The undercurrent of the inner court is turbulent, and all parties are planning for their future, gathering people, and laying out the palace, and the outer court is no exception, and they are secretly acting.

In the outer court, the two largest forces at present are the three-party alliance and the Donglin party, and the other two parties of Xuankun have serious regional concepts, have little power, and have no ability to participate in them.

The Donglin Party was in decline before, leaving only two or three large and small cats in the imperial court, and the others were almost extinct. However, as soon as Guangzong ascended to the throne, Donglin rose again, and the core figures returned strongly, quickly occupying many key positions in the court, and the momentum was greatly boosted, and the three parties of Qi, Chu and Zhejiang were divided.

The alliance of the three parties, in terms of numbers and official positions, is not much worse than Donglin, and even a few points stronger, but their forces are united after all, and the three parties of Qi, Chu and Zhejiang are free and dirty and gap with each other, and in terms of cohesion, they are much worse than Donglin.

However, Fang Congzhe, the leader of the Zhejiang Party, as the head of the cabinet, has been in charge of the government for seven years, so he naturally has his own power and prestige, and he can barely participate in this great change in the palace.

No, at this moment, Fang Shoufu was alone, guided by a eunuch, walking through the densely packed corridors of the Qianqing Palace. Fang Congzhe has a thin appearance, a long beard under his forehead that is very neatly groomed, and his bearing is extraordinary. As the first assistant, he was free, walking in the palace, still struggling, unlike other petty officials who were summoned, he lowered his eyebrows and lowered his hands, and did not dare to look at both sides.

"Hey, isn't this Lord Shousuke, why is he walking in the palace alone?" Suddenly, there was a suspicious voice next to him, Fang Congzhe looked, but a scarlet-robed eunuch came out of a fork in the road next to him, carefully identified, but it was the newly appointed imperial horse eunuch's palm print, the personal eunuch of Taichang's favorite concubine Xi Li Xuan.

"It turned out to be Gonggong Cao, the old man is not trespassing on the palace, no, there is this father-in-law leading the way in front!" Fang Congzhe smiled and replied easily, looking at his casual appearance, he didn't seem to care about Cao Huachun's hat.

Cao Huachun didn't say anything, squinted his eyes, stared at the eunuch who just stopped in front of him and looked carefully, and after a while, the corners of his mouth moved, and he said with a smile, "Who should I be, it turned out to be the person next to the imperial concubine, Niangniang has good means, and Lord Shoufu has good luck." ”

After praising Fang Congzhe in a fake way, Cao Huachun even left quickly, Zheng Guifei colluded with foreign ministers and won over the forbidden army, the purpose is self-evident, she must move quickly, and she can't fall behind.

"Originally, I wanted to go out to contact this Fang Congzhe, but I didn't expect him to be co-opted by Zheng Guiren, he is the leader of the three parties, and there are few people with the same status as him." Thinking of this, Cao Huachun couldn't help but feel distressed.

When it comes to wooing courtiers and plotting to act, the first thing he thinks of is the current first assistant Fang Congzhe, with his support, the government can be smoothly transitioned, and the impact will be minimized without frequent courtiers. However, his idea was too late, and he didn't catch up after all, allowing Fang Congzhe to be dragged away.

In this case, only another candidate can be replaced. It's just that at present, there is only one Donglin Party that can compete with the three parties, so do you have to go to those old pedants? Cao Huachun's footsteps gradually slowed down, and finally stood in place, contemplative, his slender eyes flickering.

In the end, he still stomped his feet with hatred, and with a kind of absolute determination, he left the palace.

"This eunuch Cao, who is in such a hurry, could it be that something big has happened?" Looking at the back of Cao Huachun leaving, Fang Congzhe frowned a little, now the form is weird, and any little detail will bring out a great incident.

"Lord Fang, Lord Fang! I'm still waiting. The eunuch next to him saw that Fang Congzhe didn't mean to act at all, so he couldn't help but remind him.

"Oh, okay, I'm tired of my father-in-law." Fang Congzhe came back to his senses, smiled embarrassedly, and walked forward. It's just that he secretly remembered what happened just now, and he was thinking about and analyzing it when he went back.

Soon, under the guidance of the eunuch, Fang Congzhe came to Concubine Zheng's bedroom, stood in front of the door, he tidied up his clothes, and then sang a promise loudly and crossed the threshold to enter.

"Old minister Fang Congzhe, see Imperial Concubine Niangniang."

"Aiqing is exempt from courtesy."

After some answers, Fang Congzhe sat down on the soft pier that the little eunuch moved, his ass was not yet stable, and the somewhat anxious Concubine Zheng couldn't wait to ask, "Mr. Fang, yesterday I have agreed with Xi Li according to what Mr. said, she will win over the forbidden army and control the fifth son of the emperor." And I followed the edict, promoted to the throne of the queen mother, and then held the edict, abolished the prince, and established the emperor's five sons as the emperor. ”

Speaking of this, Concubine Zheng Guifei pretended to be a little embarrassed and bowed her head, her face was embarrassed, "But I was a little worried that Xi Li was unreliable, so I sent my cronies and eunuchs to lobby the forbidden army, but I happened to bump into Cao Huachun, who was also doing the same." ”

"This Xi Li really regarded this as a child's play, and told me in person that the manpower had already been arranged, but he only acted after the meeting, and he actually deceived me, if I didn't feel that it was wrong in private, I am afraid that I still can't find out. Now that I'm in a panic, I have no countermeasures, I don't know if my husband can teach me? Zheng Guifei left tears as she spoke, and she cried like pear blossoms with rain, which made people pity.

It's just that she didn't mention her small actions in private at all, violating the agreement first, but put all the responsibility on Xi Li Xuan's servant.

"This?"

Fang Congzhe looked at the people behind the curtain, very entangled, how could he not see that Concubine Zheng's words were light, but he would not have the time to point it out. Fang Congzhe, who was silently meditating, had already fallen into the battle between heaven and man, his face was sometimes full of longing, sometimes terrified, several expressions exchanged back and forth on his face, and finally turned into a piece of sorrow.

I knew that I shouldn't have given Zheng Guifei an idea. Fang Shoufu regretted his face, he really felt that he had made a mistake by participating here.

Although Taichang is not a very capable emperor, he still has a good temperament, he is an honest man, and he is a little cowardly, although he listens to the Donglin Party in everything, but he is not bad to his courtiers, and he will not spank people at every turn, and he is not brutal.

Even if you don't deal with the Donglin Party, it's a big deal to step down, anyway, you have been the first assistant for seven years, which is enough. It's just that he shouldn't have been, and his career is not dead, and he was tempted by Zheng Guifei's words.

Things have to be put a few days ago, about the twelfth, the emperor has just fallen ill and has not yet received treatment from the Mongolian doctor, at this time, Zheng Guifei came over.

The two met, and after greetings, talking about the affairs of the Jiangling Xianggong, Zheng Guifei sighed, the Jiangling Xianggong was really lucky, he actually met the first emperor who was still very effective at that time, and I also have a young prince here, I don't know who can have this number and become the next Jiangling Xianggong.

The Xianggong of Jiangling is Zhang Juzheng, he is a native of Jiangling, Hubei, so when he was alive, he was often called Zhang Jiangling. Just like Fang Congzhe, he is now often referred to by the name of his hometown.

Fang Congzhe still knows a lot about the situation in the palace, and Zheng Guifei's self-conscious rhetoric, in the eyes of a literati like him, is simply too explicit, this is a naked wooing, but in the face of the opportunity to become a powerful first assistant like Zhang Juzheng, Lord Fang was suddenly moved.

The fifth son of the emperor is only nine years old, which is younger than when Wanli ascended the throne......... The bright prospect suddenly made Fang Shoufu dizzy and distracted.

Seeing Fang Shoufu's stunned appearance, Concubine Zheng took the opportunity to ask, "The emperor is seriously ill and has no time to change his ways, there is still a prince in front of me, what can I do?" ”

Fang Congzhe was still in a state of distraction at this time, and when he heard the question, he subconsciously replied, "Pretend to make a will and abolish the prince." ”

Concubine Zheng's eyes lit up, and she continued to ask, "But the prince has some soldiers and horses, what should I do if the dog jumps over the wall in a hurry?" ”

Fang Congzhe still hadn't woken up, and when he heard the question, he instinctively used his experience and knowledge to answer, "Tens of thousands of fierce generals under the command of the Imperial Horse Supervisor, pull them over and exterminate them." ”

"Haha! The first assistant is a good plan. When she got the answer she wanted, Concubine Zheng burst into laughter, and her happy laughter made Fang Congzhe sober up.

"Huh? What did I say? Fang Congzhe came to his senses, was extremely annoyed, looked at Zheng Guifei who was laughing, sighed, and retreated.

"Hey......" Thinking of the aphasia a few days ago, Fang Congzhe sighed.

"Sir, don't be busy sighing, you are already involved, you can't get out, let's help the slave family come up with ideas!" Zheng Guifei smiled coquettishly and said a reality that Fang Congzhe was unwilling to face.

"Hey!" Fang Congzhe sat on the soft pier, thinking sadly, he really had a kind of sadness at the moment, the situation was tangled and made him a little painful, and thinking of what Cao Huachun said and his expression when he came, he was even more depressed.

Combined with Cao Huachun's demeanor and expressions, as well as what Zheng Guifei said, when he went to win over the forbidden army and encountered Cao Huachun last night, the treacherous and cunning Fang Congzhe would not have guessed that the ambition of that Xi Li Xuanzhi was no less than that of Zheng Guifei.

Concubine Zheng Guifei has been favored by Wanli and has been in the harem for decades, and her power in the inner court is deep-rooted and rich, while Xi Li Xuanzhi has always held the fifth son of the emperor in her hands, and the two women cooperate with each other to win over the forbidden army, coupled with the cooperation of the courtiers, it is indeed possible to abolish the prince.

It's just that this shows the huge power, but Fang Congzhe saw that it was inappropriate, how could there be a precedent in history for the queen mother of the two palaces to be in charge of the harem? Judging from Zheng Guifei's words, the agreement, privately wooing the forbidden army, how can the mind be simple? Before the prince was deposed, the intrigue came out first.

How can we succeed in doing so!

"Niangniang wants to emulate the Empress Dowager Cisheng, but Na Xi Li, she doesn't want to become the Empress Dowager of Rensheng." Fang Congzhe threw down a sentence with a sad face, and then got up and left, he was very optimistic about the actions of these two women, even if he succeeded, Zheng Guifei, who he helped, was probably thinking about giving up the throne to his son at that time, it was a big trouble at that time, so it was better to leave as soon as possible and ask for stability.

In fact, they didn't do anything, but they just said a few words, even if they failed, they didn't have much responsibility, as long as they resigned when the time came.

"The old minister is old, and when His Majesty's condition is stable, he will ask Zhishi to return to his hometown." Before leaving, Fang Congzhe threw down another sentence, he was completely sober at the moment, since ancient times, except for Wu Zetian, there has been no woman who can do things, so he should quickly withdraw and leave.

"This old thing." Concubine Zheng is not illiterate, he didn't know what Fang Congzhe meant, and after scolding secretly, she couldn't care about getting angry, and hurriedly considered countermeasures. Fang Congzhe's meaning is obvious, that is, Xi Li wants to compete with her for the position of dominance.

The prince is in the hands of the other party, even if he has a will and his status is better than that of the other party, but who will kill the deer is still uncertain, and Fang Congzhe's departure also gave her a heavy blow, which shows that the other party is very optimistic about her, this move made Zheng Guifei suddenly irritable.

With a fire in her heart, she began to smash things again.