The setting sun slowly descends towards Xiangshan, and the entire city of Beijing is dyed with a layer of gold. The blue-brick streets had lost their daytime hustle and bustle, and only a group of energetic children were noisy, sometimes chasing each other.

Huaishu Hutong, Xufu.

After Yan Ne went down, he immediately came directly to Xu's Mansion from the Yamen of the Ministry of Rites, greeted Xu who had arrived home first, and then drank tea and chatted in the living room together.

Xu attached great importance to Yan Ne, but did not sit on the master's seat, but chose to sit opposite Yan Ne, and seemed to be warmly entertaining this high-ranking scholar of the Ministry of Rites.

Because of the friendship of fellow villagers, Xu Jie used to help Yan Ne, a rookie in the officialdom who was full of pockmarked faces, so the relationship between the two families has always been very close.

When the sky was dark, a very ordinary palanquin slowly fell in the front yard.

Xu Jie, who was wearing a python robe, walked down from the sedan chair, still the same thin and short body, his hair had turned gray, but the whole person invisibly added a bit of majesty.

Now that he is in charge of the cabinet, and the Holy Lord is in poor health, almost all the affairs of the two capitals and thirteen provinces fall on him alone. Although he is busy every day, he enjoys this kind of high position.

Not only did he often stay in Xiyuan, but whenever he went home, he would only leave the moment before the palace gate closed. This can only add a good impression to the emperor, and at the same time create a diligent image to the outside world, making him even more comfortable in officialdom.

At present, Guo Pu is leaving, and his status as the first assistant of the cabinet has been invisibly raised a lot, which also makes him secretly happy in his heart. Of course, there will also be some troublesome things, such as the Yan Fenyi in Jiangxi who still keeps letting people send letters to the palace.

"Master, Guo Shangshu is waiting for you in the living room, and the eldest prince is accompanying him!" After the housekeeper greeted Xu Jie out of the sedan chair, he explained the situation at home in a soft voice.

Xu Jie nodded lightly, and walked directly to the living room, greeting Yan Ne cordially with a gentle smile on his face: "Minqing, you are here!" ”

The dignified Ming Shoufu was able to serve people so kindly, following the Yan Fenyi who had controlled the court for 20 years in the past, the two first assistants before and after were really different.

"Xiaguan has seen Lord Yuanfu!" Yan Ne was talking to Xu Jie, and didn't notice Xu Jie coming in, and when he heard the voice, he hurriedly stood up and saluted Xu Jie respectfully.

"Sit! Sit! Minqing, you and I don't need to be polite! Xu Jiejian stretched out his hand and smiled intimately.

Yan Ne saw that Xu Jie was so kind, and a faint feeling of emotion swelled in his heart, but he did not cross the boundary between superiors and subordinates, and still kept respectfully thanking him: "Lord Xie Yuanfu!" ”

Although the two are fellow villagers and have a friendship of more than 20 years, Xu Jie's identity is here, but it is not a pockmarked scholar of the Ministry of Rites, Yan Ne, who can sit on an equal footing with each other.

As soon as Xu Jie sat down, a maid brought a teacup, and Xu Jie took the teacup and said directly: "The position of the heavenly official is very powerful, and now everyone is staring at this position!" ”

With the official approval of Guo Pu's resignation, the era belonging to Guo Pu has come to an end, and his vacated throne of the Ministry of Officials has become the goal of all parties.

The next most important thing is the competition for the position of the secretary of the ministry, and this may cause another bloody storm.

Xu Jie has been in officialdom for forty years, if he can't even guess Yan Ne's intentions, then he really wants to hit his head with tofu, and it is impossible for this Shoufu throne to sit firmly.

Yan Ne naturally came for the throne of the Ministry of Officials, but he didn't know Xu Jie's true intentions, so he had to echo and said, "What Lord Yuanfu said is extremely true!" ”

"Today, Dong Fen went to the palace to be a saint, and left with Yuan Wei in the afternoon, it is estimated that he will compete for the position of this official secretary!" Xu Jie pinched the tea cup and splashed the hot tea lightly, and said without raising his head.

Among the many candidates, the left attendant of the Ministry of Ministers is undoubtedly the most likely.

Dong Fen won the favor of the emperor, and he happened to be the left servant of the ministry, and the emperor had already awarded Dong Fen the second-grade official title a long time ago, and now it is logical to serve as the secretary of the ministry.

"Wonsuke-sama, what should I do?" Yan Ne learned that Dong Fen was going to win over the second assistant Yuan Wei, and couldn't help but ask nervously.

The corners of Xu Jie's mouth curled slightly, and he looked up at the nervous Yan Ne and said openly: "Dong Fen is too selfish, and his appointment as the secretary of the ministry is not my blessing, and the old man will recommend you!" ”

"Thank you, Lord Motosuke!" Yan Ne's eyes lit up slightly, and he immediately thanked him.

If Xu Jie was really willing to help him, even if Dong Fen could disturb his fellow countryman Yuan Wei in Zhejiang to help, then the chances of victory on their side would still be greater.

Xu has never been a qualified observer, and suddenly interjected: "Dad, did the child hear that Yang Bo is also active?" ”

"Yang Bo is the secretary of the military department, and the emperor relies on him to be able to stabilize the nine sides. Now Hu Song, the left attendant of the Ministry of War, can't take care of the affairs of the Ministry of War, and Hu Zongxian has no reason to make a comeback, so Yang Bo's hope is not to worry about at all! Xu Jie's brows frowned slightly, and he took a sip of tea before analyzing.

Fortunately, they did something to Hu Zongxian at the end of last year, if Hu Zongxian was still the governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang who led the military department, then Hu Wanxian was likely to return to the court, and Yang Bo would be able to take over as the secretary of the ministry in the name of justice.

Hu Song, the current left attendant of the military department, was a third-class jinshi in the eighth year of Jiajing, but he took the orthodox local official line. Due to the relationship between Xu Jie, he was promoted from the governor of Jiangxi to return to Beijing and served as the left attendant of the military department of Zheng Sanpin, and his military talent was not significant.

On the other hand, Yang Bo is this person. Unlike their gang of bigwigs who started with green words, Yang Bo didn't even know how to write green words, but during his tenure as the governor of Xuanda and Jiliao, he ordered the border to be stable, and there were constantly military exploits, and he was favored by the emperor with his military talent.

It's just that success is also Xiao He, and defeat is also Xiao He.

Yang Bo is favored by the military, but now the border is not too stable, so it is natural that Yang Bo, the "old man", will sit in the military department, so he will not have a chance to follow the official department.

When Yan Ne heard this analysis, he nodded lightly, agreeing with Xu Jie's judgment, and also reducing Yang Bo's threat in his heart.

"What about the one next door?" Xu nodded approvingly, but stretched out his hand again.

Although no name is mentioned, everyone knows that this next door refers to Wu Shan, the leader of the current Hubu Shangshu, Qingliu and Kaihai factions, a veteran Shangshu with qualifications and prestige.

When Yan Ne heard the mention of Wu Shan, he knew that his prestige and qualifications could not be compared with the other party, but he couldn't help but look at Xu Jie worriedly. To his surprise, the corners of Xu Jie's mouth were unexpectedly unusually disdainful.