The little eunuch couldn't guess Cao Jixiang's thoughts, and he didn't dare to ask, so he could only quickly kowtow and agree: "What the minister said is that Shi Heng, a martial artist who belongs to heaven, has a way, he doesn't go, and hell has no door to cast, and he is destined to be doomed!" ”

Faced with the compliment of the little eunuch, Cao Jixiang felt that the anger in his heart calmed down a little, and then ordered: "Spread the word of our family, and summon Zhao Wubo and Cao Tongzhi into the palace!" ”

In history, when Shi Hengquan leaned into the opposition, he took his subordinates into the palace at will, and accidentally bumped into Ming Yingzong in Fengtian Palace. Now the tripartite forces of the imperial court are still in a state of wrestling, and Shi Heng's flying and domineering have been suppressed a lot.

But in the Forbidden City, the special reason why the young emperor ascended the throne greatly enhanced Cao Jixiang's authority, and he did the same thing as Shi Heng, unscrupulously summoning his sons and nephews to enter the palace privately!

"Yes, the little ones will do it."

With the little eunuch leaving the celebrant eunuch, Shen Yichen walked out of the Chengtian Gate on the other side, and Zhao Hongjie had been waiting at the palace gate for a long time.

Seeing Shen Yichen come out, he immediately greeted him and said excitedly: "Xiangbei, you are really strategizing, Shi Heng's actions and plans are completely under control." ”

Zhao Hongjie couldn't help but exclaim, as the commander of the Jinyi Guard, he had just gotten the news, but Shen Yichen was able to learn before himself and arranged the backhand, how could a reckless martial artist like Shi Heng be worthy of becoming an opponent of the court?

The change of imperial power did not brazenly raise troops at that time, and it may be the last chance that Shi Heng missed.

Listening to Zhao Hongjie's praise, Shen Yichen shook his head with a smile and said: "How can there be such a god, it is more because Shi Heng himself found the wrong ally and didn't realize which side of the basic market was." ”

"But then again, one mountain can't tolerate two tigers, and Shi Heng can't give the real 'allies' what they want."

In fact, Shen Yichen didn't do much, it was purely because it was impossible for Hu Hu, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, to form an alliance with Shi Heng, and for the civil official group, it was better to let Shen Yichen, a powerful minister, be in charge than a martial artist.

Shi Heng can come up with the idea of joining forces with Hu Hui, it is simply whimsical, the shortcomings of the eunuchs and military generals in terms of strategy are exposed, no wonder the middle and late Ming Dynasty was pressed by the civilian group and could not turn over.

"To the north, another tiger, do you mean Cao Jixiang?"

"Hmm."

"But the problem is that Cao Jixiang is a eunuch, he doesn't have much conflict of interest with Shi Heng, why can't he give him what he wants?"

Zhao Hongjie heard more than once that Shen Yichen attached great importance to Cao Jixiang, but in his opinion, Shi Heng and Cao Jixiang were the most perfect combination, one outside the main and the other inside, and the two sides could completely avoid the river water.

But I don't know why, things are just as Shen Yichen expected, the cooperation between the two is not intimate, otherwise it would not have come to the point of winning over the civil official group, what does Cao Jixiang want?

Faced with Zhao Hongjie's puzzlement, Shen Yichen looked around, and then whispered close to his ear: "Shi Heng wants to be the regent, but Cao Jixiang wants to be the emperor, do you think the two of them can talk together?" ”

Hearing Shen Yichen's words, Zhao Hongjie gasped, and then replied with a face full of disbelief: "Xiangbei, you're not joking with me, are you?" ”

"Whether it's a joke or not, you'll find out later."

With that, Shen Yichen had a mysterious smile on his face, and then walked towards the carriage of the Gongfu that was not far away.

On the carriage, Chen Qingtong had already finished the harem order to congratulate her, but in the face of her oncoming husband, she was still a little apprehensive in her heart. The reason is that seriously speaking, the idea of serving as the emperor has not been discussed with Shen Yichen, and it is a matter that Chen Qingtong decided alone.

Regardless of the set of "marrying and obeying the husband" in the three and four virtues, just this kind of major event related to the career of the husband and even the political direction of the court, he made a decision as a woman, even if Chen Qingtong knew that Shen Yichen was informal, he was still a little nervous.

Shen Yichen lifted the curtain and sat in the carriage, seeing that Chen Qingtong's face was a little unnatural, he subconsciously thought that there was a problem with the communication with the Empress Dowager Hang, and immediately comforted: "Qingtong, is it the Empress Dowager who is not easy to speak?" ”

"It's okay, the court affairs have his own way to deal with them, and you don't have to take it too seriously."

Hearing Shen Yichen's inexplicable comfort, Chen Qingtong, who was still a little nervous, couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Husband, it's not what you think, I met the Queen Mother and eased the relationship, but the result may be different from what I originally expected."

"Really? What did you say to the Queen Mother? ”

Shen Yichen asked rhetorically with a puzzled face.

"I forced the Queen Mother to let you be the emperor's teacher, and she agreed."

Emperor?

Facing this title, Shen Yichen suddenly felt like a dream.

You must know that when he first entered the official career, one of the goals of climbing up the Hanlin Academy was to successfully participate in Jingyan, and then finally get the title of Imperial Division.

It's just that Shen Yichen didn't stay in the Hanlin Academy for long, and then he was promoted to the position of Jingyan lecturer step by step. Later, the court underwent drastic changes one after another, and after three dynasties in just a few years, Shen Yichen stood at the height of a supreme minister in the way of civil officials in charge of military affairs, so he did not need the blessing of the title of emperor.

"Husband, if you want to ease relations with the Queen Mother and strengthen ties with the Son of Heaven, only the emperor can do it."

"Otherwise, even if it is relieved for a while, it will not be relieved for a lifetime, and the palace gate is as deep as the sea, and there will always be a deep barrier."

Chen Qingtong said her reasons, after all, she is the only daughter of the Marquis of Taining, and she has a very high sensitivity to the control of royal relations.

"Qingtong, did Empress Dowager Hang not put forward any additional conditions?"

To be honest, Shen Yichen's original goal was only to use Chen Qingtong's mouth to explain to the emperor's mother and son that he had no ambition to transgress, and there was no need to be afraid or hostile.

But as a result, Chen Qingtong asked for the title of an imperial division, and this kind of reward was simply incredible. According to the principle of political compromise in the court, she has received such a big benefit, then Empress Hang will inevitably make a price.

Shen Yichen wanted to know what price he needed to pay.

"No, it was the Empress Dowager who helped behind her, and the Empress Dowager agreed to my request for the emperor."

Empress Dowager Sun's help?

Hearing Chen Qingtong's answer, even Shen Yichen himself was a little confused.

She and the Empress Dowager are old rivals, and it is not too much to call it an old enemy, how could she help at a critical moment.

Could it be that it was because he gave the Empress Dowager Sun personal freedom in the final stage of Emperor Jingtai's death and guaranteed that there would be no more fratricide, so the other party reciprocated?

Shen Yichen couldn't understand why, it was impossible for him to rush into the palace to find out, since this was the case, then simply take one step at a time, the court struggle is like this, no one can do everything under control!

"Qingtong, hard work."

Giving up the search for the roots, Shen Yichen reached out and gently took Chen Qingtong into his arms, these are not the responsibilities that his wife should bear.

"Husband and wife are one, why bother to say these kind words."

Chen Qingtong leaned her head on Shen Yichen's shoulder, she also knew that the pressure her husband had endured in the court for so many years, if it had not reached the stage of last resort, she would not have brought government affairs to the family.

But even so, Shen Yichen is still the hero in Chen Qingtong's heart, after the drastic changes of the three dynasties, he has always been able to shelter his wife and daughter from the wind and rain, what more can a husband ask for?

The carriage swayed in a snow-white world to the Chengguo Mansion, and as night fell, many children waited for lanterns and firecrackers to run into the streets, and all kinds of laughter and crackling fireworks were endless.

Shen Yichen looked out the window, looking at this scene, a smile couldn't help but appear on the corner of his mouth. He may not have fulfilled the promise he made on the banks of the Zhenjiang River that year, so that everyone in this world will no longer be displaced, at least in this corner of the Jingshi, it is developing in the direction of reunion.

The first month is immersed in the celebration of the New Year, the government affairs are relatively relaxed, and Emperor Mingliang is young, basically except for the Wangshuo court, all the regular days have been canceled, and Shen Yichen has rarely won a period of relaxation.

Of course, in addition to these objective reasons, the biggest subjective reason is that the impeachment of the Zhongguo Gong Shiheng and the civilian-official clique failed, and he entered a period of dormancy, and did not continue to do things in court affairs.

After the end of the relaxed New Year, the government affairs of the court in February slowly got on the right track, and the most eye-catching news was that the Empress Dowager Hang issued a decree to appoint Shen Yichen as the emperor's teacher, and ordered Qin Tianjian to select a good day and auspicious day to apprentice.

As soon as this news came out, it was simply boiling inside and outside the government and the opposition, and everyone's focus was not on appointing Shen Yichen as the emperor. The reason is the existence of the Jingyan system, as long as you serve as a lecturer, you have the title of "emperor".

Although Lecturer Jingyan can also be called a noble status, after all, there is a gap between the real emperors of the Han and Tang dynasties.

Empress Dowager Hang ordered Qin Tianjian to choose a good day and auspicious day to apprentice, which means that a formal apprenticeship ceremony will be held, which is essentially different from Lecturer Jingyan!

Pick the simplest example, you must know that the Ming Dynasty did not inherit the Song system, but the Tang system. According to the official classic of the Tang Dynasty, the "General Dictionary and Ritual Volume", it emphasizes that "the Son of Heaven worships and respects the Baofu", as well as the description in the "Kaiyuan Rite Class Basket and Crown Prince Bundle Repair Strip".

If you really want to completely follow the words of the Tang system to worship the emperor, then the Son of Heaven has to kneel down to Shen Yichen and salute as a student!

You must know that since the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, the imperial power has been greatly strengthened, and various kneeling etiquette has become a practice. In the vast majority of cases during the Tang and Song dynasties, ministers did not need to visit the emperor, let alone bow down between colleagues such as "avoiding horses every other and kneeling every third grade".

Even if you can rank among the prime ministers, the emperor has to worship you in turn, and the word "worship the prime minister" in the idiom "feudal marquis and worship the prime minister" comes from this way.

The crown prince of the Ming Dynasty went out of the pavilion to study and apprentice, and according to the tradition, he had to kneel down and worship the teacher, which is why the status of the prince was so respected. But in the history of the Ming Dynasty, there is no precedent for the emperor to apprentice, even if Zhu Qizhen of Ming Yingzong ascended the throne at the age of nine, in fact, it was established early that the prince had already left the cabinet.

If Emperor Mingliang bowed to Shen Yichen, coupled with his status as the first assistant of the cabinet, he couldn't imagine how much power would grow, could it be said that the position of prime minister, which was abolished by Emperor Taizu, would make a comeback again?

Not to mention that the government and the opposition were shocked, even Shen Yichen himself learned that Empress Dowager Hang had ordered Qintian to supervise the election date, he was a little incredulous. After all, to say that this title of emperor is ugly, it is just a political compromise and a binding of interests, and the Empress Dowager Hang can agree to believe that it is more forced by the situation.

In the end, there is a high probability that he will go through the motions and give an emperor the title of teacher, which is actually similar to the identity of Jingyan lecturer. As a result, Empress Dowager Hang played such a play, which made Shen Yichen, who couldn't figure it out, even more incomprehensible now.

In fact, what Shen Yichen didn't know was that such a solemn apprenticeship was not the idea of the Empress Dowager Hang, but was led by the Empress Dowager Sun. She has realized that Shen Yichen's power in the court is unstoppable, and since she promised to be appointed as the emperor, she still makes it unpleasant to cover up.

simply make it public and grandly operated, so that the whole world knows that Shen Yichen is the teacher of Emperor Mingliang, and if he has any arrogance in the future, he will also be condemned by the people of the world. In addition, he can also suppress Shi Heng, the prince of Zhongguo, and Cao Jixiang, who makes Sun vaguely feel that there is a shadow of Wang Zhen back then.

The balance of the court is never to see how powerful a person is, but to see whether there are means to check and balance him. Just like the reason of Hu Hu, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, compared with martial artists and eunuchs, Sun understands that Shen Yichen is a person with principles and bottom lines, but is safer.

After a short accident, Shen Yichen did not pay attention to the title of "Emperor Master", and at the end of February, he received a military report from Dingxiang Bo Guoden, announcing that the Heavenly Sage Khan had also led the Mongol army to retreat, and the captured Mongol Acropolis returned to the hands of the Ming Dynasty.

It's just that the acropolis is so badly damaged that it's almost in ruins, and it takes a lot of silver to rebuild.

Shen Yichen was not surprised that Tiansheng Khan would also choose to withdraw his troops first, this was a war that broke out in order to divert internal contradictions, and Dingxiang Bo Guodeng was just caught off guard by a winter raid, which would lead to the loss of an acropolis.

As long as the Ming soldiers and horses come back to their senses and make adequate preparations, it is impossible for the Mongolian cavalry to capture any acropolis in the entire southern Mongolia in the icy and snowy environment of winter.

However, compared with the stable situation in southern Mongolia, there are still various frictions and conflicts in Liaodong. The three Jurchen tribes were not willing to accept the loot they plundered, and tried their best to use various means to commit crimes, and their greed and ferocity even surpassed that of the Mongol cavalry.

And Zhang Qi and others, who returned to the Liaodong Metropolitan Division, also brought a very important news to Shen Yichen, that is, Aixin Jueluo Dongshan, the leader of the Jianzhou Jurchens, has an unclear relationship with the current king of North Korea, Li Yao, as if the Jurchen "one servant and two masters" colluded with the Koreans, and the latter seems to have a heart of disobedience!