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On this day, when Zhao Junchen secretly returned to Zhao Mansion from "Tongji Temple", it was already evening.
Then, before he had finished dinner, he received a message from Li Ruan from the palace.
According to the news from Li Ruan, Zhao Junchen not only learned more about the details of Emperor Deqing's private visit today, but also learned about the meeting and contact between the seventh prince Zhu Hejian and Xu Sheng.
After reading Li Ru'an's information, Zhao Junchen couldn't help but nodded with satisfaction and chuckled: "After the last beating, Li Ru'an has become a lot more honest during this time... Judging from the content of this information, it seems that he did not deliberately tell me Conceal the news.”
After saying that, Zhao Junchen casually handed Li Ruan's message to Zhang Yu'er who was standing aside. Zhang Yu'er hesitated after reading it once, and then passed it on to Xu Qingyan.
As for Xu Qingyan, he read the information carefully. After reading it, he seemed to want to play some role and provide some opinions, but in the end he just opened his mouth slightly and then fell silent.
Seeing Xu Qingyan's performance, Zhao Junchen nodded lightly with satisfaction.
Since taking charge of the "Storytellers Guild" on his own, Xu Qingyan has indeed become calmer. Although he is still eager to express himself, he is not like before who would only express some ridiculous opinions without thinking.
In Zhao Junchen's view, knowing how to hide one's clumsiness and restrain one's desires is a key step towards maturity.
However, although Xu Qingyan wanted to hide his clumsiness this time, Zhao Junchen did not intend to let him go and asked: "Your Majesty's private visit today is still under our control and there is no need to intervene, but Zhu Hejian's movements are... We must pay special attention... Qingyan, tell me, what is the purpose of Zhu Hejian's meeting with Xu Sheng today? What should we pay attention to in the future? "
Xu Qingyan replied while thinking: "I think Zhu Hejian's contact with Xu Sheng this time has several purposes. The first is naturally to win over Xu Sheng. After all, everyone can see that Xu Sheng is deeply favored by the saint. Zhu Hejian If you still want to secretly infiltrate the inner court, you can’t alienate yourself from Xu Sheng!”
Zhao Junchen nodded and asked, "Then what should we do in this situation?"
Xu Qingyan replied: "Of course, I am using Li Ru'an to continue to drive a wedge between Zhu Hejian and Xu Sheng. Xu Sheng must not be allowed to surrender to Zhu Hejian wholeheartedly! As long as Xu Sheng's position remains wavering, Zhu Hejian's control of the inner court will be greatly weakened. It’s like losing one of his arms!”
"What else?" Zhao Junchen was noncommittal and just continued to ask.
"More?" Xu Qingyan was slightly startled, but there was obviously nothing more in his mind.
Zhao Junchen waited for a moment, and seeing that Xu Qingyan still had no more ideas, he turned to look at Zhang Yu'er and asked, "Yu'er, what do you think?"
Although Zhang Yu'er is a woman, she is also a natural conspirator. Her thoughts are obviously much deeper than Xu Qingyan's, and she immediately smiled lightly and said: "And... we can't forget Wu Xinquan, the Supervisor of Ceremonies!
Wu Xinquan and Xu Sheng have never dealt with each other. In the past, Zhu Hejian had been alienating Xu Sheng intentionally or unintentionally in order to win over Wu Xinquan. But now if Zhu Hejian wants to win over Xu Sheng, he must be a little colder towards Wu Xinquan... at least on the surface... ...So next we must not only try to drive a wedge between Xu Sheng and Zhu Hejian, but we can also take the opportunity to drive a wedge between Wu Xinquan and Zhu Hejian!
Such a two-pronged approach, even if it cannot destroy Zhu Hejian's penetration and control of the inner court, can still constrain Zhu Hejian and achieve twice the result with half the effort! "
Zhao Junchen nodded again and said: "It is indeed a good idea... The way to balance the emperor's affairs has always been a headache for the superiors... It is up to you, Yu'er, to arrange this matter yourself and spread it among the inner court. Rumors are not difficult, I believe you can do a good job... Qingyan, please continue."
After Xu Qingyan thought carefully for a moment again, he said: "As for the second purpose of the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian, I think he wants to find out the foundation of the 'Tongji Temple' from Xu Sheng! It is obvious that the 'Tongji Temple' has aroused Zhu Hejian's interest. I think he will definitely look for opportunities to contact Tongji Temple in the future, either to bribe or to take advantage of...
However, Zhu Hejian is not as obsessed with immortality as His Majesty. With Zhang Daoquan's method and wisdom, it is impossible to fool Zhu Hejian like His Majesty. Maybe there will be flaws. We must make some preparations in advance! "
After Zhao Junchen nodded slightly, he shook his head slightly, turned his eyes to Zhang Yu'er again, and asked: "Yu'er, what do you think?"
Zhang Yuer saw that Zhao Junchen wanted to take the opportunity to cultivate Xu Qingyan. Although she believed that Xu Qingyan was not a talent and did not have high training value, she also understood that Zhao Junchen currently lacked reliable helpers and could only rely on a few people around him for many core projects. To help, we must try our best to squeeze Xu Qingyan's potential.
Therefore, Zhang Yu'er still smiled like a flower and expressed her thoughts in detail, saying softly: "Yu'er thinks that the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian may not dare to have direct contact with the 'Tongji Temple'!
After all, as the quasi-prince, Zhu Hejian has the full support of the Qingliu people, and he always pretends to attach great importance to ethics. He must pay special attention to his own image when doing things!
The teachings of the 'Tongji Temple' can be described as neither fish nor fowl, and have never been recognized by the mainstream of the government and the public. Even His Majesty had to deliberately cover up his contacts with the 'Tongji Temple', let alone Zhu Hejian!
With Zhu Hejian's cautious character, he should not have direct contact with the 'Tongji Temple'. It is more likely that he sent a confidant to pretend to be a believer and secretly spy on the 'Tongji Temple'!
Therefore, we must pay special attention to the new believers of "Tongji Temple" next. If someone has a secret relationship with Zhu Hejian and has frequently visited "Tongji Temple" without warning recently, then there is a high probability that it is Zhu Hejian's. Spy!
Of course, if Zhu Hejian has lost his caution and dared to directly contact the "Tongji Temple", we can also follow the trend and publicize it everywhere, so that the world will know that Zhu Hejian, as a dignified prospective prince, has actually become a "Tongji Temple" believer!
When that time comes, if nothing else, the Qingliu people will definitely rebel! In order to protect his own image, Zhu Hejian can only stay away from the 'Tongji Temple', and maybe he will be forced to express his rejection of the 'Tongji Temple'... But in that case, he will offend the current people who are against the 'Tongji Temple' 'Your Majesty, who is already convinced, will only ask for trouble! "
Zhao Junchen glanced at Xu Qingyan and continued to mention: "That's it. For Zhu Hejian, the most important thing at the moment is to abolish the crown prince. No matter how curious he is about the details of 'Tongji Temple' at this time, he will never Taking risks will damage your image!"
After seeing Xu Qingyan nod seriously to express his understanding, Zhao Junchen asked again: "Qingyan, do you think Zhu Hejian's visit to Xu Shengke today has a third-level purpose?"
After two blows, Xu Qingyan was a little discouraged, but he still cheered up and continued to answer: "Of course, it is obvious that in addition to wooing Xu Sheng and inquiring about the 'Tongji Temple', Zhu Hejian also wanted to use Xu Sheng to deal with A big expert factory hidden in the dark!
The current power of the Da Neihang Factory is still very weak. If Xu Sheng instructs the West Factory to fully investigate, I believe that the tail of the Da Neihang Factory will be found out soon. By that time, the reconstruction of the Neihang Factory will also be made public, and the Neihang Factory will be made public. Once you lose your concealment, you lose your biggest threat!
At the same time, after His Majesty and Li Chunchen's plan to secretly rebuild the inner factory failed, they still had troubles. After all, Xu Sheng just wanted to investigate a secret society that infiltrated the imperial court. The meeting found the internal factory...
In the end, there were only two results. Either His Majesty was angry that Xu Sheng ruined his plan, which affected Xu Sheng's future holy family, or His Majesty thought that Li Chunchen was unfavorable and would not use him again in the future. ...But no matter what the outcome is, it will be beneficial and harmless to Zhu Hejian. It is really a good calculation! "
Zhao Junchen smiled and asked: "Then what do you think we should do at this time? Should we help Zhu Hejian and deal with Li Chunchen? Or stop Zhu Hejian and protect Li Chunchen?"
Xu Qingyan said without hesitation: "Of course it is to protect Li Chunchen and stop Zhu Hejian! As I said just now, the power of the inner factory is still weak, and the only threat is its concealment, but we now know the existence of the inner factory in advance , so the internal factory is not a particularly big threat to us, we might as well keep the internal factory to continue to cause trouble for Zhu Hejian, and maybe we can take the opportunity to sell Li Chunchen a favor, or even seize the opportunity to seize Li Chunchen!"
This time, Zhao Junchen looked appreciative, nodded lightly, and had nothing more to add. Just as he was about to say something more, he suddenly heard Zhao Dali's report from outside the study door: "Zhao Gechen, the latest news has just been sent. , because the matter is extremely important, we must notify you as soon as possible."
"come in."
Following Zhao Junchen's instructions, Zhao Dali pushed open the door and walked quickly to Zhao Junchen, handing a note to Zhao Junchen.
After Zhao Junchen took the note and opened it, his brows immediately wrinkled and his expression became much more serious than before.
Seeing Zhao Junchen's expression change, Zhang Yuer quickly asked: "Ms. sir, what happened?"
Zhao Junchen said slowly: "I just received the news that Zhou Shangjing visited Cheng Yuandao's house half an hour ago, and are now having a secret conversation...
Recently, because Zhou Shangjing has expressed his support for the prince several times, the relationship with the "New Taizi Party" has become increasingly bad, and Cheng Yuandao is the number two figure in the "New Taizi Party". The two actually chose this time to have secret contact, which is really thought-provoking...
Zhou Shangjing, an old fox, always refrains from making any moves, but his moves are shocking. What on earth is he thinking about now? I have a vague feeling that this matter is probably not simple..."
As he was thinking secretly, Zhao Junchen frowned even more.
When facing Zhou Shangjing, Zhao Junchen never dared to be careless and was cautious every time.
However, every time he fought openly and secretly with Zhou Shangjing, Zhao Junchen was always at a slight disadvantage, and was exploited by Zhou Shangjing many times because he was never able to guess Zhou Shangjing's next plan.
This time was no exception. After Zhao Junchen thought carefully for a long time, he still couldn't guess Zhou Shangjing's thoughts, so he had no choice but to order various intelligence agencies to collect relevant information as much as possible and prepare secretly.
*
The art of painting cakes is not only effective for subordinates, but also effective for enemies.
For subordinates, drawing cakes is to stimulate potential and squeeze value. For enemies, drawing cakes is to lower the enemy's guard, or even lead them astray!
Just as Zhao Junchen was secretly speculating on Zhou Shangjing's next plan, Zhou Shangjing was drawing cakes for Cheng Yuandao!
On this day, Cheng Yuandao took the initiative to set up a banquet in his house and invited Zhou Shangjing to the banquet.
The reason why Cheng Yuandao hosted a banquet for Zhou Shangjing was because Zhou Shangjing had been in trouble with the seventh prince Zhu Hejian many times in recent times, and the dethroning of the crown prince had been repeatedly blocked. Although Cheng Yuandao was deeply angry, he could not guess what Zhou Shangjing was thinking. Ideas are naturally impossible to deal with.
Therefore, under the prompting of some people intentionally or unintentionally, Cheng Yuandao decided to invite him to a banquet and took the opportunity to find out the details of Zhou Shangjing.
As a leader of the Qing Dynasty in the temple, one of the assistant ministers of the cabinet, and the apparent second-in-command of the "New Crown Prince Party", Cheng Yuandao believed that Zhou Shangjing would definitely be honored at the banquet.
In fact, Zhou Shangjing did happily agree to Cheng Yuandao's banquet and arrived at the Cheng Mansion on time for the banquet.
Although Cheng Yuandao had always been at odds with Zhou Shangjing, he still couldn't help but feel a little flattered after seeing Zhou Shangjing attending the banquet as a favor. After the banquet started, he said a few compliments, and the atmosphere was harmonious and the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves.
About half an hour later, Cheng Yuandao thought that the time was ripe, and finally couldn't help asking Zhou Shangjing: "Zhou Shoufu, you and I have been officials in the same court for more than thirty years, and I think I'm pretty good to you. Got some idea...
In my opinion, you have always known how to exercise restraint and never go beyond your duty, let alone interfere easily in the abolition of the crown prince... Regarding this, I have always admired you deeply!
But in recent times, Zhou Shoufu's style has changed drastically. Although you didn't say it explicitly, I can tell that the several suggestions you made recently at the court were all aimed at making things difficult for His Highness the Seventh Prince. Isn't that true?
However, I can't figure it out. In the past, His Highness the Crown Prince and Zhou Shoufu were enemies many times, and Zhou Shangjing could bear to ignore them. However, His Highness the Seventh Prince never showed any hostility towards Zhou Shoufu, so why was he treated by Zhou Shoufu instead? Making things difficult for you everywhere?
His Highness the Seventh Prince's character and character are impeccable and impeccable, and he treats me and other ministers with special respect. Is there anything else Zhou Shoufang is dissatisfied with? "
Hearing Cheng Yuandao's heart-to-heart inquiry, Zhou Shangjing's old eyes flashed with a meaningful smile, and then he also put on a heart-to-heart attitude and said slowly: "Mr. Cheng Ge invited me to a banquet, and it was really for This matter...
In this case, there is no need for me to hide it. I have no dissatisfaction with the seventh prince's character and character. However, I believe that if the seventh prince wants to inherit the throne, he has a fatal flaw, that is, he is too disrespectful to me and other ministers. Respected, it can even be said to have no opinion!
Hey, although it is a good thing to follow the good, but if you do not have your own position and believe what your ministers say, you will definitely not be a qualified monarch! "
Hearing Zhou Shangjing's words, Cheng Yuandao couldn't help but be stunned!
As one of the most powerful ministers in the Ming Dynasty for nearly a century, Zhou Shangjing had been fighting openly and secretly with Emperor Deqing for decades. Zhou Shangjing actually thought that the emperor's lack of opinion was a bad thing. It was really a joke.
However, in order to win the recognition of all parties in the government and the opposition to the greatest extent, Zhu Hejian was indeed too domineering on the surface. Upon closer inspection, he did give people the impression of having no position and no opinion.
Seeing Cheng Yuandao looking at him in disbelief, Zhou Shangjing added: "Mr. Cheng Ge, for many years, although you and I have different positions and often have conflicts, we also have consensus on many things!
For example, you and I both agree that the imperial court is currently facing a lot of internal and external troubles, such as the corruption and failure of military towns in various places, the growth and threat of the Jianzhou Jurchens, and the large number of civilians who have lost their land and may evolve into Refugee chaos...etc., they are countless!
Mr. Cheng Ge, you have also read the history books thoroughly. You must know that under such circumstances, the court needs an ambitious emperor with courage and responsibility, rather than an inactive monarch who follows the good and rules from the top. The latter will only indulge all kinds of things. Chaos and hidden dangers continue to expand, and eventually the opportunity for correction is completely lost!
In the past, although His Highness the Crown Prince was a little reckless, I could see that he was determined to take drastic measures to eradicate the long-standing evils. But now, His Highness the Seventh Prince, I could not see that he had the relevant responsibility and determination!
If it were placed a hundred years ago, the long-standing abuses of the imperial court would not have been too much. I would naturally have no dissatisfaction with His Highness the Seventh Prince. But to put it bluntly, since the Zhou Dynasty, the longest duration of all dynasties was In about three hundred years, our dynasty has reached this period, which can be said to be a critical period that determines the future rise and fall. If the throne is handed over to His Highness, the Seventh Prince, who is always good and sincere, I will naturally not be able to rest assured! "
As Zhou Shangjing finished speaking, Cheng Yuandao became even more stunned.
"The duration of each dynasty is only about three hundred years at most" - Zhou Shangjing actually dared to say such heart-wrenching words!
However, Cheng Yuandao had to admit that what Zhou Shangjing said was reasonable. After thinking about Zhou Shangjing's performance over the years, although he formed a party for personal gain, he always focused on the overall situation and was mature in seeking the country. He couldn't help but slightly believe Zhou Shangjing's statement.
However, limited by his vision and knowledge, Cheng Yuandao still only wanted to persuade Zhou Shangjing to give up opposing the seventh prince Zhu Hejian at this time.
Cheng Yuandao was able to sit where he is today, so he was certainly not a fool. After thinking for a moment, he soon thought he had found a way to persuade Zhou Shangjing, and asked in a deep voice: "In other words, the reason why Zhou Shoufu opposed the Seventh Prince Your Highness, it’s because you think His Highness the Seventh Prince lacks courage and responsibility. Does that mean that as long as His Highness the Seventh Prince shows his courage and responsibility, Zhou Shoufu will no longer object?”
An inexplicable smile flashed through Zhou Shangjing's eyes again, but his old face had a serious expression as he nodded and said, "Of course!"
After Cheng Yuandao hesitated for a moment, he asked again: "So, Zhou Shoufu, what do you think His Highness the Seventh Prince needs to do to prove his responsibility and courage?"
After Zhou Shangjing pondered for a moment, he slowly said: "Speaking of which... there is really one thing!"
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