"Trading horses for the country" is such a good excuse. When Gao Pragmatic said this sentence, he almost moved himself.
Unfortunately, Feng Bao kept rolling his eyes while listening, thinking to himself: How did this kid do it so shamelessly?
Selling horses for the country? Yes, you did get some extra war horses for Ming Dynasty, but when you sell war horses, don’t you also sell draft horses? When you sell draft horses, do you also sell other fur supplies? Are you a three-year-old kid?
Feng Bao really didn't want to mention the disgust in his heart, but he didn't dare to jump out and analyze it to the emperor. After all, the emperor might not think that he couldn't sell other things while "trading horses for the country". After all, this benevolent king is not an emperor who lives in a deep palace and knows nothing about worldly things. He understands the simple truth that if you want a horse to run, you must let the horse eat grass.
Feng Bao knew that for this emperor, he could use his kind character to pretend to be pitiful in front of him, just like he did after he was tricked by Gao Pragmatic last time. Although the punishment seemed not light, he was the first person in charge of the ceremony. The position has not been shaken, and the position of Admiral Dongchang is also rock solid; but it is best not to try to slander him in front of him, because he is kind and kind, but he is not naive and stupid, and he can trust those he trusts to the end. Without conclusive evidence, you must not speak blindly.
Do not believe? Look at Zhao Zhenji's scene just now. After all kinds of doubts, nothing happened in the end. Although the emperor did not blame him on the surface, it was because of his experience as a half "emperor" and the fact that he is currently the cabinet In the face of the assistant minister. In fact, when the emperor said "Cao Gan deserves a reward," didn't he just slap Zhao Zhenji in the face?
Why is it that the more senior officials and ministers are, the less likely they are to express their stance on uncertain matters easily? Isn't it because the higher your status, the more careful you have to protect your reputation? If you express your opinion every day, the result will always be counterproductive. Then over time, where will your authority be?
Therefore, Feng Bao sometimes even wondered whether Zhao Zhenji spent too much time with the officials, which even affected him and liked to intervene in everything.
At this point, Feng Bao even felt that even Li Chunfang was smarter than Zhao Zhenji. Although he was famous for his sloppy shoulders, at least such people were not easy to offend. You see, although Gao Gong looked down upon him, Many things that the cabinet has to do are handled by Gao Gong on his own initiative, but at least in terms of face, Gao Gong will not deliberately embarrass Li Chunfang. When the chief minister needs to come forward, he will still put Li Chunfang in front of him. .
Of course, in Feng Bao's opinion, the smartest person is Zhang Juzheng. Although Zhang Juzheng seems to be the least conspicuous in the cabinet due to his seniority, in fact, his ranking in the cabinet is not at the bottom. The real bottom is Zhao Zhenji, who is also in charge of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
At present, there are only four assistant ministers in the cabinet. In order of ranking, they are Li Chunfang, the first assistant of the Zhongji Palace Scholar; Gao Gong, the second assistant of the Jianji Palace Academy; Zhang Juzheng, the group assistant of the Wuyingdian University; and Zhao Zhenji, the group assistant of the Wenyuan Pavilion.
As for Chen Yiqin, who retired from office more than half a month ago, he was previously a bachelor of Wenhua Palace, ranking below Gao Gong and above Zhang Juzheng. However, when he entered the official position, the emperor congratulated him as the crown prince's grand master, and asked him to become an official in the name of Grand Bachelor of Jianji Palace and Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. This was actually Gao Gong's actual appointment. Since Gao Gong was ranked above Chen Yiqin, so Chen Yiqin's slightly improved salary when he retired is similar to the way that later generations of cadres at the department level were often temporarily promoted to deputy director level before retiring. This way of becoming an official can be understood as "honorable retirement."
However, Zhang Juzheng, as the group assistant ranked before Zhao Zhenji, is in charge of the important bureau of the Ministry of War. Many of Gao Gong's decisions also come from his suggestions. However, at present, almost all the officials' attention to the cabinet is focused on Gao Gong. Unlike Zhao Zhenji, Zhang Juzheng rarely encounters political attacks. Doesn't this reflect his ability?
You take the blame, I get the credit.
It is precisely because of this performance that Feng Bao has always wanted to get closer to Zhang Juzheng. However, although Zhang Juzheng sent his confidant You Qi to maintain close contact with Feng Bao's confidant Xu Jue, he still refused to clarify the alliance between the two parties. relation.
Feng Bao was quite puzzled by this at first. It was not until Chen Yiqin became an official that he suddenly realized that his number one enemy was undoubtedly Gao Gong, but Zhang Juzheng's number one enemy was the alliance of Li Chunfang and Zhao Zhenji, and Gao Gong was Zhang Juzheng. The most important ally and "screen" - when something happens, you can encourage Gao Gong to do it, but when there is trouble, you have to let Gao Gong block it.
It is precisely because Feng Bao understands this truth that he knows that no matter how unfavorable today's situation is to Gao's uncle and nephew, Zhang Juzheng will definitely not stand up. Instead, he may help Gao's uncle and nephew - as long as Li Chunfang and Gao's nephew As long as Zhao Zhenji does not fall, Zhang Juzheng's attitude will definitely not change!
In addition, Long Qing's trust in Gao Gong has not wavered at all. Of course, Feng Bao will not follow Zhao Zhenji to make trouble.
The current situation also confirmed Feng Bao's guess. Zhao Zhenji couldn't move Gao Gong, not even Gao Pragmatic. Gao Gong even kept silent from beginning to end, and the matter was over.
However, this in turn proves another guess of Feng Bao: This pragmatic Gao must find a way to get rid of him, otherwise there will definitely be a second Gao Gong in the future!
However, before the outcome of the matter was clear, Li Chunfang did not want to jump out and attract firepower. This did not mean that Li Chunfang could remain silent as an ally after Zhao Zhenji was defeated, so Li Chunfang finally spoke out.
He coughed slightly and said: "Your Majesty, since there is another reason for this matter, there is no need to worry about it anymore. The most urgent task at the moment is to discuss how to deal with the surrender of Han Naji. I think it should be done according to Wu Junze's plan. According to Shangshu, I gave up my plan to go to Qinghai and returned eastward, so I must rush back to deal with the matter. If our court wants to take in Hannaji, we need to immediately discuss a plan to defend against the enemy and make sure everything is in place."
After all, Li Chunfang had been an official for many years. Knowing that Zhao Zhenji's attack just now had completely failed, he immediately changed the subject.
However, Long Qing didn't want to make an elder of the pavilion disgraced because of this matter, so he glanced at the ministers in the palace in a cooperative manner and said: "What the chief minister said is absolutely true. Now I answer the question to the east of the army. Come back, if I take Han Naji under his wing, I will most likely raise troops to invade the border. Ministers, if you have anything to say, you might as well express your own opinions and give me detailed feedback."
However, just like last time, none of the ministers were willing to be the first to speak.
Long Qing was frowning a little, but suddenly he heard a childish but firm voice saying: "Your Majesty, I believe that Han Naji should be taken in!"
