Inside the yamen of the celebrant supervisor, Cao Jixiang looked at the piece of music presented from the cabinet, and the expression on his face was very exciting.

"Haha, is this Shen Yichen fainted after serving as the first assistant of the cabinet, or was he assimilated by the old sour rot of the civil officials, and he actually wanted to kill the Duke of the Ming Dynasty in the way of the cabinet minister's court discussion?"

After Cao Jixiang said this, he felt a kind of clown-like funny, with Shen Yichen's talent and means, could he still do such a stupid thing?

When Wei Xing'an, the eunuch of the master of ceremonies and the eunuch Bingbi, heard this, he replied with a flattering smile on his face: "Yes, the Duke of the Ming Dynasty even wants to ask the Lord Long Live for the crime, I'm afraid he has to think twice, after Shen Yichen became the first assistant of the cabinet and the minister of Tuogu, he thought that he was above the emperor, and he easily decided the life and death of his relatives." ”

"Then according to the internal appearance, should we directly approve this seal ourselves, or will we submit it to His Majesty for imperial approval?"

In any case, this kind of resolution discussed by the cabinet of the Great Nine Qing Courts, the eunuch Wei Xing'an still did not dare to deceive the superiors and subordinates, and had to follow the opinions of Cao Jixiang or Emperor Ming Liang.

"Our family is also dizzy when we see you, a three-year-old doll can't read a few words, what can you approve, stay in the middle and don't send it!"

Cao Jixiang said this with a contemptuous face, and casually threw the cabinet aside, now the imperial power of the imperial court has been divided into two, and the decision-making power is dictatorial Cao Jixiang, and the proposal power is completely controlled by the cabinet Shen Yichen.

If the two sides do not cooperate with each other, there will be this phenomenon of not being sent in the middle, and the music will be placed on the master of ceremonies or the eucalyptus to eat ashes.

It is indeed a disadvantage to interfere in the harem, but if the queen mother is too weak and "not in the right place", there will be this kind of situation where the ministers completely put the young emperor in the air, what can a three-year-old child understand?

"The lesson of the inner minister is that the little one is dizzy."

The dignified eunuch was originally the No. 2 person in the Imperial Horse Prison, but now Cao Jixiang has the sole power, and Wei Xing'an can only attach the small and make it low.

But at this time, the little eunuch stationed in the front hall of the celebrant ran over and announced: "Prime minister, Shen Yichen, the first assistant of the cabinet, he is here. ”

Hearing the words of the little eunuch, Cao Jixiang's contemptuous smile on his face became even worse, and he said with disdain: "It seems that Shen Yichen is really dizzy, and he still thinks that the celebrant and the master of ceremonies will discuss with this father, how stupid is our family to do such a self-defeating thing!" ”

Shen Yichen came to visit the celebrant supervisor, and Cao Jixiang had already expected that the other party would definitely come over for the matter of the cabinet discussion. Speaking of which, after succeeding as the eunuch in charge of the seal, Cao Jixiang's ambition has swelled a lot, and he is unwilling to succumb to Shi Heng anymore, and even has the arrogance of winning the Ninth Five-Year Plan.

But madness is not the same as stupidity!

The identity of the eunuch has been criticized and hostile in all dynasties, if it were not for the arrogance of the loyal prince Shi Heng who caused the limelight to be too prosperous, I am afraid that the spearhead of the hundred officials of the court would have been pointed at him a long time ago, and he tried his best to suppress and avoid repeating the mistakes of Wang Zhen at the beginning.

If Shi Heng was questioned, Cao Jixiang had no doubt that Shen Yichen or the next target of the civil official group would be on himself.

As the saying goes, the rabbit dies and the fox is sad, no matter how dissatisfied Cao Jixiang is with Shi Heng and thinks about embezzling the opponent's military power, he will never fall into the well at this moment.

"Prime minister, then if your subordinates come forward to reject Shen Yichen, just say that you are not there?"

Being able to go to the position of the celebrant and the superintendent Bingbi, Wei Xingan will naturally not be stupid, he knows that Cao Jixiang and Shi Heng are now friends and enemies. Since he didn't want to be provoked by Shen Yichen, he simply avoided it.

"What do you refuse, is our family still the groveling little person we were at the beginning?"

"Shen Yichen came to visit the celebrant supervisor, it was he who asked for our family!"

Cao Jixiang's eyes flashed with a wisp of fierceness, and he struggled to climb to the position of the palm print of the celebrant supervisor, not just to enjoy the pleasure of being a master. If you avoid Shen Yichen today, then do you want to avoid Shi Heng tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, even the old guy Hu Hu, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, will have to throw his face at himself.

Time has passed, and now Cao Jixiang not only wants to become Wang Zhen, but he also wants to surpass Wang Zhen!

"Yes, yes, the little one understands."

Wei Xing'an hurriedly nodded and admitted his mistake, and then silently retreated to the side and did not dare to squeak.

"Call Shen Yichen in."

Cao Jixiang waved his hand and ordered the little eunuch to lead the way Shen Yichen, as if he was meeting a small character in his tone.

Soon, Shen Yichen, who was dressed in a scarlet robe, appeared in Cao Jixiang's sight. This is not the first time he has come to the celebrant supervisor, I think that when Wang Zhen was in power, Shen Yichen visited several times.

In the follow-up, Jin Ying, Xing'an and other eunuchs served as the palm seal of the celebrant supervisor, and Shen Yichen also came, and now the thing is a person who has stepped into the back hall of the celebrant yamen again, and he has a different understanding.

"Yuanfu is here, and our family is far away."

After seeing Shen Yichen, Cao Jixiang stood up and bowed to him first.

arrogantly naming names, but in fact, when meeting the status and authority of the "foreign minister", it is still more than a step higher than the "internal minister".

Of course, Cao Jixiang was just polite, and his steps did not move a bit, so he didn't mean to greet Shen Yichen at all.

Shen Yichen knows all about these details, but he will not show the slightest. With a polite smile on his face, he returned the salute and said: "The Minister of the Interior is the palm seal of the celebrant supervisor, and it stands to reason that the cabinet should have come to congratulate him a long time ago, but the new monarch is busy with the affairs of the court, and he really can't take a break." ”

"I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to the Prime Minister."

"Yuanfu is really polite, our family can't afford it, please take a seat!"

Shen Yichen's face-saving behavior made Cao Jixiang feel very useful, and his attitude immediately eased a lot.

You must know that the vast majority of eunuchs have psychological defects, and many times extreme inferiority leads to extreme arrogance. Shen Yichen, the leader of the three yuan and the first civil official, may have his own strengths and weaknesses with Cao Jixiang in terms of power, but his dignity is not at the same level in the outside world.

The other party's voice was inward, and he also took the initiative to bow his head and apologize, which made Cao Jixiang feel that his face was full, and what the eunuch was pursuing was not just face?

Shen Yichen entered the seat after a few polite words, and Cao Jixiang spoke first: "Yuanfu is a busy person who has nothing to do but go to the Three Treasures Palace, I don't know what happened to the master of ceremonies this time?" ”

Shen Yichen didn't care about Cao Jixiang's move of pretending to be a lake, and still smiled politely: "Yesterday, I didn't convene the court meeting of the Cabinet Dajiuqing and vote on the matter of disobedience and disobedience by Shi Heng, the prince of Zhongguo. Yu Shaobao's side proposed that the military law should be strict, and it should be beheaded according to the law. ”

"But after all, this involves the relatives, so the official submitted the results of the court meeting to His Majesty for decision-making, this is not to ask the internal minister how the decision is."

After listening to Shen Yichen's words, Cao Jixiang hurriedly waved his hand and said: "Since Yuanfu wants to know the imperial decision, how can a slave and maid who is serving in our family know, and he should go to the Qianqing Palace or the imperial study to meet him." ”

"The Prime Minister's words are to treat the Cabinet Department as an outsider, everyone knows that His Majesty is young, and the celebrant is in control of the right to approve the red, and of course military affairs must be discussed with the Minister of the Interior."

Shen Yichen's words undoubtedly recognized the "dominance" of the celebrant supervisor above the imperial power, which indirectly elevated Cao Jixiang's status.

Hearing this, even if Cao Jixiang knew that the other party was deliberately complimenting, he still couldn't help but be overjoyed, and the corners of his mouth couldn't hide a smile and replied: "Where is Yuanfu, our family is the slave of the Long Live Lord after all, how can we overstep the bounds." ”

Cao Jixiang faced the imperial power, and used the words "Yue Yu Dai", instead of "usurpation", which was enough to show his ambition, and the corners of Shen Yichen's mouth also showed an imperceptible sneer.

However, he nodded and said, "What the Prime Minister said is that the cabinet department is a little rude. ”

"Since this is the case, then the cabinet department will get back to business, after all, the cabinet of the Great Nine Qing Court is related to the decision-making of foreign courts, but I don't know how Your Majesty should deal with the disobedience of the loyal prince."

Facing Shen Yichen's questioning, Cao Jixiang pretended to ask Wei Xing'an next to him: "Father-in-law Wei, has the Imperial Seal presented to His Majesty by the General Administration Secretary in the morning been approved?" ”

"Back to the Prime Minister, Your Majesty is too young to approve too many recitals, and the small ones are not very clear, why don't you look for them?"

"Then don't you look for it quickly, can you make Motosuke wait for a long time!"

Cao Jixiang immediately showed a flaming look and scolded, and when Wei Xing'an heard it, he hurriedly came to the pile of music in front of the celebrant and watchman's table to look for it. After some pretended performance, he finally found the recital of the cabinet meeting in the corner, and then handed it over to Cao Jixiang.

"Yuanfu, look, there is no royal approval from the Long Live Lord on it, if you are in a hurry, our family face saint will find a way to remind you of two sentences."

In fact, when he found this letter from the corner, Shen Yichen knew that there would never be the emperor's "imperial approval" on it. As early as when discussing with the businessmen whether to hold a court meeting, it was predicted that Cao Jixiang would prevent the conviction of Zhu Hong, which was expected.

"The internal minister, it's not that the cabinet is anxious, but that the disobedience of the loyal prince is extremely bad. And this move of supporting the army and self-respect has endangered the family and the country, and I have to guard against it! ”

After that, Shen Yichen took out a copy of the "Di Bao" from his arms and said: "Here is an article written by He Wendao, the editor-in-chief of Jingshi's "Wen Bao", denouncing Shi Heng, the prince of Zhongguo, for being disloyal and unjust, committing disrespect, and causing an extremely bad impact inside and outside the government and the opposition. ”

"This cabinet department thinks that the outside world is angry, even if it can't be beheaded according to the law, it has to be punished to appease people's hearts, you say right, the prime minister."

Newspapers?

Hearing such a word pop out of Shen Yichen's mouth, Cao Jixiang took the newspaper that seemed to be "Di Bao" from his hand, and glanced at it and found that there were all kinds of articles on it.

For example, discussing current affairs, poems and songs, serialized scripts, etc., the most central article is to criticize the loyal prince Shi Heng, the content is simply scolding the dog's bloody head, and the discussion is not enough to calm the people's anger, I am afraid that it is enough to be punished by death.

"Internal minister, this newspaper is not counted as other state capitals in the Ming Dynasty, and the Jingshi alone can sell tens of thousands of copies per issue, and the officials of the Jingshi Literati and Moke Imperial Court are almost every person. If you look at the public opinion outside, there is so much uproar, if the court does not take any action, I am afraid it will cause turmoil! ”

In the face of Shen Yichen's words and the newspaper, Cao Jixiang showed a suspicious look on his face, he actually regarded the court discussion as a joke, if the court struggle can be so simple to execute political enemies, what is the difference between it and the family?

That is, Yu Qian's dead brain will be obsessed with procedural justice, but if it really causes turmoil inside and outside the government and the opposition, then he will force the cabinet to stay in the middle of the meeting, I am afraid that if it makes a big fuss, it will cause fire.

Looking at the change in the expression on Cao Jixiang's face, Shen Yichen's pressure worked, eunuchs are eunuchs after all, and they are not confident in their own power, after all, they are just parasites of imperial power.

The best way to domesticate them is to use the carrot and the stick, and now that the stick has been used, the next step is for the carrot to come into play.

"Internal Minister, after all, the imperial court still has to give an explanation to the public opinion, and the most fierce controversy now lies in the loyalty of the country and the self-respect of the army."

"This cabinet department believes that at least the military power of the loyal state must be abolished in order to appease the righteous indignation inside and outside the government and the opposition.

The rhythm of the conversation had reached this point, and it had been completely controlled by Shen Yichen, and Cao Jixiang subconsciously asked, "What does Yuanfu want to do?" ”

"Zhongguo Gong not only served as the chief military officer of Xuanda, but also took charge of the five military camps, the largest army of soldiers and horses in the Beijing Division. As the saying goes, governing a big country is like cooking a small fresh, and even if we weaken the military power, we have to slowly figure it out. ”

"I have heard that Zhu Dudu said that Cao Xuan, the nephew of the Prime Minister, is a civil and military all-rounder, and he only serves as a hereditary commander in the Jinyi Guard, so how about being transferred to the rear army in the five military camps as the governor of Tongzhi?"

"Given time, with Cao Yanshi's talent, the cabinet department thinks that he will be able to take charge alone!"

The five military camps are a general term, and in fact they are also divided into five prefectures: front, rear, left, right, and center. The military governors of these five governors are either direct subordinates of Shi Heng, the prince of Zhongguo, or if they are attached to him, outsiders will not be able to reach into them at all.

Cao Jixiang relied on the help of the night of the death of the crown prince, and successfully ate the Gongshun Marquis Wu Jin brothers, who Shi Heng was about to invade, and controlled part of the 3,000 battalions of soldiers and horses, while Shen Yichen used Li Da to take over the Shenji Battalion controlled by the former military department Shang Shuyiming, and became the biggest beneficiary of the change of imperial power.

But some of the soldiers and horses of the 3,000 battalion obviously couldn't satisfy Cao Jixiang's ambitions, and now Shen Yichen proposed that his nephew Cao Xuan enter the fifth military camp as the governor of Tongzhi, which was definitely an irresistible temptation.

Sure enough, hearing Shen Yichen's suggestion, Cao Jixiang's eyes were a little confused, and his inner subconscious told himself that this kind of pie falling from the sky was definitely uneasy and kind.

However, the natural defects of the eunuch made it extremely difficult for him to stretch his hand into the army, and the heir Cao Qin was able to take charge of part of the 3,000 battalions of soldiers and horses, which was already the result of occupying the right time and place.

"Motosuke, is this possible?"

"Don't forget, the cabinet department is also the secretary of the military department, is he still loyal to the prince of the country and plans to continue to disobey orders?"

When he said this, Shen Yichen took the step he really wanted to do, and that was to use Cao Jixiang's ambition to fight for Shi Heng's military power. As long as these two people are no longer "allies" who rely on each other, what they will welcome is to be broken by each!