"Prepare the sedan, take the name card, and follow me to Zhou Shangjing's house to meet Zhou Shoufu. [No pop-up novel website]" Zhao Junchen ordered: "At this time, this kind of matter should be discussed with Zhou Shoufu no matter what. ”
Hearing Zhao Junchen's instructions, Xu Qingyan was immediately shocked!
Speaking of which, since Zhao Junchen returned to Beijing, this was the first time he planned to meet alone with the chief assistant Zhou Shangjing.
"Master, this matter about Liang Fuchen... you actually plan to discuss it with Zhou Shangjing? Is it appropriate?"
Xu Qingyan couldn't help but ask.
Zhao Junchen smiled and said calmly: "What's inappropriate? Zhou Shangjing is the current chief minister, and all government affairs in the court cannot avoid him no matter what. And Liang Fuchen's request this time is of great importance, and it is not mine. It can be solved by one person, and if there is a problem, I cannot bear it alone. In this case, I naturally need to discuss it with Zhou Shangjing."
"But..." Xu Qingyan hesitated and said: "Zhou Shangjing, an old fox, is too scheming. When we discuss things with him, we are always worried that we will be taken advantage of. What's more, this time it was Liang Fuchen, the Third Supervisor who asked for your help, young master. If Master, if you can help him solve the problem on your own, you can take this opportunity to win Liang Fuchen to our side. But if we discuss it with Zhou Shangjing, this favor will inevitably be given to Zhou Shangjing. What will Liang Fuchen do in the future? You can’t tell who you are close to.”
Hearing Xu Qingyan's doubts, Zhao Junchen first glanced at Xu Qingyan with relief, then shook his head and said: "You can think of this, it seems that you have really grown a lot these days. But it still fails to consider the overall situation. . Although Zhou Shangjing and I belong to different factions in the DPRK, the daily party struggles are party struggles. But for major events in the DPRK - especially those important issues related to the safety of the country, we still need to put aside our guard against each other. Cooperation. If we only focus on party divisions, but therefore forget about the interests of the court, and only know how to fight for power and gain instead of doing business, then Zhou Shangjing and I will be at the end of our game.
You also heard what Xu Wenqing said just now. The three-border military town is responsible for the important task of northwest border defense. But the current situation is so corrupt that it only makes people feel shocked that something will go wrong in the future. It is of no benefit to me, Zhou Shangjing, or the entire Ming Dynasty. If we want to solve it, we need Zhou Shangjing and I to work together. If you still have selfish desires at this time. In the end, it will only harm others and yourself. I understand this truth, and I think Zhou Shangjing understands it too, otherwise he would not have been able to sit on the position of chief minister for such a long time. Since Zhou Shangjing became the chief minister of the cabinet, the situation in our country has always been stable, but it is no accident. "
These words can be regarded as Zhao Junchen's true thoughts now.
After knowing the true situation of the Trilateral Army Town, Zhao Junchen will certainly consider what benefits and benefits he can obtain from this situation. But at the same time, Zhao Junchen would also be worried about the safety of the entire Ming Dynasty!
after all. Once Northern Mongolia breaks through the border, tens of millions of people in the northwest provinces will face disaster. Not to mention the principle of "if the skin is not preserved, the hair will be attached", this is also Zhao Junchen's basic conscience and bottom line as a person and official. .
Therefore, after learning about Liang Fuchen's request, Zhao Junchen planned to discuss countermeasures with Zhou Shangjing from the beginning. Considering the current corrupt situation in the Northwest Trilateral Military Town, I am afraid that only Zhou Shangjing's cunning and powerful influence can possibly solve it. If Zhao Junchen wants to deal with it alone, he is afraid that he will only have a difficult and thankless ending!
After hearing Zhao Junchen's explanation, Xu Qingyan nodded thoughtfully, but hesitantly said: "But if you, young master, used Zhou Shangjing's help to help Liang Fuchen solve the hidden dangers of the three-sided military town, then Liang Fuchen would end up suffering from this." By taking refuge in Zhou Shangjing, wouldn’t it mean that our efforts have been in vain but we have gained nothing?”
"No." Zhao Junchen shook his head and said: "In the final analysis, it is me, not Liang Fuchen, who asked Zhou Shangjing for help. It will be me, not Liang Fuchen, who owes Zhou Shangjing favors in the future. It is still me who is working hard for this now. Then Liang Fuchen I will still be grateful for my benefits instead of Zhou Shangjing. Even if Liang Fuchen doesn't think clearly about this relationship and cause and effect in the future, I will remind him."
Hearing what Zhao Junchen said, Xu Qingyan finally relieved his doubts and nodded thoughtfully in agreement.
And while Zhao Junchen and Xu Qingyan were answering questions, they had arrived outside the Zhao Mansion, where the sedan chair ready to go to the Zhou Mansion was ready.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zhou Shangjing and Zhao Junchen were both high officials of the imperial court. According to the custom of "rich in the east and noble in the west" in the capital, they both lived in the west district of the capital and were not very far apart, so the sedan that Zhao Junchen was riding arrived quickly. destination.
Zhou Shangjing's residence is located in the "Baoshi Hutong" in the capital city, but to this day, people are more accustomed to calling this alley "Thirty Thousand Liang Silver Alley"!
This is because Zhou Shangjing's power and influence in the government and the public is so great that there is always an endless stream of officials and wealthy businessmen from the government and the private sector who go to Zhou's mansion to visit him every day. However, Zhou Shangjing has always been a pure person, but now he is old and lacks energy. Therefore, after he returns home, unless there is something important, Zhou Shangjing will not see any visitors at all.
Under such circumstances, if the housekeepers and stewards in the Zhou Mansion were to help hand over name cards and inform visitors of their intentions even at the risk of being reprimanded by Zhou Shangjing, the visitors would need at least thirty thousand taels of silver to do so! And the name "Thirty Thousand Liang Silver Alley" comes from this!
However, this situation also differs from person to person.
Now Zhao Junchen, as the Minister of Household Affairs and the Superintendent of Xichang, is one of the few powerful officials in the court after Zhou Shangjing. In some respects, his status is almost equal to that of Zhou Shangjing. If he wants to visit Zhou Shangjing, it is obviously not possible. It takes so much trouble, and there is no need to spend money on it. All you need to do is give the name card to the concierge. Faced with the visit of a powerful official like Zhao Junchen, the stewards of the Zhou Mansion would never dare to neglect.
In fact, when Zhao Junchen came to the door of Zhou Mansion, he was recognized by the concierge of Zhou Mansion as soon as he got off the sedan chair and showed up.
…………
At this time, in front of the Zhou Mansion, as rumored, there was a lot of traffic. Guests seeking to see him were queuing up to enter and exit the Zhou Mansion's concierge, leaving name cards to inform them of their visit. And the sedans and carriages they were riding in filled the entire alley.
In such a chaotic situation, no one should have noticed Zhao Junchen's arrival.
However, the stewards of the Zhou Mansion were obviously well-trained and had memorized all the important figures in the court including their appearance, entourage, and even the style of the sedan chair.
When a Zhou Mansion steward who was looking out in front of the Zhou Mansion saw Zhao Junchen's sedan slowly approaching, and Xu Qingyan following the sedan, his complexion suddenly changed, and he quickly ordered his servants to go to the mansion to make preparations. , and then quickly came to Zhao Junchen's sedan to greet him.
When Zhao Junchen got off the sedan, the steward was already waiting respectfully aside. After personally confirming Zhao Junchen's appearance, he bowed to Zhao Junchen and said, "Young man Zhou Shanren, the steward of the Zhou Mansion, has met Zhao Shangshu." ! Zhao Shangshu, are you here to visit the chief minister of my family?"
Seeing that he seemed to be recognized by a steward of the Zhou Mansion before he even got off the sedan chair, Zhao Junchen secretly frowned slightly, but on the surface he smiled and nodded, saying: "That's it. I have something urgent to ask to see Mr. Chief Assistant. , please pass it on."
While talking, Xu Qingyan, who was standing by the side, had already taken out Zhao Junchen's name card from his arms and handed it to Zhou Shanren.
For a person like Zhao Junchen, Zhou Shanren obviously did not dare to let him wait outside the mansion. After respectfully taking the name card, he stretched out his hand to lead it to the mansion, and said humbly: "I also ask the Lord to accompany me to the mansion." Wait in the living room, I will inform the Chief Assistant of your arrival immediately."
Zhao Junchen, who was overjoyed that Xu Qingyan had grown up a little, now looked at an ordinary steward in the Zhou Mansion who was already so advanced and retreated. As the saying goes, "people are more irritating than others." He couldn't help but shake his head secretly in his heart, but on the surface he was He didn't show any emotion, he just followed Zhou Shanren into the Zhou Mansion.
At the same time, seeing Zhao Junchen being personally greeted by the steward of the Zhou Mansion, and then being welcomed into the Zhou Mansion without any notification, the guests who had to queue up to enter the Zhou Mansion concierge naturally guessed who Zhao Junchen was. I'm afraid the identity is not trivial.
Among them, some people had already recognized Zhao Junchen's identity. They were surprised when they saw Zhao Junchen suddenly came to visit Zhou Shangjing without any warning, and even more speculated about it.
As a result, the news that "Zhao Junchen suddenly met Zhou Shangjing alone" spread throughout the official circles of the capital before evening.
…………
At the same time that Zhao Junchen entered the Zhou Mansion, Zhou Shangjing, who was practicing painting in the study, had received a notification from his servants and learned of Zhao Junchen's arrival.
"Zhao Junchen? Why is he here? It's rare. Could it be that something happened?"
After hearing the report, Zhou Shangjing put down the rabbit hair in his hand thoughtfully and murmured to himself.
Zhou Lu, the general manager of the Zhou Mansion who was waiting nearby - secretly one of Zhou Shangjing's intelligence chiefs. After hearing Zhou Shangjing's inquiry, she bowed and replied: "Master Chief Assistant, I was about to inform you that I just got the According to the news, Xu Wenqing, an aide to Liang Fuchen, the governor of the three sides, secretly visited Zhao Junchen after the morning court today, and then stayed directly in Zhao Mansion. However, no news was obtained about what the two talked about. But what about Liang Fuchen? The staff just visited Zhao Junchen, and Zhao Junchen came to ask to see you, so there may be some connection between the two."
"Oh?" After hearing Zhou Lu's report, Zhou Shangjing's seemingly dim old eyes flashed with wisdom and murmured: "It seems that Zhao Junchen's request to see me this time is not a trivial matter. In this case, even if he is now The timing is sensitive, but we can’t disappear.” (To be continued...)
