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The day after New Year's Eve, the first day of the Lunar New Year, happened to be the fifty-sixth birthday of Emperor Deqing.
For all officials in the court, this day is a big day every year. If you can take the opportunity to please Emperor Deqing, your future will be bright.
This year's day is even more special. It coincides with the recovery of the Hetao area and the surrender of Jianzhou Jurchen and other tribes. It can be said that it is a triple blessing. Naturally, it is celebrated by the whole world and attracts the attention of the world.
Therefore, Emperor Deqing not only celebrated his birthday on this day, awarded meritorious officials in the Hetao War, but also went to the Temple of Heaven to worship heaven and earth and his ancestors.
Anyone with political sensitivity will know that such an important time node often means changes in certain policy directions, and this change will definitely change the fate of countless people.
Therefore, this morning, when the ministers rushed to the palace, everyone cheered up and opened their eyes wide, not daring to miss any details of this day. They were nervous, excited, expecting and anxious. Mixed together, this emotion kept many officials awake all night.
Of course, Zhao Junchen, as a cabinet minister and one of the powerful officials in the DPRK, is naturally not included in this list.
With Zhao Junchen's status and power today, even Emperor Deqing had to say hello to him in advance before formulating policies. Therefore, he had long understood the direction and changes of the court situation, and had made sufficient preparations in advance. It was not like Ordinary officials are usually nervous and uneasy, but at this time, he felt as if he was sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai. When he rushed to the palace in a sedan chair, his attitude was quite calm.
"There are no surprises in this year's birthday process. The birthday gift I presented to Emperor Deqing is also unique and will definitely satisfy Emperor Deqing... Because of my hard arguments in the past few days, all the meritorious officials The results of the reward were quite satisfactory and did not make them too disappointed... Jianzhou Jurchen, Monan Mongolian ministries, and envoys from North Korea also arrived in the capital in time, and their surrender will soon be settled...
From this point of view, except for the memorial article that Emperor Deqing made today to worship heaven, all situations are already under my control. As long as Emperor Deqing does not make some unthinking slaps on the forehead today, The decision, everything is just a formality, there is no need to take it too seriously..."
While thinking about it, Zhao Junchen's attitude was calm and calm at first, but as he thought about it later, his expression gradually became more serious.
This is because Zhao Junchen suddenly thought of the ridiculous actions of Emperor Deqing last night. Not only was he indulged in drinking and sex, but he also lost his usual deep and deep city. He was obviously carried away and had a vague air of being a coward.
When Zhao Junchen received the news last night, he just thought that the chess piece Zhang Zhaodi had finally played its role, but he ignored that this incident also represented some kind of change in Emperor Deqing.
With Emperor Deqing's current pride and complacency, he might actually be able to do something unexpected today!
In the past, Zhao Junchen would never have worried about such a thing, because although Emperor Deqing was a man who was overjoyed in meritorious service and ungrateful and suspicious, he would never act rashly. All his decisions were made after weighing the pros and cons and being cautious. Thinking about it, although it is difficult to deal with such an emperor Deqing, his actions are also traceable and can be predicted.
But in the recent period, with the recovery of the homeland in the Hetao area, the voluntary surrender of Jianzhou Jurchen and other tribes, and the flattery of hundreds of officials, Emperor Deqing has gradually become arrogant and complacent. He only feels that He is a hero of a generation, and he has gradually lost the balance and caution of the past when acting.
After Emperor Deqing has undergone such a change, he might actually do something shocking today.
Thinking of this, Zhao Junchen couldn't help but frown slightly, feeling that all his plans did not seem to take into account Emperor Deqing's future personality changes, and many aspects had to be reconsidered.
Zhao Junchen has such a temperament. It doesn't matter whether he is wary of danger in times of peace, or he is worried about others. He can't stop thinking about all kinds of things in his mind. He often wastes his energy and energy in fighting wits and courage, but this kind of quality is also The key to him getting to where he is today.
And just when Zhao Junchen was concentrating on thinking, time passed extremely fast. Before Zhao Junchen could figure out some key points, he found that his sedan chair had lightly shaken and landed on the ground, and then he heard someone outside the sedan chair. Zhao Dali reported: "Mr. Zhao Ge, we have arrived outside the palace."
Zhao Junchen was interrupted from his thoughts and couldn't help but shook his head slightly, and then thought: "Something unexpected may not happen. Although Emperor Deqing's mentality has undergone some changes, it may not affect him. I have always been cautious and weighed... maybe I am overthinking."
Thinking of this, Zhao Junchen's expression had returned to calm, and he stepped out of the sedan with Zhao Dali waiting on him.
After getting out of the sedan, Zhao Junchen raised his head and took a quick look, only to find that hundreds of officials had already gathered outside the Meridian Gate, and he was already among the latest group to arrive.
Because today is the birthday of Emperor Deqing, not only all the officials are here, but also the nobles are here one after another. Everyone comes with birthday gifts. These birthday gifts may be big or small, more or less, but they are all They were extremely valuable items, and they were all piled up in a corner outside the Meridian Gate. The relevant eunuchs were responsible for registering and keeping them. They occupied a large area, making the situation outside the Meridian Gate even more crowded and lively.
Under such circumstances, Zhao Junchen's appearance still attracted everyone's attention.
In recent years, Emperor Deqing's birthday has always been celebrated by Zhao Junchen. Every year, his birthday gifts are blockbuster and eye-catching, making Emperor Deqing very happy every time. So on this day, all officials also They are all very concerned about what new tricks Zhao Junchen will use as gifts this year.
Under everyone's attention, Zhao Junchen nodded slightly to Zhao Dali behind him, and then saw Zhao Dali hand over a lacquer plate covered with red silk to Zhao Junchen to hold in his own hands.
What is on the lacquer plate and covered by red silk is obviously the birthday gift that Zhao Junchen will give to Emperor Deqing this year.
The lacquer plate is only about one foot wide and long, so the birthday gift placed on the lacquer plate is naturally not large. Although it is obscured by red silk and satin, giving people a mysterious feeling, everyone can still see the approximate outline of the birthday gift. ——Just like a few fruits.
Could it be that Zhao Junchen’s birthday gift to Emperor Deqing this year was just a few fruits?
Even if these fruits are made of gold and jade, how much money are they worth? Compared with Zhao Junchen's previous gifts, this gift is too eclipsed, right?
Doesn't Zhao Junchen know the principle of "promoting rice and grudges against rice and enmity"? The congratulatory gifts he gave to Emperor Deqing in previous years were both unique and expensive. Although they made Emperor Deqing happy, they also raised Emperor Deqing's expectations for the next year. If Zhao Junchen's next congratulatory gift is a little perfunctory, and cheap, the Emperor Deqing would be greatly disappointed, and he might even think that Zhao Junchen was arrogant and had lost his respect. In this case, even if Zhao Junchen could not find that kind of original birthday gift, he should at least maintain the birthday gift. The price is expensive, how can you just settle for a few fruits?
Thinking of this, many officials and nobles could not help but start to gloat, secretly looking forward to how furious Emperor Deqing would be when he saw Zhao Junchen's gift!
Zhao Junchen could also guess the despicable psychology of some people, but he didn't care. He just took his gift and handed it to the relevant eunuch for safekeeping, and then looked around and carefully looked at the situation outside the Meridian Gate.
At this time, most of the officials and nobles had arrived, including Zhou Shangjing, Zhu Hejian, Hong Jin and other heavyweights in the court.
What Zhao Junchen secretly noticed was that Zhu Hejian was surrounded by many officials at this time. Some of these officials were from the Qing Dynasty in the court, such as Cheng Yuandao, the elder of the court, Lu Chunxiao, the censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, etc., and others Some officials were former "Shen Party" officials, such as Shaobao Zhang Cheng, Minister of Rites Lin Wei and others!
Obviously, not only the Qingliu faction has turned to the seventh prince Zhu Hejian, but also after the collapse of Shen Changmao a few days ago, all those "Shen Party" officials have also been accepted by Zhu Hejian!
In this way, Zhu Hejian had the support of both Qingliu officials and the original "Shen Party" officials, but he suddenly became a major party in North Korea that could rival Zhao Junchen and Zhou Shangjing!
From now on, the "Seventh Prince Party" will definitely become a force that cannot be ignored in the temple! Moreover, if Zhu Hejian successfully inherits the position of crown prince, the "Seventh Prince Party" will further become the "New Prince Party". Coupled with the support of the new crown prince and grand master Wang Baoren, the influence of this force will be further enhanced.
Such a rapid rise is even more powerful than that of Zhao Junchen back then.
Moreover, the fact that these officials of the "Seventh Prince Party" were able to surround Zhu Hejian so blatantly without any taboos must have been the tacit approval of Emperor Deqing. It is obvious that Zhu Hejian will soon come to power. Before.
Seeing this scene, Zhao Junchen knew that there was no possibility of changing Emperor Deqing's determination to change his throne, and he couldn't help but secretly sigh for Zhu Heyu who was far away in Luoyang.
At this time, noticing Zhao Junchen's gaze, the seventh prince Zhu Hejian also turned his eyes to Zhao Junchen. After the two looked at each other for a moment, they nodded and smiled at each other. Their attitude was not unfriendly, as if they were two People have no grudges.
Next, Zhao Junchen ignored Zhu Hejian, nodded to Zhou Shangjing from a distance, and finally turned his attention to a remote corner outside the Meridian Gate.
There, there was a group of people dressed up in different races. Some were dressed as Jurchens, some were dressed as Mongolians, and a few were dressed like Han officials, but the details were somewhat different.
These people are obviously the envoys sent by Jianzhou Jurchen, Monan Mongolia, and Korea.
In fact, Qi Yan, the previous leader of the Ordos tribe, was captured alive by the imperial army and is now among them.
For Emperor Deqing, the appearance of these envoys also added a lot of color to his birthday this year, announcing to the outside world that "all nations come to court."
However, Zhao Junchen heard some gossip.
It is said that due to time constraints, after the Jianzhou Jurchens and Zhao Junchen agreed to surrender, they had no time to arrange for North Korean envoys to arrive in the capital, so they randomly found a few North Korean businessmen to pretend to be North Korean envoys, but because of this Several North Korean businessmen had also been to the capital for business, so they were quickly recognized.
However, at this time, no one wants to cause trouble and disappoint Emperor Deqing, so the court pretends not to have discovered it. However, many officials among the officials already know the truth. Only Deqing Emperor Qing was still kept in the dark.
Zhao Junchen observed these envoys carefully at this time, not because he wanted to expose the true identity of the North Korean envoys, but he had watched too many costume dramas in his previous life, in which the Qing emperor often visited privately incognito, went deep behind enemy lines, and personally observed the enemy's situation, so Zhao Junchen I just wondered if I could find a familiar face among the envoys.
But it is a pity that it is just a conjecture of later generations. That Xuan Ye obviously would not do such a thing, but there are also acquaintances of Zhao Junchen among this group of envoys. It was Qian Qian, a Han who was with Xuan Ye during the original negotiation. Obviously, Xuan Ye is very assured of this person's ability and loyalty.
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While Zhao Junchen was sizing up these envoys, many "Zhao Party" officials and many heroes of the Shaanxi-Gansu War also gathered around Zhao Junchen.
Officials from these two factions all respect Zhao Junchen, and they are now considered a family. After various opportunities to contact each other during this period, they have gradually become familiar with each other. However, their origins and positions are somewhat different after all, and they are still familiar with each other. Some barriers existed. When they arrived at Zhao Junchen's side, they also had some clear distinctions. The Shaanxi-Gansu heroes headed by Zhang Shengde and Fang Zhenshan stood to the left of Zhao Junchen. "Zhao" headed by Huo Zhengyuan and Chen Dongxiang Party officials gathered on Zhao Junchen's right.
Such details naturally could not escape Zhao Junchen's eyes, but Zhao Junchen did not intend to make the relationship between the two groups of officials too close. He just signaled to each other, chatted about idle matters, and waited. The opening of the Meridian Gate.
Huo Zhengyuan is a thoughtful person. When he noticed that Zhao Junchen's birthday gift to Emperor Deqing this year seemed a bit unusual, he secretly became anxious, fearing that Zhao Junchen's birthday gift was too light and would cause Emperor Deqing's displeasure. happiness.
Now that I saw Zhao Junchen, he didn't seem to notice anything wrong and was just chatting with the close officials. Huo Zhengyuan couldn't help but interrupt and reminded: "Mr. Zhao Ge, I think your birthday gift this year seems to be just a few fruits. Doesn't he look a little too light? If I just give His Majesty a few fruits as a gift, I'm afraid it will make His Majesty unhappy, especially since your gifts in the past few years have been extremely expensive. As the saying goes, pearls and jade are in the world. In front of us, the rubble is hard to hold... The Meridian Gate has not been opened yet, and there is still some time. Do you want to find a way to change it? If it doesn't work, you can also make some from the birthdays I am waiting for..."
Zhao Junchen saw Huo Zhengyuan thinking about himself so much, and he became a little closer to this person, but he didn't care about Huo Zhengyuan's worries at all. He waved and smiled and said: "I know what you are worried about, but what I have done this year is Birthday gifts are not just as simple as a few fruits, it is not an exaggeration to say that they are an auspicious sign!"
"Auspicious?"
Huo Zhengyuan couldn't help but be stunned when he heard Zhao Junchen's explanation.
But seeing Zhao Junchen's confident look, Huo Zhengyuan felt a little more at ease. He knew that Zhao Junchen never did anything he was unsure of.
In ancient dynasties, the significance of "auspiciousness" cannot be overemphasized, but Huo Zhengyuan couldn't figure out what kind of auspiciousness a few fruits could be?
But before Huo Zhengyuan could ask further questions, as several bells rang, the palace door finally opened slowly.
A series of activities such as the birthday of Emperor Deqing, the awards for heroes from Shaanxi and Gansu, the meetings of envoys from various countries, and the ceremony to worship heaven were also officially launched.
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