The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Shen Lu was very anxious. He thought that Lin Han would stand with him and support General Xie Qian's "discussing death" argument. However, it turned out that Lin Han, based on the principle that the matter had nothing to do with him, just wanted to follow the crowd. It also made him feel isolated.

On the way back, he felt that he was looking for Lin Han to gain confidence, but unexpectedly he lost even more confidence when he came back.

But before he could return to his home, he was told that Queen Zhang's old mother, the Jin family, had come to him earlier. She was also his "sister-in-law", that is, his wife's sister-in-law. Shen Lu relied entirely on the Zhang family. It was only through his relationship that he reached his current status, so he had no choice but to go see her.

He quickly asked the bearer to turn around and headed towards Changguo Duke's Mansion.

Entering the inner courtyard, Shen Lu seemed to have followed her home and met Mrs. Jin directly.

Mrs. Jin greeted him in with a smile, but there was a lot of greetings and greetings, which made Shen Lu feel a little bit sorry.

Shen Lu said: "I recently got a few kilograms of new tea from the south, and it is still on the way. I will definitely send a copy to the old lady when I get to Beijing. In addition, I also got some utensils, which are not available to the public. I hope the old lady will not dislike it."

Mrs. Jin covered her mouth and said with a smile: "You are so polite. Every time you come here, you always give me something. Do you think I am still missing something here?"

Shen Lu also smiled and looked around. As far as he could see, he could see that the yard seemed different from before. It seemed a bit shabby...

In the past, the house had to be renovated if nothing happened, but in the past two years, the emperor seemed to have forgotten to build a house for his mother-in-law's house. Then Shen Lu also realized that this was actually the reason for Zhang Zhou's rise. In other words, the emperor was now obsessed with conquering the grassland. , even the palace's repairs have been stalled for a long time, let alone taking care of this.

"Old madam, have you seen the Queen in the palace recently?" Shen Lu asked.

Mrs. Jin said: "Isn't that right? I just entered the palace today and met my son and the prince. The prince is very lively, and the little princess... is also very energetic."

Shen Lu said: "It's really enviable."

Mrs. Jin smiled and said: "You asked me about things outside the palace, so I mentioned that there was an elder Xie Ge in the court. He was a famous figure, and he was unreachable in the past. I heard that he was convicted, What happened?"

Shen Lu was startled.

Even the Queen wants to get involved in Xie Qian's issue?
But then Shen Lu thought that now that he didn't even have an ally, he might have no choice but to compromise and test the Queen's opinion.

Shen Lu said: "Mr. He said he would give Mr. Xie Ge a death sentence."

Mrs. Jin asked: "It's not that serious, right?"

Shen Lu smiled and said: "Old madam, we can't control these things, they are all big things."

"Haha." Mrs. Jin laughed, "Speaking of which, the Queen also told me that when His Majesty wanted to take a concubine, it was Mr. He was dragged down. Speaking of which... Mr. Xie Ge was very kind to my Zhang family. "

Shen Lu took a breath.

He immediately understood that the Queen and Mrs. Jin were not curious to inquire about Xie Qian's case, but wanted to use him, Shen Lu, to influence the affairs of the court.

Shen Luxin said, how could the queen not know that Your Majesty asked people from each yamen to discuss the outcome of the crime? As for the empress, the government office that is easiest to influence is my general affairs envoy, isn't it?

Shen Lu pretended not to know what was going on, and said in a tone that seemed to be pertinent: "This Mr. Xie Ge is kind to people, has always been popular in the court, and is very concerned about the affairs of the royal family. But this time, he broke the rules. In previous discussions within the government office, they were talking about whether he should be lenient because he was kind to others."

Mrs. Jin smiled and said: "If you can be lenient, just be lenient?"

"what?"

Shen Lu didn't expect the old lady to be so direct.

But then he understood that Mrs. Jin was not a person who minced words, and this was obviously what the Queen conveyed.

Shen Lu nodded and said: "If you really want to be lenient, then some things have to be looked at from a different direction. The original intention of Lao Xie Ge's words was also to maintain military and political stability in the northwest, and to safeguard the rules and regulations. It's just that he did it inappropriately, even if he wanted to ask questions , at best, it’s just a return to his hometown.”

Mrs. Jin asked: "Can the lightest thing be that I return to my hometown after serving as an official? Can I..."

Shen Lu said hurriedly: "There are a lot of discussions in the court right now, and the attack is fierce. It's good to be able to escape unscathed."

Mrs. Jin suddenly said "Oh": "In that case, you can help and let Mr. Xie Ge escape unharmed. If there is anything you need help with, just ask. If you need help in the court, just tell me directly."

Shen Lu can't be punished now.

It seems that the queen is determined to help Xie Qian. From what Mrs. Jin said before, it seems that she wants to repay Xie Qian's previous help to the emperor for not accepting a concubine.

However, Shen Lu felt keenly that Empress Zhang could not afford to do so early. This was obviously because Empress Zhang felt that she could gain some political resources by helping Xie Qian.

Shen Lu was thinking in his mind. He thought that Cai Guogong and the queen's family were together before, but now it seems that the queen is still very wary of Cai Guogong. Is this to prevent Cai Guogong's family from becoming dominant? Then I... I am not a human being inside and out.

……

……

Shen Lu did not make a direct promise to Mrs. Jin.

Mrs. Jin doesn’t seem to need his commitment. Perhaps in Mrs. Jin’s view, she has told you the Queen’s opinion, so you still dare to object? Why don't you act obediently?
I, Mr. Jin, will not mince words, but I must not suffer any loss. When our old Zhang family does something in the court, the people below should also respond to requests, especially someone like you who made his fortune by marrying the queen's aunt. At this time, use You, you still push back and forth, do you want to get lost?
"have to!"

After Shen Lu came out, he shook his head.

The attendant on the side asked: "Master, what's going on?"

Shen Lu sighed: "No need to say anything, go back to the house."

I didn't say anything, but I was extremely depressed.

I thought I could jump out of my comfort zone and help Tingchu to deal a fatal blow to Xie Qian, so that the emperor would appreciate him as a political envoy, and he could even be promoted in the future. However, he failed one after another with Lin Han and Mrs. Jin.

Lin Han reminded him not to cause trouble, and Mrs. Jin directly asked him to help Xie Qian.

In this way, as long as he doesn't want to be a loner, he can only go with the crowd and completely fall to the side of minimizing the big deal when it comes to convicting Xie Qian.

This time he just returned home and someone came to visit again.

It's the eunuch Zhang Yong.

Shen Lu did not dare to neglect and hurriedly went out to greet Zhang Yong. After welcoming Zhang Yong into the main courtyard, Zhang Yong did not seem to want to go to the main hall.

Shen Lu said with a smile on his face: "Eunuch Zhang is here, it's really wonderful. You might as well stay in the humble house for a gathering today, and I'll prepare the food and drinks here." Zhang Yong said: "Shen Yintai, our family is also entrusted by others. Come."

It is said that it was entrusted by others, but it is not said by whom.

"Oh?" Shen Lu was also curious. Who could dispatch a eunuch like Zhang Yong?
Zhang Yong looked around and then said: "It is related to Mr. Xie Ge. I would like to ask Shen Yintai to help Mr. Xie Ge in this matter so that he can tide over the difficulties."

"hehe."

Shen Lu smiled bitterly.

He felt even more depressed. He was thinking, what kind of key figure have I become?
Does everyone feel that the changes in the Xie Qian case between the DPRK and the Central Government are all due to me? Why does everyone want to find a breakthrough from me?
Zhang Yong continued: "It's hard to talk in depth. If Shen Yintai can help with today's matter, if you have anything to do in the future, just give me your instructions."

Shen Lu asked: "Can I ask who asked Eunuch Zhang to come here? Could it be that... someone had some misunderstanding? Or is it not just the next person who wants Eunuch Zhang to take action on this matter?"

In fact, Shen Lu also wanted to know, had he been targeted by someone?
In other words, everyone misunderstood him.

Zhang Yongdao: "Shen Yintai, actually if you think about it carefully, you will know. Who in this court would seize Mr. Xie Ge?"

Shen Lu wasn't happy when he heard this. He drew his head back and said, "You can't be here, right?"

Zhang Yong smiled and shook his head and said: "Everyone else has to give the cabinet face, but you are the only one who is fair and impartial, so you don't have to care about those rules and regulations."

Shen Lu was still unhappy and said coldly: "Does this mean that I am just a provincial minister, unlike others who are all disciples of the emperor?"

Zhang Yongdao: "Shen Yintai doesn't have to think so. In fact...how should I put it?"

This also made Zhang Yong depressed.

Shen Lu waved his hand and said: "Eunuch Zhang, there is no need to explain. In fact, I also understand and feel that I don't need to care about the friendship with those elders, and my official career is not determined by them, so I don't need to look forward and backward. I will not take risks. There is nothing wrong with the world.”

"That's good, that's good." Zhang Yong heard that Shen Lu was still on the right path and would not fight with Xie Qian.

Shen Lu said: "But I don't think that Mr. Xie Ge is right in this matter. As a cabinet minister, his vision and mind should be further than that of a humble scholar like me, but he is always concerned about matters of great right and wrong. I can’t tell. If he can only escape guilt by relying on the tolerance of others, is it an honor or a shame for him to escape unscathed? "

Zhang Yong was confused by the question.

Originally, Zhang Yong also looked down on Shen Lu, a court official with a legendary background, thinking that Shen Lu was just a show-off.

Because everyone in the court knew that Shen Lu was good at making connections, and because he had a strong background, making connections was useful here, so everyone felt that Shen Lu was just a nepotist.

But after hearing Shen Lu's powerful words, Zhang Yong had to put away his arrogance.

Zhang Yong was even thinking that he couldn't help but disagree with this statement. Then who has the courage of the person in front of him to say it clearly?
Shen Lu even said a little impatiently: "Here, I can turn a blind eye, but I'm afraid someone in the court thinks otherwise. If everyone in the court can deny guilt for guilty things, What's going on with the government and the public? Eunuch Zhang, please let's talk about it in depth."

The last sentence was to invite Zhang Yong in, but Zhang Yong felt a strong sense of malice.

This is clearly an order to expel guests.

This made Zhang Yong inexplicably have more respect for Shen Lu... Just like Shen Lu's attentiveness when he first greeted him, Zhang Yong would not take Shen Lu seriously at all, but now he felt it in front of Shen Lu To feel ashamed of oneself.

"Master Shen, please calm down. Isn't this the case in all dynasties and in the country? But now there is a clear flow of water in the court. You have a busy day, how can someone disturb you more? Please ask... someone to resign."

Zhang Yong is arrogant in front and respectful in back.

This made Shen Lu feel a little uncomfortable. After all, with his identity as Zhang Yong, he, Shen Lu, did not dare to offend him, but in front of him, Zhang Yong showed respect for him.

Shen Lu didn't have the heart to think deeply. He could only think that Zhang Yong was asking for help from others and had to be more respectful to himself.

……

……

After Zhang Yong returned, he went to Li Zhang's private residence and passed the news to Li Zhang.

Although Li Zhang is nominally the eunuch Bingbi, the Supervisor of Ceremonies, and has a higher status than Zhang Yong, in fact, their status is basically the same. The reason why Zhang Yong has to obey Li Zhang in this matter is all because of what Li Zhang represents. It's the Supervisor of Ceremonies, and there's Chen Kuan behind him.

When Zhang Yongjiang met with Shen Lu, Li Zhang sighed: "This Shen Yintai is a figure that others in the court cannot afford to offend. Fortunately, you can persuade him. I heard that he wants to be attached to The opinion of the superiors seems to be finalized.”

Zhang Yong asked: "Hasn't he seen Lin Shangshu from the Ministry of Rites today? Are you not afraid of him..."

"That's not scary." Li Zhang said, "There are actually very few people in the court who can have nothing to worry about. You should also know that this is the Queen's wish at this time."

Zhang Yong was somewhat speechless and said: "I can't figure it out. Even if we fight back and forth, even if Mr. Xie Ge is not held accountable for his crimes, he still wants to return to his hometown as an official. What's the point of fighting?"

Li Zhang asked curiously: "Why do you say this?"

Zhang Yongdao: "I just feel that this fight is meaningless. If the fight is for a serving cabinet minister, or if we can advance and retreat, it will be effective. The current fight seems... in vain."

"Haha." Li Zhang said with a mocking smile, "Do you only have this little foresight?"

"Please enlighten me." Zhang Yong said.

Li Zhang said with a straight face, as if he understood: "On the surface, it seems that we are only fighting for Mr. Xie Ge's crime, but in fact, we are fighting for our personal integrity. Don't you think about it, why does Your Majesty insist on this matter? Aren’t you a so-called just person who works for Cai Guogong and behind him? Even you are actually on Cai Guogong’s side, aren’t you?”

Zhang never spoke.

If it weren't for the fact that he was from the palace, maybe he would have stood firmly on Shangtingchu's side and stepped on Xie Qian.

Li Zhang said: "Since it is an individual system, it is related to many things. This means that in the future, whether the minister can still participate in the impeachment of Cai Guogong, the governor general of the border army, etc., and who will recommend the next candidate for the cabinet, who will be preferred? The ministers of Hanlin still prefer Cai Guogong. Or, when His Majesty accepts opinions in the future, whether he should choose the upper chamber or the cabinet. "

Zhang Yong seemed to be suddenly enlightened and said: "No wonder the superiors are so determined to criticize Xie Ge's death penalty."

"You don't even understand this, why do you still want to be a ceremonial supervisor? Eunuch Zhang, you are an old man in the palace. We are all the same. We are also considered new rich. If you want to get the favor, you must look at things more comprehensively."

"I understand, I understand." Zhang Yong originally looked down on Li Zhang, but now he knew that Li Zhang was able to rise to power because he had real talent and learning. (End of chapter)