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The reason why Shen Changmao's plan to annex the "Yellow Party" got off to an unfavorable start was that Shen Changmao's appetite was too great, and he actually intended to draw the young master Zhang Cheng, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, Lin Wei, and the scholar Huo Zhengyuan into his own door in one go.

However, it is easy to win over one person, but it is very difficult to win over three people at the same time, people are not aligned and they are worried about each other, and Shen Changmao's plan naturally ended in failure.

In fact, if Shen Changmao's posture is lowered and the three of them are invited out for a secret talk, the effect will be very different, even if it is a die-hard supporter of Huang Yourong like Zhang Cheng and Lin Wei, I am afraid that Shen Changmao's proposal will be seriously considered, let alone Huo Zhengyuan and others.

It's a pity that after Shen Changmao became the first assistant of the cabinet, his ambitions became bigger and his appetite became bigger, but he was a little anxious.

On the other hand, as the driving force behind the crown prince Zhu Heyu's rectification of commercial taxes, Huang Yourong's downfall and loss of power have long been expected by Zhao Junchen - when Huang Yourong is about to fall, Zhao Junchen naturally plans to take a piece of the pie and take the opportunity to carve up Huang Yourong's sphere of influence.

However, Zhao Junchen is just a mere scholar, unlike Shen Changmao, who is the first assistant of the cabinet, so naturally he does not have so much ambition and appetite.

According to Zhao Junchen's plan, among Huang Yourong's three cadres, he will only win over Huo Zhengyuan, a university scholar!

Huo Zhengyuan, a university scholar, is the henchman, courage, and chief strategist of Huang Yourong, but among the officials of the "Yellow Party", his status can only be ranked fourth, except for Huang Yourong, whether it is the young master Zhang Cheng. or Lin Wei, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, has a higher status than him.

Though. Huo Zhengyuan's mentality, means, city government, etc. are all better than Zhang Cheng and Lin Wei, but Lin Wei is Huang Yourong's in-laws. Zhang Cheng is Huang Yourong's classmate, fellow villager, and fellow student, and the relationship between these two and Huang Yourong is closer, and in the "Yellow Party", Huo Zhengyuan's status is naturally marginalized.

However, Huo Zhengyuan believes in the principle of "Mu Xiu will be destroyed by the forest wind", and has always disliked to be in the limelight, as long as his own interests can be guaranteed, Huo Zhengyuan will not care about these things.

But in fact, among the "yellow party". Huo Zhengyuan's importance is second only to Huang Yourong, not only because of Huo Zhengyuan's strategic talent, but also because Huo Zhengyuan is low-key, mild-mannered, and has always been kind to others, not as arrogant and difficult as Lin Wei and Zhang Cheng, so Huo Zhengyuan has a high prestige and excellent popularity among the "Yellow Party" officials.

In other words, as long as Zhao Junchen can win over Huo Zhengyuan, then there will be quite a lot of "Yellow Party" officials who are willing to follow Huo Zhengyuan to Zhao Junchen's disciples. In this way, Zhao Junchen cannibalized the plan of the "Yellow Party". It will also do more with less.

In addition, Huo Zhengyuan's own intelligence, means and temperament are also valued by Zhao Junchen.

So, for Huo Zhengyuan. Zhao Junchen is already bound to win - some time ago, Zhao Junchen and Huo Zhengyuan went to Huai'an to investigate the unjust case of Li Xin, the prefect of Huai'an, and then sold Huo Zhengyuan a favor through this case. let him please Emperor Deqing, this is to win over Huo Zhengyuan. Paving the way for today's buying.

Compared with Shen Changmao's temporary intentions, Zhao Junchen has been planning for a long time!

*

But he said. After Emperor Deqing announced his intention to return to Beijing, Zhao Junchen and the officials of the Ministry of Rites were busy preparing for a whole day, and finally everything was ready.

At three o'clock the next morning, the Southern Patrol fleet left Suzhou on time and sailed north.

Because the crown prince Zhu and Yu stabbed the big basket of commercial taxes, which was different from the leisurely attitude of the southern tour, Emperor Deqing needed to rush back to the capital as soon as possible to stabilize the situation, so the return itinerary of the southern patrol fleet to Beijing was also very tight, and there would be no delay along the way.

During the southern tour, from Changzhou to Suzhou, the southern tour fleet spent nearly two days along the way.

But on the return trip, the situation was completely different, the Southern Patrol fleet had been sailing at full speed since it set sail, and after leaving Suzhou, it had already arrived in Changzhou in the evening of the same day.

After coming to Changzhou, Emperor Deqing did not plan to stay, but after a short night's rest, he would continue to return to Beijing in the north.

And on this night, Zhao Junchen secretly made an appointment with Huo Zhengyuan.

*

On the other side, after Huo Zhengyuan learned about Huang Yourong's crisis, he continued to discuss with Lin Wei and Zhang Cheng ways to reverse the situation.

It's a pity that the downfall of Huang Yourong has become the trend of the times, and no matter how the three of them discuss, they can't find a feasible solution.

In this regard, Lin Wei and Zhang Cheng felt anxious and desperate.

As for Huo Zhengyuan, he had more thoughts in his heart.

Unlike Lin Wei and Zhang Cheng, the relationship between Huo Zhengyuan and Huang Yourong is not so close, nor is it so loyal, in a way, the relationship between Huo Zhengyuan and Huang Yourong is not subordinate, but more like cooperation - Huo Zhengyuan gave his talents and abilities to Huang Yourong, while Huang Yourong fought for Huo Zhengyuan's interests and status, and the two sides helped each other and benefited each other, nothing more.

If Huang Yourong is still an elder, then Huo Zhengyuan is also willing to continue to be loyal to Huang Yourong, but since Huang Yourong's downfall is irreversible, then Huo Zhengyuan's mind naturally has ideas such as "gentlemen do not stand under dangerous walls" and "good birds choose trees to perch".

After all, Huo Zhengyuan and Huang Yourong have a general relationship, and they don't need to be buried with Huang Yourong.

It's just that although Huo Zhengyuan had the idea of changing the court, Huo Zhengyuan still couldn't make up his mind which force he should turn to.

Huo Zhengyuan is a smart person with a very thorough vision, and he is also very cautious about the choice of future paths.

Now in the temple, there are only five factions that are both influential and powerful - they are the "Zhou Party" of the former first assistant Zhou Shangjing, the "Shen Party" of the current first assistant Shen Changmao, the "Zhao Party" of Zhao Junchen, the head of the household, the "******" of the crown prince Zhu Heyu, and the "Imperial Party" of Emperor Deqing.

For Huo Zhengyuan, the best choice is undoubtedly to defect to Emperor Deqing and become a member of the "Imperial Party" - unfortunately, Huo Zhengyuan is neither from a noble family, nor does he have the ability to be a courtier, coupled with his "Yellow Party" background, even if he takes refuge in Emperor Deqing, he is destined not to be valued by Emperor Deqing, and can only be gradually marginalized, Huo Zhengyuan is naturally reluctant to this.

Prince Zhu Heyu is the prince and the future emperor, and it is also a good choice to take refuge in the prince Zhu and Yu, but unfortunately, although Huo Zhengyuan is not a big corrupt official, he is not a clear stream who is strict with himself, with the temperament of the prince Zhu and Yu, he may not be able to accept him, and Huo Zhengyuan himself can't stand the "clear rules and precepts" of the prince Zhu and Yu.

Shen Changmao is the first assistant of today's cabinet, it can be said that he is above 10,000 people under one person, it is the time when the spring breeze is proud, and it also reveals Huo Zhengyuan's intention to win him over, but Huo Zhengyuan is reluctant to take refuge in Shen Changmao, for no other reason - Shen Changmao's character is too rigid and destined to get along with Huo Zhengyuan. In addition, Shen Changmao is now the first assistant of the cabinet, although he is proud, but Shen Changmao's ability is not worthy of his current status at all, maybe he will be planted at any time, this is a dangerous factor, but Huo Zhengyuan is unwilling to stand under the dangerous wall.

Zhou Shangjing has stood in the temple for decades, with clever means, long-term vision, and deep mind, even Emperor Deqing can't easily help him, but Huo Zhengyuan is the most feared figure, in a way, it is also a good choice to take refuge in Zhou Shangjing! It's a pity that in Huo Zhengyuan's eyes, Zhou Shangjing also belongs to the list of "dangerous walls" - Zhou Shangjing is too old, maybe he will quit the temple when he will quit, in addition, Emperor Deqing also hates Zhou Shangjing too much, and it is never a good thing to be remembered by the emperor from time to time.

In this way, Huo Zhengyuan only has one choice left, that is, to take refuge in Zhao Junchen.

However, in Huo Zhengyuan's eyes, taking refuge in Zhao Junchen is the most inferior choice, and the reason is very common - Zhao Junchen's qualifications are too light, his foundation is too shallow, his status is insufficient, and his reputation is too bad, and he is still a thorn in the side of the crown prince Zhu and Yu!

Although, after getting along some time ago, Huo Zhengyuan had a good impression of Zhao Junchen, and also recognized Zhao Junchen's vision, means, and mind, and even won the favor of Emperor Deqing because of Zhao Junchen, but these were not enough to affect Huo Zhengyuan's choice.

In this way, after many analyses, Huo Zhengyuan found that he seemed to have a lot of choices, but in fact, none of these choices were suitable for him, and he couldn't help but feel a little distressed, but he felt that sometimes it was not a good thing to analyze too thoroughly.

And just when Huo Zhengyuan was distressed, someone suddenly reported to him, saying that Zhao Junchen secretly asked him to meet at the "Crane Fishing Tower" in Changzhou.

After hearing the report, Huo Zhengyuan was slightly stunned, and after thinking for a while, Huo Zhengyuan got up and said: "Speaking of which, I still owe Lord Zhao a favor some time ago, but I can't refuse people thousands of miles away, since this is the case, then I might as well meet him." ”

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…… (To be continued.) )