At the intersection of Xuanwumen Street and Hengjie Street, in the inner hall of Zhangjia Jishi Hall, Zhang Yanling was sitting by the window drinking tea.
In the late afternoon, the sun was blazing outside, but it was still cool inside the house, probably because the green leaves of a tall ginkgo tree overhead blocked the sun. The aroma of medicinal herbs came from the yard, and seven or eight medicinal herbs came out.
The waiters in the hall are busy cutting and sorting the medicinal materials, and they are very busy.
Zhang Yanling leaned back in the chair, looking very relaxed, but in fact his thoughts were as turbulent and anxious as the hot air outside.
The trip to the Cabinet Office made Zhang Yanling feel very uneasy.
As a time traveler, Zhang Yanling naturally knew the major events that occurred in the first year of Zhengde in the Ming Dynasty. The impeachment of the Eight Tigers in the outer court was an extremely important event. The outcome of this event ultimately affected the power structure of the entire imperial court and had far-reaching consequences.
Although in this era, the process of history does not seem to advance step by step as recorded in history books, there are many differences. For example, the death of Emperor Hongzhi is an obvious difference in time.
In real history, Emperor Hongzhi actually died in June of this year. But in fact, it happened more than half a year in advance. Zhang Yanling was caught off guard by the evolution of the situation. Zhang Yanling was still thinking about what to do.
When he tried to save Hongzhi's life, Hongzhi died without giving himself a chance to save the matter.
Zhang Yanling doesn’t know whether time in this time and space has accelerated, or whether time and space has been distorted, causing the results of real history to change. Perhaps a combination of both. This seems to give him an advantage as a time traveler.
weaken.
If the evolution of things becomes uncontrollable, then the ability that one has as a time traveler to predict the course of history will be worthless.
However, from another perspective, this seems to be a good thing. If the course of history cannot be changed, then your future destiny has already been determined, and it cannot be changed at all. However, all your efforts are also
A futile effort.
Zhang Yanling actually prefers the latter. There are various signs that things have not evolved according to the historical time and space line. This may be due to the butterfly effect caused by traveling through time and space. In this way, his efforts for future development will not be in vain.
Returning to the matter at hand, Zhang Yanling knew that the outcome of the Eight Tigers impeachment incident in the first year of Zhengde was clear. The final result was that Liu Jin and others won a complete victory, and the outer court was completely defeated.
His vitality was severely damaged. This result seemed to be beneficial to him. However, Zhang Yanling still hoped for another result.
For Zhang Yanling, knowing full well what Liu Jin did after he gained power, he was actually not satisfied with the result of Liu Jin finally taking full control of power. Although the result of Liu Jin's victory was not a bad result for him, it was also not a bad result for him.
This is not a good thing. Liu Jin's narrow-minded and retaliatory character will definitely pose a threat to herself.
In addition, there is another lingering reason that cannot be used as a reason, that is, Zhang Yanling has a subconscious repulsion towards being associated with Liu Jin. This eunuch without eggs can no longer be regarded as a normal person. I am not like this kind of person.
When people get together, they will always feel psychologically uncomfortable.
However, the hostility of the Wai Ting towards him is extremely obvious. Once the Wai Ting takes full control of the power, there is a high probability that he, the cousin of the Marquis, will also be doomed. Therefore, he neither wants Liu Jin to win completely nor does the Wai Ting win, so this
This is Zhang Yanling's self-interest consideration for this major impeachment case in the first year of Zhengde.
Because of this, Zhang Yanling actually hopes to promote a compromise result, that is, to allow Liu Jin and his eight tigers to merge with the pretentious civil servants in Waiting, but he cannot let either of them completely win.
.It is best if the two sides fight inextricably and bite each other black and blue, but neither one can bite the other to death. In this case, it may be the most beneficial to you, because both sides will no longer have the energy to find trouble for themselves. On the contrary, they will try their best.
Avoid conflict with yourself.
Therefore, when he realized that the current confrontation between the emperor and the officials in the outer court was the beginning of the impeachment of the Eight Tigers, Zhang Yanling volunteered and decided to take action.
Going to the cabinet to negotiate terms is not to be a peacemaker. Zhang Yanling just hopes to explore the true purpose of the outer court by testing the bottom line of Liu Jian and others. Although Zhang Yanling has always believed that the civil servant group has seized the power to decide on government affairs and check and balance the emperor's ambitions,
As long as it's not too much, it's not necessarily a bad thing.
Zhang Yanling has always believed that the civil servants of the Ming Dynasty may not be as bad as what is written in history books. They are a group of wise and sensible scholars who have read the books of sages and sages. They should have a bottom line. They may not go to great lengths to control power.
No matter what.
However, during today's trip to the cabinet, Zhang Yanling was really surprised. The arrogance, selfishness and arrogance displayed by the three cabinet bosses were beyond Zhang Yanling's expectation. Liu Jian actually expressed his attitude that he didn't care even if the court was in turmoil. Xie Qian
He almost said something treacherous and unethical.
Zhang Yanling did not think that they really wanted to do something treacherous, but judging from the situation when they met today, they had no basic respect for the current emperor Zhu Houzhao from the bottom of their hearts. For this fifteen-year-old young emperor,
They were not trying to persuade him to make corrections, but seemed to be taking advantage of this opportunity so that they could hold the emperor in their hands and control him.
Just like flies smelling the smell of rotten meat, Zhu Houzhao's behavior seemed to be what they expected. In this way, they could justifiably demand the emperor and force him to submit.
The so-called remarks about being loyal to the country and the country are not only sanctimonious hypocrisy, but also a whitewash of their actions. In this way, they can use this big hat to explain and cover up all their actions.
Not only are these civil servants hypocritical and shameless, they also have no bottom line!
This is the final judgment Zhang Yanling got from today's cabinet trip. This also completely shattered Zhang Yanling's hope of getting something out of the fire.
If Liu Jin gains power, it can at least be controlled. If the civil servants gain power, the situation will be uncontrollable. After all, Liu Jin and others rely on imperial power to dominate and prosper. Their power has an upper limit and may be curbed. But the ultimate goal of the civil servant group is probably
To be above the imperial power, or at least to share decision-making power and to check and balance the imperial power, is an uncontrollable result.
The expansion of the power of the civil servant group may eventually become a scourge that submerges the entire Ming Dynasty's power structure system. The confrontation with the imperial power will cause all the forces that are dependent on the imperial power to be swallowed up and purged. This result is definitely not what Zhang Yanling wants.
Zhang Yanling clearly understands her identity and status. The interests of the Xungui Group have always been tied to the interests of the royal family. To a certain extent, the situation of the Xungui Group is the same as that of the inner court, and their sources are gifts from the imperial power.
When the imperial power was restricted and suppressed, the interests of the noble group were harmed. The real contender for power in the Ming Dynasty was actually the struggle between the emperor and the civil servant group.
After thinking about these things, Zhang Yanling suddenly realized that his previous ideas were ridiculous and childish. Under the current situation, Liu Jin's side was completely at a disadvantage. They did not even have control over the inner court. And he was actually because of the future.
When Liu Jin's power expanded, he tried to balance the struggle between the two sides. What a ridiculous idea.
The balance has long been tilted towards the outer court. Wang Yue and others in the inner court, and even the royal guards of the emperor's direct line, have all tilted towards the outer court. The outer court now has comprehensive crushing power from moral to practical aspects. At this time, he has to go
If you want to restrict Liu Jin, isn't this like putting a noose around your own neck?
Therefore, there is no choice to have the best of both worlds, there is only one choice.
…
The floral door curtain was gently lifted, revealing half of a pretty face. Seeing Zhang Yanling looking up at him, a gentle smile appeared on that pretty face.
"Master Marquis, are you impatient? There is nothing we can do. There are so many patients today, and I can't leave them alone."
Tan Ruqing walked over and put down the small medicine box she was carrying. Tan Ruqing was wearing a plain long skirt, with a green cloth belt on her head and a gold hairpin. She looked elegant and charming.
Full of energy.
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "Why should I be anxious? You are doing business. But you don't have to do everything personally, don't tire yourself. Didn't you invite a lot of doctors? Just ask them to treat the people."
Tan Ruqing walked to the copper basin in the corner of the room to clean her hands, and said with a smile: "The people who come to see me for treatment are all women. How can I let a male doctor see them for women's diseases? I can only do it myself. But fortunately
Xiaozhu has recently been able to treat simple illnesses alone, which has relieved a lot of my burden."
Zhang Yanling walked over, put his hand on Tan Ruqing's waist, gently hugged Tan Ruqing's soft body in his arms, stretched out his mouth and kissed her snow-white back.
Tan Ruqing trembled and blushed, and whispered: "There are people coming and going here, including Mo Hu. There are also pharmacists in the yard."
Zhang Yanling turned her body over and chuckled: "So what? Who doesn't know that you are my woman? I have already asked them to prepare."
Tan Ruqing looked into Zhang Yanling's eyes and said, "What are you preparing for?"
Zhang Yanling said: "Let's prepare for our wedding. Courtyard furniture, matchmaker gifts and so on. I want to marry you."
Tan Ruqing's face turned red and she said angrily: "Did I say I wanted to marry you? I'm talking to myself."
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "You can't run away. I am determined to marry you."
Tan Ruqing said angrily: "A domineering person."
Zhang Yanling looked at her charming look with a hint of anger, and her red lips were so tempting, he couldn't help but bend his head and kissed her heavily.