The more Zhu Houzhao protected Liu Jin, the more angry Xie Qian was.

As his stubborn temper broke out, Xie Qian took a step forward and said in an aggressive tone: "Your Majesty, since ancient times, those who chaotic countries have done everything they have done. Liu Jin has been the chief supervisor of the Sili Supervisor for less than two years. The court has hated him to the core. He is bold and arbitrary, greedy for ink and money, and sells official positions and titles and people are angry. Now he has repeatedly reported his military achievements and deceived His Majesty. If he does not punish him, he may be dismissed by the court's laws and regulations and deviate from the people!"

This was passionate and deafening when he said this, but when he heard Zhu Houzhao, he felt that it was exactly the same as what Liu Jian and Li Dongyang said at the time.

Chen Xi thought to himself: "Why don't you understand the emperor's character until today? What the emperor wants to hear is that you provide irrefutable conclusive evidence, rather than just talking empty words and clichés like now. Otherwise, what's the use of what you say makes sense? You're using a solid hammer!"

Sure enough, when Zhu Houzhao heard this, she couldn't help but frown. She obviously didn't like others in a preaching tone in front of him. It seemed so stupid that he was, and he specifically appointed a slander.

After Xie Qian finished speaking, Zhu Houzhao said with a stern face: "Gei Xie, I will not discuss whether the crimes you accused of Liu Jin are true. I will just ask, what does what you said at this moment have to do with Liu Jin's false claims of military achievements? Now I just want to know whether Liu Jin has false claims of military achievements!"

Xie Qian was anxious and Zhu Houzhao was angry. Why didn’t he feel angry and uncomfortable? Xie Qian was angry that Zhu Houzhao appointed treacherous ministers and did not listen to the advice. No matter what he said, Zhu Houzhao would unconsciously defend Liu Jin. Zhu Houzhao was angry that others regarded him as a fool and always used some clichés to run, which made him seem so incompetent as the emperor.

Xie Qian was about to continue talking, but Chen Xi knew that Mr. Xie could no longer take advantage of the situation, otherwise the situation of a monarch and minister turning against each other in person would be a big violation of the original intention of coming to meet the saint.

Chen Xi took the lead: "Your Majesty, you still need evidence about Liu Jin's false declaration of military achievements. It is too early to make a conclusion now!"

Hearing this, Xie Qian was even more angry and glared at Chen Xi viciously, as if he was saying, "Aren't you telling you to be a mute next to you without saying anything?" Why do you want to interrupt me at this critical moment?

But Zhu Houzhao was very helpful when he heard this and nodded, "Yes, even if he wanted to cure Liu Jin's crime, he would still die... Master Xie, you don't have to be angry. I will send someone to investigate what you said. This matter will be put on hold for the time being. I am very tired and I will go back to the bedroom to rest."

"Shangshu Chen, you have investigated the border war situation clearly. I will ask you later... Let's go back first, I won't send it to you!"

Zhu Houzhao was going to ask Xie Qian and Shen Xi for the military situation on the front line of the Xuanfu Mansion and Liu Jin's situation, but when he saw Xie Qian attacking Liu Jin like crazy, he lost the interest of talking to the two. In addition, he had not been sleeping all night last night, and it was almost noon, and he was exhausted, so he wanted to send Xie Qian and Shen Xi away.

Seeing that Zhu Houzhao had gotten up and headed towards the palace, Xie Qian couldn't help but step forward to hold the emperor and continue to argue.

But after he took two steps, he was pulled by Chen Xi. Xie Qian could not shout loudly in front of the emperor, so he could only shout at Zhu Houzhao's back: "Your Majesty, Liu Jin cholera, you can't ignore it..."

It would be fine if I didn't say it. As soon as I said that, Zhu Houzhao accelerated his pace and entered the back wing. Now Xie Qian had no chance to make a comment.

Chen Xi knew that Xie Laoer was going to get angry.

...

...

As expected, the two left the Ganqing Palace, and Xie Qian immediately spoke sternly.

If you don't know, you think Xie Qian and Chen Xi have a deep grudge. Even if you are in the Forbidden Palace, you will still roar, regardless of the decency of the chief minister of the dynasty.

"...You insist on helping the eunuch, sharing weal and woe with him, and even saving his life, so that the Ming Dynasty will never be at peace, right?"

Xie Qian cursed, Chen Xi was too lazy to listen. In his opinion, Xie Laoer just spread the anger that had not vented on the emperor.

When Xie Qian blew out his anger like a cannon, Chen Xi said angrily: "If Mr. Xie is happy to scold, please go to Wenyuan Pavilion and watch whether there is a war report sent by Xuanfu. That is the key to the problem!"

Xie Qianqian said angrily: "You are dedicated to talking to Liu Jin. Are you satisfied when you see me angry?"

Chen Xi retorted: "You have always seen the situation before. You wouldn't have punished Liu Jin if you make a slander or two. Everything must be paid attention to evidence. With Your Majesty's character, if there is no conclusive evidence, Your Majesty will not accept it... I dare to ask Mr. Xie, do you have any evidence of Liu Jin falsely reporting his military achievements now, and do you have any physical evidence?"

Xie Qian naturally did not, and he knew that he had no evidence. He just wanted to use this matter to let the emperor close the case and give Liu Jin a death, and nothing else mattered.

The conflict between Chen Xi and Liu Jin was completely different in political views, while Xie Qian was mixed with personal grievances, and even the Shen family was caught fire. Xie Qian still blamed Liu Jin for the fact that he was still guilty of Liu Jin.

In Xie Qian's opinion, the crime is not as good as his wife and children. No matter how much conflict Chen Xi and Liu Jin have had, Liu Jin should not retaliate against the Shen family. This is also the fundamental reason why he is determined to defeat Liu Jin until now. If he has some mediocre old ministers, facing the aggressive Liu Jin, he might have resigned from office long ago.

Xie Qian still shouted at the top of his voice: "If you want evidence, is it evidence that is dissatisfied? Liu Jin has done many evil deeds. With your ability, will he not be able to find evidence of his crime?"

Chen Xi couldn't help but frown. He felt that Xie Qian was reminding him that it would be okay to frame Liu Jin appropriately.

"If I told you that the fire in the Shen family was set by myself, what would you think? I wouldn't just jump into the house and announce it to the world, right?"

Chen Xi saw the stubbornness of an old man, and this was the chief minister of the dynasty. It was known to everyone in the court that Xie Qian's power was controlled by the ritual supervisor. Liu Jin was in the court, and Xie Qian was under Liu Jin. Liu Jin left the court, and Zhu Houzhao would rather leave the authority to review the memorials there than hand them over to the cabinet.

This is also caused by historical reasons. In Zhu Houzhao's mind, he didn't trust the cabinet ministers at all. The more he was greedy, the more he was afraid that the ministers would abduct power because he could not control it.

On the contrary, a castrator like Liu Jin is easier to control. Even if he is powerful, he will never dare to fight against him, or even openly embarrass him.

Chen Xi said calmly: "Prince Xie, please calm down. Please go back to the Ministry of War to check the situation first. If as expected, news should be heard from Xuanfu now. Whether to falsely report military achievements should be clear at a glance. Why bother to fight for the length of time? According to what the Master said, even if Your Majesty convicted Liu Jin before, Your Majesty would make changes when he heard the news of the good news, right? With Your Majesty's protection of Liu Jin, if you don't have real evidence, you want Your Majesty to kill Liu Jin on the spot, it's too difficult!"

...

...

Chen Xi didn't want to discuss Liu Jin's affairs with Xie Qian.

Many things are meaningless. Now Liu Jin and Zhu Houzhao are in the "honeymoon period", and there are at most some small conflicts between the master and servant. Zhu Houzhao has to exile Liu Jin to the Xuanfu when he makes a mistake, but it is too early to make Zhu Houzhao feel murderous.

On the first day Liu Jin left Beijing, Chen Xi had already predicted what was going on when Liu Jin returned to the court and was fully prepared.

Seeing that Xie Qian was still in a state of rage, Chen Xi said goodbye first and accelerated his pace toward Donghuamen.

No matter how unhappy you, Xie Laoer is, I just need to be safe and I will fight Liu Jin for one round, so I don’t care about adding more rounds. Even if there is an overtime match and a draw start, who is afraid of whom?

After leaving Donghuamen, Chen Xi went directly to the Military Academy, where he could also receive the war report.

Because he was wearing court uniforms, Chen Xi walked in a hurry and did not dare to delay a minute or a second. After all, he had encountered assassination at home before, so no one could guarantee that there would be no problems on the road, so he chose places with a large number of people to go.

After waiting for Chen Xi to enter the military school, the soldiers on duty at the door were curious why Chen Xi was dressed so formally. According to the rules of the Ming Dynasty, officials only need to wear regular clothes when they go to the yamen to handle the work. Chen Xi went directly to the side courtyard and read the official documents he had just received, and was surprised to find that there was still no war report from the Xuanfu.

"It's so strange. In my opinion, Wang Shouren and Hu Lian should have fought with the Tatars the night before yesterday. If the war ended yesterday, it would have been dark or even midnight, the war report would have come. Could it be that something was wrong with the intelligence system?"

Chen Xi himself was also unsure. With his usual confidence, things should not be deviated.

Either win or lose, there should be a break, unless the two sides are in a stalemate...

Thinking of this, Chen Xi seemed to understand something. Just as he was about to go back to the Ministry of War, suddenly the guards came to report that it was the Marquis of Shouning who came to visit.

"What are Zhang Heling here to do?" Chen Xi didn't know the purpose of the visit of his uncle for a moment, but when he thought about it carefully, it was probably related to the border war.

Chen Xi went out to greet him, and Zhang Heling stood in the front yard and looked at him curiously, as if he was unfamiliar with the surrounding environment, but in fact he had been to the military school several times.

When Zhang Heling saw Chen Xi, he spoke kindly: "Shangshu Chen, I have just received the news from the border. I am afraid that you have not received the news yet, so I come here to explain it."

As soon as Zhang Heling came, he went straight in. Chen Xi's heart sank. He turned to the side and made a gesture of invitation: "Marquis Shouning is coming, please come in and speak!"

"No!"

Zhang Heling waved his hand, "I am busy with official duties, but I just came to inform you. Today I received a letter from Xuanfu City two days ago, which was sent by my husband under his former command. It is reported that the war in Xuanfu has not yet come to an end. I am afraid that Liu Jin has falsely reported his military achievements... This is a related letter. Please read by Shangshu Chen, so I will not bother me."

After Zhang Heling finished speaking, he took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Chen Xi.

Chen Xi took it over and took a look. Although the letter did not have an inscription, it can be roughly judged that it was written in the Song Book.

In the letter, Song Shu explained in detail the situation from Xuanfu to Zhangjiakou, indicating that Wang Shouren led his army to fight and would arrive at Zhangjiakou Fort about two days later, around the second day of August. The Tatar troops around Xuanfu had retreated to the north of the Great Wall, and there was no news of a great war.

"If you have any help from Shouning Hou to come here in person, I will consider the information on the front line of the Xuanfu as appropriate. If Shouning Hou is in charge of official duties, please come back!"

Chen Xi saw that Zhang Heling was going to kill someone with a knife... Everyone hoped that Liu Jin would die in the border, and the foreign relatives were no exception. Now the court can be said to be united in the same hatred of the enemy and wanted to put him to death, but who came out to take action was a problem. After all, no one wanted the emperor to hold a grudge because of this matter.

In order to get Chen Xi and Xie Qian to take action, the foreign relatives took out a letter that should have been confidential, proving that there was indeed no great victory on the front line of the Xuanfu.

As long as it is proved that Liu Jin falsely claimed his military achievements, Liu Jin's life would be worrying. He deceived the emperor twice in succession. Even if the first time was not what Liu Jin wanted, the second time was made by Liu Jin himself, which was enough for the Chinese civil and military officials in the court to attack Liu Jin and let him die without a place to bury him.

Zhang Heling smiled and didn't say much to Chen Xi, everything was left unspeakable.

Chen Xi did not personally send Zhang Heling out. He judged that after Shouning Hou would discuss with members of the Foreign Relatives Party with the members of the Foreign Relatives Party, and Zhang Yuan also belonged to this faction. Now the political group with the biggest conflict of interests with Liu Jin is the Foreign Relatives Party.

"Although the civil servant group headed by Xie Qian is eager to let Liu Jin die, Liu Jin's power after his death is mainly obtained by the foreign relatives' party, especially the responsibilities of the Silijian. As long as Zhu Houzhao has not been diligent for a day, the position of the Silijian in charge of the seal eunuch is more important than that of the Chief Supervisor, unless the power of Zhang Yuan and the foreign relatives' party can be suppressed."

"Zhang Yuan is different from Liu Jin. Liu Jin has no strong background behind him, but Zhang Yuan relies on the power of his relatives. If Zhang Yuan rises up, it will be more difficult to deal with than Liu Jin. Even if Zhang Yuan is willing to eliminate the influence of the power of his relatives, he will always be supported by the Zhang brothers. As long as Empress Dowager Zhang does not die for a day and Zhu Houzhao has not abdicated, the status of Zhang's relatives will not be fundamentally shaken."

"The foreign relatives wanted to use my hands to achieve their goals, and they thought too much!"

Chen Xi put the letter in his arms, calmed down a little, and headed to the Ministry of War.

When Liu Jin came back, the most direct conflict of interest was not the civil service group and the eunuch party, but the foreign relatives and eunuch party. Chen Xi thought to himself: "I can take a look at it so lively!"

...

...

Chen Xi returned to the Ministry of War and found messages from all over the country, but there was still no Xuanfu war report.

However, the intelligence in Xuanfu and Datong and other places had not been interrupted two days ago, indicating that there was no problem with the intelligence system of Yunliu's leader and Liu Jin was far from powerful enough to block the transmission of border intelligence.

As Chen Xi knew, the situation was the most tense the day after Sun Xiucheng fled from Xuanfu, but because Wang Shouren made a quick decision, the situation in Xuanfu quickly stabilized. Later, Wang Shouren led the garrison to defend, but the Tatars failed to defraud the city and had to retreat in a mess, and there was no large-scale war.

As for Wang Shouren leading his troops to Zhangjiakou Fort, it was on the first day of August, and the time when Liu Jin's messenger set off was exactly when Wang Shouren's troops were about to arrive at Zhangjiakou Fort.

At this time, Chen Xi could finally confirm one thing, that is, Liu Jin did report his merits in advance, and wanted to win the victory of the Ministry of War in exchange for Zhu Houzhao's attention to him, and even transferred him back to the capital to re-in charge of the Lijian Supervisor. However, Liu Jin did not expect that the speed of information transmission on the Ministry of War was more than twice as fast as he imagined.

Chen Xi said intimately: "You Liu Jin think that if you can get a good news on the second or third day of the August 2018, you can take a step ahead of the Ministry of War. I think too beautifully. If there is any disturbance around Xuanfu, you can spread the news to the capital within six to ten hours. Your move is ahead of time, and you can say that you are digging a hole and jumping by yourself!"

Chen Xi did not stay in the Ministry of War for too long. He wanted to see Xie Qian and inform him of what he learned.

The civil servant who came forward to fight against Liu Jin was not Chen Xi, so he would not take the initiative to take responsibility because Xie Qian had a bad attitude towards him before. Chen Xi wanted to give Xie Qian a sweet date so that Xie Qian's heart could quickly calm down and continue to rush to the front line of fighting against Liu Jin.

Chen Xi learned that Xie Qian had left Wenyuan Pavilion, so he rushed to the Ministry of Rites after asking... At this moment, Xie Qian was inquiring about the situation with Zhou Jing at the Ministry of Rites.

Xie Qian had a lot of opinions on Zhou Jing, so he was short of placing him into the eunuch party.

Just when Zhou Jing was facing Xie Qian who was chattering endlessly and felt tortured and could not bear to love, the officials of the Ministry of Rites came forward to report that Minister Chen from the Ministry of War was seeking a meeting outside, and immediately said to Xie Qian: "Yu Qiao, don't blame others. Since you think I'm unfair in doing things, let Zhihou judge the truth."

Not to mention Chen Xi, Xie Qian's attitude was better. When he heard Chen Xi's name, Xie Qian almost had the tendency to beat people and said furiously: "Who do you want to judge me? You have to find a younger child? Don't you know that this kid is so capable now that he can't listen to me even if I say something. He specifically argues with me?"

In front of Zhou Jing, Xie Qian did not save face for Chen Xi, and was full of anger and said whatever he thought. Now he hated Zhou Jing and refused to help him, and hated Chen Xi to sing a counter-tune with him. Now he regarded Zhou Jing and Shen Xi as a group, and believed that Chen Xi was a lobbyist invited by Zhou Jing.

Zhou Jing didn't want to listen to Xie Qian's words. As the Minister of Rites, he would not need Xie Qian's consent to meet anyone he wanted to meet.

As soon as they met, Chen Xi said, "Two old men, according to the information they have obtained, there was no major war between Xuanfu and Zhangjiakou before noon yesterday. Even if there was a good news, it should be after midnight, less than seven hours away... Liu Jin definitely reported his merits in advance, and even the good news was purely false!"

Chen Xi said the words, Zhou Jing smiled slightly, looked at Xie Qian, and said, "Yu Qiao, look, Zhihou has investigated the situation clearly, and then came to report to you. Now I can only say that the news that Liu Jin reported was false, but who knows whether the border will really win a great victory in the past two days?"
To be continued...