The review of the Yichou Palace Examination for the Tenth Year of Zhengtong was full of drama. However, the candidate appointed by the eunuchs received a decisive vote from the civil servant leader in a state of anxiety, laying the final victory.

If this scene is spread, I wonder what kind of shocking waves will be caused by the sub-group of literati.

Historical books record that Yang Pu is simple and upright, honest and quiet, and has a respectful and cautious personality. Even when facing small officials, he will not neglect the other party and always maintain the respect of respect for the virtuous and humble.

People at that time also considered Yang Shiqi's evaluation of the cabinet's "Three Yangs" and that Yang Rong had talent and insight, but Yang Pu had noble character.

But it was just too gentlemanly and cautious in words and actions. In his later years, Yang Pu watched Wang Zhen’s power overwhelming and controlling the government, but did not stand up to check and balance it with him.

After Yang Pu, the cabinet ministers were completely unable to compete with the eunuch's autocracy because of their lack of qualifications or abilities, and basically became "paper-paste cabinet masters".

It was not until the second period of Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty that Li Xian, the cabinet minister during the Tianshun Dynasty, stood up and officially established the position of chief minister from a system perspective and inherited part of the prime minister's power.

"Ming Shilu" says: All matters are punished by (Li) Xian, and the head of Bingguojun!

However, although the orthodox dynasty did not specify the division between the primary assistant, secondary assistant and group assistant in terms of system, there was still the reality of the primary assistant in terms of power and status.

For example, Yang Shiqi was called "the four dynasties' elder ministers and the two sages' Yuanfu" by officials.

The word Yuanfu has the meaning of the prime minister and also implies the honor of the chief minister of his cabinet.

Yang Pu's final tone was reached in the unanimous rules for reviewing papers in the palace trials, but it still made many readers feel incomprehensible, and Cao Nai, who was also a cabinet minister, was even more so.

Cao Nai was the cabinet minister who inherited the position of chief minister of the cabinet after Yang Pu's death, and he was also trained by Yang Pu.

The signs of the eunuch Wang Zhen's autocracy were actually revealed as early as the early years of Zhengtong. He used the "criticism" power of the eunuch in the Silijian to interfere in politics, and at the same time secretly won over the trustworthy and cultivated party members.

However, Wang Zhen's abusive power at that time aroused the alertness of the Empress Dowager Zhang, who was ready to order him to be executed.

The result was that the little emperor Zhu Qizhen knelt down and pleading with the help of the cabinet "Three Yangs" to speak good things, so he issued a grace to pardon Wang Zhen's death penalty.

As for why the "Three Yangs" helped Wang Zhen plead for mercy, it was very simple. They were politically "alliance" at that time and jointly took charge of the power of the court and suppressed the imperial power.

To do this perfectly, the officials in the palace must have their own people. Who can win the favor of the emperor than Wang Zhen?

But raising a tiger will eventually lead to a disaster. In the seventh year of Zhengtong, the Empress Dowager Zhang died. From then on, no one in the court could suppress Wang Zhen.

He was extremely arrogant and hung the Ming Taizu on the palace gate, and took off the iron plate of "Inspectors are not allowed to interfere in political affairs, and those who violate the crime" to show his power and majesty to civil and military officials.

At this time, Yang Rong had passed away, and the remaining Yang Shiqi and Yang Pu were not fools. Wang Zhen's movements were so obvious, and it was obvious that he would not be a fellow traveler with the civil service group in the future.

I guess Wang Zhen’s thoughts are similar. The eunuchs and civil servants have been fighting for thousands of years. When will our family be our own people?

Moreover, the power of eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty was just an extension of imperial power. Now that I have lost the empress dowager's tight curse, I am still stupid and suppressing the imperial power with you?

Of course, he was to abandon the darkness and turn to the light, unite with his beloved student Zhu Qizhen, and jointly take charge of the court, creating a peaceful and prosperous era, which has been famous in history books forever.

In view of this situation, "Er Yang" began to lay out his strength to deal with Wang Zhen after retreating at an old age.

Cao Nai was the one chosen by Yang Pu. From the moment he became a Jinshi, he began to fully support him and gradually reached the center of the cabinet's power.

In fact, it is not only Cao Nai, but also Chen Xun, the next cabinet chief minister, who is also a new force selected by Yang Shiqi. He is even Yang Shiqi's nephew!

It can be seen that the extremely perfect imperial examination system not only provides a steady stream of new forces for the civil service group, but also breeds countless small groups of interest.

In addition to the methods of forming cliques in officialdom such as teachers and students, fellow townsmen and the same year, small groups become large groups.

It was not bad in the early Ming Dynasty, but Ming Taizu Ming Chengzu was quite fierce. Relying on methods similar to white terror, the killing of people was suppressed by suppressing the expansion of the civil servant group.

There is also the existence of a Xunqi Group, which also prevents the civil servant group from being too presumptuous.

After the Zhengtong Dynasty Tumu Fort Incident, the Xunqi Group was over and there was no force to check and balance.

To be honest, a powerful eunuch such as Wang Zhen, Liu Jin, and Wei Zhongxian appeared, and relying on the factory and guard secret agencies, they could still fight against each other.

Once the top leaders are missing, regardless of size or quality, and without the support of reserve talents from the imperial examination system, they are completely no match for the same level as the civil servant group, and at most they can compete for the moment.

There is no need to see other forces. The royal emperor himself could not believe it. He was raising pigs. The backbone of the military general was interrupted. Later generations such as Qi Jiguang were famous for his generation, but in front of Zhang Juzheng, he was just a lackey under his disciples.

In the end, the civil servant group looked around in confusion, and there was really no one to fight!

Since there are no opponents of the same forces, then look back on your original intention and continue to fight with the emperor...

So there were all kinds of strange incidents in the Jiajing and Wanli dynasties. In the end, the emperor admitted his defeat and simply slacked off. I was afraid that you would not go to court, right?

To be honest, this doesn't work either...

After so many rounds of battles, various interest groups have long been formed and cannot stop, and can only fight forever.

Since you have no opponent, then fight yourself!

So they split into Qi Party, Zhejiang Party, Fujian Party, Donglin Party and other factions, and began to fight endlessly. This was the essence of the final party struggle in the Ming Dynasty.

Just fighting, the Ming Dynasty defeated the country, the emperor hung it, and the ended perfectly...

As a civil servant trained by the "Three Yangs", Cao Nai has the courage and courage to fight against Wang Zhen.

However, his qualifications are too shallow, his cunning is not deep, and his serious lack of experience in fighting, which leads to him being no match for Quan Sheng and Wang Zhen at all.

This was also revealed after the palace examination. As soon as the paper reader finished reviewing the test paper, he couldn't help but come to Yang Pu and asked.

"Yuan Fu, why did you recommend Shen Yichen's test paper? He is a member of the eunuch party!"

Looking at Cao Nai's uneasy appearance, Yang Pu felt a little disappointed. This was exactly the reason why he chose Shen Yichen.

"Is Shen Yichen really a member of the eunuch party?"

Yang Pu sighed and asked, Who made Shen Yichen character?

"I'm not a member of the eunuch party, so why did Wang Zhen help and intervene in the marking of the paper?"

After being an official for many years, Cao Nai also knew Wang Zhen's character. This person likes to form cliques and promote his own people to the top.

On the contrary, Wang Zhen would immediately use thunder means to attack those court officials who were a little dissatisfied and even compete with him without mercy.

If Chen Yichen was not a member of the eunuch party, how could he get Wang Zhen’s help? Is the answer not obvious enough?

"I don't know why Wang Zhen intervened in the review of the papers, but Chen Yichen is definitely not a member of the eunuch party."

"If so, Wang Zhen would take action earlier in this palace examination and even encourage His Majesty to be appointed in court."

Yang Pu also heard something about the conversation between Wang Zhen and Zhu Qizhen during the palace examination yesterday.

Yang Pu had been dealing with Wang Zhen for many years, and in his early years he could even be considered a political alliance. He must have known each other better than Cao Nai.

Wang Zhen has been in a state of great power in recent years and his style of conduct is almost unscrupulous. If Chen Yichen was really a top student in the eunuch party, he would have put pressure on the reading and reviewing the papers from all aspects, so how could there be an 8-8 draw?

In addition, the emperor went to the palace to try the curious Chen Yichen article. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but Wang Zhen did not use it, but chose to persuade him.

Based on these two points, Yang Pu was almost 100% sure that Chen Yichen and Wang Zhen did not reach a consensus on interests behind him.

I have to say that Jiang is still old, even if Wang Zhen sent the eunuch of Silijian to openly help Chen Yichen, hoping to create a fait accompli for his fellow men.

But he still couldn't escape Yang Pu's eyes and saw through the essence behind him.

"Even if Chen Yichen is not a member of the eunuch party, he still has a close relationship with Wang Zhen. Why did Yuan Fu take such a risk?"

"It is better to jointly elect Yang Hongze to be the leader. He is a disciple of Lord Hu. He is sincere and has a great righteousness in his heart!"

To be honest, Cao Nai still couldn't understand Yang Pu's actions. Instead of taking unnecessary risks, it would be better to let his own people take office?

However, Yang Pu shook his head and replied, "Wan Zhong (Cao Nai's name), you are wrong."

"I was wrong?"

Cao Nai was even more surprised. What was wrong with him?

"Think about it carefully. Since Chen Yichen has not reached a consensus with Wang Zhen, why should Wang Zhen choose to help him?"

"Because Chen Yichen..."

Cao Nai subconsciously wanted to say the reason, but when he was halfway through, he suddenly realized it!

Seeing that Cao Nai was not speaking, Yang Pu nodded and added: "That's because Wang Zhen saw Chen Yichen's potential and believed that this son was not a thing in the pool, so he showed goodwill."

"This kind of talent cannot be suppressed. If we choose to deliberately suppress it today, then even if he does not join the eunuch party in the future, he will stand opposite us."

"Do you expect one more ally or one more enemy in the future?"

Speaking of this, Yang Pu recalled the shock of his first meeting with Chen Yichen's article in the palace examination.

That kind of mind is rare, low-key and calm, and the future is definitely immeasurable.

Wang Zhen’s assist in the marking of the papers today made Yang Pu even more determined to think about it, so that he would oppose Chen Yichen.

Even a few juren and eunuchs have such courage to win over. As the chief minister of the cabinet, isn't he as good as him?

"Mr. Yuan Fu is a successful country and is far inferior to his subordinates!"

Cao Nai, who had figured out everything, realized the gap between him and Yang Pu, bowed and bowed in convincingly.

"Wan Zhong, remember to plan and then move, and then think and then settle. Wang Zhen is not simple, but Chen Jingchen's son is not simple either."

...

Chen Yichen of Duke Cheng’s Mansion did not know that he had received such high praise from Yang Pu.

On the contrary, even if I know, I guess I can only smile bitterly at this moment.

I don’t have the ability now. It would be great if I could win the internal struggle between the civil servants and the eunuchs.

Chen Yichen always feels a little uneasy when he recalls Zhu Yi's words in front of the mansion.

This uneasiness is not because he is worried about Zhu Ji and Lin's actions. He is uneasy about Zhu Yi's surveillance.
To be continued...