Wang Jian came out of Shen Hao's apartment just before noon. In a hurry, he didn't have lunch in the Yamen. Instead, he went out through the back door and went back to a secret stronghold in the Fourth Department.
In the past two years, Heishui has been taken out by Pang Ban to deal with it personally, which has gradually made Heishui alienate from the system of Black Flag Camp. Wang Jian rarely even appears in public. After this habit was formed, he had no intention of changing it, and Shen Hao did not interfere and was happy to see the results.
As an intelligence organization, there are advantages to being mysterious.
Wang Jian left, and Shen Hao enjoyed the long-lost Yamen meal in the public house. It's still the same as the third one, a stack of beef in sauce, a plate of stir-fried vegetables, and a large stack of meatloaf. . Finally, pair it with a bottle of light fruit wine.
While eating, Shen Hao was still thinking about what Wang Jian said before about the current layout of the temple, and found it particularly interesting. It's even more interesting than what happens in the sect circle.
The source of these interesting things must be discussed from top to bottom.
The key point is the confusion about the position of left prime minister, and the fact that the emperor did not have a clear attitude from the beginning to the end, as if he was trying to mix the mud, allowing the mud to make the water muddy.
In the two years since Shen Hao was away, Cao Guobang still sat in the position of left prime minister, and everything was stable without any ups and downs. The connection with Heishui was still maintained, but there was a period of intermittent feeling that Cao Guobang seemed to be reluctant to provide information to Heishui. Later, with the return of Shen Hao, the relationship quickly resumed, and Cao Guobang even passed Heishui hopes to express his concern to Shen Hao.
But Cao Guobang's stable position as left prime minister made many people look at him and feel anxious in their hearts. For example, the group of people gathered around Bai Changqing, the Minister of Household Affairs.
Why is Bai Changqing so favored by others? So that with the position of minister, he was marked as a potential left prime minister?
Two reasons. One is that Bai Changqing's own potential is very high. Not to mention his qualifications, he was basically one of the first batch of temple bosses to side with the emperor, and played a key role in the emperor's successful ascension to the throne. In addition, Bai Changqing is also a rare monk among civil servants, and his cultivation has even reached the level of gathering gods, which makes his age appear to be underestimated by half. He falls into the "young" category, even though he is already over seventy.
The second reason has to be said about the key role played by Emperor Shu.
At the beginning, the emperor was probably really planning to help Bai Changqing become the left prime minister. However, Shen Hao later revealed that Bai Changqing had been planted as a spy by Heishui, which disrupted the emperor's plan. In addition, Shen Hao changed his position to win over Cao Guobang, and Heishui assisted from the side. Cao Guobang suddenly revealed a lot of dirty information about the officials who followed Bai Changqing, which also cast a shadow on Bai Changqing's reputation. The emperor hesitated.
However, due to hesitation, Emperor Shu did not directly give up Bai Changqing as a backup candidate. He even just postponed his inner thoughts to deal with the public opinion in the temple. While letting Cao Guobang sit in the position of left prime minister to exercise his powers, he continued to copy memorials from time to time to Bai Changqing for advice. In the middle of last year, he even gave Bai Changqing an errand from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, so that Bai Changqing could legitimately check the non-top secret memorials submitted in various places.
This treatment is not simple. Anyone who sees it will think that this is the emperor's intention to cultivate Bai Changqing's ability to manage politics, and to give Bai Changqing the opportunity to familiarize himself with government affairs in various places.
Therefore, even though Blackwater's intelligence helped Cao Guobang understand the followers around Bai Changqing, the effect was not as great as it was at the beginning. Even more than half a year before Shen Hao returned, there was very little that could be figured out about the people around Bai Changqing. Got the handle. Looking back like this, it seems that Cao Guobang helped Bai Changqing clean up the mess around him. I really can't tell whether it was good or bad.
Because of this, Cao Guobang deliberately distanced himself from Heishui for a while, seeming to blame Heishui for the ups and downs of his psychological expectations.
However, with Shen Hao's return, even as the current left prime minister, Cao Guobang still did not dare to show any composure. Compared with Bai Changqing, who is relatively clean, Cao Guobang's life depends on Master Shen's hands. If you want to be tough, you don't have the conditions.
Then comes the fun.
The person sitting in the position of Prime Minister above has no potential and is very old. How many years can he still be? Moreover, his abilities are mediocre and he relies on the support of the aristocratic family members. He belongs to the old faction and is supported by that faction. Anyone with a bright mind will not follow the current left prime minister wholeheartedly, but will find a way out.
Who is the fallback? Who else is there except Bai Changqing in the temple?
So from top to bottom, there are many fence-sitters. On the surface, he was on Cao Guobang's side, but secretly, he was always looking for opportunities to get close to Bai Changqing. From time to time, they even visit people in the name of "asking for benefits". Who can’t understand what kind of medicine is being sold?
Cao Guobang couldn't change this situation, and he even wanted to turn a blind eye. On the other hand, Bai Changqing was very calm, neither arrogant nor impatient. He still acted as his minister of household affairs step by step, and did not really rely on his majesty's favor to point fingers everywhere.
Take the current predicament caused by evil spirits and evil monks in the Jingjiu Dynasty. The order of the Left Prime Minister, which was supposed to be faithfully implemented, changed its appearance after many twists and turns. The reason was not that the local government had any bad intentions, but that they consciously used the behavior of the Ministry of Household Affairs as the first reference in the left prime minister's order.
For example, Zuo Xiang ordered that a local government should fully mobilize food and grass to supply various military units and Xuanqing guards. This is an order that needs to be optimally fulfilled. However, the grain and grass allocated by the Ministry of Household Affairs are required to be given priority to government-run grain stores, so as to stabilize the prices of the most basic commodities for people's lives and prevent them from soaring.
Both orders were correct, but the local government had a tacit understanding to put the requirements of the Ministry of Revenue first, and the order of Zuo Xiang was executed in half. As a result, the military and Xuanqing guards in various places always lagged behind in the unification of food and grass. The military, in particular, has great opinions on this. Originally, when the army marched, they would collect food from nearby. If you put the army in the second round of food supply, wouldn't it mean that it can only eat seventy percent full? There have been many impeachments for this matter.
However, it seems that the emperor did not have anything to say about this, and actually acquiesced in the situation of changes under orders. In Shen Hao's opinion, this can be explained. It should be the obstruction from Qing Chi. After all, failure to provide food and grass to the army in time can also affect the combat effectiveness of the soldiers, which directly reflects the omissions in the defense of various places or the inability to do their best. Its meaning is also the same as containing the Xuanqing Guard.
I just don't know why Qingchi did this. It seemed that they were deliberately allowing those evil monks in the Jingjiu Dynasty to cause trouble. Shen Hao still can't figure it out at all.
