A large part of the history of the Ming Dynasty in the court is the history of a struggle between monarchs and ministers.

At the beginning, it was the monarchy who had the absolute upper hand, whether it was Zhu Yuanzhang, Emperor Hongwu, or Zhu Di, Emperor Yongle, they were all extremely powerful and domineering lords, not to mention that the power of the ministers was suppressed to death, and many people were even more to blame, and they could only abide by their duties as ministers and were very aggrieved.

But when it came to Emperor Renzong, the situation became very different. The power of the vassals has been greatly expanded, but the power of the monarch has been eroded little by little. After all, people's abilities are high, and their energy is even more different, and it is naturally impossible for the descendants to compare with the vigorous energy and strong control of the founding son. Therefore, they can only give up the power that originally belonged to them to the courtiers below.

As a result, the power of the cabinet, which was originally only the secretary of the Son of Heaven, gradually increased, and it was enough to compete with the imperial power. At the beginning, Zhu Yuanzhang dismissed the prime minister and set up a cabinet in order to monopolize power, but he never dreamed that the unscrupulous descendants of later generations would lose imperial power faster than any dynasty.

Of course, the later emperors did not want such a situation to continue to deteriorate, so from the time of Emperor Xuanzong, a body of celebrants and supervisors was set up to fight with the cabinet to play a role in mutual checks and balances.

As the Son of Heaven, unless you have the amazing combat power of Taizu Taizong, you really can't fight with the civil officials of the Manchu Dynasty when you fight alone. Therefore, at the critical moment, you have to find a helper, and the eunuchs who are trusted by you have become their most convenient and trustworthy existence at this time.

Maybe Xuanzong didn't have the idea of using eunuchs to fight with the courtiers at first, but just had nothing to do to teach the eunuchs in the palace some knowledge. But as time went on, the situation changed, and the celebrant finally came out completely, forming the third pole of the pinnacle of the imperial court's power.

In order to increase the power of the celebrants, the Son of Heaven even gave these eunuchs a part of the power that originally belonged to him. Because the cinnabar red pen is used for the review, it is called the red pen. And the note submitted by the cabinet to the palace is a blue cover, so it is called a blueprint. So, one red and one blue, it seems to be especially right, but I don't know if it is the color symmetry that the son of heaven came up with on a whim, maybe this son of heaven is a virgin.

At this time, Wang Zhen was in the ceremonial supervisor with a red pen to look at the music sent in from all over the country, and was suddenly attracted by a good news sent from Datong, that is, the tip of the pen fell and Zhu Dian didn't care too much: "At this time, there are actually Tartars who invade my border town?" And let the local soldiers and horses be defeated? ”

Although the eunuchs around him were busy with each other, they were also paying attention to the changes in the prince's expression, as long as they could make this ancestor happy, it would be of great help to their status in the celebrant and the palace. Seeing that he suddenly paused, revealing a thoughtful expression, several pairs of eyes also cautiously glanced at Na Suo, trying to figure out what was written on it, and whether he was happy or angry.

After a while, Wang Zhen's eyebrows raised: "Recently, the Tartars in the north have become more and more silent. I have blackmailed the court to open a field several times before, but now that the field has opened, some people are restless, and finally cause a military disaster, do I really dare not clean them up? ”

After a pause, he continued: "This time, this Guangling County Order named Lu Zhen has done a very good job, and he has fought hard for our court, and he should be commended for his good life!" ”

During this time, he intended to learn from Zheng He's thoughts on military exploits, and the eunuchs around him naturally knew it, and when they heard this, they had already guessed the thoughts of their ancestors, and they echoed it one after another, some scolded the Mongolian people for being despicable and greedy, and some praised this Qipin county order that they had never heard of.

Only a eunuch named Cao Rui said: "This Lu County Commander not only has some courage and ability, but also has a long-term vision. He made a statement, saying that he must not be too conservative with the Tartars, even if he could not make repeated northern expeditions like Taizong, he should give them a big lesson, so that they dare not speak lightly. ”

"That's right, this Lu Zhen is the most reasonable when he says this!" Wang Zhen immediately slapped the table in affirmation, and nodded at Cao Rui as if complimenting.

The others all glanced at the lucky man with some jealousy, and it was only because he had seen this recital before that he could say what was most in line with the prince's words. What is the hatred in these people's hearts, why didn't they think about seeing this good news?

But after laughing for a while, Wang Zhen's face became a little gloomy: "It's a pity, such an insightful person is just a seven-rank county commander after all, and he is soft-spoken, and no one in the court will really agree with his words." ”

Everyone else was a little dumbfounded at this moment, and it was really hard to take it. After all, today's celebrant has just started, and his power in the court is very thin, and it is not easy to dominate the public opinion of the court. Originally, as Lu Jin, a civil official in a border area, he might still be able to make a fuss, but a county order, in the capital where high-ranking officials are everywhere and there are many powerful dogs, is too inconspicuous, and no one will care about it at all.

Just when the prince was a little discouraged, the father-in-law of Cao Rui suddenly moved in his heart, and thought of the other copy he had just turned over, which was also about this Lu Jin. After thinking about it carefully, he smiled and said: "Ancestor don't worry, this Lu Zhen is terrible, what he knows, the credit is not only this." ”

"Oh? What else is he capable of? ”

Cao Rui nodded, quickly took out a note from his desk and presented it with both hands: "Ancestor, you see, in this note, the general soldier of Datong praised Lu Zhen well. It is said that he created a thing called an airship, which can fly in mid-air and take in the situation around it for tens or hundreds of miles. It was with this airship that Guang Ling had a timely enough response when he suddenly encountered a Tartar attack, so as to hold the city. ”

"Is there such a miraculous object?" Wang Zhen said in surprise, and then quickly opened the recital and looked at it. At a glance, his face showed a look of joy again: "This Lu Zhen is really versatile, just a small county magistrate really wronged him." And this airship, if it is really as mentioned above, it is indeed a sharp weapon, and our court should promote it throughout the country! ”

"The old ancestor is wise!" Cao Rui hurriedly praised. Although the other people around him showed dissatisfied looks, he didn't pay attention to it at all, who called himself lucky today, and he read several books correctly.

After pondering for a while, Wang Zhencai spoke: "This merit must be rewarded by the imperial court, I will go to see my brother and ask him to issue an order to transfer people from Datong to Beijing." It is also good for the courtiers of the Manchu Dynasty to see what it means to be truly loyal to the country, and by the way, let him explain the details of the battle with the Tartars, as well as the attitude that the court should have. Those civil officials have lived a stable life for too long, and they no longer remember the blue wisps of the road when Taizu Taizong founded the country, this is not possible! ”

After speaking, as soon as he threw away the pen, Wang Zhen took these two pieces and walked away. Only he, a servant who is deeply trusted by the Son of Heaven, can see the current emperor Zhu Qizhen at any time, and he is not called His Majesty or a saint like ordinary people, but he actually uses an extremely close brother.

After he left, in the face of the envious, jealous and hateful eyes of other colleagues, Cao Rui only straightened his stomach, let out a contemptuous snort in his nose, and then sat back in his position to help Wang Zhen deal with the rest of the matter. After this scene, he believed that even if he could not be promoted to the eunuch of Bingbi in a short period of time, his status in Wang Zhen's mind would be very different, and those other people were not worth mentioning at all.

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Half an hour later, in the Wuying Palace, the Son of Heaven had summoned several important members of the cabinet, and pointed to the good news and the song with some excitement: "Have you seen the song from Datong?" This time, my Ming soldiers did not disappoint us. ”

"Your Majesty, this is just a small victory, and it is not worth boasting too much." Seeing that the Son of Heaven was so excited that something was wrong, Yang Pu, who was the only remaining member of the "Sanyang Cabinet", hurriedly stepped forward to advise.

Zhu Qizhen shook his head: "Master Yang's words are wrong, this time he used hundreds of soldiers to hold the siege of several times the enemy, and finally repelled the incoming enemy, this Lu Jin's contribution is really not small." The imperial court has made too much merit, and it must not be rewarded for its merits, otherwise I am afraid that it will chill the hearts of people all over the world. ”

"But ......"

Yang Pu wanted to say something, but was interrupted by the emperor's hand: "And as far as I know, this Lu Jin's credit is not just to defend the city. His views on side affairs, as well as things that can build airships to anticipate the enemy's opportunities, are all great credits. Especially the latter, if the defenders of my city could confirm the enemy's movements a few hours in the morning, the odds of winning any battle would be much higher. What do you think? ”

These orthodox ministers wanted to say that it was just a trick and was not worthy of the court's praise, but seeing the emperor's excited appearance, the words on their lips shrank. Now that the relationship between the monarch and the minister is still harmonious, they don't dare to dismiss the face of the Son of Heaven too much.

In the end, it was Yang Pu, an old minister of several dynasties, who dared to speak: "Your Majesty, it is unknown whether this thing has been artificially exaggerated. ”

"Master Yang is really old and seeking the country, and I think so too. So I plan to bring that Lu Zhen to Beijing, see this airship in person, and then listen to him talk about the situation in the north, I don't know what a few Aiqing think? ”

Although several cabinet members were a little uneasy in their hearts, such a trivial matter really couldn't compete with the Son of Heaven, so they could only nod and agree. It wasn't until later that they learned that Wang Zhen was behind all this and felt regretful.

But Lu Jin, who was thousands of miles away, couldn't have imagined that he was actually involved in the battle between the DPRK and China for no reason, but he didn't know whether this change was a blessing or a curse.