real age seems to be only twenty-four years old."
While replying, Zhang De secretly glanced at Emperor Deqing, feeling strange and wondering why Emperor Deqing suddenly asked this question.
"He is already twenty-four years old... These days go by so fast. I remember that when he entered the court, he was not yet twenty years old, but now it has been four or five years..." Emperor Deqing Ruo He nodded thoughtfully and sighed slowly: "For court officials, it is certainly too young to become the Minister of Household Affairs and the second-rank official in the court at the age of twenty-four, but if it is based on marriage, For me, it is too late to be married at the age of twenty-four."
"Your Majesty, what you are saying is that among the common people, many men get married when they are fifteen or sixteen years old. As for the noble sons and daughters of the court, although most of them will be later, they will all get married and take concubines before they are twenty years old. . But Zhao Shangshu still hasn’t married yet, and he doesn’t even have a concubine, which is indeed something wrong." Zhang De agreed.
While thinking secretly, Emperor Deqing asked again: "Which family is Zhao Aiqing engaged to?"
At this point, Zhang De vaguely understood what Emperor Deqing meant, and said quickly: "Your Majesty, as far as I know, Zhao Shangshu has not been engaged to anyone, but I don't know which young lady will." Such a blessing to be able to marry a young talent like Zhao Shangshu."
"That's right..." Emperor Deqing nodded slowly.
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In fact, both Emperor Deqing and eunuch Zhang De knew the reason why Zhao Junchen could not get married, but at this time, they did not say it clearly.
In this era, when a man marries a woman, the most important thing in marriage and marriage is "well-matched". Although Zhao Junchen came from a bad background, he became a second-rank official in the imperial court at a young age and was deeply loved by Deqing. The emperor's favor seemed to have a bright future, so among the government and the public, the only families qualified to marry Zhao Junchen were the nobles of the Ming Dynasty and some powerful ministers in the temple.
However, Zhao Junchen's reputation among the government and the public was too bad, and his hostile relationship with the crown prince Zhu Heyu was well known to everyone. Those who were qualified to marry Zhao Junchen and the principals in the family were all As a person with a discerning eye, he can naturally understand that although Zhao Junchen is in great glory now, when Prince Zhu Heyu ascends the throne in the future, he is afraid that Zhao Junchen will be executed.
Therefore, in order to avoid being implicated in the future, these wealthy families who are qualified to marry Zhao Junchen will naturally not marry Zhao Junchen for temporary gain.
As a result, it also caused the embarrassing situation that although Zhao Junchen was extremely powerful in the court, he was still unable to get married. The qualified wealthy families were unwilling to marry him, but the small family who was willing to marry Zhao Junchen households, but often lack the qualifications.
Therefore, although Zhao Junchen is now twenty-four years old and has already reached the marriageable age in this era, he still has not gotten married, which is a strange thing in the temple.
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On the other side, thinking about the reasons why Zhao Junchen was unable to get married, Emperor Deqing pondered for a moment and finally said: "Yes, Zhao Aiqing is not young anymore. Although he is not in a hurry, after all, he is a member of the court. Important minister, I am a little anxious for him. There are many noble families in the court now, and I think there are also many women of the right age. Zhang De, go and make a list for me. If you can take the opportunity to promote a good marriage, It’s quite a wonderful thing.”
Zhang Deying said with a smile: "Your Majesty, you are planning to marry Zhao Shangshu. It is such a great honor. I think that when Zhao Shangshu knows about it, he will definitely be grateful to you."
Emperor Deqing twisted his beard and smiled and said: "This is natural."
Having said that, Emperor Deqing's eyes showed a thoughtful look.
Emperor Deqing also needed to carefully choose which meritorious family to marry with Zhao Junchen, which would allow Zhao Junchen to feel the emperor's favor without excessively increasing Zhao Junchen's power and influence.
Different from the previous marriage between Zheng Guogong and Ning Guogong, this matter needs to be carefully considered.
…………(To be continued...)
