Zhang Yuan was serious about reasoning, but Zhu Houzhao couldn't listen at all, so he went in and out of the left ear.

After Zhang Yuan finished speaking, Zhu Houzhao frowned and said, "According to your opinion, Mr. Chen raises money, grain and military funds by himself? The northwest region cannot pay this money, and the imperial treasury cannot pay it. What is that? Where do you ask Mr. Chen to raise it? Humph, you obviously don't want me to fight this battle, right?"

No matter how domineering Zhu Houzhao is, she is still willing to reason with others.

Although Zhu Houzhao is licentious and indecent, he can roughly be clear about public and private affairs and will not be directly punished because what a person says does not conform to his ideas. In particular, Zhang Yuan also told him so many great principles.

Zhang Yuan said: "Your Majesty, have you forgotten who Shangshu Chen is? Shangshu Chen killed tens of thousands of Tatar soldiers at Tumu Fort with less than 10,000 troops and fled in a panic. When he returned to Beijing to serve the king, he even beheaded tens of thousands of Tatar heads... In this case, why did Your Majesty insist on recruiting hundreds of thousands of people and not let Shangshu Chen lead elite troops out of the frontier as before?"

When Zhu Houzhao heard this, he shouted: "You want to say that I don't need to be in charge of the army. Mr. Shen can just take a small number of troops out of the frontier to repeat the miracle of winning with less... When the territory of the Tartars was in a situation where enemies were everywhere and food channels could be cut off at any time... Do you think Mr. Chen is a god?"

"But Your Majesty... the court really can't afford so much money and grain as military funds." Zhang Yuan said with a bitter face.

Zhu Houzhao found that he had actually argued with Zhang Yuan, a slave, and was completely invincible. He immediately looked stern: "I don't want to listen to your explanation. I have intercepted the memorial before, so the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War did not receive a reply... When the court meeting, I was going to settle the matter. Even if the Ministry of Revenue cannot afford 500,000 taels, at least 400,000 taels will be allocated specifically to consolidate the army and prepare for war. It is absolutely impossible to get a half discount."

"Even if Mr. Chen is a genius in command of the army, he will be invincible and defeated, and he cannot be allowed to fight such a three-no war without troops, without food and grass, and without supplies. That is irresponsible to the Ming Dynasty."

Zhang Yuan thought to himself: "I care about how many troops you send. Anyway, as long as I don't blame me for being ineffective... Maybe my eldest nephew is leading the troops outside, and I will cheer for him."

Zhu Houzhao seemed very angry: "My good mood has been destroyed by you, a dog slave. I... I will deal with you again... I will immediately issue a notice after you go back. I will hold a court meeting tomorrow. It is noon. I will definitely not be late this time. I will do whatever it takes. If anyone sings to me, I will want him to feel good!"

"His Majesty……"

Zhang Yuan still wants to continue arguing.

At this time, Zhang Yuan suddenly realized that when he was timid, he was not favored by Zhu Houzhao at all, and insisted that he was incompetent. When he looked like a stern minister and argued with reason, Zhu Houzhao respected him a lot and could discuss things equally. He enjoyed such high-standard treatment.

Zhu Houzhao opened her eyes wide open and stared at Zhang Yuan fiercely.

Zhang Yuan shrank his head and did not dare to speak anymore. Zhu Houzhao then snorted coldly, brushed his sleeves, left the flower hall and went up the theater.

Zhang Yuan finally breathed a long sigh of relief, looked around, then came out of the flower hall with his head raised and left the theater. When he arrived at the yard outside, he happened to see Xiao Tiaozi coming towards him.

"Brother-in-law? Where have you been? You can't see anyone everywhere... You are only here to come back to report to His Majesty?" Zhang Yuan seemed very proud.

Xiao Taozi didn't talk nonsense to Zhang Yuan. He knew that he had been plotted against by the person in front of him, so he had to explain it to Zhu Houzhao as soon as possible so that the emperor would misunderstand that he had left his post without any reason.

Zhang Yuan turned around and looked at Xiao Tuozi's embarrassing back, and smiled sinisterly: "You little guy, do you know how powerful our family is? Sooner or later, I want you to have a good look!"

...

...

That night, Chenxi stayed in the clouds and willows, and he was awakened and he was sleepless.

He kept asking someone to monitor Zhang Yuan's whereabouts. He learned that he had gone to see Xie Qian and went back to the leopard room to see him. He knew that Zhang Yuan had passed the test successfully this time.

"...Zhang Yuan went to see Mr. Xie, I'm afraid he would hit it off..." Chen Xi sighed deeply after hearing Yun Liu's retelling.

Yun Liu seemed very surprised: "Sir, will Mr. Xie help Eunuch Zhang?"

Chen Xidao: "Old Xie Ge Lao has been very generous to the eunuch in charge of the seal of the Sili Supervisor. When he was in the position of chief minister, although his ideas were not consistent, he had never had a head-on conflict with Liu Jin. It was in the view of Mr Xie that the eunuch in charge of the seal of the Sili Supervisor was above him... What would you say if your subordinates met their superiors?"

Yun Liu couldn't believe it: "Mr. Xie is strong and might not cooperate with the internal officials to do things that harm the master, right?"

Chen Xi smiled and looked at Yun Liu, knowing that during his stay in the northwest, Yun Liu had followed Xie Qian for a while in the capital for Liu Jin. He was so impressed that he admired Xie Qian very much and was unwilling to believe his evaluation of Xie Qian.

Chen Xi explained: "It is hard to say whether the two agreed upon is not good for me. However, this time Zhang Yuan suddenly took the chess game, which was forced by His Majesty to flash in too quickly... The court has not approved the amount of food, grass and supplies requested by the Ministry of War. In my opinion, someone transferred the memorial to His Majesty to the Lord to achieve the goal of attacking Zhang Yuan... No one expected that Zhang Yuan had found the correct way to solve the problem. With the help of Master Xie, he should be able to overcome this difficulty smoothly."

Yun Liu asked in confusion: "Sir, is it said that someone intercepted the memorials approved by the Lijian Supervisor and submitted them to Your Majesty? Could it be... to twist the father-in-law?"

Chen Xi shook his head: "I dare not do such a thing because of my courage. Moreover, I have no chance to contact the memorial yet... In my guess, it is possible that the eunuchs in the former Sili Supervisor who had opinions about Zhang Yuan will join forces and secretly stumbling to Zhang Yuan."

"To put it bluntly, Zhang Yuan's ability is too mediocre and it is difficult to convince everyone... A force against Zhang Yuan has been formed in the palace. Zhang Yuan is now facing the most difficult stage in his life!"

Yun Liu said: "Then why didn't the lord help Eunuch Zhang at this time? I guess Eunuch Zhang is willing to join the lord... If the lord can influence the seal of the Sili Supervisor, wouldn't he be able to better control the overall situation of the court?"

"Zhang Yuan is not a good ally."

Chen Xi commented, "At least not now... Zhang Yuan is completely a commoner in the market. In the face of interests, he turned against each other faster than flirting with books. Last moment, he tried his best to curry favor with you. In the blink of an eye, you lost your value. He didn't help, and he wanted to step on a few feet... I know that there are a few capable people among the forces against him. These people are loyal to the Ming Dynasty. If they get to power, they will be more beneficial to the people."

Yun Liu lowered her head thoughtfully, frowned slightly, obviously not very much in agreement with Chen Xi's statement.

Chen Xi smiled and said, "You think that cooperating with capable people may not necessarily be a good thing, and there is a high possibility that people will be plotted against. Then I tell you that the premise of all cooperation depends on what the ultimate goal is, whether it is beneficial to the court and the country, and even at the worst, it can promote economic and people's livelihood development."

"Otherwise, even if you know that you are a mediocre person and cooperate with him, you will get huge benefits, but you also know that he is a treacherous person and will stab him in his back at any time. Everyone will keep a secret, and the result of being prepared everywhere will be to turn against each other."

"I have received the teachings." Yun Liu bowed.

Chen Xi sighed lightly: "When you are alone, you don't have to call yourself a slave. I know you have your own opinions on many things. You are not the kind of person who blindly follows the crowd. I hope you can maintain your uniqueness, because I don't see through a person every time, and you need to refer to different opinions. It's not too early, and I should take a rest. It's very likely that the court meeting will be held tomorrow... This court discussion has been delayed for some time..."

...

...

Everything was as expected by Chen Xi. The news that the Wu Dynasty was about to be held that day was spread throughout the capital's large and small yamen early in the morning.

Although some yamen are not qualified to send people to the palace to participate in this court meeting, it is rare no matter how you say it. After hearing this news, officials were generally excited.

Since Liu Jin's fall, Zhu Houzhao has summoned ministers for the third time. Although the first time he only saw a few ministers, and the second time he directly released pigeons, the three consecutive court meetings in such a short period of time also show that the emperor is developing in the direction of diligence and is beneficial to the court.

Just after Chen Shi, Chen Xi arrived at the Ministry of War. The Minister of the State Council Lu Wan came to inform the court of the court about the matter.

After listening to the content conveyed in the palace, Chen Xi nodded and said, "Mr. Lu is also among the palace today. It seems that Your Majesty is going to be involved in military affairs."

"oh?"

Lu Wan was a little puzzled, "Are you going to discuss the war next year? It's almost the end of the year, and the war next year... how could it be delayed until after autumn? But after autumn... it's about to be winter, and the northwest is where the bitter and cold place..."

Although it was just one or two sentences, Lu Wan's meaning was obvious and wanted to persuade Chen Xi not to insist on using troops at the beginning of the next spring.

Even if we have to fight, we have to delay until the second half of the year.

Chen Xi smiled and said, "The court's discussion on military affairs may not necessarily be about fighting. Perhaps it is just about discussing the court budget for the next year... At that time, you only need to look at the allocation of money and food by each department, so why don't your Majesty know whether he intends to start a war?"

Chen Xi did not show any clear attitude in this matter because he knew that the court was against the use of troops on the grassland next year.

In fact, Chen Xi himself was not sure, but he could not take back what he said, and he did not think that there would be any trouble in the war next year. This was the most powerful Ming Dynasty and the Tatars were in decline. If he did not take the opportunity to take the initiative to kill the Tatars, he would make a comeback without a year or two when the Tatars reintegrate together.

Chen Xi's idea was to completely defeat the main force of the Tatars once and interrupt the pace of success. He could not relieve himself for more than ten or even decades.

As for completely pacifying the grasslands, it is simply unrealistic, because the Ming Dynasty could not send garrison troops to garrison. Even if the Tatars were completely eliminated, new tribes would rise.

The grasslands are constantly changing, from the Xiongnu, Xianbei, and later the Turks, Khitans, etc. As long as this land can raise people, the war between the grassland and the Ming Dynasty will not be interrupted in order to seize resources.

Chen Xi was processing official documents. It was a while before entering the palace. Suddenly, an official came in and reported: "Sir Shen, Xie Zhongtang came to see him. The person has entered the yamen."

"oh?"

When Lu Wan and Wang Chang heard this, they immediately stood up. They had a certain rift with the initiator Xie Qian because they had been included in the eunuch party list. They did not want to meet each other and both chose to avoid it.

Chen Xi took the initiative to say, "The affairs of the Ministry of War will be left to the two adults. I will go to the meeting with Xie Zhongtang in person." After saying that, he took the initiative to get up and go out, preparing to block Xie Qian outside the office to avoid affecting the harmony and stability of the Ministry of War's yamen.

Chen Xi arrived in the yard and Xie Qian happened to come over.

Before Chen Xi could salute, Xie Qian raised his hand: "Eunuch Zhang, the chief minister of the Sili, came to see me last night. It is necessary for me to tell me some things, so as not to say that my husband's obvious and secretly had another trick!"

...

...

Xie Qian and Zhang Yuan reached a consensus on the issue of Chen Xi, but after Zhang Yuan left, Xie Qian thought about it carefully and found something was wrong.

After all, Chen Xi has both the attributes of grandson-in-law and disciple, and is also the backbone of the civil servant group from Hanlin. Zhang Yuan is just a temporary supervisor of the seal. If he just met and negotiated, he chose to part ways with Chen Xi. So he came to the door and "notified" Chen Xi... just to explain the facts.

Chen Xidao: "Master Xie comes in and talks?"

"No need!"

Xie Qian waved his hand, "Today there is Wu Dynasty, and I finally have the opportunity to report the news. I have to find someone to discuss it. I will not stay at the Ministry of War for a long time, so I will do it myself."

Chen Xi thought to himself: "You, Mr. Xie, are so calm. Most of the matters involved in this court meeting are related to me. You didn't negotiate with me and went to find someone else? Or do you want me to keep me and take the initiative to put down your posture and tell you something?"

Chen Xi felt that Xie Qian wanted him to make a request on his own initiative, so he deliberately refused to mention it, and respectfully sent Xie Qian out of the yamen.

Before Xie Qian got on the sedan chair, he looked at Chen Xi deeply, then left in the sedan chair, and Chen Xi bowed to see him off.

When Xie Qiong left, Lu Yuan, who came out to inquire about the news, asked curiously: "Why did Xie Zhongtang leave?"

Chen Xi shrugged and said, "Maybe Xie Ge is going to discuss the matter of Wu Dynasty with someone, so it is not uncommon to leave in a hurry."

Lu Wan widened his eyes and said in confusion: "Then Xie Zhongtang should discuss with Shangshu Chen first. Today's main topics are mostly related to the use of troops on the grassland next year. Is this kind of thing inappropriate to talk to others... Could it be that Xie Zhongtang does not support going to the frontier next year?"

"Who knows?"

Chen Xi smiled bitterly and shook his head without answering... The conflict between him and Xie Qian was already known to everyone in the court and the country, and he was not afraid that Lu Wan would have random thoughts.

When Chen Xi returned to the Ministry of War, Wang Chang also came out of the office and looked at Lu Wan with a consulting gaze.

Chen Xi looked at the sky and said, "Since there is nothing big about the Ministry of War, I will go to the military school first to take a look, and then prepare for the Wu Dynasty... If you have anything to do, wait for the court."

Lu Wan saluted respectfully: "No matter what, the Ministry of War will advance and retreat together. Should this battle be fought next year, or how to fight, everything will be followed by the instructions of Shangshu Chen."

Chen Xi smiled and did not express his opinion, but in fact many things cannot stand scrutiny. After all, Chen Xi is the representative of the pro-war faction.

After Chen Xi left, Wang Chang asked Lu Wan: "What? Didn't you tell Xie Zhongtang..."

"When I came out, Shen Zhihou had already sent Xie Zhongtang to leave. What can I say?" Lu Wan seemed a little impatient. "You have heard what I said just now. No matter what Xie Zhongtang thinks, we will stand with Shen Zhihou. It's all right, after all, with His Majesty's support..."

Wang Chang hesitated and said: "This battle is a waste of money and damages the people, and it is suspected of harming the country and the people..."

Lu Wan said angrily: "If it were someone else, maybe it was, but now Shen Zhihou is leading the war, it may not be."
Chapter completed!