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Nowadays, Zhao Shancai is the guest and chief staff of Prince Zhu Heyu in the East Palace. Prince Zhu Heyu also attaches great importance to Zhao Shancai's talents and strategies. After the morning court, Prince Zhu Heyu quickly returned to the Prince's East Palace and immediately recruited He went to Zhao Shancai and told Zhao Shancai in detail about the situation in the morning.
After hearing what Prince Zhu Heyu said, Zhao Shancai's eyes couldn't help but flicker, but he didn't say anything. He just told Prince Zhu Heyu again to continue to wait and see what happens, not to get involved easily, and then he said goodbye and left.
However, after leaving Prince Zhu Heyu's room, Zhao Shancai's expression immediately became serious.
Like Zhou Shangjing, Shen Changmao and others, Zhao Shancai also understood the far-reaching impact of Emperor Deqing's words of promise and felt quite solemn.
"Zhao Junchen is not just a simple corrupt official. I have known this for a long time, but now it seems that I still underestimated him in the past. I did not expect that his methods and scheming are even more terrifying than imagined, especially His ability to keenly discover opportunities and accurately grasp the situation is probably not inferior to Zhou Shangjing... It is a pity that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and him are enemies rather than friends, and the conflicts will inevitably continue in the future. I must be even more cautious when the time comes. , Zhao Junchen must not be left with any opportunity to take advantage of, otherwise once Zhao Junchen catches the flaw, he will be chased and beaten, completely lose his advantage, and will never be able to come back..."
While thinking secretly, Zhao Shancai shook his head and sighed.
Over this period of time, the more Zhao Shancai got to know Zhao Junchen, the more terrifying he felt Zhao Junchen was, and the less willing he was to be Zhao Junchen's enemy.
Today's Zhao Shancai is full of strategic wisdom, but he is restricted by various reasons - such as the stubborn nature of the "Prince Party", the hidden dangers of the seventh prince Zhu Hejian, and the opposition of various factions in the DPRK to the "Prince Party". Hostility - making it difficult for him to use his hands and feet.
Therefore, during this period of time, Zhao Shancai did not take any action. He only persuaded Prince Zhu Heyu and the "******" people to keep a low profile for the time being, and took the opportunity to subtly change the minds of the "Prince and Party" people, and gradually The influence of the seventh prince Zhu Hejian within the "Prince's Party" was eliminated, and the hostility and vigilance of various factions in the DPRK against the "Prince's Party" were gradually eliminated.
To this day, Zhao Shancai has achieved some results, but the situation of internal and external troubles of the "Prince.Party" has not been fundamentally reversed. Under such circumstances, if the "Prince.Party" conflicts with Zhao Junchen again, Even Zhao Shancai has no confidence of winning.
Therefore, after learning about what happened in the early morning, Zhao Shancai did not tell the prince Zhu Heyu his speculation. After all, the prince Zhu Heyu was too hostile to Zhao Junchen. Once he found out that Zhao Junchen had gained so many benefits, , I am afraid that it will be difficult to control emotions, and may act impulsively again. At that time, the low-key performance of the "Prince Party" during this period will be broken by Prince Zhu Heyu himself.
Thinking of this, Zhao Shancai felt a little helpless.
"However, Zhao Junchen has always been the most cautious. Judging from his past performances, this person never fights a battle that he is not sure of. Only when he is fully prepared and is sure of victory will he take action... A few days ago After Zhao Junchen received the errand of commercial tax rectification, he took no action for a long time. I am afraid it was because of insufficient preparation. However, after today's morning meeting, Zhao Junchen received His Majesty's promise and was fully prepared to take over. There will definitely be big moves!... However, if Zhao Junchen really succeeds in rectifying the commercial tax, then his reputation, power, influence, etc. will be greatly improved. At that time, even if I solve it Despite the internal and external troubles of the prince's faction, Zhao Junchen's chances of winning against Zhao Junchen are still slim... Unless His Highness the prince can keep a low profile and successfully succeed to the throne, and then he can be invincible. It's a pity that the prince After all, His Highness still lacks some authority. It is the limit for him to keep a low profile for the time being, but it is impossible for him to keep a low profile forever..."
Thinking of this, Zhao Shancai frowned slightly, and a thoughtful look flashed in his eyes.
"Therefore, we need to plan ahead and prepare in advance. We cannot just keep a low profile and wait and see what happens..."
*
At the same time, the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian also received the news and learned the details of the morning meeting.
Like Zhao Shancai, the Seventh Prince was also keenly aware of the changes in the situation, and became increasingly wary of Zhao Junchen's methods.
In the study, the seventh prince Zhu Hejian sat back on the chair and murmured to himself: "Zhao Junchen, Zhao Junchen... If this person is not used by me, he will be a serious problem... It is a pity that Qin Xi is not doing things well. , it was obviously to assassinate Zhao Shancai, but he almost accidentally killed Zhao Junchen. Now that Zhao Junchen probably knows the whole story, he will definitely feel resentful. It will be even more difficult for me to win over him, and I'm afraid it will still be We need to calm down his resentment first..."
In front of the seventh prince Zhu Hejian, his eunuch Jia Lun remained silent, just waiting quietly for Zhu Hejian's instructions.
After Zhu Hejian muttered to himself for a moment, he suddenly raised his head and asked, "Did you find any news about Qin Xi?"
Jia Lun shook his head and said: "According to the information from the East Factory, Qin Xi should have been caught by the West Factory. However, the West Factory is very guarded. The inner court has not officially taken over the West Factory and cannot interfere with the actions of the West Factory, so Qin Xi’s whereabouts have not yet been found out, and her life and death are unknown.”
A trace of anger flashed in Zhu Hejian's eyes, and he said: "Qin Xi is really a fool. He fails more than he succeeds. It's a shame that I kept using him in the past! He ruined my big things again and again! First, the assassination of Zhao Shancai appeared. I had an accident, and then I couldn't keep silent and was caught! In this way, Zhao Junchen caught my handle and made me completely passive..."
While speaking, Zhu Hejian's eyes couldn't help but fluctuate, but after a moment, Zhu Hejian had vented his emotions, regained his composure again, and ordered Jia Lun: "Let Dongchang continue to trace Qin Xi's whereabouts. This person knows Tai There are so many secrets that must not be kept... In addition, let the inner court immediately agree to Zhao Junchen's conditions. Doesn't Zhao Junchen want the secrets that his father left to impeach him? You can give him some! Let the inner court must Take over the West Factory and the internal funds as soon as possible. These two yamen cannot remain in the hands of Zhao Junchen... Also, inform Duke Jing and let Chen Zhirong find opportunities to contact Zhao Junchen in the next few days to explore Zhao Junchen's attitude. After the factory caught Qin Xi, not only did it not disclose the matter, but it silenced all those who knew about it. Zhao Junchen is not willing to completely break with me, so there is still room for maneuver in this matter..."
After hearing Zhu Hejian's instructions, Jia Lun remained taciturn and just nodded to express his understanding.
Then, Jia Lun planned to leave the study and follow the instructions of the seventh prince Zhu Hejian.
However, just as Jia Lun turned around, he heard Zhu Hejian suddenly ask: "Also, Zhao Shancai poses too great a threat and must not be allowed to stay. Although the assassination failed this time, we cannot give up... This time, this matter You are responsible for the matter personally, and you can even use Dongchang's power if necessary. In short, I want to get the results as soon as possible!... Now, the situation in the court is about to change. No one will pay attention to Zhao Shancai's life or death at this time, so you can do it boldly. good!"
Jalen nodded again and finally left the study.
Zhu Hejian was still sitting on the back of the chair, his eyes slightly closed, as if he was thinking about something.
After a long time, Zhu Hejian slowly said to himself: "Fortunately, Qin Xi does not know my most important secret, otherwise, I would really be in big trouble..."
*
At this time, Zhou Shangjing also returned to the Zhou Mansion.
After returning to the mansion, Zhou Shangjing immediately summoned Zhou Lu, the steward of the Zhou mansion.
As mentioned before, Zhou Lu appears to be just an ordinary steward in the Zhou family, but in fact she is Zhou Shangjing's confidant, secretly in charge of Zhou Shangjing's intelligence network, and is one of Zhou Shangjing's arms.
After recruiting Zhou Lu, Zhou Shangjing ordered: "From today on, you must try your best to find out all the news about Zhao Junchen, including Zhao Junchen's cronies and important officials within the 'Zhao Party'. You must also focus on them. No matter how big or small it is, you must find out as much as possible and inform me as soon as possible. There must be no omissions or delays!"
After hearing Zhou Shangjing's instructions, Zhou Lu was slightly stunned.
Zhou Lu is the old man next to Zhou Shangjing. She has been with Zhou Shangjing for more than 20 years. Except for Emperor Deqing, he has never seen Zhou Shangjing value someone so much.
You must know that even if Zhou Shangjing has been operating for many years, his strength is limited after all. If he fully tracks down and inquires about Zhao Junchen and the officials of the "Zhao Party", there will inevitably be omissions in other aspects.
Is Zhao Junchen worthy of Zhou Shangjing's attention?
Zhou Lu was secretly puzzled.
However, Zhou Lu never questioned Zhou Shangjing's decision, so although he was doubtful, he still followed Zhou Shangjing's order.
Then, Zhou Lu seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly said: "Sir, speaking of Zhao Junchen, I just received news that Zhao Junchen will entertain several big businessmen from the Huizhou and Zhejiang merchant gangs in the Tianhai Building tonight. According to the master, At your command, several Huizhou and Zhejiang businessmen who are close to us also got in."
Zhou Shangjing nodded slowly and said: "Very good, let's make it clear to those businessmen that no matter what Zhao Junchen plans to do, they will fully support it. This is not only to ensure interests, but also to gain Zhao Junchen's trust..."
Zhou Lu nodded and said, "I'll tell them what you mean right now!"
*
In this way, seeing that Zhao Junchen's plan was completed and he was about to rectify the business tax, all the forces in the court were also moving accordingly, each with their own intentions and plans, either overtly or covertly.
For a time, undercurrents surged between the government and the opposition.
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…(To be continued.)
