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Near the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City, there is an inconspicuous small yamen. This yamen is called Tongzhengshisi, which is responsible for cashiering the emperor's orders, communicating with subordinates, official documents for customs and defense, and suggestions from the subjects, etc.
Because of this authority, the General Affairs Office was only a few hundred steps away from Wenyuan Pavilion, and could promptly submit all kinds of important memorials to Emperor Deqing and the cabinet ministers. Therefore, this yamen can be said to be the most well-informed place. , all the members are well-informed people, and they usually like to talk on paper and talk rhetorically, and they are a little bit too ambitious.
On this day, two general affairs envoys and governors who were responsible for sending and receiving memorials were chatting in the office lobby about various interesting things in the capital in recent times.
One governor is named Xu Qian. He is about 20 years old. He has a rich figure and an arrogant face. However, he comes from an official family and is a distant relative of Zhou Shangjing. He has no scruples about what he says on weekdays. The other governor is named He Xun. , is about forty years old, but comes from a poor family. His expression is reserved and humble, and his attitude is more calm.
Xu Qian was half lying on the office chair, looking bored. After seeing no one else entering or leaving the office lobby, he turned to He Xun and asked with a smile: "Hey, He Xun, there is a rumor in the capital that has become more and more popular recently. We have all been talking about it recently, have you heard of it?"
He Xun was sorting out the thick stacks of memorials in front of him. His eyes flashed slightly after hearing Xu Qian's inquiry. He had obviously guessed what Xu Qian meant by "rumors", but on the surface, Looking completely unaware, he raised his head and asked: "There are too many rumors in the capital. Which rumor is Mr. Xu specifically referring to?"
Xu Qian shook his head and said: "What other rumor could it be? It is the rumor that the governors of the northwest have secretly united to beg for peace with the Mongolian coalition without telling the court!"
He Xun looked stunned and nodded: "I seem to have heard of it, but I don't know much about it!"
Xu Qian had an exaggerated expression and said: "As an official of the General Affairs Department, you are really too privy to information. You don't even know about such a big thing?"
Seeing He Xun shaking his head again, Xu Qian said in a show-off tone: "Hey, this is big news... It is said that after the Junggar Khanate unified the major tribes on the right wing of Mongolia, this year's fire-swept bandits were fierce, and as a result, the northwest The governors and general soldiers were so frightened that they secretly withheld the imperial government's relief grain and grass, and arrested fleeing people everywhere in their jurisdiction. They wanted to give these relief grain, grass and fleeing people to the Mongols in exchange for their withdrawal. ...Hey, if Zhao Junchen, the Minister of Household Affairs, had not stopped this matter, our Ming Dynasty would have had one more thing worth writing about in the history books..."
Both Zhao Junchen and the imperial court tried their best to conceal the appeasement and begging actions of the northwest governors. When Zhao Junchen reported the matter to the imperial court, he also told Fang Ru not to leak it, but it was all out of overall considerations. , but Fang Ru only had Zhao Junchen in her heart and did not have the overall situation of the court. After repeated consideration, she believed that it would be more beneficial to Zhao Junchen if the news was leaked. However, for the first time in her life, she violated Zhao Junchen's will and leaked it through the channels of Tongji Temple. This matter, as of today, the news has become more and more popular among the people.
No matter what he thought in his heart, He Xun looked like he believed deeply in the ethics of court officials and was not affected by folk rumors. He shook his head and said, "Isn't this impossible? Are the governors of the northwest so brave?"
Xu Qian smiled proudly, but quoted the analysis of several elders in the clan, and said: "So you don't understand the principle of knowing the autumn in a leaf. Think about it, the imperial court mobilized armies from all over the country to support the northwest border defense some time ago, which shows that the border defense is tight. , the governors of various places had no confidence to resist the enemy. Later, Zhao Junchen rushed to the northwest to investigate because of a problem with the relief food and grass. This matter also happened. Zhao Junchen sent a memorial to the court a few days ago, which attracted His Majesty and Six departments of the cabinet discussed matters overnight, but the contents of the memorial are still unknown... In my opinion, this matter is just groundless, but it may not be true..."
He Xun still looked like he had faith in the imperial court and said: "I still don't believe it. How can the northwest border defense be so serious? Two days ago, it wasn't Mr. Zhao who sent a victory report, saying that the victory at the Xiaochuan River in Gongchang Prefecture severely damaged Mongolia. Coalition forces?”
Xu Qian seemed to have seen through everything and said: "You just can't understand. There have been countless good news in the northwest provinces over the years. Which one of them is true? And which one of them didn't win first and then lose? Zhao Junchen The victory report from the past two days was even more vague. It was said to be a great victory, but it did not mention any prisoners, heads, or seizures as evidence. It was probably just a lie about military merit! Do you think the imperial court would have any reaction after receiving the victory report? "
He Xun guessed: "According to the victory report, after the battle on the Xiaochuan River is over, Mr. Zhao will immediately lead his troops to the south bank of the Wei River to set up defenses. Maybe it is just that the war is urgent and there is no time to count the captured prisoners in detail? After the battle on the Wei River is over, There should be comprehensive statistics on the results."
Xu Qian shook his head repeatedly and said disdainfully: "How is it possible? We still don't know what kind of methods that Zhao Junchen has? He is good at fighting for power, flattering horses, and transferring money and food, but how can he still lead the troops to fight? His abilities? Do you think he is the kind of person who is both civil and military? Just wait and see,"
He Xun's expression changed, and he quickly looked around. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw no one else around, and then warned Xu Qian: "Mr. Xu, be careful what you say, our general envoy Tong can He is Mr. Zhao’s crony in the DPRK and China. If he hears these words, he will be unlucky!"
Hearing He Xun's advice, Xu Qian also found that he was showing off and getting carried away. However, he was unwilling to give in in front of He Xun, but he said harshly: "What if Tong Tongzheng heard this? Mr. Zhou Ge But my distant great-uncle... Besides, I'm right, Zhao Junchen has no ability to lead an army in battle... Besides, our General Affairs Secretary is the same as the left and right censors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, only in name. The highest officer is not that capable, so what can he do to me..."
That's what he said, but after Xu Qian mumbled a few words, he finally didn't dare to say anything more.
However, at this moment, the sound of galloping hooves suddenly came from outside the Yamen, and then it was heard again near the door of the Yamen.
Hearing such movement, both He Xun and Xu Qian's expressions changed slightly.
The General Affairs Envoy Si Yamen is located close to the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City, and horses are never allowed to ride in normal times.
Unless it is an urgent memorial from eight hundred miles away, such a memorial often means that something big has happened.
Just when He Xun and Xu Qian were in shock, a messenger wearing a mandarin duck jersey hurried into the office lobby.
After rushing into the office lobby, the courier shouted in a hoarse voice: "I am the postmaster of the Imperial Envoy Mr. Zhao. Here is the 800-mile emergency news from Mr. Zhao! Great victory on the Weishui River! Our army's great victory on the Weishui River ! The imperial envoy Zhao Junchen led the army to a great victory over the Mongolian coalition forces on the south bank of the Weishui River, and captured the Mongolian coalition commander Bagan alive! After three battles at the Weishui River, Jiezhou, and Xiaochuan River, he completely annihilated the 100,000 Mongolian Tatar army! Nearly 30,000 enemy heads were captured! , captured more than 13,000 people, captured more than 8,000 war horses, and countless military supplies, and also captured the Mongolian coalition commander Bagan alive! After this battle, the vitality of all Mongolian ministries was seriously damaged, and it also greatly boosted the ambition of our Han people. , the northwest frontier will have no worries in the next ten years!"
Hearing the messenger's loud shout, He Xun and Xu Qian were both stunned and felt that they had heard wrongly.
Not to mention Xu Qian, he didn't believe that Zhao Junchen would lead his army to defeat the Mongolian coalition. Even He Xun did not expect that Zhao Junchen's results would be so amazing!
After a while, Xu Qian stumbled and asked: "What, what did you say? Say it again?"
The messenger was not surprised by Xu Qian's performance, and just said again: "I have brought good news of the great victory on the Weishui River! The imperial envoy Zhao Junchen led the army to a great victory over the Mongolian coalition forces on the south bank of the Weishui River, and captured the Mongolian coalition coach Bagan alive. ! After three battles at the Wei River, Jiezhou, and Xiaochuan River, they completely annihilated the 100,000-strong Mongolian Tatar army! Nearly 30,000 enemy heads were captured, more than 13,000 were captured, and a total of more than 8,000 war horses were seized, as well as countless military supplies. And they also captured Bagan, the head coach of the Mongolian coalition, alive! After this battle, the vitality of all the Mongolian ministries was severely damaged, and it also greatly boosted the ambition of the Han people. The northwest frontier will be worry-free for the next ten years!
After confirming the news, Xu Qian's expression was shocked but also a little embarrassed. He had just sworn that Zhao Junchen had no ability to lead an army. The previous victory report of Xiaochuan River was just a lie about his military exploits. Who knew that the slap in the face would come so quickly? .
According to the courier, there was no shortage of heads, prisoners, and seizures after the victory, and the Mongolian coalition commander Bagan was also captured alive. This is conclusive evidence that cannot be doubted.
For a moment, Xu Qian only felt that his cheeks were a little hot, but he quickly adjusted his mentality. After turning his eyes, he quickly asked the messenger: "Where is the good news? Get it out quickly! The news is urgent, I need to do it as soon as possible." Submit it!"
The messenger quickly removed the cloth bag from his back and took out a memorial.
Before He Xun could make a move, Xu Qian quickly walked up to the courier, grabbed the notebook of good news, and then turned around and left.
After leaving quickly, Xu Qian said to He Xun: "Master He, please greet the messenger. I will go and deliver the good news to the political envoy Tong Tong. This good news is of great importance and needs to be delivered to the cabinet in person by Mr. Tong." !”
After saying that, Xu Qian had disappeared.
Seeing Xu Qian's behavior, He Xun's modest expression disappeared instantly, and his eyes looked a little sinister.
Xu Qian rushed to deliver the good news to Tong Huan, the general envoy, obviously because he wanted to take the opportunity to leave a good impression on Tong Huan, and he was also afraid that He Xun would get a share of the benefits, so he found a reason to keep He Xun. There was no concealment in his thoughts, and He Xun could naturally see clearly.
But then, after He Xun smiled coldly, he stopped paying attention to Xu Qian's behavior and turned around to greet the travel-worn messenger.
*
Running quickly, Xu Qian arrived outside the office door of General Affairs Minister Tong Huan in just a moment.
Then, Xu Qian loudly reported outside the door: "Master Tong, good news has come from the northwest! Master Zhao has wiped out one hundred thousand soldiers of the Mongolian coalition! He also captured the leader of the Mongolian coalition Bagan alive! A great victory in the northwest! A great victory in the northwest!"
As Xu Qian finished speaking, Tong Huan's surprised voice suddenly came from the room: "What? There's another good news in the northwest? Send it in quickly!"
Xu Qian immediately pushed the door open and saw that Tong Huan had stood up and looked forward to it. He quickly handed the good news to Tong Huan and took the opportunity to flatter him: "According to the messenger, Mr. Zhao will lead the army this time." He defeated the Mongolian coalition forces on the south bank of the Wei River and captured the Mongolian coalition commander Bagan alive! After three battles on the Wei River, Jiezhou, and Xiaochuan River, he completely annihilated the 100,000 Mongolian Tatar army! Nearly 30,000 enemy heads were captured and more than 13,000 prisoners were taken. , a total of more than 8,000 war horses were seized, as well as countless military supplies, and the Mongolian coalition coach Bagan was captured alive! After this battle, the vitality of all Mongolian ministries was seriously damaged, and it also greatly boosted the ambition of our Han people. The northwest frontier will have no future for the next ten years. So worried!"
Tong Huan opened the victory report and read it carefully, the joy on his face getting heavier and heavier - as one of Zhao Junchen's cronies in the DPRK and China, Tong Huan's joy after hearing the news of the victory was much stronger than others - ——Anyone with a discerning eye can clearly see what it means after Zhao Junchen has such illustrious military exploits, and what benefits the "Zhao Party" officials will have.
"Good! Good thing! It's really a great thing! Haha, even the Mongolian coach Bagan was captured alive! These days, all the officials in the court have been doubting the victory of the Xiaochuanhe War. Now that there is such irrefutable evidence, I think they still want to How to say!"
After reading the content of the victory report in detail, Tong Huan praised repeatedly!
In fact, this is the third good news from Zhao Junchen. However, the previous two good news were vague about the statistics of the results, but they also aroused doubts from officials in the DPRK and the Central Government. Officials of the "Zhao Party" Shi Shi also suffered a lot of pressure because of this. For example, Xu Qian had previously concluded that Zhao Junchen had lied about his military exploits and was by no means a minority among the imperial officials.
Of course, this situation was also deliberate by Zhao Junchen. On the one hand, in order to make his record more legendary, he compiled all the results statistics into the last victory report to make the content of the victory report even more amazing. On the other hand, it was also to undermine the prestige of officials from hostile factions and divert the attention of court officials.
Now, with this conclusive and undoubted good news, Tong Huan only feels proud and proud.
On the other side, after seeing Tong Huan's joyful expression, Xu Qian took the opportunity to please him and said, "When I discussed the Northwest War with my colleague He Xun, I thought that Mr. Zhao would definitely make great military exploits. Who knew that He Xun didn't believe it at all?" , and said that Mr. Zhao has absolutely no ability to lead troops in battle. Now that this good news has come to the capital, He Xun must not be able to say anything strange!"
Tong Huan laughed, walked up to Xu Qian, patted him on the shoulder and said, "You are a smart person with strong opinions. Naturally, you are not as short-sighted as that idiot He Xun!"
Hearing Tong Huan's praise, Xu Qian was overjoyed and said humbly: "Everywhere, Master Tong taught me well!"
However, when Xu Qian bowed his head in humility, he did not notice Tong Huan's sarcastic eyes.
In fact, He Xun had secretly reported Xu Qian's remarks during this period to Tong Huan. Tong Huan was quite disgusted with Xu Qian, but because he was a distant relative of Zhou Shangjing, it was inconvenient to suppress him at the moment.
"Hmph! Mr. Zhao has made such great achievements. From now on, our power in the temple will definitely increase by leaps and bounds, and we will soon be as good as Zhou Dang... When that time comes, let this Xu Qian look good." !”
While these thoughts were swirling, Tong Huan looked serious on the surface. He patted Xu Qian's shoulder again, nodded and said: "This good news is extremely important. I will personally deliver it to Wenyuan Pavilion immediately. You... I brought you good news this time, and I will give you more benefits in the future!"
After saying that, Tong Huan quickly left the room, leaving Xu Qian with a happy and proud look on his face, feeling that he had benefited!
*
Over the years, under Zhao Junchen's operation and maintenance, the imperial treasury and Emperor Deqing's internal funds have gradually become surplus, and the previous financial dilemma has been greatly alleviated.
Emperor Deqing was a courageous emperor. He deeply understood that the money in the treasury must be spent to generate value. After seeing that the treasury and internal funds had a surplus, not only the daily expenses of the concubines in the palace It has improved a lot, and even the palace buildings in the Forbidden City have been renovated. Today, the entire palace has a completely new look, becoming more magnificent and grand, showing the imperial style.
Among the countless palaces in the Forbidden City, there is an inconspicuous small palace. This small palace is the only place that Emperor Deqing has not spent money on repairs and renovations during this period. It looks quite dilapidated.
However, this dilapidated small hall is the core position of the entire imperial court and the office of the cabinet ministers - Wenyuan Pavilion!
On weekdays, the cabinet ministers would handle government affairs in Wenyuan Pavilion after the morning court.
When Tong Huan hurried to Wenyuan Pavilion, the elders of the pavilion were also discussing various government affairs in the recent period.
"The imperial court had tried its best to conceal the appeasement and begging for peace by the governors of the northwest, but the news was leaked without thinking. Now the people are talking about it, and the imperial court's prestige has been damaged because of this. Public opinion must be controlled as soon as possible. ! Shen Shoufu, in my opinion, this matter cannot be reported to His Majesty, otherwise His Majesty will definitely be very angry. It is best for the cabinet to approve a note and hand it over to Shuntian Prefecture for processing! "
In the main hall of Wenyuan Pavilion, Zhou Shangjing frowned and suggested.
After hearing Zhou Shangjing's proposal, the two pavilion elders Li He and Cheng Yuandao nodded in agreement. Only Zuo Lanshan's expression was slightly hesitant.
As the spokesperson of the "Zhao Party" in the cabinet, Zuo Lanshan naturally has to consider the interests of the "Zhao Party". Now the people are secretly dissatisfied with the court because of the rumors. If the Shuntian Mansion personally takes action to control public opinion, It is most likely to cause public dissatisfaction, and Sunchon Prefecture Yin will take the blame if he is not careful in handling it.
But the current Shuntian Prefecture Yin Huo Zhengyuan is a member of the "Zhao Party". Zuo Lanshan naturally does not want such a thankless job to fall into the hands of Shuntian Prefecture, which may cause Huo Zhengyuan to lose his key position as Shuntian Prefecture Yin. .
However, Zuo Lanshan did not question Zhou Shangjing's courage after all, but after a slight hesitation, he acquiesced.
Since Zhao Junchen left the capital, the "Zhao Party" has fallen into a leaderless situation. Naturally, the major parties in the DPRK and China will not let go of such a good opportunity. During this period, there has been an endless stream of criticism against the "Zhao Party" , Zuo Lanshan, as the second-in-command of the "Zhao Party", is already very busy dealing with these things on weekdays.
In the recent period, because officials from both the DPRK and the Central Government have questioned the authenticity of Zhao Junchen's previous success reports, the situation of "Zhao Party" has become even more embarrassing. Zuo Lanshan has become even more low-key when he was in the cabinet and did not dare to dare. If you put forward your own opinions, I am afraid that others will take advantage of the topic.
On the other side, Chief Assistant Shen Changmao looked slightly numb and nodded: "What Mr. Zhou Ge said makes sense, so let's do it!"
It stands to reason that there is a huge difference in power and influence between the chief minister of the cabinet and the ordinary ministers of the cabinet, because among the cabinet ministers, only the chief minister of the cabinet has the right to vote and can add his own opinions to official documents and memorials. Opinion, but Shen Changmao found that after he became the chief minister of the cabinet, Zhou Shangjing still had the final say in the entire cabinet. On the surface, he was the chief minister of the cabinet with great fame and power of voting, but in fact he was just Zhou Shangjing's ghostwriter.
Faced with this situation, Shen Changmao has tried to resist many times, but he is still unable to resist. Today, he has long been resigned to his fate and has lost the excitement and pride of becoming the chief minister of the cabinet.
Shen Changmao even felt that he could successfully become the chief minister of the cabinet, just because Zhou Shangjing had long anticipated the turmoil in the temple during this period, so he pushed him to the front desk as a scapegoat.
On the other side, after seeing Shen Changmao agreeing to his proposal, and seeing Zuo Lanshan's hesitation, Zhou Shangjing's wrinkled eyes flashed with a hint of contempt, and he felt vaguely bored.
After all, there are only a few people left in the temple who are worthy of Zhou Shangjing's attention, such as Emperor Deqing, Zhao Junchen, and the seventh prince Zhu Hejian. The rest cannot be called Zhou Shangjing's opponents at all.
But he still had a kind look on his face and continued: "But there is one thing that our cabinet must express its position on! That is the current literary disaster that is getting worse! At the beginning, His Majesty ordered the factory to publish Guo Tang's "Collection of Crane Poems" Wei was investigating the counter-texts and counter-poems of scholars from all over the country. At that time, His Majesty was very angry. We were all reluctant to persuade each other and felt that this matter would not be too drastic..."
Having said this, Zhou Shangjing sighed and seemed to be filled with self-blame: "But I never thought that because the governors of the northwest secretly begged for peace with the Mongols without telling the court, this cultural disaster happened. His Majesty was furious that Dongchang failed to detect in time the northwest governor's deception, so he once again issued an order to purge the top eunuchs of Dongchang. As a result, Dongchang had been rectified in just one year. Three times, the newly appointed eunuch of Dongchang was naturally panic-stricken and anxious to prove his ability to His Majesty. Dongchang's work efficiency has actually been improved several times. When investigating counter-texts and counter-poems, he also preferred to make no mistakes. However, this literary calamity is getting bigger and bigger. Now many well-known scholars in various places have been implicated. The whole scholar community is in panic... After all, scholars are the foundation of our court. This literary calamity must not be avoided. Long lasting!”
Cheng Yuandao nodded quickly and said: "Yes, many of my old friends and disciples have been implicated. These days, I receive letters about this every day, asking for help or complaining. This matter must be reversed. !”
The Qingliu people were the hardest hit by this literary disaster, so Cheng Yuandao naturally actively supported Zhou Shangjing's proposal.
Zhou Shangjing sighed again and said: "Since this period of time, there have been constant rumors among the people. The people easily believed the rumors that the governors of the northwest were appeasement and begging for peace from the Mongols. In the final analysis, it was because of this literary disaster that the imperial court was hurt. The heart of a scholar, so scholars are unwilling to speak for the court... Now is a troubled time. If this literary disaster is allowed to get worse, chaos will inevitably break out in the government and the public. Therefore, I suggest that all members of our cabinet go to ask your Majesty for orders to end this. There was a literary disaster, and the matter of judging the anti-poetry and anti-copywriting of scholars from all over the country was handed over to the Third Law Division. What do you think?"
Hearing Zhou Shangjing's proposal, all the cabinet elders nodded in agreement. After all, this is a major matter related to the stability of the government and the opposition, and with the endorsement of everyone in the cabinet, there is no need to worry that Emperor Deqing will be unhappy. Only Shen Changmao As the chief minister of the cabinet had to take the lead, I couldn't help but hesitate a little, but finally agreed.
At the same time, Zhou Shangjing glanced at Zuo Lanshan again from the corner of his eye.
But in his seemingly dim and cloudy old eyes, the person he saw was not Zuo Lanshan in front of him, but Zhao Junchen behind Zuo Lanshan.
From the initial appearance to the intensification of this literary disaster, there is something fishy everywhere.
First, the former young master Guo Tang publicly impeached Zhao Junchen for Zhao Junchen's high-profile concubinage, which attracted fierce retaliation from Zhao Junchen. Then Dongchang suddenly discovered the poems in Guo Tang's "Collection of Crane Poems". Anti-writing and anti-poetry; when Emperor Deqing ordered the factory guards to investigate the anti-writing and anti-poetry of scholars from all over the country, Dongchang's original action was not big, and then because Zhao Junchen exposed the appeasement and begging for peace of the northwest governor, Deqing was The emperor once again took action to purge Dongchang, forcing Dongchang to take immediate action to prove his ability; and after the upper-level eunuchs of Dongchang were repeatedly purged, it stands to reason that the successor should at least adapt for a period of time before he can do things, but in fact On the contrary, Dongchang's work efficiency has improved a lot, as if someone was secretly tipping off the news!
Zhao Junchen's figure is revealed in all the strange places.
Zhou Shangjing is sure that even if Zhao Junchen is not the mastermind behind all this, there must be Zhao Junchen who is adding fuel to the flames!
Zhou Shangjing naturally knew what Zhao Junchen wanted to take advantage of, but he was just taking advantage of this literary disaster to save a group of great scholars and reverse his reputation in the scholarly community.
In fact, Zhao Junchen's plan was very effective, and Zhou Shangjing found that Zhao Junchen's reputation among the people had indeed changed significantly.
In fact, Zhou Shangjing was very aware of all this, so naturally he would not do nothing.
After discovering the profit, Zhou Shangjing quickly followed the trend. What he did was no different from Zhao Junchen. They all took advantage of this literary disaster to win over the hearts of scholars all over the world, and collected counter-poems from scholars all over the world through the intelligence network. They would then secretly hand over these counter-poems and counter-essays to Dongchang, and finally select some talented and influential scholars to rescue them secretly, in order to win the gratitude and trust of these scholars.
This literary disaster was so big that Dongchang's eagerness to prove his ability could only account for half of the factor. The other half was that Zhou Shangjing and Zhao Junchen were hiding in the dark to add fuel to the flames and fish in troubled waters - and compared to Zhao Junchen himself, Zhou Shangjing But it’s deeper hidden, less labor intensive, and more profitable!
Before this literary disaster, Zhou Shangjing's impression in the minds of scholars was not very good. Although it was not as bad as Zhao Junchen, it could only be regarded as a mixed blessing. However, after this literary disaster, Zhou Shangjing's reputation also improved significantly. Reversal has become the "pillar of the country" and "reincarnation of Kou Zhun" in the eyes of many scholars. If Zhao Junchen had not taken advantage of the east wind of the Northwest War, the improvement effect on Zhou Shangjing's reputation would have been even more obvious.
It's just that Zhou Shangjing is a mature man who seeks the country after all. Although he gained a lot of benefits from this literary disaster, he stopped in time when he saw that this literary disaster began to affect the overall situation of the court, and he also planned to lead the cabinet ministers Let's work together to end this literary disaster - this kind of clear-cut attitude between public and private is often the most terrifying thing about Zhou Shangjing.
At the same time, after thinking that the mastermind behind this literary disaster was probably Zhao Junchen, who was far away in Shaanxi and Gansu, Zhou Shangjing paid more attention to Zhao Junchen.
After thinking of Zhao Junchen, Zhou Shangjing narrowed his eyes slightly and said: "There is one more thing. It has been two days since Zhao Junchen's successful report on the Battle of Xiaochuan River was sent to the court. The court should give its attitude as soon as possible. All the officials are talking about it, but it’s not a good thing!”
Seeing Zhou Shangjing suddenly talking about Zhao Junchen's good news, Zuo Lanshan couldn't help but bend down and lower his head, looking cautious.
In the past two days, every time the officials discussed Zhao Junchen's good news, it would eventually develop into criticism and ridicule of "Zhao Party", which made Zuo Lanshan feel a little bit dissatisfied.
The impression Zhao Junchen had given everyone before was that he was an official who was only good at managing money and fighting for power. Although his scheming methods should not be underestimated, no one believed that Zhao Junchen would suddenly have the ability to lead troops in battle-such an impression was too much. So intense that no one can reverse it.
Therefore, even though the secrets Zhao Junchen presented to Emperor Deqing a few days ago hinted that he would make big moves in Shaanxi and Gansu, and his attitude was quite confident, it was still unconvincing.
It’s no wonder that officials have raised questions one after another. Think about those figures in history who were able to govern with literary skills and defeat enemies with military force - whether it is Zhuge Kongming, Yu Qian, Wang Chongyang, etc., they are all famous officials through the ages, and they are all related to Zhao Junchen is not from the same group at all.
In particular, Zhao Junchen's several good news reports seemed too incredible, but they were vague and lacked supporting evidence, which made people even more suspicious.
After receiving the good news from Zhao Junchen, all the officials were focused on discussing whether the good news was true or false. Therefore, the court did not express its position for a long time. It neither dared to deny the authenticity of the good news at will, nor did it dare to just because of a few vague statements. If there is a good news, I will give him a big reward, for fear that it will make a joke.
At this time, after hearing Zhou Shangjing's proposal, people like Shen Changmao, Cheng Yuandao and others couldn't help but look sarcastic.
Shen Changmao turned to Zuo Lanshan and asked: "Mr. Zuo Ge, you have always been the closest to Zhao Junchen. Can you tell me whether Zhao Junchen's good news is true or false?"
Facing Shen Changmao's direct questioning, Zuo Lanshan's attitude became more humble and cautious, saying: "This... Of course I hope that the good news is true, but according to the usual practice, it naturally needs to be verified... Wait for Mr. Zhao. , Mr. Liang Ge and others have sent their follow-up memorials, it should be confirmed."
In fact, in the past few days, faced with numerous questions from officials, even the "Zhao Party" officials were somewhat doubtful.
Cheng Yuandao sneered: "In other words, even Mr. Zuo Ge can't believe that those good news are true?"
Zuo Lanshan said quickly: "I just believe that the court should act in accordance with past rules and should not make arbitrary conclusions!"
Seeing Zuo Lanshan's cowardly look, Shen Changmao's expression was full of disdain and sarcasm.
Because Zhao Junchen once wanted to annex the "Shen Party", Shen Changmao hated Zhao Junchen the most. Naturally, he was unwilling to believe the news that was beneficial to Zhao Junchen. However, he was still a stubborn person, so during this period of time, " Party Shen often uses these good news to criticize Party Zhao.
This situation in Zhou Shangjing's eyes made Zhou Shangjing even more disdainful of Shen Changmao.
In Zhou Shangjing's view, Zhao Junchen's several good news reports were all unclear, and they were obviously done deliberately to divert the attention of Shen Changmao and others.
When the "Shen Party" officials used these good news to criticize and ridicule the "Zhao Party", they took advantage of the opportunity when the "Zhao Party" was unable to provide evidence of the good news. It seemed that they had the upper hand, but in fact they had no The actual benefits are only verbal advantages.
Because the "Shen Party" cannot confirm that these good reports are false. Even if it is proved that these good reports are indeed false reports of military achievements, it is only Zhao Junchen's personal responsibility, and those "Zhao Party" officials cannot be implicated in a short time.
If "Shen Party" really wants to bring down "Zhao Party", they should never focus on the authenticity of these good news, but should take advantage of Zhao Junchen's absence in the capital to collect evidence on "Zhao Party" Evidence of crime was used to bring down several generals of the "Zhao Party" and weaken the foundation and influence of the "Zhao Party".
It is a pity that all Shen Party officials, including Shen Changmao, were attracted by the good news reports that seemed to have countless flaws, and were also addicted to the pleasure of gaining the upper hand when criticizing the "Zhao Party", but they completely ignored these Condition.
"From Shen Changmao down, these 'Shen Party' officials have been actively looking for loopholes in the victory reports these days, taking the opportunity to criticize the 'Zhao Party'. Everyone is sworn and confident, thinking that Zhao Junchen must have lied about his military exploits... …But have they ever thought that if these good news are true, wouldn’t their statements these days make them lose face and ruin their reputation?”
While Zhou Shangjing was deep in thought, he saw that Shen Changmao was still ridiculing Zuo Lanshan, and Cheng Yuandao also joined in with a few words from time to time. He couldn't help but shook his head secretly, and wanted to interrupt them to continue talking about business.
At this time, Tong Huan, the general envoy, quickly entered the main hall of Wenyuan Pavilion and reported loudly and excitedly: "I would like to report to all the pavilion elders that the imperial envoy Zhao Junchen led the army to a great victory over the Mongolian coalition forces on the south bank of the Wei River. Captured the Mongolian coalition commander Bagan alive! After three battles at Weishui River, Jiezhou, and Xiaochuan River, he completely annihilated the 100,000 Mongolian Tatar army! Nearly 30,000 enemy leaders were captured, more than 13,000 prisoners were captured, and a total of more than 8,000 war horses were seized. , as well as countless military resources, and they also captured the Mongolian coalition commander Bagan alive! After this battle, the vitality of all the Mongolian ministries was severely damaged, and it also greatly boosted the aspirations of the Han people. The northwest frontier will be worry-free for the next ten years!"
As Tong Huan finished speaking, Wenyuan Pavilion fell into silence for a moment.
Then, Li He couldn't help but exclaimed and looked at Zhou Shangjing subconsciously; Cheng Yuandao's face was dumbfounded, and he didn't even realize that the rabbit hair fell from his hand; Shen Changmao's face turned pale, as if he heard the news of the defeat of the border defense. News; Zuo Lanshan's eyes shone with surprise, and he suddenly raised his head and raised his chest, and his previous cautious and humble attitude was completely gone.
As for Zhou Shangjing, he seemed to have already guessed it, but he was neither happy nor worried, but looked thoughtful.
Then, Zhou Shangjing suddenly smiled, broke the silence in Wenyuan Pavilion, and said: "Everyone, since it is such great news, let's go to the Imperial Study Room to present it to His Majesty as soon as possible... His Majesty will definitely be happy!"
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PS: Well, it’s a big chapter of 10,000 words.
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