A court meeting is itself a stage for the cabinet's performance.

But even if the listening office did not participate in the discussion, it did not mean that they were not qualified, but because Zhang Zhou was not there, no one was willing to confront the cabinet.

When a few people came out of the Qianqing Palace and walked outside the palace, Xie Qian deliberately mentioned it in front of several people: "Even if Your Majesty didn't say it, how can there be no cabinet matter outside the six ministries?" Now is the time for the old and the new, and the Cabinet is no exception! ”

Zhang Mao smiled and asked, "Yu Qiao, what do you mean, do you want to take the initiative to give up your position?" ”

Xie Qian said: "It should be mentioned, it depends on what His Majesty chooses, but he said that this round of changes, except for the promotion of a former right attendant of the Ministry of Rites to the left attendant of the Ministry of Officials, it seems that the Hanlin Courtyard is quite calm, does this change have nothing to do with the colleagues of Hanyuan?" ”

"I don't know."

Zhang Mao smiled.

He himself knew that the so-called members of the Upper Hearing Office were just a disguise.

Yijie Wuxun, who will really listen to his words?

Ma Wensheng said: "The three elders are highly respected, and now they can't leave anyone, but we are stupid old ministers, and we should gradually retreat." However, the three of them also work hard, and it is not impossible to appropriately increase the number of cabinet ministers. ”

This is actually more like saying it to Lin Han.

It is also like explaining to everyone the meaning of what Xie Qian said before, in fact, Xie Qian is not taking the initiative to abdicate, it is more like speculating whether the emperor has increased the number of cabinet ministers, and has the intention of changing the officials of the Hanlin Academy system.

Lin Han seemed very calm about this, he knew that his official book of the Ministry of Rites was also controversial, and others would not be too convinced of him, just as the courtiers before would not be happy with Xu Qiong.

Zhang Mao pretended to be confused and said with a joke: "Lai Guogong is no longer a bachelor, so don't worry about him entering the cabinet, otherwise he can not only propose suggestions to His Majesty, but also govern the army, and he is indispensable for doing things...... It's not the duty of a courtier to act alone. ”

Xie Qian said: "One day for Hanlin, for life for Hanlin, even if His Majesty wants him to enter the cabinet, isn't it reasonable?" ”

"Okay, Yu Qiao." Li Dongyang interrupted Xie Qian's words, "There is a lot of delay today, so let's go back early to deal with the affairs of the various yamen." Personnel appointments should always be made after the court has arrived, and there should be no unwarranted emotion here. ”

Xie Qian smiled: "Yes, we are all worried, only he Zhang Bingkuan can be said to be the winner, and this court will be very chaotic in the future." ”

This is more like a kind of emotion after the defeat of the struggle with Zhang Zhou.

It's also because Tu Tu is not there.

Otherwise, Xie Qianfei would question him properly.

I said before that I didn't want to fight, I had to fight, but I was still suppressed by the emperor and Zhang Zhou teaming up to participate in the impeachment, and now the disaster can't attack Zhang Zhou, but it can't be said that there is no chance at all in the future, but how can it be so easy to lose the attack if you want to take Zhang Zhou as an errand?

Now that there is discord between the monarch and the ministers, the emperor has begun to make deals with the ministers for the commissions of officials at the level of Shangshu, and it is no longer the time when the ministers dictated the dynasty in the past.

You old ministers, if you can't participate in the impeachment, you pat your ass and leave, won't we who stay in the court bear the consequences of the failure of the struggle in the future?

……

……

After the three members of the cabinet were separated from the rest.

Li Dongyang reminded: "Yu Qiao, you know that you don't need to express your feelings in front of outsiders, but you still said that before, what do you want?" ”

Xie Qian said: "I just want to tell them that if there is anything else in the future, they will count on the cabinet to take care of it." ”

Li Dongyang shook his head and said, "Why do I think that you seem to be disheartened and want to quit the court and never ask about the court?" ”

"Huh." Xie Qian just smiled and didn't answer directly.

The reason why Xie Qian complained was more because he felt that he had been cheated, and once he had the idea of slacking off in his heart, he didn't want to suffer that nest anymore.

Liu Jian asked, "Have you seen the Nanjing garrison ministers, lieutenant officers, and Nanjing military troops play recently?" ”

"I haven't seen it." Li Dongyang turned around and said, "The secretary of the Nanjing Military Department and the secretary of the Ministry of Officials, this will be the Nanjing garrison yamen, after all, Zhang Bingkuan has not yet arrived...... Do you think that Zhang Bingkuan will do anything in Nanjing? ”

Liu Jian said: "If His Majesty temporarily appoints him to be the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department for the transition, there is no need to think about it." But to keep him in Nanking until the end of the year, do you dare to say that His Majesty did not assign him another errand? ”

Li Dongyang fell into deep thought.

It is also Liu Jian's harvest at this inner court meeting.

Zhang Zhou did not return to the capital from time to time, and it seems that the emperor wanted Zhang Zhou to temporarily avoid the disputes in the court, let Zhang Zhou Taoguang recuperate, and wait a few months before being transferred back to Beijing to serve as a secretary of the military department and other positions.

But the emperor is obviously not in a hurry, and it seems that Zhang Zhou's military secretary in Nanjing can last, so we have to think about what Zhang Zhou, a minister who has won the emperor's trust, can bring to the emperor in Nanjing, and even let the emperor not be in a hurry to transfer back.

"It won't be for him to go to the southwest to quell the rebellion, right?" The corner of Xie Qian's mouth let out a strange sound, and he said coldly.

"Not really." Li Dongyang said, "But Nanjing, what will happen?" ”

Liu Jian couldn't answer.

Nanjing, as the capital of the Ming Dynasty, even if there is a set of imperial court teams, but most of the time they are Qing nobles who eat and wait for death, even if the Nanjing Military Department Shangshu involves the military power of Nanzhili, etc., it is not necessarily that Zhang Zhou went to the south to use soldiers.

Xie Qian said: "I heard that the so-called Bohai Governor seems to have also gone south. ”

"What are you going to do?" Li Dongyang obviously didn't know about this.

Xie Qian shook his head and said: "This errand is temporarily placed by His Majesty, and the duty is to build ships in Jinghai, but I have not heard of serious robberies on the southeast coast." First in the northwest, then in Liaodong and North Korea, and now in the southeast, you Li Binzhi can understand it, but I can't understand it, so don't come to ask me. ”

Xie Qian didn't understand, but he didn't want to delve too deeply, so he just told Li Dongyang what he knew.

Leave it to Li Dongyang and Liu Jian to analyze it themselves.

And he himself...... As Li Dongyang said, he was indeed a little disheartened, and he felt that it was a little meaningless to be a cabinet minister in the court.

There are Liu Jian and Li Dongyang pressing on it, and there are Zhang Zhou's forces running on it, a group of pig teammates seem to be fighting with Zhang Zhou, but they ignore the biggest holy will problem, and they always want to dig a pit and bury Zhang Zhou if they can't do it...... Wenchen has changed from the original steady and steady to a jumping faction, and even began to be unrealistic.

……

……

As Zhu Houzhao and his entourage entered the ground of Shandong, they had been away from Beijing for six days.

Zhu Houzhao had a lot of fun along the way, but for Liu Jin, Qiu Ju, Gao Feng and Ma Yongcheng, it was a little tormented, and he wanted to wait for Jinyiwei to chase them back, but after entering the ground in Shandong, he couldn't even see the pursuers, let alone see what the local government did.

Because the news of the prince's disappearance has not been announced......

made them feel as if they were following a fake prince, because Zhu Houzhao seemed to have been forgotten by the emperor.

After the boat docked that afternoon, Zhu Houzhao arranged for Gao Feng to hire a car, because he wanted to go to Qufu with Sun Che and them, and he wanted to go to the Xuansheng Temple, which was also a way for Zhu Houzhao to ask the pursuers, that is, the boat and car were transferred, and the cards were not issued according to the same set of roads, so that even if the pursuers found the clue of the ship, they would lose it if they looked for it along the line.

"Father-in-law Gao, do we have to discuss, this is not a solution."

Ma Yongcheng's status in the East Palace is not as good as Gao Feng's.

Gao Feng is the oldest in Dongchang, nearly sixty years old, and is regarded as the one who is old and serious.

Qiu Ju and Liu Jin could count on the prince to protect them, but Ma Yong had military merits, and he didn't want to cut off his "career" because of accompanying the prince to the south, and even lose his life because of it.

Gao Feng said: "Is there any way?" Where is the prince going, can you stop it? ”

Ma Yongcheng looked back and made sure that Liu Jin and Qiu Ju didn't come out, so he said: "Those two just want to mess around with the prince, but if they go back to Beijing, won't Your Majesty cut off our heads?" said that at most, we would just go out of the city to Tongzhou, and the palace guards would definitely be able to catch up with us, but we haven't seen anyone until now...... The longer the time drags on, the more unstable our heads become. ”

"Who's to say it's not?"

Gao Feng also had a headache.

When they first left the palace together, the four of them were forcibly pulled out by Zhu Houzhao, just like Zhu Houzhao threatened to kill the Zhang brothers.

Zhu Houzhao didn't say that he was going to cut them down, but said that he would create "accidents" for them, such as "accidentally falling into the well" or something, who among the eunuchs in the East Palace didn't know what Zhu Houzhao was doing? If this is really an "accident" forcibly created by a little prince, he will die in vain.

"I thought that if I followed the prince out, I would be arrested early, as long as I explained the whole story to His Majesty, even if I was punished, it would only be a pain of flesh and skin, who would have thought that the palace guards were so incompetent?" Ma Yongcheng hated, "Now let's find a way to leave clues for the people behind, so that even if we are caught, we will have an explanation when we go back, which can be regarded as a meritorious service, right?" ”

Ma Yongcheng is tantamount to "anti-water".

Since the Jinyi guards and other pursuers can't find us, we will leave clues for them and help them find someone.

Only in this way can this life be saved.

"If the prince knows about this...... It's all here, and it's been put back on...... Do you think the prince will spare someone who betrayed his whereabouts? Gao Feng was obviously a little scared.

Offending the prince is easy to die unexpectedly, and obedience to the prince is easy to be cut off by the emperor's head, both horizontally and vertically.

Ma Yongcheng hurriedly said: "It's all here, we don't want to make meritorious contributions, do you really want this head?" ”

Gao Feng said: "Liu Jin approached our family before, saying that he had a good plan. ”

Ma Yongcheng said angrily: "It's all here, you actually believe Liu Jin's house?" If it weren't for his instigation, His Royal Highness wouldn't have thought of going to Jiangnan to find Mr. Zhang, pushing us into the fire pit, and estimating that the prince's threatening words were all taught by that guy. ”

"It's Mr. Zhang." Gao Feng said, "Leave clues for the pursuers, if they are found, Your Majesty may not let us people go, the prince will not spare him if he knows it, and he doesn't know how to die." For today's plan, who else can help us people except Mr. Zhang? ”

"You mean?" Ma Yongcheng stared at Gao Feng with wide eyes.

"Just find a way to inform Mr. Zhang and ask him to secretly send someone to protect the prince, Your Majesty will be relieved to know that the prince is with Mr. Zhang, and this is exactly the trick of Shou Ninghou and Jian Changbo, that is, to push everything to Mr. Zhang's side, so that His Majesty feels that the prince is all about finding Mr. Zhang...... Only in this way can we survive safely. ”

Gao Feng reminded in a low voice as he walked in the direction of the carriage shop.

Ma Yongcheng was surprised: "Liu Jin's ...... There's a bit of brains. ”

Gao Feng said: "Think about it, the prince has three long and two short, let's not say it's his own head, and the clansmen can't protect it." But if the crown prince is under the protection of Mr. Zhang, Your Majesty can rest assured, we will not have a big responsibility, and it is better to ask Mr. Zhang to intercede again......"

"Does it work?" Ma Yongcheng asked.

"Things are man-made, for example, Mr. Zhang said that there is a conflict between the prince and the three princes, or there must be a hidden dragon swimming in the south of the Yangtze River in the prince's life, which can entrench in the Ming Dynasty and stabilize the dragon vein...... In short, the prince's southward movement is said to be due to fate, so aren't we just following the will of heaven? Gao Feng was talking like nonsense.

Ma Yongcheng opened his mouth and said, "This is also what Liu Jin said?" ”

Gao Feng said: "Some are what he said, and some are what I think, don't you look at Liu Jin is good at stammering, but he is also good at making a fool of himself, thinking that he doesn't care about his own life?" Now we are all grasshoppers on a rope, don't think about those who don't have it, or hurry up and find a way to notify Mr. Zhang, which is the right way. ”

……

……

Zhang Zhou's speed of going south was much faster than Zhu Houzhao.

The distance is getting farther and farther away.

But no matter how fast it is, it is not as fast as the stagecoach of the imperial court, and soon Zhang Zhou knew about Zhu Youzhi Tianding, Concubine Na, and knew that Zhu Houzhao ran away from home.

Zhu Youzhi can conceal the courtiers, on the grounds that the prince is grounded, let him not come out to study, and the East Palace lecturer will not feel too strange if he does not see each other.

But Zhu Youzhi always wanted to find his son, and as soon as Zhu Houzhao disappeared, he informed Zhang Zhou with a secret decree, so that Zhang Zhou could deduce Zhu Houzhao's route.

"The prince is missing?"

When Tang Yin sent a letter and had to be told the news by Zhang Zhou in person, he was so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth.

At this time, the group had already passed through Xuzhou, and it was about a four-day boat ride from Nanjing.

Zhang Zhoudao: "The prince escaped from the palace privately, relying on the carriage of Shouning Marquis and Jianchangbo to cover, and gave up the carriage after leaving the city, it seems that he hired an ox cart to Tongzhou, and it is said that he got on the boat in Tongzhou, but he tracked the ship along the way, and he did not find it...... It is also said that the prince is actually going to the west mountain, and the east is just a pretense, and there is also the news that the prince hired a carriage to go north......"

"Wait." Tang Yin frowned and said, "Where did you go?" ”

"Where else can I go? Naturally, they came to Nanjing with us. Zhang Zhoudao.

"Hey, the prince is coming to Nanjing? Why? The prince of the Ming Dynasty, once there is any accident, the Ming Dynasty will fall into turmoil. Tang Yin was also very anxious.

Once the prince's destination is Nanjing, it is likely to be related to Zhang Zhou, and he Tang Yin may also be involved.

Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "That was before, Your Majesty now has a new imperial heir, it is Zhu Houxuan, the third son of the emperor." You don't know much about the prince's personality, this child is not very old, but he has a lot of opinions, and sometimes he even thinks he is ...... It's not like a child, but like an old-fashioned fox. ”

Tang Yin frowned.

This is your evaluation of Prince Daming?

It's disrespectful.

"No matter what guise he uses, in fact, the fundamental reason why he can't find it is not where his destination is, but that he blends into the crowd, and it is estimated that he is still dressed in disguise, even Jinyiwei can't imagine that an inconspicuous boy in the crowd will be the prince of the Ming Dynasty, right?"

Zhang Zhou said with a smile.

Tang Yin asked, "If the prince runs away from home, isn't the senior brother worried?" ”

"It's always the experience of the prince." Zhang Zhou didn't take it too seriously.

The security along the way of Daming, in fact, is okay, at least the canal line is the top priority of Daming's public security, to say that there will be river thieves and thieves along the way, it is really not.

Under the rule of Zhu Youji, the national strength of the Ming Dynasty is also thriving, and the pedantic ministers of the Ming Dynasty pursue the rule of inaction, and the robbers in the Central Plains were not very rampant until the early years of Zhengde, so Zhang Zhou was not too worried about Zhu Houzhao's safety.

"Where is Senior Brother?" Tang Yin asked.

Zhang Zhou shook his head: "With this matter, we can't leave in too much hurry and delay the speed of going south." ”

Tang Yin said: "But you are already the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department." ”

The order has arrived, and Zhang Zhou, as the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department, should be in a hurry to take up his post.

But now when it comes to the safety of the prince, Zhang Zhou also got Zhu Youji's request for help, and it is actually reasonable to slow down, is it important to have a personal career, or is the prince's safety important...... The scales in Zhang Zhou's heart don't need to be weighed, and he should care more about what Zhu Youzhu thinks in his heart.

"Bohu, don't be here, you and Xu Jing each take one way, one way up the river, and the other way on the dry road, so as to find the whereabouts of the prince within ten days." Zhang Zhoudao.

"And then?" Tang Yin felt that his task was very heavy.

Ten days to find a needle in a haystack, to find a child, obviously a little difficult.

Zhang Zhoudao: "Escorting the north is too eye-catching for you, so directly escort the south to Nanjing." ”

"Your Majesty won't pursue it?" Tang Yin asked.

"I will explain the situation to Your Majesty, and now I want to ensure the safety of the crown prince, as for where he is, it is not the most important thing, after all, he will be punished by His Majesty after returning to Beijing, so it is better to follow his wishes and go to Jiangnan for a walk." Zhang Zhou seems to be very open-minded about this matter.

Tang Yin frowned and said, "I'm afraid that Your Majesty won't even let go of Senior Brother." ”

Zhang Zhou shrugged and said, "What does this have to do with me?" I just helped find someone, helped protect well, the prince didn't discuss with me when he left the palace, and he didn't accept my sneering, I escorted him to Nanjing in a relatively stable way, and waited for the court to send someone to take him back, am I still wrong? ”

Tang Yin thought about it and couldn't help nodding.

He was also thinking that only if Zhang Zhou brushed off the responsibility, he Tang Yin would not be involved, and even planted a good impression on the emperor's side because of his protection of the crown prince.

As for meritorious service, there is no need for it...... The disappearance of the crown prince is the top secret of the DPRK.

As long as he doesn't get into trouble, being able to find the crown prince and protect him is also a way for the emperor to think he is capable.

(End of chapter)