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However, it was said that just when Zhao Junchen was about to have a final decisive battle with the Mongolian coalition army, the center of the capital at this time was also very lively.

The partisan attacks and intrigues in the temple are not inferior to the fighting between the two armies on the battlefield, and if you talk about the treacherous and unpredictable places, they are still much better.

And the various turmoil in the center of the imperial court during this period of time was almost all caused by a few letters sent by Zhao Junchen to the capital.

More than a month ago, Bao Wenjie, the deputy envoy of the Qin Mission, who went out of Beijing with Zhao Junchen on business, suddenly returned to the capital and brought Zhao Junchen's first letter to the capital.

In this letter, Zhao Junchen reported in detail to Emperor Deqing that several governors of the northwestern provinces secretly connected with the Mongolian coalition to seek peace privately, saying that he had taken the opportunity to control the situation in Shanxi, and then he would go to Huamachi Camp to control the situation on the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu.

At the same time, Zhao Junchen's idea of taking the opportunity to meddle in the military affairs of Shaanxi and Gansu also aroused the suspicion of Emperor Deqing, so Emperor Deqing immediately sent the old Liang Fuchen to Shaanxi and Gansu to preside over the overall situation.

However, after Liang Fuchen left Beijing, he gradually lost the news like a mud cow entering the sea, and at the beginning, he would regularly send some notes to Emperor Deqing, or report the itinerary, or ask for instructions, but since Liang Fuchen left Shanxi and entered Shaanxi, there was suddenly no news, and even the ordinary invitation to An Song Shu was not sent to the capital.

But just when Liang Fuchen suddenly had no news, Zhao Junchen's messages sent to the capital were endless, and each letter caused an uproar in the temple!

On the third day after Liang Fuchen left Beijing, Zhao Junchen sent a second letter to the capital, saying that this year's border defense task is extremely severe, but the border troops in the northwest provinces are demoralized, and it may be difficult to resist the offensive of the Mongol coalition army, so Zhao Junchen in order to consolidate the border defense and boost morale, he asked Emperor Deqing to increase the pension, military merit and silver reward of the border soldiers during this year's fire screening into the Kou.

However, this letter seems to be a "request", but in fact it is a "first cut and then play", because Zhao Junchen had already announced that the imperial court would increase pensions, military merits and silver rewards this year before presenting the note, and this letter was just to seek support and recognition from Emperor Deqing afterwards - for this situation, Zhao Junchen did not hide anything in the note.

Zhao Junchen's approach was obviously an usurpation of his duty and a violation of the taboo in the temple, which immediately triggered the impeachment of hundreds of officials in the imperial court, or accusing Zhao Junchen of arrogance and abuse of the authority of the Qincha, or angrily accusing Zhao Junchen of bad intentions and having a heart of disobedience.

However, just when the officials were discussing how the imperial court should punish Zhao Junchen, Zhao Junchen sent a third letter.

If the content of the first two letters is shocking, then the content of the third letter is even more unbelievable!

This is a war report to the imperial court asking for merit and reward.

In this note, Zhao Junchen said that on the way to the Huamachi camp, he encountered a sudden attack by nearly 5,000 Mongolian cavalry, and Zhao Junchen's side guards were only five or six hundred, which can be described as a huge disparity in the strength of the enemy and us, but Zhao Junchen was in danger, and fought and retreated, and finally retreated to a hill and used the special terrain to defeat the Mongolian cavalry, and killed more than 3,000 enemies, beheaded 633, captured 82 people, and captured more than 500 war horses.

After receiving this letter, both Emperor Deqing and the hundred officials of the imperial court couldn't believe it - in addition to accumulating wealth and fighting for power, Zhao Junchen still had the ability to lead troops to fight? And it was an amazing record of defeating nearly 5,000 Mongolian cavalry with 600 guards! How many years has it been since the Northwest Frontier of the Imperial Court had such a remarkable feat? With this record alone, it is enough to shame the vast majority of military attachés throughout the ages and make Zhao Junchen famous in the history books.

Therefore, the appearance of this letter immediately diverted everyone's attention and made Zhao Junchen the focus of everyone again.

After everyone read the content of this letter for the first time, their first reaction was that Zhao Junchen was lying about his exploits and exaggerating the results of the war, but the heads, prisoners, and seizures after the war could not be faked, and Zhang Shengde, the governor of Shaanxi, Hong Gaogong, the deputy Qianhu of Jinyiwei, Niu Shun, the deputy of Qianhu of Shanxi Military Town, and Wang Yang, the official of Baihu of Guyuan Military Town, also witnessed the war with their own eyes, and also presented the song to the imperial court as evidence, but it made people unable to find any loopholes.

The impeachment of Zhao Junchen in the temple was also interrupted by the appearance of this recital, and the officials of the "Zhao Party" took the opportunity to defend Zhao Junchen one after another, and the officials debated endlessly over whether Zhao Junchen should be rewarded or punished.

At the same time, under the deliberate promotion of some people, Zhao Junchen's legendary record of leading 600 guards to defeat the 5,000 Mongol army with his civilian status spread throughout the capital almost in the shortest possible time, making everyone talk about it and talk about it, and even became a story that storytellers vied to praise.

Just like Zhao Junchen said, people in the world are always unwilling to admit the complexity of human nature - in their thinking, corrupt officials should be confused, incompetent, stupid and stupid, and clean officials should have outstanding political achievements and both civil and military achievements - but Zhao Junchen, as a civil minister, won more than the Mongolian Tartars, must be a resolute and wise person, how can such an official be a corrupt official?

As a result, Zhao Junchen's folk reputation has been further improved.

And at this time, the center of the capital received Zhao Junchen's fourth letter!

The content of this letter is even more amazing, Zhao Junchen said that he had arrived at Huamachi Camp, and found that Wang Zheng, the governor of the three sides, had been unable to manage the government due to illness, and all the military and political affairs of the Shaanxi and Gansu sides were mostly handled by a staff member named Wang Gong, but after Zhao Junchen's investigation, he found that Wang Gong had already secretly communicated with the Mongols, and had been secretly helping the Mongols to plunder south all these years.

Therefore, Zhao Junchen immediately took the opportunity to set aside the trilateral governor Wang Zheng and arrested Wang Gong, a staff member of the governor's palace!

At the end of this letter, Zhao Junchen said that he would temporarily control the overall military and political situation of Shaanxi and Gansu as the imperial court's envoy, until Liang Fuchen arrived at Huamachi Camp to take over!

After this letter was sent to the center of the imperial court, it immediately caused an uproar again!

Zhao Junchen is just a full-time official responsible for dealing with disaster relief matters, not a full-time official recognized by the imperial court, his previous methods of dealing with Shanxi officialdom have been too fierce and criticized, but he did not forcibly imprison several feudal officials in Shanxi, nor did he take away the authority of local officials without authorization, but this time Zhao Junchen directly took over the trilateral governor, acting as the trilateral governor as a disaster relief minister, which completely undermined the laws and regulations of the imperial court!

As a result, the major factions in the court once again presented the "unsubordinate" of impeaching Zhao Junchen, and the fierce attitude was far stronger than the last time, but this time there were also many officials who interceded for Zhao Junchen, believing that Zhao Junchen's approach was just a matter of urgency, although it violated the laws and regulations of the imperial court, but after all, it caught the spies of the Mongols who infiltrated the high-level of Shaanxi and Gansu, undermined the Mongols' aggressive intentions, stabilized the border situation, and could even be said to be meritorious.

For a while, the officials once again fell into a heated debate.

However, when the debate of the officials had not yet reached a conclusion, Zhao Junchen once again sent his fifth letter.

In this letter, Zhao Junchen told Emperor Deqing in detail what he had seen and heard on the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu, his views on the situation in Shaanxi and Gansu, and his various actions after taking control of the military and government in Shaanxi and Gansu, such as the formation of a "new army of soldiers", the payment of arrears of salaries to the border army, and the arrest of some military attachés of the border army who supported the army and respected themselves.

At the same time that Zhao Junchen's recital was sent to the capital, the civil and military officials on the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu also presented the recital to Emperor Deqing, and for a time all kinds of recitals sent by Shaanxi and Gansu to the center of the capital accounted for as much as half of all the local recitals!

Of course, most of these actions were impeached against Zhao Junchen, and local officials in Shaanxi and Gansu criticized Zhao Junchen for acting arbitrarily, being stubborn and self-serving, eliminating dissidents, disrupting the local situation, forming a private army, setting up a private prison, and so on!

This time, after the hundreds of officials of the court saw Zhao Junchen's recital, they were only dumbfounded!

If Zhao Junchen's action to elevate the trilateral governor Wang Zheng can be explained by the urgency of the matter, then his subsequent practices - promulgating decrees without authorization, forming a private army, setting up a prison and so on, can absolutely no longer be explained by the words "urgency and power"! These practices, even if it is said that Zhao Junchen has bad intentions and wants to lead the troops to make trouble, some people believe it!

For a time, the call of "Zhao Junchen is the contemporary Wang Mang" resounded throughout the government and the opposition, and the hundreds of officials of the court once again set off a wave of impeachment of Zhao Junchen, and even some officials proposed that the imperial court should take away Zhao Junchen's official position, confiscate Zhao Junchen's family property, arrest Zhao Junchen's relatives, and go to Shaanxi and Gansu to arrest Zhao Junchen and put him in prison for questioning!

And those officials who were originally willing to defend Zhao Junchen, in addition to the "Zhao Party", also shrank to the back, not daring to defend Zhao Junchen anymore, for fear that they would be regarded as Zhao Junchen's fellow party and implicated by Zhao Junchen!

It is said that after Zhao Junchen's fifth note was sent to the center of the capital, Emperor Deqing received more than 400 copies of the impeachment of Zhao Junchen in just one day.

*

However, he said that on the second night after Zhao Junchen's fifth copy of the manuscript was sent to the capital, in the study room of the Zhou Mansion in Bachelor's Lane, the five manuscripts that Zhao Junchen had sent to the center of the capital during this period of time were all spread out and placed on the desk.

Zhou Shangjing's old face was full of thoughtful expressions, and he read the five manuscripts carefully from beginning to end, and his seemingly old and godless eyes became deeper and deeper when he was contemplating, but no one could guess his inner thoughts at this time.

This is the third time that Zhou Shangjing has read these notes tonight, and every time he reads them, Zhou Shangjing will ponder for a long time, but he will read them again soon.

Just when Zhou Shangjing was about to read these notes for the fourth time, there was a sudden knock on the door in the study.

Then, the voice of Zhou Fu, the steward of the Zhou Mansion, sounded outside the door: "Master, the elder Li He of the pavilion and Song Qiwen, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, are jointly asking to see you!" ”

Zhou Shangjing was slightly stunned, and then seemed to think of something, and nodded: "Let the two of them come in!" ”

Soon, the elder Li He and Song Qiwen, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, walked quickly into the study of the Zhou Mansion.

Among the two people, Li He's expression was still a little calmer, and Song Qiwen's expression was much more solemn, and after hurriedly saluting Zhou Shangjing, he hurriedly said: "Lord Shoufu, the student has just received the news, and Zhao Junchen has sent another letter to the capital, and now it has been presented to Your Majesty, this is the sixth letter in a month and a half!" Zhao Junchen's first few recitals caused an uproar, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it shook the government and the opposition, but I don't know what his sixth recital is...... According to the students' opinion, there is a chance that this recital will cause chaos in the temple again, so we should prepare early! ”

On the side, Li He also shook his head and sighed: "Yes, since this period of time, the hundreds of officials in the court have almost nothing to do, and they are arguing about Zhao Junchen's rewards and punishments...... Alas, this Zhao Junchen, even after leaving Beijing, still turned the entire temple center upside down, and he was even more eye-catching than when he stayed in the capital! ”

After hearing the words of the two important ministers of the imperial court, Zhou Shangjing nodded slowly and said, "Not long ago, the old man also received the news of Zhao Junchen's sixth letter...... It is said that after His Majesty reviewed this note, he did not see any joy or anger, nor did he summon the important ministers of the six cabinet departments to discuss, and the eunuchs who stayed by his side to serve were all kicked out of the imperial study, but he stayed in the imperial study and repeatedly read Zhao Junchen's note...... Obviously, Zhao Junchen's note is extraordinary, but what the content of this note is, no one except His Majesty still knows. ”

Song Qiwen couldn't help but be a little surprised, and said: "Could it be that Zhao Junchen's recital is even more amazing than his first five recitals?" ”

Li He also looked amazed, shook his head again, and said: "Anyway, I can't imagine that there is anything more amazing than Zhao Junchen's first five songs!" Speaking of which, I really admire Zhao Junchen, the things he did after he left Beijing, ordinary people really don't have the courage to do them! And not only did he do it without scruples, but he also dared to write it truthfully and send it to the capital, but he took the initiative to make his handle public, I really don't know what he was thinking, didn't he know that there were some things that could only be done but not said? ”

After Zhou Shangjing glanced up at the two of them, he sighed and said, "It seems that the two of you haven't guessed Zhao Junchen's true thoughts so far!" The two of you are not stupid, but Zhao Junchen's methods are becoming more and more subtle...... Alas, if Zhao Junchen is allowed to successfully achieve his goal, after the old man returns to his hometown, I am afraid that no one in our faction will be able to compete with Zhao Junchen. ”

After Li and Song glanced at each other, they all bowed to Zhou Shangjing and said, "Please also ask Lord Shoufu to teach you!" ”

I saw Zhou Shangjing stretch out his hand and point to the five notes in front of him, and said slowly: "These five notes are actually very particular!" The first note is that Zhao Junchen exposed the fact that several governors of the northwest provinces intended to negotiate peace with the Mongols in private, the content of this note certainly shocked the government and the opposition, but Zhao Junchen was still meritorious at this time, and Zhao Junchen's second note was deliberately told that he promised the imperial court to increase the border army's pension, military merits, and silver rewards, and was impeached by many because of this, and Zhao Junchen's rewards and punishments for merit and demerits have also been controversial since then! ”

After a pause, Zhou Shangjing continued: "Zhao Junchen's third note is that he commanded six hundred guards to defeat the five thousand Mongolian army, such a record is extremely amazing, and it can even be recorded in history, which immediately shocked the government and the opposition, Zhao Junchen's reputation rose sharply, and the voice of impeachment of Zhao Junchen was also suppressed, but it didn't take long for Zhao Junchen to send the fourth note, clearly stating that he had set up the trilateral governor Wang Zheng, and the reward and punishment for Zhao Junchen's merits and demerits also appeared controversial again, but the controversy of the officials has not yet been concluded, and Zhao Junchen sent a fifth note, explaining in detail the situation in Shaanxi and Gansu and his various actions, which pushed these controversies to a climax......"

Speaking of this, Zhou Shangjing looked up at Li and Song again, and concluded: "That is to say, every time he has made great contributions, when the officials invite merit and reward for him, he will do something that will inevitably cause controversy, so that the imperial court will withdraw the reward for him...... Whenever his actions caused controversy and impeachment among the officials, he would quickly make a great contribution to quell the controversy and impeachment of him by the central center of the court! Therefore, Zhao Junchen has obviously been away from Beijing for nearly two months, and he has done countless big and small things, but the court's rewards and punishments for his merits and demerits are still inconclusive......

…… It can be said that Zhao Junchen has been secretly controlling the situation of the entire temple by using his own performance, so that he has always been in a situation where he can be rewarded and punished, so that His Majesty and the hundred officials think that they have caught a lot of Zhao Junchen's handles, and Zhao Junchen's rewards and punishments can be determined by them! Neither will he be jealous and jealous of the emperor because he has made too many meritorious contributions, nor will he be besieged by the ministers and suspicious of the emperor because he has violated the rules too much, and when the officials are controversial and His Majesty hesitates, he has also won the space and time to show his strength! …… Hey, that's a great idea! ”

As he spoke, Zhou Shangjing's old eyes flashed with a ray of fine light, and he said solemnly: "If the old man is not bad, Zhao Junchen's performance sent to the capital during this period of time is just a foreshadowing of his next big move!" …… The sixth piece that Zhao Junchen sent to the capital today is probably the real target of his actions in the past few days...... With the old man's understanding of Zhao Junchen, what this person is best at is the reconciliation of interests, and he can always make himself agree with His Majesty's short-term goals! Therefore, the things described in Zhao Junchen's recital will inevitably make His Majesty extremely tempted...... But at the same time, Zhao Junchen will also take the opportunity to get more benefits for himself! It is precisely because of this that His Majesty will hesitate and hesitate! ”

After hearing Zhou Shangjing's words, Li and Song both frowned and pondered.

After a moment, Li He asked tentatively, "Lord Shoufu, what do you think Zhao Junchen's true goal will be?" ”

Zhou Shangjing hesitated for the first time, shook his head and said: "The old man has some vague guesses, but these guesses are too amazing, but they are unbelievable...... But if the old man's guess is true, and Zhao Junchen successfully achieves his goal, I'm afraid he will no longer be able to suppress it in the future......"

And just as Li He was about to ask further, Zhou Fu's report suddenly sounded outside the door again.

"Master, Your Majesty sent someone to deliver a decree, saying that it was an urgent summons for you to enter the palace to discuss affairs...... By the way, Li He and Song Shangshu are also among the summonses, and His Majesty's summons are very urgent, it seems that something big has happened! ”

After hearing the report, Zhou Shangjing suddenly smiled and said, "It seems that Your Majesty has finally made a decision!" And whether the old man's guess is accurate or not, we will soon know the answer! ”

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