When Zhu Houzhao heard that she was going back to the capital, she was a little crying. Novel.

Are you finally going back?

I have been out for so long and experienced so many difficulties and obstacles on the way. I have to cooperate with Mr. Chen to do so many superficial articles. Now I can finally leave?

When Jiang Bin saw Zhu Houzhao's excited expression, his heart moved and stepped forward to ask for instructions: "Your Majesty, have you arranged for people to make arrangements in the capital?"

Zhu Houzhao came back to his senses and sighed: "I am coming out to understand the people's sentiments, the chaos among the people, and the suffering of the people. I can't bear to leave here and share the joys and sorrows with the victims. However... I have been out for a little while, and I am afraid that there will be chaos in the court, so I can only stop visiting privately, return to Beijing to deal with the affairs of the court, and implement the disaster relief money and food that the people urgently need."

Xiao Zhuozi said admiringly: "Your Majesty is wise!"

Zhu Houzhao didn't want to hear such flattery at all. At this time, his mind was full of one thing, that was, to return to the capital as soon as possible.

No matter how free he was when he went out to play, he didn't have much fun. He couldn't bear the hard work of the journey. At this time, Zhu Houzhao no longer wanted to pay attention to how wonderful the scenery along the way was. Returning to the capital was the top priority.

"Okay, go and talk to Mr. Chen now, I am going to leave and return to Beijing." Zhu Houzhao said to Xiaozhuozi, "Don't take a long way to Juyongguan this time, so just go directly to Zijing Pass, from Fangshan and Liangxiang to Beijing... Jiang Bin, you know the surrounding terrain, and this should be the closest way back to Beijing, right?"

Jiang Bin thought about it carefully and focused on it: "That's right."

Zhu Houzhao smiled and said, "Then let's settle down, let Mr. Chen handle the local affairs well, and don't see any local officials along the way back to Beijing. I am very tired now. Because I have too much difficulty in visiting the people, I occasionally get cold and feel extremely uncomfortable, and I need a good rest. Therefore, I need to save money on red tape... Okay, you go, oh by the way, Jiang Bin, remember to bring two jars of good wine to my room."

Xiao Guozi originally wanted to say, didn’t you say you need to take good care of your body? Why do you still have to drink and have fun?

However, it is obvious that the previous words were just an excuse for the emperor. Even if Xiao Tiaozi was stupid, he knew that he should pretend to be deaf and dumb at this time. The emperor was as determined as an arrow and liked to say some scenes. As a slave, he naturally had to protect his master's face, and even if he understood, he had to pretend to be confused.

In fact, at this time, Xiao Taozi missed the soft pillows in the high beds in the palace and the leopard room, and thought to himself: "I can finally go back to the capital. I will never have to live such a hard life without a fixed place. I have been tormented recently!"

Zhu Houzhao went into the room, and Jiang Bin followed in to serve him. Xiao Tiaozi, who was a close eunuch, was not qualified to serve him.

Xiao Taozi felt a little unhappy. He realized that he was being neglected by the emperor and felt a little jealous of Jiang Bin. But then he thought, if he could really keep Jiang Bin by his side and listen to him, his right to speak would be strengthened in the future, so he suppressed his hostility towards Jiang Bin.

"The people around Your Majesty are like flowing water. Whoever is favored today and who will lose favor tomorrow depends on His Majesty's mood... No, it depends on whether he offended the senior officials in the court. If he offended others, it would be fine. If he offended Lord Shen, he will basically be not far from losing power. Liu Jin and Zhang Yuan are the lessons of the past! This Jiang Bin loves to show off so much, it would be strange if Lord Shen doesn't deal with him."

Xiao Taozi felt a little more calm, as if it was not important to him who was favored. However, he didn't know that Jiang Bin had the ability to be charming, but he instinctively compared Jiang Bin with Qian Ning, feeling that the cycle of favored ministers around the emperor was only one or two years, and the love became weak when the time came, and the new love should appear.

After staying by the king for a long time, Xiao Taozi thought of what Chen Xi said before, rather than be a humble eunuch than compete for the position of the Sili Supervisor as the leader of the seal. Thinking about the lessons of Liu Jin and others, he felt more and more reasonable.

...

...

In the inn, Chen Xi was reading a letter in the room.

Xie Qian had already set off from Juyongguan and returned to Beijing. Before leaving, he wrote a letter to Chen Xi, asking Chen Xi to go to Juyongguan on his way back to Beijing, and dispersed the tens of thousands of troops stationed there.

"... Mr. Xie's letter was sent through a fast horse. He did not submit a memorial to His Majesty, only this letter to the Lord." Yun Liu stood beside him and explained the specific situation.

Chen Xi was relieved that there was no too much criticism in his letter. He knew that Yun Liu respected Xie Qian very much and did not want to destroy Xie Laoer's good image in the minds of fans.

Chen Xidao: "This time I will personally escort Your Majesty back to Beijing. Juyongguan cannot go there for the time being. The cabinet has already allocated people to take over military power through the empress dowager. Now the control of the troops is not in my hands. Besides, those troops are the central army led by Your Majesty himself. How can I be my turn to dispatch and disperse?"

Yun Liu thought for a while and replied: "What Mr. Xie means is that he wants the Lord to take charge of the overall situation as the Minister of War."

Chen Xi shook his head: "I am now the Minister of War, more like a false position. Your Majesty is not in the center. Who will listen to me? Let's talk about everything when you return to the capital. After Your Majesty returns to the capital, the order of the court will be restored. Now I am away, I will make a special trip to Juyongguan to take charge of the troops. The court will criticize me more... I would rather have fewer twists and turns, live a stable life, and accompany Your Majesty to return to the capital to save a lot of lightness."

At this time, Chen Xi looked indifferent to fame and fortune, and did not have the ambition to take control of military and political power in his hands. He was more like a tired traveler returning home.

Yun Liu looked at Chen Xi and clearly felt the tiredness on Chen Xi's face.

Chenxi has been traversing mountains and rivers for a long time in the past few months. Even though he completed the war to conquer the grasslands, the emperor had done so many things on the way back to the capital. Chenxi was tired and miserable, and Yunliu secretly felt sorry for Chenxi.

Yunliu asked for instructions: "Sir, how should I reply to Master Xie?"

Chen Xi waved his hand: "I will write a letter later. Mr. Xie is still willing to reason. He should not force others to do things I don't want to do, right? He will make people detour hundreds of miles to Juyongguan, so he will arrange things that he will not handle them well, but instruct others... Alas!"

Involuntarily, Chen Xi complained, but did not continue.

Yun Liu understood that there was an irreconcilable contradiction between Chen Xi and Xie Qian. The biggest crux of the matter was the identity conflict between Xie Qian, the head of the civil servant group, and the rapidly rising upstart Chen Xi. Who will rule the court in the future will be a problem that everyone will face in the future.

Although Xie Qian now has a high status and occupies an orthodox position, the popularity of Xie Qian is still above Chen Xi's dazzling military achievements and the trust from the emperor.

In this case, it is difficult for the two to work together peacefully, and there will be a fight between open and hidden guns and arrows in the future.

Yunliu asked again: "Sir, do you have to deliver the letter to Master Xie in the shortest time?"

Chen Xi shook his head: "No hurry, he has already returned to Beijing... Haha. I will write the letter tonight and you can send someone to send it. We will set off to Beijing tomorrow. If you go back early, you can spend a few days of worry-free life. The court should rest in the next step. For a long time, I will stay in the capital and stop running around."

"Yes, sir."

Yun Liu bowed and respected Chen Xi from the bottom of his heart.

Chen Xi immediately raised his hand to write a letter, and within a short time he wrote the letter and handed it over to Yunliu to send it away.

...

...

The long night is long, and a small courtyard in Lingqiu City.

In the exquisite bedroom, Chen Xi was lingering with Xier.

Yunliu went to work for the job, but she didn't come here. Xier had a rare opportunity to get along with Chen Xi alone. She cherished it very much and was very pleased with Chen Xi. Finally, Chen Xi vented the manic aura that had accumulated in her heart for a long time.

After everything calmed down, Xier briefly tidied up her body. When she looked up at Chen Xi, she found Chen Xi leaning against the head of the bed, her eyes wide open, as if she was thinking about her thoughts.

"grown ups."

Xier looked at Chen Xi with a little puzzled look.

Although Xier usually likes to talk a lot, she does not have this kind of arrogance in front of Shen Xi. She is like a well-behaved kitten, showing her gentle and charming side to Chen Xi as much as possible, because she understands one truth, that is, Chen Xi treats her as a real woman, not a subordinate in business, so she only needs to do what women should do to win Chen Xi's favor.

Chen Xi did not look down at Xier and said softly: "If you are tired, take a break soon. We will set off to return to the capital tomorrow. Don't you go with your senior sister with me."

"I understand."

Xier lowered her head again, did not snuggle over, but just half-kneeled there, as if she was thinking about her worries.

Chen Xi stretched out her hand and wanted to pull her into her arms, but Xier did not obey. At this time, her expression was sad and adorable, and she had a sad temperament.

"What's wrong?" Chen Xi asked in confusion.

Xier replied: "Sir, senior sister is very hardworking, she..."

Xier wanted to show off her achievements for Yun Liu, but when she raised her head and looked at Chen Xi, she didn't dare to say anything.

Chen Xi sighed, "I know your hard work. After returning to the capital this time, you can live a comfortable life. Although money, land and house may not be what you need, women always need these amulets to stay with you... Let's sleep, I'm a little tired."

"Sir, I need to have a good rest," Xier said with concern.

Chen Xi smiled bitterly: "It's a pity that I don't have the habit of going to bed early. Every time I don't have to fall asleep until the middle of the night. Whenever the night is late, I think of a lot of things. Even now, my mind is filled with things, and you can't understand..."

Xier thought about it and she really couldn't understand Chen Xi's mood. Her affectionate eyes looked at Chen Xi, wanting to warm Chen Xi with her own eyes.

Unfortunately, her eyes could never shine into Chen Xi's heart. She could not understand what Chen Xi was thinking. The two people's thinking could not be synchronized, which was destined that she could not comfort Chen Xi's confused heart.

"grown ups."

Xier felt frustrated and whispered softly, "Isn't I useless? I can't help the adults, and often I have to pull my senior sister's back."

Chen Xi comforted: "Your performance is already very good. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. You and your senior sister have helped me a lot. I am very grateful to you!"

Hearing this, Xier finally breathed a sigh of relief, but she really wanted to find a way to share Chen Xi's worries, but unfortunately, she didn't have the ability at all and felt powerless for a moment.

Finally, she could only lean over slowly, lay in Chen Xi's arms, and looked up at Chen Xi's firm face, as if she wanted to see through what Chen Xi was thinking, but at this time Chen Xi didn't care about her at all. She looked at her something that Xier yearned for. Xier looked at her for a long time and didn't fall asleep until she was tired.

...

...

Xie Qian returned to the capital, and the government and the country were attentive.

Zhu Houzhao has not returned to Beijing for the time being, but the Zhengde Dynasty has a characteristic. The emperor only plays a symbolic role. The affairs inside and outside the court are mainly done by civil servants. After Xie Qian came back, he was considered a reassurance for many officials in the court. He did not need to take responsibility for anything else in the future. He came to ask Xie Qian directly, and even if something happened, someone would take responsibility.

The emperor was not in the court, the chief minister was not in the house, and the seal of the Sili Supervisor was vacant. Most people did not want to take the initiative to take responsibility. There were very few ministers like Yang Tinghe who stood up and were brave enough to serve.

After Xie Qian came back, he did not go to see Yang Tinghe immediately. Many things did not need to be done immediately in Xie Qian's opinion. Instead, he felt that it was more important to ensure the normal operation of the six ministries, especially when the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue were not present, and the Minister of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites were in poor health and could not support the overall situation.

The first thing Xie Qian did when he returned to the court was to visit He Jian.

When old friends meet, they will naturally feel a lot of emotion. This separation lasted for more than half a year. He Jian couldn't help but feel relieved when he saw Xie Qian. Although the official positions and identities of the two were no different from those before, the past six months were enough to change the pattern of the court. After the war against the Tatars ended, the court was also reshuffled.

The two sat down in He Jian's study, first exchanged greetings, without rushing to talk about official business, but in the end, Xie Qian took the initiative to open up the conversation and told He Jian in detail what happened in Juyongguan to the capital, and even from Weizhou to Lingqiu.

He Jian sighed: "Your Majesty's child is actually very particular. He doesn't care about so much attention in the court and goes to folk entertainment without authorization. Fortunately, the situation is pretty good. Zhihou cleverly arranges his travel as a patrol place to investigate the sufferings of the people. This not only solves a political crisis smoothly, but also makes the people feel the mighty power of the dragon. Zhihou's trip can be said to be worthy of his mission."

He Jian had a high opinion of Chen Xi. He knew that he had not been the Minister of Personnel for long. The next step was very likely to be Chen Xi to replace him. He also tended to be Chen Xi to take over. This young man was properly and steadily. No matter how he looked at it, Chen Xi used smooth means to solve the problem.

Perhaps only He Jian, who knew the emperor's temper, knew Chen Xi's good intentions. Many people in the court thought that the emperor really understood the people's sentiments.

Xie Qian asked, "Do you really think so?"

He Jian smiled and said, "Yu Qiao, looking at your expression, I still can't let go. I thought you could treat it with a normal heart. You said that this battle should not be fought before, but now it's not the case after the battle. The grasslands are pacified, the borders of the Ming Dynasty are stable, and the treasury has not suffered much damage. The next step is that the court's focus will be on developing people's livelihood. The national strength will not last long. What else can you worry about?"

He Jian was very relaxed in his words. He was very satisfied with what happened in the past six months and did not want to hold on to some braids.

Xie Qian said: "It's okay for Zhihou to do things, but the key is that His Majesty has too much trust in him. He can encourage His Majesty to fight this battle, and there will be other risky actions next time... You and I can still stop you. If you retreat in the future, who will advise you? Or, even if someone stands up at that time, can he stop Zhihou? I think it's so unlucky!"

...

...

Xie Qian was very stubborn. No matter how kind he expressed to Chen Xi before, he had a deep prejudice in some things.

He believed that Chen Xi was abusing power and gradually broke away from control, and this perception did not change from beginning to end. As for Chen Xi's rise in the position of the court, including using Chen Xi to do something now, it seems to him that it is a matter of course and will not affect his overall judgment of Chen Xi.

He Jian heard Xie Qian's words and sighed: "It seems you still can't let go."

Xie Qian said: "It doesn't matter if you can let go, you can't let go. Zhilong is good at doing things, and he has become the most favored minister around His Majesty. We old guys have to stand aside. His achievements are enough to remember history, but don't forget that all of what he did is based on taking risks. The result looks good, but what about the process? If there is a mistake in the middle and the failure, what will the Ming Dynasty go?"
To be continued...