Unfortunately, this time Shu Liang shook his head in embarrassment and held his hands.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. This secret letter was sent to the Marquis of Ningyang before Bodu came to Beijing. At that time, these people were still following Qi Muge's orders, so they were only responsible for delivering the secret letter and I dare not open it privately, so I don’t know what the contents are.”
After hearing this, Zhu Qiyu was slightly disappointed, but he did not criticize him too much. After all, there was nothing he could do about it.
Nowadays, the situation of Nangong and Qianqing Palace is basically a clear sign for both parties. Therefore, it is naturally impossible for Zhu Qizhen not to cultivate some people he feels trustworthy. As a person who has no involvement with the forces in the DPRK, Zhu Qizhen People are the most suitable for him.
Facts have proved that if there were no Bodu, then the people in Qimuge would indeed be trustworthy to Zhu Qizhen.
Returning to the current situation, although the content of the secret letter is not clear, some things can be roughly inferred from the existence of this secret letter.
On Zhu Yi's side, Chen Mao helped him without communicating with Chen Mao in advance, so it is very likely that this is what Zhu Qizhen meant.
Starting from this point, some doubts can be solved. For example, why was Zhang Rui recommended by Luo Qi to succeed the governor of Zhangzhou in the first place?
You must know that the reason why Zhu Qizhen chose to support the sea trade was because he planned to use the help of nobles to make a fortune after the sea trade started, bypass Zhu Qiyu's surveillance, and secretly cultivate his own power.
However, his plan was cleverly avoided by Zhu Qiyu. In the end, although Xungui promoted the passage of the sea trade in the court, he did not let them directly intervene.
This situation is naturally inevitable for many noble families, but for Zhu Qizhen, it is not easy to accept. What he wants is not only money, but more importantly, this Keeping this amount of money hidden from the public can truly allow him to accumulate strength. Once it is revealed to the public, what is the difference between it and the daily amount of money allocated from the palace?
Therefore, if Zhu Qizhen still wants to continue to have plans in maritime trade, then placing one of his own people there is the best choice.
However, he does not have many available manpower for civil servants. In addition, Zhu Qiyu is keeping a close eye on the sea trade issue. If he sends someone who is involved with him to the top, he will definitely be stopped by some means. This kind of Under the circumstances, Zhang Rui, who seemed to be incomparable with Nangong Ba, became the best candidate.
Moreover, Zhang Rui's status is special. As a disciple of Gao Gu, matters related to him can easily be led to the Qingliu lineage and regarded as a court struggle, while the further inside story is ignored.
At this thought, Zhu Qiyu's brows finally opened a little.
Although the information we have now is still not comprehensive, it is enough to outline the general story of what happened, and there are still two questions left.
The first thing is, what role did Chen Xun play in this matter? Although the relationship between Chen Mao, Luo Qi, and Zhang Rui is now basically clear, we cannot just ignore Chen Xun's presence there.
Abnormal performance on the next morning.
No matter what he thinks, after all, he is on Zhang Rui's side. Now it can only be said that there is no sign that he and Luo Qi are involved, but he recommended Zhang Rui in the court, which is
There is no doubt about it.
Considering Chen Xun's position in the court, Zhu Qiyu had to pay attention to even this small doubt.
In addition, the second one is Luo Qi. Although he was promoted based on his contribution to welcoming back the Emperor, Zhu Qiyu was the one who selected the ambassador. The reason why he was selected was because of him.
There has never been any involvement with the people on the Supreme Emperor's side.
But now, he suddenly hooked up with Chen Mao. Chen Mao can basically be sure that he is acting according to Zhu Qizhen's wishes. So, what about Luo Qi?
Did he get any benefits and benefits from Chen Mao, or did he, like Chen Mao, also fall in love with Nangong?
Zhu Qiyu had several vague guesses about these two questions, but in the end they were overturned in his mind. He vaguely felt that he still lacked the last piece of the puzzle.
Although he didn't know where it was, he had a feeling that as long as he could get this most critical piece of the puzzle, everything would become completely clear.
Rubbing his forehead, Zhu Qiyu felt a slight headache.
He understood that the consequences of allowing Nangong to expand his own power had finally come to fruition. Although he had used many methods to stabilize the situation before, as long as Zhu Qizhen was around, the courtiers would take sides overtly or covertly.
To solve this problem, the best way and the only way is to eradicate the root cause, but... at least now, it's not time yet!
However, now that such signs have appeared, Zhu Qiyu can no longer maintain the current state. After all, Nangong's problem cannot be delayed for too long.
Having made up his mind, Zhu Qiyu took a long breath, thought for a moment, and then whispered instructions to Shu Liang.
After Shu Liang heard this sentence clearly, his expression was suddenly shocked, but soon he handed it over.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will definitely handle this matter well."
…………
A few days later, it was the day of Ting Tui. Originally, according to the usual practice, Emperor Ting Tui did not attend. However, since Zhu Qiyu came to the throne, he would not be absent from almost every Ting Tui. This also led to Ting Tui being in
The weight in the hearts of the ministers became heavier and heavier.
In the Wuying Hall, a group of ministers stood in order according to their positions. Wang Wen, the Minister of Civil Affairs, introduced the resumes of the candidates recommended by the court in turn.
Zhu Qiyu had read this list in advance, but now that he listened carefully, many new ideas emerged in his mind.
According to usual practice, the Ministry of Personnel nominated a total of seventeen candidates, of which seven were local chief envoys and five were censors of Qiandu from the Procuratorate. Including Zhang Rui, these censors from Qiandu were
The two of them had missions from the governor.
As for the remaining five, they are all Beijing officials. One of them is the Shaoqing of Honglu Temple, and the other is the Shaoqing of Taipu Temple. Zhu Qiyu was a little surprised. They are Wang Yining, the Minister of Rites, Zhou Xuan, the Minister of Punishment, and Meng Jian, the Minister of Household Affairs.
.
You must know that this time the court recommendation is only to select the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, not the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Although the Ministry of Personnel has the most power among the six ministries, after all, the six ministries are on the same level and each has its own director.
For people who have reached the rank of Minister of the Sixth Division, their goal should be to join the Cabinet, or directly become Minister after accumulating enough popularity and qualifications.
As it is now, it is rare for several ministers to compete for a minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Moreover, the most important thing is that once these three people get involved, what is the meaning of Tingtui?
You must know that these three people are all veteran ministers of various ministries. They have been in office for at least several years. Whether it is in terms of qualifications, connections, or abilities, these three people are far ahead of other candidates. Of course, they are also
Including Zhang Rui.
Don't talk about anything else, just talk about Wang Yining of the Ministry of Rites. This person has always been a popular candidate for cabinet ministers. When Zhang Min, the current chief assistant, first joined the cabinet, he was already on the candidate list, and he was also on the list of candidates.
Not only was he on the candidate list, he was even on the list that was submitted to the imperial court after the nomination. Unfortunately, in the end, due to various reasons, Wang Yining was not able to successfully enter the cabinet.
From then on, the Wang Shilang was almost breathless every time, and finally, inexplicably, he stayed in the position of the Minister of Rites for so many years.
This time, he would either not participate in the election of Minister of Civil Affairs, but if he did participate, but could not succeed, then even the emperor Zhu Qiyu would feel embarrassed.
In other words, if Wang Yining appears on the candidate list, at least one spot has been locked.
In terms of qualifications, connections, abilities, and popularity, it is impossible for him to lose to others on the list. And once he enters the final list, then, even for the sake of Wang Yining's hard work and hard work for so many years, Zhu Qiyu cannot
Refute this face.
However, there is another problem, that is, Wang Yining also belongs to the Qingliu lineage in a strict sense.
Moreover, his qualifications are very old. He was awarded Jinshi in the 16th year of Yongle, only four years later than Chen Xun. Strictly speaking, they both belong to the same generation.
However, compared to Chen Xun, Wang Yining's luck was not that good. He had just passed the exam and was awarded an official position. Before he could take office, his father died and he needed Ding You to guard the system. After the expiration of his term, he briefly stayed in the Ministry of Civil Affairs for a short period of time.
At that time, I arrived at the Hanlin Academy, and not long after that, I met my mother's funeral again. After Ding You again, I came back and went to the Ministry of Rites.
Judging from the entire promotion process, Wang Yining's experience was not without ups and downs. However, at the same time, another characteristic of him is that although he has been an official for a long time, he can be regarded as a pure and pure Ci official with basically no problems.
He had local experience, that is, after he was transferred to the Ministry of Rites, he got involved in some specific affairs. Relatively speaking, he did not have the flexibility of Chen Xun and Gao Gu. He was a bit too rigid and rigid. This is also the reason why he has been difficult to be promoted for so many years.
one.
In addition, although Wang Yining is of the same generation as Chen Xun and Gao Gu and is also considered to be in a high position, he does not have the influence or connections of the other two.
As for the reasons, one is because he wasted too much time twice and did not stay in the Hanlin Academy for too long; the other is because he was just appointed by the imperial court as a member of the imperial examination before his mother's funeral for the second time.
Same examiner.
You must know that this job is absolutely of extraordinary significance to Qingliu. With this level of status, all the candidates in this class can be regarded as his disciples, and the benefits can be imagined.
However, it was so unlucky that just after the appointment was issued, Wang Yining encountered the death of his mother. Therefore, the job was naturally changed to another person. He missed this opportunity and completely lost the opportunity to work side by side with Chen Xun and Gao Gu.
.
Fortunately, Wang Yining himself is not obsessed with this. Even though he is in the officialdom, due to various reasons, he still retains the arrogance of a scholar and does not like the interactions in the officialdom, so he has a good friendship with him.
Okay, there are only a few people in the court.
And it is precisely among these few people that there are highs and lows!
So the result is naturally obvious. This tall man offended Wang Wen. Although Wang Yining will not be implicated, not many people in the court dare to get close to him.
This is also the reason why Zhu Qiyu didn't think about Wang Yining before.
When Chen Xun recommended Zhang Rui, it can be said that he wanted to find a relatively young official to replace him and support the Qingliu lineage, and at the same time, be his assistant in the court.
However, if he chooses Wang Yining, the first point is that they are of the same generation, so they are definitely not qualified as successors. If they are serving as assistants, there is actually not much difference between the Minister of Rites and the Minister of Personnel.
Moreover, Zhang Rui is a junior, and although he is Gao Gu's disciple, it is not a bad idea to switch to another school if Gao Gu fails. However, Wang Yining and Gao Gu are good friends, and this relationship is not so easy to abandon.
However, the facts were right in front of him. Wang Yining indeed appeared on the list. Turning sideways, Zhu Qiyu asked Huai En beside him in a low voice.
As expected, Wang Yining was indeed recommended by Chen Xun...
When his eyes fell on Chen Xun, who looked calm in the palace, Zhu Qiyu felt more and more that he couldn't understand what Chen Xun wanted to do.
However, the accident was not over yet. As the recommendation process continued step by step, it didn't take long for the results to be announced.
Originally, if the emperor Zhu Qiyu did not participate in the court recommendation, then Wang Wen, the minister of the Ministry of official affairs, should go in together with several other ministers to see the final candidate, and then decide on the final candidate. Of course, in this process, it is inevitable to review the final candidate.
Let’s take a look at the shortlist.
However, since Zhu Qiyu was here, there was no need to go to such trouble. Wang Wen directly sent the finalized list of six people to the emperor in front of everyone.
Unsurprisingly, Wang Yining was naturally at the top of the list, and there was no doubt about it. But what Zhu Qiyu didn't expect was that Zhang Rui's name was ranked last.
This ranking, to put it bluntly, is a companion. Although the final candidate needs to be selected by the emperor himself, and it has often happened that the last person who resisted was killed and was selected by the emperor during the imperial election. However,
Not much.
Because this situation basically shows that the emperor was not satisfied with the first few people, but was satisfied with the last person, so he slightly changed the result of the court recommendation.
But the problem is that for officials of third rank and above, the order of the emperor's appointment is higher than that of the court. Without violating the basic selection rules, if the emperor's sacred heart is silent, he can just issue an edict directly. Why is it necessary?
Tingtui is so troublesome.
And Zhang Rui was obviously not one of those candidates who would satisfy the emperor and must be promoted, so there was almost no need to think about this outcome.
However, if Zhang Rui was just allowed to run with him, why did Chen Xun recommend him so categorically before?