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By now, Zhao Junchen was very sure that the purpose of Emperor Deqing's southern tour was superficially just to visit the south of the Yangtze River, but in fact it was to deal with Zhou Shangjing, the chief minister!
As mentioned above, in the middle of last year, a small group of Japanese pirates broke out near Suzhou. This matter cannot be said to be serious or light, but the parents of Suzhou must bear the responsibility! Just because the current magistrate of Suzhou, Zhou Suhai, is Zhou Shangjing's eldest grandson, this matter was eventually suppressed by Zhou Shangjing and did not reach the court.
Unfortunately, Emperor Deqing still got some news more or less, so Emperor Deqing's southern tour was precisely to visit Suzhou and expose this matter with his own hands. The next result was naturally Zhou Suhai's. His official career was ruined, and Zhou Shangjing would lose his position as the chief minister of the cabinet. The decades of open and secret fighting between Emperor Deqing and Zhou Shangjing would also come to an end, ending with Emperor Deqing's complete victory!
Of course, Zhou Shangjing also had a good idea of Emperor Deqing's thoughts, and made many targeted arrangements. He even planned to form a temporary alliance with Zhao Junchen to prevent Emperor Deqing's plan. Now, under Zhou Shangjing's transaction conditions , Zhao Junchen did have the idea of helping Zhou Shangjing.
In fact, Zhao Junchen has received some news - although Emperor Deqing has not yet arrived in Xuzhou, Xuzhou has been turbulent and lively in recent times. It is obvious that the power of Emperor Deqing and Zhou Shangjing has There was a secret fight in Xuzhou. Under the calm surface of Nanzhili today, the actual situation is turbulent, and huge changes may occur at any time.
The more Zhao Junchen learned about the overt and covert struggle between Emperor Deqing and Zhou Shangjing, the more he admired their forbearance and foresight. However, at the same time, some doubts arose in his heart - why did Emperor Deqing do this? Targeting Zhou Shangjing so persistently and violently?
After all, although Zhou Shangjing was the most powerful official in the history of the Ming Dynasty after Zhang Juzheng, he always knew how to be measured and tolerant. As long as Emperor Deqing did not overly infringe on Zhou Shangjing's bottom line of interests, Zhou Shangjing would not go against Emperor Deqing's wishes. Instead, he would try his best to cooperate with Emperor Deqing and solve problems for Emperor Deqing. That is why. The monarch and his ministers have been able to cooperate happily over the years, and there are rarely any serious conflicts.
What's more, Zhou Shangjing is now in his seventies, a full fifteen years older than Emperor Deqing, and his physical condition has not been very good in recent years. Therefore, Zhou Shangjing could not survive Emperor Deqing at all - it can be said that as long as Emperor Deqing waited patiently, it did not take several years, and there was no need to use drastic measures. As long as he waited until the day Zhou Shangjing died of old age, Emperor Deqing would not only It can easily accept Zhou Shangjing's political legacy, further expand the imperial power, and also ensure that the situation between the government and the opposition is as stable as possible.
Therefore, on the surface, there was no major conflict between Emperor Deqing and Zhou Shangjing, and there was no need to deal with Zhou Shangjing urgently, even if he wanted to expand imperial power. There is no need to go to war, just wait patiently.
Zhao Junchen believed that it was impossible for Emperor Deqing to understand these situations.
However, Emperor Deqing's current behavior is exactly the opposite. Not only is he eager to take action, but he is also willing to go to war to deal with Zhou Shangjing. This is inevitably inconsistent with Emperor Deqing's character of attaching importance to maintaining stability.
In order to understand the specific thoughts of Emperor Deqing, Zhao Junchen thought hard for a long time.
In the end, Zhao Junchen finally figured out what Emperor Deqing was thinking. And found three reasons.
First, Emperor Deqing and Zhou Shangjingming had been fighting secretly for most of their lives. Although during the fight, both sides wanted to take the overall situation into consideration. They all retained some means and trump cards, but to be fair, Emperor Deqing lost in the end and was slightly inferior. After all, Zhou Shangjing always only defended but did not attack, but in the end it was an invincible situation. Under Emperor Deqing Under the pressure, Zhou Shangjing's foundation became stronger. The relationship between victory and defeat is clear at a glance.
Emperor Deqing always boasted that the emperor had a superb mind. This situation was simply a shame in the eyes of Emperor Deqing. Therefore, it is not difficult to imagine that overthrowing Zhou Shangjing has now become Emperor Deqing's long-cherished wish. Although the method was very safe, it also indicated that Emperor Deqing had admitted defeat. Emperor Deqing was naturally unwilling to do this because of his pride. Now that he had discovered a flaw in Zhou Shangjing, how could Emperor Deqing let it go?
Secondly, Zhou Shangjing's power is overwhelming and he has stood in the court for decades. Now he has become a representative figure of "subordinate power" and has even become the goal of all ambitious officials. If Emperor Deqing survives Zhou Shangjing, Accepting Zhou Shangjing's political legacy can certainly enhance imperial power, but Zhou Shangjing's good death is not conducive to the establishment of royal prestige.
On the other hand, if Emperor Deqing can overthrow Zhou Shangjing, it will not only enhance the imperial power, but also increase the emperor's prestige and let those careerists who target Zhou Shangjing understand that even if they are as powerful as Zhou Shangjing, they will not be the emperor in the end. The emperor's opponents, in this way, not only suffered a blow to the subject power, but also weakened the morale and courage of the subjects of the world to resist the imperial power.
Thirdly, Zhou Shangjing is different from Huang Yourong, Shen Changmao, Zhao Junchen and others. His prestige is too high, and his disciples and old officials are all over the world. In addition to the veterans of his time, the officials under his disciples, such as Song Qiwen, the Minister of Personnel, and Zhang Bochong, the new Minister of Punishment There are also many officials from the Young Zhuang faction, and they are all die-hard followers of Zhou Shangjing, so Zhou Shangjing's power has great continuity.
In addition, Zhou Shangjing's family is prosperous, and his children and grandchildren are also outstanding people. For example, Zhou Shangjing's second son Zhou Mingtai is now the official envoy to Henan, and there is the possibility of further promotion in the future. His eldest grandson Zhou Suhai is only thirty-three years old now, but He is already the prefect of Suzhou. As for Zhou Shangjing's grandson Zhou Suwen, he is from a Sanyuan family background, and his future achievements will be limitless!
This also means that Zhou Shangjing’s power can be passed down to his descendants. Even after Zhou Shangjing’s death, with the strong support of Song Qiwen, Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Zhang Bochong, Minister of the Ministry of Justice and other young and strong officials of the “Zhou Party”, Zhou Shangjing’s political legacy can still be inherited. A big part for the children and grandchildren.
However, in the eyes of Emperor Deqing, such a long-lasting and powerful family is absolutely not allowed to appear, otherwise the status of the royal family will be affected, so Emperor Deqing must overthrow Zhou Shangjing so that Zhou Shangjing's power cannot be passed on. Go down.
Among these three reasons, the last one is undoubtedly the most important.
Therefore, if Zhou Shangjing has any obvious weakness, it is that he is too obsessed with power. Not only does he have a high position, but he also wants to pass on his power to the family's descendants. This arouses the hostility of Emperor Deqing.
After understanding these issues, Zhao Junchen did not plan to develop the power of the Zhao family under the nose of Emperor Deqing - at least it is not the time yet - although Zhao Junchen is still young and does not need to consider the inheritance of his power at all. Moreover, the Zhao family is currently just a piece of mud that cannot support the wall and cannot have much impact at all. However, with Zhou Shangjing's lessons learned, Zhao Junchen is not willing to offend Emperor Deqing's sensitive nerves in this regard.
If Zhao Junchen really develops the power of the Zhao family in the capital, although Emperor Deqing will not intervene for the time being, he will definitely pay close attention and want to analyze Zhao Junchen's future plans through Zhao Junchen's arrangements for the Zhao family. At that time, Many of Zhao Junchen's ideas will not be realized.
Of course, Zhao Junchen would not explain this idea to Xiao Wenxuan in detail. After all, it involved many secrets and it was not convenient for Xiao Wenxuan to know. What's more, Zhao Junchen's previous explanations were enough to convince Xiao Wenxuan.
Therefore, after Zhao Junchen saw Xiao Wenxuan's sworn guarantee, he didn't say anything more. He just smiled and nodded, with an expression of trust, and said: "In that case, I leave everything to you, Wenxuan."
Next, Zhao Junchen and Xiao Wenxuan confirmed some details. While the two were discussing, Su Xiqing suddenly pushed in the door and reported to Zhao Junchen: "Sir, I have made arrangements. Those unmarried women are now gathered together, and you can go and inspect them at any time."
According to Zhao Junchen's plan, within today, in addition to changing the head of the Zhao family and confirming the list of Zhao family children who will enter the Imperial Academy, Zhao Junchen will also personally select the Zhao family women who enter and leave the palace.
After all, Zhao Junchen still has a lot of things to do and cannot stay in the Zhao family for too long. Although the Zhao family has a lot of things, Zhao Junchen plans to handle them all within two days.
Therefore, after overthrowing Zhao Deqing, Zhao Junchen just kept Xiao Wenxuan by his side and took the opportunity to discuss matters with Xiao Wenxuan, while Su Xiqing went to arrange for the unmarried women of the Zhao family to prepare for Zhao Junchen's selection.
After hearing Su Xiqing's explanation, Zhao Junchen nodded, and then said to Xiao Wenxuan: "According to our plan, among the unmarried women of the Zhao family, except for the two candidates for the palace, the rest will be controlled by you from now on. I’ll make arrangements, so you should accompany me to review the selection.”
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...To be continued.
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