Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 664 Pros and Cons
After Qin Ji returned to the palace, he first went to the Qianqing Palace to report to Zhu Youtang, and then was called back to the Silijian duty room by Huai'en.

Obviously, Huai En was also concerned about Zhang Luan's current attitude towards the military situation in the northwest.

"With the deadline approaching, that father-in-law Zhang remains calm and composed. He is really patient." After listening to Qin Ji's story, Huai En couldn't help but admire Zhang Luan even more.

Qin Ji said with a bitter face: "Your Majesty is very worried about this. He has lost his appetite these past few days and has always needed the Queen's guidance."

Huai En nodded and said, "It's almost the Lantern Festival... After the Lantern Festival, the court will resume. If there is no good news from the northwest, you can imagine how much pressure your majesty and Zhang Guozhang will have to bear."

Qin Ji seemed to empathize with the predicament Zhu Youtang was about to face, and nodded, "Eunuch Huai is right. But how easy is it to get good news?"

"hehe."

Huai En smiled and said, "Does Zhang Guozhang need good news? Maybe not!"

"Hey, what does Eunuch Huai mean by this?"

Tan Ji was a little confused for a moment.

Huai En said, "Hou Fang, do you really think that Zhang Guozhang expected from the beginning that he could win the war against foreign barbarians by relying on a Taoist priest who had never been on the battlefield and Qin Chang who had no experience in commanding an army? If that was the case, why didn't he urge Bao Guogong to hurry up and seemed to be delaying intentionally or unintentionally?"

"what do you mean……"

Qin Ji's expression suddenly changed.

Because Qin Ji knew his own business, he, like the emperor, was expecting good news from the northwest. Now that he heard that Zhang Luan had selfish motives, he couldn't help but lose his composure.

Huai En frowned upon seeing this and shook his head, saying, "In fact, I didn't understand at first why Zhang Guozhang was so indifferent to such an important war? Perhaps he was not waiting for a piece of victory news, but waiting for the Tatars to invade as he expected. Because the court officials failed to listen to his and His Majesty's opinions, they ultimately failed...

"Hou Fang, tell me, who will benefit from the defeat of our Ming army?"

"This this……"

Qin Ji looked quite embarrassed.

Huai En smiled faintly and asked, "Hou Fang, if it were you, what kind of result would you expect?"

"Of course it's good news."

Qin Ji answered without thinking.

Huai En frowned slightly and said, "But think carefully about what Zhang Guozhang has done recently. Do you think he has made efforts in this regard? If it is true as I said, he is waiting for the border battle to fail, who do you think His Majesty will rely on more after hearing the bad news? And will those who oppose him shut up?"

Tan Ji couldn't answer for a moment.

"Humph!"

Huai En looked very unhappy, and he scolded: "What's the difference between doing this and the great traitor Wang Zhen who brought disaster to the country and the people during the Zhengtong period? For personal gain, he disregarded the safety of the frontline soldiers and the dignity of the court..."

Qin Ji said quickly, "Eunuch Huai, what you said makes sense, but it's just groundless speculation. Besides, Zhang Guozhang did a lot for this, but the ministers in the court have always opposed the use of troops. If we say that Zhang Guozhang did it deliberately and deliberately waited for a defeat on the front line, isn't it... too far-fetched?"

"hehe."

Huai En glanced at Qin Ji with a slightly sarcastic smile on his face, "Hou Fang, you can think this way, which shows that you look at the problem very comprehensively. But my speculation also has my reasons. Now the key to the problem is not whether Li Zisheng and Qin Chang can lead the army to victory, but whether the Tatars will attack as Zhang Guozhang expected. What do you think?"

Qin Ji hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's true."

Huai En sighed, "So, in fact, the victory or failure of the Northwest War is not that important to Zhang Guozhang. Recently, he has been resting at home to recuperate and has not even set foot in the palace. And his son, the little uncle, have you seen him busy with the Northwest War?"

Qin Ji thought about it seriously and said helplessly: "The second young master has been busy with his own affairs recently and has not even intervened in the matter of salt administration reform."

"Isn't that okay?"

Huai En said, "I hope I am judging others by my own standards... In this battle, Zhang Guozhang has completely taken the upper hand from the beginning. Regardless of winning or losing, it is almost a sure win for him." "Maybe not!"

Qin Ji disagreed with this view and retorted: "Aren't all of these things you said based on the premise that Zhang Guozhang predicted that the Tatars would arrive as scheduled?"

Huai En nodded: "This is the crux of the problem... If Zhang Guozhang really has this ability and can see through the movements of the Tatar troops in advance, then even if he loses this time, or even if he gradually takes power in the future, I think it will have a certain reference value..."

"Why?"

Qin Ji was a little confused for a moment.

Is your brain not working well, Huai En?
On the one hand, he was guarding against Zhang Luan's rise, while on the other hand, he hoped that Zhang Luan would succeed?

Huai En stood up, paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, and muttered to himself: "A scholar who can see through the secrets of heaven and the human heart will definitely bring more benefits than disadvantages to the Ming Dynasty. Now it seems that Zhang Guozhang is not eager for quick success, but rather..."

"You mean... the second son of the Zhang family... I'm afraid he will..."

Qin Ji wanted to say something, but he was very secretive and finally he held back and didn't finish his words.

Huai En sighed, "Those are very long-term things. Maybe I am just worrying about nothing now. Who knows what the situation will be like when the time comes?
"Given the age of that young uncle, if he rises to prominence in the court one day, you and I will be long gone. Your current worries are totally unnecessary."

"hehe."

This time it was Qin Ji's turn to smile bitterly.

Knowing that you are worrying about nothing, why are you still so keen on talking about it?
Are you free?

Huai En said: "But as usual, we can't let this matter develop according to the intentions of some people. We have to let the people in the court, especially the Ministry of War and the military department, report it and discuss it in the court meeting."

Qin Ji thought, well, after all, you still want to cause trouble for Zhang Guozhang and His Majesty. It seems that you, Huai En, never expect any good from others?

Huai En sighed, "In the final analysis, I just don't believe that the Tartars will really do as Zhang Laizhan expected, and foolishly follow his prediction to force their way into our interior... If that were true, then wouldn't everything in the future of the Ming Dynasty be controlled by one person? It's a blessing, but it also brings a huge crisis."

……

……

cabinet.

This day was not Liu Ji's duty day, but he took the initiative to come to Wenyuan Pavilion and handed a memorial to Xu Pu.

"This is……?"

Xu Pu looked up and asked in confusion.

Liu Ji said: "Submit this document to the court the day after tomorrow. No matter who you ask... We must not let Zhang Laizhan do whatever he wants again!"

Xu Pu frowned and asked, "Didn't you say earlier that when you went to visit Zhang's house, Zhang Luan had already made everything clear to you?"

"What did you make clear?"

Liu Ji said disdainfully, "A relative who was born as a student of the Imperial Academy, who has no knowledge at all, dares to take the initiative to involve himself in the Northwest Military Affairs? He is so arrogant. If he is given a few years to develop, does he really want to rebel? I predict that many people will impeach him the day after tomorrow morning."

Xu Pu asked, "I wonder if this memorial involves the salt administration or the military affairs?"

"Impeach them together."

Liu Ji said sinisterly, "Doesn't Zhang Laizhan like to be lazy? Look at the way he works as an official, he fishes for three days and rests for two days. Since he took office as the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, he has hardly ever been to the Ministry of Revenue to report for work... In this case, wouldn't it be better for him to stay at home and rest for a few more days?

"He could have just stuck to the rules and stayed in his own little corner of the Ministry of Revenue, but he insisted on stepping out and even wanted to get involved in the affairs of the Ministry of War. Humph, how can I let him have his way? It's time to teach him a lesson!"

(End of this chapter)