Yang Shan came to visit?

Listening to the communication of Zhao Ranyuan, a member of the Zhongshu House, Shen Yichen felt a little surprised.

In fact, seriously speaking, the relationship between Shen Yichen and Yang Shan is not unfamiliar, even if you put aside the general friendship of being an official in the same dynasty and not looking down to see each other, when Wara also led the Mongolian iron cavalry to the city of Beijing, he also sent an envoy to the enemy camp to meet Zhu Qizhen of Ming Yingzong.

It's just that Shen Yichen has a historical perspective of God, and knows that Yang Shan is a real villain who forgets his righteousness, and deliberately keeps a distance from the other party and has no deep friendship.

After so many years, there is no contact between the two, and today Yang Shan suddenly came to visit, Shen Yichen vaguely guessed the other party's intentions, which may be related to Cao Jixiang's invocation of Wang Wen into the cabinet.

"Zhao Zhongshu, did Yang Duxian say why he came to visit?"

"Nope."

Hearing Zhao Ranyuan's answer, Shen Yichen thought for a while, but nodded and said, "You go and bring him in." ”

"Yes, the subordinate obeys."

It didn't take long for Yang Shan, who was dressed in a scarlet robe, with an affectionate smile on his face, to appear in front of Shen Yichen and arch his hand: "Shen Gongbao, it's been a long time." ”

It stands to reason that the two also meet from time to time in the court, and Yang Shan deliberately said this sentence for a long time, obviously wanting to climb the friendship of the enemy camp together. It's just that this memory is not so "beautiful" here in Shen Yichen, after all, Yang Shan directly led the mission back to the city in advance, leaving Shen Yichen alone in the enemy camp.

"Yang Duxian is here, I don't know what to teach."

"Shen Gong Baozhen is tormenting me, how can this official be worthy of the word teaching, this time I came here more to remind Shen Gong Bao, so as not to be calculated behind the back by the traitor."

"Oh, then please Yang Duxian make it clear."

Shen Yichen pretended to be surprised, wanting to hear what Yang Shan could remind him of.

Seeing Shen Yichen's appearance, Yang Shan showed a cautious expression, and specially turned around to gently close the wooden door of the duty room.

"Gao Gao Tang passed away last year, and the cabinet vacancies have not been filled, and many people in the DPRK and China have already put their minds on the title of cabinet minister. This official recently got a secret news that Wang Wen, the imperial historian of Zuodu, is quite close to Cao Jixiang, the master of ceremonies, and it seems that he wants to use the power of eunuchs to help introduce the cabinet! ”

Sure enough, it has something to do with Cao Jixiang's invocation of Wang Wen into the cabinet!

Yang Shan's words were in the middle of Shen Yichen's speculation, but he didn't show it in his expression, and still asked with a surprised look: "Wang Duxian wants to use Cao Jixiang's power to enter the cabinet, can Yang Duxian be true from the source of this matter?" ”

Cao Jixiang's approach to wooing civilian officials as henchmen is very different from that of Wang Zhen, the eunuch of the orthodox dynasty, and has always maintained a secretive and low-key style. The reason is that with the experience of Tumubao, so that the civil official group can reach a consensus that whoever defects to the eunuchs will be pointed at by thousands of people and spurned by everyone.

In addition, Cao Jixiang knew very well that he did not have the intimate relationship between Wang Zhen and the emperor who was "also a master and a father", and openly and openly recruited courtiers to form a eunuch party, which would inevitably become a lost party, and even attracted all the artillery fire originally aimed at Shen Yichen.

There is a more important point, that is, Cao Jixiang has used his heirs and clans to openly extend his hand to the control of the army, which has been on the edge of the bottom line of imperial power. If you control the courtiers without concealment, it is equivalent to writing the word "power eunuch" on the door of your head, and Wang Zhen was not so arrogant at his peak.

After all, Wang Zhendu only controlled the factory and guard intelligence agencies, as well as the military generals of Xun Qi, and did not really get involved in the soldiers.

Cao Jixiang's current strength, how can he dare to say that he is stronger than Wang Zhen and can stand taller?

As a result, Yang Shan, Wang Wen and other ministers of the DPRK and China who took refuge did not publicly disclose them and labeled them as eunuchs, and the outside world did not know that they had colluded with Cao Jixiang in private.

This is why Yang Shan will treat this matter as a "secret" and reveal it to Shen Yichen from Wenyuan Pavilion.

However, the outside world doesn't know, it doesn't mean that Shen Yichen doesn't know. From the moment Cao Jixiang stepped into the celebrant supervisor, he had already instructed Zhao Hongjie to arrange the brocade guard, and he kept an eye on the other party's every move all the time.

Of course, Cao Jixiang is not a fuel-efficient lamp, and he also cleared the power of the Jinyi Guards in the East Factory, recruited troops and cultivated a group of loyal factory guards, and secretly monitored the movements of Shen Yichen and the important ministers of the court.

Both of them have actually regarded each other as their worst enemies, but they maintain a delicate balance before the conflict erupts.

Maybe this is officialdom.

"This matter is true, and Wang Wen doesn't know what means to use, and he has also won the trust of He Wenyuan, the great uncle of the Ministry of Rites, and the civil officials will support him to help the cabinet!"

Wang Wen relied on the eunuch to help him enter the cabinet, and he could still get the trust and support of a rigid physicist like He Wenyuan?

Hearing Yang Shan say this, Shen Yichen was a little interested, what kind of sweeping operation did Wang Wen do behind his back, and he could get the help of the two rivals of the civil official group and the eunuch party at the same time.

According to this set of statements, the only obstacle for Wang Wen to enter the cabinet is himself.

After all, Li Xian, the official of the Ministry of Officials, is a member of the Shen Party, and without Shen Yichen's consent, it is impossible to publicly promote Wang Wen and help him hold a court meeting. Even with the help of the eunuchs to introduce the cabinet, if he does not get Shen Yichen's nod and approval, it will still be difficult to move an inch in the cabinet by relying solely on Zhongzhi Wang Wen.

At this moment, Shen Yichen finally understood why he suddenly received an edict from Emperor Mingliang. It turned out that Wang Wen had already opened up all the joints, and thought of the difficulties he would suffer, so he was left to let the emperor come forward to clear the last obstacles.

The old ministers who have been in the court for decades, even if they have stood on the wrong team many times in the struggle for imperial power, they still have two brushes.

"Then Yang Duxian suddenly visited today, did he want the cabinet department to do something on Wang Duxian's entry into the cabinet?"

Shen Yichen asked meaningfully, it was obvious that Yang Shan came to "inform", it could not be as simple as revealing a piece of news, he must want to stop it himself.

But the problem is just like the reason why Shen Yichen gave up recommending candidates for the post of secretary of the Ministry of Rites in the second year of Ming Liang, the qualifications and prestige of Shen Dangmen can't control the high-ranking officials at the cabinet level, and it will be counterproductive to support the top.

The current gold content of the position of cabinet minister is not the level of Shen Yichen when he first entered the cabinet, and he has established the status of the decision-making body of the Ming Dynasty decades in advance, and it is impossible to recommend newcomers to the cabinet.

Gao Gu passed away and vacated the position of cabinet minister, and Shen Yichen did not have a suitable candidate to take it for the time being, so he naturally did not have enough motivation to hinder Wang Wen. After all, it is much better to let an old fritter who has been in the officialdom for decades and has no great ambition come to power than to change an ambitious person into the cabinet.

Yang Shan really wants to let himself stop it, in fact, it is not impossible, but the premise is to come up with enough chips to make Shen Yichen's heart move!

Hearing Shen Yichen's question, Yang Shan understood that he had reached the stage of bargaining, but the problem was that he was now infamous in officialdom, and after the fall of Wang Zhen and Ming Yingzong, they were almost like lost dogs, where did they get the capital to put chips?

So Yang Shan could only play the emotional card, only to see him reply heartbrokenly: "Shen Gongbao, Cao Jixiang guarded the eunuch from the border pass, deceived the first emperor to the position of the palm seal of the celebrant eunuch, and controlled most of the Beijing camp through the family nephews. The lower officials also heard that he had raised a group of brave generals and placed them in various key positions in the army, and the ambition of the wolf son was obvious. ”

"The position of the cabinet minister is of great significance, it is related to the stability of the country, how can you let the eunuchs steal the house?"

"If the eunuch party continues to be in such a wanton state, I am afraid it is not the luck of the family and the country!"

Listening to Yang Shan's righteous and awe-inspiring words, Shen Yichen only felt like laughing to be honest.

You must know that Yang Shan's real opportunity to make a fortune was to keep Wang Zhen's thigh and transfer from Honglu Temple to the position of the left attendant of the Ministry of Rites, so as to wear a scarlet robe.

Now he is a "eunuch", completely forgetting that he was and is a member of the eunuch party?

Of course, Shen Yichen would not expose Yang Shan's background of defecting to Cao Jixiang, but nodded solemnly and said: "Yang Duxian is worried about the country and the people, which is really admired by the cabinet, and it is true that there can no longer be a Wang Zhen and eunuch in the Ming Dynasty!" ”

With Shen Yichen's approval, a subtle smile flashed at the corner of Yang Shan's mouth, in addition to preventing Wang Wen from becoming a cabinet minister, he came to tell the whistle today that in addition to preventing Wang Wen from becoming a minister, his greater expectation was to win Shen Yichen's trust and favor, and even further become a member of the Shen Party.

After all, the civilian-official group can't get along, and Cao Jixiang despises and marginalizes himself, so the Shen Party in the court has become the best choice, and betraying Wang Wen and Cao Jixiang is the letter submitted by Yang Shan!

"On the point of worrying about the country and the people, how dare the light of the lower officials compete with Shen Gong Bao, it is nothing more than doing something within the courtiers' duties."

"If Shen Gongbao is interested, the lower officials can endure the humiliation and make friends with Cao Jixiang, find out the ambitions and intentions of the eunuch party, and dedicate themselves to Kuang Fu court!"

Speaking of this, Yang Shan also claimed to be a subordinate official, almost explicitly saying that he wanted to take refuge in Shen Yichen.

And he also plans to use his eunuch status to take it all at both ends, and maybe he can act as a double agent like Wang Wen. Cao Jixiang and Shen Yichen gave more benefits, so they chose to betray the other party until they stood at the peak of the court!

In the face of Yang Shan's loyalty, Shen Yichen did not respond immediately, but a meaningful smile appeared on his face. If you don't understand this person's temperament, Shen Yichen doesn't mind planting an extra nail in Cao Jixiang.

It's just that Yang Shan has no morals at all, he can betray Cao Jixiang today, and he can betray himself tomorrow. Giving him the title of "Shen Party" will eventually become a stain on being attacked by political enemies, and Shen Yichen will not leave a hidden danger.

I saw that after thinking about it for a while, he replied with a surging smile on his face: "Yang Duxian's patriotic heart is already known to the Cabinet Department, but it is not necessary to befriend Cao Jixiang, the Cabinet Department has its own plans." ”

Hearing Shen Yichen's refusal, Yang Shan's face instantly became gloomy, but he quickly adjusted his state and responded: "Shen Gongbao's strategy to win a thousand miles is beyond the reach of the lower officials. ”

"In that case, then the lower official won't bother too much, so I'll leave first."

Although Yang Shan is a villain, he is already ranked as a second-grade scarlet robe, and it is not to the point of sticking it hard. Moreover, after being an official for so many years, he knows very well that officialdom only values the word "value".

The reason why Shen Yichen refused was that Wang Wen's "vote" was not enough, and he got enough chips, so he didn't take refuge himself, but Shen Yichen took the initiative to win over.

"Yang Duxian, go slowly."

Shen Yichen bowed back, and the politeness on the surface still had to be done.

As Yang Shan's back went away, a figure appeared in Shang Chen, and asked with some doubts: "To the north, how can Yang Duxian come over?" ”

Facing Shang Chen's question, Shen Yichen replied meaningfully: "Yang Duxian took out a chip and wanted to eat both, but unfortunately the value was not high enough, so he went home. ”

"Chips?"

Shang Yu didn't understand what Shen Yichen said, but he still heard about Yang Shan's character, so he reminded: "Yang Duxian's reputation is not very good, you should be more vigilant when you contact him to the north, don't be taken advantage of." ”

"Don't worry, it's not a matter of him taking advantage of me now, it's that I'm going to use his chips."

After saying that, Shen Yichen turned around and shouted to Zhao Ranyuan, the Zhongshu housekeeper who was standing outside the door: "Zhao Zhongshu, help me write a letter of worship, this cabinet department plans to visit the great uncle of the Ministry of Rites immediately." ”

"Yes, the subordinate obeys."

Zhao Ranyuan is different from Shang Chen, as a subordinate, he will not ask questions that exceed his identity, and he can just carry out the order.

It's just that this scene is in the eyes of Shang Chen, and it is even more foggy, what kind of bargaining chips does Shen Yichen plan to use Yang Shan, and what does this have to do with visiting He Wenyuan?

"To the north, what the hell do you want to do?"

"Recommend the imperial envoy Wang Wen into the cabinet, and then do it both ways."

Shen Yichen's words made Shang Yan listen to it more and more, probably seeing the confusion on his face, Shen Yichen sorted out the robe on his body, and pointed to the holy oracle of Emperor Mingliang on the desk and said: "Hongzai, after reading the oracle on the table, you know why I want to recommend Wang Wen to the cabinet." ”

"The emperor's order is hard to disobey!"

Indeed, just as Shen Yichen said, Emperor Mingliang's "letter of discussion" put him in a dilemma.

You must know that for the emperor, there is no such thing as "consultation", and what he says is an order that must be carried out. Of course, Shen Yichen could rely on his status as the emperor's division and the power of the first assistant of the cabinet to refuse to recommend the imperial envoy Wang Wen to force Emperor Mingliang to appoint him.

But if you do that, it is actually the best way to do it, and it will create a gap between yourself and the little emperor.

The position of cabinet minister is very valuable, and since you can't get it yourself, and you don't want to have a gap with the emperor, the best way is to sell it for a good price.

Shen Yichen plans to use this position to make a deal with He Wenyuan in government politics, and once again explain what politics is an art of compromise!