It’s not that Bai Yue can’t understand it, but that he doesn’t want to say it.

Why did Zhang Yuan ask Bai Yue to contact Fei Hong on his behalf? The intention was very obvious, and he wanted to take Fei Hong under his command and use it for his own purposes.

Like Shen Xi, Fei Hong is also a famous child prodigy. He passed the palace examination at the age of thirteen, became the Jie Yuan of the Ganzhou Provincial Township Examination at the age of 16, passed the top scorer at the age of 20, and served as the examiner of the examination at the age of 23. He is well-known in the court. Now he is the Minister of Rites at the age of 40, and his future achievements are limitless.

However, even though Fei Hong had publicly opposed Liu Jin, the old ministers in the court still regarded him as a young boy, always worried that the "young people" would not have a firm will and would easily go astray and affect the stability of the court.

Xie Qian said: "I know that Zichong is a man, but I have learned a lot, but I have been at home for half of the nine-year assessment period. I was promoted to Hanlin Assistant Lecturer a few years ago. After His Majesty ascended the throne, he became the Shaoqing of Taichang Temple. Last year, he served as the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites. He has not made much achievements. If you forcefully promote the leadership of the Ministry of Rites, people may be dissatisfied. I might as well consider the other candidates. As for Bingde, I will stay in the court for a few days first. It will always allow you to beg for bones and return to your hometown to enjoy your old age."

Speaking of this, Xie Qian's tone was filled with emotion.

Bai Yue was still begging for old people to return to the field. He was older than Bai Yue, but now he couldn't get a chance to rest... Of course, this is not whether he had the chance to retreat, but simply that he didn't want to retreat.

After Bai Yue left, Xie Qian wrote a memorial overnight, hoping to send it to the leopard room through special channels so that Zhu Houzhao could know what the situation was in the court now and agreed with his suggestion, but at this time Zhang Yuan had already brought another memorial to meet the saint.

Zhang Yuan’s idea is very simple: “I can’t find my ideal candidate for the Minister of Rites for the time being, so I’ll muddle the water first and use Shen Zhihou to make trouble. Even if you are scolded by His Majesty, it’s worth it.”

Although nightfall had already fallen, Zhu Houzhao had just washed up and was preparing for a new day of fun. Zhengde was in a good mood at this time, mainly because he found a long-lost feeling from Concubine Hua. After Concubine Hua fell out of favor for a few months, she tried every means to rehearse some new programs, including crosstalk, drum song, quickbang, lotus fall, etc., with new repertoire, which immediately touched Zhu Houzhao.

These days, Zhu Houzhao has been preparing to stay at Concubine Hua's place, so that a healthy competition between Concubine Li and Concubine Hua can make him enjoy it more.

In the Leopard Room Flower Hall, Zhang Yuan said a few words when he saw Zhu Houzhao. Emperor Zhengde was in a state of good mood and frowned and asked, "Didn't I ask you to handle it before talking? The candidate for the Minister of Rites has been decided? What did the court officials say?"

Zhang Yuan replied with a smile: "Shen Shangshu of the Ministry of War is both talented and knowledgeable, and can shoulder this important task."

Zhu Houzhao was furious and pointed at Zhang Yuan and cursed: "You dog slave, you sincerely make fun of me, right? Shen Shangshu wants to manage the big military business, and he has been recuperating at home recently. He has transferred him to the Ministry of Rites. Who will manage the affairs of the Ministry of War?"

Zhang Yuan smiled and leaned forward: "Your Majesty, I heard that...Shen Shangshu was pretending to be sick this time and deliberately did not take office at the Ministry of War. Moreover, someone saw that Shangshu Shen left the mansion, and his whereabouts were unknown. Please be careful."

Zhang Yuan thought that reporting Shen Xi would make Zhu Houzhao feel guarded. As expected, Zhu Houzhao's face turned immediately after hearing this. When Zhang Yuan was proud, Zhu Houzhao suddenly asked, "Where did you hear it?"

Zhang Yuan was a little surprised. Shouldn’t Zhu Houzhao express dissatisfaction with gains and losses at this time? Why did he ask about himself instead and immediately replied tentatively: “It was seen by the people in the court with their own eyes, but I have never seen it myself.”

"Don't talk nonsense if you haven't seen it!"

Zhu Houzhao slapped him, and with a "bang", a clear slap appeared on Zhang Yuan's face. When he was turning his head, Zhu Houzhao's shouting came, "Shangshu Chen can't leave the house when he is sick? Where does he need to report to the court? If there are such gossiping villains, they will be dismissed from their posts and investigated... I don't believe that the group of rebels in the court who care about the consequences and speak nonsense have not started fighting the battle to fight the grasslands, and some people are talking in front of me, what if they don't do anything to attack them?"

Zhang Yuan covered his face and opened his mouth, but he was still confused. Zhu Houzhao actually choked back the problem so simply and roughly. He stammered for a long time before he could barely squeeze out a few words: "The candidate for the Minister of Rites..."

Zhu Houzhao said angrily: "You ask me? Why don't you ask the elders in the court? You ask Mr. Xie, or ask Mr. He from the Ministry of Personnel, and ask them to hold a meeting and study it themselves, so that nothing can be disturbed... I hope that when you report to me next time, I will report the candidate directly. If there is so much nonsense, I will take down your position as the chief supervisor of the seal!"

After saying that, Zhu Houzhao left without a smile.

Zhang Yuan stood there, touching his hot face, feeling extremely frustrated, thinking to himself: "Even if he had known that he would be scolded, he would not have been slapped in the face on the spot... What's wrong with Your Majesty? Didn't he just say a few bad things about Shen Zhihou? What kind of magic does my eldest nephew have to make His Majesty trust him so much? Could it be that he really had an old Taoist instructor when he was a child?"

"Eunuch Zhang, it's not too early. The leopard room has to be closed. Look..." A Jinyiwei family was protruding their heads outside the door. Seeing Zhang Yuan stunned in the flower hall, she couldn't help but remind her.

Zhang Yuan came back to his senses and turned his body to yell, "When will the inner courtyard of the leopard room be closed? Is this going to set up an inner curtain in the leopard room?"

The guard replied, "This is your personal order, saying that it is to strengthen the security of the leopard house and prevent people with ulterior motives from regurgitating rebellion... If the father-in-law doesn't go out now, once the ban is lifted, he can only stay in the leopard house. If you enter and exit, you need to approve your Majesty and Commander Money!"

Zhang Yuan was angry when he heard Qian Ning's name, because he could not steal the chicken and lose the rice. If someone saw the slap marks on his face, he would probably be laughed at. Therefore, he did not plan to stay in the leopard room for a long time. In addition to having a high bed and warm pillow when he returned home, he could also discuss countermeasures with Zang Xian.

...

...

In the palace, the night was getting darker, and the banquet was still open in Yongshou Palace.

There were very few people with the banquet. Except for Empress Dowager Zhang, there were only her two younger brothers, namely Hou Shouning and Hou Jianchang. Empress Dowager Zhang wanted to ask about her son's situation, but her information channels were not very smooth. In addition, she knew that the two younger brothers were out of power, so she asked to come to the palace and wanted to comfort her.

In front of Empress Dowager Zhang, four dishes and one soup including roast pork, cold sliced ​​sheep tail, roast chicken, fried bean sprouts and winter melon soup were basically untouched, and she was drinking tea at this time.

There were a little more dishes in front of Hou Ning and Hou Jianchang, and there was also a Autumn Dew White Yellow Wine brewed by the Imperial Wine Floor in the Palace. Generally speaking, it was quite frugal.

Since Emperor Hongzhi passed away, Empress Dowager Zhang would feel lonely whenever night fell. At this time, the two younger brothers were by their side and felt inexplicably comforted.

"...Sister, you said that Your Majesty is in the Leopard Room now and you don't go back to the palace at all. Isn't there a master in this imperial garden?" Zhang Yanling drank a few more drinks and suddenly said something that Queen Mother Zhang heard was so rebellious.

Empress Dowager Zhang said angrily: "No matter where Your Majesty is, he is the master of the Forbidden City and the master of the world of Daming. If you say this, you may be suspected of being disrespectful."

Zhang Heling glared at his younger brother with a angrily glance, and then said to Empress Dowager Zhang: "Please forgive me, Empress Dowager. Marquis Jianchang means, do you advise Your Majesty to return to the palace earlier and preside over the affairs of the court in the palace, so that you can establish a ruling power and make the court and the public convince him?"

Empress Dowager Zhang sighed and said, "Didn't this not fulfill your responsibilities? In fact, the Ai family had wanted to persuade the emperor for a long time, but the emperor never came to see the Ai family. Even the basic greetings were made to waste... The Ai family didn't know why it was so far today."

"Isn't there a traitor in the court who bewitched the holy heart?"

Zhang Yanling said dissatisfiedly, "Especially Shen Zhihou and Xie Yuqiao, they did not take the maintenance of the imperial court's discipline seriously and acted recklessly. It was their indulgence that made His Majesty stay in the leopard room until now and refused to return. These people will be recorded in history and endured the infamous for the eternal reasons."

Empress Dowager Zhang couldn't help but frown. This younger brother was simply a resentful woman from the boudoir and had great prejudice against the world.

Empress Dowager Zhang said: "No matter who is responsible, let me talk about your affairs first... The Ai family has greeted Mr. Xie. Mr. Xie agreed to submit a memorial to Your Majesty to restore your post and garrison in the capital. We always need someone who is trustworthy like you to be responsible... The Ai family has not done much for you, you must cherish it."

Zhang Yanling suddenly became nervous, his eyes widened, and he asked repeatedly: "Sister told Xie Yuqiao? Did he agree? Could it be that he was perfunctory, sister, you? Xie Yuqiao is fighting with Shen Zhihou now. Who doesn't know that Shen Zhihou, who he cultivated himself, snatched his might?"

Zhang Heling glared at his younger brother first, then took over the conversation: "Thank you for your help. If you have the opportunity to serve the court again, my brothers will definitely live up to the kindness of the late emperor and Your Majesty."

Empress Dowager Zhang sighed, "You are relatives of the royal family and the uncle of the emperor's son. It is a great possibility to improve your mistakes... Your Majesty did not punish you, but was temporarily unemployed at home... However, if you return to the court smoothly, you must follow the rules and not do anything wrong again. If you do it again, don't blame the Ai family for not helping you."

When Zhang Yanling heard this, he was secretly happy: "According to what my sister said, this matter is basically guaranteed. After returning, I wait for the edict to arrive... Humph, Shen Zhihou will still fail? In this way, this time it will be like there is no loss. When the official is restored, I will see how I will retaliate against those who look at him coldly."

By the second update, the banquet was almost over, and Empress Dowager Zhang was going back to the bedroom to rest. The Zhang brothers led by Gao Feng to the palace gate.

On the way, Zhang Yanling took advantage of the alcohol to start to imagine a better life in the future: "...If we brothers can re-take the Beijing camp, we must recover the previous losses and return the double that Shen Zhihou gave us!"

Zhang Heling whispered, "What? Do you still have to fight with Shen Zhihou? Humph! If you want to perish yourself, that's your own business. Don't take me to bury you."

Zhang Yanling was stunned: "Brother, what's wrong with you? Are you still afraid that Shen Zhihou would not succeed? How did he target my brother at that time? Did you forget that Zhang family was ruined? Did you give up?"

Zhang Heling sighed and said, "So what if you and my brother can return to the court, you must remember that this is His Majesty's grace, not really innocent..."

Seeing that Zhang Yanling opened his mouth to refute, Zhang Heling increased his voice, "If you hadn't done anything wrong, you wouldn't have fallen into this kind of land today... I think that when our brothers were in charge of the Beijing camp, even if they had some minor bad records, they would not have been rejected by the people in the court, but you... were bullying others with your power. Fortunately, my sister was sheltering us from the wind and rain. If one day the empress dowager is gone, who can protect you and me?"

"I really don't want to hear my elder brother say this. It seems that we rely on our sister for everything we do." Zhang Yanling said dejectedly.

Zhang Heling sneered: "Who do you rely on if you don't rely on the Queen Mother? Do you rely on yourself? Can your knowledge be comparable to those juren who have passed the imperial examination, or can you lead troops to kill the enemy on the front line? Which of the nobles in the court has made a lot of military achievements? Even hereditary nobles must go to the battlefield to practice. Starting from the title of the late emperor, when have you and my brothers been to the battlefield?"

"When the battle to defend the capital..."

Zhang Yanling also wanted to defend himself.

"Save it!"

Zhang Heling sneered, "After going back, we will give gifts to Mr. Xie first, and then to Shen Zhihou. Even if you are unwilling to give up, at least we will worship Buddha first when we enter the temple, and give all the etiquettes first, and then express our uncontested intentions... Civil officials will fight as much as they like, and we can be at ease with our own fault."

...

...

As February entered, the weather gradually became warmer, and the imperial court had put the agenda on the grassland military use, and the pressure on Shen Xi to prepare food and grass was highlighted.

To go to war with the Tatars, the transportation of military rations and materials was a big problem. Although Shen Xi worked at home, his memorials were constantly submitted to the court, urging the court to complete the review of the Ministry of War's use and issue them in a timely manner.

According to Shen Xi's estimate, the amount of money and grain used to send troops to the grassland was astonishing. It would cost about millions of taels of silver to be exchanged for silver. This was based on the quick battle and the price of silver was high. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the cost of silver would be at least five million taels of silver.

Shen Xi promised to raise the money and grain needed to send troops on his own, but the cabinet and the Ministry of Revenue stuck the items used by the Ministry of War and did not even allocate basic expenses, for fear that Shen Xi would use the money for other purposes.

At the beginning of the year, Xie Qian only verbally promised to allocate half of the amount to the Ministry of War less than usual. When the actual allocation was made, he instructed the Ministry of Revenue to delay as much as possible. Now even the expenses required for the Ministry of War to maintain normal operation cannot be guaranteed... This is also a way for Xie Qian to put pressure on Shen Xi.

Can you occupy the Ministry of War and deceive the king into sending troops, but do you have the ability to take the court's decision-making power and take the money and grain away from the Ministry of Revenue?

Xie Qian openly used his power to suppress the Ministry of War to suppress Shen Xi's prestige.

Although Lu Wan and Wang Chang tried to negotiate with the cabinet and the Ministry of Revenue, there was no result. Xie Qian sent a message and after the rest period ended, the budget would be re-authorized after the opening of the government offices in the capital. This means that no funds would be allocated to the Ministry of War before the audit was completed, and Shen Xi would be forced to ask him for it personally.

But Chen Xi didn't want to face Xie Qian. Xie Qian's meaning was very clear. If you don't come to the audit, it would be equivalent to automatically giving up the Ministry of War's annual budget. Even if you have approved half of the budget, you don't know when it will be fulfilled. Then you not only have to raise money and grain on your own, but you have to raise money for the Ministry of War's office by yourself, which will make you worry!

Xie Qian's move was not brilliant in Shen Xi's opinion, and he regarded the rules of the court as a joke. Xie Qian's abusing power had reached a blatant point. As long as Chen Xi complained to Zhu Houzhao, the position of chief minister might be taken down... Xie Qian relied on Chen Xi not to argue with him and openly arroganced.
Chapter completed!