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When Zhou Shangjing received the summons from Emperor Deqing, it was already three o'clock in the evening, and the palace gate of the Forbidden City had been completely closed.

But this time, the content of Zhao Junchen's sixth part of the note was obviously a special situation in the eyes of Emperor Deqing, so he specially ordered the palace people to open a side door of the Forbidden City, and arranged for several important ministers of the sixth cabinet to enter the palace overnight to discuss.

When Zhou Shangjing, Li He, and Song Qiwen entered the Forbidden City through the side gate, they couldn't help but glance up at the sky, only to see the stars and moon hanging in the sky and the night like ink, but they couldn't help but shake their heads and sigh: "I remember that the last time the old man entered the palace overnight, it was during the reign of the first emperor, and it has been decades since now...... The first emperor summoned the old man into the palace overnight to discuss the matter of the imperial driver's personal expedition to Huang Taiji, and now I recall that the scene at that time is still vivid...... didn't expect that after a lapse of several decades, the old man still had the opportunity to stand in the palace and watch the night...... It's a pity that the courtiers who entered the palace together overnight are now the only ones left left. ”

Hearing Zhou Shangjing's emotion, Song Qiwen hurriedly echoed: "Only you, Lord Shoufu, an old minister of the Three Dynasties and the pillar of the country, will always have such an opportunity, whether it is the former emperor of the year or the current majesty, when making important decisions, they all have to discuss with you." ”

On the other side, Li He frowned slightly, and said, "Lord Shoufu, the last time you entered the palace overnight was for the first emperor's personal expedition, but now we are entering the palace again overnight because of Zhao Junchen's sixth edict...... Could it be that the matter reported by Zhao Junchen's note is so important that in the eyes of His Majesty, it can be compared with the first emperor's personal expedition back then? ”

Speaking of this, without waiting for Zhou Shangjing's answer, Li He shook his head lightly and then said, "...... This Zhao Junchen always wants to make some big things, and he is never willing to settle down. I originally guessed that his note would inevitably stir up the central body of the court again, but now it seems that I still underestimate the power of this note, but I don't know what the content of this note is, and it has attracted His Majesty's attention so much! ”

Zhou Shangjing's expression was still Gujing Wubo, and he said lightly: "We'll know when we meet Your Majesty, don't worry." ”

As he spoke, the three important ministers of the court had already led the way to the outside of the imperial study under the guidance of the eunuchs in the palace.

After receiving the summons from Emperor Deqing, Zhou Shangjing and the others did not have any delay and immediately rushed to the palace, but they were still the last batch of important court officials to arrive here.

At this time, outside the imperial study, the crown prince Zhu Heyu, the first assistant Shen Changmao, the pavilion elder Cheng Yuandao, the pavilion elder Zuo Lanshan, the military department secretary Wang Shou, the Ministry of Rites Lin Wei, the Ministry of Industry Chen Dongxiang, the criminal department secretary Zhang Bochong and others were all present and waiting, everyone had serious expressions, obviously they all understood that Emperor Deqing must have something important to summon everyone overnight.

On the other side, after seeing Zhou Shangjing, Li He, and Song Qiwen arrive, the core and important ministers of the imperial court have gathered, and the chief eunuch Zhang De, who was waiting outside the imperial study, nodded, and whispered to the ministers: "Since you have arrived, then go with our family to meet Your Majesty, Your Majesty has been waiting for you for a long time." ”

After speaking, Zhang De turned around and pushed open the door of the imperial study, and led all the ministers into the imperial study.

*

At this time, the imperial study was still brightly lit, and Emperor Deqing sat quietly behind the imperial case, his expression seemed to be unhappy and carefree, full of calmness, but the constant fluctuations in his eyes when he pondered showed that his heart was not at peace.

After the ministers saluted Emperor Deqing, Emperor Deqing nodded lightly and said, "All Aiqing rushed to the imperial study overnight to discuss matters, and I can't rest well, I am really fortunate to you...... Come, sit down for all the adults! ”

With the orders of Emperor Deqing, the eunuchs in the imperial study soon moved more than ten square stools.

After thanking the ministers, they all sat down, and then Shen Changmao, the first assistant, took the lead in asking on behalf of everyone: "But I don't know what Your Majesty is calling your ministers to enter the palace overnight?" ”

Emperor Deqing said with a serious expression: "You should have also heard that Zhao Junchen sent me another note, which is already the sixth note he has sent to the capital in this time...... His previous five notes have stirred up the imperial court, and I was also upset during this time, I originally thought that he would not be able to do something bigger, but who knew that the content of his sixth note was even more amazing, and I couldn't make up my mind after reviewing it, so I invited all Aiqing to discuss it overnight. ”

After speaking, Emperor Deqing reached out and picked up a thick note on the imperial case and handed it to Zhang De, the great eunuch beside him, and Zhang De handed it over to Shen Changmao, the first assistant.

Shen Changmao hurriedly began to read it carefully after taking it, but his face changed dramatically in a moment, and his expression was full of shock and incredulity.

About half an hour later, Shen Changmao finally finished reading this thick recital, and at this time, his expression was almost a little dull, as if he had seen something unimaginable.

Then, Shen Changmao handed the note to the prince Zhu and Yu beside him for inspection, and after the prince Zhu and Yu read the note, their expressions changed similarly to Shen Changmao, but they were faintly mixed with a trace of excitement in shock.

Then, the crown prince Zhu and Yu handed over this note to Zhou Shangjing, but Zhou Shangjing's reaction after reading this note was slightly different, only to see Zhou Shangjing's pair of white eyebrows wrinkled slightly, but his expression was still calm, and there seemed to be a faint feeling of "as expected".

When Zhou Shangjing slowly closed this note, he just said in a slightly admiring tone: "This Zhao Junchen, what a big ambition, what a big attempt!" ”

As he spoke, Zhou Shangjing was about to hand over this recital to Cheng Yuandao, the elder of the pavilion next to him.

At this time, seeing the different performances of several people after reading the note, the ministers in the imperial study became more and more curious about the content of this note, and they all couldn't wait to take the note and read it.

However, Emperor Deqing was a little impatient.

The crown prince Zhu Heyu, the chief Fu Shen Changmao and Zhou Shangjing are not only the highest-ranking courtiers in the temple, but also the leaders of the three major factions of "princeling", "Shen party" and "Zhou party......

Speaking of this, Emperor Deqing's eyes stayed slightly on the expression of the chief Fu Shen Changmao, and finally fell on Zhou Shangjing's body, and said: "Well, Zhou Ge Lao, it's up to you to explain the content of Zhao Junchen's recital to all your colleagues." ”

Hearing Emperor Deqing's words, Shoufu Shen Changmao's expression changed slightly, but it was a little ugly.

It stands to reason that he is the head of the current cabinet, and this task should be given to him, but Emperor Deqing finally handed it over to Zhou Shangjing, obviously in the heart of Emperor Deqing, Zhou Shangjing is the real head of the ministers.

In fact, the center of the temple has been restless and chaotic because of Zhao Junchen's several sloppies during this time, to a large extent, because Shen Changmao is not able to stabilize the situation, so Emperor Deqing has become more and more dissatisfied with Shen Changmao, and the idea of replacing the first assistant in his heart is also becoming stronger, such an attitude is just a little warning to Shen Changmao.

On the other side, after Zhou Shangjing heard Emperor Deqing's instructions, he didn't seem to notice Emperor Deqing's deep meaning and Shen Changmao's expression change at all, but stood up and said slowly: "Zhao Junchen's recital roughly talks about three things, and these three things are all extraordinary...... First of all, the matter of the old Liang Fuchen, Zhao Junchen presided over the military administration of Shaanxi and Gansu as a disaster relief messenger during this time, after all, it is not right, it is just an expedient measure, and Zhao Junchen himself has no relevant experience, so the imperial court arranged for Liang Ge Lao to go to Shaanxi and Gansu to replace Zhao Junchen to control the situation in Shaanxi and Gansu a few days ago, but Liang Fuchen has suddenly been silent since he entered the territory of Shaanxi and Gansu, and the courtiers have been discussing a lot during this time, and there have been a lot of outrageous speculations. And Zhao Junchen explained in this note the reason why Liang Ge Lao lost news during this time, but Liang Ge Lao suffered from a serious illness after entering Shaanxi and Gansu, and he has not recovered so far, so he ...... The military and political affairs of the Shaanxi and Gansu sides are still represented by Zhao Junchen! ”

Speaking of this, a glimmer of light flashed in Zhou Shangjing's old eyes.

At the same time, all the ministers in the imperial study also had solemn expressions and suspicious expressions.

After all, Liang Fuchen suddenly fell seriously ill when he was about to replace Zhao Junchen, and this timing was too coincidental, and all the ministers present had seen a lot of conspiracies and tricks, and at this time they couldn't help but think - could Liang Fuchen's sudden serious illness be related to Zhao Junchen?

However, in the end, no one said what they thought in their hearts, after all, in the absence of empirical evidence, this kind of speculation is to maliciously slander the ministers of the imperial court, but it will cause themselves a bloody shame, this kind of thing can only wait until Liang Fuchen returns to Beijing to find out the truth.

What's more, everyone's speculation is just speculation, and no one is sure, after all, Zhao Junchen's various practices during this period of time have certainly caused a lot of controversy, but they are just radical means, but the obvious reasons are that they are upright, for the country and the people, and they have left a way back for themselves, so the ministers can't believe that Zhao Junchen will have the courage to murder the cabinet elders.

However, no one thought that Zhao Junchen's real approach was much worse than they imagined, in order to prevent Liang Fuchen from successfully arriving at Huamachi Camp to replace him, Zhao Junchen directly sent someone to disguise himself as a horse bandit and kidnap Liang Fuchen!

However, Liang Fuchen is a cabinet elder, and once the kidnapping by the "horse bandits" is exposed, it will inevitably make him lose face and lose his prestige. Therefore, Zhao Junchen said in this note that Liang Fuchen was "seriously ill", but he was "kind" to cover up Liang Fuchen's shame, and Zhao Junchen believed that Liang Fuchen would not blame himself for this "white lie" afterwards.

In this way, under the silence of everyone, Zhou Shangjing continued: "As for the second thing reported by Zhao Junchen in this note, it is that the Mongol coalition army's invasion of Shaanxi and Gansu is becoming more and more urgent, because of the sudden appearance of the Dzungar Khanate, this year's border situation is particularly grim, if you follow the methods of previous years to resist foreign invaders, I am afraid it will be difficult to achieve results, and because Liang Fuchen is seriously ill and unable to work, so Zhao Junchen also decided to no longer sit still, but actively formulate plans to resist the invasion of the Mongols......"

Speaking of this, Zhou Shangjing's old face suddenly smiled, and said: "It is said to be 'resisting', but the old man sees that the plan formulated by Zhao Junchen is a very big and ambitious attempt, intending to annihilate the 100,000 Mongolian army that invaded the territory of our dynasty in one go!" …… According to Zhao Junchen's plan, most of the grain and grass in Shaanxi and Gansu were moved by him to the city of Jiezhou in Gongchang Mansion for storage, and he also managed to let the Mongols know the news, and then used the grain and grass in the city of Jiezhou as bait to lure the Mongolian coalition army deep into the enemy's territory, and finally mobilized the troops of the major military towns to cut off the back road of the Mongols, and laid a heavy encirclement, to annihilate the Mongols south of Weishui! ”

As Zhou Shangjing's words fell, all the ministers who had never read the song were shocked!

In fact, the total number of Mongol coalition troops that invaded the territory of the Ming Dynasty was only 60,000 soldiers and horses, and the so-called "100,000 Mongol army" was just a false report by Zhao Junchen, after all, the two sets of numbers of "60,000" and "100,000" seemed to be less than doubled, but they gave people the feeling that they were far away, and such numbers could also strive for more benefits and merits for Zhao Junchen after the war.

But the ministers present didn't know this, and only felt that as Zhou Shangjing said, Zhao Junchen's ambitions and intentions were too big, and he actually intended to annihilate the 100,000 Mongolian army in one go!

And this time, the ministers were no longer silent, and they couldn't help but express their attitudes.

Wang Shou, the secretary of the Ministry of War, took the lead and said: "Zhao Shangshu's plan, I'm afraid it's a bit taken for granted, right?" The Mongols will never be easily fooled, even if the Mongols are tricked, Zhao Shangshu wants to mobilize the troops of the major military towns to cut off the back road of the Mongols and set up a heavy encirclement, I am afraid it is not easy, the Mongols have always been dominated by cavalry, the speed of the march is the fastest, and they will never sit still! ”

Then, Lin Wei, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, also said: "Yes, after all, Zhao Shangshu is a civilian official and does not know military affairs, his plan must be in vain, just a waste of effort." ”

Zhang Bochong, the secretary of the Criminal Department, then said: "Zhao Junchen's plan is too risky, but it is still a prelude, which is really bold!" ”

Then, the elder Cheng Yuandao put on a sad look and said: "The old man said from the beginning that Zhao Junchen does not have any relevant experience, and the situation on the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu is complicated, and he will definitely cause chaos in the trilateral military and political affairs, but it is a pity that Zhao Junchen has always been used to being domineering in the capital, and after entering the territory of Shaanxi and Gansu, he actually set aside the trilateral governor appointed by the imperial court as a disaster relief messenger, which is already a bad rule, but it is also excusable, but he should make use of his strengths and avoid weaknesses in this situation. Sticking to the rules, now he has put forward such a whimsical plan, I am afraid that it will disrupt the original defense plan of the Shaanxi and Gansu triaxes, if the northwest border defense of the imperial court is flawed because of this, the imperial court must hold Zhao Junchen responsible! ”

Suddenly, due to some subconscious drives, many ministers in a row questioned Zhao Junchen's plan without thinking deeply, and their attitudes were quite intense.

Zhou Shangjing turned his head and glanced at Wang Shou, Lin Wei, Cheng Yuandao and others, his expression was quite meaningful.

With Zhou Shangjing's old and spicy eyes, he naturally understands the real reason for these people's strong opposition!

Without him, after seeing Zhao Junchen's ambition, they felt scared! They were afraid that Zhao Junchen's plan would eventually fail, causing the rout and erosion of the entire northwest frontier defense! They were even more afraid that Zhao Junchen's plan would succeed, and in that case, Zhao Junchen's rise momentum would no longer be able to be suppressed!

Then, a smile flashed on Zhou Shangjing's old face, and he said slowly: "In fact, according to Zhao Junchen's note, the Mongols have indeed taken the bait, just when Zhao Junchen wrote this note, the Mongols' 100,000 army has arrived under the city of Jiezhou, but because Zhao Junchen has already arranged in the city of Jiezhou, the Mongols' siege has been delayed, and Zhao Junchen has taken the opportunity to mobilize the troops of Ningxia, Gansu, Guyuan and other military towns to cut off the back road of the Mongolian army and complete the siege...... If nothing else, while our people were discussing, Zhao Junchen was leading the border army of Shaanxi and Gansu to a decisive battle with the Mongolian army, and the final outcome should be a matter of the past few days...... According to the old man, Zhao Junchen's plan is still very likely to be successful! ”

"What!?"

Hearing Zhou Shangjing's words, the ministers who were still questioning just now were shocked again!

Zhao Junchen's seemingly whimsical plan turned out to be a success?

For a while, everyone thought about what kind of far-reaching impact Zhao Junchen's plan would have in the center of the imperial court after it succeeded!

If Zhao Junchen really led the border army to annihilate the 100,000 Mongol army that invaded the territory of the Ming Dynasty, such a feat would definitely go down in history, side by side with Wang Mingyang, Yu Qian and other famous ministers of the previous dynasty!

At that time, Zhao Junchen's reputation will inevitably rise, if the Qingliu continue to promote Zhao Junchen as a corrupt official and traitor with evil deeds, will the scholars and the people still be willing to believe it?

At that time, Zhao Junchen's political capital will be unparalleled, and his influence will also expand rapidly.

At that time, Zhao Junchen's position will be completely stabilized, and he will become a famous minister and hero in the eyes of the world, and will be praised by the world, won't it be difficult to overthrow him again?

Thinking of this, many of the ministers in the imperial study had uncertain expressions, and they only felt that the future situation of the imperial court was about to change.

At this time, Zuo Lanshan, who had always been low-key and silent, suddenly asked with a smile: "Ladies and gentlemen, if Lord Zhao can really annihilate the 100,000 Mongol army that invaded this time, it is undoubtedly a great thing...... But I don't think the adults seem to be happy? ”

During this period of time, because of Zhao Junchen's various controversial practices on the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu, it has caused the impeachment of hundreds of officials in the temple, and Zuo Lanshan, as the second person of the "Zhao Party", is also embarrassed and a little disgraced, and now he also thinks of the various impacts that Zhao Junchen's plan will have after the success, and suddenly has a sense of raising his eyebrows and a bright future, but he is no longer low-key and takes the initiative to ridicule.

After hearing Zuo Lanshan's ridicule, Cheng Yuandao, Wang Shou and others found out that they were a little out of shape, and they couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

Shen Changmao was a little unaccustomed to Zuo Lanshan's villainous appearance, but he snorted coldly: "Elder Zuoge, Zhao Shangshu's plan has not yet succeeded, and the final outcome is still unknown. ”

On the other side, Emperor Deqing saw that several ministers were about to fall into controversy again, but he said: "As Zhou Ge Lao said, whether Zhao Junchen's plan can succeed or not, the imperial court should be able to receive the news soon, and I summoned you to enter the palace overnight to discuss this time, but it is for the third thing that Zhao Junchen has reported in this note!" ”

After speaking, Emperor Deqing's gaze turned to Zhou Shangjing and motioned for Zhou Shangjing to continue.

I saw that Zhou Shangjing's expression became more and more meaningful, and he continued: "Shen Shoufu thinks that we should seek defeat before winning at this time, so naturally we can't make a mistake, but Lord Zhao seems to be full of confidence in his plan, and the third thing in his song is to suggest that the imperial court should take the opportunity to recover Hetao after winning this battle, and he has also formulated a series of overall plans!" ”

As Zhou Shangjing's words fell, all the ministers in the imperial study were shocked again!

Zhao Junchen's plan to annihilate the 100,000 Mongolian army was already extremely ambitious in their eyes, but they didn't expect that Zhao Junchen's ambition was far more than that, and he even wanted to take the opportunity to expand the territory for the imperial court!

For a while, there was only one thought left in everyone's hearts - why did Zhao Junchen seem to be a different person after leaving Beijing? Where does Zhao Junchen's self-confidence and ambition come from? If Zhao Junchen really realizes all his intentions, where will the situation in the imperial court go?

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PS: Originally, I wanted to write the content of the discussion between Emperor Deqing and the ministers in one chapter, but because this book has not been involved in the situation of the temple center for a long time, this plot should not only describe the process and results of the consultation between the Deqing Emperor and the ministers, but also write about the changes in the situation in the temple center during this period of time, but it is difficult to end in one chapter, so I have to split it into two chapters.

In the next few days, the bugs will be rarely idle, and they will be updated steadily, and there will still be a big chapter tomorrow.

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