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When Zhou Shangjing received the summons from Emperor Deqing, it was already 3:30 in the evening, and the palace gates of the Forbidden City had been completely closed. Unless there were special circumstances, foreign ministers had no right to enter the palace.
But this time, the content of Zhao Junchen's sixth memorial was obviously a special situation in the eyes of Emperor Deqing, so he specially ordered the palace officials to open a side door of the Forbidden City and arranged for several important ministers from the Sixth Cabinet to enter the palace for discussion overnight. .
When Zhou Shangjing, Li He and Song Qiwen entered the Forbidden City from the side door, they couldn't help but look up at the sky. They saw the stars and moon hanging in the sky and the night was like ink. However, they couldn't help but shook their heads and sighed: "I remember the last time I entered the palace overnight. It was during the reign of the late emperor, which has been decades ago... The late emperor summoned me to the palace overnight to discuss the matter of the emperor's personal expedition to Huang Taiji. Now that I think about it, the scene at that time is still vivid in my mind... but I didn't. Thinking that after decades, I still have the opportunity to stand in the palace and watch the night... It’s a pity that I am the only one left among the ministers who came to the palace overnight.”
Hearing Zhou Shangjing's emotion, Song Qiwen quickly echoed: "Only a veteran of three dynasties and a pillar of the country like you, the Chief Assistant, will always have such an opportunity. Whether it is the late emperor or the current His Majesty, you can make important decisions." All decisions are made in consultation with you.”
On the other side, Li He frowned slightly and said: "Sir, the last time you entered the palace overnight was for the late emperor's personal expedition, but now we have entered the palace overnight again because of Zhao Junchen's sixth memorial... …Could it be that what Zhao Junchen reported in this memorial is so important that in His Majesty’s eyes it can be compared with the late Emperor’s personal expedition?”
At this point, without waiting for Zhou Shangjing's answer, Li He shook his head slightly and said: "...This Zhao Junchen always wants to cause some big things and is never willing to settle down. I had already guessed what he was doing. This memorial will definitely disturb the central government of the imperial court again, but now it seems that I still underestimated the power of this memorial, but I don’t know what the content of this memorial is that actually attracted so much attention from His Majesty!”
Zhou Shangjing's expression remained as calm as before, and he said calmly: "We will find out when we meet with His Majesty, so there is no need to be anxious."
While they were talking, the three important officials of the imperial court had already arrived outside the imperial study room, led by the eunuchs in the palace.
After receiving the summons from Emperor Deqing, Zhou Shangjing and others rushed to the palace immediately without any delay, but they were still the last batch of important court officials to arrive here.
At this time, outside the Imperial Study Room, Prince Zhu Heyu, Chief Assistant Shen Changmao, Ge Lao Cheng Yuandao, Ge Lao Zuo Lanshan, Minister of War Wang Shou, Minister of Rites Lin Wei, Minister of Industry Chen Dongxiang, Minister of Punishment Zhang Bochong and others were all present. Everyone was waiting with serious expressions. Apparently they all understood that Emperor Deqing must have something important to do when he summoned everyone overnight.
On the other side, after Zhou Shangjing, Li He, and Song Qiwen arrived, the core officials of the imperial court had gathered together. Zhang De, the eunuch waiting outside the imperial study room, nodded and said softly to the ministers: "Everyone Since your Majesty is all here, let us go with our family to see His Majesty, Your Majesty has been waiting for you for a long time."
After saying that, Zhang De turned around and opened the door of the imperial study room, and led the ministers into the imperial study room.
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At this time, the imperial study room was still brightly lit, and Emperor Deqing sat quietly behind the imperial desk. His expression seemed to be calm and joyless, but the constant fluctuations in his eyes while he was meditating showed that he was not at peace in his heart.
After all the ministers saluted Emperor Deqing and said hello, Emperor Deqing nodded slightly and said: "My beloved ministers rushed to the imperial study room overnight to discuss matters. I can't have a good rest. It is really a blessing for you... Come here, please give me Sir, please sit down!"
Following Emperor Deqing's instructions, the eunuchs in the imperial study quickly moved in more than ten square stools.
After all the ministers thanked them, they all sat down one after another, and then Chief Assistant Shen Changmao took the lead on behalf of everyone and asked: "But I don't know why your majesty summoned the ministers to enter the palace overnight?"
Emperor Deqing said with a serious expression: "You should have heard that Zhao Junchen sent me another memorial. This is already the sixth memorial he has sent to the capital during this period... His previous memorial The five memorials disturbed the imperial court. I was also upset during this period. I originally thought that he could not cause anything bigger. Who knew that the contents of his sixth memorial were even more astonishing. After reviewing it, I have been I couldn’t make up my mind, so I summoned all my dear friends to discuss it together overnight.”
After saying that, Emperor Deqing reached out and picked up a thick memorial on the imperial desk, and handed it to the eunuch Zhang De beside him, who then handed the memorial to the chief minister Shen Changmao.
After taking the memorial, Shen Changmao quickly began to read it carefully. In just a moment, his expression changed drastically, and his expression was full of shock and disbelief.
About half a quarter of an hour later, Shen Changmao finally finished reading this thick memorial. At this time, his expression was almost dull, as if he had seen something unimaginable.
Then, Shen Changmao handed the memorial to the prince Zhu Heyu beside him for review. After the prince Zhu Heyu read the memorial, his expression changed similarly to Shen Changmao's, but his shock was mixed with a hint of excitement.
Then, Prince Zhu Heyu handed the memorial to Zhou Shangjing. Zhou Shangjing's reaction after reading the memorial was slightly different. Zhou Shangjing's gray eyebrows were slightly wrinkled, but his expression was still calm and faint. There seems to be a sense of "just as expected".
When Zhou Shangjing slowly closed the memorial, he just said in a slightly admiring tone: "This Zhao Junchen has such a big ambition and a big intention!"
As he spoke, Zhou Shangjing was about to hand this memorial to the elder Cheng Yuandao next to him.
At this time, seeing the different behaviors of several people after reading the memorial, the ministers in the imperial study became more and more curious about the content of the memorial, and they all couldn't wait to take it and read it.
However, Emperor Deqing was a little impatient.
Prince Zhu Heyu, Chief Fu Shen Changmao and Zhou Shangjing are not only the highest-ranking ministers in the temple, but also the leaders of the three major factions: "Princeling Party", "Shen Party" and "Zhou Party". Seeing them After reading the memorial, without waiting for the other ministers to continue to read the memorial, he said directly: "It is already late. This memorial contains a lot of content. My dear friends, there is no need for everyone to read it..."
At this point, Emperor Deqing's eyes paused for a moment on the expression of his chief minister, Shen Changmao, and finally fell on Zhou Shangjing, saying: "Well, Mr. Zhou Ge, it's up to you to tell Zhao Junchen the contents of this memorial." Colleagues, please explain."
After hearing what Emperor Deqing said, the expression of Chief Assistant Shen Changmao changed slightly, but it was a bit ugly.
Logically speaking, he is the current chief minister of the cabinet, and this task should be given to him. However, Emperor Deqing ultimately handed it over to Zhou Shangjing. Obviously, in the heart of Emperor Deqing, Zhou Shangjing was the real leader of the ministers. .
In fact, the center of the temple has been in a state of restlessness and chaos due to Zhao Junchen's several memorials. This was largely due to Shen Changmao's inability to stabilize the situation. Therefore, Emperor Deqing became increasingly dissatisfied with Shen Changmao and wanted to change his chief minister. Fu's thoughts became stronger and stronger. Such an attitude was just a slight warning to Shen Changmao.
On the other side, after Zhou Shangjing heard Emperor Deqing's instructions, he seemed to have completely ignored the profound meaning of Emperor Deqing and the change in Shen Changmao's expression. He just stood up and said slowly: "This memorial by Zhao Junchen basically said Three things, all three things are not trivial... The first is the matter of Liang Fuchen, the elder of the cabinet. During this period, Zhao Junchen presided over the military affairs of Shaanxi and Gansu as the imperial envoy for disaster relief. After all, it was unjust and unreasonable. It was just an expedient measure. Zhao Junchen Junchen himself had no relevant experience, so a few days ago the court arranged for Mr. Liang Ge to go to Shaanxi and Gansu to take over the situation in Shaanxi and Gansu from Zhao Junchen. However, since Liang Fuchen entered Shaanxi and Gansu, there was suddenly no news. The courtiers were so There has been a lot of discussion for a while, and there have been quite a few outrageous speculations. In this memorial, Zhao Junchen explained the reason why Mr. Liang Ge lost news during this period, but it was after Mr. Liang Ge entered Shaanxi and Gansu. He became seriously ill and has not recovered yet, so... Zhao Junchen is still the agent for military and political matters in Shaanxi and Gansu!"
Speaking of this, Zhou Shangjing's old eyes flashed with light.
At the same time, all the ministers in the imperial study also looked solemn and suspicious.
After all, Liang Fuchen suddenly fell seriously ill when he was about to succeed Zhao Junchen. The timing was too coincidental. All the ministers present had seen too many conspiracies and intrigues. At this time, they couldn't help but think of Liang Fuchen's sudden illness. Could the serious illness be related to Zhao Junchen?
However, in the end, no one expressed their suspicions. After all, without any evidence, such speculations would maliciously slander the court ministers, and would make themselves smelly. This kind of thing could only wait until Liang Fuchen returned to Beijing. Find out the truth.
What's more, everyone's speculations are just speculations, and no one can be sure. After all, Zhao Junchen's various actions during this period have caused a lot of controversy, but they are just excessive means, but the reasons on the surface are all Being honest and serving the country and the people all left a way out for himself, so the ministers couldn't believe that Zhao Junchen would have the courage to murder the cabinet minister.
However, no one expected that what Zhao Junchen actually did was much worse than they imagined. In order to prevent Liang Fuchen from successfully arriving at Huamachi Camp to replace him, Zhao Junchen directly sent people disguised as horse bandits to kidnap Liang Fuchen. !
However, Liang Fuchen is a senior cabinet minister. Once the kidnapping by "horse bandits" is exposed, he will lose face and reputation. Therefore, when Zhao Junchen said in this memorial that Liang Fuchen was "seriously ill", he was just "well-intentioned" to cover up Liang Fuchen's shame. Zhao Junchen believed that Liang Fuchen would not blame himself for this "white lie" afterwards.
In this way, under everyone's silence, Zhou Shangjing continued: "As for the second thing reported by Zhao Junchen in this memorial, it is that the Mongolian coalition's invasion of Shaanxi and Gansu is getting more urgent, because the Junggar Khanate The sudden appearance of the epidemic made the border defense situation this year particularly severe. If we follow the methods of previous years to resist the foreign invaders, it may be difficult to be effective. And because Liang Fuchen was seriously ill and unable to work, Zhao Junchen decided not to sit back and wait for death, but to actively formulate plans to resist The Mongol invasion..."
At this point, Zhou Shangjing's old face suddenly smiled and said: "It is said to be 'resistance', but I see that the plan drawn up by Zhao Junchen is actually a huge and ambitious plan, intending to annihilate all the intruders into our territory in one go. A hundred thousand Mongolian troops!...According to Zhao Junchen's plan, he moved most of the grain and grass in Shaanxi and Gansu to be stored in Jiezhou City in Gongchang Prefecture. He also tried to let the Mongols know the news, and then used Jiezhou to The city's grain and grass were used as bait to lure the Mongolian coalition forces deep into the enemy's territory, and finally they mobilized troops from major military towns to cut off the Mongols' retreat, and laid heavy sieges to annihilate all the Mongols south of the Wei River!"
As Zhou Shangjing finished speaking, all the ministers who had never read the memorial were filled with shock!
In fact, the Mongol coalition that invaded the territory of the Ming Dynasty only had 60,000 troops in total. The so-called "100,000 Mongol army" was just a false report by Zhao Junchen. After all, the two numbers "60,000" and "100,000" seemed to be almost the same. to double the number, but it feels like a huge difference. Such a number can also help Zhao Junchen gain more benefits and merits after the war.
But the ministers present did not know this. They only felt that as Zhou Shangjing said, Zhao Junchen's ambition and intention were too great. He actually intended to annihilate a hundred thousand Mongolian troops in one go!
But this time, the ministers were no longer silent, and could not help but express their attitudes.
Wang Shou, the Minister of War, was the first to say: "Is this plan of Zhao Shangshu a little taken for granted? The Mongols will never be easily fooled. Even if the Mongols fall into the trap, Zhao Shangshu wants to mobilize the forces of major military towns to intercept Mongolia. It is probably not easy to set up a heavy siege for people's retreat. The Mongols have always been dominated by cavalry, their marching speed is the fastest, and they will never sit still and wait for death!"
Then, Lin Wei, the Minister of Rites, also said: "Yes, after all, Zhao Shangshu is a civil servant and has no experience in military affairs. His plan must be in vain and it is just a waste of effort."
Zhang Boxhong, the Minister of Punishment, then said: "Zhao Junchen's plan is too risky, but he still kills first and then reveals it. It is really bold!"
Then, Ge Lao Cheng Yuandao put on a distressed look and said: "I have said from the beginning that Zhao Junchen does not have any relevant experience, and the situation on the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu is complicated. He will be in charge of the three sides." There will definitely be chaos in the military and political affairs. Unfortunately, Zhao Junchen has always been domineering in the capital. After entering Shaanxi and Gansu, he used his identity as an imperial envoy for disaster relief to bypass the three governors appointed by the imperial court. This is already a violation of the rules, but it is still considered a good thing. It is understandable, but under such circumstances, he should use his strengths and avoid weaknesses and stick to the rules. Now he has proposed such a whimsical plan. I am afraid it will disrupt the original defense plan of Shaanxi and Gansu. If the northwestern border defense of the imperial court is affected by this, If something goes wrong, the court must hold Zhao Junchen accountable!"
Immediately, due to some subconscious drive, many ministers expressed their doubts about Zhao Junchen's plan without thinking deeply, and their attitude was quite fierce.
Zhou Shangjing turned his head and glanced at Wang Shou, Lin Wei, Cheng Yuandao and others with a meaningful expression.
With Zhou Shangjing's sophisticated eyes, he can naturally understand the real reason for these people's strong opposition!
Without him, they felt scared after seeing Zhao Junchen's ambition! They were afraid that Zhao Junchen's plan would eventually fail, causing the collapse and erosion of the entire northwest border defense! They are even more afraid that Zhao Junchen's plan will succeed. In that case, Zhao Junchen's rise will no longer be able to be suppressed!
Then, a smile flashed across Zhou Shangjing's old face, and he said slowly: "In fact, according to Zhao Junchen's memorial, the Mongols have indeed taken the bait. When Zhao Junchen wrote this memorial, the Mongols The 100,000-strong Japanese army has arrived at Jiezhou City. However, because Zhao Junchen had already made arrangements in Jiezhou City, the Mongolian siege was unable to succeed. Zhao Junchen had already taken the opportunity to mobilize Ningxia, Gansu, and The troops from Guyuan and other military towns cut off the Mongolian army's retreat and completed the encirclement... If nothing else, while we were discussing, Zhao Junchen was leading the Shaanxi-Gansu border army to engage in a decisive battle with the Mongolian army. , the final outcome of the battle should be decided in the past few days... According to me, Zhao Junchen’s plan is still very likely to succeed!"
"What!?"
Hearing Zhou Shangjing's words, the ministers who were questioning just now were once again shocked!
Zhao Junchen's seemingly whimsical plan turned out to be successful?
For a moment, everyone thought about the far-reaching impact that Zhao Junchen's plan would have on the center of the imperial court after its success!
If Zhao Junchen really led the border troops to annihilate the 100,000 Mongolian army that invaded the territory of the Ming Dynasty, such a feat would surely be recorded in history, alongside famous officials such as Wang Mingyang and Yu Qian of the previous dynasty!
By that time, Zhao Junchen's reputation will definitely have greatly increased. If the Qingliu people continue to publicize that Zhao Junchen is a corrupt official with a bad record, will the scholars and the people still be willing to believe it?
By that time, Zhao Junchen's political capital will be unrivaled, and his influence will expand rapidly. How will the major factions in the DPRK compete with the "Zhao Party"?
At that time, Zhao Junchen's status will be completely stable, and he will become a famous official and hero in the eyes of the world. He will be praised by the world, won't it be difficult to overthrow him again?
Thinking of this, the expressions of many ministers in the imperial study changed. They felt that the future situation of the imperial court was about to change.
At this moment, Zuo Lanshan, who had always been low-key and silent, suddenly asked with a smile: "My lords, if Lord Zhao can really annihilate the invading 100,000 Mongolian army this time, it will undoubtedly be a big deal." It's a great thing. The Mongols must have suffered a huge loss of vitality, which was enough to stabilize the northwest frontier for decades. Such achievements can even be compared with the late emperor's personal conquest of Huang Taiji... But I see that your lords are not happy?"
During this period of time, Zhao Junchen's various controversial practices in Shaanxi and Gansu have led to the impeachment of hundreds of officials in the temple. Zuo Lanshan, as the second-in-command of the "Zhao Party", is also in a state of embarrassment and is quite disgraced. Now he also thought about the various impacts that Zhao Junchen's plan would have if it succeeded. He suddenly felt proud and had a bright future, but he no longer kept a low profile and took the initiative to ridicule.
After hearing Zuo Lanshan's sarcasm, Cheng Yuandao, Wang Shou and others realized that they had lost their composure, and couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.
Shen Changmao couldn't stand the way Zuo Lanshan looked like a villain, but he snorted coldly: "Mr. Zuo Ge, Zhao Shangshu's plan has not yet succeeded, and the final outcome is still unknown. All colleagues are just worried now. It’s just the battle situation, so don’t be too optimistic. At this time, it’s better to calculate defeat before calculating victory.”
On the other side, Emperor Deqing saw that several ministers were about to get into an argument again, but he said: "As Mr. Zhou Ge said, the court should receive news soon about whether Zhao Junchen's plan can succeed. , and this time I summoned you to the palace for discussion overnight, but it was for the third matter reported by Zhao Junchen in this memorial!"
After speaking, Emperor Deqing turned his eyes to Zhou Shangjing and motioned for Zhou Shangjing to continue.
Zhou Shangjing's expression became more meaningful and he continued: "Shen Shangfu thinks that we should seek defeat before we win at this time. Naturally, we can't be wrong, but Mr. Zhao seems to be full of confidence in his plan, and he The third thing in the memorial is to suggest that the imperial court should take the opportunity to regain the Hetao after winning this battle, and also formulated a series of overall plans!"
As Zhou Shangjing finished speaking, all the ministers in the imperial study were shocked again!
Zhao Junchen's plan to annihilate the 100,000 Mongolian army was already extremely ambitious in their eyes, but they did not expect that Zhao Junchen's ambition was far more than that, and he even wanted to take the opportunity to expand territory for the imperial court!
For a moment, there was only one thought left in everyone's mind - why did Zhao Junchen seem to be a different person after leaving Beijing? Where does Zhao Junchen's confidence and ambition come from? If Zhao Junchen is really allowed to realize all his intentions, where will the situation in the court go?
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ps: I originally wanted to use one chapter to write about the discussion between Emperor Deqing and his ministers, but because this book has not touched on the situation of the temple center for a long time, this plot should not only describe the discussion between Emperor Deqing and his ministers. The consultation process and results were also included, and the changes in the situation in the temple center during this period were also written. However, it was difficult to end it in one chapter, so it had to be split into two chapters.
In the next few days, Chongzhu will rarely have any leisure time, and will be updated steadily. There will still be a big chapter tomorrow.
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