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When Jiang Zheng was thinking, his expression was very focused and serious, as if he was rapidly flipping through information in his brain.
After about half a cup of tea, Jiang Zheng already replied: "Student, I have a rough idea here, and I hope Zhao Gechen can give me some advice!"
Hearing what Jiang Zheng said, Zhao Junchen and Yang Xun were both stunned.
Zhao Junchen never expected that Jiang Zheng could actually come up with a solution, and Yang Xun never expected that Jiang Zheng would come up with a solution so quickly. After hearing Zhao Junchen's inquiry, Yang Xun I was also lost in thinking, but I didn't find any solution.
After all, the two major factions, "Zhou Party" and "Zhao Party", are now too large, and they will inevitably turn around in a disaster.
Zhao Junchen took a serious look at Jiang Zheng again, nodded and said, "Let's talk about it."
Jiang Zheng said slowly: "If there is no external interference, there are often only two ways to resolve the conflict of interests between the two factions. One is for one's side to take the initiative to give in, and the other is for the other side to take the initiative to give in. The former needs to give up profits, while the latter needs to have chips.”
This is nonsense, but nonsense is often correct, so Zhao Junchen nodded in agreement.
Jiang Zheng added: "According to the students' speculation, Zhao Gechen is not completely unable to resolve the conflicts between the two parties. If Zhao Gechen is willing to take the initiative to give in and share some of the interests of the 'Zhou Party', the relationship between the two parties can actually be eased. But Zhao Gechen, you just don't want to." Just do it!
But at the same time, Zhao Gechen did not have enough bargaining chips in his hands to force the 'Zhou Party' to give in. That's why the situation was deadlocked and the conflict between the two sides could not be resolved. But I don't know if this is the case? "
Zhao Junchen nodded again and said: "That's right! If I take the initiative to give up some of the interests of the 'Zhou Party', this conflict will naturally be solved easily, and it may even make the relationship between the two parties worse, but I don't want to do that... …At the same time, the ‘Zhou Party’ is, after all, powerful and deeply rooted, and it is extremely difficult to find enough bargaining chips to force them to make concessions.”
Jiang Zheng seemed to be smiling but not smiling, and then said: "Actually, from the students' point of view, things like chips can be made out of nothing!"
Zhao Junchen was thoughtful, vaguely inspired, and asked: "It's interesting...please tell me in detail."
Jiang Zhengze told a seemingly unrelated story on the spot, and said slowly: "Over the years, students have followed their teachers and lived in Guizhou, and there are a large number of ethnic minorities in Guizhou. Because of their customs, beliefs, and interests, etc. Because of this, conflicts between different ethnic groups and villages often occur, and fights often occur. Therefore, students often follow their teachers around to resolve conflicts... During this period, students once encountered such a thing.
Zhao Gechen, you also know that the most common ethnic minority in Guizhou is the Miao, but the Miao also have many branches, calling themselves Guoxiong, Mongolian, Mu, Galong, Ganao, etc., which can be said to be a large number!
Among them, the Miao people have the longest history and have the most say, while the Miao people are rising faster and have better relations with the government. Both sides have equal strength and have their own advantages, so the contradictions are getting bigger and bigger. , although the Miao Fruit Bear wants to suppress the Miao Meng, he does not have any chips in his hands.
Under such circumstances, the Miao Fruit Bear came out of nowhere. Relying on its greater influence among the various branches of the Miao people, it spread rumors everywhere that the Miao people did not follow the instructions of their ancestors, corrupted their ancestors' sacrifices, etc., causing the Miao people to suffer the consequences of various branches of the Miao people. Exclusion and isolation...
In order to improve their own situation, the Miao Meng finally had no choice but to give in to the Miao Fruit Bears. So after the Miao Fruit Bears took advantage, they stood up again to clarify the rumors for the Miao Meng... In this way, the Miao Meng not only suffered a loss. , and then was forced to thank the Miao Fruit Bear for his clarification, which meant he lost both face and dignity.
In this conflict between the Miao Fruit Bear and the Miao Meng, the Miao Fruit Bear's strength has not taken advantage from beginning to end, but it has used its advantage in influence to create chips out of thin air, while preventing the Miao Meng from exerting its own advantages. It can be said that Therefore, he played long and hit short, and finally won the game. "
At this point, Jiang Zheng finally returned to the topic and continued: "So, if Zhao Gechen has no chips to force the 'Zhou Party' to give in, then he will create chips out of thin air!
In short, it is to try to create an incident in the field where it has the upper hand. When the 'Zhou Party' is devastated by this incident and can only turn to Zhao Gechen for help, Zhao Gechen will naturally have the bargaining chip in his hand!
According to the students' opinion, although the Miao Fruit Bear's method of dealing with the Miao Meng was clever, it was not subtle enough, because the Miao Meng knew from the beginning to the end that the relevant rumors were spread by the Miao Fruit Bear, so when they bowed their heads and gave in, Not very convinced either.
What's more, the Miao Guoxiong just wanted to force the Miao Meng to bow down and give in, while Zhao Gechen just wanted to ease relations with the 'Zhou Party', and their goals were different...
Therefore, when Zhao Gechen takes action, it is best to be as concealed as possible. As long as the method is clever enough, the 'Zhou Party' cannot detect the cause and effect of this incident. After Zhao Gechen personally goes out to solve this trouble for them, they will not only Ease the relationship with Zhao Gechen, and even be grateful to Zhao Gechen! "
At this point, seeing that Zhao Junchen and Yang Xun were both deep in thought, Jiang Zhengze continued to add: "The students have just arrived in the capital not long ago, so they don't know much about the situation in the temple, and they can't provide specific methods. They can only rely on His own knowledge provided Zhao Gechen with a general idea.
But how to do the actual operation, the students are unable to do anything for a while. If Zhao Gechen thinks that the idea provided by the students is useful, he can only improve the details himself...
However, students believe that the situation of Zhao Gechen and Zhou Shoufu is not exactly the same as the situation of Miao Guoxiong and Miao Meng. Miao Guoxiong has the advantage of having a long history and greater influence, while Zhao Gechen is less influential than Zhou Shoufu. Instead of having an advantage, we are at a disadvantage...
But if Zhao Gechen can stand side by side with Zhou Shoufu, he must have his own advantages. For example, Zhao Gechen has the financial power of the imperial court, so he can put more effort in this aspect! "
After hearing Jiang Zheng's detailed explanation, Zhao Junchen completely understood what Jiang Zheng meant.
I have to admit that Jiang Zheng's idea is very reasonable, and it also allows Zhao Junchen to find the direction of his next plan.
"In short, he is using his financial advantage in the imperial court to secretly create trouble for the 'Zhou Party', and then wait until the appropriate time to resolve the trouble personally, and take the opportunity to sell a favor to the 'Zhou Party'... If it is just to ease the relationship between the two parties, it is indeed a feasible strategy."
Thinking of this, Zhao Junchen couldn't help but fell into deep thought.
Seeing Zhao Junchen's performance, Yang Xun and Jiang Zheng both remained silent in case they interrupted Zhao Junchen's train of thought.
At the same time, Yang Xun looked at his disciple Jiang Zheng with eyes full of surprise and amazement.
This is because Yang Xun suddenly discovered that although Jiang Zheng had been with him for many years and could be said to have inherited the true legacy, the ideas he used when solving problems were actually completely different from Yang Xun himself!
In other words, compared with what Yang Xun taught, what Jiang Zheng learned has many differences.
The knowledge Yang Xun imparted to Jiang Zheng was about the formulation and execution of rules, as well as the logic hidden under the rules. However, Jiang Zheng's thinking at this time was more inclined to the game of interests between different rules and the use of rules to win. means of conflict.
As a profound scholar of the time, Yang Xun was naturally extremely sensitive to this situation.
What surprised Yang Xun even more was that he didn't discover this until today!
Therefore, Yang Xun couldn't help but secretly wonder, has Jiang Zheng been hiding his true thoughts in the past? Or is it that Jiang Zheng's thoughts have undergone some subtle changes after he came into contact with Zhao Junchen?
But no matter what the situation is, Yang Xun is not happy to see it.
Yang Xun vaguely began to feel that his introduction of Jiang Zheng to Zhao Junchen as his staff might cause a series of chain reactions in the future.
On the other side, Jiang Zheng noticed Yang Xun's gaze and felt a little strange. He didn't understand why Yang Xun's reaction was so strange.
In this way, the quiet atmosphere lasted for about a cup of tea. Zhao Junchen finally sorted out his thoughts and turned his eyes to Jiang Zheng again.
At this time, Zhao Junchen had decided to recruit Jiang Zheng as a staff member.
After all, Jiang Zheng was able to find countermeasures for Zhao Junchen in a short period of time. He was a rare genius. His ability and intelligence were no less than those of Zhao Shancai back then.
What's more, if Zhao Junchen wants to act according to Jiang Zheng's plan, he must also recruit Jiang Zheng as his staff.
Otherwise, the details of today's conversation may be leaked soon, and once "Zhou Party" receives the news, it will be impossible to ease the relationship with Zhao Junchen.
However, Zhao Junchen still had some doubts that Jiang Zheng would become Yang Xun's spy next to him in the future, and he was secretly worried.
Therefore, after Zhao Junchen looked at Jiang Zheng seriously for a moment, he suddenly asked: "Jiang Zheng, do you have any fame?"
Jiang Zheng nodded and said: "Four years ago, the student came to the capital to participate in the joint examination and the palace examination, and finally ranked seventh in the second class, and had the title of Jinshi."
Zhao Junchen couldn't help but be a little surprised when he heard Jiang Zheng's answer.
Looking at Jiang Zheng's age, he was only in his mid-twenties, and he had been studying law with Yang Xun. He must not have put much effort into the orthodox Confucian classics. Zhao Junchen originally thought that he would only be able to gain fame at the most. , I didn’t expect that Jiang Zheng had obtained the Jinshi status four years ago and ranked very high.
Just looking at this, we know that Jiang Zheng's intelligence and talent are even higher than Zhao Junchen expected.
After being slightly surprised, Zhao Junchen shook his head slightly and said: "You have the reputation of being a second-class Jinshi and have such a superb talent. It is really too humiliating to just stay with me as an aide. If you are willing, I am willing to recommend you to enter the temple and become an official. With the full support of me and your teacher, you will definitely be able to achieve success and have a bright future."
Zhao Junchen attaches great importance to Jiang Zheng's talents and wants to reuse him. However, rather than keeping Jiang Zheng as an aide, Zhao Junchen still hopes that Jiang Zheng can enter the temple and become an official and become his confidant. He can still make suggestions for himself, but he doesn't have to worry about Jiang Zheng becoming Yang Xun's spy and watching his every move.
However, regarding Zhao Junchen's proposal, Jiang Zhengze immediately shook his head and said: "The student has carefully summarized the basic qualities required of a court official, and has also carefully considered his own strengths and weaknesses. The final conclusion is that the student must not be able to To adapt to the turbulent nature of officialdom, students would only resign and leave the temple after winning the imperial examination, and return to their teachers to continue their studies."
"Oh? Have you ever summarized the basic qualities required by court officials? What exactly are they? Tell me."
Zhao Junchen asked again with interest.
Jiang Zheng hesitated for a moment, then replied: "Bullying superiors and concealing subordinates, exchanging benefits, shirk responsibility, competing for credit and fame, and demagogueing people... If you want to be like a fish in water in the officialdom, it will not work without any one of them. On the contrary, it is practical Political achievements are dispensable, so students think they are not capable of gaining a foothold in the temple."
As Jiang Zheng finished speaking, Yang Xun, who also hated temple fighting, nodded slightly in agreement.
Zhao Junchen was at home in the temple environment, and he fully complied with several basic qualities summarized by Jiang Zheng, but he did not feel embarrassed at this time, but after taking another look at Jiang Zheng, he said seriously: "Don't underestimate yourself. "
Hearing what Zhao Junchen said, Jiang Zheng couldn't help but change his expression slightly, thinking that Zhao Junchen was ridiculing him.
Although, Jiang Zheng's statements are also suspected of ridiculing Zhao Junchen.
However, Zhao Junchen continued: "I am not saying this to ridicule you, I don't mean it at all... But I think that in this world, there are two kinds of gentlemen, one is an ordinary gentleman, and the other is a gentleman. He is a gentleman who has achieved something. The former only needs to have a clear conscience, but the latter has much higher requirements. Not only must he have a clear conscience and stick to the bottom line, he must also be better than the villain in those tricks! Only in this way. , Only by defeating the villain can a gentleman defeat the villain, and only by defeating the villain can a gentleman achieve something."
Having said this, Zhao Junchen smiled and said: "You are Yang Daru's personal disciple, so you are naturally a gentleman, but I hope you can also become a gentleman who can make a difference...just like your teacher Yang Daru." .”
All said and done, Zhao Junchen still hoped that Jiang Zheng would enter the officialdom instead of staying by his side as a staff member.
However, after Jiang Zheng thought seriously for a moment, he still shook his head and said: "Teacher, he is naturally an accomplished gentleman. He can not only stick to the bottom line principles, but also scheme against villains. But students ask themselves if they can't do this, even if they can If you can barely do it, your life will be very tiring and joyless, so the student still wants to stay with Zhao Gechen and be an ordinary staff member. He only needs to make suggestions and does not have to consider the trade-offs in decision-making."
"In that case, you should stay with me from now on. You are a talented and ambitious genius. Although being a staff member is a waste of talent, it is a good thing for me. I will definitely use you again in the future. ...But you must be mentally prepared. As my staff, your tasks are no less heavy than those of senior officials in the temple. Although you do not have to make decisions yourself, you will still frequently face trade-offs."
Seeing that Jiang Zheng's attitude was very firm, Zhao Junchen no longer forced him. He just showed a look of welcome and regret, and said that he would definitely use him again in the future.
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Next, Zhao Junchen summoned several main staff in his mansion to the main hall and introduced Jiang Zheng to them.
After learning that Jiang Zheng had become their colleague, Niu Fude, Su Xiqing, Li Lun and others were all a little surprised, and even a little flattered. After all, Jiang Zheng not only had a much higher Jinshi status than them, but he was also a direct disciple of the great scholar Yang Xun. , which can be said to have a very high status in the eyes of scholars.
As a result, several Zhao family aides also expressed their welcome, pulling Jiang Zheng along and saying compliments.
Jiang Zheng was always serious when receiving people and dealing with things, and his expression rarely seemed to change. There was always a sharpness in his temperament that could not be hidden. However, when he met several Zhao family aides, his attitude was still polite, and soon Just blended into the circle.
Seeing Jiang Zheng and several Zhao family aides talking to each other, Zhao Junchen smiled slightly at first, but his expression soon turned serious, and then he pushed the information at hand to Yang Xun.
Then, Zhao Junchen lowered his voice and said: "Yang Daru, you will soon take over as the Minister of Dali Temple, and the handover of official duties with Fang Shiwen will only happen in the next few days... Therefore, before handing over official duties, I have a piece of information here that I need Come take a look."
Seeing that Zhao Junchen deliberately lowered his voice when speaking and his expression was extremely serious, Yang Xun couldn't help but pay attention to it. He reached out to pick up the information and read it carefully, and soon his face became solemn.
The contents of this document are all controversial cases that have been tried by Dali Temple in recent years. Due to the rush of time, although the content of this document is comprehensive, it is not particularly detailed.
However, with Yang Xun's vision and wisdom, he still quickly realized that there must be many errors and omissions in these cases.
The trial results of some cases were obviously that the punishment was too harsh; the trial results of some cases were that the punishment was obviously too light; and in other cases, the suspects simply escaped punishment by the court.
"Are these contents... all true?" After reading the information carefully, Yang Xun raised his head and asked with a serious expression.
Zhao Junchen also nodded seriously and said: "Relevant cases are all recorded in Dali Temple. Yang Daru will take over Dali Temple soon. We will find out when we check! Naturally, I dare not do any deception!"
Yang Xun gritted his teeth and said: "Fang Shiwen... he is the minister of Dali Temple in the imperial court. He is the defender and enforcer of the imperial court's laws and regulations. He needs a fair trial of the case most. How dare he do these things! How dare he do these things! How could he be so fair in his eyes? Are there court laws?!"
Zhao Junchen shook his head and said: "In recent decades, the first condition for the ministers of Dali Temple in our dynasty is to have a neutral attitude, but there are two types of neutral attitudes. One is that no one dares to offend, and the other is that no one dares to offend. Offended, and Fang Shiwen is obviously the latter...
He is usually fair, but once the case involves a powerful person in the court, his butt becomes crooked! Yang Daru, the controversial cases you have seen are all related to the powerful people of the imperial court.
For example, Shen Cong, the son of former chief minister Shen Changmao, killed a young boy while riding his horse in the street three years ago. Fang Shiwen, looking out for Shen Changmao's face, managed to escape punishment for Shen Cong and only paid a little money. It's over... It is said that on the night when the case was concluded, Shen Changmao held a big banquet to entertain Fang Shiwen. I'm afraid there was another benefit for him secretly...
For another example, a year ago, a commoner accidentally injured Hu Hai, the brother-in-law of Wang Shou, the Minister of War. Shuntian Prefecture sentenced the commoner to thirty battles. This incident had nothing to do with Dali Temple. Who would have thought that Fang Shiwen would intervene , in addition to the punishment of thirty battles, the punishment of exile for three hundred miles was also added. With the two punishments added together, the common man soon died on the road to exile...
In fact, as early as a year ago, His Majesty was dissatisfied with Fang Shiwen and wanted to change someone to take charge of Dali Temple. As a result, Fang Shiwen took advantage of this case to please Wang Shou, the Minister of War, and Wang Shou was His Majesty's confidant, so his position It will be stable for the time being..."
After hearing these explanations from Zhao Junchen, Yang Xun's brows furrowed more and more tightly, with anger flashing in his eyes.
However, Yang Xun would not listen to Zhao Junchen's words. He just put this information in his arms, then stood up and said goodbye to Zhao Junchen, saying: "I will go to the Dali Temple Yamen to find out the truth. If these cases are indeed If there is any injustice, I will definitely overturn these unjust, false and erroneous cases, and I will also impeach Fang Shiwen to Your Majesty...
As for what Zhao Gechen did today, whether it was to use me to deal with Fang Shiwen or not, it was considered as upholding the court's laws and regulations. Therefore, I will reciprocate and will not mention today's incident to others. Zhao Gechen can rest assured! "
Zhao Junchen had just mentioned the difference between a "gentleman" and a "gentleman who has accomplished something", and Yang Xun had been in the position of the ninth minister of the imperial court ten years ago, so he was obviously a "gentleman who accomplished something".
Therefore, Yang Xun is actually smarter than ordinary villains, and he can see through Zhao Junchen's intention to use him against Fang Shiwen at a glance.
However, Yang Xun didn't care about these. He only cared about the court's laws and regulations, but he still used these words to beat Zhao Junchen a little.
Of course, Zhao Junchen understood the meaning of Yang Xun's knock, but his expression remained unchanged, and he shamelessly said with his hands, "If I can contribute to the court's laws and regulations, I will naturally be obliged to do so."
Yang Xun took a deep look at Zhao Junchen, and then left directly. Zhao Junchen personally sent him to the door of Zhao Mansion.
As for Yang Xun's disciple Jiang Zheng, now one of Zhao Junchen's staff, he stayed in the Zhao Mansion and concentrated on familiarizing himself with various matters of the Zhao Mansion under the guidance of the other staff.
After bidding farewell to Yang Xun, Zhao Junchen's expression returned to seriousness, and he immediately returned to his study, preparing to make a detailed plan to make "Zhou Party" grateful to him.
*
While Zhao Junchen was bidding farewell to Yang Xun, the seventh prince Zhu Hejian was also preparing to go to Nanjing to worship his ancestors.
In Zhu Hejian's view, Emperor Deqing's plan was foolproof, and it could be said that "success means merit, failure means no fault." However, because this matter was related to Zhou Shangjing, Zhu Hejian still felt uneasy.
Therefore, in order to make his trip to Nanjing more foolproof, he must arrange more backup means.
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Six thousand words!
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