Chapter 79. The Banquet of Powerful Officials and Corrupt Officials (2).
"If you beat him to death, just replace him with another one. If the person you beat is resentful, just beat him to death. What's more, juniors also have their own discretion in how heavy or heavy they should strike."
Hearing Zhao Junchen's words, Huang Yourong's expression seemed to have a gloomy look. He took a sip of the tea in front of him and said slowly: "Junchen is really brave, but Junchen, you have to know that you are going to beat him now."
It’s not just one person, but a group of people. It’s easy to replace one person, but it’s more troublesome to replace a group of people.”
At this point, Huang Yourong paused slightly, raised his eyes to face Zhao Junchen, and continued: "The most important thing is that this group of people is not only used by you, Junchen, but also by many people. Although they are sometimes greedy, sometimes they are greedy.
Being unruly and sometimes acting like a snake or a mouse is annoying, but on this stage, every actor has their role, and you and I can't do without them most of the time. It's okay to beat, but the beating is too hard.
But it will only harm everyone’s interests.”
Seeing that Zhao Junchen was silent, Huang Yourong seemed to sigh, and then said: "Junchen, although you have not yet joined the cabinet, but you have just established your power, I don't want to interfere with you, but Junchen, since you respect me as your senior, I still have some rights."
I need to give you some advice, Junchen. As far as I know, the inner court now entrusts me not only with me as the peacemaker, but also with the Chief Minister Zhou and Shen Ge. In the same words, I will say now, and soon the Chief Assistant Zhou will say,
Mr. Shen Ge will also say that everyone has the same idea, and they all hope that Junchen will give up. Since the inner court has already surrendered, why should Junchen hold on to it? "
Huang Yourong talked a lot, and Zhao Junchen just listened quietly. After Huang Yourong finished speaking, Zhao Junchen finally spoke: "Senior, I understand what you mean. But I still don't understand something.
.”
"Junchen, tell me." Huang Yourong returned to his original amiable appearance and said.
"If they don't abide by the rules this time, I want to beat them, but you, the senior, Zhou Shoufu, and Mr. Shen Ge work together to stop it, and nothing comes to an end. Then does that mean that from now on, senior, if you want to beat them, you only need Zhou Shoufu?"
, if Mr. Shen Ge and the younger generation stop it, the matter will be settled?" Zhao Junchen said in a respectful tone, smiling softly, but his eyes were extremely serious: "If this is the case, does it mean that those people in the inner court will be in the future?
Can they be unscrupulously greedy, act like snakes and rats, and not follow the rules? Anyway, no matter what trouble they cause, there will be others to help them settle it."
After a pause, Zhao Junchen's expression became solemn and he said slowly: "There are some people we really can't live without, but this time no matter what, I will give them a beating to let them know how much they weigh. Junior
I am doing this not only for myself, but also for you, senior, for Zhou Shoufu, and for Mr. Shen Ge. Now is no longer the time for Liu Jin and Wei Zhongxian. The outer dynasty is strong and the inner court is in decline. They should also abide by the rules.
"
Then, Zhao Junchen smiled slightly and repeated what he said before: "So, if you need to hit, hit it. If it kills you, just replace it with another one. If the person you hit is resentful, just hit it to death."
What's more, juniors also have their own sense of discretion when it comes to how heavy or heavy they should strike."
After hearing what Zhao Junchen said, Huang Yourong's expression became slightly condensed. He looked at Zhao Junchen up and down for a long time. Seeing that Zhao Junchen's expression did not change at all and he was just drinking the tea in the cup leisurely, he suddenly laughed and did not refute anymore. He just said softly: "Since you, Junchen, have your own sense of proportion, I won't pay attention to it anymore. After all, it's just a small matter."
Zhao Junchen nodded with a smile and said, "Yes, it's just a small matter."
Huang Yourong changed the topic and said: "In that case, since Zhou Shoufu and Shen Ge Lao haven't come yet, we might as well talk about some serious matters in advance. Junchen, I think you have already guessed the purpose of this gathering."
Seeing Zhao Junchen nod, Huang Yourong continued: "His Majesty will be on a southern tour after the Spring Festival, and the Chief Assistant will also accompany him at that time. In this way, the candidates to assist the prince in guarding the capital will be me and Shen Ge Between the old man and the young man, who do you think is more suitable, Junchen?"
Zhao Junchen, however, lost his previous confrontation, shook his head and said with a smile: "The juniors all have little qualifications and experience. For this kind of matter, we naturally have to listen to the arrangements of our seniors, the chief minister, and Mr. Shen Ge. As long as the final decision will not harm everyone's If there are interests, then the younger generation will fully support it."
After hearing what Zhao Junchen said, Huang Yourong nodded with satisfaction, but stopped talking in depth and just turned to gossip with Zhao Junchen.
As Huang Yourong said before, the affairs of the inner court were only trivial matters, and all the previous discussions and negotiations were just incidental. Huang Yourong really cared about the candidates for Emperor Deqing's southern tour, and the candidates who stayed in Beijing as assistant ministers.
Regarding the issues in the inner court, Zhao Junchen refused to give in, which made Huang Yourong worry that Zhao Junchen was a little confused and lost his way, so he tried to test it. Seeing that Zhao Junchen still kept his duty, Huang Yourong finally felt at ease.
………
In fact, since Zhou Shangjing decided to accompany Zhou Shangjing on his southern tour, Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao have probably had many open and covert fights these days in order to compete for the qualifications to stay in Beijing as assistant ministers. However, regarding these matters, the cabinet Among the three cabinet ministers, none of them disclosed anything to Zhao Junchen, nor did they seek Zhao Junchen's support and opinions. The implication was very clear - who should serve as the assistant minister in Beijing? This is the cabinet minister. It is a competition and game that only they can participate in. Although Zhao Junchen has just established his power, even the three elders in the cabinet do not dare to underestimate him, but after all, he has not joined the cabinet, so he is not qualified to participate.
Huang Yourong was able to invite Zhao Junchen to this banquet, and Zhou Shangjing and Shen Changmao also acquiesced in this, which gave Zhao Junchen enough face. In a way, it also meant that they recognized Zhao Junchen's role in the court. status. But that’s all.
This is the difference between joining the cabinet and not joining the cabinet.
Regarding this, Zhao Junchen naturally understood that at this gathering, Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao were the protagonists, Zhou Shangjing's preference was more decisive, and Zhao Junchen's position was more like a bystander, he could participate in discussions and put forward opinions, but Whether these discussions and opinions can be taken seriously depends on the attitudes of the three cabinet ministers.
"It's a pity. As long as I can't join the cabinet, many things are unjust and unjust. However, I am still young now, and joining the cabinet requires the most qualifications. But I can't rush it."
While chatting with Huang Yourong, Zhao Junchen was thoughtful.
While the two were chatting, footsteps sounded again outside the private room. Then someone was heard hurriedly saying outside the door: "Mr. Huangge, Mr. Zhao, and the sedan chair of Mr. Zhou, the chief assistant, has arrived."
Upon hearing the report from the person outside the door, Huang Yourong and Zhao Junchen both stood up quickly and walked towards the outside of the private room.
For Zhou Shangjing, both Huang Yourong and Zhao Junchen have the necessary respect, although this respect may only exist for expression.
Opening the door of the private room, Huang Yourong said with a smile: "The order of guests at this banquet is exactly as I imagined. As expected, Junchen is a humble man, so he must be the first to come, while Mr. Chief Assistant is the most punctual and does not like others." It will be a little later to set up the score; as for Mr. Shen Ge, he is the last one, but he will come before the banquet. But since the chief assistant Mr. Zhou has already arrived, Mr. Shen Ge will probably arrive soon."
Although he said this, Zhao Junchen still noticed some dissatisfaction from Huang Yourong's expression.
Zhao Junchen smiled and nodded, but said nothing more.
While they were talking, the two of them quickly arrived at the entrance of Jude Restaurant, and happened to see Zhou Shangjing slowly walking out of the sedan with the help of a servant.
Seeing Huang Yourong and Shen Changmao arriving, Zhou Shangjing smiled and asked, "I'm not late, are you?"
Before Zhao Junchen had time to speak, Huang Yourong said politely: "Where is it? It's still some time before we leave the banquet. It's already early for the chief assistant to come."
Zhao Junchen saluted Zhou Shangjing and said, "I have met Mr. Chief Assistant."
Zhou Shangjing nodded to the two of them, coughed twice, and said slowly: "It's good that I'm not late. If I bother you to wait for a long time, I will feel sorry for myself."
Huang Yourong said: "It's very windy here, Mr. Chief Assistant, why don't we go to the private room to talk?"
But Zhou Shangjing raised his hand and shook it slightly, saying: "No need. On my way here, I happened to see Mr. Shen Ge's sedan chair not far behind. Let's just wait here and save the time of running back and forth."
While he was talking, Huang Yourong's senior attendant came quickly and reported to the three of them: "Master, Mr. Chief Assistant, Mr. Zhao, Mr. Shen Ge has arrived in a sedan chair."
Everyone turned around and saw Shen Changmao's sedan heading towards Jude Restaurant.
After Shen Changmao got off the sedan, he seemed a little surprised to see the three people standing there waiting. Although his expressions were still full of coldness and seriousness, he quickly walked up to the three people, bowed to Zhou Shangjing, and then Huang Yourong and Zhao Junchen nodded, and then said, "I'm late, don't blame me."
As Zhao Junchen returned the gift, he watched with cold eyes, only to find that Huang Yourong was obviously more polite and respectful to Zhou Shangjing than usual. On the contrary, Shen Changmao was no different from before. He still planned to show up according to the clock, and did not say anything to him. Zhou Shangjing deliberately tried to please him.
"It seems that Shen Changmao still has the upper hand in these days of overt and covert fighting."
While thinking secretly, the four powerful ministers and corrupt officials who were the focus of the government and the public exchanged a few polite words with each other, and then, under the leadership of Huang Yourong, walked towards the reserved private room.
However, it was dinner time at this time, and there were many officials and wealthy businessmen from the capital gathering at the Jude Restaurant. When they saw Zhou Shangjing, Shen Changmao, Huang Yourong, and Zhao Junchen, four big shots that they would never see even if they wanted to, Everyone gathered together was shocked.
When Huang Yourong and Zhao Junchen appeared before, many people showed up to greet them, but now that the four of them were gathered together, no one dared to disturb them. They all just paid attention to the four of them quietly.
After all, if it were just Huang Yourong and Zhao Junchen, it could be explained that it was an ordinary gathering, but with four people here at this time, it was obvious that the matter was not that simple, and naturally no one would interrupt it rudely.
The originally noisy Jude Restaurant fell into a strange silence because of this. In this silence and the attention of everyone, Zhao Junchen and others entered the private room reserved by Huang Yourong.
The bosses of the restaurant were very discerning. When the four of them arrived in the private room, all the dishes were put on the table. After the four of them sat down, Huang Yourong waved his hand, and the restaurant waiters who were waiting next to him also left one after another. .
For a time, only four people, Zhou Shangjing, Shen Changmao, Huang Yourong and Zhao Junchen, were left in the elegant room.
But the strange thing was that although there was no one else in the private room, none of the four people took the initiative to speak.
Zhou Shangjing is already old. It seems that walking from the entrance of the restaurant to the private room has exhausted most of his energy. At this time, he is closing his eyes to recuperate.
But Shen Changmao's expression was still cold and stern, his eyes were slightly narrowed, and his face was calm, as if he had made up his mind not to speak first.
As the host of the banquet, Huang Yourong should have taken the initiative to liven up the atmosphere, but at this moment, Huang Yourong seemed to have become interested in the dishes in front of him, studying them carefully with a smile.
Seeing this, Zhao Junchen couldn't help but smile bitterly. These three people didn't mind the awkward atmosphere just for a little advantage.
Shaking his head gently, Zhao Junchen simply started working as a restaurant waiter, stood up, held up the wine flask, and filled the glasses for the three of them.
Seeing Zhao Junchen like this, Zhou, Shen, and Huang finally stopped being indifferent. Huang Yourong took the lead and said, "Junchen, you're welcome. This is just a banquet, and there are no waiters to wait on you. Everyone can just take care of themselves."
Shen Changmao also nodded to Zhao Junchen and said slowly: "That's exactly it."
Zhao Junchen said with a smile: "This is not possible. Normally at a banquet, there are restaurant waiters to serve, but now there is no restaurant waiter, and the three of them are seniors. Although when the dinner is over, it will not be our turn to take part in the mess at the table. No matter, but before it ends, someone must do some things. If I only care about myself, this party will not be held."
While talking, Zhao Junchen put down the wine bottle, returned to his seat, sat down, and said with a smile: "What I mean is not that I want to take away the job of this restaurant clerk. I can't do these things. I don't have this experience and I don't have this." I can't do it well even if I want to, but during the banquet, although the restaurant waiter is gone, there must be someone to do the things that the restaurant waiter has to do. After all, there is only one wine pot but four wine glasses, and some dishes are also The distance is far, and it is difficult to reach it with stretched out arms. If you take care of yourself, both the guests and the host at this banquet will not be able to eat or drink well. What do you seniors think? "
Hearing what Zhao Junchen said, before Shen Changmao and Huang Yourong said anything, Zhou Shangjing, who had been closing his eyes to rest, slowly opened his eyes and said slowly: "Then according to Junchen, how can everyone at the banquet eat it?" Does it taste good? The problem today is not that no one wants to work as a waiter, but that two people want to do it. But as Junchen said, there is only one jug."!.
