The chair is an official hat chair with unicorn pattern from Hainan Huanghuali. It is decorated with craftsmanship but not too complicated. It is clean, neat and heavy. It stands there as if it has taken root. However, the person sitting on it is trembling constantly, as if he is pretending.
With a spring, it can be bounced up at any time
Next to it is an ordinary-looking desk, with a deep and steady style, elegant and quiet patterns, and the wood color is darkened, and it is actually precious red sandalwood. However, it keeps shaking under the man's merciless beating, as if it will fall apart at any time.
Han Yangping, a close eunuch beside him, looked away in distress because Xue Zongting punched him again.
I could only hear Xue Zongting saying bitterly: "Shen Cheng, Shen Cheng...this old thief! Why must this old thief have trouble with our family? Before he stepped down, he still wanted to trick me into using a bamboo basket to draw water, but it was all in vain."
Qiu Linjiang is fulfilled!"
"Bang!" Another punch, and Xue Zongting said with grief and anger: "Did I, Xue Zongting, be a tailor in my previous life! So I am destined to make wedding clothes for others?!"
Han Yangping is one of Xue Zongting's true confidants. Although he is a eunuch, he actually has some tricks. When he was a child, his family was very well off, but he was an educated man. Later, his family offended the local magistrate and was used to trick him.
Collapse, so Han Yangping finally became a eunuch. He covered his mouth and coughed lightly, slightly spreading his robe sleeves to salute Xue Zongting. Although he was dressed in eunuch clothes, he was still well-dressed and distinguished: "Why should Mr. Xue be angry? What we want is not already
Did you get it?"
"What the hell! Tianji Pavilion, you don't know how powerful Tianji Pavilion is now? They are still doing business. It was a business that the four families invested in together. It can be said that there is a lot of money. This financial road has been taken over by them.
It's difficult for others to squeeze in and grab the food. But now Shen Cheng has retreated, but handed over Tianji Pavilion to Shen Yiyi. Who is Shen Yiyi? She is his granddaughter! That's not the case with Shen Cheng.
Is it the same as personally controlling Tianji Pavilion?
Let’s talk about the prefect of Dengzhou. Dengzhou was originally removed from the Shibosi brand because it was too close to the Yun family. Now the emperor wanted Shen Cheng to retreat honestly, so he didn’t care. Shen Cheng actually removed it.
The Municipal Shipping Department of Dengzhou has been established... No, the Municipal Shipping Department has not been established, but the sea trade in Dengzhou is real. With the maritime trade, there is no Municipal Shipping Department to take charge of it, then the Dengzhou prefect can
Dominating the power of Dengzhou Haishi Yamen, that is a fat and oily Yamen! And also, there is such a key position in the official affairs department, and it is so easy to get it, our family...
…”
Xue Zongting was so angry that he couldn't speak any more. He took the tea handed over by the little maid and took a big gulp while breathing heavily.
Yu Zhongle frowned and thought to himself: "Tianji Pavilion has always been in charge of the cabinet. Now that Qiu Xiang is in charge, even if Shen Yiyi is still the chief controller of Tianji Pavilion, she may not be able to control it. I am the one who is sad, Shen Ju.
...That is Shen Ju, the grandson of Shen Cheng and the son of Shen He. There is also a large number of people from Shen and Qin factions who jointly recommended him. His old man, Shen He, is still in the center. Can I touch this person? A young man.
The little seventh-grade guy has become a roadblock for me, and I might stumble over him if I don't pay attention!"
Han Yangping thought hard for a long time and then said: "Mr.
, even if we don't have to give the emperor a message, the emperor will definitely be furious, because Shen Cheng is obviously obsessed with power.
He is now playing this trick to retreat in order to advance. On the contrary, it may make the emperor remember his original power of Conglong, and he will also take advantage of the opportunity to become the Grand Master, and his glory will be unlimited. But in the end, he has given up his power and no longer becomes the father-in-law's enemy.
My father-in-law has won a great victory, why should I be angry?"
"Our family has won a great victory? Where is it? Why didn't our family notice that he gave up a little bit of power?" Xue Zongting said angrily.
"Haha, Mr. Xue calm down, please listen to Yang Ping. First of all, Shen Cheng, the left prime minister, has really resigned. How long can he restrain these subordinates just by relying on his old grace? The reason why the county magistrate is not as good as the current one is that
Because the future of these people is in the hands of the current managers who can influence them. Once he loses this power, his influence will not last more than a year relying only on his old prestige and favor. By then, these people will be uncontrollable.
Shen Cheng has become a grand master and has enjoyed endless wealth and glory. However, he can never compete with Mr. Xue on the length of a day. Apart from that, in this alone, you have already won, and it is a big one.
Complete victory!"
Xue Zongting's expression softened. He glanced at Han Yangping, sat back on the chair and gently rubbed the back of his red and swollen hands. His eyes flickered for a long time, and he nodded slowly: "Well...that makes sense, our family's enemy in the court."
, Gu Heng has become much more honest after this period of hard work. This old thief Shen is annoying, but there is nothing that can be done about him. As long as he honestly becomes his Grand Master and no longer interacts with our family.
You are making trouble, what else does our family have to be afraid of?"
Han Yangping added: "Judging from Shen Cheng's arrangements, he also knew that the situation was over, and in his desperate struggle, why did he recommend Shen Ju to be an official? Because Shen Ju was too young and not qualified enough to be a larger official.
, and although the official position of the Ministry of Civil Affairs was not large, the power was not small. With the cooperation of him and his father Shen He, the Shen family's status in the court could be maintained. At the same time, he also promoted Cheng Li to Dengzhou.
, What are you going to Dengzhou for? Just to make money! He knows that if he wants to maintain his strength after losing his phase, he will have to spend more money, so he has this skill. As for Tianji Pavilion, Shen Yiyi, a female streamer, may not be able to control it as he wants.
, even if she can control it, doesn't the father-in-law still have the Privy Council in his hands? But even so, what can he do to you, father-in-law? What's more, when he can't control the peripheral people of the Shen family, how can Gu Heng hold back?
Don't you want to snatch someone? Then they will have to compete with each other, and Xue Gong will be able to enjoy the gains. He dispatched Cheng Li to Dengzhou and recommended Shen Ju to Shi Zhong. Could it be that he had this purpose in mind and wanted to stay in the court before he stepped down?
I need a few capable generals and successors to prevent people from wandering off, but without the protection of his big tree, how long can these grasses survive?"
The more Xue Zongting thought about it, the more he realized it. His eyebrows and eyes couldn't help but fly up together. He grinned and said: "What Yang Ping said is that our family is impatient. Well, yes, as long as there is no Shen Cheng,
Our family doesn't look down on these people, but I still can't accept it. Shen Cheng became the Grand Master. Although he lost his power, he sold such a big one to the emperor. The emperor... our family has served him for twenty or thirty years.
, our family knows his temper best. By giving in to Shen Cheng, we can enjoy prosperity and wealth for thousands of years, be with the Wei Dynasty, and benefit our descendants for generations. But before he left, our family was tricked by him. The power he controlled
I'm still stunned that I haven't touched the edge yet, and I'm not willing to accept it."
When Yu Zhongle heard this, he quite agreed with Han Yangping's analysis. After thinking calmly, his thinking became sharper: "Father, I think Yangping's analysis is very reasonable. In my opinion, Shen Cheng will step down." , has a great influence on the people of his faction. He is anxious to install these cronies because he is not sure that many officials will gather under him after he steps down. If the official's prediction is true, these people will have no choice but to do so. Abandoning Shen, they abandoned the Shen family, and the Gu family is now unable to protect themselves, so they will defect to the father-in-law. This will drive more people to defect to him. In the end, the few cronies planted by Shen Cheng will become They are alone, they are alone, so naturally they do nothing but leave them alone, and they have no ability to cause trouble to the father-in-law."
After hearing his analysis, Xue Zongting became happier and happier as he thought about it, nodding his head in agreement.
Although Shen Cheng's self-protection strategy is clever, it relies on his increasingly solid base of officials. His rise and fall does not matter to a few people who are closely related to him, but it is useless to many people who have taken refuge in him. For officials who want to be promoted and want to find a big tree to shade, it is enough to make them betray Shen Cheng and seek refuge with Xue Zongting.
If all these branches and leaves are moved to Xue Zongting's side, and a few lonely trunks left in Shen City cannot reach the sky or reach the ground, they will be like Qiu Linjiang now, hanging in the air, seemingly very high, but actually doing nothing. No, the implementation of the new law still depends on Xue Zongting. So what is there to be afraid of?
Although Han Yangping has become an eunuch, his desire to win has not faded. Now he sees Yu Zhongle taking advantage of himself to wake up Xue Zongting. He claims to be more capable than Yu Zhongle, the minister, so naturally he can't see that he is good at it. He immediately said: "Now that most of Shen City has fallen, but it is not dead yet, you should strike while the iron is hot. It is almost autumn. After autumn, as soon as winter comes, it is time to evaluate the performance of all the officials in Beijing. Although Li Yi is in charge of the civil service, but now our new party has the support of the emperor, and Mr. Qiuge has just been promoted to the left prime minister. If we take the opportunity at this time to "carefully" assess the officials of the Shencheng faction, let them Knowing that even if Li Yi is still in the position of Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, he can't change the father-in-law's wishes from being carried out. Then it will surely make those people on the wall see clearly who is the towering tree of the current imperial court, who can protect him from the wind and rain. …”
"Hahaha! Absolutely, Yangping is really our little Zhuge. This is a wonderful plan." Xue Zongting was overjoyed.
"That's not right! Father-in-law!" Yu Zhongle wanted to kick Han Yangping: This bastard, the villain is proud of himself, but he is too confused. He waited until the officials came to ask for help, then they had no way out, and they were determined to die from now on. Following Eunuch Xue, if they are forced to surrender by making things difficult for Shen Chengyu, will the morale of the army be at ease? Furthermore, my own method can also judge the sincerity of the officials based on the order in which they surrender. How much land is there, which ones can be quickly won over, and which ones are included in the peripheral camp? These people are taken over wholesale, and the good ones and the bad ones are mixed. How to distinguish? And how many people will be offended?
Before he could explain the reason, Han Yangping had already smiled coldly and said in a strange way: "Master Yu, you are the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. You hold all the yamen's money and ask them to follow my father-in-law honestly. This is also your duty. Big things, what are you afraid of? Are you afraid of offending people or do you want to win people's hearts? Haha, with Eunuch Xue here, whose money have you stuck, who dares to do anything to you? If those wallflowers don't give him any power, how can he be so quick? Are you going to my father-in-law’s house? According to my opinion, all you have to do is scare them with this soft knife. After the New Year, the sky has changed and all the civil and military officials of the dynasty will come out of my father-in-law’s house!”
Xue Zongting's blood boiled with what he said. He glared at Yu Zhongle with dissatisfaction and said: "You, after being an official for so many years, your courage has become smaller and smaller. You are still not as good as Yangping, a scholar and chamberlain... Just
Do as Yang Ping says!"
Yu Zhong was happy to see that Xue Zongting was angry, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and cup his hands and said: "Yes, I will obey your orders!"
Han Yangping glanced at Yu Zhongle proudly, so what if he is the Minister of the Ministry of Finance? Even if I, Han, cannot be a man, I am still a husband! He was proud and continued: "Eunuch, Xie Dongxian, Han Xiaxuan (these two are
They were two poor prime ministers who had great power before Shen Cheng and Gu Heng's father, Lao Gu, came to power). How awesome were they to look down on all the heroes in the past? If they returned to the court today, would they still have the majesty of the past? Because it can't be done anymore.
The party members loyal to them have dispersed, the dragon has lost its clouds, and the tiger has lost its wind. What momentum is left? It won’t take long for Shen Cheng to end up like this. At that time, Li Yi and others will not be able to hold on any longer. To my father-in-law,
It is inevitable to bow your head, so you might as well let it go first
The tougher one is Tianji Pavilion. Tianji Pavilion has always been run by the cabinet. It was cultivated by those literati who were arrogant. There is one thing that will not bow to the father-in-law. The cabinet is a seven-person system. Now Qiu Ge has been promoted.
If the Minister of Rites is replaced by someone from our new party, then our new party will occupy the majority of the cabinet, and then we will be able to take over Tianji Pavilion in a righteous way! When Shen Cheng was the left prime minister
, has accumulated prestige for many years, even if the Tianji Pavilion is left to the little girl Shen Yiyi, no one in the Tianji Pavilion dares to say anything. But Shen Yiyi is a yellow-haired girl. In the past, she only relied on Shen Cheng to support her, and now I don't know if it is.
It's not that there are no generals in Shu, but Shen Cheng actually used such a little girl to guard his most hidden power. It shows that Shen Cheng is also at his wits' end. As long as the father-in-law can recommend someone to occupy the position of Minister of Rites, he can use his advantage in the cabinet to overwhelm this girl.
, so Tianji Pavilion is at your fingertips.”
Yu Zhongle said nervously: "I heard that the Tianji Pavilion was established in the cabinet because Emperor Wenzong wanted to take over power, and all the eight famous families did not agree, so the four inner families led the cabinet to create a separate pavilion in order to suppress Emperor Wenzong's influence in the eight famous families.
With the cooperation of the emperor, he had to write an edict saying that he would never interfere with the appointment, dismissal and operation of Tianji Pavilion... Now the father-in-law's favor in the heart of the emperor is beyond words. Shen Cheng has resigned. Once he controls the majority of the cabinet, Tianji Pavilion will inevitably be divided.
It is managed under your name. But although you are in charge of Tianji Pavilion in name, you have no right to change the Tianji Pavilion handheld device. If Shen Yiyi really has some skills and uses Tianji Pavilion's arrogance to make them determined to embarrass their father-in-law, there is a chance that
Shen Cheng asked the prime minister first, and the emperor would not embarrass these minions too much. Therefore, it is better for the father-in-law to show kindness to the newly promoted officials of Tianji Pavilion, win over and infiltrate them, and deal with the officials appointed by the four families of Shen, Gu, Qin, and Du.
Several leaders cracked down on the restrictions and showed their power. Such a two-pronged approach, both kindness and power, a year and a half later, Tianji Pavilion is the finger of my father-in-law."
Han Yangping said solemnly: "Why bother so much? Go straight to the center and take over the Tianji Pavilion. If Shen Yiyi and others can't move, then don't move! Lift them high, hang them on the wall, and select a few capable people from the Privy Council.
Go to Tianji Pavilion to work as a mobile phone operator and take over their business and secret spies. Tianji Pavilion will be in the father-in-law’s pocket. By then, they won’t even have time to resist. This is what they mean by being too quick to cover their ears!”
Xue Zongting said happily: "Yang Ping's plan is better. Hehe, Shen Cheng has been the left prime minister for thirty years, and now he has become the grand master. If he is not in his position, he will attract the emperor. Our family is here to eliminate his misfortune.
To avoid misfortunes, do good deeds."
At this time, a young man brought in a bunch of memorials, put them on the table, and said softly: "Father, these are the memorials sent by the officials today."
This is a rule that Xue Zongting took advantage of when the new law was in full swing recently and made a memorial to Emperor Wanchang. He must first send it to him with a red post, called the "red copy", and then report it to the Secretary of Communications, called the "white copy"
This completely deprived the Secretary of General Affairs of the right to directly reach out to Tiantingdi, and the huge yamen of the Secretary of General Affairs became the mail room of the Supervisor of Ceremonies.
Xue Zongting did this to deprive the Secretary of General Affairs of his power, but there was also another reason why Xue Zongting didn't read much. Scholars like to write memorials as esotericly as they like. He looked at it with difficulty and couldn't understand it, and he didn't want to give it to him in such a muddle.
The emperor submitted it, so he came up with this idea. All the memorials were made in duplicate and sent to his private residence in advance, so that he could be aware of everything and could discuss it with his subordinates at any time.
"Is there anything urgent?" Xue Zongting asked casually.
"Father, none of the notes sent by officials had the word 'urgent' written on them, but the top one was forwarded by the General Affairs Department, saying that this was an inner court matter and had nothing to do with the outer court, and should not be registered through the General Affairs Department.
"
Xue Zongting took the memorial out of curiosity. There was a red envelope on the outside, with "Forwarded to Xue Zongting" neatly written on it.
When Xue Zongting saw it, he flew into a rage. With a "Boom!" sound, the red sandalwood bamboo leg table received another heavy blow: "Damn! What a big dog! The Secretary of General Affairs Yue
