As soon as Wang Tingxiang stepped into the cabinet duty room, he saw the three cabinet elders sitting in front of him, just turning his head to look at him. The pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info met the eyes of the three people, making him slightly nervous.

But then he calmed down, and said with neither humility nor arrogance, "Xia Guan has seen three elders. ”

Seeing this, the three of them bowed slightly, it was not the first time they had seen Wang Tingxiang. But every time I saw him, he always looked unhurried and light-hearted, which also left a deep impression on the three of them. This is also the reason why after the latter walked in the imperial study, Liu Jian and others surprisingly did not speak out against it.

Letting this stay in the imperial study to help the emperor deal with the sparseness is much more reliable than Liu Jian, a eunuch.

Liu Jian glanced at Wang Tingxiang and said lightly, "Wang Waiter, should I call you Waiter, what about the Imperial Secretary, or the Minister in charge of the Internal Affairs Office?" ”

Although the tone is flat, it is sharp.

Although the three official titles are all held by Wang Tingxiang, it seems that it will not be wrong to answer any of them, but Wang Tingxiang does not think so. The former one is the official title officially awarded by the imperial court, while the last two are the official titles drawn up by the emperor. If you answer the former one, it is obvious that people feel that he is still on the side of the imperial court. If you answer the latter two, it obviously makes people feel that he attaches more importance to the emperor's side, and he is quite suspicious of being a villain.

But for a moment, after thinking about it in his heart, he arched his hand and said, "Xia Guan is a waiter of the Hanlin Academy, and he is walking in the imperial study, and the elder of the pavilion can call it so." ”

The three of them didn't expect this to answer like this, and the three of them looked at each other in surprise, and they had to secretly praise Wang Tingxiang's wit. In this way, he not only showed his identity, but also spoke to the Hanlin Academy. He also said that he was on an errand in front of the emperor, and he was not offended by either end.

"Then let's call you the king's servant." Liu Jian looked at him and nodded with satisfaction, it seemed that it would be a good thing to keep him by the emperor's side.

continued, "I'm waiting for you to come over today, but I actually want to find you something to know,"

Facing Liu Jian's slightly cloudy eyes that still revealed a sharp gaze, he nodded, "Pavilion Elder, please speak." ”

Liu Jian said, "What kind of person do you think the emperor is?" ”

Wang Tingxiang didn't expect that this cabinet chief assistant would ask him such a taboo topic, which really surprised him slightly, and then fell silent.

"There are only four of us here, and no one else is here. God knows that you know and I know, and it will definitely not be known to outsiders, so what are the concerns? Seeing this, Li Dongyang understood his concerns and stood up and said.

"Don't you can't trust you and me?"

When Wang Tingxiang heard this, he hurriedly arched his hand and said, "The elder of the pavilion is serious, how can the lower officials not be able to trust the three elder pavilions." ”

After a slight pause, he pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, this person has the ambition of Lingyun, and he intends to rejuvenate my Daming country." Unfortunately, if we lack courage, I am afraid it will be difficult to achieve great things. ”

The three of them fell into deep thought when they heard this, but they also had to admit that Wang Tingxiang's words were indeed reasonable. Looking at how many things the emperor has tossed out during this time, he really wants to achieve a great cause. It's a pity that it's all thunder and rain. In the end, it didn't work, and it didn't take long for there to be no follow-up.

Liu Jian sighed, "This may not be a good thing for Daming!" ”

Indeed, for a powerful empire, the golden mean is not afraid. Although it is impossible to create a prosperous scene, at least you can lie on the merits of your fathers and be a king. The terrible thing is that those kings who are incompetent but have no self-knowledge will lead the entire dynasty into the abyss of disintegration.

Of course, if you were here, you would definitely not agree with this view.

Li Dongyang and Xie Qian obviously understood the meaning of Liu Jian's words. Nodding approvingly.

"How's that to be?" Xie Qian frowned slightly, and glanced at Wang Tingxiang with some dissatisfaction, "The royal servant said that if you stay by the emperor's side, you should also fulfill the obligations of your courtiers and admonish the emperor more." ”

Regarding Xie Qian's accusation, Wang Tingxiang has nothing to defend, who let himself follow the emperor all day long. can only accept it helplessly, "What the elder said is very true, it is the subordinate who has not fulfilled his duty as a courtier." ”

"If the emperor really wants to do something, how can we, as courtiers, dissuade him?" Li Dongyang stood up for some reason and defended Wang Tingxiang.

Xie Qian snorted coldly, "If you don't try, how can you know that you can't be dissuaded?" If the ministers of the DPRK and China are like this, it is better to go home and sell sweet potatoes. ”

"I want to go back and sell sweet potatoes, but unfortunately the emperor won't let me, what can I do?"

Thinking of his bitter and bumpy road to resignation, Li Dongyang said it with a handful of snot and tears. Why is it so easy for others to resign, and why is it so difficult for you to resign yourself?

"You ......" choked on Li Dongyang's words, Xie Qian's face suddenly darkened, "I thought that I would go home and sell sweet potatoes, and sure enough, it was a corpse vegetarian meal." As a minister, don't you feel blushing? ”

Seeing that he was so serious, Li Dongyang decisively kept silent, and had to continue to talk to Xie Qian. If you continue to talk to him, it is estimated that you won't be able to finish it until dark.

Seeing the two pavilion elders with serious and steady faces in front of people talking so witty and interesting, it really opened Wang Tingxiang's eyes. He almost burst out laughing, but he finally held back.

Liu Jian glanced at the two lightly, and he was already surprised that the two were arguing. He retracted his gaze and looked at Wang Tingxiang again, and asked with some doubts, "You said that the emperor has the ambition of Lingyun, did Your Majesty say something to you?" ”

Seeing that the emperor has been tossing around blindly recently, he is really afraid that the emperor will make some trouble, so he wants to find out from Wang Tingxiang.

However, the latter did not obey his wishes and shook his head, "The lower officials only speculated from His Majesty's recent words and deeds, and did not hear what the emperor wanted to do in the court. ”

"Oh?" Liu Jian stroked his beard and looked at him in disbelief, "Could it be that the emperor never mentioned people or things in the court to you?" ”

"The emperor will naturally know."

Hearing Wang Tingxiang's words, Liu Jian hurriedly pricked up his ears, wanting to hear what secret news could be revealed by this person.

"It's just about people and things. As for the rest, the lower officials don't know anything. ”

I didn't expect Wang Tingxiang's mouth to be so tight, and Liu Jian suddenly showed a trace of disappointment when he heard this. Looking at the young official in front of him, an inexplicable emotion brewed in his heart, anger, disappointment, or approval.

After a long time, Liu Jian looked at him and sighed, "No wonder the emperor admires you so much, just for today's performance, he is worthy of His Majesty's eyes." ”

"The elder of the pavilion praised it." Wang Tingxiang didn't expect Liu Jian to comment on him like this, which made him feel a little flattered.

Liu Jian waved his hand gesturefully, "Maybe your evaluation of the emperor is correct, but the lack of courage is not a big problem." If Your Majesty can find more talents like you, and trust them as much as he trusts you now, wouldn't it be enough to accomplish things? ”

Although Wang Tingxiang was confident in his talents, he also said humbly, "How can he be a subordinate official, he deserves such praise from the elders." ”

Liu Jian looked at the confidence revealed in his eyes, and said a little strangely, "I'm just boasting, how can this person still boast of confidence?" Sure enough, it's not boastful! ”

However, Wang Tingxiang is originally an extremely confident person, but he usually doesn't show it very much.

Liu Jian didn't know him, so it was not surprising that he naturally had this thought.

However, he didn't say much, and continued to talk to himself, "In fact, the first emperor was not a bold king, but at least he didn't have a bad eye for people, and he was willing to give enough trust to the ministers of the court, so that my Ming Dynasty is now thriving." Although I had a lot of complaints about the emperor's recent actions, I was afraid that I would spoil the good situation created by the first emperor. But after meeting you, I figured it out a little. ”

Got it? Wang Tingxiang looked up at Liu Jian with an inquiring expression.

Liu Jian stood up and walked to the window to look at the spring scene outside. With his hands behind his back, he glanced back at him, and said lightly, "The emperor's vision of people is not bad." ”

Wang Tingxiang was stunned for a moment, and was about to say something, but the former had already turned around.

"In fact, for an emperor, courage is not necessarily the most important thing in the old man's view, the most important thing is to have the vision of 'discerning talents'. If you can find a group of competent ministers who are willing to trust him, you may not be able to create a great cause. The king said, if the emperor is really willing to believe you, and you really have the heart to serve the court. You might as well take advantage of the emperor's trust in you to keep the prosperous legacy left by the first emperor, and you will have a place in the future to leave a name in history. ”

Wang Tingxiang also understood at this time, and the cabinet boss told him a lot about what it was for. It turned out that he wanted to use his status as a favored minister to let the emperor stop making trouble, so as to maintain the good situation created by the first emperor.

Naturally, his previous compliments may also be a foreshadowing made in order to lead to the next words, and they can't be taken seriously.

He didn't care about these false names, as for maintaining the prosperous foundation created by the first emperor...... Thinking of the ambitious thoughts that the emperor revealed from time to time. He also had to admit that the big man still underestimated the emperor's heart.

And according to Zheng Dena's temper of not going and walking backwards, if you really let him be a king. It is estimated that he will immediately turn his face, and he can't wait to make some achievements to show you.

Therefore, if Wang Tingxiang persuaded him to lie on the merits of Emperor Xiaozong, nine times out of ten it would definitely be counterproductive.

Besides, Wang Tingxiang is also ambitious, and people in their early thirties are also high-spirited, but they are also unconvinced by Liu Jian's words. Why can you join hands with the first emperor to rejuvenate my Ming dynasty, but you want me to live with the current saint to keep the merit book, don't you mean that I am inferior to you? ”

So he also secretly made up his mind and decided to make something big for Liu Jian to take a good look at.

Of course, Liu Jian definitely didn't mean this in his words, and he didn't know that his words had the opposite effect. aroused the fighting spirit of an aspiring young man, and his thoughts were not in vain.

However, it may not be known whether this ending is what he wants to see.

"The official under the name of Qingshi is ashamed, and as a minister of the Son of Heaven, it is incumbent on him to serve the court."

Listening to Wang Tingxiang's almost promised words, Liu Jian and the three of them glanced at each other and nodded with satisfaction. After all, the former is a celebrity in front of the emperor, and some of the things they say and the latter say are completely different. If he is by the emperor's side, the three of them will at least feel a lot more at ease. Maybe it can also make the emperor less troublesome and free up some things, isn't it?

Of course, if they knew what Wang Tingxiang really thought in his heart, I am afraid they would not think like this.

"Actually, the lower officials came here to send the official seal."

Wang Tingxiang has not forgotten the purpose of his visit. hurriedly greeted the outside world, and quickly brought up a silver official seal.

Unlike ordinary official seals, this official seal is not rectangular, but square. The length and width are the same as the width of the general official seal.

Looking at this official seal with different specifications from the official seal stipulated by the imperial court, the three of them looked at each other, is this an official seal? How to look so awkward!

Liu Jian asked aloud, "Why is this official seal so peculiar?" ”

"Your Majesty said, the official seal without grade is this system."

Wang Tingxiang borrowed the original words of the emperor, that is, Zheng De, and even he didn't understand why the emperor even had to change the system of the official seal. Is it because it is a regulation set by the ancestors, so he has to oppose everything that the ancestors have set?

Is it ridiculous that he hates the "law of the ancestors" so much, and therefore opposes it for the sake of opposing it?

Of course, if he dared to ask Zheng De, the latter would definitely reply lightly, "Because I think these official seals are too ugly, and I want to make them beautiful and beautiful." ”

I don't know if Wang Tingxiang would vomit a mouthful of blood depressedly if he knew the truth.

His mind was racing, and he saw that Liu Jian and the three of them were all going back and forth towards him, obviously wanting to ask about the official seal. Wang Tingxiang didn't want to accept a spit question, so he hurriedly gave his hand and said, "The lower official has to go back to His Majesty as soon as possible, so he will no longer stay in the cabinet and leave." ”

After saying that, he quickly slipped away.

Looking at Wang Tingxiang's rapidly departing back, the three of them were stunned and glanced at each other.

"What's wrong with this king's attendant, running so fast?"

"yes, I still haven't asked him anything!"

"Maybe the emperor really has something to look for him. Let's not talk about it, let's take a look at the official seal. ”

"It's good ......"

The three of them nodded, hurried back to the bookcase, and opened a blank piece of paper. Xie Qian hurriedly brought the red ink, Liu Jian dipped it, and stamped the official seal on a piece of white paper on the side.

"The seal of the prime minister of the Ming Cabinet" is nine large characters engraved with nine stacks of seals.

The three of them glanced at each other, their faces slightly serious. What does it mean to engrave the name of the country on the official seal, but it is unprecedented?

The three of them suddenly fell into deep thought.

Of course, the three of them at this moment will not know, because this official seal has caused historians hundreds of years later to have a huge disagreement on the question of "who is the first prime minister of the Ming Dynasty". Some people think that Liu Jian, who was the first to have this official seal, was already the first prime minister of the Ming Dynasty when he took over this official seal. Others argue that the official seal is not evidence and that only Li Dongyang, who was personally appointed by the emperor, is the first prime minister.

They have been disturbed and debated for hundreds of years.

Of course, if Liu Jian or Li Dongyang knew about it, they might smile indifferently and didn't care about this kind of false name.