There is an undercurrent in the inner court, and various figures are making plans for their future, recruiting people, and arranging the palace. The outer court is no exception, and they are acting secretly.

In the outer court, the two largest forces at present are the Three-Party Alliance and the Donglin Party. The other two parties, Xuan and Kun, have serious regional concepts, are not powerful, and have no ability to participate.

The Donglin Party was in total decline before, with only two or three big and small cats left in the court, and the others were almost extinct. However, once Guangzong came to power, Donglin revived again, and the core figures returned strongly, quickly occupying many key positions in the court.

, gained momentum and fought against the three parties of Qi, Chu and Zhejiang.

As for the three-party alliance, in terms of numbers and official positions, it is not much worse than Donglin, and is even a bit stronger. However, their forces are united after all, and the three parties in Qi, Chu, and Zhejiang are free to interact with each other.

In terms of cohesion, it was far inferior to Donglin. Facing the strong attack of the Donglin Party, it was somewhat unable to withstand it and was temporarily at a disadvantage.

However, Fang Congzhe, the leader of the Zhejiang Party, was the chief minister of the cabinet and had been in sole control of the government for seven years. He naturally had his own power and prestige, and was barely able to participate in this great change in the palace.

No, Fang Congzhe, the chief assistant, is alone at this moment, walking through the densely packed corridors of Qianqing Palace under the guidance of a eunuch. Fang Congzhe has a thin appearance, with a long beard neatly trimmed under his forehead, and has an extraordinary bearing. As the chief assistant,

He was free in the world, walking in the palace, still holding his head high, unlike other minor officials who were summoned, who lowered their eyebrows and lowered their hands, not daring to look either way.

"Hey, isn't this the Chief Assistant? Why is a person walking in the palace?" Suddenly, a surprised voice came from the side. Fang Congzhe looked around, but it was a scarlet-robed eunuch who jumped out from a side road. He concentrated carefully.

He recognized it, but it was the palm print of the newly appointed Royal Horse Supervisor, the personal eunuch chosen by Taichang's beloved concubine Xi Li.

"It turns out to be Eunuch Cao. I'm not trespassing in the palace. No, there is this Eunuch leading the way!" Fang Congzhe laughed and replied easily. Looking at his casual look, he seemed not to care about the hat that Cao Huachun pulled over.

.

Cao Huachun didn't say anything. He squinted his eyes and stared at the eunuch who happened to stop in front of him. After a while, he moved the corner of his mouth and said with a smile, "Who do I think it is? It turns out to be the imperial concubine."

You are such a good person, your Majesty has good means, and your Chief Assistant has good luck."

After pretending to praise Fang Congzhe, Cao Huachun left quickly. Concubine Zheng was colluding with foreign ministers and wooing the imperial army. The purpose was self-evident. She had to move faster and could not fall behind.

"I originally wanted to go out and contact Fang Congzhe, but I didn't expect that he was won over by Zheng Guiren. He is the leader of the three parties, and there are not many people with the same status as him." Thinking of this, Cao Huachun couldn't help but feel extremely distressed.

When talking about wooing courtiers and conspiring, the first thing he thought of was Fang Congzhe, the current chief minister. With his support, the government could be smooth and smooth, without frequent replacements of courtiers, minimizing the impact. However, his idea was too late.

, after all, he failed to catch up, so Fang Congzhe was lured away.

In this case, we can only choose another candidate. However, currently there is only one Donglin Party that can compete with the three parties. Could it be that they want to find those old scholars? Cao Huachun's steps gradually slowed down, and finally stood where he was.

He frowned in thought, his slender eyes flickering uncertainly.

In the end, he stamped his feet bitterly and left the palace with a sense of determination.

"Eunuch Cao was in such a hurry. Could it be that something big happened?" Looking at Cao Huachun's leaving figure, Fang Congzhe frowned. Now the situation was strange, and any detail would lead to a big trouble.

"Master Fang, Master Fang! Your Majesty is still waiting." Seeing that Fang Congzhe had no intention of taking any action, the eunuch next to him couldn't help but remind him.

"Oh, okay, please excuse me, father-in-law." Fang Congzhe came back to his senses, smiled sheepishly, and walked forward. However, he secretly remembered what happened just now, and will think about it and analyze it carefully when he returns.

Soon, under the guidance of the eunuch, Fang Congzhe arrived at Concubine Zheng's bedroom. Standing in front of the door, he straightened his clothes, sang a promise loudly, and stepped over the threshold to enter.

"Veteran minister Fang Congzhe meets the imperial concubine."

"My beloved, I will live without any ceremony."

After some exchanges, Fang Congzhe sat down on the soft pier moved by the young eunuch. Before his buttocks could sit firmly, the somewhat impatient Concubine Zheng couldn't wait to ask, "Mr. Fang, yesterday I followed the instructions of Mr. Fang.

According to the agreement between Xi and Li, she won over the imperial army and took control of the emperor's five sons. And I followed the imperial edict and promoted the emperor to the position of empress dowager, and then held the imperial edict, deposed the prince, and established the emperor's five sons as emperor."

Speaking of this, Concubine Zheng lowered her head pretending to be a little embarrassed, with a look of embarrassment on her face, "But I was a little worried that Xi Li was unreliable, so I sent a trusted eunuch to lobby the Imperial Army, but I happened to bump into Cao Huachun who was doing the same thing."

"This Xi Li really took this as a child's play. He told me face to face that the manpower had been arranged long ago, but he took action only after the meeting. He actually deceived me. If I hadn't felt something was wrong privately, I'm afraid I still wouldn't have discovered it. Now.

I am panicking and have no countermeasures. I wonder if Sir, can you teach me?" Concubine Zheng shed tears as she spoke. Her charm was still there, and she cried like pear blossoms with rain, which made people lovable.

However, in her words, she did not mention at all her private actions and breach of the agreement, but instead placed all the responsibility on Xili's chosen attendant.

"this?"

Fang Congzhe looked at the people behind the curtain and was very confused. How could he not see that Concubine Zheng was evasive in her words, but he didn't have the time to point it out at the moment. Fang Congzhe, who was silently meditating, had already fallen into the battle between heaven and man. His

His face was sometimes full of longing, sometimes full of fear. Several expressions were exchanged back and forth on his face, and finally turned into one of sadness.

If he had known earlier, he should not have given advice to Concubine Zheng. Fang Shoufu looked regretful. He really felt that he had made many mistakes in getting involved here.

Although Taichang was not a very capable emperor, he still had a good temperament. He was an honest man and a bit cowardly. Although he obeyed the Donglin Party in everything, he was pretty good to his ministers and would not spank people easily. He was not cruel.

.

Even if he and the Donglin Party didn't deal with each other, the worst he could do was to step down. Anyway, he had served as the chief assistant for seven years, which was enough. But he should never have done it, and he was still determined to pursue an official career, so he was tempted by Concubine Zheng's words.

The matter had to be postponed a few days ago, probably on the 12th. The emperor had just fallen ill and had not yet received treatment from the Mongolian doctors. At this time, Concubine Zheng came over.

After the two met and exchanged greetings, they talked about Jiangling's husband. Concubine Zheng sighed, Jiangling's husband was really lucky to meet the late emperor who was still very young at that time. I also have a young prince here. I don't know who else can have him.

With this energy, he will become the next Jiangling Xianggong.

The Prime Minister of Jiangling is Zhang Juzheng. He is from Jiangling, Hubei, so when he was alive, he was often called Zhang Jiangling. Just like Fang Congzhe, he is often called by the name of his hometown.

Fang Congzhe knew the situation in the palace very well, but Zheng Guifei's remarks, which he thought were very subtle, were simply too explicit in the eyes of a scholar like him. This was a naked attempt to win over someone like Zhang Juzheng.

Master Fang was immediately moved by the opportunity of being the first assistant with real power in his hands.

The fifth son of the emperor was only nine years old, even younger than when Wanli ascended the throne. If... the wonderful prospect suddenly made Fang Shoufu dazzled and lost his mind.

Seeing Fang Shoufu's stunned look, Concubine Zheng took the opportunity to ask, "The emperor is seriously ill and there is no time to change his mind. There is a prince in front of me. What should I do?"

Fang Congzhe was still in a state of confusion at this time. When he heard the question, he subconsciously replied, "Depose the prince under the pretense of a will."

Concubine Zheng's eyes lit up and she continued to ask, "But the prince has some soldiers and horses, what should I do if he jumps over the wall in a hurry?"

Fang Congzhe still didn't wake up. When he heard the question, he instinctively used his experience and knowledge to answer, "There are tens of thousands of powerful generals under the command of Yuma Jian, just recruit them and destroy them."

"Haha! The first assistant has a good plan." When she got the answer she wanted, Concubine Zheng immediately laughed sweetly, and her joyful laughter made Fang Congzhe wake up in vain.

"Ah? What did I say?" Fang Congzhe woke up and was extremely annoyed. Looking at Concubine Zheng who was chuckling, he sighed and left rudely.

"Hey..." Thinking of his loss of speech a few days ago, Fang Congzhe sighed.

"Sir, don't be too busy sighing. You have already been involved and can't escape. It's better to help the slave family come up with ideas!" Zheng Guifei smiled sweetly and said a reality that Fang Congzhe didn't want to face.

"Hey!" Fang Congzhe was sitting on the soft pier, thinking sadly. He was really feeling sad at the moment. The situation was so complicated that it made his balls ache. Moreover, thinking about Cao Huachun's words and expression when he came, he became even more depressed.

.

Combining Cao Huachun's demeanor, expression and words, and what Concubine Zheng said about meeting Cao Huachun when he went to win over the Imperial Army last night, the old and cunning Fang Congzhe could not have guessed that the ambition of the Xi Li servant was no less than that of Concubine Zheng.

After Zheng Guifei was favored by Wanli and ruled out the harem for decades, her power in the inner court was deeply rooted and she had a rich background. However, Xi Li always held the fifth son of the emperor in her hand when choosing her servants. The two women cooperated with each other to win over the imperial army, plus the cooperation of the courtiers.

, it is indeed possible to depose the prince.

However, Fang Congzhe saw something wrong with the huge power that this showed. Is there any precedent in history for two queen mothers to control the harem together? From the words of Concubine Zheng, how could the agreement and privately win over the imperial army be pure? The prince has not yet

After being deposed, intrigues emerged first.

How can you succeed if you act like this?

"The empress wants to imitate the Cisheng Empress Dowager, but Naxi Li, she doesn't want to be the Rensheng Empress Dowager." Fang Congzhe said a word with a sad face, stood up and left. He was very disapproving of the actions of these two women.

, even if she succeeds, Concubine Zheng, whom she helped, will probably want to abdicate the throne to her son. That will be the big trouble then, so she should leave as soon as possible to find peace.

In fact, he didn't do anything, he just said a few words accidentally. Even if they fail, he doesn't have much responsibility, as long as he resigns when the time comes.

"The old minister is getting old. When His Majesty's condition stabilizes, he will ask to become an official and return to his hometown in old age." Before leaving, Fang Congzhe said another sentence. At this moment, he was completely awake. Except for Wu Zetian, since ancient times, no woman has been able to achieve anything. He himself

It's better to get away quickly.

"This old thing." Concubine Zheng was not illiterate. He didn't know what Fang Congzhe meant. After cursing secretly, she ignored her anger and quickly considered countermeasures. It was obvious what Fang Congzhe meant, that was Xili

Want to compete with her for dominance.

The prince was in the hands of the other party. Even if she had a will and a higher status than the other party, she was still not sure who would win. Moreover, Fang Congzhe's departure also dealt her a heavy blow, which showed that the other party did not think highly of her. This move made Concubine Zheng immediately irritable.

stand up.
Chapter completed!