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Since being appointed as the Southeast Patrol Envoy, Huo Zhengyuan has been very aware of the sensitivity and importance of his position.
He could mobilize an astronomical number of various resources at will, and he could also communicate and contact without authorization with overseas forces such as the Dutch East India Company, the Taiwanese Zheng family, and various Southeast Asian countries. He could also gradually monopolize the Ming Dynasty's ocean trade, and cooperate with the capital center Thousands of miles apart...
Under such circumstances, as long as Huo Zhengyuan is slightly more ambitious, has better luck, and has stronger means, not to mention breaking away from Zhao Junchen and establishing his own business, he may even have a chance to break away from the control of the Ming Dynasty and follow the example of the Zheng family in Taiwan.
Precisely because Huo Zhengyuan knew this very well, the first thing he did after he was appointed as the Southeast Patrol Envoy was to dismiss all his staff. Then he borrowed Ouyang Bo and Qian from Zhao Junchen on the pretext that he was alone and unable to support himself. Bo Dao and Guo Min, three of Zhao's aides, assisted him, and they also left their children in the capital to be taken care of by Zhao Junchen.
After Huo Zhengyuan set up the general framework of the southeast patrol envoy's office, he shared the decision-making power with Ouyang Bo, the financial power with Qian Bodao, and the diplomatic power with Guo Min.
All these measures were done to give Zhao Junchen some peace of mind. Hui
But precisely because of this, after Jiang Zheng was seriously injured and before the three Zhao family aides arrived in Nanjing to join him, Huo Zhengyuan really lacked help. Although he formulated a series of plans, he could not implement them on his own. these plans.
Therefore, when the three Zhao family aides arrived in Nanjing, although Huo Zhengyuan knew that they were exhausted after traveling all night and wading through water, he still immediately assigned various tasks to them to keep them busy. got up.
Huo Zhengyuan had a hunch that among all the forces in Nanjing, Zhou Shangjing's various plans were completely ready, and Zhu Hejian had also launched actions and counterattacks in full swing.
In comparison, because of Huo Zhengyuan's previous hesitation, "Zhao Dang"'s actions have been several steps slower and must speed up the pace.
*
After more than half an hour, seeing that the time was approaching evening, Huo Zhengyuan finally stopped his busy work, temporarily bid farewell to the three aides of Zhao Mansion, left his temporary residence in Nanjing City, and left only the people around him. Huo Changle, one of his two confidants, hired two sedan bearers, and then took the sedan to Zhanyuan for the banquet.
After sitting in the sedan, Huo Zhengyuan was in a closed space where no one was paying attention. He finally took off his strong disguise, and hesitation and fear gradually appeared on his face. Hui
The country is easy to change, but the nature is hard to change.
Seeing the deaths of his confidants one after another, Huo Zhengyuan felt that he was in the midst of a dangerous situation, and the fear deep in his heart became more and more intense. The firmness and toughness he showed in front of Qian Lai and the three aides of the Zhao family... , to a large extent, it’s just support.
If he can keep holding on, the determination and toughness he has shown will eventually reap good rewards, then Huo Zhengyuan may be able to truly change his character.
But now, Huo Zhengyuan still has not completely eradicated the cowardly instinct deep in his heart, and it cannot be easily eradicated. He is just constantly forcing himself to move forward.
Especially when he thought that after arriving at Zhanyuan, he would have to confront powerful figures such as the seventh prince Zhu Hejian, the prince's grand master Wang Baoren, the leader of the Jiangnan Jin gentry Song Chengren, the Nanjing garrison eunuch Xi Cheng, and even the chief minister of the cabinet Zhou Shangjing, etc., Huo Zhengyuan felt Heart trembling, body stiff.
Just like this, clearly feeling the cowardice emerging deep in his heart, Huo Zhengyuan couldn't help but laugh at himself and shook his head. Then he slowly closed his eyes and began to sort out his inner thoughts, hoping to eliminate all the fear in his heart before arriving at Zhanyuan. Suppress it.
However, just as Huo Zhengyuan closed his eyes, he felt that his sedan had stopped halfway and landed on the spot after a slight vibration. Hui
Later, before Huo Zhengyuan could ask about the situation, a sedan bearer opened the curtain of the sedan chair without authorization and reported: "Master Huo, the carriage of the old man of the Song family is just ahead. He invites you to ride with him."
On the occasion of the report, the bearer's attitude
The degree seems respectful, but in fact it is an unquestionable notice.
Huo Zhengyuan immediately frowned, raised his head and gave the bearer a cold look.
Obviously, the two bearers hired by Huo Zhengyuan were actually members of the Song family, so they sent him directly to Song Chengren's carriage and stopped the sedan without asking.
In a way, this is also a warning from Song Chengren, who wants Huo Zhengyuan to understand that there are Song family spies all over Nanjing, so Huo Zhengyuan cannot secretly make small moves without telling Zhou Shangjing, and he has absolutely no ability to fight with the people represented by Zhou Shangjing. Jiangnan Jinshen Group competes with it.
After understanding this, Huo Zhengyuan did not waste time quarreling with the sedan bearer. Instead, he stood up and left the sedan with a cold face, and walked towards the Song family carriage not far ahead.
At the same time, the head of the Song family, Song Chengren, had already raised his hand to lift the curtain of the carriage, beckoning with a friendly smile: "Zi Gu, come in quickly! I have been waiting for you for a long time. We are traveling in the same carriage, and we can chat along the way." Reminiscing about old times." Hui
After seeing Song Chengren, Huo Zhengyuan also suppressed the coldness on his face, bowed his hands and said, "Senior Song, we haven't seen you for a long time. Are you still in good health?"
"Haha! I eat well and sleep well. I am in good health. I feel like I can live another ten years."
Just like that, between greetings and talking and laughing, Huo Zhengyuan had already boarded the carriage and leaned into the carriage.
Then, as the carriage shook, it was already heading towards Zhanyuan again.
Song Chengren still had a cordial attitude, looked at Huo Zhengyuan with a smile, and said reprovingly: "Zi Gu, we have known each other for a long time. How come it has been nearly three months since you arrived in Nanjing, but you have never thought of visiting Dongyuan? I need you to take the initiative to stop you?"
Huo Zhengyuan quickly apologized and said: "This junior has always respected you, and has always wanted to go to the East Garden to meet you, but... the more I respect you, the more I dare not visit you casually. If disputes arise due to differences, then the juniors will not know how to deal with themselves. "
Song Chengren sneered on his face and said, "Don't say anything like this in front of me! Although you, Zhou Shoufu, Wang Baoren, and that Zhao cabinet minister have different personalities and styles, they are essentially the same type of people. They are used to it. Victory or failure is determined by secret room planning, and you firmly believe in the principles of "secret success" and "nothing can be planned by the crowd", so you always tend to hide your thoughts, emotions, plans, and even your whereabouts, and keep everything secret. , you have to be unpredictable at all times, right? "Hui
Seeing Song Chengren directly stating his thoughts, Huo Zhengyuan was a little embarrassed and didn't know how to respond.
Song Chengren slowly shook his head disapprovingly: "I am a young man, and I am always not used to this kind of thing. That's why I retired bravely and took the initiative to return to my hometown. It's a pity... I have some promising members of the Song family. The younger generations all have the same temperament. They regard Zhou Shoufu as a role model in life and deliberately imitate every move they make. Instead, they think that I, the old master of the family, am not promising enough..."
Speaking of this, Song Chengren's expression was full of resentment, as if he was extremely dissatisfied with Zhou Shangjing.
Huo Zhengyuan smiled apologetically as he listened to Song Chengren's complaints, but he also disagreed in his heart.
The reason why Song Chengren resigned bravely and took the initiative to return home was not because he could not adapt to the intrigues in the temple, but because the "Zhou Party" was caught by Emperor Deqing at that time, so he took the initiative to take the blame.
If Song Chengren really did not approve of Zhou Shangjing's style of work, he would never entrust all the qualified juniors of the Song family to Zhou Shangjing's guidance.
On the other side, after Song Chengren complained for a few words, he changed the subject and said again: "However, although this kind of unpredictable behavior is not a good thing, it is even worse if it is excessive and overcorrected. Oh! It’s best to reduce big things to small things in this world. You should hear the thunder in the silent place and see the flowers in the colorless place. If you make things bigger, it will make the situation out of control. , breeds all kinds of unpredictable variables, even those who add fuel to the flames will also be affected. If you are not careful, you will hurt others and yourself, and your cleverness will be mistaken for your cleverness...Similar things,
Countless lessons have been taught since ancient times! "Hui
Having said this, Song Chengren stared at Huo Zhengyuan closely and asked, "I heard that the United Shipping Company now wants to make the matter bigger, claiming that the conflict between the wealthy Jin gentry and the eunuchs of Huangzhuang has seriously affected all walks of life. In order to ensure the normal order of all parties, we are ready to lead merchants to go on strike, organize river workers to go on strike, and call on students to go on strike to urge His Highness the Seventh Prince and Zhou Shoufu to resolve the matter as soon as possible. Is that right? "
Obviously, after Qian Lai agreed to Huo Zhengyuan's plan and began to mobilize the power of the "United Shipping Company" to carry out the operation, Song Chengren received the news almost immediately, so he secretly met with Huo Zhengyuan in order to persuade Huo Zhengyuan to stop immediately.
Huo Zhengyuan was not surprised at all that Song Chengren received the news so quickly.
"United Shipping Lines" has quickly transformed into a behemoth in just one year. The key lies in being open to all rivers and being inclusive, whether it is Dai Fengfu with a "Zhou Party" background, Bai Mingyu with a background in the inner court, or someone like Qian Second-level merchants like Lai, who had a weaker background and relied on the Nanjing garrison eunuch as their backers, joined it one after another in pursuit of huge profits.
These wealthy businessmen have different backgrounds and backgrounds, but they are all united by the huge profits of the "United Shipping Company". Naturally, they quickly burst out with amazing potential.
However, these wealthy businessmen are only united in pursuing profits, but their backgrounds and origins are different after all. At the same time, they are also spies and insiders deployed by various forces. It is impossible for them to do anything other than making money. United.
Therefore, when Huo Zhengyuan ordered the "United Shipping Company" to do things, it was impossible to keep the secret, and it would be easy for big figures like Song Chengren to know the news. Hui
Huo Zhengyuan had expected and prepared for it. After hearing Song Chengren's question, he smiled and nodded: "I also heard the news, but I don't think it's a bad thing! In this world, not everything should be made small. The so-called trivialization of big things into trivial matters is essentially covering up the matter and not really solving the problem. Only by making the matter completely bigger and unable to end can all parties make up their minds and truly start to solve the problem. question!
In the territory of Southern Zhili, the conflict between the wealthy Jin gentry and the eunuchs of Huangzhuang has been going on for a long time, and it is increasingly intensifying. In recent years, we have always heard rumors that they are fighting endlessly over water sources, tenant farmers, and cultivated land. From time to time, small-scale conflicts will occur. With the fighting and casualties, there may be a bigger mess at some point. In my opinion... While the Chief Assistant and His Highness the Seventh Prince are both in Nanjing now, it would be better to take the opportunity to completely resolve this matter! "
Seeing that Huo Zhengyuan completely ignored his warning and still wanted to use the "United Shipping Company" to make things worse, Song Chengren couldn't help but his face darkened and warned again: "Scholar Huo, those who play with fire will die! In the past few days, , you should have deeply felt the crisis of the situation in Nanjing. The trampling the night before yesterday, the flood outside the city last night... No one knows what kind of trouble will happen next. You are a smart person, so why bother? Let yourself be dragged deeper and deeper into this turmoil?”
Huo Zhengyuan shook his head and said, "It's because I'm not stupid that I'm enlightened and want to actively participate in this turmoil and try to guide the situation! Only in this way will I arouse the fear of all forces and have a chance. Bargaining with all forces will give you a better chance of protecting yourself and the people around you... Otherwise, the junior will be just an insignificant role in the eyes of all forces. They can make threats at will and be used to scare the monkeys, even if they stay away from the incident. , and will still continue to be innocently affected by various accidents!"
After saying that, Huo Zhengyuan finally stopped hiding his edge, looked at Song Chengren, and said leisurely: "Take Senior Song as an example. You just blamed me for not visiting Dongyuan, but with your influence in Nanjing City, you should I have known the whereabouts of this junior for a long time, and I have not summoned this junior to meet me... But I just made a move today, and you took the initiative to show up to meet me, hoping to reach an agreement with my junior and resolve the misunderstanding. Is this the junior’s idea correct?”
Song Chengren took a deep look at Huo Zhengyuan, nodded and said: "It seems that Zhou Shoufu's assessment is right. Zigu, your temperament has indeed changed drastically! You just said that you made such a fuss because you wanted to
You need to attract the attention of all parties and bargain with all parties...but you don't know what things you want to bargain on? "
Huo Zhengyuan no longer concealed anything and directly stated the conditions, saying: "The land of Jiangnan has always been prosperous in culture and talented people. We, Zhao Gechen, have always been yearning for it and want to contribute to the Jiangnan Shilin!" It is a pity that whether it is the Nanjing Imperial College or the Nanjing Inspectorate, these two core yamen of Jiangnan Shilin, they always kept a distance from Zhao Gechen in the past. Even if Zhao Gechen wanted to help, he could not find a way to help Hui!
So...Zhao Gechen hopes that Zhou Shoufu can give up the two positions of Nanjing Imperial College and Supervisor to Zhao Gechen. As for the Nanjing Inspectorate, Zhao Gechen also hopes to occupy a place, at least to have the position of deputy capital censor! "
After hearing this, Song Chengren couldn't help but frown, and completely restrained his kindness and kindness, and said coldly: "What a big appetite! Are you Zhao Gechen afraid of indigestion? Many things in this world cannot be achieved by having power and money. In exchange, a virtuous person will live here, and I don’t think Zhao Gechen has this qualification!”
*
Although the imperial court wanted to take back power from the Six Ministries of Nanjing, the power of the Nanjing Imperial College and the Nanjing Inspectorate would still continue.
In fact, the two yamen of Nanjing Imperial College and Nanjing Inspectorate had their own special features, and the central court could not take back the power of these two yamen.
If the power of these two yamen is forcibly taken back, it may seem that the centralization of power will be further strengthened, but in fact it will cause even greater consequences.
Among them, the coexistence of the Imperial College in Nanjing and the Imperial College in Beijing was based on the consideration of balancing the north and south regions, which could effectively resolve the regional conflicts between southern students and northern students, while the Nanjing Procuratorate served as a place for the imperial officials to retire and revive their flags. The location of the drum can significantly reduce the intensity of party struggle in the court. Hui
The power of these two yamen is not small. Nanjing Imperial College controls Yingtian Academy, the first of the four major academies in the Ming Dynasty, Nanjing Gongyuan, the largest in the Ming Dynasty, and Jiangnan Book Company, which has the strongest technical strength and influence. The powers and responsibilities of the Nanjing Inspectorate are exactly the same as those of the Beijing Inspectorate, with the power of supervision and impeachment.
Once Zhao Junchen is allowed to take the opportunity to infiltrate these two yamen, Zhao Junchen will have the opportunity to guide the public opinion of the entire Jiangnan region.
During the Ming Dynasty, nearly half of the court officials and private Confucian scholars were born in Jiangnan. Therefore, once Zhao Junchen had the ability to guide the public opinion of the government and the public in the Jiangnan region, it was equivalent to having the ability to control the world's public opinion.
Naturally, the "Zhou Party" would not cede this kind of power to Zhao Junchen, not even in the slightest.
What's more, Zhao Junchen's appetite is too big, and he actually wants to seize the three positions of the Nanjing Imperial College and the Supervisor at the same time, as well as the Deputy Capital Censor of the Nanjing Inspectorate!
The Imperial College Dianbu was in charge of official documents and memorials, the Imperial College Jiancheng was in charge of academic regulations and supervisory affairs, and the Deputy Capital Censor was the second-ranking figure in the Supervisory Council.
With such a huge appetite, Zhao Junchen not only wants to infiltrate the Nanjing Imperial College and the Nanjing Inspectorate? He is so ambitious that he wants to completely control these two yamen! Hui
*
Seeing that Song Chengren rejected his offer almost without hesitation and was not even willing to bargain with him, Huo Zhengyuan asked, "Senior Song, don't you need to ask Zhou Shoufu for his opinion before expressing your stance?"
Song Chengren's expression was cold and he said, "No need to ask! There's no way Zhou Shoufu would agree to such a thing!"
Huo Zhengyuan sighed: "In this case, we can only rely on our own abilities! However, the cooperation between the "Zhou Party" and the "Zhao Party" will still be maintained, hindering His Highness the Seventh Prince's smooth access to the throne, and he cannot be allowed to sit firmly. Reserve position, this matter is the joint will of Zhao Gechen and Zhou Shoufu, so the junior will not hold back Zhou Shoufu in this matter! Regarding this, please rest assured, Senior Song! "
Song Chengren's expression softened slightly and he nodded slightly.
But before Song Chengren could answer, Huo Zhengyuan said again: "Actually, this junior also knows that in the southern Zhili territory, this conflict between the wealthy gentry and the eunuchs of Huangzhuang is essentially a trap set by Zhou Shoufu for His Highness the Seventh Prince, forcing him to His Highness the Seventh Prince chooses one party to support, and then completely offends the other party! If the Seventh Prince’s Palace
If the seventh prince chooses to support the eunuchs of Huangzhuang, he will lose the popularity of the Jin gentry in the south of the Yangtze River. If the seventh prince chooses to support the Jin gentry wealthy family, he will be separated from the imperial eunuch...
Judging from the current situation, His Highness the Seventh Prince will most likely support the eunuchs of Huangzhuang. Therefore, Zhou Shoufu's follow-up plan is probably to fully support the Jin gentry family and completely win this conflict with the eunuchs of Huangzhuang. On the one hand, it can consolidate the On the other hand, his appeal among the wealthy gentry clan can also severely damage the prestige of the seventh prince in the inner court, making the inner court forces doubt that the seventh prince cannot protect them, and weakening the inner court forces' support for the seventh prince... Hui
At that time, His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince not only aroused the collective hostility of the Jiangnan Jin gentry, but also could no longer convince the inner court forces. Even if he succeeded to the throne, he would not be able to secure his position... Zhou Shoufu's calculation was extremely clever, so that The junior admires him deeply, so he is also willing to contribute to Zhou Shoufu's plan! "
While talking, Huo Zhengyuan took out a booklet from his arms and handed it to Song Chengren with a smile: "Since this period of time, this junior has not been idle. He has carefully collected certain crimes of the eunuchs of Huangzhuang. As long as these crimes are made public, In this world, I believe that those eunuchs of Huangzhuang will soon become street rats that everyone calls for beating, and even His Highness the Seventh Prince will not be able to protect them... This can be regarded as a small benefit to Zhou Shouxu's follow-up plan as a junior."
Song Chengren looked at Huo Zhengyuan's half-smiling look and felt that the matter was not simple. After taking the booklet, he immediately lowered his head and flipped through it.
After a moment, Song Chengren's expression changed drastically!
In Song Chengren's opinion, what was the benefit of the booklet Huo Zhengyuan handed him? It is clearly an extremely sharp knife that can hurt others and yourself!
Just like Huo Zhengyuan said, as long as the crimes in this book are made public, the eunuchs of Huangzhuang will immediately become street rats that everyone calls for beating. By then, not to mention the seventh prince Zhu Hejian, even the Emperor Deqing There is no way to protect them.
However, Huo Zhengyuan said that all the crimes in this booklet were collected by him over this period of time, but it was absolutely a lie! Hui
In fact, the various crimes described in this booklet have never been secrets, and have never required careful collection. They are secrets known to everyone.
But if some secrets are already known to everyone, but no one has ever been willing to stand up and publicly disclose them, it means that these "secrets" are too involved. Once they are publicly disclosed, it will inevitably trigger a war. Huge waves!
In short, some things don’t weigh more than four ounces if they don’t go on the scale, and they don’t weigh more than a thousand pounds if they go on the scale!
For example, this is what happened when the eunuchs of Huangzhuang fabricated imperial edicts!
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