Ma Shiying's heart moved when she heard Liu Kongzhao say this, but she didn't pay much attention to it. The reason is very simple, that is, you Liu Kongzhao has no identity except for being a nobleman.

The Ming Dynasty is a wonderful existence, when their ancestors fought hard one by one and earned titles for future generations, but when it came to future generations, they were not bullshit, and they completely became a waste that could not be resisted and could not be lifted. Therefore, the nobles of the past dynasties were basically raised by the state as pigs, and they had no real power at all.

Now you, Liu Kongzhao, a noble who is hovering outside the center of power, came to Ma Shiying and said that he could make Ma Shiying the first assistant, which made the old fritter Ma Shiying unable to believe it at all.

Ma Shiying said with a smile after hearing Liu Kongzhao finish speaking: "Brother Fuyang, brother thank you for your kindness, but as Brother Fuyang, I'm afraid I can't do anything!" ”

Ma Shiying's words were a bit heavy, so he almost pointed at his nose and scolded Liu Kongzhao for bullshit. However, Liu Kongzhao was not angry, but said with a smile: "Brother Yaocao, the younger brother also saw it at the court meeting, Brother Yaocao is not without merit, and the prison country is also very dependent on Brother Yaocao, but what Brother Yaocao lacks is an opportunity!" A time for someone to speak! The little brother is not talented, and he can create this opportunity for Brother Yaocao! ”

Liu Kongzhao's words really spoke to Ma Shiying's heart, Ma Shiying's identity, qualifications, fame, and merits are all there, that is, one person can speak for him, but the DPRK and the Central Committee are all Donglin Party, and no one can say this for Ma Shiying. Not to mention that Zhu Yousong is not a dictator like Jiajing, or Zhu Yousong can make this central decree, Ma Shiying still has face, and he must not be cheeky to take office.

The scholars of the Ming Dynasty were very dignified, and the imperial cabinet had to go through the court push, of course, there were times when the emperor was directly appointed, but as long as there were some self-respecting scholars, it was absolutely impossible to accept the emperor's direct appointment. Why can't Lao Tzu level work? Do you have to be appointed directly by the emperor?

In the history of the Ming Dynasty, there were also several emperors who appointed the first assistant, such as Zhang Xuan, the first assistant in the early years of Jiajing, because he stood on the opposite side of the scholar in the great ceremonial incident, no one recommended him at all when the court pushed, and finally Jiajing appointed Zhang Xuan as the first assistant in the middle order.

In addition to being able to pat the emperor's ass, Zhang Xuan is not inferior to those famous ministers of Sanyang in government affairs, Zhang Xuan has done a lot of things in rectifying the rule of officials and reforming the economy. Under his governance, a solid foundation was laid for the great economic development of the Wanli period. Later generations also recorded in the history books that Zhang Xuan was always honest and self-controlled, erudite and discerning, and brave in innovation, which can be described as a rare virtuous minister in the Jiajing Dynasty and a rare cabinet minister in the Ming Dynasty.

But because Zhang Xuan was not directly appointed by the emperor but was not promoted by the court back then, Zhang Zhang's evaluation in the Ming Dynasty has not been high, and even many literati have compiled books to scold him, writing Zhang Xuan as a traitor who only knows how to flatter.

Ma Shiying's life creed is to be a famous minister, and naturally he doesn't want to become a traitor like Zhang Xuan, so if he wants to be the first assistant, he must go through legal means, and he must not engage in crooked ways.

Liu Kongzhao said it simply, but now that the court has set the first assistant, that is Shi Kefa, if Shi Kefa doesn't make any big mistakes, it is basically impossible to change Ma Shiying.

Ma Shiying thought for a while and asked: "Brother Fuyang, but now that the prison has issued an order, and the appointment of Yuanfu is Shi Xianzhi, what should the foolish brother do?" ”

Liu Kongzhao said: "This is simple, Shi Xianzhizhi is very talented, he has no ability but his heart is very high, if there is anything that can make him unable to step down in front of the prison state, he will automatically resign, and then there will only be Jiang Yueguang, Wang Duo and Brother Yaocao in the cabinet, the two of them have no administrative ability, naturally this first assistant wants Brother Yaocao to do it!" ”

Yue Qijie listened to Liu Kongzhao's great joy on the side, and hurriedly added: "My lord, what Uncle Cheng said is very right!" It just so happens that Shi Xianzhi has seven indispensable handles in our hands, so it is better to spread them in the city, and Shi Xianzhi will definitely be disgraced at that time, and he will definitely resign according to Shi Xianzhi's temper! ”

Ma Cheng listened to these old guys on the side to frame Shi Kefa, and listened to their dirty methods, and his scalp was numb. These guys analyzed Shi Kefa too thoroughly, if they really spread the seven, Shi Kefa would definitely be embarrassed, and he could only resign when the time came.

Liu Kongzhao didn't expect Shi Kefa to have such a big handle in Ma Shiying's hands, so he hurriedly said: "Brother Yaocao, this matter is wrapped up in the junior brother, the younger brother still has some friends in the Nanjing Xungui circle, and he must be able to spread the news!" ”

When Ma Shiying heard that he had become the first assistant, he said with a smile: "Then please ask the virtuous brother of Fuyang, after the matter is completed, Admiral Caojiang will be the virtuous brother!" Ma Shiying naturally knew that Feng Guan made a wish, and Liu Kongzhao was very happy to hear Ma Shiying say this. The current governor of Caojiang is Xu Hongji, the Duke of Wei, and Liu Kongzhao was originally at odds with Xu Hongji, but now he is happy to be able to replace him.

Liu Kongzhao got up to say goodbye, Ma Shiying got up to see him off, and when Liu Kongzhao left, Ma Shiying said to Yue Qijie: "What Cheng'er said just now should also be done together!" Let Gao Jie and Liu Zeqing make trouble, and it is best to slaughter a few towns, so that those Donglin parties in the DPRK and China can pay attention to it! ”

Ma Cheng listened to it and wanted to kill again, but Ma Cheng thought about it and didn't speak, after what happened in Huai'an, Ma Cheng had already seen what era this was, and how many people could he save?

Ma Shiying's subordinates were very efficient, and on the eighth day of the fifth month, Jiangnan Fu Zheng Xuan reported: "Liu Zeqing's soldiers in Jiangbei rode tens of thousands, all of them wanted to cross the river, and the people of Sanwu breathed chaotically. The ministers were stationed in Jiang, and the suicide note was Gao and Liu Ershuai, who refused to stop the army, and asked Jiang Wuchen to help Jingkou quickly! ”

The DPRK was frightened when it received the news from Jiangbei, and now this gang of rebels is about to cross the river, what should they do? But isn't there still the Governor of Fengyang! Ma Shiying stood up at this time and was ordered to cross the river to negotiate with the Jiangbei Town General, and got the news that the prison state rewarded them unfairly. At the same time, the towns of Jiangbei will say that now the whereabouts of the princes and sons of the first emperor are unknown, and the prison country should be directly called the emperor, why do you still want to engage in the supervision of the country?

When Ma Shiying spread the news to Nanjing, the entire Nanjing court was sad, and the Donglin Party had no military power in their hands, so they panicked one by one when they heard the news, and there was no other way than to let Xu Hongji, the governor of Caojiang, lead the troops to guard the ferry.

In addition to these news, there was also a rumor in Nanjing City, saying that the current first assistant Shi Kefa, in order to prevent the prison from ascending the throne, made something "seven can'ts", so the prison country also appointed him as the first assistant without blame in the past, if Shi Kefa really has a little bit of face, he should resign.

After the news spread, it quickly became multiple versions, what Shi Kefa received from King Gui how much silver promised to support King Gui to ascend the throne, what Shi Kefa betrayed the princes of Donglin in order to become the first assistant, etc., it is really rumored that there is a nose and an eye.

In the end, Shi Kefa couldn't stand it anymore, and went into the palace to meet Zhu Yousong to explain the matter. Of course, on the surface, Zhu Yousong forgave Shi Kefa, but Shi Kefa is a moral model, and he can still serve as the first assistant, so he proposed to Zhu Yousong to resign from the first assistant at that time, but Zhu Yousong rejected Shi Kefa on the grounds that the court was first established.

Although Shi Kefa's resignation was rejected, everyone in the court knew that it was impossible for Shi Kefa to continue in office, but he didn't expect that Shi Kefa would be replaced after only a few days as the first assistant, which probably set a record for the previous first assistant of the Ming Dynasty.

On 11 May, the army in Jiangbei became more and more fierce, and the bigwigs of the DPRK and China had no choice but to compromise, and under the leadership of the first assistant Shi Kefa, Jiang Yueguang and other elders, the ministers persuaded them three times to invite Zhu Yousong, the superintendent of the state, to ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor.

Of course it is good to be the emperor, Zhu Yousong finally proclaimed himself emperor in the Wuying Hall of the imperial city on May 15, announcing the change of the Yuan Hongguang to the world!

On May 16, Zhu Yousong was called the emperor's first court meeting, Shi Kefa again submitted his resignation, Zhu Yousong saw Shi Kefa's resolute attitude, and he had already discussed with Ma Shiying, which allowed Shi Kefa to replace Ma Shiying to supervise Jiangbei.

In this way, the position of the first assistant of the cabinet is vacant, and all the forces in the court and China are eyeing each other, but before the others can speak, Ma Shiying stood up first and said: "Your Majesty, now there is a shortage of personnel in the cabinet, and the minister recommends Liu Kongzhao, a sincere uncle, to join the cabinet to do things!" ”

As soon as Ma Shiying's words came out, there was a big uproar in the hall, and there was a whole set of rules for the cabinet candidates in the Ming Dynasty, first if they were Jinshi, they would also be admitted to Shujishi, and finally they would be born in Hanlin Academy, so that they would be eligible to enter the cabinet. You Liu Kongzhao is a noble background, not a Jinshi or a Hanlin, and you still want to enter the cabinet? It's true that these court bigwigs are dead people!

Zhang Shenyan, who was the secretary of the ministry, immediately stood up and objected: "Your Majesty, what Ma Shiying said is not in accordance with the regulations at all!" The cabinet candidates of this dynasty must be from Hanlin, and there is no tradition of nobles entering the cabinet in this dynasty, so the ministers oppose it! ”

As soon as Zhang Shenyan spoke, many people in the Donglin Party stood up and seconded the proposal. This matter is obviously impossible, but now that Liu Kongzhao is involved, he has to stand up and explain.

Liu Kongzhao stood up from the queue of honors and said, "Your Majesty, the minister has something to say!" ”

After getting Zhu Yousong's approval, Liu Kongzhao said: "Your Majesty, the minister knows the regulations of our dynasty, so the minister does not plan to enter the cabinet!" ”

The Donglin Party led by Zhang Shenyan nodded when he heard Liu Kongzhao say this, it seems that you still know that your identity is not enough.

But I didn't expect Liu Kongzhao to change his words: "Your Majesty, the minister recommends Ma Shiying as the first assistant!" ”

Liu Kongzhao's words blew up the temple, and Zhang Shenyan didn't expect that this was Ma Shiying's real purpose. It turned out that Ma Shiying was not convenient to recommend herself, so she took the opportunity to recommend Liu Kongzhao to the cabinet, and then gave Liu Kongzhao a chance to speak, so that Ma Shiying could be the first assistant.

Zhang Shenyan hurriedly stood up and objected: "Your Majesty, Ma Shiying is not from Hanlin and is not suitable to serve as the first assistant, so the minister recommended Jiang Yueguang to serve as the first assistant!" ”