Forty-two, Gazing up at the starry sky watching the wind and clouds

  "Jiang Youzhong wants to go to Jiaxue Academy... Ah, this is something I overlooked."

  Yu Guozhen patted his head, there were too many things he had to busy himself with recently. Some things that he originally planned to do ended up not having time to deal with.

  Like Jiang Youzhong, he thought it was a promising young man to cultivate, but after bringing him back, he first received the Taohu Lake bandits and then arranged for new recruits, and this matter was forgotten by him.

  "What does Young Master think? If it's not suitable, then just send him back." Aunt Gao asked cautiously.

  In front of Jiang Quan, she was very generous and accommodating, but in reality, she knew that the only one who could really make decisions was Yu Guozhen.

  "It's possible, but since you want to enter the family school, you should live on campus. Let that... Jiang Youzhong also move to the south wing." This was just a small matter, and Yu Guozhen still made a request.

  "Yes, yes!"

  Old Lady Gao was overjoyed and responded with two loud "yes"s before hurrying out to report the good news to Jiang Quan.

  Yu Guozhen was busy with his own affairs, but he didn't know that his name had appeared on a memorial and was already in the hands of Wen Tiren, Minister of Rites and Chancellor of the Dongguan.

  Recently, Wen Ti Ren has been quite troubled in mind.

  The position of the Grand Secretary, he has been eyeing for many years. The mutiny in Dengzhou is an excellent opportunity for him. Sun Yuanhua, the governor of Dengzhou, is a man of Zhou Yanyu, and under his rule, such a thing happened in Dengzhou, which can be used to attack Zhou Yanyu with the charge of appointing the wrong person.

  Although Wen Tiren had mobilized all his strength, the effect was not good. Zhou Yanyu, while defending himself, seemed to have also discovered the commander behind the scenes, who was trying to shift the flames of war onto Wen Tiren's own head. The young emperor remained calm and composed in this matter, allowing the two men to mutually accuse each other without making a decision for a long time.

  Not making a decision also means that his path to becoming the prime minister is still blocked by a stubborn stone!

  He originally thought that this struggle would end in nothing like the previous trial, but this memorial from Wuwei, Luzhou brought him hope again!

  "Master, Minister Min has arrived." The servant said in a low voice.

  "Ask him to go to the study room." said Wen Ti Ren, but immediately changed his mind: "No, let's go to the Houxinyuan Xiangxin Pavilion instead, I'll wait for him there."

  Outside the study, there may be walls with ears, and the surrounding area of Xieyin Pavilion is empty. They speak in low voices, not expecting anyone to eavesdrop. Wen Ti Ren has a multitude of cunning plans in his belly, and he also has a set for preventing others from plotting against him.

  Min Shangshu was the Minister of Personnel Min Hongxue, whose courtesy name was Zhou Xian. He and Wen Tiren were from the same hometown. After Wen Tiren had used great effort to drive out the previous Minister of Personnel Wang Yongguang from the imperial court, he then promoted him to this crucial position in one of the six ministries.

  "The old man is indeed fond of elegance, watching the sunset by the water." The two were both from the same hometown and belonged to the same party, so their relationship was quite good. Min Hongxue spoke very casually: "Sitting here watching the wind and clouds."

  "Haha......" Wen Ti Ren burst out laughing: "At this moment, sitting and watching the clouds drift by, later on looking up at the starry sky, that's all there is to life."

  The two men exchanged a few words of small talk before finally turning to the main topic. Min Hongxue's face was filled with worry: "As long as Zhou Ze doesn't leave, the court won't be at peace. A grand elder like yourself will never have a chance to show his worth. I originally thought that from Sun Yuanhua's case, we could bring out Zhou Ze, but observing His Majesty's intentions, it seems..."

  "What's wrong, Zhou Xian has retreated?" Wen Ti-ren looked at him with a smile that was not quite a smile, as if he had detected the implication in Min Hong-xue's words.

  Min Hongxue sighed, and after repeatedly attacking Zhou Yanyu without being able to bring him down, Min Hongxue felt that Zhou Yanyu's prestige had not declined. Since he couldn't drive away Zhou Yanyu, he would have to face Zhou Yanyu's counterattack. Min Hongxue asked himself, without Wen Tiren's self-protective means, it was better to take the initiative to retreat.

  He took out a memorial from his hand: "Without deceiving the cabinet elder, I have prepared a memorial and will be asking to return home in these days."

  When he said this, he was somewhat unwilling. The Minister of the Board of War was only one step away from being a prime minister. If Zhou Yanru could be overthrown, Wen Tiren would naturally become the prime minister, and a position in the Grand Council would be vacated. Min Hongxue felt that he had every qualification to compete for it.

  "Zhou Xian, I understand what you mean... If it were in the past, I wouldn't stop you, but now, don't be in a hurry." Wen Ti-ren said this with a smile and handed over a memorial to Min Hong-xue.

  Min Hongxue read it through, this was a memorial from Luzhou Prefecture of Anhui Province, requesting the establishment of Xiang'an Patrol Office and appointing local scholar Yu Yixuan as patrol officer. It mentioned that Yu Yixuan had trained his nephew Yu Guozhen's family soldiers to repeatedly defeat the water bandits on Chaohu Lake and Taihu Lake, beheading dozens and capturing many alive.

  "Your Excellency, what's the point of this?" Min Hongxue looked at it and couldn't understand. This was just a small matter that could be decided by a Shilang from the Ministry of War, or even just reported to the Ministry of Rites for approval.

  What influence can this have on Zhou Yueru?

  "A humble scholar can bring peace to his hometown, but a high-ranking official cannot help the country." Wen Ti-ren smiled slightly: "In recent years, what has entered the emperor's eyes and ears are all about bandits here and there, this news may be trivial, but it can be used to congratulate the emperor."

  Min Hongxue listened and secretly admired him. In terms of catering to the emperor's preferences, no one in the world could compare to Wen Ti Ren. He had grasped the emperor's mind to the extreme!

  The current Chongzhen Emperor has not yet come out of the excitement of sweeping away Wei Zhongxian and his eunuchs from power as soon as he ascended to the throne, nor has he escaped from the fear of the rebel army approaching the capital. On the one hand, he is extremely arrogant, thinking that he is one of the most wise and brilliant emperors in the history of the Ming Dynasty. On the other hand, he is extremely humble, always feeling that he is being deceived by petty people, and as soon as he opens his eyes, his head may be hung on a crooked neck willow tree.

  "The old man is right, with this, Your Majesty will surely think that if a scholar and a young man can eliminate the water bandits, why can't a chief assistant and a governor handle a few hill bandits?" Min Hongxue agreed: "This official is not talented, originally submitted a memorial on this matter, the old man is waiting here for good news."

  After finishing speaking, Min Hongxue really got up and left to prepare the memorial to the throne. For him, this was his last attempt at the Grand Council. If he failed, then the ready-made petition for retirement could be put to use.

  There was one thing that both of them deliberately avoided mentioning, which was Yu Guozhen's age mentioned in the memorial: fifteen years old.

  When today's son is only 22 years old, he is young and brave. Knowing that there is such a young hero, the emperor will surely be delighted, but this can only be hidden in the hearts of two people and cannot be openly spoken.

  The next day, the imperial court was in an uproar again, with accusations and recriminations flying back and forth. The Chongzhen Emperor, Zhu Youjian, remained silent throughout, his face darkening from the start as the officials began to shout at each other.

  Zhou Yanru gave Wen Tiuren a cold glance. It was not long ago that the two of them joined forces to drive Donglin's old man, Qian Yanyi, out of the imperial court. In just a few years, the relationship between the two had deteriorated to the point where they could no longer coexist. This treacherous and evil person first relied on the eunuch party, but now he stands here with an air of righteousness!

  He must be driven out of the imperial court, but since last year's imperial examination case, the emperor's trust in himself has begun to have a discount, and wanting to drive him away may require more thought...

  "That's enough!"

  After listening to their quarrel for a long time, Chongzhen finally shouted in anger.

  The ministers all knelt down, and even the few white-haired old ministers were no exception. Looking at their bowed heads and the white hair exposed under their official hats, Zhu Youjian felt annoyed again.

  "My dear ministers... if there is nothing else, let us adjourn." Zhu Youjian suppressed his anger and said in a low voice.

  "Your minister has a matter to report!" Just then, the Minister of Personnel, Min Hongxue, walked out from the ranks.

  Zhou Yanyu glanced at him with the corner of his eye, this guy was not only Wen Tiuren's fellow countryman but also his partner in crime. To drive out Wen Tiuren, he must first remove his wings, and to do that, he had to find an excuse to get rid of this guy first.

  "I request to open a Luozhou Prefecture Wuwei County Xiang'an Inspection Patrol Office..."

  As soon as Min Hongxue spoke, Zhou Yanyu felt a flash of insight. Establishing a touring inspector's office in one county was an insignificant matter, and Min Hongxue was extremely foolish to bring it up at the imperial court!

  He pondered in his heart whether to hint to his confidants, and use this as a pretext to attack Min Hongxue's vegetarianism. However, just at that moment, Min Hongxue had already spoken out about the matters reported by the Magistrate of Wuwei County.

  Killing a few dozen lake bandits wasn't a big deal, but for Zhu Youjian, it was a rare piece of good news among countless bad ones. Moreover, Min Hongxue repeatedly emphasized that Yu Guozhen, who led the family's guards, was only 15 years old, or just 16 by Chinese age reckoning. This made Zhu Youjian, who had already become disillusioned with the declining imperial court, suddenly see a glimmer of hope.

  "Good, good, young hero!" He clapped his hands and chuckled lightly, a rare relaxed look on his face that had been gloomy for many days.

  "Your Majesty is wise, since ancient times heroes have emerged in their youth, and at the age of sixteen they can already kill enemies. In a few more years, Your Majesty will surely obtain another tiger general and minister! Min Hongxue said: "As I am in charge of the Ministry of Officials, I should have the responsibility to recommend talents to Your Majesty. Therefore, when I saw the memorial from the Magistrate of Wuwei, I attached my opinion and submitted it for your review."

  Min Hongxue humbly put the county order in front, and didn't mention Zhou Yanyu at all in his words. Zhu Youjian was very satisfied, but Zhou Yanyu's forehead was sweating profusely.

  It is his duty as the chief assistant to recommend capable people, and he has also seen the memorial from Wu Wei County. He just thought it was a trivial matter and didn't take it to heart, but now it seems that he made a mistake!

  As expected, someone immediately came forward and brought up the case of Sun Yuanhua, the governor of Dengzhou: "A 15-year-old boy from Wuwei County can still defend his hometown, but Sun Yuanhua, a dignified governor, has failed to live up to the emperor's grace. Your Majesty should investigate the responsibility of those who recommended him for office and hold accountable those who have misused their power!"

  If it weren't for Yu Guozhen's affair, Zhu Youjian would have only seen this as Wen Tianren's faction launching a new round of attacks on Zhou Yanru. But Yu Guozhen was able to lead his family's guards to wipe out the Taihu Lake bandits at the age of 15, whereas Sun Yuanhua had caused his troops to mutiny and rebel. Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian's face turned gloomy again, and he glared at Zhou Yanru with annoyance.

  Just as Zhou Yanyu was about to come out and defend himself, another man suddenly stepped forward and knelt down: "Your Majesty, I accuse Zhou Yanyu of being arrogant and absurd!"

  The person who came out was Chen Zanhua, a judicial officer of the Ministry of Justice. This man was not a member of Wen Tianren's party, and the things he impeached seemed to have nothing to do with Wen Tianren. It was Zhou Yanru who once compared Emperor Zhu Youjian to "Xu Huang Shangren", that is, he thought Zhu Youjian was only a primitive tribal leader.

  Chen Zanhua also presented witnesses, You Sunqu and Li Shiqi, who both testified that the events had indeed occurred. One by one, they came forward to testify, and Zhou Yanru's face turned pale. Although he was normally eloquent, he now did not know how to defend himself.

  Sincerely yours

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