Chapter 209 Zhao Zhenji's talent is no less than anyone else
"What do you want to do!" Looking at Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong and Zhao Zhenji who were surrounding him and his father, Xu Fan shouted, "The emperor is not far away, how dare you do anything rash!"
While Xu Fan was speaking, he kept looking in the direction of Jiajing, and the threat in his expression was evident.
Xu Fan, an honest man, knew about the previous party struggles. His Xu family was indeed in the wrong and it was his father who betrayed everyone.
Otherwise, Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong and Zhao Zhenji would not have been kicked out of the cabinet. This would not only have ruined their official careers, but also might have ruined their immortal path and hopes of longevity.
This hatred is huge!
Put yourself in other people's shoes and judge others by yourself. If this happened to Xu Fan, he would never let it go so easily.
However, in the face of Xu Fan's scolding, Zhang Juzheng and the other two didn't even want to look at him.
Even though Xu Fan is now the Minister of Works in the capital, and they were demoted to Nanjing to serve as the Ministers of Six Ministries, in their eyes, Xu Fan is nothing more than a complete "new recruit".
It's not worth them looking at him straight in the eye!
Besides, what can we do if they just ignore it?
If they didn't want to ask Xu Jie face to face for clarification and explanation on some matters, they would not even look at Xu Jie. From then on, there was only hatred between them and the Xu family.
Before this, Xu Jie was demoted to Yingzhou Prefecture. Before they were demoted to Nanjing, they had gone to his house to ask for an explanation, but were turned away.
In addition, they only had resentment towards Xu Jie at the time and did not force it. Now that things have happened, they can't just let it go. They must get an explanation face to face!
They just wanted to see how Xu Jie, this despicable villain, could remain calm and shameless in front of them, in front of everyone, and even in front of the emperor!
How could Zhang Juzheng's people not have hatred in their hearts?
The reason why they can stand here today is that the emperor wants those who may develop immortal cultivation families in the future to hand in their lives.
But for them, others can get a lot of rewards in cultivation by handing in their own destiny, but what about them? They don’t even know their own destiny, let alone being given a destiny object by the emperor.
In other words, if they hand over their lives, they really hand them over, without any substantial benefits or guarantees.
Even on a daily basis, they cannot accumulate spiritual resources to polish their own natal objects and exchange them for some cultivation from the emperor, unless they can make outstanding contributions in Nanjing City.
But they were once high-ranking cabinet officials, and they knew better than anyone how difficult it would be to achieve political achievements in the future as the Immortal Dynasty continued to develop and become stronger!
Even if someone in the court proposed a national policy, it would be divided up first by the cabinet members and then by the six ministries in the capital.
They have to go down one level at a time before it is their turn.
By that time, when it is their turn, even if they have made major political achievements, how much "oil and water" will be left?
Xu Jie really made them suffer a lot!
It is no exaggeration to say that this hatred is irreconcilable!
"Xu Jie, how long are you going to hide? Do you think you can still hide today?" Gao Gong, who was upright and had a hot temper, was the first to shout.
Zhao Zhenji was also staring at Xu Jie with an unfriendly expression at this moment.
The person who was the most angry was Zhao Zhenji. He had been cautious all his life and thought he was walking on thin ice, but in the end he still couldn't escape the calculations of the old fox Xu Jie.
It can be said that after all the planning, one wrong move can lead to a complete failure!
"Fan'er," looking at the crowd that was coming aggressively and wishing to eat him alive, Xu Jie calmly raised his hand and pulled Xu Fan aside, signaling him not to say anything more. Then he looked at the crowd and said, "If a man does not work for himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth."
what? !
After hearing Xu Jie's eight words, Zhang Juzheng and the other two almost thought they had heard wrongly, and their eyes suddenly turned red.
They had thought about Xu Jie's various reactions when faced with questioning from them, but they never expected to get such an answer!
If a man does not work for himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth? Look, is this human language?
To Zhang Juzheng and others, Xu Jie's answer was tantamount to a provocation. The arrogance in his words seemed to tell them, "I have betrayed you, so what?"
"...You!" Hearing Xu Jie's words, Gao Gong became even more angry and pointed at Xu Jie, shaking all over.
"Mr. Su," Xu Jie spoke again slowly at this time, "What I said is from the bottom of my heart."
"Under the circumstances at that time, I had no other way out..." At this point, Xu Jie paused slightly, and then turned his head to look in the direction of Yan Song and others. Jiajing and Lu Fang had already left here. He had no interest in watching the fight between these ministers.
"In your opinion, I should quit the cabinet and hand over the Xu family to you..." As soon as Xu Jie finished speaking, Zhang Juzheng immediately spoke up and said:
"The facts prove that whether you retreat or not, the result is the same. I don't understand why you are doing this to harm others and yourself."
"What kind of hatred do we have against you?" Zhang Juzheng looked at the man who was both his teacher and friend. No one else could understand the pain in his heart!
It can be said that it was Xu Jie who gave him hope when he left the court, and even it was Xu Jie who recommended him to join the cabinet.
He never thought that one day the person who would betray him without mercy would be Xu Jie, his mentor!
"No one would be willing to step down when they are at the top," Xu Jie shook his head slightly, staring at Zhang Juzheng and the other two with burning eyes, and said slowly, "Put yourself in their shoes. If you and I were in the same situation at that time, and saw a glimmer of hope in front of us, would you easily choose to let go and leave peacefully?"
Xu Jie's voice remained calm, but after Zhang Juzheng and the other two heard it, they couldn't help but choke and fell silent!
This is indeed the truth. If they were Xu Jie at that time, they would not give up when seeing the glimmer of hope before them.
If you take a chance, you may be able to create a future. However, if you look at the hope and do not take the chance, but instead give up, you will definitely regret it afterwards!
These people were able to reach the top step by step. Along the way, they had seen so many beautiful scenes and experienced so much cruelty. However, what they stepped on was never a road to success, but piles of corpses.
Such a person has such a strong mind and will, how could he give up easily?
But, again, they can understand Xu Jie's intention, but they will not forgive him!
They clearly did nothing, yet they suffered the greatest damage. Even Xu Jie, the mastermind and culprit, is living a better life than them!
Xu Jie is now the prefect of Yingzhou Prefecture!
Possessing the only treasure trove of resources in the Ming Dynasty, as long as his subsequent political achievements in Yingzhou Prefecture can keep up, he may be able to return to the cabinet before completing his 300-year prison sentence!
You should know that this three hundred years of punishment only meant that the court would not allow the Xu family to enter officialdom or practice Taoism for three hundred years, but it did not explicitly state whether it was aimed at Xu Jie and his son, or just the Xu family of Songjiang Prefecture. After all, Xu Jie and his son still held important positions in the court.
Therefore, in other words, the three hundred years of punishment depends entirely on the emperor's wishes. And how can the emperor be satisfied? Obviously, it depends on political achievements and contributions to the Ming Dynasty!
As long as his political achievements meet the standards and his contributions to the Ming Dynasty are sufficient, Xu Jie may return to the cabinet at any time.
Don't forget that today, the title of Grand Secretary of the Jinshen Palace in the Cabinet has not yet been decided. Among the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet, the title of Grand Secretary of the Huagai Palace is the most honorable, and is held by the Chief Minister of the Cabinet.
The only two honorable positions below the Grand Secretary of the Huagai Palace are the Grand Secretary of the Jinshen Palace, who is held by the Second Assistant Minister. If Xu Jie returns to the cabinet, there is no guarantee that he will not take up the position of Second Assistant Minister of the Cabinet again!
Even though the gift Xu Jie prepared for the emperor did not seem to be accepted in the end, he was still punished and kicked out of the cabinet. But it would be a lie to say that it had no effect at all.
After all, the Ming Dynasty has entered the Immortal Dynasty, and it is bound to promote the immortal arts. In the future, the source of the immortal army will mostly come from the people. If the people all practice immortality, then there will be a natural source of soldiers.
Otherwise, if it only relies on the imperial court for support, as the territory becomes larger and larger and the consumption becomes greater and greater, even the finances of the Immortal Dynasty will be dragged down.
In order to allow people who practice Taoism to cover all industries in the Ming Dynasty, it is very necessary to use Nanjing City as the first pilot city. Even if there is no Nanjing City, the court will look for other pilot cities.
Therefore, Xu Jie's only mistake was to act on his own and make decisions for the emperor.
In other words, Nanjing City was designated as the first major city for cultivating immortals and became the first pilot city for cultivating immortals in the Ming Dynasty, which was very successful. Strictly speaking, it could even be considered a political achievement!
As for them, staying in Nanjing meant being exiled. They had made no achievements in the previous struggles and were even demoted.
They performed too badly in this party struggle and were passive throughout. How would the emperor view them?
If they were labeled as incompetent by the emperor in his mind, they might not be able to return to the court in this lifetime!
How do they balance this?
How could they swallow this anger?
"Originally, according to my plan, even if you were sent out, if I could still stay in the cabinet, it would only be a matter of time for you to be promoted. By then, Li Chengwu and others would also be purged..." As he spoke, Xu Jie shook his head and smiled, saying:
"It's too late to say anything now. If you want to hate me, then go ahead. This matter is just the norm of factional strife in the court. You all know this in your hearts."
"The court struggles have always been cruel. I have nothing to say." After that, Xu Jie said to Xu Fan, "Fan'er, let's go pick a piece of land."
"Yes!" Before leaving, Xu Fan, who had been glaring at Zhang Juzheng and others with dissatisfaction, looked back at this moment, and a look of reluctance appeared in his eyes, but he quickly suppressed this look of reluctance.
He has been growing up rapidly since his father was demoted. The disputes in the court can never be simply divided into right and wrong.
Watching the backs of Xu Jie and his son walking away, Gao Gong glared angrily, his face turned red with anger, and his lips trembled.
He wanted to say something, but he knew in his heart that there was nothing wrong with what Xu Jie said. They had come to question Xu Jie, but they were left speechless. Only they themselves could understand the depression in their hearts.
"Forget it," At this moment, Zhao Zhenji suddenly sighed, looked around the scenery of the entire plateau, and the rolling and extremely low clouds in the distance, and said:
"It is meaningless to dwell on the past. The only thing we can do now is to cheer up and return to the cabinet!"
"How to return?" At this time, Zhang Juzheng looked at Zhao Zhenji.
Zhang Juzheng was still very optimistic about Zhao Zhenji, mainly because Zhao Zhenji had always been low-key and steady, and did things in a very organized way. If it were not for his trust in Xu Jie this time, he would probably still be a cabinet minister.
"Nanjing City is the first city of immortal cultivation in the Ming Dynasty and also a pilot city for immortal cultivation. This is our chance!" Zhao Zhenji said, looking at Zhang Juzheng and said, "In addition to the 10,000 immortal seedlings in Nanjing City, there are 20,000 immortal techniques in the entire Yingtian Prefecture!"
"At the beginning, Xu Jie dispatched personnel from our respective families in order to trick us into falling for his tricks. However, we each received a copy of the whereabouts of all immortal seedlings and the distribution of immortal techniques..."
Having said this, Xu Jie stopped talking, but Zhang Juzheng and Zhao Zhenji understood the underlying meaning of his words very well.
“Twenty thousand copies of immortal arts…” Zhang Juzheng pondered, his eyes thoughtful, and said, “Nanjing City is now known as a great city for cultivating immortals, but in fact, there are only a total of ten thousand immortal seedlings.”
“As for the whereabouts of the other 20,000 copies of immortal techniques in Yingtian Prefecture, without spiritual resources, even if the techniques are there, they are useless.”
"Meng Jing means that we should use the 30,000 portions of immortal arts that we distributed at the beginning to stir up an immortal cultivation storm in Nanjing City and turn it into a real immortal cultivation city?"
Zhang Juzheng was indeed a man with great vision and the ability of a prime minister. He saw the key to their political achievements in an instant!
Gao Gong, who was standing by, naturally reacted quickly and said, "But we need to consult the emperor. After all, although our two families were not hurt, without the spiritual energy supply from Yingzhou Prefecture, we cannot support a large city of immortal cultivation..."
Now that Xu Jie has gone to Yingzhou Prefecture, in order to gain political achievements, it was originally tacitly agreed that Yingzhou Prefecture would be divided up among the four forces of the original cabinet. This old guy will definitely find a way to make all the resources return to the court.
"But if we propose to the emperor to formally develop the Immortal Cultivation City, I'm afraid other people in the cabinet will also intervene," Gao Gong suddenly hesitated and looked at Zhao Zhenji, saying:
"Meng Jing, you were the one who came up with this idea. Do you have any good ideas to prevent others from taking advantage of your achievements?"
"Why do you think that Nanjing, the great city of immortal cultivation built by Xu Jie, has remained quiet until now?" Zhao Zhenji stroked his beard with his hand, looking as if he had already made up his mind.
Seeing him like this, Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong looked at each other and saw the understanding in each other's eyes. How could they not know that Zhao Zhenji had indeed made up his mind.
The two of them didn't say anything, but just looked at Zhao Zhenji quietly, waiting for his next words.
"That's because no one can be sure of the emperor's attitude towards Nanjing," Zhao Zhenji took a deep breath and said, "Even if everyone can see that Nanjing will become the first major city for cultivating immortals. It may even be the first pilot of the current Ming Dynasty."
"Don't forget that Xu Jie was kicked out of the cabinet for this. If we bring up Xiuxian Great City at this time, will the emperor agree or not? If he agrees, what will happen to Xu Jie's case?"
"Everyone in the government and the country knows that Xu Jie acted on his own initiative, which is a crime of deceiving the emperor. But don't forget that Xu Jie was just kicked out not long ago, and the Xu family was also confiscated because of this!"
"As a result, the emperor turned around and wanted to develop a city for cultivating immortals. Doesn't that mean that Xu Jie did nothing wrong? As a result, because of a crime of deceiving the emperor, the whole family was implicated? But the ministers are also doing this for the good of Ming Dynasty. In this way, doesn't it make the emperor..."
Zhao Zhenji did not say anything more about what the emperor had said, but Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong both understood the underlying meaning.
Indeed, the city of immortal cultivation needs to develop, but it must be proposed by the right people and at the right time.
This is also the reason why old foxes like Yan Song did not take any action!
However, for Zhang Juzheng and the other two, others could afford to wait, but they could not, because they needed the city of Nanjing to help them return to the cabinet.
"So this matter cannot be done openly!" Zhao Zhenji said in a serious tone, "The Immortal Cultivation City has been established, and the culprit of all this is Xu Jie. Because of his arbitrary decisions, there are suddenly so many immortal cultivators and immortal cultivation families in the city, and even in the entire Yingtian Prefecture..."
"This way, there will be even more benefits!" Zhao Zhenji said, his eyes flashing, "If there is any trouble in the future, it will be the problem left over from the "previous case"..."
"If Xiuxian City becomes prosperous because of this, it will be our political achievement. Most importantly, doing so can also prevent the emperor from facing the "previous case" and making things difficult for him!"
After listening to Zhao Zhenji's analysis, Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong both nodded secretly.
"Moreover," Zhao Zhenji's tone slightly changed at this time, and then he continued: "We all know what kind of person the emperor is, and he is result-oriented!"
"As long as it's good for the Ming Dynasty, then everything can be discussed! Even if it's sometimes inconvenient to reward us openly, the emperor will not treat us unfairly in secret..."
When speaking of this, Zhao Zhenji thought of the fact that after he proposed the national policy of "concentrating land and reducing clans", the emperor asked Lu Fang to secretly pass on the magic to him.
Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong had obviously thought of this as well, and both nodded in agreement. Then Zhang Juzheng suddenly looked at Zhao Zhenji and said in a low voice, "You mean, if we really develop the Immortal Cultivation City in secret, will the emperor support us in secret?"
"Oh," Zhao Zhenji just chuckled upon hearing this, but did not give Zhang Juzheng a clear answer. He just said inexplicably: "We need to go find Eunuch Lu or Eunuch Huang later."
"Well, let's go find Huang Jin, Eunuch Huang!"
Looking for Huang Jin? Hearing this, Gao Gong raised his thick eyebrows and said, "It is understandable to ask Eunuch Lu for help. He can secretly convey our intention to the emperor."
"But nowadays, everyone knows that the Chief Eunuch of the Imperial Household Department, the Governor of the East Factory, and Eunuch Huang Jinhuang have always been serving beside the Imperial Master Qingfeng Xuanling Shouzhen Huiwu Zhenren and never asked about government affairs. What's the point of looking for him?"
However, under the gaze of Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong, Zhao Zhenji simply uttered two words: "Bribery."
What, bribery? ! Hearing this, Gao Gong almost thought he had misheard. He glanced at Zhang Juzheng and was about to continue asking, but he saw Zhao Zhenji had already raised his foot and walked away.
Not far away, Huang Jin was accompanying the national teacher Qingfeng on a high lawn, talking about something.
"Taiyue, this?" Gao Gong looked at Zhao Zhenji's back and hesitated. He really couldn't do "bribery". He didn't forget that he was a clean official, so how could he do something against the strict party?
"Meng Jing's talent is not inferior to you, me, or Xu Jie!" However, at this moment, Zhang Juzheng pinched his beard and stared at Zhao Zhenji's receding back. After a while, he suddenly said, "Wonderful!"
After saying this, Gao Gong did not give it much time to think about it, and immediately said, "If you ask Eunuch Lu, then Eunuch Lu will definitely not hide it from the emperor."
"But if we do this, we will just let the emperor cooperate with us. This plan is too crude..." Zhang Juzheng said with a smile on his face, "On the contrary, if we take the initiative to ask Huang Jin for a bribe, Huang Jin will definitely ask Eunuch Lu for help afterwards."
"After Eunuch Lu consults the emperor, if the emperor agrees, then our idea of developing Nanjing will be supported by the court."
"And the person who supports us is Huang Jin! He has nothing to do with the emperor."
"Even if the emperor is dissatisfied with you and me in the future, he can always investigate this matter and take action. It can be regarded as actively handing over evidence."
"He is steady, generous, experienced, clean, and efficient..." Zhang Juzheng said, his tone full of admiration and praise for Zhao Zhenji, "Meng Jing's steadiness is not inferior to Xu Ge...Xu Jie. Perhaps he deliberately concealed his incompetence before, so we blocked his brilliance..."
After listening to Zhang Juzheng's explanation and understanding the hidden officialdom incident, Gao Gong couldn't help but nodded in admiration.
"Perhaps with Meng Jing's joining, our hope of returning to the cabinet has increased a little bit!" Gao Gong snorted coldly, glanced at Xu Jie and his son in the distance, and said, "Sooner or later, I will settle this account with him!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Juzheng did not express his opinion.
The ties of friendship between him and Xu Jie had been severed after he was betrayed last time, and from now on they would be political enemies!
If necessary, he will not show mercy!
"Let the past be the past for now," Zhang Juzheng suppressed his thoughts, took a deep breath, and said:
"Our first and foremost task is to develop Nanjing into the first great city of immortal cultivation in the Ming Dynasty. We want to make the ancient capital of Jinling more prosperous than any other city in the past dynasties!"
……
"What a show."
Not far away, Yan Shifan snorted and laughed, with an indescribable mockery in his eyes.
Yan Song, on the other hand, looked at Xu Jie's back without expressing any opinion. Instead, he turned to Hu Zongxian and said, "Ruzhen, I think this is good. Why don't we plant our destiny here?"
Hearing this, Hu Zongxian nodded and said, "It's all up to you, Lord."
"Ha ha……"
Yan Song nodded with a smile, as if he didn't care about the subtle atmosphere among the people on the plateau.
Soon, everyone on the plateau had chosen the area of their family’s exclusive “birth field” in the future.
At this time, Jiajing also returned with Lu Fang.
"..."
(End of this chapter)
