Why did the emperor rebel?

Chapter 912
"I've seen Duke Guo, I've seen Duke Ming!"

In the flower hall of Zhu's mansion, Xu Youzhen looked at Zhu Yi who was facing the wind in front of her in surprise, hesitated for a moment, and then bowed her hands together.

To be honest, at this time and in this scene, Xu Youzhen was very surprised to see Zhu Yi.

As soon as he came to the top, he, Duke Cheng, was naturally there, but this was a struggle between civil servants, and these honorable and military officials had always been on the sidelines regarding these matters.

More importantly, in Xu Youzhen's impression, Zhu Yi and Zhu Jian, although they are one of the most important forces among civil servants and nobles in the Supreme Emperor's party, have never been in harmony.

What's more, there was a faint conflict before. It stands to reason that Zhu Yi shouldn't appear no matter what in this situation...

Therefore, after a brief hesitation, Xu Youzhen cast her suspicious eyes on Zhu Jian who was at the side.

Zhu Jian naturally knew what Xu Youzhen was wondering about, he glanced at Zhu Yi lightly, and said in a neither sad nor happy tone.

"Grandpa Guo was ordered by the Supreme Emperor to come to discuss matters concerning the Crown Prince's Mansion. It just so happened that this morning, I wanted to push Du Ning into Zhan Shi's Mansion. Although it failed, it was still one thing. Keep the Duke, and wait for you to come together."

Although it has only been more than two years since the original southward relocation discussion, Xu Youzhen is no longer the reckless novice who first entered the officialdom.

The ups and downs again and again, from being depressed to seeing a glimmer of hope, walking on thin ice every day, Xu Youzhen has long developed the ability to perceive words and emotions.

Just hearing Zhu Jian's tone, he knew that this old Zhu Ge, in his heart, actually didn't want Zhu Yi to come over.

It's just that because of the so-called 'sacred order of the Supreme Emperor', I had to do it as a last resort.

Since the two sides did not settle down, Xu Youzhen felt relieved and nodded to show that she understood.

Zhu Jian didn't respond, and asked about the business directly.

"What did Chen Shangshu say?"

Hearing this, Xu Youzhen recounted the conversation between him and Chen Xun with a bit of trepidation. Of course, it must be picking and picking.

It seemed that during the conversation, Xu Youzhen didn't pour out all of Chen Xun's admonitions and teachings to him in such a blank manner.

What Zhu Jian cared about was how Chen Xun explained the previous agreement. As for other things, there was no need to delay Zhu Gelao's time.

"...So, what Chen Shangshu meant was that since Mr. Shoufu is still in the cabinet, the previous agreement will naturally be abandoned. However, with the efforts of the subordinate officials, he promised to discuss with Yu Cifu and recommend some talents who are sufficient government."

Originally, Xu Youzhen thought that in the face of such a reply, even if Zhu Jian was not furious, at least he would scold Chen Xun for his dishonesty.

However, what he didn't expect was that after hearing Xu Youzhen's report, Zhu Jian's expression was very calm, as if he had expected it a long time ago, and he only said a word lightly.

"Old Fox!"

On the other hand, Zhu Yi smiled and shook her head, saying.

"Old Zhu Ge, I have already said that Qingliu is not so easy to be wooed, and Chen Xun is not so easy to be calculated. Now, you have finally seen it?"

In fact, Zhu Jian had already planned to help Du Ning turn his back in the imperial examination.

In other words, Zhu Jian had long planned to win over Du Ning and let him enter the East Palace.

When Zhu Yi sought Zhu Jian's support in order to regain his title, and hoped that he could have a voice in the court, Zhu Jian's condition was to pull Du Ning into the East Palace after he was restored to the title.

As for the purpose, of course it is also very simple.

Bring Qingliu's lineage under the banner of the Eastern Palace!
It should be said that Mr. Zhu Ge's political background was still sufficient. At that time, everyone was not optimistic about his proposal, thinking that Du Ning had always followed Chen Xun's footsteps, and had a neutral attitude between Nangong and Qianqing Palace, and even had a faint tendency Because of the meaning of Qianqing Palace, it is not appropriate to let Du Ning enter the East Palace.

However, only Zhu Jian insisted.

Even for this reason, he gave up Zhu Yi's proposal to recommend his two confidants into the East Palace, and he wanted Zhu Yi to make a promise.

It's a pity that now, before this promise can be used, Du Ning himself rejected the job of taking over the Hanlin Academy and chose to go to Beijing to take up the post.

With a trace of regret floating in his eyes, Zhu Jian said.

"It's just as expected. Now that Qingliu is declining, Chen Xun must be more cautious. Du Ning is his most valued successor. Chen Xun knows best what the East Palace represents. How could he let Du Ning, so Are you easily involved in the battle between the Supreme Emperor and the Son of Heaven?"

Hearing this, Xu Youzhen couldn't help feeling a little puzzled and asked.

"Duke Ming means that Chen Shangshu didn't intend to fulfill the contract from the beginning? You already knew? Then you still..."

At the end of the conversation, he seemed to feel that something was wrong, so he hurriedly stopped talking.

However, Zhu Jian didn't mean to blame Xu Youzhen for saying the wrong thing, but continued with a smile.

"Since I already knew it, why did the old man go to court to impeach Wang Jiugao so hard?"

Xu Youzhen swallowed her saliva, looked at Zhu Jian carefully, and made sure that he was not questioning herself, so she nodded slightly.

At the same time, Zhu Yi at the side also showed a hint of curiosity.

Seeing this situation, Zhu Jian shook his head and said.

"It's not surprising. If you don't talk about anything else, just talk about Wang Jiugao, who can become the chief assistant of the cabinet. How can he be overthrown so easily?"

Seeing Zhu Yi's bewildered look in front of him, Zhu Jian sneered secretly.

When it comes to court politics, what do these nobles know!
"The cabinet is different from the other yamen. Its power is low, and the position is high and low. It depends on the emperor's favor. Any contacts in the court and any clean power are all vain."

"In the cabinet, not getting the Sacred Heart is the biggest mistake, and getting the Sacred Heart is as stable as a rock."

"So if you want to bring down Wang Jiugao, what you really need to do is not accuse him of any crimes, let alone worry about how many people impeach him. What you really need to do is to make the emperor no longer trust him."

"But this is extremely difficult to do!"

After these words, Xu Youzhen not only did not appear to understand, but became even more confused.

He secretly glanced at Zhu Yi, but found that the other party's performance was similar.

So Zhu Jian continued to explain.

"Wang Jiugao was promoted by the emperor himself. He is different from the old man. When he was promoted, there were still many vacancies in the court. However, the emperor put him in the cabinet. Naturally, there is a deep meaning."

"Theoretically speaking, the cabinet coordinates internal and external affairs and controls the votes. If you want to further gain the right to speak in the court, the most important thing to do is to develop contacts in the court and train younger generations. However, Wang Jiugao has been the chief assistant of the cabinet for so long. You see Did he do it?"

This……

Xu Youzhen recalled it, hesitated for a moment, and shook her head.

Although his official position is not high, but thanks to Chen Xun's blessing, he has a lot of contacts in the court.

Of course, these contacts are useless to a certain day official.

However, drinking and having fun, chatting, and exchanging news from time to time is still okay.

Thinking about it carefully, Wang Ao has been in the capital for so long, and what he has done is basically how to strengthen the control of the cabinet, but when it comes to attracting courtiers, training younger generations, and expanding his influence in the court, he basically does nothing.

If it is said that it is because he has been on the governor's tour all year round, so he has no connections in Beijing, it can barely be justified.

But the problem is that Wang Ao has been transferred to Beijing for a long time, but he has never promoted anyone close to him, which has to be said is a strange thing.

On the other hand, Zhu Yi who was at the side, after hearing Zhu Jian's words, vaguely understood something, and tentatively said.

"What Zhu Ge meant was that the emperor promoted Wang Jiugao because he valued his lack of connections and power in the court, and Wang Jiugao himself knew this, so he has been focusing on cabinet affairs, but he has not cultivated himself in the court. connections?"

Zhu Jian did not expect that Zhu Yi was the first to understand.

He glanced at Xu Youzhen slightly dissatisfied, but still nodded and said.

"It's a long story, but the old man's long story is short. In fact, the root of it is that the emperor seems to have a faint tendency to suppress the cabinet, and he doesn't want the cabinet to be big. Therefore, the election of Wang Jiugao is just like what the Duke said. , the most important thing is that he has no power in the court."

"Wang Jiugao should have been very aware of this, so he has always been very cautious. No matter how he manipulates power in the cabinet, he has never tried to win connections in the court, nor has he tried to promote his local confidants to the court. middle."

"Of course, human beings have weaknesses. It can be seen from the palace examination. Wang Jiugao knows very well that it will only become more and more difficult to maintain his transcendent status based on the power of voting and cabinet discussions alone. Therefore, he still can't bear it." Stop, and start to put your hand into the clear stream."

"It's a pity that he was too cautious and didn't take action himself, but asked Jiang Yuan to come forward. Otherwise, he could be pressed to death just for this matter!"

"But……"

At this time, Xu Youzhen finally understood. After hesitating for a moment, he raised his head and asked.

"Duke Ming, if that's the case, when you impeach him, why don't you impeach him on the grounds that he plotted against the Imperial Academy and intended to form a party?"

"Because he didn't do that!"

A trace of regret appeared on Zhu Jian's face, he sighed and said.

"The reason why the old man and Zhang Min are willing to help Jiang Yuan in the case of the imperial examination is because Zhang Min has a family nephew who can't pass the exam, and it happens that he is going to take the exam, and the examiner is Jiang Yuan's good friend, so he opened his eyes." Turn one eye and close one eye, as for the old man, it is obvious that he wants to pull Jiang Yuan to help the old man stabilize his position in the cabinet, but in fact, it falls on Wang Ao."

"Once things are done and Jiang Yuan takes charge of the Imperial Academy, then Wang Ao will definitely not be able to bear it. He will use Jiang Yuan to recruit disciples, and even recruit people from the Imperial Academy to join the cabinet."

"At that time, no matter whether he succeeds or not, he will definitely be disgusted by the emperor. It's a pity that Jiang Yuan chose Cheng Zong, a trash like Cheng Zong, in the palace test. The emperor saw his clues and suffered a crushing defeat."

"Jiang Yuan was defeated. As the person who acquiesced in his doing so, Wang Ao must be very vigilant. At this time, the emperor entrusted the Imperial Academy to him. In fact, it was just a bait to test Wang Ao. Will he take the opportunity to recruit disciples?"

"However, since Wang Ao is vigilant, he will naturally not be fooled. Although he temporarily manages the Hanlin Academy during this period of time, he has not gotten too close to Hanlin Qingliu. He is very slippery. Impeaching him can only be based on speculation, so the old man can only retreat and impeach him to take power in the cabinet in order to provoke the emperor to question him. Dispelled the emperor's doubts about him..."

"So in the end, Wang Ao temporarily gave up his control over the cabinet in order to obtain the emperor's mercy. This is where the real game is played in this court."

After saying these words, Zhu Yi and Xu Youzhen showed deep thoughts at the same time.

Chaotang's water is really bottomless!
If explained in this way, then everything makes sense.

Wang Ao had been wary of the imperial examination for a long time, so he cut off all the previous arrangements early, and returned to the chief assistant minister who had just arrived in the capital and had no connections.

With this point, then he is a chief assistant who meets the expectations of the emperor. As long as this point does not fail, then no matter what tricks those who plot against him make, he can calmly deal with it, at most it is just a temporary retreat.

This court turmoil seemed dangerous to Wang Ao, but in fact, he had already hidden his cards.

"However, since Mr. Zhu Ge has known this for a long time, and also knows that if Wang Ao cannot be brought down, he will be implicated, and Chen Shangshu will definitely not let Du Ning enter Zhan Shifu as promised, but you still do this Yes, could it be..."

After a while, Zhu Yi was the first to raise her head and said thoughtfully.

However, although the words were addressed to Zhu Jian, his eyes fell on Xu Youzhen for some reason.

Feeling the gaze of the Duke, Xu Youzhen was a little strange, and asked with a frown.

"Could it be what?"

So, a strange smile appeared on Zhu Yi's face, she looked at Zhu Jian again, and said.

"Could it be that Mr. Zhu Ge didn't intend to let Du Ning join Zhan Shifu?"

"what?"

At this time, even Xu Youzhen was startled, and looked up at Zhu Jian in surprise, but saw a calm face on the other side, without any disturbance.

After a while, Zhu Jian nodded slightly, looking at Zhu Yi with a little appreciation, and of course, a trace of hidden and imperceptible fear, said.

"It's natural. The old man just said that no matter how weak Qingliu is, he still has a lot of contacts in the court. Chen Xun is one of the seven ministers. Du Ning is his favorite student. Chen Xun will not let him get involved easily." In this muddy water."

"What's more, even if Chen Xun is willing, the emperor will not sit idly by. This point has been verified by the court today."

No wonder……

Thinking of the emperor's sudden question to Du Ning in the morning, Zhu Yi suddenly understood and said.

"So, Mr. Zhu Ge, your real purpose is actually to get Chen Shangshu to come forward and recommend officials to enrich the East Palace?"

"Old Zhuge, this time, you tricked everyone into it."

"but……"

Looking at the extremely calm Zhu Jian in front of him, Zhu Yi asked with a mocking smile on his lips.

"Just for such a little thing, pay such a big price?"

"Old Zhu Ge, it seems that the gain outweighs the loss, doesn't it?"

(End of this chapter)