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I have to say that after hearing Emperor Deqing's hint, for a moment, Zhao Junchen was really moved.

Today, there are only four powerful and influential factions in the imperial court, namely the most prestigious prince faction, the Zhou Shangjing faction with the strongest background, the Shen Huang faction after Shen Changmao and Huang Yourong joined forces, and the Zhao Junchen faction that has developed extremely rapidly recently!

According to Emperor Deqing, if Zhou Shangjing withdrew from officialdom, the cabinet would be handed over to Shen and Huang. At the same time, in order to prevent the Shen Huang faction from monopolizing power, it is necessary to introduce an important minister of the court with "different political views" into the cabinet and become the new cabinet elder to achieve the effect of mutual checks and balances.

The so-called "difference of political views", according to Zhao Junchen's understanding, is the difference of factions.

In other words, this candidate for the new pavilion veteran will never be from the Shen Huang faction, and Emperor Deqing will only be selected among the Zhou Shangjing faction, the prince's faction, and Zhao Junchen's faction!

Among them, once Zhou Shangjing left the temple, Emperor Deqing never wanted Zhou Shangjing's influence to continue, so Emperor Deqing would never agree to the "Zhou faction" officials to enter the cabinet, become cabinet elders, and inherit Zhou Shangjing's political legacy!

On the other hand, although the prince's faction has an outstanding reputation, it lacks important officials with sufficient influence in the court, and Cheng Yuandao of the prince's faction has only been in the cabinet for half a year, so it is unlikely that the new cabinet elder will be an official of the prince's faction.

Then, in addition to the Zhou Shangjing faction and the prince's faction, the only faction with "different political views" from the Shen Huang faction is the Zhao Junchen faction.

In Zhao Junchen's faction, there are two officials with enough status to enter the cabinet, one is Zhao Junchen himself, and the other is Zuo Lanshan, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry.

So, this remark of Emperor Deqing. Didn't he hint to Zhao Junchen that once Zhou Shangjing left the officialdom, he would support Zhao Junchen or Zuo Lanshan to enter the cabinet and become the new cabinet elders?

In this way, after hearing Emperor Deqing's hint, how could Zhao Junchen not be moved?

However, the temptation is only a matter of moments. Soon, Zhao Junchen's mind had regained his calm.

*

After calming down, Zhao Junchen found that Emperor Deqing's temptation and hints were actually very problematic.

First of all, Emperor Deqing's hint has a basic premise, that is, Zhou Shangjing leaves the temple and withdraws from officialdom, and then there will be a vacancy in the cabinet and a new cabinet elder will be filled! If Zhou Shangjing hadn't withdrawn from officialdom for a long time, then Emperor Deqing's hint would naturally not have come true!

Apparently. Emperor Deqing is ready and about to make a move on Zhou Shangjing! Today's various hints are also to lure Zhao Junchen to make a move and deal with Zhou Shangjing with him - after all, whether Zhou Shangjing retires or resigns for crime, there will be vacancies in the cabinet, and Emperor Deqing's hints will also be realized.

Of course. Emperor Deqing was a man who only believed in himself until everything was ready. Only then did he start to win over Zhao Junchen, before that, he did not reveal the slightest rumor to Zhao Junchen, from this aspect, although Zhao Junchen was Emperor Deqing's cronies and favorites, but Emperor Deqing's trust in Zhao Junchen was also limited.

But. Thinking of Zhou Shangjing's scheming appearance, Zhao Junchen couldn't help but hesitate a little - although Emperor Deqing is well prepared, and the matter in Suzhou is also an excellent opportunity, will Emperor Deqing definitely be able to defeat Zhou Shangjing? Does Zhou Shangjing not have any countermeasures? I'm afraid it may not be!

Secondly, all kinds of hints from Emperor Deqing. In fact, it is full of misleading! Although it will make people think about it, Emperor Deqing has not made a clear statement about the specific candidate for the new cabinet elder, but only vaguely hinted at it.

However, the word "hint" cannot be said explicitly, and it is not accurate! If Zhao Junchen helped Emperor Deqing defeat Zhou Shangjing, but Emperor Deqing regretted it afterwards, wouldn't Zhao Junchen be a bamboo basket?

If you think about it carefully, there are actually quite a few people who are qualified to compete for the old position in the pavilion! You must know that Wang Shou, the secretary of the military department, Liang Fuchen, the trilateral governor whose term of office is about to expire, etc., are all hardcore cronies of Emperor Deqing, and if Emperor Deqing wants to strengthen his control over the cabinet, he may not support them to enter the cabinet! After all, as long as Emperor Deqing is willing, Wang Shou, Liang Fuchen and others will become important ministers of the court with "different political views" at any time! In addition, Wang Baoren, the secretary of Nanjing, is also about to be transferred back to Beijing to become the new crown prince and prince, with his qualifications, prestige, and ability, he will also be a strong competitor!

From this point of view, Emperor Deqing's hints and temptations are just a big cake for Zhao Junchen, which seems delicious, but may not be able to eat it!

Finally, and the most important thing - even if Emperor Deqing finally defeated Zhou Shangjing, he fully supported Zhao Junchen or Zuo Lanshan to enter the cabinet, is this necessarily a good thing for Zhao Junchen?

I'm afraid it may not be!

Whether ancient or modern, Chinese or foreign, in officialdom, the word "seniority" is extremely important! Zhao Junchen's qualifications are too shallow, if you want to enter the cabinet, you will definitely be greatly resisted, in comparison, although Zuo Lanshan is attached to Zhao Junchen, the influence of the power is worse, but the hope of entering the cabinet is much greater! In this way, after weighing the pros and cons, in order to strive for a greater chance of victory, Zhao Junchen can only support Zuo Lanshan to enter the cabinet!

It's just that, in this way, the reason why Zuo Lanshan can enter the cabinet, one is because the Deqing Emperor defeated Zhou Shangjing, and the other is because of the strong support of the Deqing Emperor, in comparison, although Zhao Junchen also has contribution, but it is far less than the Deqing Emperor, in this case, after Zuo Lanshan enters the cabinet, he will only be grateful to the Deqing Emperor, and Zhao Junchen's control over Zuo Lanshan will undoubtedly be reduced a lot, and at that time, the "Zhao Party" may be at risk of splitting!

From this aspect, although Emperor Deqing's hint is tempting, for Zhao Junchen, it is difficult to say the pros and cons!

*

The cabinet is not only the core of the temple, but also the maker of imperial court policy, and Zhao Junchen naturally wants to meddle in the cabinet!

In fact, regarding the cabinet, Zhao Junchen also has his own plan - that is, to use the opportunity of the southern tour to bewitch the prince Zhu Heyu to reform commercial taxes, causing chaos in the court, and the auxiliary minister Huang Yourong will eventually be affected and become a scapegoat, so that Huang Yourong will leave the officialdom gloomily, and the cabinet will also vacate a position!

This cabinet is vacant, and after considering all the pros and cons, Zhao Junchen will also fight for Zuo Lanshan! Compared with Emperor Deqing's hints, there is no difference in the results on the surface!

However, compared with the former, the latter can guarantee Zhao Junchen's control over Zuo Lanshan!

After all, Huang Yourong was designed by Zhao Junchen to bring him down, and the experience of another former cabinet elder, Wen Guanliang, was enough to make Zuo Lanshan understand Zhao Junchen's methods and make Zuo Lanshan afraid! In addition, Zuo Lanshan also became a cabinet elder with the full support of Zhao Junchen, and Zuo Lanshan will also be grateful to Zhao Junchen!

In addition, during this period of time, Zhao Junchen has been dividing the relationship between Zuo Lanshan and other "Zhao Party" officials, and the combination of various conditions is enough to make Zuo Lanshan the only one who is the only one after becoming the elder, and the "Zhao Party" will not be in danger of splitting!

Therefore, compared with Emperor Deqing's hints full of uncertainty, Zhao Junchen believes in himself more and is more willing to realize his plan step by step!

*

Thinking of this, Zhao Junchen no longer had any interest in Emperor Deqing's hints.

However, thinking of the role he played in front of Emperor Deqing, Zhao Junchen still showed a heart-pounding appearance, his breathing was deliberately short, and he said: "Your Majesty, you have a long-term vision and a sacred heart, and the minister really admires it." In the opinion of the minister, Your Majesty, your idea is indeed feasible, if it is Zhou Shoufu Zhishi in the future, the two elders of the Shen and Huang pavilions will join forces, it is indeed enough to control the overall situation, in addition, in order to check and balance one or two, it is indeed necessary to introduce an important minister with different political views into the cabinet! ”

Between speaking, Zhao Junchen deliberately accentuated the tone of the words "different political views", as if emphasizing himself.

Seeing Zhao Junchen's reaction, Emperor Deqing nodded with satisfaction.

Zhao Junchen can't do without the support of Emperor Deqing, if Emperor Deqing is willing, he can force Zhao Junchen to deal with Zhou Shangjing with him!

However, Emperor Deqing was not willing to do this until the last resort - to lure him with advantage can not only mobilize Zhao Junchen's enthusiasm, but also reduce Zhao Junchen's resistance, why not? Anyway, just draw a flatbread is enough!

It's just that Emperor Deqing didn't know that Zhao Junchen still had his own plan!

……

PS: Well, there are two more today, and this is the first one!

…… (To be continued......)