…
With the southern tour schedule confirmed, Zhao Junchen became increasingly busy in the next few days. [No pop-up novel website]
Although the party dispute between Zhao Junchen and Huang Yourong was temporarily suspended due to Emperor Deqing's hint, Zhao Junchen not only had to deal with the changes in the situation in the DPRK during this period, but also had to prepare for the situation in the court after he left Beijing. Although there are no sexual arrangements, there is still little free time.
In the next three days, Zhao Junchen went against his original style of keeping a low profile in official circles and summoned his friends and disciples in the court many times, either to give them instructions or to reassure them. For a time, Zhao Junchen's mansion There were people coming and going, traffic was busy, and a large number of corrupt officials and traitors gathered together every day, which was quite lively.
It wasn't until three days later that Zhao Junchen was roughly ready.
In the busy schedule, time always passes quickly, and before you know it, it is the day when Emperor Deqing holds a palace banquet.
This palace banquet, in a certain way, determines Zhao Junchen's future marriage choices and is related to Zhao Junchen's life. Zhao Junchen naturally attaches great importance to it.
…………
However, at three o'clock in the afternoon of this day, before going to the palace for the banquet, Zhao Junchen deliberately summoned Wei Huai from Xichang alone.
Speaking of which, Zhao Junchen's current basic sphere of influence in the court is the three major yamen of the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, and the Xichang, and he also maintains a certain influence in the Sanfasi yamen.
However, in the past three days, Zhao Junchen has only been summoning crony officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of Works, and the Three Law Departments, but has remained indifferent to the Xichang side. It was not until today that he summoned Wei Huai alone to discuss the matter.
This is not to say that Zhao Junchen does not pay attention to Xichang. To put it seriously, the power and influence of all the major yamen that Zhao Junchen controls now must be Xichang's strongest - the power of arrest and interrogation possessed by Xichang. If Zhao Junchen can make full use of it, even Zhou Shangjing may have to give way to Zhao Junchen, even if Zhao Junchen wants to dominate the officialdom in a short time. It is not impossible to suppress all other factions in the DPRK, including Zhou Shangjing.
However, since Zhao Junchen took over the West Factory, he has been mediocre in this regard. There was even some indifference. Not only did he not release the terrifying energy of Xichang, but he also suppressed Xichang's rights and responsibilities intentionally or unintentionally.
This is because Zhao Junchen knew very well from the beginning that although the power of Xichang was terrifying, it was directly authorized by Emperor Deqing and was the representative of imperial power. No one except Emperor Deqing could truly control it. This yamen!
You must know that the foundation of Xichang is the Imperial Guards, the Imperial Guards, the eunuchs of the inner court, and some auxiliary officials of the Three Law Departments. Among them, in addition to the auxiliary officials of the Three Law Departments, most of the imperial guards were close associates of Emperor Deqing, the imperial guards were all inherited from generation to generation because of the imperial power, and the inner court were all close to Emperor Deqing. These people may be temporarily bribed , but they will only be loyal to Emperor Deqing, and will never truly surrender to Zhao Junchen!
so. Although the power of the Xichang Yamen was great, it was doomed from the beginning. It was impossible for Zhao Junchen to truly control the Yamen, let alone rely on it as a foundation. Emperor Deqing only needed to say a word, and the power of Xichang could be transferred from Zhao. Junchen retracted his hand.
If Zhao Junchen really relied on the power of Xichang, he would unscrupulously seek benefit for himself and do whatever he wanted. Even if it is used to suppress other factions in the DPRK, even if it can gain temporary benefits, it will inevitably arouse the disgust and resentment of all officials in the DPRK. When Emperor Deqing takes back Xichang from Zhao Junchen, I am afraid that hundreds of thousands of people in the DPRK will be It's time for the officials to mount a counterattack against Zhao Junchen. It's really that time. Even with Zhao Junchen's current scheming and methods, he may not be able to cope with it at all.
Therefore, Zhao Junchen has always used Xichang cautiously and cautiously, with a lot of scruples.
In fact. As Zhao Junchen has become more and more powerful and influential in the court during this period, Emperor Deqing has gradually become wary of Zhao Junchen.
According to Zhao Junchen's plan and calculation, after the southern tour ends, the situation in North Korea and China will inevitably be in chaos. I am afraid that at that time, in order to stabilize the situation in North Korea and prevent Zhao Junchen from taking the opportunity to further expand his power, Emperor Deqing will Xichang was taken back from Zhao Junchen!
Therefore, Xichang was destined to be just a place of storage for Zhao Junchen, and Zhao Junchen naturally paid less attention to it.
In addition, Xichang's infamous reputation is also something Zhao Junchen is afraid of. If he has too deep contact with Xichang, I am afraid that Zhao Junchen's plan to improve his reputation will be completely aborted.
…………
However, nowadays, even petty thieves are allowed to abide by the principle of "taking advantage of the sheep", and even local officials understand the principle of "plucking the feathers of the wild goose". As the great thief of the country and the most famous corrupt official and traitor in the whole dynasty, Zhao Junchen, since he personally After rebuilding the West Factory and controlling it for such a long time, it was natural that he would not return empty-handed.
During this period of time, Zhao Junchen has been strengthening the purchase and control of Xichang personnel, hoping to cultivate some confidantes and spokespersons in Xichang. In this way, after Emperor Deqing takes back Xichang, Zhao Junchen will have more control over Xichang. He can also continue to maintain a certain degree of influence, continue to obtain information through Xichang, and use Xichang to do things that are inconvenient for him to do.
——In fact, due to various considerations, only after Xichang broke away from Zhao Junchen openly could Zhao Junchen use Xichang's power without any scruples. Although by that time, he could not help Zhao Junchen. Only a small part of the power of Xichang used by Junchen is left.
However, in order to avoid attracting attention, Zhao Junchen did not personally participate in these matters and simply left them all to Wei Huai to handle.
Today, Zhao Junchen summoned Wei Huai precisely to inquire about the progress and results of this matter.
However, Zhao Junchen did not expect that Wei Huai's achievements far exceeded his highest expectations!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When entering the study, Wei Huai's image was as impressive as ever - he was sitting in a wheelchair due to inconvenience in his legs and feet. His body was as thin as if it could be blown over by a gust of wind. The expression on his pale face was calm, but the sinister look in his eyes was deep. , but it makes people feel cold when they look at it.
But perhaps it was Xiao Mo's misunderstanding. Compared with the first time they met, Wei Huai was now thinner and gloomier.
"Mr. Wei, you have worked hard during this period." Zhao Junchen looked at Wei Huai for a few times and said slowly: "Although the West Factory was built not long ago, it is still complicated. Mr. Wei, your health has never been good. Entrusting Xichang to you is really a bit forced on you. If there were other possibilities, I would not be willing to entrust this burden to you. However, I have never had a suitable person to replace me, hey..."
Wei Huai's expression remained unchanged and he said calmly: "Don't worry, Factory Supervisor. If I didn't have you in this humble position, I'm afraid I would still be pretending to be crazy and acting stupid to avoid disaster. Your Majesty is really kind to me in rebuilding my job. Compared with this, this hard work is really nothing." What, not to mention, Beizhi was born in Jinyiwei. If you are good at this way, you will have no other advantages besides this. If you don't make great use of Beizhi, Beizhi will be just a useless person."
Zhao Junchen sighed lightly and said nothing more. He just asked: "Over at the West Factory, how did you go about what I told you to do?"
"My lord, everything is going very well." Wei Huai seemed to have a flash of light in his eyes, and replied slowly: "In accordance with your instructions, my lord, I have selected many suitable candidates in the West Factory for bribery and control. , now these people have sworn allegiance to you, Your Majesty. From now on, even if Your Excellency, you are no longer the director of the West Factory, they will follow Your Majesty's lead."
While talking, Wei Huai took out a list from his sleeve and handed it to Zhao Junchen. It contained a list of candidates he had bought and controlled in the West Factory these days.
The list was unexpectedly thick. Zhao Junchen opened it and took a look. When he found that there were at least two hundred people densely packed together, he couldn't help but be surprised, and subconsciously asked: "Are these the cronies you bribed in Xichang? There are so many of them? Are these people really available to me?"
You know, after all, the West Factory was built not long ago and its scale is not large. There were only a few thousand core personnel, but Wei Huai actually directly bribed and controlled more than one-fifth of them. This was really beyond Zhao Junchen's expectation.
According to Zhao Junchen's original estimate, as long as he could control and bribe a few dozen of them, that would be his limit, and it would be enough to maintain his influence over the West Factory. However, Wei Huai's results were even greater than Zhao Junchen's expectations. Several times more.
Faced with this result that far exceeded expectations, although he had always trusted Wei Huai's ability, Zhao Junchen was still a little unbelievable. He always felt that it was impossible to control so many people, and he was afraid that most of them were unreliable.
However, after hearing Zhao Junchen's reply, Wei Huai replied: "If you go back to the factory supervisor, there are a total of 231 people on this list, all of whom have official positions above the stalls in the West Factory. Not only do these people all They can be used, and they can be completely controlled. From now on, they will only obey your orders, sir. If you let them go east, they will never go west, or even..."
Having said this, Wei Huai paused slightly, a meaningful sneer flashed across his lips, and slowly added: "Even if you want them to do something secretly against His Majesty's will, they will definitely carry it out!"
Zhao Junchen was stunned again, still a little disbelieving, and frowned: "Is this really true? But how is it possible? I am afraid that even today's Ministry of Household Affairs and Ministry of Works, not many officials will be so loyal to me! All the manpower in the West Factory comes from The royal guards, imperial guards, and eunuchs of the inner court are either close to His Majesty or have been inherited from generation to generation because of imperial power. How could they violate His Majesty's will for the sake of my order?"
While speaking, Zhao Junchen looked directly at Wei Huai, his eyes full of exploration.
Although Wei Huai's results far exceeded Zhao Junchen's expectations, this also meant that Wei Huai must have done many things that Zhao Junchen didn't know about when he was doing things.
Sure enough, after hearing Zhao Junchen's question, Wei Huai's expression remained unchanged, and he just replied slowly: "Actually, when I was under the orders of the Lord, I did some tricks when setting up the West Factory."
"What hands and feet?" Zhao Junchen's eyes flickered slightly, but his expression remained unchanged and he just asked softly.
"The reason why the West Factory was rebuilt was because His Majesty felt that the East Factory and Jinyiwei had been inefficient and unreliable in recent years, so he chose loyal elites to form the West Factory. In this way, during the initial establishment, , the selection of manpower is particularly important, and this matter has been left to a humble position, my lord."
Zhao Junchen nodded and said: "It is true. I am not familiar with the structure of the factory guard. At that time, there were many other things in the court that needed me to deal with, so I only selected some auxiliary officials from the Sanfa Department to enter the West Factory. As for the selection of personnel from the imperial guards, eunuchs of the inner court, and imperial guards, I will leave it all to you..."
Speaking of this, Zhao Junchen suddenly thought of something and looked at Wei Huai thoughtfully. He said slowly: "Could it be that when you were screening, you did the opposite?"
"Your Excellency, the Factory Supervisor is wise and you can guess right!" Wei Huai smiled slightly. But for some reason, this smile made his image even more sinister and terrifying: "When the West Factory was first established, the selection of personnel should have been based on loyalty to His Majesty. However, when selecting personnel for the humble job, it was the opposite. He followed the law and used the power of investigation during the screening to find many Jinyi guards, imperial guards and eunuchs who appeared to be loyal on the surface, but in fact had done many things that deceived the emperor and violated the law in private, and brought them to justice. They were transferred to the West Factory and took the opportunity to control these people. After they entered the West Factory, they used coercion and inducement. In this way, they had no other choice but to be loyal to you, the factory supervisor."
After hearing Wei Huai's explanation. Zhao Junchen's eyes flashed slightly and he sighed: "Yes, the handle of these people falls into your hands, just like a poisonous snake being pinched seven inches. Naturally, they will not dare to disobey you, otherwise once you expose their crimes, they will None of these people can escape the death penalty. On the contrary, there is still a way to survive by following you, and you can also seek some benefits... Mr. Wei is really good at it! I have always prided myself on being wise, but with this kind of method, I have never used it. Never thought of that!”
As he spoke, Zhao Junchen looked full of admiration, as if he had never questioned Wei Huai before.
But Zhao Junchen's eyes were deep. At this moment, there was a flash of fear and murderous intent.
…………
At the beginning, the reason why Zhao Junchen handed over the full power of Xichang to Wei Huai was firstly because Wei Huai had the ability in this area, secondly because Zhao Junchen did not have high hopes for Xichang, and thirdly because Zhao Junchen believed that he could completely control Wei Huai.
after all. Not to mention Zhao Junchen's kindness to Wei Huai, the most important thing is that Wei Huai's power and influence in Xichang were all given by Zhao Junchen. Once Zhao Junchen takes back the power and responsibilities given to Wei Huai, Wei Huai will also be in Xichang There would be no place to stand, let alone any threat to Zhao Junchen!
However, Zhao Junchen did not expect that Wei Huai would do so many things behind his back!
Nowadays, so many Xichang officials have been caught and controlled by Wei Huai, which means that Wei Huai's power in Xichang is no longer given by Zhao Junchen. Even without Zhao Junchen, Wei Huai Through these criminal evidences and handles, Xichang can also be controlled. To a certain extent, Wei Huai is already out of Zhao Junchen's control.
Zhao Junchen's words just now seemed to be full of praise for Wei Huai, but when he spoke, he only talked about Wei Huai but not himself, but he was testing Wei Huai's mind.
If Wei Huai shows a tendency to break away from Zhao Junchen's control, then Zhao Junchen can only use thunderous means to make Wei Huai disappear from the world!
After all, Wei Huai holds many secrets of Zhao Junchen, and his temper has always been sinister. If such a person escapes control, the threat to Zhao Junchen will be too great.
I don’t know whether Wei Huai guessed Zhao Junchen’s thoughts. After hearing Zhao Junchen’s test, his expression remained unchanged. He just took out a thick booklet from the back of the wheelchair and said, "Your Majesty, you are serious. , I am just doing things for you. The handles and evidence of these West Factory personnel will naturally be kept by you. I dare not overstep my authority. In fact, when I coerced and lured these people, I made them understand that these are all Your Majesty, I am just a spokesperson. What they are really afraid of now is you, my lord, and it is definitely not I."
While talking, Wei Huai handed the booklet to Zhao Junchen again. Zhao Junchen opened it and saw that all the charges and evidence were listed in it.
After seeing these criminal evidences, Zhao Junchen breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Wei Huai handed over these criminal evidences, it meant that he had no intention of breaking away from Zhao Junchen and standing on his own.
Although Zhao Junchen was not sure whether the list and criminal evidence that Wei Huai handed over to him were all, some hiding of secrets was within the range that Zhao Junchen could tolerate.
…………
After Zhao Junchen felt a little relieved, he stopped testing Wei Huai and just read the book in his hand carefully.
The royal guards, the imperial guards, and the eunuchs of the inner court are all important personnel around the emperor, and once such people deceive the emperor and violate the law, it is by no means a small crime.
The evidence of these crimes discovered by Wei Huai is exactly the same. They may have liaisons with foreign ministers, deceive the emperor, or conspire to be disloyal. Once all kinds of crimes are exposed, the West Factory personnel on the list may be It's not just a capital crime. Even if the nine clans are implicated, it is very possible.
And as long as he has this list and evidence of crime, even if Zhao Junchen leaves Xichang in the future, he will still be able to greatly influence the trends and trends of Xichang!
This result is much higher than Zhao Junchen's original expectations.
Think of this. Zhao Junchen said thoughtfully: "These evidences are numerous and involve more than 200 people. It's a good thing you were able to find them..."
Wei Huai still looked calm and said calmly: "I don't dare to take credit for the humble position. The inner court is a place of corruption. When the West Factory was rebuilt, your Excellency gave the humble position the convenience of investigation and screening. After careful investigation, we can always find out Some."
Zhao Junchen shook his head. He said: "Although the inner court is corrupt and you have the power to investigate and screen, not everyone has the ability to collect so many ghosts, ghosts, monsters, and monsters, but you don't have to be humble."
While talking. Zhao Junchen looked at the list and evidence of crime in his hand, and seemed to have thought of something. He suddenly laughed at himself and said, "Everyone in the world says that I am a corrupt official, a fool, and a treacherous person. But now it seems that such comments are not wrong. Needless to say, all of my cronies in the outer court are black sheep in the court. To rebuild the Xichang Yamen for the inner court, we actually recruited a lot of people who deceived the emperor, perverted the law, and robbers and thieves..."
Regarding Zhao Junchen's self-deprecation, Wei Huai just said quietly: "Swords and weapons are very dangerous things and have no other use than killing. However, if you use them in the right way, they will also be beneficial to the people of the world. On the contrary, medicine is good." Medicines can cure diseases and save people. But if the user has evil thoughts, the medicine can also turn into highly poisonous and harm people... Sir, there are many evil villains in your sect nowadays, but as long as you use it correctly, it may not be a bad thing. "
Zhao Junchen smiled softly and said: "Having said that, no matter how many people the sword protects, it is still a evil thing in the eyes of the world. No matter how many people are killed by medicine, it is still a good thing in the eyes of the world." , sometimes the difference between good and evil is so clear and difficult to change."
While speaking, Zhao Junchen waved his hand, looked up at Wei Huai, and asked: "Let's not talk about this for now. Let's talk about the West Factory. According to my estimation, after the southern tour, His Majesty will start from I have taken back the power of the West Factory. At that time, the new factory governor will definitely squeeze and suppress you in order to control the West Factory. After all, the number of people in the West Factory we control is only a small number, and I am afraid it will be difficult to change the overall situation.
I came to you today to ask what you mean. Do you plan to stay in Xichang? Or should he leave Xichang and find a job elsewhere? Or leave officialdom and come to serve as a staff member in my government? Speaking of which, there are very few staff in my government now, and I am also lacking talents like you, and I will never treat you badly. "
Wei Huai seemed to have thought about it for a long time. He didn't think too much after hearing Zhao Junchen's inquiry. He just replied slowly: "I still want to stay in Xichang to work. Although we control part of Xichang's manpower now, If you want to unify these people, you need someone to take charge of the overall situation in the West Factory. Otherwise, it is really difficult to predict how much effect these people can have if they are scattered. What's more, apart from the way of investigation, the humble position also has I have no merits. If I leave the West Factory, I'm afraid I won't be able to help you more. As for the suppression and exclusion I will encounter in the future, I can handle it consciously because of my humble position, so please rest assured."
Zhao Junchen nodded thoughtfully and said: "In this regard, I will not force anything. If you want to stay in Xichang, just stay in Xichang. In the future, you and I can take care of each other. "
Next, Zhao Junchen discussed some West Factory matters with Wei Huai and then let Wei Huai leave.
Considering that Wei Huai had always been in poor health, Zhao Junchen specially arranged for Xu Qingyan to take some valuable medicinal materials from the mansion and give them to Wei Huai when he left.
In response, Wei Huai did not refuse, but just thanked him calmly and accepted it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After Wei Huai left, Zhao Junchen frowned slightly.
Although under Zhao Junchen's temptation, Wei Huai showed no intention of breaking away from Zhao Junchen's control, Zhao Junchen became increasingly unable to see through Wei Huai.
Although Zhao Junchen valued Wei Huai, he did not understand him deeply.
All we know is that Wei Huai was originally the former Jinyi Guards envoy, and he was considered to have a high position. However, he was framed. After being imprisoned, his legs were broken, and his life was almost in danger. In the end, Wei Huai could only rely on pretending to be crazy. To protect myself, I kept pretending for seven or eight years. It was not until Zhao Junchen rebuilt Xichang that he volunteered to return to the world and was reused by Zhao Junchen to manage the Xichang Yamen on Zhao Junchen's behalf.
Zhao Junchen knew it very well. The reason why Wei Huai turned to him was just to use his power and strength to take revenge on those who framed him back then.
As for who was the person who framed Wei Huai in the first place, Zhao Junchen now has a rough idea of who he was after undercover investigation. If Wei Huai can always work hard for Zhao Junchen, when the time comes in the future, Zhao Junchen will not mind avenging Wei Huai.
However, perhaps because of the inhuman tragedy he experienced, under Wei Huai's seemingly calm appearance, his character has long been twisted, paranoid, and sinister. Therefore, although Zhao Junchen valued Wei Huai's abilities, he always had concerns about Wei Huai, worrying that Wei Huai would do anything for revenge and involve Zhao Junchen.
It is precisely because of this mentality that Wei Huai behaved a little abnormally today. Zhao Junchen began to have doubts.
Although it turns out that this may just be Zhao Junchen's paranoia, Wei Huai still works for Zhao Junchen with all his heart. Even if many of Zhao Junchen's things and plans are against the principles of a minister, Wei Huai does not have any doubts, and even thinks about many things. In front of Zhao Junchen, but as Wei Huai learned more and more secrets about Zhao Junchen. Zhao Junchen becomes more and more uneasy from time to time.
"I hope all of this is just my paranoia and suspicion. After all, there is nothing suspicious about Wei Huai's current performance... Unfortunately, many things cannot avoid him now, and Wei Huai is among my cronies. There are only a handful of abilities, otherwise considering Wei Huai’s character, I would not reuse him..."
…………
Although Xu Qingyan is uneducated and incompetent, one good thing is that when Zhao Junchen is talking about business matters with others, he will never intervene arbitrarily relying on Zhao Junchen's favor, and always waits quietly for Zhao Junchen. 's command.
This time. When Zhao Junchen and Wei Huai talked about the West Factory, Xu Qingyan did the same.
However, now that Wei Huai has left, Xu Qingyan is finally no longer silent out of curiosity about Zhao Junchen's thoughts.
Xu Qingyan was not a very smart person, and he could not understand the deep meanings and temptations in the conversation between Zhao Junchen and Wei Huai.
However, Xu Qingyan knew Zhao Junchen very well, and Zhao Junchen rarely concealed his emotions in front of him. Now that Xu Qingyan saw Zhao Junchen's expression, he had roughly guessed what Zhao Junchen was thinking.
"Master, are you a little worried about Wei Huai? Do you want me to send some people to lurk around him? In this way, every move he makes in the future will not escape our eyes, and we will not be afraid of what he will do. What's not good for the young master?" Xu Qingyan asked tentatively.
Hearing Xu Qingyan's inquiry, Zhao Junchen couldn't help but laugh: "You should also know that for some of my cronies and political opponents who are valued by me, I have either directly bribed their people or sent people to lurk. I have been by their side." Place spies, but make an exception for Wei Huai, do you know why?"
"Because Wei Huai was born in Jin Yiwei, ordinary spies can't hide it from him?" Xu Qingyan asked.
"Not only that, but also because Wei Huai lives a simple life. He usually only has three or two servants to take care of him. He is not like other people who are surrounded by servants and have countless servants. If they send a few spies in, they will be confused and cannot be discovered easily. In addition, Taking advantage of Wei Huai's own ability and sending spies to Wei Huai is tantamount to telling him directly that I don't trust him... Although I think Wei Huai will pretend not to know even if he finds out, just like I did to Chu Jiayi, but But I don't want to damage the relationship between me and him because of this... Since you know that there are disadvantages and no benefits to certain things, you don't have to do them." Zhao Junchen said slowly.
"But since the young master is worried about Wei Huai, can he just let it go?" Xu Qingyan asked again.
After Zhao Junchen was silent for a moment, he said: "It doesn't matter, it's just a coincidence. If His Majesty continues to hand over the West Factory to me, out of various considerations, I can only hand over the West Factory to Wei Huai for management. In this way, In the future, Wei Huai will inevitably become more powerful. However, your Majesty will definitely take back the power of the West Factory from me. At that time, Wei Huai will also be suppressed by the new factory governor, and it will be difficult for him to achieve anything. He can protect himself only by relying on my protection, so I am not afraid that he will turn his back on me. Just now I asked him about his next plan, which was actually a test for him, and his choice to stay in Xichang was also a statement. If he really plans to leave Xichang to work elsewhere, then I won’t be able to arrange it for him.”
Xu Qingyan hesitated and said: "Then... Master, aren't you afraid that he will join the new West Factory Supervisor?"
Zhao Junchen smiled and said: "When the southern tour is over, the party dispute between Huang Yourong and I will also come to an end. At that time, I am afraid that I will not be able to hide the countermeasures I used Chen Dongxiang from some thoughtful people... Do you think that under such circumstances, if Wei Huai goes to seek refuge with the new factory supervisor, the new factory supervisor will dare to trust him? He will definitely worry that this is my counter-intentional plan... So even if Wei Huai wants to take refuge at that time, , I’m afraid there is no way to seek refuge.”
Xu Qingyan was slightly stunned, but he did not expect this. After thinking for a moment, he couldn't help but nodded. He smiled and said: "I see, this is a good thing. In this way, other factions in the court will have more worries if they want to bribe you, Master."
"It may not all be a good thing." Zhao Junchen said: "At that time, the fact that I personally betrayed those worms in the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Industry will inevitably be known to others. Although I will try my best to deny it, in order to appease People’s hearts, I’m afraid it will take a little more effort.”
In this regard, Xu Qingyan had great confidence in Zhao Junchen and said: "With the young master's methods, of course it doesn't matter."
While speaking, Xu Qingyan seemed to have thought of something, and said with some regret: "However, I can't understand that the power of Xichang is so great, and it is about to be lost. Young Master, you are a little happy, let me tell you, we should We have to find some way to keep the West Factory in our hands. Although we control many people in the West Factory now, it is not as convenient as controlling it personally."
Regarding Xu Qingyan's knowledge, Zhao Junchen sighed lightly. But he still explained: "You don't understand, the Xichang yamen is too sensitive, and its reputation in the past is too bad. Only after it breaks away from me openly can I use its power without any scruples, because At that time, no matter what Xichang does, it will have nothing to do with me. Although the power that can be used will shrink a lot, it will still be better than leaving it in my hands now but not daring to use it..."
While Zhao Junchen and Xu Qingyan were chatting casually, the voice of a Zhao family steward suddenly came from outside the door: "Master, it's getting late. It's already the You hour. You should go to the palace for the banquet." ”
Emperor Deqing held a palace banquet at three o'clock in the morning. Zhao Junchen naturally did not dare to neglect this and had already ordered the people in the mansion to remind him at three o'clock in the hour.
Now, although there is still more than half an hour before the palace banquet is held, Zhao Junchen needs to go out in advance to avoid delays on the road.
Therefore, after hearing the reminder from the steward in the mansion, Zhao Junchen stopped chatting with Xu Qingyan, stood up, and walked out of the study. Xu Qingyan stopped asking questions and hurriedly followed.
After leaving the study, looking at the steward of the mansion waiting outside the study, Zhao Junchen paused slightly and suddenly asked: "By the way, why haven't you seen Fang Ru in the past two days?"
The steward of the mansion replied: "To tell you what to say to the master, Mrs. Ruyi has been busy managing various properties in our mansion these days. She is quite busy. I heard that she is now planning to open a branch of 'Yerongfang' beyond the Yangtze River." Northern State Capital.”
Zhao Junchen nodded thoughtfully, then said nothing more and just walked towards the outside of the house.
Emperor Deqing held the palace banquet this time to arrange a blind date for Zhao Junchen. Everyone who was interested had heard about it, and Fang Ru was naturally among them.
Originally, Zhao Junchen was worried that Fang Ru would be worried about the outcome, but in the end he still underestimated Fang Ru's shrewd and capable temperament.
In the past few days, Fang Ru not only did not pester Zhao Junchen, but instead kept busy with Zhao Junchen's various industries and intelligence networks. This was to prove her own value to Zhao Junchen - this was Zhao Junchen After Junchen gets married in the future, the value of the royal family in the mansion cannot be replaced.
In this way, even if Zhao Junchen gets married in the future, he will still be unable to do without her.
But after seeing Fang Ru's performance, Zhao Junchen felt relieved.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Next, after Zhao Junchen left the house, he rushed towards the palace in a sedan chair, so he didn't mention it.
But at the same time, the house of Lao Cui Mian in the front cabinet was in chaos.
Like Zhao Junchen, Cui Mian also planned to leave the house half an hour in advance to attend the banquet in the palace.
Cui Mian knew very well that the purpose of this palace banquet was to arrange a blind date for Zhao Junchen, and his youngest granddaughter Cui Qianxue, Chen Zhirong, the second daughter of the Chen family of Duke Jing, and Su Xiuning, the eldest daughter of Su Changzhen, the governor of Southern Zhili, They are all Zhao Junchen’s blind dates.
In this regard, out of displeasure with Zhao Junchen's infamous reputation, Cui Mian had always cherished his own life, so naturally he was unwilling to do so, but he could not bear to say it personally to Emperor Deqing, and he also received many guarantees from Emperor Deqing. , Cui Mian could only agree.
But since you have agreed, you are obeying the emperor's orders. You must do what you say and never violate it. Otherwise, it will be a serious crime of deceiving the emperor!
However, Cui Mian did not expect that just when he was about to go to the palace for a banquet, news that shocked him suddenly came - his little granddaughter Cui Qianxue, the darling of the Cui family, had suddenly disappeared. Got it!
Cui Mian's reputation among the government and the public has always been very good, and his descendants are affected by this reputation, and are always flattered by the people around them. They all have a sense of justice that is almost reserved in their hearts. This is especially true for Cui Qianxue.
Obviously, this specious sense of justice, coupled with Cui Qianxue's innocence and immaturity, mixed together, will turn into a disaster!
Cui Qianxue was naturally extremely reluctant to allow Cui Qianxue to go on a blind date with Zhao Junchen, a corrupt official known to both the government and the public. In the past few days, she had begged Cui Mian several times and lost her temper several times. However, because she agreed to De Emperor Qing, Cui Mian did not dare to go back on his word, but he could only pretend to turn a blind eye to Cui Qianxue's reluctance.
But now, as she was about to go to the palace for a banquet, Cui Qianxue suddenly disappeared!
Obviously, Cui Qianxue ran away from home.
For a moment, Cui Mian's emotions in the front cabinet were unknown, whether it was his heartache for Cui Qianxue or the fear of disobeying the emperor's order. In short, it was quite complicated.
After being stunned for a moment, Cui Mian suddenly trembled, and then shouted loudly to the servants of the Cui family in front of him: "Quick! Send people to find her quickly! Why are you still standing there! We must get Qianxue before the palace banquet." get back!"
Cui Mian is getting older, and his legs and feet have been inconvenient these years, but at this time, he is surprisingly agile when jumping.
After hearing Cui Mian's instructions, the servants of the Cui family also hurriedly dispersed to search.
Cui Mian fell down on the Taishi chair and murmured: "This... what should I do..."
…………
ps: Well, this chapter is still a 10,000-word chapter! There will be another 10,000-word chapter tomorrow!
…
