Chen Xi had just arrived at the military school, and before he could speak to Hu Lian, a soldier on duty came to report at the door, saying that Li Jue, the Minister of Works, came to visit.

"The subordinates avoid it first." Hu Lian said.

Chen Xi glanced at Hu Lian and waved his hand: "You stay here, I'll go out to see why Shangshu Li came."

Chen Xi did not plan to meet Li Li with Hu Lian. He had a good personal relationship with Li Li. Among the several Shangshus, Chen Xi rarely had a friend who "knows a good friend". Li Li's status at that time was no higher than Chen Xi, but now both of them have become Shangshus.

When Li Li saw Chen Xi, he did not salute him. He came up and said, "I heard from the people in Huitongguan that the Tatars sent envoys to pass Juyong Pass and were about to arrive in the capital. Do you know this?"

Chen Xi nodded and said, "It's true that the Ming Dynasty will start a war with the Tatars in the coming year. Now the other party sends envoys to come and say it's a matter of negotiations for tribute. I think it's mostly to find out the truth and reality of my Ming Dynasty to determine whether we need to make preparations for the next year."

Li Wu said: "Then what do you mean..."

Chen Xi glanced at Li Li, knew that the other party was borrowing the Tatar envoy, and tested his words. He smiled and said, "What I mean, don't Brother Shi Qi know?"

Li Jue smiled bitterly and said, "Present of Xie came to the Ministry of Works more than once to inquire about the allocation of money in the court. By the way, the wars in the coming year... Now, few people in the court support the war with the Tartars, thinking that there is no need for that... The Tartars first suffered a crushing defeat when invading our territory of the Ming Dynasty in recent years, and then civil strife occurred. I am afraid that they have no energy to threaten the Ming Dynasty's border defense in a short period of time, right?"

"Many things are unsure."

Chenxi Road, "I originally thought that the constant wars on the grasslands were severely damaged by the Tatars' vitality, but look at what years have the Tatars been in cessation in recent years? The living environment on the grasslands was too difficult, and the Ming Dynasty did not trade with the grasslands. The Tatars had to rely on war plunder to obtain necessary living supplies. The more difficult their lives were, the more they would go south to disturb the border. The only way to expect them to stop the war was to completely defeat them."

Li Jue shook his head and said, "Before, the Ming Dynasty defeated the Tatars continuously, especially when he was the late emperor, he left tens of thousands of Tatar corpses at the foot of the capital. Isn't it considered as a conquering?"

Chen Xidao: "In the past few years, the Ming Dynasty was passively fighting. Even if the few proactive attacks were launched, they would end up in failure or ineffectiveness, which made the Tatars feel fearless and did not need to consider the issue of defense. They were thinking about how to go south to rob, and how to defeat them? It would be best to let them move to the north of Mobei, thousands of miles away from the border of Daming. This is the best result."

"Okay, I won't tell you too much about this. Before, Secretary Xie put pressure on me, and I agreed because of my affection. But here I can guarantee that no matter what choice you make, I will not interfere... Don't blame me for not helping each other. It's really... the mainstream public opinion in the court is so helpless."

Li Ju felt that he could not help Chen Xi when sending troops to the grassland, so he simply notified him first and let Chen Xi be mentally prepared.

Chen Xi smiled bitterly and said, "It seems that I have to fight alone in the court."

Li Wu said: "Some things you could have adapted, but you may not have to make a relationship ripped off... You have not been in the court for a long time. If you insist on sending troops, it would be fine, but you are afraid of some deviations. At that time, the court was afraid of being criticized. How could you be attacked by officials from the court alone?"

Chen Xi did not discuss this again and bowed: "Thank you, Brother Shi Qi, for your reminder."

...

...

Because Zhu Houzhao wanted to participate in the Wu Dynasty, Chen Xi became the focus of attention of the court and the public.

Everyone knows what the dynasty will say this time, involving whether the Ming Dynasty will go to war with the Tatars next year. Many people are afraid that this will harm the interests of the Ming Dynasty and then harm their own interests.

With the Confucian doctrine of the mean, no one wants to fight this battle.

In order to fight against the basic national policy proposed by Liu Jin, the eunuch party has been destroyed and everyone has destroyed it. Chen Xi felt cold.

Chen Xi thought to himself: "I guess no one dares to criticize the major policies of the court when Liu Jin was tyrannical, and only powerful can gain the recognition of the world... After all, high-pressure policies are still effective."

Chen Xi stayed in the military school and did not intend to return to the military department. He believed that the pressure he would bear would only be greater after returning.

At least most people would not have thought that he had hid in the military school. After that, he did not plan to enter the palace from the Daming Gate and went directly to Dong'an Gate.

Seeing that at the end of Si, Chen Xi was about to enter the palace, another uninvited guest came to the Military Academy.

This time the visitor was Xiao Tiaozi.

"Mr. Shen, I have found you."

When Xiao Tiaozi saw Chen Xi, she wiped the beads of sweat rolling down her forehead. The wind was biting outside, but Xiao Tiaozi was sweating profusely, which showed that he had run away a lot of detours.

Chen Xidao: "But Your Majesty has important matters to explain?"

Xiao Tiaozi said: "That's true. Your Majesty asked the villain to tell you that this Wu Dynasty will discuss the war next year. Please support the dispatch of troops no matter what. As for the matters next... Your Majesty said, you don't have to worry, he will support it with all his strength so that this war can be carried out."

Chen Xi smiled bitterly and thought to himself: "Your Majesty will support me at this time. I don't know if it's a good or a bad thing, it's like forcing me to the opposite of all the court officials."

Chen Xidao: "Have Your Majesty entered the palace now?"

"I have already returned to the palace." Xiao Zhuozi said, "Last night, Your Majesty went to bed early and got up two quarters of an hour ago, just to catch up with this afternoon. Your Majesty knows that Lord Shen, you will definitely attend the afternoon court, without any intention of delaying... After the villain has spoken to you, he will rush back to the palace."

Chen Xi nodded: "I'm going to twist my father-in-law."

"Look at what Lord Shen, you said, this is what a villain should do." Xiao Taozi said this, but he stopped talking, his face full of embarrassment, as if he was in trouble.

Chen Xidao: "If you have any questions, just say it."

Xiao Twist Zi said bitterly: "The villain... I was disguised by Eunuch Zhang last night, and I felt a little unwilling to accept it... Eunuch Zhang was so sinister that he actually went to His Majesty to sue the villain for a black lawsuit, saying that the villain was neglecting his duties and the villain never offended him..."

Xiao Zhuozi felt more and more aggrieved as he spoke, and finally shed tears.

When Chen Xi saw Xiao Tiaozi's reaction, he probably understood what happened last night.

Chen Xidao: "If my father-in-law is not in a hurry to leave, just tell me the matter in detail. If I can help, I will not ignore it."

Xiao Taozi then told everything that happened last night, intending to omit the open and secret struggles when the two met. Xiao Taozi completely put himself on the victim's side and told Zhang Yuan's actions.

Xiao Taozi finally stated: "The villain is just supervising his work under the order of the emperor. Who knew that he was secretly doing bad things? He didn't know when he would go out of the palace to figure out the situation. He ran to His Majesty and said bad things about the villain. Such a person... had no mind and demeanor at all, and was not qualified to serve as the chief seal of the Sili Supervisor!"

Xiao Taozi is dedicated to Chenxi as his backer.

He felt that he had helped Chen Xi when Liu Jin was in power, but now he deserved to get rewards. It is natural to find Chen Xi to solve problems when encountering problems.

But he didn't know that Zhang Yuan, Zhang Yong and others had secretly had contact with Chen Xi, and they all thought that Chen Xi should help him for different reasons, but the mentality of "if you don't help me, who else can you help me" is exactly the same.

Chen Xidao: "Eunuch Zhang Yuan was once the regular attendant of the Eastern Palace, and now he is the chief seal of the Sili Supervisor. He has a bit arrogant and domineering attitude, but it is a question of how long his Sili Supervisor's seal can be... Therefore, it is better to avoid his sharpness and watch the changes in the situation."

"Um?"

Xiao Taozi looked at Chen Xi in surprise, thinking that the other party didn't want to help, so he immediately begged with a bitter face: "Mr. Shen, you can't sit idly by. How high are you in front of His Majesty? You say something that works better than others' words. The villain asks you to make the decision."

As he said that, Xiao Tiaozi saluted Chen Xi again, with his expression as pitiful as he was.

Chen Xi nodded slightly: "If Your Majesty asks about this, I will naturally speak for you, but if Your Majesty doesn't mention it, do you say that I will ask Eunuch Zhang to falsely accuse you yesterday for no reason?"

Xiao Zhuozi looked at Chen Xi blankly, thinking about what happened if you took the initiative to raise it? In his opinion, it was a big deal for you to suffer injustice. Shen Zhihou should treat you as a top priority instead of not asking any questions. Most eunuchs’ psychology is distorted, and even a pure-minded person cannot avoid the vulgarity.

Chen Xi didn't want to explain too much to Xiao Guozi, and said, "I am going to enter the palace now. Master Zhuo will go back and report back to His Majesty."

Xiao Taozi asked, "Will Mr. Shen enter the palace with our family?"

Chen Xi originally wanted to enter the palace from Dong'anmen to avoid the ministers who were looking for trouble, but now Xiao Tiaozi came to visit him, and he did not plan to walk on the road of Dong'anmen and Donghuamen again.

Chen Xidao: "I have some things to discuss with the ministers. Please come back with my father-in-law, and I won't send it to you!"

Xiao Tuozi originally had high hopes for Chen Xi, believing that Chen Xi could help him get to power, but now Shen Xi's indifferent attitude made him feel extremely uncomfortable. He immediately wiped his nose from his mouth, turned around and left without even saying goodbye.

Chen Xi looked at Xiao Taozi's indignation and knew that the matter in the palace was not easy to deal with.

"Even the simple little knives in the past are like this. Zhang Yuan and Zhang Yong have a high opinion of themselves. They all know that I have the right to speak in front of His Majesty and make plans for me... It's not easy to balance the relationship between these people, but they are still fighting openly and secretly, and even using all kinds of sinister tricks. I don't please anything inside and outside... Forget it, I'd rather not help anyone, let you fight for it yourself!"

...

...

In front of the Ganqing Palace, there were crowds of people.

Xie Qian, He Jian and others entered the palace early and did not wait for Chenxi.

He Jian is the new Minister of Personnel. In theory, he is the most noble among the officials of the ministry. From the Minister of War to the Heavenly Official of the Ministry of Personnel, this change was too sudden. For a moment, he was a little uncomfortable standing in front of the front. As for the military generals, there was not a single one, and even Zhang Mao was not invited to participate in the court meeting.

The court meeting was held in the Ganqing Palace, which means that this is just an ordinary small court meeting, far less than the scale and momentum of the Fengtian Palace dynasty.

Xie Qian and He Jian stood together, whispering, and others would occasionally come over to ask questions.

The Minister of War Chen Xi had not arrived, and the rest of the Ministers and Ministers had arrived. The Minister of Rites was still Bai Yue, the Minister of Revenue Yang Yiqing, the Minister of Justice was Zhang Zilin, the Minister of Works Li Yu, and the Censor of the Left Capital was Hong Zhong.

In addition, Wang Ding, the Right Censor, Fei Hong, the Minister of Rites, and others stood behind, and people automatically divided into several clusters to discuss matters according to their relatives and distantness.

After Liu Jin fell, the court brought things right. Xie Qian, as the chief minister, had a prominent position and naturally became a benchmark figure who was the leader.

Logically speaking, there should be an important person at the scene who can almost compete with Xie Qian. Unfortunately, this person has not arrived yet, so this person is Chen Xi.

"...Yu Qiao, what you said today's discussions are all related to Zhihou, why hasn't he entered the palace yet?" He Jian asked in confusion.

Xie Qian replied angrily: "What if he doesn't come? Your Majesty will summon ministers to discuss matters. It's not a good thing if he comes."

Xie Qian said this in front of Yang Yiqing and Bai Yue. Although the two did not directly talk to Xie Qian, they probably understood the meaning of the words. Xie Qian did not support Chen Xi in terms of industrial and commercial tax and military use in the coming year.

The ministers knew what Zhu Houzhao wanted to discuss with the court officials this time.

Li Jue, Minister of Works, came over and asked, "Xie Zhongtang, then we will not comment on what Your Majesty mentioned today. You can speak on behalf of everyone."

Xie Qian looked at Li Li coldly and asked, "If you don't speak, why are you here?"

You are very rude to say this. Xie Qian and Li Jue are about the same age, but because Li Jue is "late to greatness", his status in the court is far from Xie Qian for a long time, so his status has not been respected with his official position. Xie Qian actually scolded him directly in front of other important officials.

Li Jue originally wanted to show a neutral attitude he had expressed to Chen Xi and not offend him, but when he came up, Xie Qian scolded him, so he stopped humiliating himself and retreated aside awkwardly.

At this moment, Zhang Yuan, the eunuch in charge of the Sili Supervisor, came out of the Ganqing Palace, and everyone suddenly became quiet.

After Zhang Yuan showed up, Xie Qian went up to see the ceremony. Zhang Yuan didn't have time to return the ceremony to Xie Qian. He glanced around and asked anxiously: "Where is Shangshu Chen? Is Shangshu Chen here?"

"how?"

Xie Qian couldn't help but frown. Zhang Yuan was only looking for Chen Xi, which was very similar to the last time when Zhu Houzhao released pigeons. Chen Xi did not come that time, so he gave up the court.

Zhang Yuan explained: "Your Majesty is ready to open the Wu Dynasty, but Your Majesty has something to say first. If the Minister of War Shen has not arrived, this court discussion will be postponed."

This completely angered Xie Qian, and he shouted: "It's ridiculous, it's ridiculous! The Ming Dynasty meeting decided whether to hold it because of whether a court official came! This is simply a big joke in the world!"

He Jian persuaded: "Yu Qiao Mo wants to get angry. The things Your Majesty wants to discuss are basically related to Zhihou. It is reasonable to ask if Zhihou has come."

“Yes, yes!”
To be continued...