Even Lu Zhen himself couldn't be too sure what the emperor thought, and the other courtiers naturally couldn't guess. Therefore, in the eyes of the ministers, Lu Jin, who was toasted by the Son of Heaven with a golden cup, is naturally a saint, which is really enviable.

And among them, the most jealous is, of course, Wang Yue, who has been by Zhu Qiyu's side. He asked himself that he had won the favor of the Son of Heaven in the past two years, and it seemed that it was only a matter of time before he replaced Lu Jin. But today's banquet made him see the truth clearly, it turned out that the distance between the slave and the courtier was still so great that it was out of reach. This made him feel more and more uncomfortable, and the hostility hidden in his eyes when he occasionally looked at Lu Jin.

But after this open and secret battle, Wang Yue has a clear understanding of the difference in strength between the two sides, even if the holy family or something is put aside, compared to the forces of the two sides of the factory and the guard, the East Factory and the Jinyi Guard, which have only regained some improvement, are too far behind, once they really start, they are completely vulnerable. In this case, the only way to do this is to be patient for the time being, and then to take revenge on this arrow when there is an opportunity in the future.

The banquet continued, and the Son of Heaven toasted some of the courtiers who had made meritorious deeds, and then accepted the greetings of the courtiers, until after Shen Shi, when the sky gradually darkened, and the ministers got up and took leave. Today is still the Lantern Festival, and everyone has to go home and have a good reunion with their families. After all, after tonight, these court officials will start to get busy again, and there will not be so many opportunities to be with their families.

In the cold wind, the officials walked out of the palace in groups, and some people whispered something from time to time, and Lu Zhen also walked with Yu Qian at this time, and carefully supported the old man who was already a little staggered and walked forward slowly.

Because of the change of seizing the door, Yu Qian's life trajectory has also undergone a complete change, and he is still alive and well when he is over seventy years old. It's just that his body bones are obviously not as good as Hu Hu, who practiced martial arts when he was young, so he is only seventy years old, and his movements look very old.

"Shansi, this time it's really thanks to you and Jinyiwei for helping. Otherwise, not only all officials will suffer, but the disaster of Dongchang will have to rise. Yu Qian said with emotion.

"Lord Yu, you are serious, my Jinyiwei is doing all this for myself. If Dongchang really gets up, we must first take Jinyiwei, so whether it is public or private, we have to break this game. What's more, now that the court and the outside are actually very peaceful, it is really difficult to have any more incidents. ”

"yes. Even the old man couldn't have imagined that after experiencing that great change, my Daming would be able to regain his strength so easily. In particular, the income of the household department has increased continuously in the past few years, and even doubled compared with the orthodox dynasty. It is precisely because of this that the imperial court has the spare time to deal with many major matters such as border defense and river defense. If I didn't have enough money and food in the treasury, I can't imagine how I would have dealt with all the troubles in the world.

Speaking of which, I would like to say that it is thanks to the policy of opening up the sea that you advocated and firmly implemented a few years ago. I didn't think it in the past, but now I think everyone in the world should know what the opening of the sea means to my Ming Dynasty and how important it is. So if you really want to talk about it, the old man's credit is far inferior to yours. Yu Qian sighed sincerely.

Lu Jinxi hurriedly said humbly: "My lord's words have made the lower officials embarrassed. Although the issue of opening the sea was strongly advocated by me, the real situation we have today is the result of the joint efforts of officials and people in various localities, and I dare not take credit. And compared to your performance in turning the tide that day, what is my point? ”

"Hehe, you don't have to be so humble. But ......" Yu Qian said, frowning slightly: "The Son of Heaven's actions today are always a little strange, and the old man is still a little worried about you." ”

"What Lord Yu said is that the lower officials understand." Lu Zhen also looked solemn, nodded and said, "After all, this matter is contrary to Your Majesty's intentions, but I will deal with it." Anyway, I think it won't be long before the commander of the Jinyi Guard will hand over this position, and then I will really be unofficial and light, and I will be an idle earl in the prosperous age. ”

"You, you're only in your thirties, and you're in your prime, do you want to stop asking about the world? In comparison, how many people are still in the imperial examination and planning to become officials. Yu Qian shook his head a little amusedly.

"Maybe it's because Xia Guan doesn't have any ambitions. As long as I can be peaceful, the monarch is wise and virtuous, and the people live and work in peace and contentment, I still have to be a useless person who doesn't have to worry about anything. Lu Zhen also said with a smile. In fact, he felt a little tired, not only physically tired, but also mentally tired.

Zhu Qiyu's relationship with him gradually changed, which made him very uncomfortable. He knew better that as long as he had been the commander of the Jinyi Guard, the emperor would always be jealous. Only when he surrenders all his power will the Son of Heaven settle down and no longer have to worry about his own merits or doing something that is difficult for him to deal with.

Yu Qian also faintly realized this, so he didn't persuade anything more, just sighed lightly. But he glanced at Lu Jingao, but he may not be able to do anything with this kind of mind.

Throughout the ages, there are countless people who have been able to serve and start well, but there are not many who have died well. And there are even fewer people who can retreat bravely at their peak. Lu Jin, a man in his thirties and in the prime of life, can not be disturbed by power and decisively choose to retire, and he has surpassed countless officials in history in ancient and modern times.

After the two of them had spoken for a while, they said goodbye, and then each boarded the carriage and left. Lu Zhen leaned against the wall of the carriage, thinking about something, maybe he should really give up the position of the commander. With Yang Zhen and Qinggele now, their abilities are enough to continue to serve the imperial court with the brothers of Jinyiwei.

Although the White Lotus Sect is about to resurrect again, and although the threat of the Mongolian people in the north is still there, these are all problems that have entangled the Ming Dynasty for two hundred years, and it is impossible for him to completely solve him. The only concern is the issue of artillery. If he retreats and the court no longer pays attention to this matter, it will be one less guarantee.

"Then when the artillery has an eyebrow, I will ask the Son of Heaven to take my leave. I think that in a few months, everything will have an answer, and it can also give Yang Zhen and them more time to experience and familiarize themselves. At this time, Lu Zhen had secretly made a decision in his heart. It's time to get out of the court battle and relax completely......

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"Master, are you back......" As soon as Lu Jin's carriage stopped, and no one had come down, Han Wutong had already hurried over after hearing the news.

"What's going on?" Lu Zhen asked casually while taking off the somewhat tiring sorghum crown and court clothes and handing them over to the other party.

"Not long after you left early in the morning, my lord, someone from Suzhou was sent over. In addition, General Lin from Jizhou also had his subordinates rushing over, saying that they had something important to report. Han Wutong hurriedly reported.

Lu Zhen sighed and asked, "Where are they each?" ”

"People from Suzhou were arranged in the front hall, and General Lin's people were invited to the side hall for tea."

"Oh? It is indeed a little strange to say, in previous years, Lin Lie gave me a New Year's greeting before Chinese New Year's Eve, is it so long late this year? It's almost the Lantern Festival, and I haven't heard from the Ministry of War that there is a military situation in Jizhou recently. Lu Zhen said casually, but the person went to the front hall. Lin Lie is his own person, and it is nothing to let his people wait a little longer.

It is said that because of Lu Jin's backer, and Lin Lie himself did lead the troops to train the troops well, so in just a few years, he was transferred from Zhejiang to a border pass like Jizhou, and he was directly promoted to the chief soldier. This military position is already top-notch in the border army, and there are no less than 50,000 elite soldiers under his command.

Seeing Lu Zhen walking towards the front hall, Han Wutong seemed to want to say something more, but in the end he endured it. It's just that there is still some eagerness in his eyes, so he can only hurry up and follow.

In the front hall, a dusty petty official was sitting there drinking tea, and after seeing Lu Zhen striding in, he hurriedly got up and saluted: "Ding Benshan, the official of Suzhou, has seen Wei Chengbo. ”

"You don't have to be polite, just sit down and talk." Lu Zhen waved his hand, and then sat down and asked the other party, "Why did you come to Beijing this time?" ”

"Xia Guan actually came to Beijing to report on his work. But in addition, he was also ordered by the prefect of Xiao to report to the adults about the artillery. ”

"Oh? Got an eyebrow about artillery? Lu Jin's heart suddenly moved when he heard this, and he hurriedly asked.

"Exactly. Just a few years ago, a merchant ship from the sea brought three new cannons, and its regulations were not much different from those captured from pirates in the previous time, and the barrel of the guns seemed to be a little smaller. Ding Benshan hurriedly introduced: "And I heard that this was bought from which country in the west, and several other cannon smiths have also set off from that country on the way to my Daming." ”

"Good!" Lu Zhen was overjoyed when he heard this, and slapped the table and said, "This time, you Suzhou Mansion have really made a great contribution to the imperial court." If the cannon is really usable, then the official will play the Son of Heaven as it is and reward you heavily. ”

"Wei Chengbo praised falsely, the lower officials and others just acted according to your orders, but they didn't dare to take credit." Ding Benshan hurriedly said modestly: "Then after the subordinate officials report on their work, they will return to Suzhou and let them send the artillery to the capital as soon as possible." ”

"Yes, the sooner the better." Lu Zhen nodded in satisfaction. Then he said: "It's getting late today, so you can rest in my house for one night." Come on, go and prepare a table of wine, and I will have two glasses with Lord Ding to celebrate such good news. This is the best New Year's gift of the year! ”

If the Lantern Festival is not out of the year, it is naturally still in the year, and what he said is not wrong.