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Unconsciously, the time has arrived on the seventh day of August, which is the day when Zhao Junchen officially marries Cui Qianxue.
With Zhao Junchen's current status and influence, this event is indeed a grand event in the official circles of the capital. Countless people are paying attention to it, especially after the Ministry of Rites and the Qintian Supervisor intervened in the wedding, the wedding must be huge and lively. , for many officials, the most important thing on this day is not to deal with official business, but to attend Zhao Junchen's wedding and take the opportunity to get closer to him and Zhao Junchen!
Compared with the excitement in the capital, Nanjing was equally lively on this day, but people were still more panic-stricken.
Since ten days ago, the Crown Prince Wang Baoren, the Imperial Censor Du Bai of Zuodu, the Minister of Dali Temple Fang Shiwen, the Minister of Punishment Qin Huaiyuan and other key officials of the imperial court arrived in Nanjing as imperial envoys, the central government of Nanjing has been The cleaning and rectification began.
Wang Baoren was originally the leader of the Nanjing Sixth Department. He knew the situation of the Nanjing Sixth Department thoroughly and had great influence and control. Therefore, after Wang Baoren deserted the Nanjing Sixth Department, defected to the imperial center, and took the lead in cleaning up the Nanjing officialdom, the Nanjing Sixth Department naturally He had no power to resist and could only be slaughtered by several imperial envoys sent by the imperial court. Even the Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate was implicated.
In the past ten days, Nanjing's officialdom has been turned upside down. It is not an exaggeration to call it an earthquake!
Eight days ago, Zhang Shipeng, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing, was imprisoned for his crimes. Six days ago, Niu Fangyu, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry in Nanjing, had his house confiscated. Four days ago, the Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate was raided by several imperial envoys. Two days ago, Meng Shunan, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishments in Nanjing. After being dismissed from his official position, one day ago, Ding Qingming, who had just taken over as the Minister of Civil Affairs in Nanjing, was also arrested and imprisoned...
As for the ministers and middle- and lower-level officials in the Sixth Department of Nanjing, several of them were unlucky every day! As of today, almost all of them have been wiped out!
Faced with the merciless and vigorous purges of several imperial ministers, only three of the six ministers and twelve ministers of the Six Ministries of Nanjing are still safe and sound.
The first person is Tang Zhen, the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing. This person’s influence in the Sixth Department of Nanjing is second only to Wang Baoren. When Wang Baoren left the Sixth Department of Nanjing, he replaced Wang Baoren and became the leader of the Sixth Department of Nanjing. The forces are intricate and complicated. It's pretty clever, so I can barely protect myself.
The second person is Cao Wenbin, the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing. This person has secretly taken refuge with Zhao Junchen, and is also related to the next plan of the imperial court against the Six Ministries in Nanjing, so naturally no one will touch him.
The third person was Yang Lin, the Minister of Civil Affairs in Nanjing. This person was protected by Wang Baoren. Not only was he safe, but he would also leave Nanjing officialdom and go to the capital to hold an important position.
However, on the seventh day of August, after Tang Zhen, the Minister of Household Affairs, had exhausted all his efforts, he was finally unable to resist and was about to collapse.
In the early morning of this day, Wang Baoren led a group of soldiers to surround Tang Zhen's mansion and personally came to ransack the house and arrest people!
After someone kicked open the door of the Tang Mansion, Wang Baoren took the lead and stepped into the Tang Mansion. His face was a little dark. When he looked up, he saw that there was no one in the vestibule of the Tang Mansion. Everyone in the Tang Family was already gathered in the main hall. , standing or sitting around Tang Zhen, seemed to have expected such a situation, and after seeing Wang Baoren breaking in, there was not much panic.
As for Tang Zhen, in just ten days, the originally fat man actually lost a lot of weight. At this time, his expression was even calmer, and he just stared at Wang Baoren with some resentment.
Seeing this scene, Wang Baoren still had no expression on his face. He just sighed softly and walked across the vestibule of the Tang Mansion, intending to enter the main hall.
At this time, all the young and old people of the Tang family were gathered in the main hall. Some had expressions of contempt, some had expressions of panic, and some had expressions of disgust, but all eyes were focused on Wang Baoren!
Wang Baoren used to be Tang Zhen's closest ally, and Tang Zhen always supported Wang Baoren. During the ten years when Wang Baoren served as the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs in Nanjing, he was a frequent visitor to the Tang Dynasty. He had countless candle-lit night talks with Tang Zhen. After resting, everyone in the Tang family was familiar with Wang Baoren. The younger generations of the Tang family always affectionately called Wang Baoren "Wang Shibo". Wang Baoren even hugged several of Tang Zhen's grandchildren...
But now, Wang Baoren wants to personally bring down Tang Zhen and push the entire Tang family into the abyss!
In this case, how can the Tang family not resent Wang Baoren?
After seeing the changes in the expressions of the Tang family members, the few soldiers following Wang Baoren planned to enter the main hall of the Tang Mansion first, control the situation, and protect Wang Baoren.
However, Wang Baoren raised his hand gently and said: "No, I can just go in alone, you can stay outside."
After saying that, Wang Baoren walked into the main hall of the Tang Mansion. After slowly scanning all the members of the Tang family, he stepped in front of Tang Zhen under everyone's gaze.
"Brother Tang, I'm sorry! I have no choice but to do it now! But brother Tang, don't worry, the court will not kill everyone this time. Brother Tang, the most you can do is lose your official position and stay in prison for a few years. I'm secretly here I will take care of you and you will never suffer too much injustice, and as for the Tang family members, they will not be too implicated!"
After looking at each other for a moment with Tang Zhen, Wang Baoren seemed to have a little more guilt on his expression, but his eyes were still unwavering as he spoke slowly.
After hearing what Wang Baoren said, Tang Zhen smiled coldly and said: "Sheltering smugglers, assassinating ministers, colluding with feudal kings... so many crimes, just staying in a cell for a few years? Master Wang, do you think Tang is a fool?" ?”
Having said this, Tang Zhen also looked around at the surrounding tribesmen and said: "Master Wang has also seen that I have already dismissed the servants and maids in the mansion, and gathered all my tribesmen here, just waiting for the imperial court to send people to come. We came to search the house for arrest, but what Tang didn’t expect was that it was you, Wang Baoren, who came! Tang originally thought that you, Grand Master Wang, would deliberately avoid this occasion.”
Wang Baoren sighed softly and said: "Of course I have to come in person. On the one hand, I always have to give you an explanation. On the other hand, I can also provide some care for the Tang family members by coming in person. So not only did I come, but I also I asked others to follow me just because I want to say something to you...If we miss today’s opportunity, I’m afraid you and I will have no chance.”
Tang Zhen still sneered and said: "An explanation? What explanation? It's just that Taishi Wang betrayed the Sixth Department of Nanjing for his own future. It's just that Tang himself was blind and mistakenly believed in you, so why should there be any explanation? Taishi Wang, you are here in person now The arrest of Tang in Tang's house is not because you want to give Tang an explanation, nor because you want to take care of Tang's family, but because your betrayal of the Nanjing Sixth Department has damaged your reputation, so you plan to pass This is just to restore your reputation! But Tang is not a young official, so why do you have to show off in front of Tang?"
Upon hearing what Tang Zhen said, a trace of anger flashed in Wang Baoren's eyes.
Tang Zhen was right. After Wang Baoren betrayed the Nanjing Sixth Department, he assumed the title of a "betrayer" and his reputation was greatly affected. This incident will inevitably cause many officials to subconsciously alienate Wang Baoren, which will have a great impact on Wang Baoren's future. Development is extremely disadvantageous.
Therefore, Wang Baoren personally came to arrest Tang Zhen and raid the Tang Mansion today in order to restore his reputation. As long as Wang Baoren takes care of Tang Zhen and the Tang family members as much as possible at this time, he can give the world the impression of "caring about old friendships", and he can To a certain extent, it dilutes the reputation of "betrayer".
Tang Zhen also saw through Wang Baoren's thoughts, so he spoke without any scruples and was not worried about Wang Baoren's revenge. In fact, even if Tang Zhen spit on Wang Baoren's face, Wang Baoren would consider his reputation. I will never change my strategy, I will just greet you with a smile.
At this time, after hearing Tang Zhen's sarcasm, a trace of anger flashed in Wang Baoren Gujing Wubo's eyes, but he soon regained his composure.
Wang Baoren doesn't care what Tang Zhen thinks of him, he just needs to use Tang Zhen to turn around his reputation. If Tang Zhen really spits on Wang Baoren at this time, it will be a good thing for Wang Baoren and it will be better to show Wang Baoren’s generosity and sincerity.
Therefore, Wang Baoren still spoke calmly and said slowly: "No matter what you think of me, Brother Tang, I will never regret my choice... I will feel guilty, but I will not regret it! The Six Departments of Nanjing have become one of the most important officials in the capital city. Meat, now the capital center has made up its mind to punish the Nanjing Sixth Department. If I still stand with the Nanjing Sixth Department, it will only bring misfortune to everyone. But if I personally handle this matter, it will make my colleagues in the Nanjing Sixth Department suffer. Even if there is no way to survive, I don’t expect Brother Tang to understand my painstaking efforts now. In a few years, Brother Tang, you will always understand!”
However, despite Wang Baoren's sincere words, Tang Zhen still didn't buy it, and just sneered again: "A few years later? Do you expect to make a comeback in the capital in a few years? Stop dreaming! Just based on what you have done during this period of time You can never compare to Zhou Shangjing in terms of performance!"
This time, Wang Baoren's expression finally changed.
However, after Wang Baoren was silent for a moment, he finally suppressed his anger. He just shook his head, turned around and left the main hall of the Tang family, and ordered the soldiers outside the main hall: "Start ransacking the house! Remember, don't scare the Tang family members." , wait for them to be more polite, and let them keep the jewelry and utensils on their bodies, so they won’t be registered in the register!”
Following Wang Baoren's order, the soldiers finally took action.
During this period of time, countless officials in Nanjing's official circles had their property confiscated, so the soldiers were already extremely skilled at this kind of thing.
At this point, with the fall of Tang Zhen, the purge of the Six Ministries of Nanjing by the imperial court center was completely ended.
At this time, Zhang Yu'er was also in Nanjing and soon received the news of Tang Zhen's downfall.
When she came to South Zhili this time, Zhao Junchen gave her a total of three tasks. First, she used the chaos in the Six Ministries in Nanjing to promote the conflict between the people in Jiangnan and the Six Ministries in Nanjing. Second, she took advantage of the court's strict investigation of anti-poetry and counter-texts to save the country. The next batch of great scholars who could be bribed took the opportunity to improve Zhao Junchen's reputation, and finally secretly assisted Qi Bin in recruiting new soldiers, making Qi Bin's recruitment of new soldiers smoother.
Therefore, Zhang Yu'er is very concerned about the developments in Nanjing's officialdom.
At this time, in an inconspicuous house in Nanjing city, Zhang Yu'er looked weak, half lying on a large Taishi chair, her face was slightly pale, and her originally rosy lips had lost their color. It's like recovering from a serious illness.
In fact, Zhang Yuer's physical condition has been really bad during this period of time.
Some time ago, Zhao Junchen urgently assigned Zhang Yu'er a new task, asking Zhang Yu'er to go to Yiwu as soon as possible and secretly assist Qi Bin in recruiting new soldiers. It was already mid-July, and seeing that the autumn harvest was approaching, fires could break out at any time on the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu. Qi Bin naturally did not dare to delay in sifting in the bandits. After receiving the money that Zhao Junchen gave him, he immediately rushed to the south of the Yangtze River to recruit troops. The journey was very fast.
Although Zhang Yu'er left Beijing two days earlier than Qi Bin, after she received the news from Zhao Junchen, Qi Bin was already far ahead.
In desperation, Zhang Yu'er just had to speed up her journey, immediately transferred to the fastest ship, and rushed to Jiangnan day and night. In the end, she was only one day behind Qi Bin.
After running all the way, Zhang Yu'er was naturally exhausted, but she did not dare to delay Zhao Junchen's instructions, and she did not care about rest at all. She immediately got busy. On the one hand, she sent people to publicize the benefits of joining the New Army and encourage The good family members around Yiwu actively joined the army. At the same time, they opened up the government channels and bribed the local squires, so that the government and the squires worked together to recruit soldiers for Qi Bin. On the other hand, they informed the Zhao family of Yangzhou about Zhao Junchen's intentions and selected more than ten Zhao family members. The children of the family joined Qi Bin's new army.
It was precisely because of Zhang Yuer's secret help that after Qi Bin arrived in Jiangnan, his plan to recruit new soldiers went very smoothly. Originally, he planned to recruit 1,500 new soldiers. Most of the people in this era resisted joining the army. Although Qi Bin had Although he had a lot of money, it would have taken at least ten days to recruit 1,500 new soldiers, but in the end it only took 7 days to recruit as many as 2,000 people. Qi Bin was pleasantly surprised. I thought it was because of the ample salary, but I had no idea about Zhang Yuer’s behind-the-scenes efforts!
After Zhang Yu'er helped Qi Bin recruit new soldiers, he rushed to Nanjing non-stop to observe the official dynamics in Nanjing. It can be said that Zhang Yu'er has hardly had a rest in the past twenty days. Now he is naturally exhausted, and he also gave birth to a child during this period. It was a serious illness, but it has only gotten better in the past two days.
The most important thing is that in recent times, Zhang Yuer has often suffered from severe gastrointestinal pain, which is like being stabbed by a knife. If Zhang Yuer's willpower was not far beyond that of ordinary women, she would have been unable to move at this time.
Fatigue, sudden illness, and more and more frequent gastrointestinal pains all tortured Zhang Yuer. She was once so beautiful and beautiful, but now she has lost all her charm and her figure has lost a lot of weight. On the contrary, she has some The meaning of Chu Chu is pitiful.
However, even so, Zhang Yu'er still wholeheartedly completed the several tasks assigned to her by Zhao Junchen.
After hearing the news of Tang Zhen's arrest, Zhang Yu'er still looked weak and said slowly: "Now that Tang Zhen has also fallen, the imperial court's purge of Nanjing officialdom has come to an end, but you are still We must keep a close eye on the dynamics of Nanjing's officialdom and never miss any news... When the newly appointed officials from the Six Ministries of Nanjing are sent to the capital, Mr. Zhao's next plan can be officially promoted..."
After hearing what Zhang Yu'er said, the men in front of her all bowed their heads in agreement.
These people are either Zhao Junchen's fringe staff, or experienced old people in Zhao's mansion, or Fang Ru's intelligence spies.
But after this period of contact, these people no longer dare to underestimate Zhang Yuer's methods and scheming, and they also conscientiously carry out Zhang Yuer's instructions and orders.
After seeing the respectful performance of everyone in front of him, Zhang Yu'er's eyes flashed with satisfaction, and then asked: "By the way, how is Qi Bin's current situation?"
A master from the Zhao family quickly replied: "According to the intelligence from the day before yesterday, with our secret help, the 'United Shipping Company' rented to Qi Bin more than 20 clippers and more than 60 experienced sailors. Qi Bin moved very quickly. He should have led the recruits back to the north on a fast boat. According to the estimated journey, they are now about to leave South Zhili. It will take about two or three days to enter the Yellow River channel and arrive via the Yellow River. Shaanxi and Gansu... However, several of Qi Bin's men are still staying near Yiwu, and they seem to be planning to recruit further recruits."
Then, another steward of "Zhao's Ship Company" replied: "In addition, when Qi Bin recruits new soldiers, he only recruits honest absentees and farmers. Although he will also recruit some young people who can read and write to join the army, the requirements are very strict. After twelve children of the Zhao family concealed their identities and signed up to join the army, Qi Bin actually made them run for three miles wearing more than thirty kilograms of armor. As a result, seven children of the Zhao family could not bear the pain and voluntarily gave up. Only Five children of the Zhao family stayed in Qi Bin's new army, but because Qi Bin had very few people who could read and write, Qi Bin valued the five children of the Zhao family very much and seemed to want to train them as soldiers. The general who leads the army.”
After hearing the report, Zhang Yu'er sighed softly and said: "Most of the children of the Zhao family are used to being pampered and have always been ineffective. It is considered good to be able to keep five of them... Also, there is information about the famous scholars and scholars in Jiangnan. , have you collected them all?”
Another master immediately replied: "We have collected most of them, and we will be able to find out everything in three or two days."
Zhang Yu'er nodded and ordered: "After you leave, sort out the information you have gathered before handing it over to me. The court's strict investigation of anti-poetry and anti-text will soon spread to Jiangnan, so we need to prepare as soon as possible!"
At this point, Zhang Yuer frowned, but she felt pain in her stomach and intestines again. Although it was still bearable, it was obvious that the pain was becoming more and more frequent and severe.
Zhang Yu'er didn't want her subordinates to see her helpless look, but she immediately waved everyone away.
After everyone left, there were only two maids left with Zhang Yuer. One was Hongxiu, a confidant who had followed Zhang Yuer for many years. After Zhang Yuer came to Zhao Mansion incognito, Hongxiu followed her to Zhao Mansion quietly, and the other was It was the maid Zhao Junchen gave to Zhang Yuer. Her name was Taohong. She looked very inconspicuous, but her hands and feet were very nimble.
At this time, when they saw Zhang Yuer's face turned pale and cold sweat broke out on her temples, they immediately knew that Zhang Yuer's stomach pain had returned, and they quickly took care of her.
Faced with Hong Xiu and Tao Hong's care, Zhang Yu'er did not refuse, but after taking a sip of hot water, her stomach pain finally eased a little.
Then, Zhang Yu'er raised her head and glanced at the sky outside the window, only to see that the sun was getting higher and it would soon be noon.
Then, Zhang Yuer's expression suddenly turned a little resentful, and she said slowly: "Today is the seventh day of August...the day when Cui Qianxue comes to visit...Oh, today's scenery should have belonged to me, but it's a pity...enemies, I am working hard for you in Nanjing, but you are about to get married... I don’t know if you know my happiness..."
Hearing Zhang Yu'er's soft complaint, Tao Hong's expression changed slightly.
Taohong seems inconspicuous, as if she is an honest little girl, but in fact she has been following Fang Ru for many years, and has always been deeply valued by Fang Ru. Naturally, she is also a smart and discerning person. Zhao Junchen gave Taohong to Zhang Yuer As a personal maid, it was also for Taohong to spy on Zhang Yuer.
Zhang Yuer obviously naturally realized that Taohong was a spy placed by Zhao Junchen. In order to win Zhao Junchen's trust, he treated Taohong very well, almost like a sister, and never hid anything from Taohong.
In this way, Taohong was also grateful to Zhang Yu'er and gradually developed some feelings for her!
Now, after hearing Zhang Yuer's complaints, seeing Zhang Yuer's pain, and recalling Zhang Yuer's suffering during this period, Taohong secretly made up her mind to send a secret letter to Zhao Junchen tonight, explaining in detail Let’s take a look at Zhang Yuer’s current situation and show Zhang Yuer’s happiness and loyalty, so that Zhao Junchen will not really forget Zhang Yuer.
In fact, Zhang Yuer's complaint was not wrong. This day was Zhao Junchen's wedding day, and Zhao Junchen had indeed forgotten Zhang Yuer's existence.
It's not that Zhao Junchen doesn't care about Zhang Yu'er. It's actually that after the Ministry of Rites and the Qintian Supervisor intervened in Zhao Junchen's wedding, the matter became countless times more troublesome and added countless procedures. Zhao Junchen was only dealing with his own wedding. I was already dizzy. I just felt more tired than the usual intrigues and party criticism. How could I care about Zhang Yu'er?
In fact, while Zhang Yu'er was complaining, Zhao Junchen, who had always been indifferent to emotions and anger, was furious at the officials of the Ministry of Rites!
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Well, three chapters in one, six thousand words!
There should be another update after early morning, but it will be later, so you don’t have to wait, go to bed early and watch it when you get up tomorrow morning!
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