Chapter 37 Ask the eunuch for help

Hou Fangyu did not lie, Chen Zhenhui did go to Jiang Riguang's house.As a leader of the rehabilitated society who pinned all her hopes and efforts on Shi Kefa, Chen Zhenhui naturally understood the seriousness of the situation at hand and what would happen to the imperial court once Shi Kefa was replaced by Ma Shiying with ulterior motives. Situation, what kind of situation will I fall into!He learned from Jiang Yueguang that there are only two ways to prevent Ma Shiying from entering the court and taking power. One is to mobilize the courtiers to jointly impeach him and bring him down.However, in view of Ma Shiying's merits in making decisions and supporting them, he is quite trusted by the emperor, at least for now, this is impossible.Then there is another way left, which is to do everything possible to retain Shi Kefa, resulting in a situation where there is no one to take over as governor of Lufeng, so that Ma Shiying cannot come back.Right now Jiang Yueguang is taking the latter approach.Relying on the Secretary of General Administration and the Sixth Division, he has the right to refute and replay the emperor's edict. He has secretly notified the Secretary of General Administration Liu Shizhen to make a replay of Shi Kefa's new appointment to delay time; People mobilized scholars and people and wrote letters against it, trying to create a momentum of public opinion and force the emperor to withdraw his order.However, just doing this, Jiang Riguang felt that he was still not sure of success, so he prepared to play the third move—send someone to secretly contact Han Zanzhou, the supervisor of ceremonies, and try to get the support of the high-ranking eunuch .

Han Zanzhou was originally the garrison eunuch in Nanjing. Because he insisted on the succession of King Fu during the period of supporting the new emperor, he was promoted to the eunuch of the ceremonial supervisor after the matter was successful.This position not only holds the power to control all eunuchs, but more importantly, it also has the responsibility to manage internal and external memorials and approve and approve the content on behalf of the emperor. Compared with cabinet members who only draft imperial edicts, they are actually more powerful.However, Han Zanzhou seems to be decent and reasonable, and he is not completely one-sided towards Ma Shiying and his group.An obvious example is that it was Han Zanzhou who first proposed the imperial court's decision to divide labor and let Shi Kefa preside over the government and let Ma Shiying succeed him as governor.Now that things have turned around, it can be said that even he has lost face.Because of this connection, Jiang Riguang thought he might as well try to take advantage of it.In fact, if Han Zan and Zhou Ken followed up with the emperor to speak a few words, the chances of success would be much greater.It's just that he made friends with the inner prisoner, but his reputation was not so glorious.Although Jiang Yueguang was unwilling to come forward in person, even if he sent other officials to do it, it would inevitably attract people's attention.Therefore, Chen Zhenhui's initiative to visit just provided a suitable candidate.

After Jiang Yueguang's face-to-face instruction, Chen Zhenhui has now accepted the mission.Because the matter had to be done in a very secret state and could not be disclosed to the community members, so after Chen Zhenhui bid farewell from Jiang Riguang's residence, she went back to her apartment.It wasn't until dark that he went out alone, and under the cover of night, he came to an alley outside Xihuamen.Beforehand, he had already inquired about the location of Han Zanzhou's private house, and knew that the master would be back tonight, so it went well. Not long after he handed in the greeting card, the little eunuch who answered the door sent a message to invite him in to meet him.

If Chen Zhenhui had no hesitation in carrying out the current secret mission, that's not necessarily the case.Just like many scholars at that time who regarded themselves as upright gentlemen, he always had a kind of contempt and disgust for eunuchs, and he always felt that dealing with them was a disgrace, let alone doing such a secretive "deed". up.However, Chen Zhenhui is also a practical person. He understands that in the political field, the choice of interests is often more important than the observance of morality. "Well, for the sake of the survival of the country, the success or failure of ZTE, and for the sake of my hard work not giving up halfway, let's just bear with it this time!" He silently persuaded himself in his heart.When she saw the little eunuch who answered the door coming out with a letter of worship, Chen Zhenhui immediately took out a tael of silver from her bosom, stuffed it in, and at the same time retracted the letter, she regained her composure and walked in.

According to the system of the imperial court, eunuchs, as the emperor's close servants, generally had to live in the palace city except for those who were sent to other places to perform missions.But some wealthy and powerful eunuch chiefs have private houses outside.It is said that Wei Zhongxian, the leader of the eunuch party back then, had an extremely luxurious private residence in Beijing, almost no different from the imperial palace.Of course Han Zanzhou's house is far from being comparable to Wei Zhongxian's.However, just by looking around roughly with the light of the lamps and candles under the eaves and in the wing rooms, Chen Zhenhui already felt that this house was not only tall, but also must be quite deep, and the architecture and layout were also quite elegant. "Hmph, no matter what, these eunuchs and eunuchs are nothing more than servants in front of the emperor, but they also have grand houses, which are even worse than the homes of scholar-bureaucrats. It can be said that they are arrogant!" thought nonchalantly.However, as the meeting was approaching, the mood also instinctively became tense.He became more focused on his mission and developed a new sense of unease and anticipation.

After waiting in the main room for a while, Han Zanzhou came out from behind the screen with the sound of steady and calm footsteps.Chen Zhenhui had never seen this palm print eunuch before.Now under the bright candlelight, he found that standing in front of him was a fat old man who was nearly sixty years old. His neatly combed sideburns were obviously white, and his bald chin had no beard as usual. Zhang's pampered broad face was glowing red, and although his big and thick lips were smiling as usual, doubts and inquiries clearly appeared in his squinted and slender eyes. Since she felt that her intention for coming could not be explained clearly in a few words, and because they were strangers to each other, in order to reduce the trouble of relaying, after saluting and meeting with the other party, Chen Zhenhui did not exchange many greetings, and took out the pre-prepared A secret letter from , handed over with both hands:

"This is what Mr. Jiang Ge ordered the students to forward to the left and right. Please read it to Mr. Han." "Oh?" Han Zanzhou glanced at the guest in surprise, and then took it, "Well, sir, please sit down!" He gave way, sat down on the chair, and began to open the letter. Chen Zhenhui had already read this secret letter when it was still at Jiang Riguang's home.He knew that, out of caution, Jiang Riguang's letter was written very briefly, only mentioning the incident, and Chen Zhenhui had to undertake the task of making a detailed statement and persuasion.Therefore, from the very beginning, Chen Zhenhui paid great attention to the host's expression and reaction, hoping to understand the other party's mind as much as possible before speaking.However, to his slight disappointment, although Han Zanzhou looked very serious, holding a short letter in front of his eyes and reading it over and over ten times, his face remained motionless, not even a trace that could be caught. less than.

Finally, Han Zanzhou slowly rolled the letter paper into a small strip, and thoughtfully stretched it out to the top of the shade of the fighting color crystal lamp.After the flames came out, he kept turning it to make the letter paper burn more thoroughly before throwing it into the spittoon next to the side table, but he still stared intently.It wasn't until the last bit of fire was extinguished that he raised his head and said flatly: "Well, I'm afraid it won't work." "Oh, Mr. Jiang Ge is also asking Mr. Han to help because of this difficult situation." Chen Zhenhui hurriedly clasped her hands and explained.

Han Zanzhou lowered his eyes and remained silent. Chen Zhenhui tentatively added: "Mr. Jiang Ge told Xiaosheng that at the beginning Shi Gong was appointed as the chief assistant and Ma Gong was the supervisor of Fengyang. It was Han Gong who initiated it. Both the government and the public praised it. Moreover, ZTE is hopeful, and it is really a long-term strategy for the stability of the country!" "Well, this one is." "It's just less than half a month before this change suddenly happened, but it's hard to understand. Gai Shigong is peaceful and peaceful, and he can serve as a guardian; Magong is brave and capable of fighting, and he is the most suitable supervisor. Now he is out of history and into horses. I'm afraid that it will be difficult for the two princes to show their strengths, and it's no wonder that one or two ministers come and go, but what's the safety of the country!"

Han Zanzhou nodded: "That's what I said back then." "So," seeing the other party's straightforward response, Chen Zhenhui became eager and couldn't help raising her voice, "Once the news of Shi Gong's invitation for a supervisor came out, all the scholars and people in Liudu were in an uproar. It is not a small number, which shows that the miscalculation of this move is obvious to all." "This, the supervisor already knows." "For this reason, Elder Jiang Ge specially ordered Xiaosheng to pay tribute to Han Gong, and hope that Han Gong will take the community into consideration, vigorously uphold the righteousness, maintain the original agreement, and comfort the hope of the world!"

The conversation has been going on until here, and it has been quite smooth.Although Han Zanzhou shied away at the beginning, but when Chen Zhenhui always grasped the initiative of the original personnel arrangement and put on several high hats for the other party, it obviously moved Han Zanzhou and made the old eunuch's attitude more positive. The tone of the answer became more and more crisp. "Hey, as long as he promises to cooperate with the inner court, the matter is 90% sure! Unexpectedly, this old man Han is an upright person!" Chen Zhenhui thought.After this moment of contact, his prejudice against eunuchs changed involuntarily, and he even developed a sense of closeness. "Since Mr. Jiang Ge entrusts him with business, this prison will naturally try his best." Han Zanzhou said slowly, "However, considering the current situation, it is better for Shigong to leave the capital." "...?" "Yes, he'd better leave." "Why... why?" Chen Zhenhui was taken aback by Han Zanzhou's sudden change of tone. "Shi Gong asked himself a supervisor this time, sir, do you know why?" "That, that's Ma Gong insisting on returning to the court, and Huaiyang has no supervisor, so Shi Gong decided to give in." Han Zanzhou shook his head: "Sir, you only know one thing, not the other!" "what?" Han Zanzhou didn't continue immediately.He seemed to hesitate a little.However, since Jiang Riguang put so much hope in him and sent a secret envoy, he must feel that he should pay something in return.Moreover, Chen Zhenhui's flattery just now obviously won the favor of the old eunuch, so he still lowered his voice and said: "Ma Yaocao has entered the pilgrimage this time, and has written Shi Daolin to him on the same day, urging the emperor's 'seven things that cannot be established'. I heard it closely!" Chen Zhenhui's eyes widened in surprise, and she was suffocated for a moment. At the same time, she clearly felt a constriction in her heart, and then violently twitched.His back started to feel cold and his palms were sweating. "Ah, that's how it is! It turns out that the man surnamed Ma not only broke his promise, but also made such a murderous move! No wonder Shi Gong was in such a hurry, without discussing with anyone, he invited him out of the capital. It turned out that he had suffered a sap, I can't tell if I'm suffering!" Chen Zhenhui suddenly thought, her heart suddenly became a mess.In fact, as a courtier, nothing else is terrible, the most terrible thing is losing the trust of the emperor.Without the emperor's trust, no matter how high your ambitions are, no matter how powerful your skills are, it is impossible to display them.What's more, Shi Kefa's original letter of "seven incompetence" was directly attacking the current emperor.Even if only one of the seven accusations reached the emperor's ears, it would be enough to make "Longyan" furious, and might even lead to death. "Well, you Donglin made the wrong idea at the beginning!" A heavy and slow voice sounded.Chen Zhenhui raised her head in a daze, and found that at some point, Han Zanzhou had stood up and was slowly pacing back and forth.Under the light of the candle, his huge shadow was also shaking back and forth. "Let me just say it now. You shouldn't have put your mind on the present and planned to establish some kind of King Lu and King Gui! You must know that the law of your ancestors has been in the hearts of the people for three hundred years. You Donglin only treats you as a noble concubine. Because of Zheng Niangniang, she wanted to disturb the law of her ancestors. She died until she lost her way of advancing and retreating. Water and fire are pressing against each other. Alas, I'm afraid that from now on, the country will be troubled again!" Chen Zhenhui looked at the old eunuch in astonishment.The other party's accusation against Dong Lin made him feel ashamed and angry.He planned to argue: "At the beginning, Donglin advocated the establishment of a virtuous monarch, not because of Concubine Zheng, but for the sake of the survival of the country and the success or failure of ZTE." "So, is there really no other way?" Han Zanzhou shook his head: "How long does it take, depending on the situation, maybe we can find a way to call Shi Gong back. It's hard to turn around now!" "I hope Mr. Han will try to get around!" Chen Zhenhui lowered her head and pleaded.With his identity and personality, after being accused by the other party, he still begs for help like this, which can be said to be quite humble.In fact, he had never done this before.If he hadn't considered that his mission was too great, and the person in front of him was the only key person who could make a difference, he would have left in a hurry. "No, it's impossible!" Han Zanzhou replied decisively. Chen Zhenhui's face flushed red.He frowned tightly, and for a moment, he almost stood up straight.But, still trying to control himself, he pleaded again: "For the sake of the country, I still pray that Duke Han will make it difficult for him!" Han Zanzhou glanced at him, seemed to be moved by his earnest plea, but after pondering for a while, he still shook his head: "This time Shi Daolin insists on leaving, I'm afraid the court may not be able to keep him." "Ah, what if Shi Gong promises not to leave?" Seeing that the other party's tone had softened, Chen Zhenhui regained hope. Han Zanzhou didn't answer immediately.With his hands behind his back, he walked away slowly, then stopped again, turned sideways, nodded and said: "Well, until then, let's see what happens!"