The civil and military officials who retreated from the dynasty left one after another, and Shi Heng, the prince of Zhongguo, waited for a long time, and Hu Hui, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, walked out of the Fengtian Hall slowly.

"Uncle Zong, this prince regards you as a senior patriarch, and he respects and trusts you, why do you want to lie to me!"

Shi Heng, the prince of Zhongguo, rushed up and shouted filial piety, and his angry appearance was so angry that he couldn't wait to eat Hu Hu in one bite. Ordinary officials are estimated to be frightened when they see this kind of posture, but Hu Hu is a veteran of the Six Dynasties after all, what kind of wind and waves have he not seen?

I saw him reply as usual: "This official only promised you to check and balance Shen Yuanfu, when did you promise you to ask the court to ask for guilt?" ”

Faced with Hu Hui's word games, Shi Heng, the prince of Zhongguo, was even more furious, and once again took a step closer and asked: "Is there any other way to balance Shen Yichen besides the court to ask for guilt?" ”

"Don't forget, now this son is not the junior official who was sent abroad, he is the Yuan Fu of the Ming Cabinet!"

Shi Heng, the prince of Zhongguo, emphasized Shen Yichen's identity, the other party has already stood on the height of a supreme minister, and the new monarch can only use court deliberations to ask for guilt when he is young. Hu Hu used this excuse to justify, which was obviously a kind of sophistry, deliberately letting Shen Yichen go.

"It is precisely because he is the Yuan Fu of the Ming Dynasty that he can't ask for the crime and go to prison at will."

"Loyal to the country, checks and balances are not the same as defeating the other party, and the way of the court lies in balance."

Hu Hui, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, said these two sentences leisurely, and he had actually clearly told Shi Heng that the means of impeachment this time were too drastic, and the charges were too big, and if the civilian-official group took advantage of the situation, Shi Ting would discuss the crime.

That's not as simple as checks and balances, Shen Yichen may be defeated.

"Is balance to let Shen Yichen continue to be at large and tilt the power towards the opposition?"

Zhongguo Gong Shi Heng felt unacceptable, obviously only one step away from victory, Hu Hui's backstab caused a failure. If you miss this impeachment, it will not be easy to find Shen Yichen's charges again, and this sub-method will definitely be more clever, so that people can't catch the handle!

"Governing a big country is like cooking a small fresh, when did Shen Yuanfu reach such a level of impunity, you are too radical to be loyal to the country."

"Don't make excuses, Uncle Zong, why did you want to let Shen Yichen go?"

Shi Heng didn't want to continue meaningless salifa with Hu Hui, he just wanted a result to explain.

Hearing Shi Heng's inquiry, Hu Hu showed a contemplative look on his face, and hesitated for a moment before looking directly at the other party's eyes and replying.

"The lesser of two evils."

That's right, this is Hu Hui's answer.

Hu Hu, who has always liked Mingzhe to protect himself and spoke in a crooked manner, gave Shi Heng a very straightforward answer this time. Shen Yichen is power-leaning towards the government and the opposition, and is developing in the direction of a dominant family, but in any case, this son can restrain his desire for power and abide by the rules of officialdom as much as possible.

Of course, the most important point is that even if Shen Yichen is in charge of martial arts most of the time, he is still a civil official after all!

On the contrary, Shi Heng, the prince of Zhongguo, was flying and domineering, and during the reign of the first emperor, he swept the civil officials and overseers of the Xuanda defense line, if Shen Yichen completely became his family, what would the court become, Hu Hu couldn't imagine it.

In addition, Shi Heng's ally Cao Jixiang has now made his heir knighted, and he has also installed his nephew in the five military camps to take charge of the army. The intuition of many years of politics told Hu Hu that this matter was not so simple, and the eunuch's ambitions may be far greater than imagined.

Once Shi Heng is dominant, coupled with the internal official Cao Jixiang joining forces, the entire Ming Dynasty will really fall into the realm of covering the sky with one hand. At that time, Shi Heng's next target will probably be the civilian clique.

In public and private, it is impossible for Hu Hu to help Shi Heng ask Shen Yichen for sin!

"You ......"

After getting such an answer, Shi Heng wanted to have a seizure but couldn't find a reason to have a seizure, and indeed Hu Hu's cooperation with him was just an expedient measure, and the two sides did not have any basis for trust, or it was not too much to be an enemy.

In the eyes of Hu Hui and the civil official group, Shen Yichen is a powerful minister, why not himself?

At this moment, a leisurely voice came from the Fengtian Palace, and Shen Yichen crossed the threshold and said: "The Duke of Zhongguo is really elegant, and he can still discuss government affairs with the great uncle after retiring from the dynasty,"

"The plan is not in a hurry, today is the first day of the year, let's go home early and enjoy the joy of reunion with the family roll."

Listening to this kind of sarcastic words, Shi Heng, the prince of Zhongguo, turned green, he didn't have the kind of secret poke and poke of a civil official, and immediately pointed at Shen Yichen's nose and scolded: "Don't be too complacent, Lao Tzu will one day look at you kneeling and begging for mercy!" ”

Facing the scolding of Zhongguo Gong Shi Heng, Shen Yichen didn't care at all, and replied calmly: "Zhongguo Gong, you have taken the wrong path, and if you continue, I am afraid that you will be ruined." ”

Shen Yichen said this sentence seems to be a warning, but in fact it is a pity, Zhongguo Gong Shi Heng can definitely be regarded as a top general in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, especially in the history of the Ming Dynasty, it is no problem to rank in the top ten.

If he restrained his ambitions, the performance of expelling the Tartars in the Jingshi Guard Battle alone would be enough to go down in history. It's a pity that Shi Heng has become more and more inflated in history, so that he has become one of the murderers of Yu Qian, and his once great exploits have become infamous and disgraced by the world!

Shi Heng didn't hear the regret in Shen Yichen's words, in his opinion, it was more like a provocation, so he snorted coldly and replied: "Then let's wait and see who is ruined in the end!" ”

With that, Shi Heng brushed his sleeves away.

Looking at Shi Heng's back as he left angrily, Shen Yichen let out a long sigh, in fact, as a "comrade-in-arms" of the Jingshi Guard War and the Liaodong Aid War, he had seen Shi Heng's high-spirited side of the bloody battle for the country, and he really didn't want to watch him continue to move towards the end of history.

"Yuanfu, I didn't expect you to have a kind of sympathy for Shi Heng."

Compared with Shi Heng's tendons, Hu Hu, a veteran of the Six Dynasties, really felt the regret and unbearable in Shen Yichen's heart.

To tell the truth, officialdom is like a battlefield, and to be merciful to the enemy is to be cruel to oneself. If Shi Heng gains the upper hand in this political struggle, will he show mercy to Shen Yichen's men?

"He is a good general, but he is not a qualified honorable relative."

Shen Yichen replied silently, and then thanked Hu Hu and said, "Uncle Zongzong has thanked the younger generation for his impartial behavior in the court today." ”

Shi Heng united with his henchmen to impeach him with the Zhengdan Dynasty of the Civil Affairs Group, but in fact, Shen Yichen had already known in advance, and it was none other than Hu Hu, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, who informed him of the news.

You must know that it is not for nothing that Hu Hui can sit firmly in the position of the patriarch of the Six Dynasties, in addition to underestimating Shen Yichen's ability, he can be said to have a deep understanding of the situation in the court.

Thinking that the former crown prince Zhu Jianji was in distress, Hu Hu used Zhu Yong, the Duke of Chengguo, to talk to Shen Yichen, saying that the matter had nothing to do with the civil official group, so as not to be used by the two sides to have a scene of snipe and clam fighting.

Now that Shi Heng wants to use the knife of the civil official group to deal with Shen Yichen, can't Hu Hu see the stakes behind it clearly?

It can be said that Shi Heng is fundamentally looking for the wrong person!

"Yuanfu doesn't need to thank Benguan, just like he said to Zhongguo Gong, it's just the lesser of two evils."

has come to this situation, and continues to be all kinds of hypocritical politeness, which is simply insulting Shen Yichen and his own IQ.

Hu Hu didn't want to help Shen Yichen, he just didn't want Shi Heng to cover the sky with one hand.

"Having said that, how many people in the DPRK and China can put aside their personal enmity and help their enemies?"

Since Hu Hu's words were open, Shen Yichen did not hide it.

After all, just a few months ago, Shen Yichen was still trying to collect evidence of Hu Hui's family's encroachment on Liangtian, and wanted to impeach and remove the other party from office in one fell swoop.

Seriously, Shen Yichen had already made a move to Hu Hui.

"If Yuanfu comes to the step of Zhongguo Gong, this official will also take action for the sake of Sheji."

With that, Hu Hui arched his hand towards Shen Yichen, then turned around and paced away.

Hearing Hu Hui's warning, Shen Yichen smiled helplessly and shook his head, it is true that there is no possibility of reconciliation between the two sides at this point, it is nothing more than to continue to maintain the balance of power between the three parties in accordance with the traditional principle of power checks and balances of the Ming Dynasty.

The only thing that has improved is that with himself and Shi Heng dominating the court, the officialdom battle is much less false and wrongful in the past, and it is more inclined to "love and hate".

To be honest, it can reduce the hypocrisy of officialdom a little, which Shen Yichen thinks is a good thing.

Shi Heng, who was one step ahead, was about to walk to Chengtianmen when he was blocked by a little eunuch who suddenly appeared.

Just when Shi Heng was holding back the fire in his stomach and wanted to have a seizure, the other party hurriedly bowed down and said, "Grandpa, the prime minister invites you to gather with the master of ceremonies and the yamen." ”

Hearing that it was Cao Jixiang who invited him, Shi Heng could only hold back the anger in his heart. After all, now that the civil official group is obviously getting closer to Shen Yichen, his form in the court is a little worse, and he needs to hold the internal officials tightly.

Otherwise, if this trend continues, maybe Shen Yichen will take the initiative to attack him soon.

"Lead the way ahead and lead my father-in-law over."

"Yes, please come with the little one."

Shi Heng's coercion is indeed terrifying, the little eunuch next to Cao Jixiang is placed outside, it is an existence that even the scarlet-robed officials have to be treated politely, but they grovel in front of Shi Heng and dare not say a word.

In the yamen of the celebrant supervisor, Cao Jixiang's face was compared to Shi Heng, and he couldn't see where to go.

After retiring from the dynasty and escorting Emperor Ming Liang back to the Qianqing Palace, Cao Jixiang received a message from the eunuchs of the harem, and Shen Yichen's wife Chen Qingtong asked to see the Empress Dowager Hang, and made a request to let her husband serve as the emperor's teacher.

What's even more outrageous is that Empress Dowager Hang, a woman who has no opinions, actually agreed!

Once Shen Yichen becomes the master of the Great Ming Emperor, it means that he can justifiably contact the young emperor for a long time, and his advantage as an internal official will disappear.

"The Queen Mother knows that Shen Yichen is a wolf with ambitions, why would she still listen to the bewitchment of a woman, are you wastes often disadvantageous?"

couldn't confront the Empress Dowager Hang, so Cao Jixiang could only vent this evil breath on the palace maid and eunuch.

You must know that the palace maids and eunuchs around Empress Dowager Hang were all replaced by their own people step by step after Cao Jixiang served as the master of ceremonies. Under normal circumstances, it can play the role of eyeliner, and at critical moments, it can also blow wind in the ears to guide the attitude of the Empress Dowager Hang.

Especially when dealing with Shen Yichen, when Cao Jixiang was still in the position of the palm seal of the Imperial Horse Supervisor, he had already begun to plan to brainwash the Empress Dowager Hang. This is the scene that appeared at the funeral of Emperor Jingtai Zhu Qiyu, and the Empress Dowager Hang led Emperor Mingliang to be extremely afraid.

In the face of Cao Jixiang's questioning, the palace maids and eunuchs who spread the news fell to their knees, trembling like a sieve. The eunuchs and maids in the palace are not like foreign officials, they do not have any privileges to punish doctors, and it is easy for Cao Jixiang to kill anyone.

"Talking, do you want to be dumb?"

Cao Jixiang continued to lash out, saying that the pantomime he was talking about was not just a verbal threat, but would be achieved by physical means.

"Inside...... The prime minister, the little ones have already asked the queen mother to think that Shen Yichen is a rebellious minister and thief, and originally rejected Mrs. Shen's request for the emperor. ”

"But later, the Empress Dowager moved out of the Empress Shangshengqian, which made the Empress Dowager change her mind, and the little ones really tried their best."

The Empress Dowager intervened?

Hearing the little eunuch's announcement, Cao Jixiang was stunned for a moment, he never thought that it would be the Empress Dowager who promoted Shen Yichen to become the emperor.

You must know that Shen Yichen killed her sister-in-law, and also used hundreds of officials to knock on the palace to force the palace, directly depriving the curtain of the right to listen to the government. In this irresolvable blood feud between the two sides, why did the Empress Dowager Sun help this?

Cao Jixiang couldn't understand why, but this abnormal behavior made him feel a sense of crisis. Could it be that the Empress Dowager Sun sensed something and suspected herself.

After all, compared with the simple and naïve nature of the Empress Dowager Hang, the Empress Dowager Sun has gone through several court battles, and has also been in the dynasty for a short time, so her political acumen is much stronger.

Just when Cao Jixiang was suspicious, Shi Heng strode into the yamen of the celebrant supervisor. He had just suffered a lot of anger in the court, and the situation had been completely dominated by Shen Yichen, so Shi Heng didn't bother to continue to bow to Cao Jixiang.

After seeing it, he didn't even have a basic politeness, and asked straight to the point: "Why did the prime minister invite this office?" ”

Seeing Shi Heng walking in with an unkind face, Cao Jixiang quickly adjusted his emotions, and replied with a hypocritical smile on his face: "Grandpa doesn't look very good, and he still has to calm down when he suffers from liver burns." ”

"Is the prime minister inviting my father over just to maintain his health?"

Shi Heng's tone is still very choking, and now even the officials of the previous dynasty are no longer pretending, but Cao Jixiang is still here with a weird yin and yang, it seems that the eunuch is still a eunuch after all!

"Of course not, our family just wants to ask, can my grandfather swallow this breath when he was treacherously put on a show by Hu Hu like this?"

"What if you can swallow it, what if you can't swallow it, now Shen Yichen is obviously friendly with the civil official group, what else can he do with his father-in-law alone."

"Instead of wasting time here, it is better to think about how to deal with it with my father, and when Shen Yichen has become a big trend, there will be no place for you and me in the court."

Shi Heng's words implied a hint of reproach, and he charged into battle with Shen Yichen, but Cao Jixiang hid behind and didn't dare to show his head. Now that he's at a disadvantage, it's time for this eunuch to do his part!