Xie Qian thought he could participate in the selection of Sili Supervisor's seal, but unexpectedly, Zhu Houzhao didn't even say hello to him.

In this way, Xie Qian could only rely on his hopes to influence Chen Xi, but he did not want to summon him on his own initiative, so as not to be said to be "bullying the small ones with the big ones", and to prevent others from participating in his "internal and external collusion". In the end, the Sili Supervisor's Seal and Chief Seal was connected with him, the chief minister of the cabinet, and he could only wait for Chen Xi to come to see him on his own initiative.

But after waiting around, Chen Xi did not come, but instead waited for Zhang Mao.

Zhang Mao did not come to pay a visit, but before he went to see Chen Xi, he came over to meet him and asked him for some advice.

Xie Qian was not very happy, but he could not express it in front of Zhang Mao, but with Zhang Mao's experience, he could naturally appreciate something.

"...Yu Qiao, so are you. Since Zhihou hasn't come to see you, it's okay if you take the initiative to see him! You are all avoiding suspicion now, but the matter must be a degree, right? Didn't you say that, the personnel participating in the selection of the Sili Supervisor's printing will face the same test questions, mainly involving votes and red comments. No matter what, the cabinet should be the question, right?" Zhang Mao was a little helpless towards Xie Qian and couldn't help but persuade him.

Originally, Zhang Mao didn't want to persuade him because he was unwilling to be involved in the struggle within the civil service group, but when he thought that the two people who were fighting were Xie Qian and Chen Xi, Zhang Mao felt that he was qualified to say a few words.

Everyone thought that Xie Qian and Chen Xi were just a temporary conflict. The relationship between the old and the young was very close, but Chen Xi was promoted by Xie Qian himself, and even had a marriage relationship. In short, the old and the young will reach an agreement on the court at a certain point in the future, and people who talked about it would naturally benefit from it. If anyone provoked the disagreement, it would definitely not be able to fall.

Zhang Mao also believed that Xie Qian and Chen Xi needed such an intermediary to reconcile. What the old, young and young lacked is communication, and as long as they were told, it would not be a big problem.

Xie Qian was cold and said: "I'm so old that I have to go to see a little guy regardless of my face? In addition, although His Majesty said he would add an assessment and disposal of government affairs in the selection of Sili Supervisor's Prints, he did not say that he would choose from ready-made cases, and he might make up an incident as an exam question... He didn't take the initiative to come to see me and introduce the situation. Do I have to use my old face to stick his cold butt?"

If someone else comes to persuade him, Xie Qian may not be willing to listen. Even if he is a person like He Jian, Xie Qian will contradict him in person.

But Zhang Mao was different. After all, he was the Duke of England. He served three emperors and was much older than Xie Qian. He was a figure like a giant pillar in the Ming army.

Although Zhang Mao was stupid when he was old and only wanted to be moderate and not make mistakes when doing things, he was never vague about major matters. Xie Qian had no confidence to get angry in front of Zhang Mao and could only complain.

Xie Qian, who usually relies on his seniority, turned into a willful young man in front of Zhang Mao. He needed Zhang Mao to persuade him with kind words, and Zhang Mao would not look down on others because of this.

Zhang Mao sighed, "That's right. If he doesn't come to see you, he won't say hello to me... However, I heard that he is staying in the Ministry of War, the Leopard Room and the home. Yu Qiao, you can actually find someone to convey your opinion. It's better than being sulking alone here. Otherwise... I'll go over to tell you this time?"

Xie Qian said, "Honey, why bother you? He is a young man, even if he is borne by the emperor's order, shouldn't be so arrogant and avoid him! By the way, did His Majesty say that he will make the decision on this matter? What committee, in my opinion, is like a fool, and he has done so many articles to choose a eunuch. Why not leave it to the minister to discuss during the court?"

Zhang Mao shook his head helplessly: "If you can go to court to decide, I need to come to visit and discuss? Isn't this because Your Majesty refuses to hold a court meeting? We can only make the most beneficial response based on the changes in the situation... Let's put it this way, I have discussed with Mr. Xia. This time I will try to elect a respected old eunuch to be the chief eunuch of the Silis. This will make the court more stable. There will never be people like Liu Jin who harms the country and the people, causing the court to fall into chaos."

Xie Qian had a dark face and didn't say anything, as if he was expressing an attitude. Can you decide if you say it?

Zhang Mao saw that Xie Qian seemed not to be tempted by his proposal and continued to explain: "I don't want you to come in. I'll discuss who is more qualified to be in charge of the Silijian, whether Eunuch Gao or Eunuch Dai is suitable? Or select from the old men who were the former emperor!"

The selection criteria for eunuchs in the court are different from those of civil servants. After being dismissed or resigned, even if they bid farewell to their careers, just like Liu Jian and Li Dongyang, no matter how powerful they were in the past, they were only idle now and could not control the court. Emperor Zhengde would basically not use them again in the future, unless a new emperor ascends the throne.

In the past, the imperial court used retired officials to engage in some irrelevant chores, such as education and local education, and many of them were helpless choices without suitable candidates.

But eunuchs are different. Many eunuchs can still be used even if they are idle for many years. They even have important positions such as the Sili Supervisor's seal or the eunuch who holds pen. Many eunuchs in the history of the Ming Dynasty have experienced ups and downs. They are always royal slaves. The emperor uses them whenever he wants to, and there is no need to care about the issue of forming cliques and private interests after the eunuchs are launched.

So Zhang Mao’s meaning was to discuss with Xie Qian the selection of an old eunuch from the Hongzhi Dynasty to take charge of the ritual sect. Among them, Xiao Jing, who is the most admired and mentioned repeatedly.

Xie Qian shook his head: "Mr. Zhang, it's better not to mention this matter. Your Majesty will not agree. If you insist on doing it alone, you will only make yourself unhappy. Don't you say it now, you only choose among the dozen people. Eunuch Dai and Eunuch Gao have no intention of competing, just fill in a name, and in the end you won't have the chance to get promoted... Your Majesty likes younger eunuchs."

Not only did Zhu Houzhao not want to use the old man, but Xie Qian also didn't want to, because he was very afraid of the old eunuchs who were in and outside the palace. He felt that these people had deep foundations and were ambitious, and they would have fewer concerns when they were old. Once they were promoted, they would be in charge of the same position as Liu Jin and Zhang Yuan... Think about even young eunuchs with shallow foundations like Zhang Yuan, who would not obey the command once they were promoted, and would repeatedly make their own decisions, which caused a lot of trouble.

Zhang Mao frowned: "Then Yu Qiao, what do you think? You won't want to stand by and wait for Your Majesty to give the final order, let Zhihou lead the process of the incident from beginning to end, right?"

Xie Qian didn't know what to say, so he shook his head and sighed: "Do I have any choice?"

Zhang Mao really wants to say, you really don’t, but I’m here to ask you and see what countermeasures are there. After a while of silence, he said:

"Then follow the selection criteria proposed by Zhiqiang. It is like the imperial examination, with the results placed there. After the result comes out, the name of the person who performed the best will be sent to His Majesty, and His Majesty will personally entrust him to... If His Majesty has prejudice against this person, then submit it in order according to the order, and there will be a suitable one."

Xie Qian frowned and said, "There will always be subjective conjectures in the assessment. Who can ensure that there is no private teaching or acceptance?"

Zhang Mao smiled bitterly and said, "Yu Qiao, you are making things difficult for you. I don't say anything about you. Now I am worried about this and that, but you are trying to point out a clear way... I left you and went to see Zhihou immediately. If you have any opinions, I can not reveal what you mean, just say it is my own opinion... Can Zhihou not understand us old guys?"

Xie Qian wanted to say, aren’t you going to make him understand you? Isn’t it a delusion? I immediately shook my head: “What I’m afraid of is that someone is waiting for an opportunity to do something. I heard that there are many people who have given gifts in the capital these days. Now Your Majesty has not completed the reward of the soldiers on the war, and he has also made the election for the Chief Secretary. Is it intentional to cause storms in the court? What I mean is that it is up to Your Majesty to decide, and it is best for others not to be involved, otherwise if there is a problem, who will bear the responsibility?”

"You... aren't you just standing by? What's the point of coming to see you?" Zhang Mao smiled bitterly, feeling helpless.

Xie Qian said: "You are responsible for supervising Zhihou. That kid is too radical in his work. If he wants to interfere in the court, he will definitely make a fuss about this matter. In this way, Mr. Zhang should be able to help, right?"

Zhang Mao first thought about it and confirmed that there was no problem before nodding slightly to agree.

Xie Qian said again: "Who will be the position of the Sili Supervisor in charge of the seal will never be decided by the foreign minister. This is the matter in the palace. It is best to ask the queen mother what she meant first. Unfortunately, I have no chance to enter the palace these days..."

"and you……"

Zhang Mao thought for a while, and finally shook his head, "Don't go, Your Majesty suddenly raised Master Xia, you should smell some signs, right?"

Xie Qian sighed, "It is precisely because of this that I have not left. Some time ago, the Empress Dowager seemed to have a rift with His Majesty because of the mentor's affairs. His Majesty did not even set foot in the palace after returning to the court, but just sent someone to invite the Empress Dowager to the Empress Dowager... Things seemed not very good."

After thinking for a while, Zhang Mao sighed: "You did not make any arrangements before returning to the capital. I thought that with your wisdom, everything should be considered in advance. Who knew that when Your Majesty went out to patrol the people's situation, the court would make jokes. There is still discussion among the people. Where should you put your Majesty's face?"

Xie Qian did not comment on what Zhang Mao said and continued: "After seeing Zhihou, don't say you have been to me, you must have told him to deal with it impartially. The position of the Chief of Secretariat and Seals seems simple, but in fact, everyone is paying attention to it. Liu Jin is the one who harms the country and the people in this position... The less you ask or don't ask about the affairs of the court, the more important this position is."

"Um."

Zhang Mao nodded again.

Xie Qian finally sighed heavily: "This matter is probably going to cause another stir. According to the current standard of Your Majesty's selection of people, it is definitely to choose a villain who can make money for him, rather than a wise man. Zhihou should see a little sign. If he acts completely according to His Majesty's wishes, it will only make the court more chaotic in the end. If he doesn't obey, he will think that it will be replaced in the seal of the Sili Supervisor."

Zhang Mao snorted lightly: "You thank Yuqiao now for being embarrassed? But this guy is always too short of that guy. He is simply sharing the trouble for you, but you never appreciate it!"

Of course, Xie Qian would not "understand" Chen Xi because he felt that Chen Xi did not follow the route he planned and was a rebellious person. How could he get his recognition?

However, Zhang Mao and other old ministers in the court had different views from Xie Qian.

In their eyes, the civil servant group should be determined not to make trouble, so that they can guarantee the interests of the elderly in the court. The gap between Shen Xi and Xie Qian is obviously caused by Xie Qian's inhumane relationship, so they unconsciously came to persuade Xie Qian, hoping that Xie Qian would take a better look.

Zhang Mao and others persuaded the young people that they obviously had no experience, so they could only persuade Xie Qian. This was also related to their good relationship with Xie Qian in private. As for Chen Xi, they did not think that Chen Xi had done too much mistakes. At least in the fight against Liu Jin and the two major events of the Battle of Tatars, Chen Xi's persistence was right. It not only relieved the crisis in the court, but also cleared the border troubles that had plagued the Ming Dynasty for many years, so that they, the powerful people, could rest assured and continue to live a drunken life and dreaming life. In this way, Chen Xi could be considered a great hero.

Xie Qianze was very angry: "You and I are friends, and you should treat Shen Zhihou as strictly as you ask the younger generation. Why do you all come to persuade me one by one to persuade me to be more open-minded and accept Shen Zhihou's shortcomings more generously? Why don't you persuade that boy to let him turn back? "

Because of the disagreement between Zhang Mao and Xie Qian, the subsequent negotiations were not so smooth. The main reason was that Xie Qian refused to cooperate, which was basically what Zhang Mao said.

At the end, Zhang Mao stood up and wanted to leave, but Xie Qian's gloomy face still did not improve, as if he was still worried about the previous incident.

"Yu Qiao, be open to everything. Think about it, what Zhihou does is basically to benefit the people of the Ming Dynasty. Once the troubles in the north are flat, the soldiers and civilians on the nine sides can free up their hands to farm. With the sweet potatoes and corn introduced by Zhihou, the northwest will be treated in a few years."

"And the imperial army can safely lead the Central Plains to the Central Plains, and both disaster relief and quell the chaos, and the results are not significant? After his Majesty visited the people, he implemented various measures to treat the people well, which made the people happy and return to their hometowns and rebuild their homeland. It is of great benefit to the country and the country. In fact, we old guys can put down some burdens appropriately and let young people make their own efforts. What do you think?"

Zhang Mao said that at the end, he never forgot to brainwash Xie Qian.

But unfortunately, Xie Qian was unwilling to listen at all. He smiled on the surface, but he had already treated Zhang Mao as half an enemy in his heart. This is also his consistent manifestation of his stubbornness.

After Xie Qian sent Zhang Mao away, he still complained: "This old man Zhang clearly regarded me as a stick. I am the chief assistant for the day. Should I obey the arrangements of the stinky brat in the court? The prime minister has long been gone from the Ming Dynasty, so I don't believe that he can still make one?"

"This kid is very capable, and with His Majesty's trust in him, he may really develop in the direction of taking power. Don't really restore him to his position as prime minister at that time, and he is covered with one hand. Then his power may be much greater than Liu Jin. Who can do anything to him except me?"

Zhang Mao, who was walking out of the door, had different ideas and thoughts about Xie Qian's non-cooperation.

"Who do Xie Yuqiao thinks of himself? I thought he could be the same as the late emperor, and the cabinet would take charge of the court affairs. In the end, he had a quarrel with the current emperor. It was time to change his old thinking. The rigid system should always have some fresh blood. The appearance of the thick one was a warning to them. No one was awakened yet!"

...

...

Zhang Mao left Xie Qian's courtyard and headed to the military school in a sedan chair.

On that day, Chen Xi was arranging the resumption of the military school. In the past six months, because he and Zhu Houzhao were not around, the military school was basically suspended. This was also related to the fact that the first batch of trainees were transferred to the northwest to start a war, but most of them could only follow the emperor and had no chance to make meritorious service.

But there are always some people who have made contributions to Shenxi's army, but they have not come back now. They have directly allocated all over the Jiubian area, and will not return to the capital or return home until the end of the year.

The previous group of students has become history. Chen Xi wants to prepare for recruiting the next group of officers to school. While he is still the Minister of War, Chen Xi wants to handle these matters well. If the next Minister of War does not praise this, the military school may be put on hold. After all, Zhu Houzhao is only in three minutes of popularity and cannot be watched anytime and anywhere. When Chen Xi arrives in another yamen, it will be difficult for Zhu Houzhao to report to Zhu Houzhao for the matters of the Ministry of War.

Originally, others were impeaching him and being lenient. If he extended his hand to work outside his duties, more people would attack him. The Ming Dynasty had a wide range of opinions and there would always be people who were talking about it. This was also related to the Qingming Dynasty and the Qingming Dynasty. In the early Ming Dynasty, the emperor treated his ministers harshly, and now it has greatly improved. It was not until after Jiajing that he gradually became bad. Chen Xi did not understand these people, but Chen Xi was a clean family.

When Zhang Mao arrived, Chen Xi directly invited him to a classroom in the Military Academy to meet Zhang Mao at a place where students usually study.

After a brief greeting, Chen Xi said, "Mr. Zhang, please forgive me. Isn't this school still being repaired? So now there is no place to stay, so I have to choose this spacious and bright place to meet Mr. Zhang."

Zhang Mao looked at it curiously, as if he was a little confused about Chen Xi's peaceful mentality now, and asked: "Zhihou, now you have received the emperor's order to preside over the selection of the Secretariat and the seals. I have also joined the committee and are already receiving visitors from all sides. Why can you be so relaxed and still be busy with military school here?"

Chen Xi smiled and replied: "Actually, I want to use the classroom of the military school as the examination room for the selection of the supervisor of the examination. I am preparing to ask His Majesty for instructions, but it has not been finalized."

Zhang Mao said: "Let those deacons and eunuchs leave the palace? You can think of it. How could Your Majesty agree to this kind of thing? It is good to let them complete the exam questions in the palace. It is a good idea to come to take the exam for people in the palace. It is a precedent for history. How can we mobilize the troops to let them come out?"

Chen Xi was firm in his attitude: "Since it is an assessment, it must be institutionalized and developed in a rigorous direction. If the answer sheet is just completed sloppy, how can we determine whether it is their own ability or the ability of the staff? This matter in the court requires on-site reaction ability. Just like the imperial examination, candidates cannot learn about the situation outside in the examination room, and they will focus on their answers. Only in this way can customization be formed."

Zhang Mao sighed helplessly: "Not only do you want to set a precedent, but you also want to make it a custom-made one! Difficult! In general, it is a lot of difficulties and obstacles! Not to mention the deacon and eunuch in the palace, even if you are just a minor official in the court, you cannot do such an assessment. Only the imperial examination can be achieved. That is a accumulation over thousands of years. How can our generation achieve success? And... you should also know that Your Majesty does not have much attention to this."

Chen Xidao: "What you do is always beneficial to the court. The purpose is to select talents and appoint talents. Regardless of whether it becomes a custom in the end, at least you have worked hard. People cannot give up because of choking. What does Mr. Zhang think?"

Zhang Mao shook his head: "That's your business. I don't want to participate too much. I'm just going to be a good boy. So what if I'm going to customize it in the future? How many years will I have to live? Let's do this, first tell me the test questions for selecting the eunuchs in the Sili Supervisor, and I'll help you refer to it."

Chen Xi looked at Zhang Mao, his tone seemed a little distant: "Mr. Zhang, please forgive me. The test questions are not given below, but are appointed by Your Majesty. Now that the assessment has not begun, how can it be easily leaked?"

One sentence surprised Zhang Mao. He blinked and asked, "It's Your Majesty who asked the question? You're so proud, aren't you laughing? Your Majesty has that free time? Wait, this is why you didn't meet Yu Qiao? It was supposed to be the ready-made case in the cabinet as the question. Different test questions can be used to test the abilities of these people. It may not be the same. You do this..."

Chen Xi took out a public attitude again: "Everything is to uphold the principle of fairness and justice."

Zhang Mao felt that he couldn't use it, thinking: "Xie Yuqiao was just complaining and evasion, but he was so unkind here. Perhaps young people knew that they could not fight against old people when they talked about love, so they simply used the court's regulations to talk about things. There was no big problem."

Zhang Mao said: "If Your Majesty gives the exam questions, it would be fine. I am afraid that this matter will be delayed in the end."

Chen Xi smiled and said, "Now the three cabinet masters in the cabinet are in court, and there are also officials such as the ministers, ministers of various departments in the court, as well as officials of the Temple Master, Shaoqing, etc., to handle the affairs of the court, and the government is stable. Even the two eunuchs of the Silijian, who are currently qualified to be in charge of seals. Why should Mr. Zhang worry about the vacant seals of the Silijian?"

Zhang Mao was slightly stunned, then thought carefully about Chen Xi's words, and immediately felt the wisdom contained in it.

Zhang Mao thought to himself: "Yes, just drag it. No matter whether his new palm print can be selected smoothly. If it is not done well, it may be the next Liu Jin. If it cannot reach Liu Jin's power, the government and the people may become Zhang Yuan who is useless. It is better to be empty now. It seems that things are urgent, but in fact there is no need to worry at all. Isn't it Xie Yuqiao's favorite rhythm now? He Xie Yuqiao can make a complete decision on the matters in the court. No wonder his attitude was so indifferent. He just wanted to drag it down..."

Thinking of this, Zhang Mao sighed: "I am stupid and can't see clearly the affairs of the court. I can only leave it to you young people. Zhihou, you should not avoid it. You have to go to various families, or you can listen to the opinions of the deacons in the palace. In this way, you are busy first, and I am waiting for your news in the mansion."

"Mr. Zhang is leaving now?" Chen Xi asked with a smile, as if he had expected Zhang Mao to stand by and watch.

Zhang Mao laughed: "I am just following the emperor's order to participate in it. I don't care about it. I still need Zhihou to stand in front of you. I will go back to my house to wait for your good news... No need to send it, I am just going to find someone to play chess, and my life is fulfilling! Haha!"

Zhang Mao was originally very insightful and wanted to exert his influence, but in the end he seemed to be "stopped" and did not provide any effective guidance on what Chen Xi was going to do.
To be continued...