The dispute between Chu and Zhang was finally put on the table.
The first thing Zhang Songling did after returning to the government office was to meet with his superior, Cao Wu, the Minister of Rites.
After entering the main hall, Zhang Songling bent down and saluted: "Sir, it's confirmed."
Cao Wu, who was drinking tea, sighed slightly and remained silent for a long time before he said, "Why did you tell me?"
"Not said."
"Have you figured out why?"
Zhang Songling still shook his head: "Unexpected."
Cao Wu asked again: "Until death?"
"Till death."
"But because of wealth?"
"I'm afraid that's the case."
"Wealth, wealth, hey." Cao Wu sighed again, put down the tea cup, and said seriously: "I have always warned you, wealth is just personal belongings. What your Zhang family spends on weekdays, and there are No matter how much, if you don’t restrain yourself, sooner or later you will be greedy for your husband and your wealth.”
"Sir." Zhang Songling walked up and poured a cup of tea for Cao Wu, and said with a smile: "I don't know who will win yet. It's not that the lower officials are greedy. It's just that the monthly income from the palace is a lot of money. If you don't rack your brains, To make money, the palace may be afraid of..."
"That's all, it's not convenient for me to accuse you of this matter. I just want to ask, did the Thousand Cavalry Camp get the leverage to put you to death? No, I should ask..."
Cao Wu's originally dim eyes shone brightly: "I would like to ask you, have you ever done anything evil like killing someone?"
"The lower officials don't dare. At most, the lower officials make money with merchants, but they only monopolize the work materials, some grain, rice, silk and other industries."
"If that's the case, why is the deputy commander, Chu Qing, fighting to the death with you? Is it really because he is jealous of you because of your wealth?"
"This is what I can't figure out. I am the right minister of the Ministry of Rites. Not only is he a very popular minister, but I am also an experienced minister. The Supreme Emperor has many people to look after me. If I say something that I shouldn't have heard, as long as it is not a serious crime of treason, don't say it is. Chu Qing, not even Shangshu Sheng can do anything to me."
"That's true." Cao Wu nodded slightly, he also couldn't figure it out.
Having reached the position of minister, one can be said to be a real important minister in the court. Even the emperor cannot take away his official position and throw him into prison at will.
Previously, Li Wenli and Zhou Youwei were guilty of treason. If the King of Wu had not been involved and they had gone too far to bully and harm the people, they would not have ended up like this.
These two were still the left servants, but Zhang Songling was the right servant.
Regarding Zhang Songling's money-making, Cao Wu had always let it go. To put it bluntly, it was because part of the money Zhang Songling earned was sent to the palace. Anyone who took care of it would be directly offending the emperor and the emperor.
It’s impossible that Qianqiying didn’t know about this. Now that they knew it, why would they “fight to the death”?
Even if the emperor and the emperor were not considered, why did Qianqiying think they could bring down the right minister of the Ministry of Rites?
Everyone can understand if Zhang Songling has committed many evil deeds, has a bad reputation among the people and scholars, or has a good relationship with the King of Wu, and Qianqiying has to fight.
The problem is that although Zhang Songling always deals with merchants, he never takes care of it himself. He always takes care of himself. Even if something goes wrong, he can just introduce a housekeeper. If not, he can introduce a relative. Anyway, the Zhang family many.
There was no way to kill Zhang Songling with one blow, so why did Qianqiying do this?
After much deliberation, he couldn't figure it out. Cao Wu didn't bother to think about it anymore and asked, "If you really haven't done anything that will make people angry, I and the Ministry of Rites will naturally not sit idly by out of sympathy."
"Thank you, sir."
"But you have to remember, if you let me know that you have really done something shameful, I will ask the emperor to have you dismissed without Qianqiying taking action."
"Don't worry, sir. In Qianqi Camp, I can't find any excuse for the subordinate officials."
Cao Wu's pupils shrank.
What Zhang Songling said was that Qianqiying could not find any clues, not that he had never done anything shady.
There was a hint of hesitation in his eyes, but Cao Wu still didn't ask further questions. The matter was at this point, and even if he asked, he couldn't get anything out.
"I can argue with Mr. Wei of Hubu in the court. Officials from the Ministry of Rites can also compete with other officials from the Ministry of Rites. But this Tao family father and son..."
"Sir, the father and son of the Tao family must have a close relationship with Chu Qing. Tao Yao is the prince's young master, and Tao Shaozhang is the young minister of Dali Temple."
"Tao Shaozhang, Tao Shaoqing." Cao Wu took a sip of tea and said nonchalantly: "In a while, you can find a supervisor in the government office, restrain Tao Shaozhang in the court, and just look for a case in Dali Temple. .”
"What do you think, sir, of Zhang Qi, the fourth-rank leader?"
"Zhang Qi's rank is too high. He still needs to help me compete with Wei Changfeng. Just find someone from the fifth rank to take charge."
Cao Wu blew the tea foam.
This means that officials of the seventh and eighth grades cannot go to court. If anyone could go to court, Cao Wu would have wanted to bring the yamen to the government hall and let the yamen deal with Tao Shaozhang. It would be a waste of resources to use others.
Zhang Songling gave a bitter smile and asked: "Tao Shaozhang is naturally just mediocre, but his father, Tao Yao, is not an exaggeration to say that he is the head of the scholar community in the capital, but the lower officials didn't know it for a moment..."
"Look for Lord Nangong Xi."
"Lord Zaifu?"
"Yes, I heard a few days ago that Nangong Xi's favorite nephew actually went to work for that tooth shop in the suburbs. Lord Nangong cherishes feathers, so he probably doesn't know about it, and his nephew spends all day with Qianqi The men and horses of the camp were messing around."
Zhang Songling's face moved slightly, and then he smiled happily: "Thank you, Mr. Cao, for your guidance."
Cao Wu waved his hand with a complicated expression, and Zhang Songling quickly stepped back and closed the main hall door.
Holding the tea cup again, Cao Wu, the Minister of Rites, looked at the tea in the cup and murmured.
"A gentleman loves money and gets it in a wise way. There are things you can do but also things you shouldn't do. If you deceive others, you will be deceived by heaven and suffer disaster."
Leaving the main hall, Zhang Songling was elated.
If we want to say that the real number one official in the court is, it must be Shangshu Ling, that is, Zaifu Nangong Xi.
It can be said that in Nangong Xi's eyes, let alone the ministers, the fight between ministers is nothing more than a smile.
The so-called "below one person and above ten thousand people" refers to the prime minister, as well as the prime minister's assistant.
Many times there were endless debates in the court, and the one who made the final decision was not necessarily the emperor, but most of the time it was Nangong Xi.
Zhang Songling did not expect to pull Nangong Xi onto the warship. As long as Nangong Xi angered the Qianqi camp because of the incident of his nephew being abducted by Chu Qing to Yaxing, even if he casually revealed it, countless ministers in the court would be jealous of Chu. Qingqun rose up to attack, and Zhang Songling might not even need to take action anymore.
After returning to the class room, he found a few valuable calligraphy and paintings, wrote a greeting note, and then left the government office.
Having already suffered a loss before, Zhang Songling was not going to visit Nangong Xi immediately, but wanted to check first whether Nangong Xi's nephew was working in a dental shop in the southern suburbs.
