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About an hour later, at Zhao Junchen's secret invitation, Xu Sheng, the eunuch in charge of the royal horse supervisor, quietly came to the Zhao mansion.
Then, in the study room of the Zhao Mansion, Zhao Junchen first explained to Xu Sheng in detail what had happened before, and also handed a secret edict to Xu Sheng for review.
Looking at the contents of this secret decree, Xu Sheng's expression was full of shock!
This secret edict was brought out by Li Chunchen in order to prove his true identity to Zhao Junchen.
The content of the secret decree is very simple, with only a few sentences, but the weight contained in it is as heavy as a thousand stones!
——"If the officials of the fifth rank and below of the imperial court see this imperial edict as if I were here in person, they will all order and prohibit it. They may also mobilize local garrison troops of up to three thousand people. I appreciate this!"
Xu Shengnai was one of the most important figures in the inner court, so it was obvious that this secret edict was definitely authentic, and it was written by Emperor Deqing himself.
Although the content of this secret edict did not explicitly state that Li Chunchen was the director of the inner factory, and it did not even mention the existence of the inner factory from beginning to end, but Li Chunchen was the secret confidant of Emperor Deqing and was responsible for the responsibility of Emperor Deqing. How could he have such a secret edict?
With this seal in hand, even if Li Chunchen is not the director of the inner factory, he already has a position and power that is not inferior to that of the inner factory director.
Therefore, Li Chunchen’s statement that he is the factory supervisor and the secret reconstruction of the inner factory will most likely not be false!
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"Could it be that... the Ouchi Factory has really been rebuilt secretly? But as the eunuch of the royal horse supervisor, why are we completely unaware of this matter?"
While muttering to himself, Xu Sheng's expression changed, and a trace of panic flashed in his eyes.
Emperor Deqing could just rebuild the Da Nei Hsing Factory, but why did he deliberately hide it from the inner court?
For Xu Sheng, this matter is really scary to think about!
At this time, in the study room of Zhao Mansion, apart from Xu Sheng, only Zhao Junchen and Li Chunchen were present.
Among them, Li Chunchen was sitting on the seat next to Xu Sheng, his expression calm and composed, giving people an inscrutable feeling, completely missing his previous pitiful demeanor.
After hearing Xu Sheng's muttering inquiry, Li Chunchen also smiled and said nothing, not intending to explain at all.
On the other side, Zhao Junchen also looked calm and replied slowly: "There should be no lies. Although this secret edict does not explicitly state Li Chunchen's identity as the factory supervisor, it is enough to prove that Li Chunchen has been secretly used by His Majesty! What's more, now that things have developed to this point, there is absolutely no need for Li Chunchen to lie!"
Having said this, Zhao Junchen turned to Li Chunchen and nodded and smiled, no longer arrogant. Li Chunchen also nodded and smiled at Zhao Junchen, as if the relationship between the two was equal.
After a pause, Zhao Junchen continued: "As for why Your Majesty deliberately concealed it from the various yamen of the inner court when he was rebuilding the inner factory, that is because the Holy Heart is unpredictable. As ministers, it is best not to speculate at will!"
Hearing what Zhao Junchen said, Xu Sheng nodded repeatedly, not daring to pursue the matter further, and quickly returned the secret edict to Li Chunchen, laughing and saying: "Oh! The flood really washed away the Dragon King Temple and the whole family. I don’t recognize the family! This is all a misunderstanding!
Our family had heard before that there was a secret civil association that was operating secretly in the name of the "Da Nei Xing Factory". We mistakenly thought that someone was pretending to be someone and was cheating, so we sent people to secretly monitor Factory Director Li. Unexpectedly, after the factory was rebuilt, It's true!
I hope Factory Supervisor Li will not take offense! What our family did was to fulfill our duties, and we did not intend to be enemies with Factory Supervisor Li. Fortunately, we solved the misunderstanding in time and did not cause any losses... Factory Supervisor Li can rest assured that our family will let Xichang Fanzi immediately If we remove the surveillance, this matter will be exposed and exposed! Ha ha! "
Hearing what Xu Sheng said, Li Chunchen's eyes suddenly flashed.
Because Xu Sheng's words unexpectedly revealed a key piece of information!
According to Xu Sheng, the reason why he discovered the clues about the existence of the inner factory was because he "heard about it" rather than "perceived it"!
"Hearing" is passive, while "detecting" is active!
In other words, it was someone who told Xu Sheng the relevant information, so Xu Sheng was able to discover the existence of the inner factory, rather than Xu Sheng and the Yuma Supervisor Yamen discovering the existence of the inner factory on their own.
Therefore, what Xu Sheng did against Li Chunchen and the inner factory was just being used by others, and there was someone else behind the scenes.
After realizing this, Li Chunchen remained calm on the surface. He just sighed and said slowly: "Although it was just a misunderstanding, it may not be true to say that no loss was caused...
The secret reconstruction of the Ouchi Factory involves His Majesty's future plans. It must be kept as secret as possible and no one can notice the signs! But now, the existence of the inner factory was not only discovered by the Royal Horse Supervisor, but also Zhao Gechen accidentally discovered the truth... In this way, His Majesty's future plans will inevitably be affected, how can we say Didn't cause any damage?
Of course, all these things are due to the junior's lack of ability and lack of thoroughness in doing things, and he has failed to live up to His Majesty's holy hope. Therefore, the junior has decided to go to the palace immediately to see His Majesty, to apologize to His Majesty, and to be willing to bear His Majesty's thunderous wrath. !
At the same time, I have to trouble Zhao Gechen and Xu Governor to go to the palace with the younger generation to meet His Majesty and explain the whole story to His Majesty. "
Hearing what Li Chunchen said, Xu Sheng's expression changed again on the spot, while Zhao Junchen remained calm.
At the same time, Zhao Junchen was also keenly aware that Li Chunchen had been secretly observing the changes in his and Xu Sheng's demeanor while speaking. His expression seemed calm, but there was a hint of nervousness hidden in it.
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In fact, Li Chunchen disclosed his identity as the factory supervisor to Zhao Junchen and Xu Sheng, which was a huge gamble, betting that Zhao Junchen and Xu Sheng would help him conceal and cover up the matter!
After all, once the secret reconstruction of the inner factory is exposed, it will definitely affect Emperor Deqing's future plans. Emperor Deqing may be angry with everyone involved, and Zhao Junchen and Xu Sheng may not be the same. Be willing to take risks and wade into troubled waters.
At the same time, the current strength of the inner factory is still weak, and its main threat lies in its concealment. If Zhao Junchen and Xu Sheng discover the secret of the inner factory, but pretend not to know, the inner factory will naturally He can't threaten them, and he can also have a good relationship with Li Chunchen. Maybe he can use the internal factory to make profits for himself in the future. Naturally, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
On the other hand, if Zhao Junchen and Xu Sheng confessed everything to Emperor Deqing and said that they had discovered the secrets of the inner factory, Emperor Deqing, even if he would not anger them, would build a new secret intelligence agency to replace the inner factory in the future. Factory, when the time comes, the threats to Zhao Junchen and Xu Sheng will be out of control, which can be said to do more harm than good.
Therefore, Li Chunchen believed that Zhao Junchen and Xu Sheng must be unwilling to confess the matter to Emperor Deqing out of their own selfish interests, and would even help Li Chunchen conceal and cover up everything that happened today.
In fact, since he discovered that he had been followed and monitored by Xichang fans, Li Chunchen had quickly considered all the pros and cons.
Now that the Royal Horse Supervisor has noticed clues about the inner factory, he has only three options.
One is to refuse to acknowledge the existence of the inner factory and to hold on until the end.
This choice was the most beneficial to Emperor Deqing's future plans, but Li Chunchen himself had to bear all the blame!
At that time, Li Chunchen will definitely be captured and tortured in Xichang Prison. After the incident is exposed to Emperor Deqing, Li Chunchen will definitely lose his face in the eyes of Emperor Deqing. Emperor Deqing will not only feel deeply about Li Chunchen Disappointed, out of confidentiality considerations, he might give up on Li Chunchen completely and let Li Chunchen die unjustly in Xichang Prison!
Naturally, Li Chunchen could not accept this kind of development!
Second, before Xichang took action against him, he took the lead in confessing to Emperor Deqing that he had messed up everything, and that the secret of the existence of the inner factory had been discovered by the Yuma Supervisor Yamen, and begged Emperor Deqing to step in and stop him. The actions of the Royal Horseman.
But in this way, although the scene looks better, after Emperor Deqing takes action to protect Li Chunchen, the secret reconstruction of the inner factory will still be completely exposed to the world. After the inner factory loses its concealment, it also loses its existence value, and Deqing The emperor will also seriously doubt Li Chunchen's ability to do things, and will most likely abandon him completely. Li Chunchen's future career will also be bleak.
Li Chunchen still couldn't bear this development.
Third, he took the initiative to confess the secret of the internal factory reconstruction to Zhao Junchen and Xu Sheng, and teamed up with them to conceal the news, and then pretended that the discovery of the internal factory secret had never happened. There is no need to confess one's faults and responsibilities to Emperor Deqing...
This naturally created more hidden dangers and violated the will of Emperor Deqing. Once Emperor Deqing discovered that Li Chunchen deliberately concealed himself, Li Chunchen's ending would be extremely tragic.
But compared to the first two options, Li Chunchen believed that he had to take a gamble. If he gave it a go, there might be a chance to save the situation in the future, but if he just sat back and waited, he would definitely end badly.
What's more, if Zhao Junchen and Xu Sheng can join forces to conceal the truth from Emperor Deqing, the three of them will be grasshoppers on a rope from now on. Li Chunchen can also gain two additional powerful allies, why not?
It is precisely because of this consideration that although Li Chunchen said at this time that he would take the initiative to confess to Emperor Deqing and apologize, he opened his mouth to express Emperor Deqing's future plans, and closed his mouth to express Emperor Deqing's thunderous wrath, implying that The meaning is extremely obvious, that is, he hopes that Zhao Junchen and Xu Sheng will stop him and conceal the matter with him.
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Sure enough, after hearing what Li Chunchen said, although Zhao Junchen remained calm, Xu Sheng's expression immediately changed.
As Li Chunchen expected, Xu Sheng was worried that he would be angered by Emperor Deqing for ruining Emperor Deqing's future plans. He also believed that it would be more beneficial to his future if he pretended not to have discovered the secret of the reconstruction of the inner factory.
So, Xu Sheng immediately said: "Actually, since all these things are misunderstandings, we feel that there is no need to report this matter to Your Majesty. Your Majesty is already tired enough with all the things he has to do, so why bother with his old man's distraction and unhappiness?" Happy?
Since the secret reconstruction of the inner factory is related to His Majesty's future plans, it is natural to be as hidden and low-key as possible. If this matter is brought to His Majesty's side, there may be a stir and more people will discover it. A clue, but it’s not good...
What's more, the three of us are His Majesty's confidants and have always been loyal to His Majesty. Even if we know the secret of the reconstruction of the inner factory, we will never be able to ruin His Majesty's future plans, and we will definitely help His Majesty keep this matter secret, so Why bother with superfluous measures and unnecessary details? Just pretend that none of today's events happened. "
After saying that, Xu Sheng looked at Zhao Junchen with expectant eyes, and Li Chunchen also turned his eyes to Zhao Junchen, both waiting for Zhao Junchen to make a statement.
Zhao Junchen was naturally unwilling to confess to Emperor Deqing that he had discovered the secret of the Neichang's reconstruction. He also expected the Neichang to help him deal with the Seventh Prince Zhu Hejian in the future, and just as Li Chunchen thought, the Neichang After losing concealment in front of Zhao Junchen, most of the threats were lost. However, if Emperor Deqing gave up the inner factory and started a new one, a new threat and variable would appear.
So, after Zhao Junchen pretended to think for a moment, he nodded in agreement: "What Governor Xu said is reasonable, and I also believe that as long as the three of us can keep the secret in the future, there is no need to report this matter to Your Majesty."
Then, Xu Sheng and Zhao Junchen both turned their attention to Li Chunchen.
Li Chunchen also pretended to think about it for a while, and then nodded and said: "Since Zhao Gechen and Xu Governor both have this view, the younger generation has little talent and little experience, so naturally he has to listen to their advice... just like the two of them. I mean, as long as the three of us keep our mouths shut from now on, the secret of the reconstruction of the inner factory will not be leaked, and naturally there will be no need to disturb or worry His Majesty."
In this way, the three people present all claimed to be Emperor Deqing's confidants and were loyal to Emperor Deqing, but under the guise of considering Emperor Deqing, they all chose to conceal the truth from Emperor Deqing.
Seeing this situation, Zhao Junchen actually felt a little sad for Emperor Deqing for a while, and he also understood why Emperor Deqing always indulged in the emperor's tricks.
At the same time, seeing that the three of them had agreed, Xu Sheng laughed and said: "In this case, we can be considered our own people from now on! Zhao Gechen has always been powerful and powerful, and he is different from our family both internally and externally. , so our family has no chance to assist Zhao Gechen in doing anything, but Factory Director Li is now in charge of the internal factory, so naturally there are many things that you can help our family with!"
After speaking, Xu Sheng asked with a smile: "As far as we know, the Neichang Yamen was established not long ago, and there were deficiencies in terms of manpower, financial resources, experience, etc. Otherwise, Factory Supervisor Li would not have been pushed to the west." The factory boss is secretly spying and doesn't know it... So, if Factory Governor Li wants to expand the strength of the factory as soon as possible, and there is something our family can contribute, even if he puts it forward, our family will definitely give full support!"
Xu Sheng's statement seemed righteous, but in fact he had the intention of secretly infiltrating the internal factory.
Li Chunchen naturally saw Xu Sheng's sinister intentions and was extremely resistant, but after thinking for a moment, he still said: "This junior does have two things to ask of Governor Xu. One is that this junior wants to ask Governor Xu for something." A few people are needed, namely the Jin Yiwei who have been responsible for monitoring and following the junior these days. They now know the secret of the reconstruction of the inner factory, so in order to prevent the news from being leaked further, the junior hopes that Governor Xu can take them Transfer them to the internal factory and let them work with the juniors from now on."
This was obviously Li Chunchen's way of stopping losses. Those Jinyi guards had secretly monitored Li Chunchen for a long time, and they must have discovered many secrets. After bringing them into the inner factory, Li Chunchen could try to remedy the situation.
Xu Sheng hesitated for a moment, then nodded happily and said: "Of course, it's just a trivial matter. Those people will be transferred to the internal factory from now on!"
Then, Li Chunchen's eyes flashed, and he said: "As for the second matter, I want to ask Governor Xu for advice. Since the inner factory was secretly rebuilt, I think that all the actions of the inner factory are relatively hidden and low-key. They have always been I didn’t do anything that attracted attention, but I don’t know... Where did you, Director Xu, notice the clues about the existence of the inner factory? If a flaw is discovered, this junior can make up for it as soon as possible. "
After Xu Sheng heard the inquiry, his expression suddenly froze.
Although Xu Sheng was not particularly shrewd, he was not a fool either. When he discovered that Emperor Deqing deliberately bypassed the various offices of the inner court and secretly rebuilt the inner factory, he believed that one of the powers and responsibilities after the reconstruction of the inner court must be to monitor the inner court. related!
Perhaps Emperor Deqing had vaguely noticed signs of infiltration into the inner court, so he did this!
Xu Sheng also knew very well that the man behind the secret infiltration of various yamen in the inner court was the seventh prince Zhu Hejian!
At the same time, it was the seventh prince Zhu Hejian who informed him of the existence of the inner factory!
Obviously, Zhu Hejian's approach was a tactic to drive away the tiger and devour the wolf. He wanted to use Xu Sheng to deal with the internal factory, so that both Xu Sheng and Li Chunchen would suffer losses, so Xu Sheng was obviously used by Zhu Hejian this time.
Xu Sheng understood all these things clearly.
But Xu Sheng still did not dare to tell Li Chunchen the truth of the matter at will, otherwise it would expose Zhu Hejian's details, which would be equivalent to betraying the inner court forces that fully supported Zhu Hejian.
So, after Xu Sheng hesitated for a moment, he finally shook his head and said: "This governor is the palm of the Royal Horse Supervisor. He is in charge of too many things, and Xichang is just one of them. Therefore, this governor only remembers that he received the information from Xichang. , so we discovered the existence of the Inner Factory, but where did the information from the West Factory come from? I still need to return to the Yuma Supervisor Yamen and personally ask the people in the West Factory to get the answer."
Sensing Xu Sheng's reaction, Li Chunchen seemed to have no suspicion on the surface, but respectfully thanked him: "In that case, I'll thank you, Supervisor Xu!"
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Next, after Zhao Junchen, Xu Sheng and Li Chunchen agreed on some cooperation matters, Xu Sheng and Li Chunchen saw that it was getting late and said goodbye to Zhao Junchen together.
After Zhao Junchen personally sent them to the front yard of Zhao Mansion, he stared at their leaving figures thoughtfully.
According to Zhao Junchen's plan, his conversation with these two people today has not yet ended completely.
However, the conversation that follows must be made without the two of them knowing about each other.
But he said that after Xu Sheng left the Zhao Mansion, he immediately boarded his carriage and planned to return to the palace.
Sitting in the carriage, Xu Sheng thought to himself: "I didn't expect that the inner factory was actually rebuilt. And the reason why the inner factory was rebuilt in secret was most likely because it had the secret mission of secretly investigating the inner court. Otherwise, it would be impossible." We will not deliberately hide this from the inner court... The Seventh Prince is obviously aware of this situation, so he instigated our family to investigate the matter... However, we must seriously consider whether to disclose this matter to Li Chunchen... Alas, But this matter is of great importance, and our family can’t think clearly about it at the moment. I’m afraid we have to find a clear-minded confidant to discuss it!”
While thinking secretly, the image of Li Ruan flashed through Xu Sheng's mind.
But at this moment, his carriage suddenly stopped, and then he heard the voice of Zhao Junchen personally accompanying Xu Qingyan from outside the carriage.
"Director Xu, my cabinet minister invited you to go to the Zhao Mansion again. We still have something to discuss, but there were other people present just now, so it is not convenient to speak directly!"
At the same time, Li Chunchen left the Zhao Mansion on foot, thinking about everything that happened today. However, Li Chunchen didn't go far when he suddenly found Zhao Junchen's confidant Zhao Dali blocking him.
"Mr. Li, my cabinet minister invited you to go to the Zhao Mansion again. We still have something to discuss, but there were other people present just now, so it is not convenient to speak directly!"
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