"Everyone, what Marquis Jianchang said is indeed an exaggeration, and even some fallacies. For example, he said that the family of my honorary relatives has nothing, and the right to lead the army exists in name only, which is a bit alarmist. We have received favors from the emperor, but the emperor still treats our honorable ministers The eunuchs and supervisors who are regarded as brachial and fully trusted are the rules that have existed since the Li and Tang Dynasties and are not unique to our Ming Dynasty. This does not mean that the emperor is not at ease with us." Zhang Mao said in a deep voice.
"That's right, what I said is absolutely true. The Marquis of Jianchang doesn't understand these things at all. He talks nonsense and makes alarmist remarks." After hearing this, all the Marquises said one after another.
Zhang Mao waved his hands and said: "Everyone, although the words of Marquis Jianchang are somewhat fallacious, he also told some serious facts. How glorious was our noble family back then, and how respected were the soldiers and civilians all over the world. But what about now? My noble family was so glorious. The status of the country has been declining day by day, and it has indeed declined now. We may be richer than our ancestors, with a bigger house and more acres. But in government affairs, we have lost the right to speak. What is this if not decline? "
"What do we care about the government? Let's live our lives well and enjoy the glory and wealth. Why should we worry about those things?" Wu Hao said in a low voice.
Zhang Mao laughed and said: "Master Wu, it is exactly what we think in our hearts, so we are reduced to where we are today. My noble family can't win anything now. The only thing left is to make money and make money." There is of course nothing wrong with building a bigger house and marrying more beautiful wives and concubines. But the problem is that if things continue like this, there will eventually be hidden dangers. Even though the family fortune is large, if you don’t have the strength to defend it, it will ultimately be in vain. .And to defend the family fortune, you need real strength. Otherwise, the bigger the family fortune, the more jealous and jealous it will be. When disaster strikes, everything will be in vain."
The princes looked at Zhang Mao blankly. They had not considered this problem. They were surprised that Zhang Mao had such a sense of crisis.
"I understand that you don't want to wade into troubled waters, and no one wants to get angry. But who can guarantee that the fire will not burn us? We can live our own happy lives without provoking others. But who can guarantee that others will not provoke them? Let's take the Outer Court as an example. We didn't realize that the people in the Outer Court would covet the leadership of the Beijing camp in my honorable hands. But the fact is that the Outer Court has been trying to divide our honorable men for many years and stretched out their hands. Come to the capital camp."
"Liu Jian once reported to the court and suggested following the example of Zhao and Song Dynasties in leading the army with civil servants, but the late emperor rejected it. Isn't his intention obvious? He wanted to take away the only power in our hands. They also attracted the scum among my nobles to provide them with the opportunity. They reported the news and sow discord within us. Fortunately, we were vigilant and understood their plot, so they did not succeed. These things are still fresh in your memory. At the beginning, we didn't think they would have such ambitions."
The princes were silent. Indeed, the foreign court had made many small moves to seize the right to lead the army. Liu Jian wanted to lead the army with civil servants and follow the methods of the Song Dynasty, saying that doing so would be more beneficial to the stability of the court and would not A mutiny broke out. But the bottom line was that he wanted to seize military power. Fortunately, the late emperor rejected it.
At that time, no one realized that the outer court actually had such ambitions. From that time on, everyone became vigilant. But no one had thought that such a thing would happen before.
"Now, you all say that Liu Jin would not do that. This is because the scar is healed and the pain is forgotten. Why won't Liu Jin do this? We have no ambitions, so you can conclude that Liu Jin has no ambitions? Maybe he doesn't have it now, but that's him
He has not yet fully taken control of the outer court. But what about the future? Once he
Having controlled the outer court and all his people inside and outside, will he tolerate the Beijing camp being in our hands? By then, we may be a thorn in his side and a thorn in his flesh. Moreover, I can tell you clearly, Liu Jin
He is definitely not a kind person, he is ambitious." Zhang Mao continued.
"Sir, why do you think Liu Jin is so ambitious? Just because of what happened to the outer court this time? It's the outer court's fault." Xu Zhen asked with a frown.
Zhang Mao said in a deep voice: "It is true that the outer court is to blame for itself, and there is nothing to sympathize with. However, it is not Liu Jin's turn to dictate the affairs of the outer court. His desire to control the outer court has exposed his ambition. I'm afraid you still have
I don’t know, but Liu Jin has already drawn up a list of candidates for the heads of the six foreign ministries. Marquis Jianchang, please tell the marquis who Liu Jin has recommended."
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "Yes. Lords, Liu Jin wants to recommend Jiao Fang and Liu Yu to the cabinet. Jiao Fang and Liu Yu have already been Liu Jin's people. Liu Jin got the news about this foreign court action a few days ago.
, this is the news I got from these two people. The candidate for Minister of the Ministry of Personnel is a member of the Ministry of Personnel.
Foreign Minister Zhang Cai. The candidate for Minister of the Ministry of Justice is Wang Jianzhi, the Minister of Punishment. The candidate for the Minister of the Ministry of Hubu is Gu Zuo, the right minister of the Ministry of Hubu. The candidate for the Minister of Rites is Li Jie, the minister of the Ministry of Rites. The candidate for the Minister of the Ministry of War is Cao Yuan, the left minister of the Ministry of War. The candidate for the Minister of the Ministry of Industry is Gansu.
Governor Biheng. The above are all the candidates."
The princes were stunned and speechless. It was really incredible that Zhang Yanling knew such a detailed list.
Xue Han, Marquis of Yangwu, asked: "Where did the list of Marquis of Jianchang come from? Did Liu Jin tell you? Is this list accurate?"
Zhang Yanling sneered and said: "Whether it is accurate or not, you will know whether it is true or false when Liu Jin submits the list to the court the day after tomorrow. As for where the news comes from, please forgive me for not being able to tell you. In short, the list is here, you should know Liu Jin
What’s the intention?”
"Marquis Jianchang, are you saying these people are Liu Jin's people? When did he bribe so many foreign court officials?" Xu Zhen frowned.
Zhang Yanling said: "I'm afraid the princes are living too comfortably and don't hear what's going on outside the window. There are more than just a few of them? Liu Jin's foreign residence, these days, there is a perfect word to describe it. That word is called crowded. In this world
The most indispensable thing is the people who live on the sidelines and follow the crowd. Those civil servants talk loudly about benevolence, justice and morality, but in fact they have already begun to look for backers. Because they know that,
The best way out is to take refuge in Liu Jin now. Except for Li Jie and Gu Zuo, everyone else on this list is Liu Jin's people. Of course Liu Jin will not recommend all of his own people, that would be too much. The Ministry of Husbandry and the Ministry of Rites are not the same.
What an important yamen. Let me tell you an anecdote. That Wang Jianzhi secretly visited Liu Jin in the middle of the night yesterday, and even put on makeup and pretended to be a driver. It was really funny."
The princes were so shocked that they could not speak.
"According to this, I am afraid that Liu Jin really wants to control the outer court. Two people from the cabinet go in, two against one, and even Li Dongyang, the chief assistant, can't do anything. If the six ministries are controlled by a few more of his people, the outer court will be completely under control.
He has it in his hands." Li Yu, Marquis of Fengcheng, frowned and said in a deep voice.
"The cabinet and the Ministry of War must not be controlled by Liu Jin's people. The cabinet is in charge of the outer court, and if the cabinet is controlled by his people, all ministries and yamen will be controlled by him. Needless to say, the Ministry of War is closely related to us. In the future, the military affairs of the Beijing Camp will be
Under their control." Xu Zhen said solemnly.
"There is also the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Husbandry. If the Ministry of Personnel is controlled, will all the officials appointed in the future be officials who are in favor of Liu Jin? The Ministry of Household Affairs is more important in terms of military pay and taxes. It cannot be controlled by them," Xue Han said.
"Yes, we cannot let Liu Jin control everything, otherwise we will have to rely on him in the future."
"This bitch is really ambitious. We really underestimated him and we can't let him succeed. Once he is allowed to take full control of the inner and outer court, he will probably reach out to us."
The other princes also started talking in low voices.
Zhang Yanling glanced at Zhang Mao, who nodded slightly while stroking his beard. Xu Guangzuo and others also breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that these guys finally felt the danger.
"My lords, we need to discuss and decide what to do. Should we just ignore it and resign ourselves to fate, or should we take the initiative and take precautions to stop Liu Jin? I want to hear your thoughts." Zhang Mao said loudly.
"Duke Yingying, Duke Ding, what do you two think?" Xu Zhen asked.
Zhang Maodao: "In fact, we have made a decision a long time ago, but I and Ding Guogong don't want to force others to make things difficult. We are a noble family and we are united. We can't force you to follow us. It's best for us to agree on what the risks will be in the future.
And we won’t complain to each other.”
"You two princes, we will do whatever you say. Naturally, we will listen to your two princes. Of course, it is best to be... safe," Xu Zhen said.
"Yes, yes, it's best to be more cautious." Wu Hao and others said one after another.
Zhang Yanling couldn't help laughing.
"Jianchang Hou, why are you laughing?" Xu Zhen asked.
"I laugh at you for trying to be a bitch and erecting an archway again. I have told you so much truth, but you are still taking chances. Now we can only restore the balance of strength by preventing Liu Jin from taking control of the outer court. Li Dongyang has already started
Conditions are met, as long as we help the foreign court stabilize the situation
In the future, the foreign court will respond to all requests from my honorable family. You don’t have to worry about the distribution of soldiers, food, and salaries to each battalion, and you don’t have to worry about being invaded and occupied by your relatives every day. Of course, you will inevitably offend if you do this.
Liu Jin, this is for sure." Zhang Yanling said with a smile.
"Oh, that's good. Soldiers' pay...equipment...it's all money. If those people in the outer court could shut up and stop staring at us every day, it would be a lot cleaner. A lot of things can be done.
Already." All the princes and princes whispered to each other excitedly.
Money is the easiest to make in the army. As long as you have enough names, you can make enough money. Unfortunately, the power of approval is in the hands of the outer court. The cabinet does not agree, the Ministry of War does not relent, and the Ministry of Household does not dig into the pockets. It is all in vain.
If the outer court opens the door to convenience in the future, wouldn't it be a source of wealth? However, it would be troublesome to offend Liu Jin.
Xu Yande held back his words for a long time, and finally couldn't bear it anymore. The chattering of these guys was really annoying, and he didn't want to write any more.
"Everyone, whether you agree or not, the four of us have made a decision. Who does Liu Jin mean? Should we be afraid of him? Are we going to act based on his looks in the future? Never think about it. This matter is just a matter of one or two sentences.
, my mouth was dry and my mouth was dry, and there was no point in discussing it. I suggested and drank the glass of wine with agreement.
If you don't agree, don't force it. Just don't rip it off, just tell Liu Jin. If anyone dares to do this, I will come to his door with a knife and kill his whole family. If you are not promising enough to wag your tail to a gelding, don't treat others like a dog.
.In the future, don’t be jealous of other people’s benefits. Don’t even think about asking for permission again. I’ll do it first!”
Xu Yande stood up, raised his glass and drank it all in one gulp. Zhang Yanling stood up with a smile and drank all the wine in the glass. Zhu Lin drank it in one gulp, revealing the bottom of the glass. Zhang Lun glanced at his grandfather, raised his glass and drank it. The British Duke and Ding decided
The two princes looked at each other, smiled wryly and raised their glasses.
The three princes, Zhang Yanling and others all drank up their wine and stared blankly at the remaining princes. Xu Zhen gritted his teeth, picked up the wine glass and drank it in one gulp. Seeing this, the other princes also
Raise your glass and drink it dry.
Zhang Yanling thought to herself: Sure enough, it is more convenient to be simple and crude. After spending a long time talking, it is not as good as Xu Yande's few words and a glass of wine.