When Mr. Shen was in the Ministry of War, he gathered the director of the Zheng Council and relied on his own resources to pull him to the position of Yuanwailang. After Mr. Shen went to war, Zheng Ling continued to manage the military elections as a Yuanwailang.
manage.
This was an incredible experience. After all, he had gone from being the head of the Martial Arts Division to actually being the doctor of the Martial Arts Division in almost just one month.
Even Zhongshu Zaifu may not be able to achieve this kind of influence on the Ministry of War.
Especially the imperial edict given to him at that time was sent from the palace, not from Zhongshu or the Ministry of Officials. This shows that the master Shen in front of him can no longer describe the holy scroll as "Jane in the Emperor's Heart". It can simply be said that
Like the sun is rising.
Now, at the age of twenty-two or three, Mr. Shen has been promoted to Minister of War. This kind of promotion speed is beyond the reach of even a fool.
Especially Zheng Ling, who has a natural advantage by hugging his thighs, because he was originally from Shen Yi's faction in the court, but Shen Yi's original arms were too thin and his thighs were not strong enough, so he could not be considered a member of Shen Yi's faction.
Now Mr. Shen has fought against the Qi people several times and returned with great victory. The imperial court has broken the rules again and again, and he has been awarded the title of Minister of War...
Therefore, as soon as Zheng Ling found out about Shen Yi's entry into the palace, he left the Martial Arts Department and came to Shen's Mansion to express his loyalty.
He bowed his head respectfully and said without any nonsense, "If it weren't for the support of Minister Shen, I might not even be able to sit in the position of head of the Martial Arts Department, let alone be in charge of the Martial Arts Department like now.
"
"From now on, Mr. Shen will have your orders..."
Having said this, Zheng Ling looked around and whispered: "If there is any matter regarding the military attache's demotion, you can say hello to the subordinate. It is your duty to do what the subordinate can do."
This sentence carries a lot of weight.
If in the past, after Shen Yi left the Wuxuan Division, he still had some influence in the Wuxuan Division and could ask questions about the affairs of the Wuxuan Division, now as soon as Zheng Ling said these words, he has simply become the "Supreme Lord" of the Wuxuan Division.
"Langzhong" can remotely control the martial arts department.
Coupled with his current title of Minister of War, it can even be compared to the actual Minister of War in charge of the Military Selection Department!
Even Shen Yi was a little moved. He looked at Zheng Ling with a smile and said, "Master Zheng, you are too polite. Although I don't hold an actual position in the Ministry of War, you and I are colleagues in the Ministry of War after all, and we have worked together in the same department.
In the imperial court, we should naturally help each other and communicate with each other."
If in the past, Shen Yi still had some vague concepts about the four words "disciple and old official", then now, he finally clearly feels what "old official" means!
It's simply not very useful.
Of course, the premise for this to be useful is that Shen Yi himself is still in the court, and his power, status and influence are far greater than those of his old officials, so that he can exert the influence of his "old boss".
In the same way, why do the Five Prime Ministers of Zhongshu have such terrible influence? Because they basically climbed up from the middle and lower levels little by little. Over the years, there are countless disciples and former officials. In addition, the identity of Zhongshu Prime Minister has great influence.
The power is naturally terrifying.
Shen Yi's words made Zheng Ling quite excited. He stood up again, bowed his hands and said, "I would like to thank you, Minister Shen!"
In this way, the "Chaotang ally" relationship between the two people is officially established, but the alliance between the two people is not equal, and Mr. Shen takes the dominant position.
The two officials from the Ministry of War talked for a long time in the main hall, and then Shen Yi personally sent Zheng Ling out of the house.
Immediately afterwards, he asked Lian'er to take him to the study room of his new home. After all, Master Shen had not lived there for a day and he really couldn't find his way around.
Under the leadership of Lian'er, he had just returned to the door of his study and was about to handle some official business when he saw Shen Heng, dressed in white, standing at the door of the study with his hands clasped forward.
Shen Yi was thoughtful, walked to the study door, opened the door, and then glanced back at Shen Heng: "Come in and talk."
Shen Heng remained silent and followed Shen Yi into the study. After seeing Shen Yi sitting down, he hesitated and said, "The elder brother was talking to Mr. Zheng just now, and the younger brother accidentally listened to some of it."
Shen Yi lowered his head and took a sip of hot tea, then looked at Shen Heng: "Why, do you think my brother is forming a clique, right?"
Shen Heng hesitated for a moment, then nodded silently.
"The sage said that gentlemen are in groups but not party members."
Mr. Shen pointed to the chair in the study and motioned for him to sit down and talk. After Shen Heng sat down, he laughed dumbly and said, "You think your eldest brother is not a gentleman?"
"No, it's not..."
Shen Heng shook his head in a panic. He hesitated for a moment and said: "For a long time, the younger brother has always followed the eldest brother as an example, both in studying and serving as an official. But now that he sees the court where the eldest brother is, he seems to be the same as the younger brother.
Quite different from what I imagined…”
"It's a good thing you see something different now."
Master Shen put down his tea cup, added another cup for himself, poured another cup for Shen Heng, pushed the tea over, and said quietly.
"Don't wait until more than ten or twenty years later, when you hit your head and bleed in the court, and then realize that the court is different from the court you imagined. Those famous officials are not the same as you imagined.
It’s still different, and it will be a huge loss if countless years have been wasted.”
Having said this, Shen Yi paused and continued: "Yes, the sage said that gentlemen are in groups but not party members. Although my brother is not in a party now, he does make friends with old officials, so he is not a gentleman."
"But another sage also said that a gentleman can deceive others."
Shen Yi looked at Shen Heng and asked, "You have become a gentleman, and if others come to bully you, what will you do?"
Shen Heng clenched his fists: "Of course I will repay you directly!"
Shen Yi shook his head and said, "But a gentleman can bully others. There are endless ways to bully your uprightness."
Mr. Shen paused and said with a smile: "Zichang has probably never heard of some dirty tricks."
Shen Heng was in a daze and sat there at a loss.
Shen Yi walked up to him and said, "So, someone who is not a gentleman must fight with those villains."
"It doesn't matter that I'm not a gentleman. I just don't want to be a villain."
Speaking of this, Master Shen touched Shen Heng's head in a rare move.
Ever since Shen Heng became an adult, Shen Yi rarely touched his head again.
He smiled and said: "My brother is a young genius. He got the top grade in high school in the first subject. His future future is limitless. It doesn't matter whether you want to be a gentleman, write books or make meritorious deeds and become a saint. It doesn't matter.
relation."
"Brother has the ability to protect you so that you will not run into obstacles in the court and will not be able to get ahead in the officialdom."
Speaking of this, Mr. Shen said with a smile: "In the future, when history books record you and me as brothers, they may say that I, Shen Yi, am the brother of a saint. That is also very majestic."
Shen Zichang burst into tears. He stood up, bowed deeply to Shen Yi and said: "Brother, I don't want to do anything to make you a gentleman! I just want to learn from you and do something for you in the future!"
Shen Yi shook his head slightly.
"I told you a long time ago that you and I can't take the same road. It's okay if my road works. If it doesn't work, I probably won't even have the chance to go back to Jiangdu to teach. By then, my whole family will be in trouble.
The whole family still needs the protection of you, the Tanhualang."
Mr. Shen patted his brother on the shoulder and said softly: "Over the years, I have accumulated a lot of affection from the emperor. You will start the six-part rotation next year. When you have completed the six-part rotation, I will go and ask the emperor for help."
Let’s see if I can transfer you to Zhongshu Zhongshu.”
Even now, Shen Heng is still twenty years old, has no title, is not married, and has no official position.
Therefore, it is not surprising that he has some "naive" ideas about the court.
But this naivety is by no means a bad thing.
In fact, it was precisely because so many people in the court were dirty that Shen Heng's "innocence" seemed out of place.
If everyone has a pure heart like him, then the politics in the court will naturally be clear, and everyone will work together, and soon the sea, Yan and river will be clear.
That night, Shen Yi chatted with his brother for a long time until late at night before Shen Yi sent him out of the study and patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't think too much after you go back. Besides, you have to fill the vacancy next year. You should see more, listen more and think more about the matters in the court, but don't talk too much."
"You are smart by nature, so you should be able to understand what I said to my brother."
Shen Heng bowed again and said: "I will obey the teachings of my elder brother!"
…………
The next evening, at Zhao Shangshu's house.
Now Shen Yi's family has moved to Datong Street, and the Zhao family is also on Datong Street. It is much more convenient to visit each other than before. Shen Yi went out in the evening, and when he walked to Zhao's house, Zhao Shangshu just came back from get off work.
After seeing Shen Yi, even the calm Zhao Changping felt a little excited. He stepped forward and grabbed Shen Yi's sleeve and said, "Zi Heng is here. If you don't come, I will go to you."
Home is looking for you."
Shen Yi lowered his head slightly and said with a smile: "I just came back yesterday afternoon. Not long after I came back, I went to the palace to meet the saint. When I left the palace, it was too late, so I didn't have time to meet my uncle."
Zhao Changping took hold of Shen Yi's sleeves and pulled him all the way to his study room. He first sighed with emotion: "Shilang Shen..."
"Uncle, I have been working hard in the imperial court for more than ten or twenty years by the time I reach your position."
Shen Yi shook his head slightly and said with a smile: "It's just a false position, and you can't count it."
Zhao Shangshu shook his head slightly, chatted a few words with Shen Yi, and then asked: "Is Yi An okay in Huai'an?"
"Senior brother took all the family papers with him."
Shen Yi took a sip of tea and sighed: "Of course it means that the errands in Huai'an are not easy to do, but fortunately my senior brother is in charge of the affairs in Huai'an, otherwise my nephew would be constrained by many things."
He raised his head and looked at Zhao Changping, with a smile on his face: "But after a year of hard work, it is not without gains. Now the Huai'an Army has completely established a foothold in Huai'an. Whether it is the Qi people or the Huaihe Navy, they want to
It will be extremely difficult to move the Huai'an army again."
Zhao Changping nodded first, then lowered his head to take a sip of tea, squinting his eyes and said: "You fought very beautifully in the battles in Huai'an, especially the battles across the Huaihe River. The prime ministers in Zhongshu had nothing to say."
"if…"
He was silent for a while and then said: "If the Qi envoy hadn't come to Jiankang, His Majesty would have made up his mind to capture the Zhao clan by now."
Mr. Shen stood up, added a cup of tea to Zhao Changping, and said with a smile: "This year is not too late. In another year, the agreement between me and him will be up. Then we will see if he will stay shameless."
Huaihe Navy."
"The affairs of the imperial court are not child's play, nor can they be bound by an agreement. It mainly depends on the thoughts of His Majesty and the prime ministers."
"If they don't nod, Zhao Lu won't be able to retreat even if he wants to."
Shen Yi sat back in his original position, lowered his head and took a sip of tea.
"At that time, Zhao Lu is really shamelessly relying on the Huaihe Navy, so there is really nothing we can do against him for the time being, but the longer he stays, the worse he will probably fall in the future."
When Zhao Changping heard this, he couldn't help but look at Shen Yi and sighed: "Zi Heng's horizons are now broader."
"In the past 100 years or so of our Ganquan Academy, you can be said to be the most accomplished person, Ziheng!"