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Not to mention Huang Yourong's continued persuasion of Zhang Cheng and Lin Wei, nor to talk about the upcoming actions of Huo Zhengyuan and Chen Dongxiang.

said that after the end of the Great Dynasty Conference, in addition to Huang Yourong, there was another person who was also ignored by the officials, intentionally or unintentionally.

It stands to reason that this person's attitude can be said to be very important, and no matter how much attention is paid to it, it should not be ignored in any case.

However, during this great court meeting, this person's performance was even more low-key than Zhao Junchen, and he also cleverly hid his true attitude, coupled with Shen Changmao's stealing the limelight, so the officials all forgot the importance of this person.

This person is naturally the elder Zhou Shangjing!

After the end of the court meeting, when the hundreds of officials gathered around Shen Changmao and paid tribute to Shen Changmao, Zhou Shangjing's performance was as low-key as ever, and he only led a few core members of the "Zhou Party" to slowly leave the Imperial Palace.

When passing by Shen Changmao and others, Zhou Shangjing's expression was indifferent, and he didn't look sideways, as if he didn't care that Shen Changmao stole his limelight at all, but Song Qiwen, the secretary of the Ministry of Officials, Li He, a scholar of the Baohe Palace, Zhang Bochong, the secretary of the Criminal Department, and others had different expressions, either disdain, ridicule, or unhappiness.

After everyone left the Imperial Palace, Zhang Bochong couldn't bear it anymore, and complained softly to Zhou Shangjing: "Lord Shoufu, you look at Shen Changmao's villainous appearance, but he just picked up a little cheap while you were fighting with His Majesty, and I really think how great I am!" ”

Zhou Shangjing has now lost his position as the first assistant of the cabinet, and is just an ordinary cabinet elder. But Zhang Bochong and others still call Zhou Shangjing "Lord Shoufu" in private, in their eyes. Shen Changmao is not worthy of the first assistant of the cabinet at all, and this position will return to Zhou Shangjing's hands sooner or later.

Li He sneered: "Shen Changmao has been suppressed by Lord Shoufu for nearly twenty years. Now that I've finally seen a bit of scenery, I'm naturally getting carried away...... Look at his performance at the Great Court Meeting today, he actually regarded himself as a representative of hundreds of officials, how arrogant and ignorant! At this time when the situation is undecided, Shen Changmao just made a rash statement for the sake of some immediate interests, which is really short-sighted, and sooner or later he will regret it! ”

Song Qiwen's expression was full of disdain, and he also said: "Shen Changmao's means, scheming, and strength. It's not enough to serve as the head of the cabinet, and under the premise of an unstable foundation, he still acts so risky, hehe, I'm afraid that the more he climbs, the more dangerous it will be, and when he falls, the more miserable the end will be, let's just wait and see what happens. ”

Hear everyone's statement. Zhou Shangjing's expression was still calm, and he just said slowly: "The matter of commercial taxation is the most sensitive and complex, involving the interests of all parties. His Majesty wants to change the status quo of commercial taxation, but the attitude of the officials is diametrically opposite. While many opportunities have emerged, there have also been many risks. What the final result is, even the old man is not sure. At this time, we just need to wait and see what happens, and we don't need to be deeply involved, and when the overall situation is decided, we will join in and strike later, and no one can get around us, so we can't be the first bird...... Of course, the old man also knows that you are used to the attention of hundreds of officials on weekdays, and now you are robbed of the limelight by others, so you are naturally a little unaccustomed to it, and even have some complaints, but you must also remember that only by enduring loneliness can you keep the prosperity, if you can't even bear the forbearance for a while, how can you achieve great things in the future? ”

After hearing Zhou Shangjing's advice, all the "Zhou Party" officials naturally agreed.

Waiting to see what happens and taking the initiative is Zhou Shangjing's response strategy for the current situation; It is easy not to make a move, but if you shoot, it will be hit, which is also Zhou Shangjing's consistent style.

After a pause, Zhou Shangjing commented in a flat tone: "In addition, don't underestimate Shen Changmao too much, he has been up and down in the sea for many years, and he knows the three flavors of being an official, but he is not a person who does not know the depths. It's just that the fate of Wen Guanliang and Huang Yourong made him feel a lot of pressure, so he had to take the initiative to change! Recently, he seems to be aggressive and expanding his power, but in fact he is just desperate and trying his best to protect himself......

Now, Shen Changmao's approach seems to be a bit risky, but for Shen Changmao, it is also a last resort, if he waits until the situation is determined before making a stand, he will not reap any benefits...... After all, except for His Majesty and the old man, no one in the Manchu Dynasty has the capital to brake quietly and strike backwards, Shen Changmao does not have this capital, and Zhao Junchen also does not have this capital, so they can only take risks. ”

Speaking of this, Zhou Shangjing's deep eyes flashed a trace of interested expectation, and continued: "It's just that although the two of them are also taking risks, the direction they choose is diametrically opposite, Zhao Junchen wants to change the status quo, fish in troubled waters, and win in chaos, while Shen Changmao wants to maintain the status quo and win the support of hundreds of officials...... In the end, I don't know whose adventure will succeed and whose adventure will fail? ”

Song Qiwen keenly noticed the change in Zhou Shangjing's expression, and immediately asked, "So, according to Elder Yige, which of the two of them has a better chance of winning?" ”

Zhou Shangjing shook his head and said: "The path chosen by Shen Changmao seems to be smooth, and he can reap many benefits in the early stage, but in fact, it is just a dead end, because he wants to maintain the existing pattern of the imperial court, but under the existing pattern, he will never be the opponent of His Majesty and the old man, and his embarrassing situation still cannot be reversed, he is just struggling; As for the path chosen by Zhao Junchen, it seems to be rugged, and there will be many obstacles in the early stage, but this is the right direction, after all, only by breaking the existing pattern of the imperial court can he truly enter the inner circle of decision-making of the imperial court and get rid of His Majesty's manipulation to the greatest extent...... However, although Shen Changmao's direction is wrong, and Zhao Junchen's direction is correct, it is still unknown how far they can go, and the wrong ones may not fail, and the right ones may not succeed. ”

After hearing Zhou Shangjing's explanation, a trace of doubt flashed in Song Qiwen's eyes.

According to Zhou Shangjing's description, even if Shen Changmao can be prosperous for a while, he is still not worried, among the hundred officials, the person who can really threaten Zhou Shangjing's status is actually Zhao Junchen - although the current Zhao Junchen is far from enough, but there are already faint signs.

However, judging from Zhou Shangjing's attitude, not only did he not regard Zhao Junchen as a threat, but he appreciated it, and even had some vague expectations, as if he was not worried about the change of the pattern of the imperial court and the shaking of his position.

However, Song Qiwen quickly thought of Zhou Shangjing's reason - Zhou Shangjing's means, mind and strength are far superior to his peers, and he naturally has strong self-confidence, and he can deal with it freely in any situation, even if the pattern of the DPRK and China changes, Zhou Shangjing will only become a beneficiary, not a victim.

In fact, Song Qiwen's guess was not wrong, and Zhou Shangjing was not worried about changes in the pattern of the imperial court - "braking with static" and "striking later" are certainly Zhou Shangjing's strengths, but Zhou Shangjing also does not lack the means to fish in troubled waters and win in chaos.

But Song Qiwen's speculation is only one of Zhou Shangjing's many reasons, and it is still the most insignificant one.

In fact, Zhou Shangjing still has many more in-depth considerations about commercial taxation, the pattern of the imperial court, and even the gradual rise of Zhao Junchen, but the time is not yet ripe, and it is not the time to explain it in detail to Song Qiwen, Li He, and Zhang Bochong.

Therefore, Zhou Shangjing did not continue to explain, but suddenly ordered: "Next, you must pay close attention to the actions of Shen Changmao and Zhao Junchen, Shen Changmao is now struggling to expand his power, so we can also take this opportunity to send someone to join in and take the opportunity to spy on Shen Changmao's next plan...... In addition, let those officials of Nanzhili pay close attention to the dynamics of Nanzhili, Zhao Junchen's performance today seems to be low-key, but he has always planned and then acted, and his pilot plan may not be so simple. ”

After hearing Zhou Shangjing's orders, all the "Zhou Party" officials naturally responded one after another.

For the "Zhou Party", all the low-key is temporary, and when the preparation is complete and the time is right, they will naturally stand up again and make a big move.

At that time, none of the officials and factions in the DPRK and China could prevent them from achieving their goals.

In this regard, whether it is Song Qiwen, Li He, Zhang Bochong, or other "Zhou Party" officials, they are all full of confidence and full of expectations.

Because, for more than ten years, they rarely missed!

*****

However, he said that when Zhou Shangjing and the members of the "Zhou Party" were discussing the next plan, Zhao Junchen had already led Zuo Lanshan, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Tong Huan, the envoy of the Ministry of Justice, and Qin Huaiyuan, the servant of the Criminal Department, to leave the Forbidden City and go to Zhao's mansion in a sedan chair.

There, Gu Quan, Zhan Shanchang, Liu Changan and others have been waiting for a long time.

After getting the power of the pilot, Zhao Junchen naturally wanted to do a big job, so he also had many things to tell the officials of the "Zhao Party".

Speaking of which, Zhao Junchen has not returned to his home for more than four months, and in the Zhao Mansion, Fang Ru has also been waiting for Zhao Junchen for a long time, and there are many things that need to be reported to Zhao Junchen.

However, when Zhao Junchen returned to the Zhao Mansion, Fang Ru did not show up immediately, but hid to the side, waiting for Zhao Junchen's discussion with the officials of the "Zhao Party" to end - after all, Fang Ru's ostensible identity was just a concubine, and Fang Ru herself was also very measured, knowing which occasions she could show up and which occasions she should avoid.

After returning to the Zhao Mansion, Zhao Junchen led the "Zhao Party" to the living room of the Zhao Mansion, and everyone sat down.

Then, Zhao Junchen didn't wait for others to speak, and announced first: "Everyone, our opportunity has come!" ”

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PS: Well, today's first update!

…… (To be continued.) )