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"For the sake of the overall interests of the imperial court, is Mr. Zhou Ge willing to share the worries of the imperial court?"
After hearing Emperor Deqing's inquiry, Zhou Shangjing was silent.
Zhao Junchen's performance completely exceeded Zhou Shangjing's expectations, so Zhou Shangjing also needed some time to consider the pros and cons and countermeasures.
At this moment, Zhao Junchen refused to give in and asked Zhou Shangjing: "Mr. Zhou Ge, you have promised me before. If I can think of a feasible solution, you will definitely support it. Now. I have already thought of a specific solution and I need your full support. Are you still going to regret it?"
Zhou Shangjing turned to look at Zhao Junchen, his eyes full of meaning, and then said to Emperor Deqing: "If your Majesty also agrees to this plan, then I will naturally be willing to do my best for the sake of the imperial court."
After hearing what Zhou Shangjing said, Emperor Deqing couldn't help but be silent for a moment.
In the officialdom, there are some things that "can neither be said nor done"; some things are "both said and done"; some things are "can only be said but cannot be done"; and some things are "can only be done but cannot be done". can not say".
Zhao Junchen's plan was quite sinister. It not only harmed his colleagues and promoted chaos, but also took advantage of innocent people. It naturally fell into the category of "can only do but not say". If Emperor Deqing had first expressed his support for this plan, So once this matter spreads, it will inevitably be criticized by later generations.
Originally, Emperor Deqing asked Zhou Shangjing about his attitude, hoping that Zhou Shangjing could clearly express his support for Zhao Junchen's plan, and then Emperor Deqing would follow the trend and take the opportunity to express his attitude. In this way, even if this matter was spread in the future, Shi Shu Gongbi would also First, he criticized Zhao Junchen, who proposed this strategy, and then criticized Zhou Shangjing, who first expressed his support. Then it was Emperor Deqing's turn.
Unfortunately, Zhou Shangjing was still cunning and kicked the ball back.
For the sake of his reputation for future generations, Emperor Deqing was unwilling to first express his approval of Zhao Junchen's strategy, which made him feel a little embarrassed.
After seeing Emperor Deqing's expression, Zhao Junchen quickly understood what Emperor Deqing was thinking, but secretly gave Zuo Lanshan, Chen Dongxiang, and Wang Shou a wink.
Zuo Lanshan, Chen Dongxiang, and Wang Shou were not stupid. They were all good at figuring out what was going on. After seeing Zhao Junchen's hint, they quickly understood.
Therefore, Zuo Lanshan, as an assistant minister of the cabinet, first stood up and expressed his position: "Your Majesty, I believe that the hidden dangers of the Six Ministries in Nanjing have been left for many years and are already too big to be eliminated. Now the impeachment of Mr. Huang Ge shows that the Six Ministries in Nanjing are already It is becoming more and more unscrupulous. If it cannot be solved as soon as possible, it will become a disaster sooner or later! Although Master Zhao's proposal is a bit unconventional, it is also the best way at present, so I think we should try it, and I hope your Majesty will learn from it!"
Then, Chen Dongxiang also took a step forward and said: "Your Majesty, as the saying goes, 'Those who achieve great things do not stick to trivial matters.' If you want to solve this difficult and complicated disease, you must use special means, so I also support Mr. Zhao's proposal!"
As a core figure of the "Emperor Party", Wang Shou naturally had to step forward to protect Emperor Deqing at this time, and quickly said: "Your Majesty, I believe that the Six Ministries of Nanjing have now become another temple center. All the emperors of our dynasty have been slow to do so. This matter cannot be resolved because, firstly, there is no suitable reason, and secondly, there is no suitable means. Now with Mr. Huang’s impeachment and Mr. Zhao’s strategy, it is a rare opportunity that should never be let go easily!”
With Zuo Lanshan, Chen Dongxiang, Wang Shou and others taking the lead in expressing their opinions, Emperor Deqing's complexion immediately improved. After looking at Zhao Junchen with admiring eyes, he nodded slowly and said: "My dear friends, you are right. It makes sense. For the imperial court's century-old plan, the problem of the Six Ministries in Nanjing must be solved, but it cannot be delayed forever. Now that we have a rare opportunity, we must try it no matter what."
After saying that, Emperor Deqing turned his eyes to Zhou Shangjing again.
After noticing Emperor Deqing's gaze, Zhou Shangjing no longer hesitated and said directly: "Since His Majesty also agrees with Lord Zhao's plan, I will naturally give my full support and will never retreat!"
Following Zhou Shangjing's final statement, Li He, the cabinet minister, Song Qiwen, the official minister, and Zhang Bochong, the criminal minister, also expressed their approval.
Then, Emperor Deqing's eyes turned to Chief Assistant Shen Changmao and Prince Zhu Heyu.
Seeing that the "Zhou Party", "Zhao Party", and "Emperor Party" had reached a consensus, Shen Changmao finally made up his mind and said: "Your Majesty, I think that although Mr. Zhao's strategy is a bit contrary to convention, it is still feasible. , the central court should support it.”
Prince Zhu Heyu has been silent since he entered the imperial study.
In fact, in recent times, due to Emperor Deqing's repeated criticism and reprimands, Zhu Heyu has not been as active as before.
At this time, after seeing Emperor Deqing's gaze, Prince Zhu Heyu hesitated for a moment, and finally said: "Father, I also support the imperial court to take back the power of the Six Ministries of Nanjing, but... I hope that the imperial court will come. We can try our best to avoid involving too many innocent people, otherwise the situation will be difficult to deal with. "
Zhu Heyu's words were equivalent to his agreement with Zhao Junchen's plan.
As Shen Changmao and Zhu Heyu expressed their opinions one after another, Lin Wei, the Minister of Rites, also immediately expressed his support. After a slight hesitation, the elder Cheng Yuandao also did not express any objection, apparently acquiescing to Zhao Junchen's plan.
After all, the monarchs and ministers in the imperial study are all core figures in the temple. If they can take back the power of the Six Ministries of Nanjing, it will only benefit them and not harm them. Once they have sufficient reasons and appropriate means, they can easily Unify the position.
On the other side, Emperor Deqing's eyes flashed with relief after seeing that the elders, six ministers, and Crown Prince Zhu Heyu all expressed their support.
Since everyone agreed to this plan, even if this matter spread in the future, Shishu Gongbi would not only criticize Emperor Deqing alone, and the pressure would undoubtedly be much less.
However, just in case, Emperor Deqing specially warned: "Since all the beloved ministers are willing to support Zhao Aiqing's plan, then this matter should be handled according to Zhao Aiqing's proposal... However, this plan is only limited to our monarch and his ministers. Several people know it, but they must not let it out. Dear friends, you must keep it secret. If anyone leaks today's conversation and ruins the imperial plan, I will definitely punish him severely! "
The ministers naturally understood that this matter must not be leaked, otherwise the reputations of their supporters would be damaged, so they all solemnly agreed.
Then, in the Imperial Study Room, Emperor Deqing held secret talks with the ministers for more than half an hour. They not only further improved Zhao Junchen's plan, but also carried out a detailed division of labor. With the collective efforts of the ministers, the plan was finally completed. The likelihood of success has again increased significantly.
When everything was over, it was already noon.
However, the discussions between Emperor Deqing and the ministers were limited to matters concerning the Six Ministries of Nanjing.
Although Huang Yourong also impeached the "Eight Kings Shipping Company", believing that the "Eight Kings Shipping Company" was not only involved in smuggling and tax evasion, but also secretly colluded with the Six Ministries of Nanjing, the ministers had a tacit understanding and did not take the initiative to discuss it. this matter.
This is a royal matter, and it naturally needs to be resolved internally by the royal family.
On this day, Emperor Deqing suddenly summoned the cabinet ministers, the six ministers, and the prince Zhu Heyu to the imperial study to discuss the matter, which quickly spread.
People from both the government and the public were speculating that something extremely important must have happened in the temple.
However, to everyone's surprise, in the next two days, the temple remained calm, and nothing important happened.
In the past two days, there were only three things worth mentioning, and these three things were all related to Zhao Junchen.
First of all, Zhao Junchen seemed determined to let the court implement his own agricultural reform plan. Although the court had adopted most of Zhao Junchen's proposals, only the last two proposals were rejected, but Zhao Junchen still did not give up. For this Zhao Junchen still had a heated debate with the officials on the two proposals in the past two days. However, due to the firm opposition of the officials, there was still no progress in these two proposals.
Secondly, because Zhao Junchen's assassination case had not been solved for a long time, Emperor Deqing reprimanded the Sanfasi and Shuntian Prefecture for two consecutive days. The next morning, he dismissed some officials from the Sanfasi and Shuntian Prefecture and made a decision. If the deadline is met, if the Sanfa Division and Shuntian Prefecture are still unable to solve the case within ten days, all relevant officials will be punished for dereliction of duty, leaving both the San Fa Division and Shuntian Prefecture in panic and chaos.
Finally, many rumors quietly emerged in the capital, saying that the man behind the assassination of Zhao Junchen was the Nanjing Sixth Department, because the Nanjing Sixth Department had always been the backer of Jiangnan smugglers. After seeing Zhao Junchen take action to suppress smuggling, he simply Without further ado, he directly hired thugs to assassinate him.
These three matters were not trivial in the first place, but they were not worthy of Emperor Deqing deliberately summoning the cabinet to discuss with the six ministries.
As a result, many discerning people could see that it was not that major events were not happening in the imperial court, it was just that the situation was tight on the outside and tight on the inside. Under the seemingly calm surface, many forces were secretly preparing.
And in this seemingly calm atmosphere, Wang Baoren, the representative of Nanjing's Sixth Division and the new crown prince, finally arrived in the capital!
At the same time, under the joint calculation of Emperor Deqing and other ministers, a trap was placed at Wang Baoren's feet, waiting for Wang Baoren to jump into it!
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First update!
There are three updates today.
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