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Just when Zhao Junchen was thinking deeply, Zhou Shangjing was conversing with Song Qiwen in the study room of the Zhou Mansion.
Ever since he noticed that his energy was declining rapidly, and the stomach problem was still not cured, Zhou Shangjing's desire to retire and return to his hometown became more and more intense.
Zhou Shangjing's inner concepts are relatively conservative. He wants to return to his roots while he is still able to move and be buried in the Zhou family's ancestral grave after his death, rather than die in his position as the chief minister of the cabinet.
It is precisely because of this consideration that Zhou Shangjing has been vigorously raising his spirits and taking frequent actions during this period. On the one hand, he wants to eliminate the hidden dangers in the court as soon as possible, and on the other hand, he wants to pave the way for his political successor. , only by achieving these two goals can he feel at ease when he retires and returns to his hometown.
In Zhou Shangjing's eyes, the hidden dangers that threaten the stability of the country are naturally Zhao Junchen and Zhu Hejian, two young men who do not know the rules and are ambitious. It has never been a secret that Zhou Shangjing's political successor is Song Qiwen, the Minister of Civil Affairs.
Therefore, Zhou Shangjing did not hide his overall plan from Song Qiwen from beginning to end this time.
At this time, Zhou Shangjing was explaining to Song Qiwen in detail his various arrangements after leaving Beijing.
Zhou Shangjing was seen leaning back on the recliner with his eyes slightly closed, while Song Qiwen stood aside with his hands lowered in a respectful manner.
During the conversation, Zhou Shangjing's voice seemed breathless, but his tone was extremely serious and rare.
"This time, His Majesty forced me to leave the capital and go south to take charge, and at the same time, he forced Zhao Junchen to go north for inspection. In fact, it was also because of my secret encouragement. If I hadn't specially instigated it when I met with Your Majesty yesterday evening, it would have been difficult for Your Majesty to make up his mind. , risking the instability of the temple and financial chaos, I will transfer both me and Zhao Junchen away from the center of the capital at the same time!"
Having said this, Zhou Shangjing slowly opened his old eyes, turned slightly to look at Song Qiwen, and asked with deep eyes: "And what I did was not just to take advantage of the opportunity to plot against Zhao Junchen and the Seventh Prince, but there is another For an important reason...Qiwen, do you know what this reason is?"
Song Qiwen could be regarded by Zhou Shangjing as his political successor, so he was naturally a man of extraordinary intelligence. In addition, he knew Zhou Shangjing's overall plan very well, so after hearing Zhou Shangjing's inquiry, he immediately thought of the correct answer.
Song Qiwen's face was full of gratitude and respect, and he replied softly: "Teacher, you want to create a situation where students can stand alone and gain authority!"
Zhou Shangjing nodded happily and said: "That's it! Your Majesty, he temporarily removed me and Zhao Junchen from the center of the capital. Although it was just a temporary move, since he has made such a holy heart decision, he will definitely not If you miss the opportunity, you will definitely take advantage of the time when I and Zhao Junchen leave the capital to suppress the ministerial power and expand the imperial power. By then, the interests of all officials will be harmed!
You have been serving as the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs for many years, and you are not lacking in connections, qualifications, experience, reputation, etc., and you are also lacking in talents and means. However, you have always followed my steps and followed my lead, so all the officials in the court always regard you. Being regarded as my appendage and shadow makes you always lack some prestige and courage, and you cannot let the officials follow you with peace of mind!
At the same time, Zhao Junchen has been in the limelight in recent years and attracted everyone's attention. Many people even regard him as the next representative of ministerial power after me, which makes you even more inconspicuous. Got it!
In the next period of time, I and Zhao Junchen will both leave the center of the capital, and Your Majesty will take the opportunity to expand the imperial power. This is also a great opportunity for you to show your courage and responsibility!
As long as you can take the initiative to stand up and lead the officials to resist His Majesty's methods, even if it only prevents His Majesty's ideas from being fully successful, the officials will definitely look at you with admiration and be convinced, and then your prestige will naturally increase. He stood up!
In this way, when I try to recommend you to the cabinet as an assistant, I can retire and return to my hometown with peace of mind, passing on my many years of management to you! "
Hearing Zhou Shangjing's detailed explanation, Song Qiwen was even more moved and solemnly promised: "Students will do their best and will never let the teacher down!"
Zhou Shangjing was a little dissatisfied with Song Qiwen's guarantee. He shook his head and said: "It's not that you try your best, but that you must do it! And what you do is not to satisfy me, but for yourself and Bai Bai." Official interests, for the long-term stability of the entire Ming Dynasty!"
Having said this, Zhou Shangjing couldn't help but shake his head slightly.
In this world, everything always has pros and cons, just like Song Qiwen. The reason why Zhou Shangjing regards him as his political successor is not only because of Song Qiwen's ability and wisdom, but also because Song Qiwen truly respects and loves Zhou Shangjing. , knows how to be grateful and repay, so after Zhou Shangjing handed over his political assets to Song Qiwen, Song Qiwen would definitely reciprocate the favor and fully support the career prospects of the descendants of the Zhou family, so that the Zhou family could maintain their wealthy status for a long time, and would never There is a risk of someone taking the tea cold.
But precisely because of this, Zhou Shangjing held too much weight in Song Qiwen's heart. At this time, he was only thinking about not letting Zhou Shangjing down.
"Alas, there are some things that cannot be accomplished quickly... Qiwen has always been my assistant and executor, and some realizations will only gradually appear when he actually sits in that position!"
Thinking of this, Zhou Shangjing spoke with relief again: "Your task is not easy, but the chance of success is not low. Not only have I arranged many countermeasures for you in advance, but when Zhao Junchen left the imperial study today, he just started He also mistakenly believed that it was his own short-sightedness that caused the old man and him to leave the capital. When he talked to the old man afterwards, he not only repeatedly admitted his mistake, but also made many concessions...
so. When you take the initiative to stand up to resist His Majesty's expansion of imperial power and suppress the power of ministers in the future, not only everyone in our 'Zhou Party' will look up to you, but everyone in the 'Zhao Party' will also fully support you! Once the 'Zhou Party' and the 'Zhao Party' join forces, coupled with our prior arrangements, His Majesty may not be able to reap benefits in a short period of time! "
After hearing Zhou Shangjing's relief, Song Qiwen also knew that his thoughts and positions were still somewhat biased, so he immediately changed his firm look and reassured: "The teacher taught you this! The students must complete the task without hesitation! If the students cannot If you complete this task, you will not be qualified to lead the ministers in your place, teacher!"
Zhou Shangjing finally nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile: "It's good to be so enlightened!"
Afterwards, Song Qiwen hesitated for a moment, but asked: "Teacher, you just said that when Zhao Junchen communicated with you today, he just mistakenly thought that it was his short-sightedness that caused you and him to temporarily leave the capital. …Could it be that he noticed something later?”
Hearing Song Qiwen's inquiry, Zhou Shangjing immediately showed appreciation on his face and nodded: "Zhao Junchen is not only suspicious by nature, but also smart and smart. I just showed some abnormalities and he immediately noticed the clues! Today! When he was talking to me, he began to test me repeatedly. If my guess was correct, although he couldn't completely confirm it, he should have discovered that I was plotting against him."
When Song Qiwen heard Zhou Shangjing's answer, he did not show any concern that his plan would fail.
Zhou Shangjing has always been the best at conspiracy, but what is conspiracy? Even if you know that there is a trap in front of you, you must still jump with your eyes closed!
Therefore, Song Qiwen just asked: "Teacher, did you let Zhao Junchen find out the clues on purpose?"
Zhou Shangjing shook his head slowly, but the admiration in his expression became more and more obvious, and said: "I didn't mean to let Zhao Junchen find out the clues, but I didn't spend too much time to hide it from Zhao Junchen. In addition, Zhao Junchen's alertness was far beyond ordinary people, so he was able to see many things through some clues.
However, I am not worried that Zhao Junchen will discover my plan, because Zhao Junchen cannot discover my true intention no matter what. The more he discovers the truth this time, the more panic and worry he feels, and the more he tries in every possible way when doing things. The more precautions you take, the more likely you are to fall into a pit!
However, at my current age, after all, I am no longer as decisive as when I was young. When doing things, I am always unwilling to kill everyone, and I always leave a glimmer of hope for others! Whether they are plotting against the Seventh Prince or Zhao Junchen, this is the case!
I had sternly warned him some time ago, telling him to know the way forward and retreat, and to abide by his duty as a minister. If he really listened to my good advice, then my plan this time would be beneficial to him. It's harmless, everything depends on his own choice! "
Hearing Zhou Shangjing's words, Song Qiwen couldn't help but shake his head slightly, thinking that Zhao Junchen would never be able to seize that glimmer of hope because Zhao Junchen was too ambitious and proactive, and was never willing to defend passively. , and has never been a courtier who abides by his duties.
Therefore, Zhao Junchen will definitely fall into the pit!
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In fact, Zhou Shangjing's method of calculating Zhao Junchen this time was very simple. It all stemmed from Zhou Shangjing's conversation with Emperor Deqing yesterday evening.
Yesterday evening, Zhou Shangjing estimated that Emperor Deqing had received the relevant news and knew that Prince Zhu Heyu had returned to the center of the capital early without authorization, so he met with Emperor Deqing in time.
After meeting Emperor Deqing, Zhou Shangjing expressed his position directly, saying that after repeated thinking, he still believed that the seventh prince Zhu Hejian was not a suitable candidate for the crown prince. He still supported the current crown prince Zhu Heyu and directly opposed Deqing. The emperor's prince abandoned the plan.
Emperor Deqing had just received the news that Prince Zhu Heyu had returned to Beijing early without permission. At this time, he discovered that Zhou Shangjing planned to fully support Zhu Heyu. Naturally, he was deeply angry and reprimanded Zhou Shangjing on the spot. Suddenly, at the same time, the idea of letting Zhou Shangjing temporarily leave the capital center naturally came up.
After being reprimanded by Emperor Deqing, Zhou Shangjing did not argue with Emperor Deqing, but just managed to turn the topic to Zhao Junchen.
Then, Zhou Shangjing took the opportunity to mention a very interesting idea - Zhao Junchen is too young and has made great contributions. Sooner or later, his achievements will shake the master. Under such circumstances, it is naturally the most important thing to distinguish whether Zhao Junchen is loyal or traitorous. The key thing is that it is actually very simple to tell whether Zhao Junchen is loyal or traitorous. All you need to do is ask Zhao Junchen to leave the capital and go to a military town somewhere, and then arrange for a loyal military general to pretend to defect to Zhao Junchen. Just fine!
If Zhao Junchen was a loyal minister, he would definitely refuse the surrender of the generals in the army! But if Zhao Junchen has a disloyal heart, he will definitely not miss this opportunity to intervene in military power, and will secretly take this military general for his own use!
Then, it will be clear at a glance whether Zhao Junchen is loyal or traitorous!
This is why Zhou Shangjing just said that the more uneasy Zhao Junchen is at this time, the more likely he is to fall into a trap!
When Zhao Junchen discovered that Emperor Deqing and Zhou Shangjing were working together to plot against him, he must have been panicked and would seize every opportunity to increase his resistance capital. How could he resist a general in the army under such circumstances? The temptation to take refuge?
In Zhou Shangjing's eyes, dealing with Zhao Junchen has never been his own business, but the responsibility of Emperor Deqing - and he only needs to secretly push him at the right time and strengthen Emperor Deqing's determination!
So, what happened in the Imperial Study Room today.
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