Lu Wan left Chenxi and returned to the room where he lived in Guancheng Inn.

Wang Chang has been waiting here for a long time.

It was already dark, and Wang Chang was a little sleepy. He sat on a bamboo chair and was dozing. Under the dim candlelight, he didn't even pay attention to Lu Wan's return.

"Why did you come back?"

Hearing the sound of the table and chair moving, Wang Chang suddenly opened his eyes and saw Lu Wan sitting on the chair next to him, pouring tea and drinking it. He couldn't help but ask.

Lu Wan smiled and said, "I talked about the matter in the court, and then talked about the family matters, so I'm late to come back."

Wang Chang nodded relievedly: "It's a good thing that you can talk together...what did he say?"

Lu Wan roughly told Wang Chang what Chen Xi said, and finally talked about Chen Xi's decision to go to Weizhou to persuade Zhu Houzhao to return to Beijing in order to hide from Qingjing, which made Wang Chang's face become solemn.

"What, Zhihou said he was going to Weizhou? What's going on?" Wang Chang looked solemn and sighed, "There are a lot of criticisms from the government and the public now. If Zhihou leaves Juyongguan, he will be violently impeached by the censor... Everyone knows that he has a strange weapon in Xuanfu. Once the troops are raised to rebel, the Ming Dynasty will be in danger! It is better to be quiet than to move. If I am him, I will choose to stay and see what the situation is with His Majesty, and then decide what he does... What do you think?"

Wang Chang expressed his opinion and then looked at Lu Wan with a proof-seeking gaze.

Lu Wan smiled bitterly and said, "If Zhihou really wanted to cause trouble, he would not take the initiative to leave the elite soldiers and generals in Xuanfu. If he really wanted to rebel, the army would have the best time to take action on the way back to Juyongguan. At that time, only he knew the whereabouts of Your Majesty, and the army was not prepared for him. The generals of Juyongguan were his people. It can be said that it was easy to lead troops into the capital, and it was impossible to take action until now."

"In addition, this time, Zhihou said that he wanted to go to Weizhou to avoid criticism from the government and the opposition. It is actually easy to understand. His Majesty just disappeared, and a censor impeached him. In addition, there are people in the capital who are targeting him everywhere, spreading rumors and fueling the fire, creating a lot of public opinion. It is very embarrassing for him to stay here."

"For a long time, Zhihou has been relying on His Majesty's protection to him to reach his current position step by step, and even formed a strife with Master Xie..."

In his words, Lu Wan's attitude towards Chen Xi was very objective and understanding, which fully reflects the concern of an elder for his younger generation.

After a little thought, Wang Chang nodded and said, "It would be a good thing if Zhihou really wants to go to Weizhou to welcome the emperor. Anyone in the court knows His Majesty's nature except him? I heard that Xie Yuqiao will arrive at Juyongguan in ten days and a half months. I am afraid that Xie Yuqiao also wants Zhihou to welcome the emperor. In the future, the old and young... will have to argue in the court."

Lu Wan smiled faintly and asked, "Will they really argue?"

A single sentence made Wang Chang fall into a state of confusion, and after thinking for a while, he couldn't find the answer.

Lu Wan continued: "Before using troops to the grassland, we had already fought for what we should fight. Everyone knows how the result was. After the war, I also asked Your Majesty to issue an order to let Mr. Xie return to Beijing as soon as possible. The current situation is probably because Mr. Xie will train Mr. Xie as his successor. Fortunately, Mr. Zhihou is still young and his parents are alive..."

Lu Wan stopped talking about this, but the potential meaning is very obvious. The fact that the health of his parents means that no matter which one of his parents dies, Chen Xi can only return to his hometown to observe the system. There may be a turnaround in the court in three years. Even if Chen Xi takes power for a certain period of time, he cannot achieve complete smooth flow. There are many details to operate.

Wang Chang shook his head: "It may not be necessary to take over. I think Xie Yuqiao has always treated Zhihou as a ministry to train him, and basically eliminated Zhihou's way to enter the cabinet. The ministry that does not enter the cabinet has never had the authority of a Grand Secretary. I am afraid of His Majesty... Many times, His Majesty is used to being alone!"

When Lu Wan heard this, she fell into deep thought and the room was quiet.

...

...

Regarding Chen Xi’s positioning after returning to the capital, it was not something that Wang Chang and Lu Wan could analyze.

Lu Wan and Wang Chang were not worried that Chen Xi would serve as the Minister of the Six Ministry of Personnel, and even became the Minister of Personnel.

Because according to the Ming Dynasty official system, the six ministries belong to the executive level, and the decision-making power is in the hands of the cabinet and the Sili Supervisor. It is not the six ministries that connect with the emperor. What they fear most is that Chen Xi controls the cabinet or the Sili Supervisor, which will mean that Chen Xi has the authority of Liu Jin in the past.

The Ming Dynasty was very cautious about civil officials. Even if he was as noble as a cabinet minister, he had only the right to advisers and senators, and had no power to deal with practical matters. So there was no real power to have a cabinet chief who was powerful in the court and the opposition before the Jiajing Dynasty. Even Liu Jian could not resist the emperor's suppression of the cabinet by the short-term emperor ascended the throne.

Chen Xi naturally understood this. If he wanted to be powerful in the court, the best way was to be a chore of the cabinet and the six ministries. In the Ming Dynasty, the cabinet ministers were mostly empty positions and had no real power. If Chen Xi wanted to set a precedent in history, he would inevitably encounter a lot of resistance, so he was not so enthusiastic about entering the cabinet.

Now everyone is guarding against Chen Xi’s abuse of power, but he has a very clear positioning of himself and knows that he will do what he does not do.

After Lu Wan left, Chen Xi hurriedly wrote a letter to Xie Qian, urging Xie Qian to return to Beijing earlier to preside over cabinet affairs. As he promised Lu Wan, he prepared to leave Juyongguan the next day and go to Weizhou.

The next morning, Chen Xi was packing his luggage. Gao Feng came to see him and brought Empress Dowager Zhang's will.

"...Mr. Shen, the Empress Dowager said that if Your Majesty is not here, anyone can be in trouble, but you cannot be in trouble. If you are not in charge of the army, there will be trouble, especially the Northwest generals. Only you can suppress them. It is best not to leave Juyong Pass!"

Gao Feng persuaded Chen Xi with great sincerity.

As for what Queen Mother Zhang’s real intention was to keep people, Chen Xi had no idea, but it was roughly judged that Queen Mother Zhang showed kindness to him rather than suppressing him.

Chen Xi said in his heart: "The person who cares about Your Majesty the most is not me, nor is he a court official, but Empress Dowager Zhang. The mother and son are connected by blood. No one can shake this family affection. Although Empress Dowager Zhang does not have much ability, at least he understands that the court should be based on stability now and cannot add to chaos!"

Chen Xidao: "Eunuch Gao reminds you that now that Your Majesty is on tour, the foundation of the court is unstable. I hope to persuade Your Majesty back as soon as possible. I just got the news that Eunuch Zhang and Eunuch Guo had no chance to meet the saint after they arrived in Weizhou, so... I want to go there in person!"

"No! You must not go!"

Gao Feng widened his eyes and said nervously, "The Empress Dowager told me that you must stay and take charge of the overall situation. If necessary, Lord Shen even needs to go back to Beijing to take charge of the center. Your Majesty is not here, only Lord Shen can shock those royal families with wolfish ambitions. No one can do it except you...! Let's go back now, you must remember that Juyongguan is indispensable!"

After saying that, Gao Feng hurriedly told the envoy of the capital city about the feedback from Chen Xi, and then notified the Empress Dowager Zhang and went there hurriedly.

...

...

Gao Feng's back disappeared behind the door, and Chen Xi was very confused, wondering why Empress Dowager Zhang suddenly relied on him.

"Isn't Empress Zhang the most important thing about Xie Yuqiao? Now that Xie Yuqiao is not here, you won't be confused. This mainstay of the Ming Dynasty has never been a person who understands military affairs, but a minister of the cabinet. If anyone can fight, he will be valued. I am afraid that the civil servants of the Ming Dynasty will give way to those military generals and nobles!"

Chen Xi pondered for a long time and suddenly felt the pressure from the capital. He speculated whether some people or forces could not help but put pressure on him or even killed him.

"Ai Hong impeached me, which represents the idea of ​​an orthodox civil servant, to prevent me from abusing power, to suppress my power in the Ministry of War, and to encourage Xie Yuqiao to return to Beijing earlier to preside over the overall situation... And is the empress dowager showing kindness to me, so that I can relax my vigilance? As the emperor's mother, how could Empress Dowager Zhang not understand my threat to the royal family?"

"grown ups?"

When Zhu Hong saw Chen Xi motionless like a sculpture, he couldn't help but make a reminder.

Chen Xi's mind was clear and funny at his suspicion. He explained: "The letter was sent to Mr. Xie earlier. As long as Mr. Xie follows the official road, he will definitely receive it. He will send someone back to the capital to ask about the situation at home... After coming out for a long time, I also want to know if my family is safe!"

"yes!"

Zhu Hong took the order and left, not sure that this was a means of Chen Xi's retreat to advance.

Only by making others realize that he, a hero, has no ambition and is focused on his family, will he not be too cautious about him, but he will not be willing to give up all his power and become an ordinary person.

On the other hand, after Gao Feng returned, he quickly explained the situation that the eunuch in charge of Yongshou Palace who was about to rush back to the capital that Chen Xi was going to persuade the emperor to come back, and asked the other party to return to Beijing and report to Empress Dowager Zhang.

The current situation is that everyone should beware of Chen Xi's rebellion. Even Gao Feng's vigilance against Chen Xi has reached a certain level. With Zhu Houzhao's delay in returning, Juyongguan and even the capital have become a state of panic. Many people are worried that all this is a carefully set up by Chen Xi, and the safety of the emperor has become the focus of public attention.

After all, Xiao Taozi, Zhang Yong and others have not seen Zhu Houzhao. Whether the emperor was detained by Chen Xi or actually went to Weizhou, no one could tell me why.

"Why do you have to worry so much? With Shen Zhihou's character, he will not do anything unfavorable to the Ming Dynasty!" When Dai Yi went to see Gao Feng, he saw that his old friend was restless and could not help but persuade him.

Gao Feng shook his head helplessly: "Do you think our family is willing to do this? Isn't this the Queen Mother urged me? While our family wants to appease Lord Shen, we have to feedback the real situation here. It is difficult for our family to determine Lord Shen's attitude. So many people are talking about him, even if he does not rebel, he may be forced to rebel!"

Dai Yi said: "I heard what you mean, Shen Zhihou didn't want to rebel at first, but he would be forced to rebel in the end?"

Gao Feng shook his head: "No one knows Shen Zhihou's idea. If His Majesty will make the matter public on the day of his disappearance, there may not be so much right and wrong, but he obviously hides the facts. No wonder some people think that he has ulterior motives!"

...

...

Zhu Houzhao is basically eating, drinking, having fun, and indulging in love with her, and not caring about the situation outside the courtyard.

For him, he just changed his place to have a different entertainment. As for the capital, Xuanfu, Zhangjiakou, or Weizhou, the effect was the same. He just changed his individual to arrange programs for him. Jiang Bin was just more appropriate than Liu Jin, who had seen the best job before.

Jiang Bin's greatest ability is that he can grasp the emperor's preferences and cater to everything. Before, he helped Xiao Tiaozi and Concubine Li's affairs, he was deeply loved by Emperor Zhengde. However, now he directly connects with Zhu Houzhao. Without the constraints of the middlemen, all the contributions to pleading the emperor belong to him.

These days, Zhu Houzhao has almost become obsessed with selflessness in Weizhou. Jiang Bin didn't know how to find any magic pills for Zhu Houzhao, but he knew that looking for Dali Pills from the people was basically the same as the elixirs offered by Sima Zhenren, and the heavy metal components were missing, which made Zhu Houzhao not feel the heavy pressure. She was happy and could enjoy it every time.

In addition to sending a large number of women to Zhu Houzhao, Jiang Bin gave away many female actors in the Southern Opera troupe. After a few days, Zhu Houzhao was addicted to the leisure and joy, and basically did not mention the continued travel.

However, at this time, Jiang Bin encountered trouble. Xiao Taozi and Zhang Yong found his residence and blocked him.

"Duanshu? Why are you old?"

Jiang Bin had never met Zhang Yong and did not know the famous eunuch in charge in the palace. Hu Lian and Qian Ning did not come this time, but a small knot was enough for him to drink. Although Jiang Bin relied on the emperor to favor and act recklessly, he knew that his actual position and power were still quite different from a big eunuch like Xiao Kouzi, so he seemed very humble.

Xiao Tiaozi said to Zhang Yong: "Please close the door of the room! Lord Jiang, let me introduce you to you. This Eunuch Zhang Yong and Zhang have followed Lord Shen several times to fight, from Tumu Fort to Huguang, and then to this time to go to the grassland to make great achievements! Be careful!"

Because Xiao Tiaozi knew that it was not so convenient to suppress Jiang Bin now, he tried his best to show his majesty when speaking, which was quite a bit like using Shen Xi's power and pretending to be a tiger's power. He even introduced Zhang Yong, who had been the eunuch of Shen Xi's military supervisor, to act as a shield.

The place they were in at this time was a private house in the north of Weizhou City. This was occupied by Jiang Bin using his power, and was only one street away from his old house.

Xiao Taozi and Zhang Yong waited outside for three or four hours, and finally caught Jiang Bin. With no way to avoid it, they could finally get together to talk.

Xiao Tiaozi took out a high momentum, but in fact he felt a little guilty because he knew that he might not be able to control Jiang Bin now.

But he didn't know that Jiang Bin was even more guilty than him.

Jiang Bin said with a stern statement: "My father-in-law came from Juyongguan all the way, but he didn't know what was going on?"

Xiao Tiaozi said, "Mr. Jiang, our family came to see you. In fact, he was ordered by the Minister of War Shen, to accompany Commander Qian of the Jinyiwei and Hu Lian and Hu Zhongcheng to persuade Your Majesty to return to the capital, and at the same time protect Your Majesty's safety. Please don't let Master Jiang say to Your Majesty, Lord Hu wants to meet the saint and present Lord Shen's words to Your Majesty."

Xiao Guozi was very smart. He discussed with Zhang Yong countless times. Since the two of them, as slaves, could not meet the emperor directly, it would be better to push Hu Lian to meet the saint. The matter of asking them to meet is also left to Jiang Bin. As for Shen Xi's request to persuade the king to return to Beijing, he would also focus on it, so that the emperor would know that they did not come on their own initiative, but were instructed by Shen Xi.

When Jiang Bin heard this, he was frightened and thought to himself: "Your Majesty is in a state of excitement, how could he leave easily? Besides, Your Majesty was already furious when he learned that someone was coming to persuade him to go back and asked to continue traveling to avoid harassment. If I go to report, wouldn't I ask for trouble?"

But then he thought again, "Anyway, Lord Shen and several father-in-law came to persuade me. I just treat it as the messenger. Even if His Majesty is angry, he will not take his anger on me, right?"

So Jiang Bin said, "Grandpa and Eunuch Zhang, please forgive me. It's not that the young man refused to communicate with His Majesty. His Majesty has been very busy these days and has no time to meet him. The young man doesn't hide it. His Majesty is indeed here, but the young man is just an imperial guard. Isn't it embarrassing for the young man to pass on the message?"

Xiao Taozi and Zhang Yong had heard Chen Xi's words before, and had observed the whole way, probably judging that the emperor was in Weizhou, but it was not until this time that he was truly confirmed.

When the two looked at each other, they had a sense of ease to return their hearts to their stomachs. As royal slaves, the emperor's safety was above everything else and they could not be neglected.

Xiao Zhuozi said, "Mr. Jiang, if you don't go to spread the news and ask for instructions, do you want our family and Eunuch Zhang to meet? As your Majesty and his close minister, you must know the right position and what to do. Don't you understand?"

Jiang Bin also learned a little harder at this time and said, "Brother-in-law, even if you are embarrassed by the small one, there is no way. You are the one around Your Majesty. Can you interfere with what Your Majesty is? The young man has not been working around Your Majesty for a long time, but the basic principles are still clear. If Your Majesty blames you, I am afraid that the villain will not be able to take it. Otherwise, you two try to meet Your Majesty..."

Xiao Guozi was a little anxious and was about to argue with Jiang Bin, Zhang Yong asked, "Where to see you?"

Jiang Bin was stunned, and then realized that the two of them did not know the specific situation of the emperor very well. Now they depended on him, so they became even more angry and said, "How can you tell your Majesty the whereabouts to outsiders casually? If your Majesty encounters danger, it is afraid that this little soldier will be difficult to maintain intact!"

Xiao Zhuozi said angrily: "Mr. Jiang, what you mean is not to cooperate, do you believe it or not..."

Jiang Bin was really scared when Xiao Tiaozi threatened, but Xiao Tiaozi was dissuaded by Zhang Yong halfway through his words. Jiang Bin suddenly understood that Xiao Tiaozi was just a scare and could not do anything to him.
To be continued...