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Zhao Junchen's various expressions seemed bleak and tragic, as if they were just to show his determination and please the emperor, but in fact they concealed a point of view that Emperor Deqing could not accept no matter what, that is, "I, Zhao Junchen, act loyally, and ultimately It can only lead to a bad ending!"
Killing people and setting fire to gold belts, building bridges and paving roads without corpses, this situation is the norm in the world. Good people and evil people are absolutely equal in the face of fate. Good people may not live long, and loyal ministers may not die well!
However, this concept must not be promoted in public!
The feudal dynasty also has the "main theme" of the feudal dynasty, which is "the emperor is always wise and wise. All wrong things and bad things are done by traitorous ministers without telling the emperor. As long as the officials are loyal, they will definitely get the wise emperor." People may not agree with this view, but they must not refute it explicitly.
After all, the ministers were loyal and served the court, the emperor, and the people wholeheartedly, but in the end they could only end up with an unhappy ending. Isn't it so chilling? In this case, how could the officials continue to be loyal to the emperor? If the emperor cannot get the loyalty of all officials, how can he govern the world and rule the country?
In short, although the false truth "good people will live long and loyal ministers will die well" may make people sneer, it is actually related to the "credibility" of emperors, which is the most important thing!
However, Zhao Junchen took today's opportunity to openly question Emperor Deqing's ability and determination to protect his loyal ministers in front of hundreds of officials, and challenged the "main theme" of the feudal dynasty that had lasted for thousands of years. It seemed like a pitiful expression, but in fact The above is because he has ulterior motives and his heart can be punished!
However, under the current situation, Emperor Deqing cannot accuse Zhao Junchen of anything. In order to maintain his "credibility", he must give Zhao Junchen certain promises in public, otherwise Emperor Deqing's foundation of imperial power will be shaken!
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At this time, in the Huangji Palace, everyone had different expressions after hearing Zhao Junchen's desolate and pessimistic words.
Most of the officials could not hear the hidden meaning in Zhao Junchen's words. They only felt that Zhao Junchen's performance today was a bit abnormal and completely inconsistent with Zhao Junchen's past image. But how could Emperor Deqing, Zhou Shangjing, Shen Changmao and others not hear it? come out?
Therefore, the expressions of Emperor Deqing, Zhou Shangjing, Shen Changmao and others all changed slightly!
Then, Emperor Deqing became slightly silent, and his expression became darker. Zhou Shangjing and Shen Changmao's eyes were fixed on Emperor Deqing, waiting for Emperor Deqing's response!
After a moment of silence, Emperor Deqing's eyes seemed to flash with a trace of helplessness, but he finally spoke slowly: "Zhao Aiqing, in your eyes, am I a foolish emperor who cannot even protect his loyal ministers? What if you Those who serve me loyally will not end well in the end. So how will I control all the officials in the future? How do the officials see me? How do the people see me? Then how do the history books describe me? My Ming Dynasty, is it possible? Is it because of the darkness?"
After hearing Emperor Deqing's rhetorical question, Zhao Junchen "finally discovered" his gaffe, and immediately put on a look of sincerity and fear, and quickly apologized: "In my excitement, I actually spoke indiscriminately. I was frightened." , I am guilty! Your Majesty, please punish me!"
Under the current situation, Zhao Junchen is a "loyal victim", and Emperor Deqing naturally cannot punish Zhao Junchen.
Therefore, after hearing Zhao Junchen's apology, Emperor Deqing did not continue to blame Zhao Junchen. Instead, his face became slightly gentler, and he finally made a promise: "I am the emperor and I control all officials. Naturally I will not Let any loyal minister suffer. Today, in front of hundreds of officials, I also promise you that as long as you can successfully rectify business taxes and reverse the financial difficulties of the imperial court, then you will be a great contributor to the imperial court, and I will definitely protect you with all my strength. You, if someone takes revenge on you in the future because of business tax matters, then I will definitely make the decision for you and will never let you suffer any injustice!"
In this way, under Zhao Junchen's pressure, Emperor Deqing finally gave Zhao Junchen a promise!
This means that Emperor Deqing will not only help Zhao Junchen share the grievances of the officials when it comes to the rectification of commercial taxes, but also if the officials try to retaliate against Zhao Junchen because of the rectification of commercial taxes, Emperor Deqing will also We must protect Zhao Junchen!
In this way, taking advantage of his own assassination, Zhao Junchen finally dragged Emperor Deqing into the water after all kinds of planning. Emperor Deqing wanted Zhao Junchen to charge forward and attract public anger, while he sat back and reaped the benefits. The idea of being alone is completely bankrupt! From now on, he can only make his position clear and support Zhao Junchen with all his strength!
In addition, after getting this promise, Zhao Junchen can get more benefits as long as he makes good use of it!
First of all, Emperor Deqing has admitted that as long as Zhao Junchen can successfully rectify commercial taxes, then Zhao Junchen will be the "great hero" of the imperial court. With such a sentence, Zhao Junchen can make a big fuss, build momentum for himself, and further Turn around your reputation!
Secondly, most of today's Ming Dynasty officials are using smuggling and tax evasion to seek profits, either investing in stocks to collect dividends, or directly setting up trading firms to participate. Therefore, when Zhao Junchen fights with political opponents in the future, as long as the other party has such With his background, Zhao Junchen could falsely accuse the other party of "retaliating against him for business tax matters" and force Emperor Deqing to help because of today's promise!
Finally, it can increase the confidence of "Zhao Party" officials in the future prospects, strengthen their stance of supporting Zhao Junchen in rectifying commercial tax, and enhance the cohesion within the "Zhao Party". In this way, Zhao Junchen does not have to worry about certain The officials of the "Zhao Party" will be vacillating and acting like snakes and rats!
In short, because of Emperor Deqing's promise, Zhao Junchen will reap countless benefits, and Zhao Junchen's future development will also benefit greatly!
At this point, a series of plans formulated after Zhao Junchen was assassinated have all been successful!
Therefore, after Zhao Junchen heard Emperor Deqing's promise, a flash of ecstasy flashed in his eyes, but his face showed tears of gratitude, and he kowtowed again: "I... thank you, Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"
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On the other side, after hearing Emperor Deqing's promise, both Zhou Shangjing and Shen Changmao's expressions changed slightly again.
They all know that because of Emperor Deqing's promise, Zhao Junchen will reap huge benefits, and Zhao Junchen's future development situation will inevitably change greatly!
If Zhao Junchen was once proud of his youth, his future was doomed to be worrying, then after Zhao Junchen received these promises from Emperor Deqing, his future destiny has gradually turned around!
However, under the pressing circumstances, Emperor Deqing had to make such a promise, and Zhou Shangjing and Shen Changmao were unable to stop it!
As a result, Zhou Shangjing's eyes showed a rare look of solemnity - he originally thought that he had paid as much attention to Zhao Junchen as possible, but through today's events, Zhou Shangjing discovered that Zhao Junchen was growing faster than expected. Many, I don’t pay enough attention to Zhao Junchen!
At the same time, Shen Changmao's thoughts are more complicated.
"This Zhao Junchen is really well-meaning and scheming. After the assassination, not only did he not panic, but he took this opportunity to calmly formulate a plan and implement it calmly and step by step. Under the interlocking relationship, he made use of all the factors. We achieved one goal after another. We not only suppressed the political opponents in North Korea and China, forced His Majesty to express his position, but also slightly reversed his reputation. I also gave up the important position of Yanzhou Prefect, and to a large extent. He has reversed his difficult situation in the future and made himself the biggest beneficiary... In addition, I am afraid there are many hidden purposes that are unknown to the public. It really kills two birds with one stone..."
After Shen Changmao secretly summarized Zhao Junchen's plan and gains, he felt a little horrified in his heart.
Then, Shen Changmao suddenly discovered that although he was the chief minister of the cabinet and a veteran minister in the court, he could not compare to Zhao Junchen in terms of government, vision, means, and scheming!
At least, if the assassination was placed on Shen Changmao, Shen Changmao would never be able to do as well as Zhao Junchen, using all available factors to obtain all available benefits!
Nowadays, Shen Changmao and Zhao Junchen are political enemies, and they are on equal footing with each other! In the foreseeable future, this relationship between water and fire will continue and become more and more intense!
Originally, Shen Changmao had made up his mind that he would never let Zhao Junchen go, and he had to completely defeat Zhao Junchen to relieve his anger!
But because of today's events, Shen Changmao suddenly had some pessimistic thoughts in his mind. He felt that although he was the chief minister of the cabinet, he might not be the final winner!
In the past, Shen Changmao also had a high self-esteem, thinking that he was just inferior to Emperor Deqing and Zhou Shangjing.
But now, although Shen Changmao is unwilling to admit it, in Shen Changmao's subconscious, Zhao Junchen's name has been added to the list!
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…(To be continued.)
