Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1726 ZZ walks alone!

Just as Gu San was pondering whether to complete this political deal with Zhang Zhiwen, the palace maid brought over the dishes Gu San had ordered, and Gu San stopped thinking and began to enjoy the food.

Smelling the aroma of the yellow croaker, Gu Sansi took a bite of the fish while it was still hot and put it in his mouth. He couldn't help but show a satisfied expression on his face as he enjoyed the salty, fresh, and firm texture of the yellow croaker.

Steamed yellow croaker is one of his favorite dishes, and he orders it almost every time he is on duty in the cabinet.

The reason why this dish is always ordered when the cabinet is on duty is mainly because the other chefs in Yijing cannot make it taste like this. This is not to say that the chefs in the Eight Great Buildings of Yijing are inferior to the chefs in the Imperial Kitchen.

In fact, the chefs at the Eight Great Restaurants of Yijing, in terms of cooking skills alone, are only superior to, if not inferior to, the chefs of the Imperial Kitchen.

The reason why Gu Sansi ordered this dish in the imperial kitchen is that this dish does not require high cooking skills, but it has high requirements for the selection of ingredients. It can be said that this dish is all about the freshness and firm texture of the yellow croaker.

Many of the fish and shrimp in Yijing came from Tianjin, but the Imperial Kitchen could use the post stations along the way to make the transportation faster. The servants along the way worked like dogs, all to ensure that the fish and meat served to the nobles in the palace were fresher and more delicious.

As a young man, Gu Sansi read about Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, and his concubine's smile as she rode in with lychees, a sight that surprised everyone. He vehemently criticized Li Longji's extravagant lifestyle. But now, as the Minister of Personnel in the Qianlong Dynasty, all Gu Sansi wants to do is enjoy delicious food, savoring the fresh, firm fish in his mouth…
Perhaps it was because he was tired from a long day of work, or perhaps it was because the steamed yellow croaker was so delicious, but Gu Sansi ate an unusually large amount. This led Gu Sansi, who originally only wanted to read the newspaper and books for a while before going to sleep, to leave the cabinet and take a stroll in the open space in front of it.

During his stroll, Gu Sansi was also considering his political deal with Zhang Zhiwen.

The political bargaining chips in Zhang Zhiwen's hands were still very attractive to him. Those young people inside really needed to be sent out to gain experience. If they could serve as prefects or magistrates in Youyan, it would be a very good opportunity for them. They could work in these positions for a few years, strive to make some achievements, and either be promoted to provincial governor or return to become vice ministers.

Although the plan was well-thought-out, this matter was not entirely without risk for Gu Sansi.

First and foremost is His Majesty's attitude. The matter in Zhuo County is no small matter. Although the case has not been fully investigated, Gu Sansi heard that at least four figures are involved and the amount of money involved is in the six figures. Therefore, if it is found after the investigation that Zhang Zhiwen was indeed deeply involved in some of Wang Chong's illegal activities, Gu Sansi thinks that Zhang Zhiwen's situation will be quite difficult.

Of course, judging from the fact that His Majesty still entrusted him with cleaning up the mess in Zhuo County, His Majesty probably didn't intend to kill Zhang Zhiwen. He still wanted to save this Provincial Governor of Youyan. Otherwise, Zhang Zhiwen would have already been arrested, and someone else would have been cleaning up the mess in Zhuo County…

So even if the investigation reveals that Zhang Zhiwen was indeed deeply involved in some of Wang Chong's actions after the case is closed, as long as he handles the aftermath well, he can probably keep his life, but he will probably lose his position as provincial governor.

The case is being investigated by the Ministry of Justice. Gu Sansi is not very familiar with the specific details of the case, but based on his experience, he feels that although Zhang Zhiwen will be involved in the case, he should not bear the main responsibility.

Gu Sansi held this view mainly for two reasons.

The first reason is that Zhang Zhiwen is still the Provincial Governor of Youyan, a local strongman in Youyan, and his parents are the government. The Ministry of Justice's investigation is being carried out in Youyan, so if Zhang Zhiwen wants to, he has a good chance to use his influence to affect the investigation. In fact, some of the Ministry of Justice's investigations themselves require the cooperation of the Provincial Governor, which is Zhang Zhiwen's opportunity.

As for the second reason, the Minister of Justice in charge of this investigation is Liu Ning, who was previously the Prefect of Yijing and had a lot of dealings with Zhang Zhiwen. Judging from some of the news circulating in G field, the relationship between Liu Ning and Zhang Zhiwen is not particularly good, but it is definitely not bad either. They are just keeping to themselves and have a fairly ordinary relationship.

Liu Ning rose through the ranks of the Communist Party through economic development, so he was quite tactful in his dealings with people and didn't have much ambition for political struggle. Therefore, seeing that His Majesty didn't intend to severely punish Zhang Zhiwen, Liu Ning was unlikely to hold a grudge.

In addition, Zhang Zhiwen doesn't have many enemies in the G field, so there shouldn't be anyone who wants to harm him at this time.

Considering all these factors, Gu Sansi believes that regardless of whether Zhang Zhiwen was deeply involved in Wang Chong's case, the final investigation will most likely conclude that Zhang Zhiwen was not deeply involved in Wang Chong's case...

Thinking of this, it is estimated that Si also thought of another person, namely Zhang Yilin, the Deputy Provincial Governor of Youyan!
Zhang Yilin came to see me a few days ago and handed me a report on Youyan Agriculture.

To be honest, as the Minister of Personnel in charge of personnel matters, even if Zhang Yilin really wanted to submit this report on agriculture to the court, it shouldn't have been given to him. That was the Ministry of Revenue's job. However, the court not only had explicit laws and regulations, but also unspoken rules.

Zhang Yilin was recommended to her by Chen Wanting. After she had investigated him, she recommended him to His Majesty, who finally approved his promotion to Deputy Provincial Governor of Youyan!
Therefore, Zhang Yilin became the Deputy Governor of Youyan through his own connections in the unspoken rules. So even though I am not very familiar with Zhang Yilin, it does not prevent him from bearing my political mark. From the outside, he will be seen as someone on my side.

So it wasn't too unusual for him to show me the report, especially since it was such a significant report.

Although Zhang Yilin only showed him the report and didn't say much else, Gu Sansi, being a shrewd man who had become the Minister of Personnel, immediately realized that Zhang Yilin wanted to seize this opportunity to make a high-stakes political gamble...
He wanted to use this report on agriculture to impress His Majesty and win His Majesty's favor, so that he could replace Zhang Zhiwen as the new Governor of Youyan when Zhang Zhiwen's position was unstable. He came to me and handed me this report, ostensibly to ask for my opinion, but in reality, his subtext was to ask if I supported his actions!

To be honest, Gu Sansi was quite surprised when he first realized Zhang Yilin's idea. As far as he knew, although Zhang Yilin had not been the deputy governor of Youyan for long, he had heard that his relationship with Zhang Zhiwen was very harmonious. He did not expect that as soon as Zhang Zhiwen encountered some problems, Zhang Yilin, who had a good relationship with him, would stab Zhang Zhiwen in the back!

Furthermore, Gu Sansi was somewhat surprised by Zhang Yilin's enormous ambition. Having served as the Deputy Provincial Governor of Youyan for less than a year, he already wanted to replace Zhang Zhiwen; this was rather unseemly and also rather hasty. Therefore, based on these thoughts, Gu Sansi wasn't very fond of Zhang Yilin's idea. He advised Zhang Yilin not to be overly ambitious, but to focus wholeheartedly on his work and stop thinking about unrelated matters.

Although Zhang Yilin outwardly accepted Gu Sansi's idea humbly, Gu Sansi could tell that he was very disappointed.

What Gu Sansi least expected was that his wife, Chen Wanting, fully supported Zhang Yilin's idea. She felt that Zhang Yilin's report was very insightful, and if he presented it to the Emperor, Zhang Yilin would likely gain the Emperor's favor. If Zhang Zhiwen's position as Provincial Governor changed, it would be perfectly logical and natural for Zhang Yilin to succeed him as Deputy Provincial Governor…

Furthermore, she suggested that Gu Sansi could support Zhang Yilin's idea. Chen Wanting believed that as long as Zhang Yilin became the provincial governor, Youyan would be like Qilu, and she could help Gu Sansi cultivate some young people of his own faction.

Gu Sansi was somewhat tempted by Chen Wanting's suggestion, but after thinking it over, he realized that his involvement in the struggle for the position of Governor of Youyan was too high-profile. As the Minister of Personnel, he was already under the watchful eyes of countless people, so he should keep a low profile for now and not be too ostentatious.

Now that Cui Shao is getting older and his health is deteriorating, his retirement from the cabinet can be seen as a political signal that he is gradually giving up his power. Given the current situation, Cui Shao may retire to his hometown at any time. Therefore, it is not advisable for me to take too much action. With this in mind, Gu Sansi rejected Chen Wanting's suggestion and insisted on his original idea.

Although Gu Sansi did not support Zhang Yilin's idea, judging from Zhang Yilin's various actions, Gu Sansi had some concerns. He felt that Zhang Yilin was not someone who would give up easily. Therefore, even without his support, he might still take action.

Therefore, Zhang Yilin's existence is definitely the most significant variable in Zhang Zhiwen's success in passing this test.

Zhang Zhiwen could exert political influence on the Ministry of Justice's investigation, and so could Zhang Yilin, the Deputy Provincial Treasurer. More importantly, although Zhang Zhiwen held considerable power in Youyan, he hadn't yet reached the point of absolute control in this power struggle within the region. The Youyan Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, Chu Zhiyi, was also watching closely from the sidelines…

Gu Sansi had heard that Zhang Zhiwen and Chu Zhiyi had a significant conflict during the Zhuoxian incident.

Therefore, if Zhang Yilin chooses to cooperate with Chu Zhiyi in order to seek the position of Provincial Governor and exert influence on the case in Zhuo County, or if he obstructs Zhang Zhiwen from exerting influence and forcing the Ministry of Justice to investigate the case thoroughly, then this would definitely be bad news for Zhang Zhiwen.

So, would Zhang Yilin actually do that?
Thinking of this, Gu Sansi closed his eyes and recalled Zhang Yilin's eyes in front of him that day. It was a seemingly submissive look, but the more Gu Sansi thought about it, the more he felt that behind those eyes was resentment and a desire for Q power!

Thinking of this, Gu Sansi couldn't help but sigh. Although Zhang Yilin was capable and had a good reputation in the government, with no scandals, Gu Sansi, as the Minister of Personnel, had seen too many government officials. Therefore, despite Zhang Yilin's intentional concealment, Gu Sansi could still sense his ambition to be subordinate to others.

To be honest, Gu Sansi personally didn't want to have much contact with Zhang Yilin. He always felt that such a person was like a cannonball, ready to explode at any moment. It wouldn't matter if he exploded himself, but Gu Sansi didn't want to be dragged down by him...

However, Chen Wanting kept whispering in his ear, and Gu Sansi really didn't have many reliable and capable people at his disposal. So in the end, Gu Sansi was persuaded by Chen Wanting to recommend Zhang Yilin to His Majesty.

Realizing that Zhang Yilin was likely to leave alone, Gu Sansi felt both helpless and unsure whether to stop him.

Just as Gu Sansi was pondering this question, a royal guard was rushing towards the cabinet, and the hurried footsteps interrupted Gu Sansi's thoughts.

Gu Sansi looked closely, and then greeted:
"Is this a message for the cabinet?"

The guard, hearing the voice, also looked over. As an imperial bodyguard, he remembered several of the Grand Secretaries of the Inner Cabinet, so he recognized Gu Sansi and immediately approached him, saying:

"Lord Gu, a memorial from Jiangnan! It's an urgent message, delivered by express courier! Please sign for it!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Sansi's expression immediately turned serious. He promptly took the memorial and began reading it quickly. The memorial was quite long, containing several thousand words. After quickly skimming through it, his expression subtly changed.

After patiently reading through the memorial, he had the idea of ​​immediately convening a cabinet meeting and inviting all the cabinet elders to come and discuss the matter.

However, after careful consideration, he felt he needed to think it over more thoroughly, so he put the memorial away and addressed the guard:

"I received the memorial! You did a great job, go back and rest, you've worked hard too!"

The guard, unsuspecting of Gu Sansi's praise, immediately turned and left.

Gu Sansi, carrying his memorial, entered the inner cabinet and returned to his room on the second floor. By the light of the kerosene lamp, he took out the memorial and reread it, his expression shifting between light and shadow…