Just when Zhan Xiaoxiao tried to persuade her husband Qin Tai to leave the officialdom for the last time, something happened to the bigwigs in the capital. It's not that any of the big guys is going to be forced to leave their posts, but they each found some problems. For these big people who have experienced the wind and rain, some of the big things that ordinary people think have become numb to them. Something that can make them a little scared will definitely not be a small matter.

Emperor Longqing died unexpectedly early, which was not a good thing for the harem and the previous dynasty. Although everyone had doubts about the body of Emperor Longqing, no one expected it to happen so soon. Zhang Juzheng and the others were also a little caught off guard, because the plan they prepared was that Emperor Longqing could hold out for three or four years. As long as you persist for these years, whether it is the court situation or the harem, it can be arranged, so that the little prince can become the emperor smoothly, Zhang Juzheng will take over the cabinet, Li Guifei will take over the harem, and Feng Bao will officially take over the inner court. But when Emperor Longqing left like this, all his plans were disrupted. The little prince is not ready to be a little emperor and cannot take on the responsibilities that an emperor should assume. Zhang Juzheng cannot directly serve as the first assistant to the cabinet because of his age and qualifications. Feng Bao was also unable to immediately serve as the celebrant and the eunuch in charge of the seal for various reasons. Although Concubine Li Guifei is already in full charge of the affairs of the harem, because Emperor Longqing's original partner, Empress Chen, is alive, Concubine Li cannot justifiably take charge of the harem. Because the previous dynasty had Gao Gong, the head of the cabinet, and Meng Chong, the current eunuch of the master of ceremonies, Empress Chen of Emperor Longqing was still the titular master of the harem of the little prince's mother-in-law. So when the little emperor ascended the throne, because of the edict of Emperor Longqing and the stability of the court situation, the two sides acquiesced to this strange arrangement.

On one side are the current bigwigs Empress Chen, Meng Chong and Gao Gong, and on the other side are the future pillars Li Guifei, Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng, who are ready to take over. On the surface, it seems that the strength of the two sides is equal, but in fact, they know very well in their hearts that the future trend is quite clear. Empress Chen has already let go, and the affairs of the harem have long been handed over to Concubine Li Guifei to manage, regardless of size. First, because Empress Chen's ability is not as good as Concubine Li's, and second, because of Empress Chen's intelligence. Although Empress Chen and Emperor Longqing were the original husband and wife, because Empress Chen's personality was relatively old-fashioned and Empress Chen did not give birth to a son and a half daughter to Emperor Longqing, Empress Chen had long known that her position was not stable. So as early as when Emperor Longqing was still King Yu, Empress Chen had already shown favor to Concubine Li Guifei, who was still the concubine of King Yu at that time. Li Guifei not only gave birth to a son for King Yu, but also because Li Guifei understands politics better and can give advice to King Yu, who has a more cowardly personality, Li Guifei is the first favored woman in Yuwang's mansion. Because of Empress Chen's concession, Li Guifei and Empress Chen had a good relationship, and when Emperor Longqing ascended the throne as emperor, Empress Chen was nominally in charge of the harem, but in fact, Li Guifei was in charge of the harem. Empress Chen died of her husband Emperor Longqing, and the little emperor who is now enthroned as emperor is Li Guifei's biological son, so she will not clash with Li Guifei head-on. Empress Chen's neutrality actually meant that Meng Chong and Gao Gong would not be able to deal with their political enemies even if they joined forces.

Even if you ignore the two women, Concubine Li and Queen Chen, just by comparing the personal strength of the two pairs of opponents, you can see some clues. Although Meng Chong was the only eunuch in name of the celebrant in this ********, he had already lost control of the inner court. The inner court, the institution in charge of the eunuchs, is composed of three parts, namely the Jinyi Wei and Dongchang, who are responsible for the outside, the 24 yamen who are responsible for the daily affairs of the harem and the imperial horse eunuch who maintains the security of the palace. As the most distinctive management rights and east factories of the Ming Dynasty, they were the eyes and ears and minions of the emperor. Because of their presence, almost all officials were afraid of the emperor. This is a tool used by the emperor to deter officials, and whoever controls these two secret agencies is equivalent to knowing the privacy of officials. Generally speaking, the people in charge of these departments are the most trusted people of the emperor, Dongchang supervises Jinyiwei, Jinyiwei has its own army and armament, so the governor of Dongchang is generally concurrently served by the eunuch of the celebrant and the eunuch of the seal, and the supreme commander of the Jinyiwei is concurrently served by the first eunuch of the ceremonial supervisor. But when it came to Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi, Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi was worried that the authority of the eunuch in charge of the seal was too heavy, so he did not allow the eunuch to take charge of the eunuch and take charge of the East Factory. This led to the first eunuch supervising the East Factory, and the second eunuch supervising the brocade guard. This tradition continued until the time of Emperor Longqing.

During the time of Emperor Jiajing, the eunuch who held the seal of the celebrant was Lu Fang, who was a close confidant of Emperor Jiajing Zhu Houxi who grew up together. Since Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi became emperor, Lü Fang's position in the inner court has been very consolidated. Although Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi was also worried that Lu Fang's power was too great, so he made this decision to divide power, but Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi still trusted Lu Fang very much. Lu Fang's qualifications and rights in the inner court are still unshakable. All the eunuchs Lu Fang are called "Old Ancestors", and the other eunuchs who are the celebrant are also Lu Fang's godsons. In all aspects, it is impossible for these juniors not to give Lu Fang face, even if Lu Fang is not the eunuch who holds the seal of the celebrant eunuch, he can still control Dongchang and Jinyiwei.

Meng Chong didn't have such good luck, first, Meng Chong was not a spy. He has no experience working in Jinyiwei and Dongchang. So he didn't know how to manage Jinyiwei or Dongchang. Second, although Meng Chong has long been the eunuch of the ceremonial eunuch Bingbi, he has been suppressed, and no one is optimistic about Meng Chong. Meng Chong also entered the palace since he was a child, and when he first showed his edge, the inner court had been controlled by Lu Fang. Lu Fang was not only the most trusted servant of Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi, but also a political ally of Yan Song, the first assistant of the cabinet at that time. At that time, Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi devoted himself to alchemy, and handed over almost all national affairs to Yan Song and Lu Fang. The foreign ministers looked forward to Yan Song's horse, and the words of Lu Fang in the inner court were equivalent to holy decrees. Of course, it was impossible for Lu Fang to let Meng Chong, a junior, take power beyond him, so during Lu Fang's tenure as the eunuch of the master of ceremonies, Meng Chong was just a "sound worm".

After Lu Fang's era, although the celebrant was chaotic for a while, Meng Chong still did not have a chance to show his skills. Lu Fang's departure caused the strength of the inner court to be torn apart, but Lu Fang had already made arrangements. Although Lu Fang's arrangement was not fully realized, the general arrangement was not wrong. Chen Hong served as the eunuch in charge of the seal, and Huang Jin was in charge of the East Factory and Jinyiwei. Chen Hong is a person with a small amount of energy, so he has to deal with Huang Jin on the one hand, and suppress Meng Chong and other rising stars on the other. Therefore, during Chen Hong's tenure as the eunuch in charge of the seal, Meng Chong had no chance to get ahead. Huang Jin targeted Meng Chong almost everywhere, making Meng Chong very jealous and afraid of Huang Jin. Feng Bao knew the secret, so he once reminded Qin Tai and his wife to beware of this Meng Chong's revenge. Meng Chong knew that Huang Jin and Qin Tai had a good relationship, so he would definitely target Qin Tai. But Feng Bao didn't know that as early as when Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi was alive, because of Meng Xiaoshi, Meng Chong had already formed a bond with Qin Tai. Even if Meng Chong didn't know about the relationship between Qin Tai and Huang Jin, he would definitely target Qin Tai. Third, Emperor Longqing did not trust Meng Chong very much, so he did not allow Meng Chong to take over the affairs of Dongchang and Jinyiwei. Fourth, because of Feng Bao's strength. Since Feng Bao was in charge of Dongchang and Jinyiwei, Feng Bao certainly didn't want Dongchang and Jinyiwei to have a second voice. For this reason, Feng Bao cleaned up the East Factory and Jinyiwei many times, the purpose was to let the people of the East Factory and Jinyiwei only listen to Feng Bao's greetings. Therefore, it was impossible for Meng Chong to cross the country and Feng Bao to control Dongchang and Jinyiwei. The people under him also knew that Meng Chong was just an empty shelf, and they knew the relationship between Feng Bao and Li Guifei, so even if Meng Chong wooed them, they would not betray Feng Bao.

Although the twenty-four yamen who manage the daily affairs of the harem have a lot of oil and water, there are many internal factions, and they have always been the most difficult to manage. Although it is nominally under the unified management of the celebrant eunuch, in fact, whether or not to listen to the greeting of the celebrant depends on the ability of the heads of various departments, and the power of the eunuch who is the leader of the celebrant and the eunuch who holds the seal. Meng Chong was not a powerful eunuch who was in charge of the seal, and the chiefs of the various yamen were not from his subordinates, so Meng Chong could only control a very small number of them. If Meng Chong hadn't had the title of eunuch in charge of the seal, the eunuchs of all yamen would have despised Meng Chong even more. Meng Chong had long lost confidence in controlling the twenty-four yamen under the celebrant eunuch. As long as these subordinate minions are superficially passable, Meng Chong will not take the initiative to find trouble.