Normally, it is very unlikely that the two contenders for cabinet positions, Xie Minhong and Zheng Shou, will meet face-to-face, but a few officials passing by today were surprised to see that they not only met, but also struck up a conversation.

Compared with the slender Xie Minhong, Zheng Shou of "Nine-headed Bird" is almost half a head shorter than him, but he has his own advantages - he is six years older than Xie Minhong, and he has more experience and connections in the officialdom.

Zheng Shou joined the Ministry of Officials twice, first as the director of the Guangnan Division and the Henan Division, and then went to the Ministry of Industry to turn around and came back and then became the right waiter, so he was very familiar with the situation of the upper and lower officials, and he could simply understand it by heart, which is what Xie Minhong, who has been in Zhongshu Province, lacks.

Therefore, most of Xie Minhong's guests are middle- and lower-level bureaucrats, while the people who come to give gifts when Zheng Shou is a student (birthday) are mainly middle- and upper-level officials.

In addition, he also has a younger brother Zheng Yan, who is the consolation envoy of southern Sichuan, and the brothers have a positive third grade and a third grade, which makes people have to pay attention to the strength of the Zheng family.

In Zheng Shou's words, he is a chronic person, he is not in a hurry at any time, even if the big thing falls, he will still talk about it without changing his face and heartbeat, which is called Qi Cultivation Kung Fu.

In his opinion, Xie Minhong deliberately imitated himself in this regard, but he only learned the surface and lacked the essence. From more than 20 years of eunuchs, Zheng Shou has long seen through many things.

As a leading figure of Huguang and Sichuan Shu (i.e., Sichuan and Chu) officials, he has experienced two generations of kings and knows that the king's heart is unpredictable. He knew that Xie Minhong always felt that His Majesty was young, which Zheng Shou disagreed with extremely much.

The Lord must not be taken lightly, the king must not be bullied, this is his principle of life, and it is also the basic point of his self-belief that he is cautious and self-protecting, and he must not be overstepped!

Judging from the physiognomy, Zheng Shou also thinks that his square face is more blessed than Xie Minhong's long face, he is always amiable, does not fight with others, does not treat others condescendingly, and does not feel that he is smart enough to applaud people like Xie Minhong.

Although he admits that this person is smart, he also insists that being smart is easy to be mistaken by being smart, but it is just not yet the time to be counterattacked, and self-denial is the right way in officialdom.

Such two people who admire each other but have completely different views and styles are like two flints of different colors, fortunately, one is in Liubu and the other is in Zhongshu, and they can maintain a sense of distance when they meet often, and once they meet, they may spark.

What did they talk about when they came together, and what would happen when they came together? The officials avoided it from a distance, glancing at it from time to time, quickening their pace and passing as quickly as possible through the porches under the courtyard walls on both sides, as quietly as possible.

This small courtyard belongs to the Department of General Administration, Zhongshu Province is in the north, and the Sixth Department is in the south, so these two must have wanted to talk to each other, but they met here unexpectedly.

In one corner of the courtyard is a plum tree, which is no longer the season to bear fruit, and the leaves of the full branches have been dyed with the yellow-brown of autumn, which just reflects the sparse leaves on the diagonal violet trellis, and the rattan that once grew freely, adding to the gloom brought by the season.

"When did Cong'an (Xie Minhong) hear about this?" Zheng Shou asked with a smile.

"It's just the front and back feet of Brother Tonglan (Zheng Shouzi)." Xie Minhong smiled bitterly, this time the emperor appointed the new cabinet completely arbitrarily, and he made an order without consulting too many courtiers.

"Don't think that Zhongshu knows everything, you see, there are ready-made examples, we didn't know about this beforehand."

Zheng Shou believed he was telling the truth. As a rule, the appointment and dismissal of the cabinet should be recommended to the emperor by all cabinet members after consultation, but in fact, as long as the ministers who meet the requirements of the third rank or above and have the title of pavilion bachelor, they can become cabinet members after being appointed by the emperor.

And this kind of will is not within the authority of the six departments to refute the matter (the edict on the appointment and dismissal of officials below the third grade needs to be reviewed in the matter), and the cabinet will not be obstructed because it involves colleagues.

So...... This sudden willful will was sent out like this, until the pedestrian department received the will from the Yellow Gate and sent people to the cabinet and the Zhongshu Province to inform them respectively, that everyone was heard: Mr. Ji's retirement application has been approved, let Gu Lin and him hand it over.

"It's sudden and subtle."

When Zheng Shou heard this, he glanced at the back shoulder of the tall man, and said unhurriedly, "

Your Majesty's Sacred Heart, when I heard that I had received the decree, I also wept. It is a great honor to give money back to the hometown, not to mention the return of the shadow and the two sons, which is rare since this dynasty!"

"Your Majesty has grown up and begun to make his own decisions!"

Zheng Shou's footsteps faltered: "Cong'an, it's better to say less in the future!"

"Hehe, what is Brother Tonglan afraid of? Are you afraid that the emperor will also give you such a favor?"

"Alas, you're too sharp." Zheng Shou shook his head: "Don't talk about this, the old man has a doubt in his heart, so he came to look for you, and I want to ask the world's smart Xie Cong'an to solve the old man's doubts." I wonder if I would like to teach?"

"Hey! Don't dare to be, don't dare to be. Tell me, my lord, what is it that makes you so upset?" Xie Minhong deliberately teased, but Zheng Shou rolled his eyelids but ignored him.

"From An Ke, did Your Majesty mention Omori (Gulin character) as the secretary of the military department?"

"Omori is thirty-eight years old, and it is not surprising that Tanhualang is now in charge of the military department.

What's more, he once performed very well in quelling the Dongbarian Rebellion in Guangxi, preparing for the war, and recovering Hamiwei, and there is a father of Tonghuihou who has been a great general behind him, and it is conceivable that he came up to preside over the military department." Xie Minhong replied.

"But, why isn't it Fan Dayuan?"

"Old Fan? If he leaves the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies and goes to the military headquarters, who will take over his shift? Moreover, the imperial court will not agree to a military general to take over the military department, and no one will agree to become a martial artist!" Xie Minhong glanced at Zheng Shou attentively:

"I know what you want. These two people were originally recommended by Hou You'an (Hou Xie) to His Majesty to succeed him in the cabinet, and none of us expected to be used by His Majesty to replace Ji Congxian (Ji Guoliang)."

"Yes, a southerner walked and a northerner came in. Oh, I'm okay with that, right?"

Xie Minhong smiled: "It can be said that although the ancestral home of Tonghui Hou is in the south, he himself was born in the north, and his son should naturally be regarded as a northerner."

"So the current cabinet can be regarded as the fourth in the north and the first in the south?"

"Yes, Han Gong's family is just south of the Yangtze River in Baling, which is barely the only remaining fruit of the southerners, and there seems to be an extra card on the martial arts side."

"Your Majesty's move is very powerful, you have to be careful."

"Huh?" Xie Minhong turned his face: "Why me?"

"It seems that His Majesty has not been interested in the Jiangnan people lately." Zheng Shou replied with a mysterious smile: "The reason is very simple, there are too many accidents in Jiangnan." In addition to the bandits in Jiangxi, the theft of customs tariff silver in Zhejiang, and the capsizing of the grain ship in Nanzhili were all things that made the imperial court very embarrassed.

Xie Minhong's eyes narrowed: "What does Master Zheng mean...... Households?"

"I didn't say anything, don't guess from Ann." Zheng Shou waved his hand to clear himself.

"Of course, the adults didn't say anything." Xie Minhong walked a few steps and suddenly asked, "Why isn't Master Zheng worried about himself?"

"If you don't want it, you are strong, and the old man doesn't have this luxury." Zheng Shou smiled: "From being close to the center is the close minister of the Son of Heaven, it is only a matter of time before he enters the cabinet, but the opportunity is not very good at the moment, or it is not very favorable.

The old man persuaded the gentleman a lot, don't force everything, and it's right to go down the river. For example, today's son has had repeated accidents in the south, and more importantly, Ji Congxian's mishandling and humiliation of the country caused him to be humiliated, so the emperor took him to show everyone.

Young people look at things in black and white, and naturally feel that it is not good to look at Jiangnan courtiers, let alone put them in the cabinet. At this time, it is better to take a step back, and it is not wise to have a hard top with Your Majesty."

"So Brother Tonglan wants Jiang Nan to retreat and give this opportunity to Chuan Chu?"

"Hehe, the old man didn't mean that. How to arrange it later, there is its own holy judgment. Shall we speculate?"

Xie Minhong sneered, he believed that Zheng Shou was trying to persuade him to see the situation clearly and take the initiative to withdraw, but he didn't want to do it.

The meaning of Zheng Shou's words is very clear, Hubu Shangshu should be another guy who has taken responsibility for the recent Jiangnan cases, so Cui Junyong is very hanging. "Yes...... There's another possibility." Xie Minhong muttered.

Zheng Shou stopped: "You are

Mean, Taiko?" Xie Minhong closed his eyes slightly. Zheng Shou rubbed his beard and shook his head: "I think this possibility exists, but it will not be realized in the near future."

"Why?"

Zheng Shou glanced around, smiled and said, "This courtyard is too small, why don't we go outside?"

Xie Minhong immediately understood what he meant: "It's okay."

The two came out side by side and walked west along Cross East Street. The southeastern part of Miyagi is the office of the chief officials of the six ministries of the three provinces and the storage of documents and archives.

To the northwest of Cross Street is the province of Menxia; The northeast is the Cabinet (equivalent to Shangshu Province, but with greater power) and Zhongshu Province;

On the north side of the southwest are the Qintianjian, the Pedestrian Division and the Tai Hospital, and on the south side are the three departments of rites, works and punishments;

On the north side of the southeast are the Metropolitan Inspectorate, the General Administration Department and the Imperial Palace, and on the south side are the three departments of officials, soldiers, and households.

The appearance of the two of them made more officials look sideways, not knowing which cloud had obscured the sun today, so they quickly gave way to the other side, and then continued to hurry without looking back.

"Your Majesty has already moved one person, and if you move another one in the near future, it will only be the deputy prime minister." Zheng Shou said softly: "Although he is young, you can't look down on him, not to mention that there is an old man behind him." Hearing the word Queen Mother, Xie Minhong's shoulders moved.

"If Your Majesty changes the first assistant, and if the two phases change and have both the first and the second, the world will shake, which is not good for the imperial court at the moment. Even if Your Majesty really has the heart to change the first assistant, you must be patient and find a more suitable opportunity."

"Brother Tonglan, if you only change the deputy phase, then among the three Han, Hou, and Cui, do you think it is most likely to be Cui?"

"Why, doesn't Ann think so?"

"Wouldn't it be Han or Hou?"

"Han Gong is cautious and upright, Your Majesty will not remove this pillar easily. However, there are rumors that Han Gong plans to resign from the post of Shangshu, has he heard from An Ke?"

Xie Minhong was stunned for a moment, and then understood the mystery inside: "Han Gong wants to take over the position of Cui Gong's second assistant?"

"Not only that, but the official secretary and the squire are both from Jinghu, which is somewhat inappropriate."

"In this way, I would like to congratulate Lord Zheng, probably you will take over the position of Shangshu, right?"

Zheng Shou smiled and didn't answer the topic: "Then it's obvious that His Majesty's spear is aimed at Cui, so it's okay to deduce this, right?"

"So, Choi can't stay in the cabinet anyway?" Xie Minhong sighed: "It's just that even if Cui is ousted from power, what does it have to do with me? I'm afraid I'm making a wedding dress for someone else!"

"It's reasonable for Cui to step down and replace a southerner with a southerner."

"You just said that Your Majesty came to see me and other Jiangnan people recently." Xie Minhong reminded him of the inconsistencies in his words.

"Indeed." Zheng Shou nodded: "But if this position is replaced by a northerner, then the southerner will not be able to turn over in a few years!" And with Han Gong here, I can only take over the position of his official at most, and it is impossible to compete for the deputy prime minister.

The rest will either find another candidate to send to His Majesty, and if you want to have a ready-made one, you can only help you work hard to get to the throne." As he spoke, he had already walked to the center of the cross street, then stood still and turned to Xie Minhong and said:

"I just persuaded each other to try the idea of Cong'an. But I see that you have always been determined to fight for this vice-minister. Well, I'll fight for you!"

"Brother Tonglan is not afraid of angering His Majesty?"

"I'm afraid, but I'm even more afraid that the North and South will become a rule in the future!"

"So how is Brother Tonglan going to help me?"

"Please come forward and talk to Your Majesty about the importance of balancing the north and the south." Zheng Shou smiled, looked at Xie Minhong, who was frowning, and said, "Don't worry, I won't come nonsense. The Queen Mother should be the first person who understands the affairs of the North and the South the most!"

As soon as the words fell, a rumbling sound was suddenly heard, and someone shouted, "Two adults, get out of the way, the carriage is coming!" Before they could understand what was going on, two guards with big shoulders and round waists rushed over and pulled them aside.

"Drive, drive!" A carriage rushed past them at a gallop.

"Who is so bold as to gallop in Miyagi? Go and behead the coachman!

The shoulders of Xie Minhong's official robe were ripped open, and he roared angrily.

"Don't shout, sir, that's—that's the Holy Driver!" The panting Eunuch Liu stopped to catch his breath and said to the two, "The treasure car of Jiangxi's tribute, Your Majesty and Your Majesty are trying, testing it!"

"Huh?" The two were taken aback: "Your Majesty is in that car?"

"Just, exactly!"

Xie Minhong blushed and was about to say something, when he heard another "boom" sound, and the carriage came out of Cross South Street again, turned a corner, and continued in the direction of Tianjie.

"Bastard! How dare you put Your Majesty in danger? If there is a case, how many heads do you have in the Liu family that are enough to cut off?" Zheng Shou was also angry, pointing at Eunuch Liu and scolding.

Eunuch Liu was as tired as a dog when he chased here, and he didn't have time to tell the reason, so he had to lead people to turn around and run back.

"Alas, Your Majesty is really childish, how can this kind of thing be used as a trick?" In a hurry, Zheng Shou forgot his rules and said that Zhao Tuo was a child.

Zhao Tuo really likes the car that Zhao Chongbi paid tribute to!

The low chassis with doors on both sides and a quarter of the wheel height not only makes it easy to get on and off the car, but also brings safety thanks to the low center of gravity, which not only allows people to sit and lean, but also allows the calves to be placed naturally on the floor, which is more comfortable than the traditional chassis with the axle higher.

The four corners of the carriage are suspended with leather strips, and the leather strips between the four corners of the chassis and the front and rear axles are softly suspended, so that the whole car does not show too many bumps even on the stone road.

Most of the wooden parts in the compartment are made of lacquered mahogany, and the beautiful wood grain glows under the seven lacquers.

The cowhide-wrapped seats are upholstered with brown cushions and layers of linen and wool fabrics, which are not only elastic and breathable to sit on, but also have a charming reddish-brown sheen from the wax-treated leather.

In particular, the doors and portholes are sandwiched between two layers of wooden strips that are as transparent as crystal, and they are called wonderful things called glass, so that the people in the car can see the scenery outside.

For example, just now, the emperor caught a glimpse of the two opponents, Xie Minhong and Zheng Shou, from the carriage, who actually stood together and watched the carriage gallop by in shock.

The carriage went straight to the base of the palace wall, and then deftly turned into the fireproof passage outside the royal palace and the household wall.

A team of forbidden soldiers patrolling the city looked at the oncoming carriage in amazement, and found that Liu Funian was sitting next to the coachman.

"It's easy for this car to turn, huh?" The emperor immediately found out about the situation.

Sitting sideways opposite is the pedestrian Zhang Ping, who escorted the car back to pay the order, he was restrained by the leather safety belt (Li Dan asked to install, leather belt crossbody, to prevent safety problems when the speed of the car is fast), so he had to turn sideways (because he heard that he was going to pay tribute to the palace, Li Dan wrote a letter to Chen Sanwen to modify, one of which is to disassemble the front row of the opposite double row of seats and change them into two face-to-face side seats for the attendant or palace people to accompany them, and the seat comfort and specifications are also reduced accordingly. Answer:

"Your Majesty, this is where this four-wheeled carriage comes in. The car has a special steering mechanism, the front wheel steering is also the rear wheel steering, so it is extremely agile and convenient when turning and driving in the streets and alleys and mountain curves.

It is said that it was with this car that Lord Li was driving on the mountain road, and he unexpectedly went behind the thief army attacking Fengqi Pass, defeated the thief army, and relieved the siege of the soldiers guarding the pass."

"But he was using a truck, right?"

"Your Majesty, the minister has seen a wagon of that kind, one foot two feet long, about six feet wide, and five feet six feet high.

The old car was made of wooden keel, which could carry up to 40 stones. The new car has been switched to iron keels and iron wheels, which can carry up to 60 stone and be towed by five horses." Zhang Ping bowed and replied.

"I see, no wonder he can do what others can't." Zhao Tuo smiled.

Zhang Ping replied, "Although Lord Li is young, his breadth of knowledge is enough to make the minister ashamed. He often said: If you want to do something, you must first work on it.

He also said, "The difference between man and beast is that man can make and use tools to save effort and time, so that man can overcome beasts and enemies."

"If you want to do it, you must first work on it." Zhao Tuo repeated. He looked sideways through the glass to see how big the carriage was now

Approximate position, I feel that the driver has slowed down the car. He pulled down Yingluo beside him.

The pair of small bells above the coachman's head rang, and Liu Funian opened the window panel and asked, "What does Your Majesty command?"

"Hurry up, let's turn back to Cross Street, and then go back to Taifu Temple from Heavenly Street!"

So Xie and Zheng saw the carriage rumbling past again, and Eunuch Liu had to lead a group of people to hurry back to catch up with the holy driver.