Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 703: Employing people without suspicion
The person Huai En met at his last stop was the chief minister of the cabinet, Liu Ji.

In the past, Huai En looked down on people like Liu Ji who occupied the toilet but did nothing, and was full of contempt for Liu Ji's ability and position.

But just because Liu Ji was the person who was most determined to prevent Zhang Luan from entering the cabinet, Huai En felt that Liu Ji at least had principles and did not kowtow to Zhang Luan, which was commendable.

"Lord Liu, what do you think about Zhang Guozhang's illness?"

Wynn asked with a smile.

At this time, he and Liu Ji were sitting opposite each other, holding teacups in their hands, sipping tea and talking.

Liu Ji subconsciously looked around, as if he was guilty of something. After making sure that there was no one around, he asked in a low voice, "Did you see Zhang Guozhang's people?"

Huai En shook his head: "I haven't seen him. It is said that he found a place to rest."

"hiss……"

Liu Ji took a deep breath and shook his head, "That illness is really serious. It looks more serious than yours."

Huai En frowned and asked, "Lord Liu, have you visited Zhang Guozhang these days?"

Liu Ji said, "No, but I did see him a few days ago. I was shocked at the time. He looked so weak, as if he would die at any time... It was said that he was punished by heaven for revealing the secrets of heaven, but I don't know whether it is true or not."

Huai En didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and asked, "Can you believe this kind of thing?"

"I have no choice but to believe it."

Liu Ji sighed, "You said that a person who was fine before the New Year could fall down while walking on the ground, and then got such a serious illness for no reason. Do you dare to say that he is not unlucky?

"Could it be that he is so brave and brave that he keeps revealing secrets, and even God can't stand it anymore and is ready to punish him? This guy is not simple!"

After hearing these words, Huai En's contempt for Liu Ji deepened.

I thought, can’t you even tell that Zhang Laizhan is pretending to be sick?
Why do you say it so seriously?
Zhang Laizhan can easily deceive you. There is a huge gap between your level and Zhang Laizhan's. It seems reasonable that His Majesty wants him to replace you.

After summarizing for a long time, you came to the conclusion that "this person is not a simple person"?

What a complete waste!

Liu Ji said: "Eunuch Huai, please relax. I will definitely not lead the way in causing trouble tomorrow. An idiot like Li Zisheng in military affairs has led his troops to victory. This shows that it is God's will. I will give him a little face.

"However, if there are any changes in Piantou Pass next time, especially since it is a disturbance in the area where he is the governor of Lizi Province, I will definitely not stand idly by."

Huai En asked, "I wonder how you plan to not stand idly by?"

"This……"

Liu Ji thought about it carefully and said, "Of course I will continue to impeach him and encourage more people to submit impeachment petitions to put pressure on Your Majesty. Impeach Zhang Laizhan, who is behind him! It has always been a taboo for foreign relatives and Taoist priests to participate in politics. As a Confucian official, how can I sit back and watch this happen?"

Huai En asked: "Why didn't you stand up during the time of the previous emperor?"

Liu Ji was speechless for a moment.

He looked at Huai En with a strange look, as if asking, are you here to seek cooperation with me, or are you here to sabotage and deliberately make fun of me?

Huai En said: "Your Majesty's respect for Zhang Guozhang is due to his outstanding ability and his ability to accomplish great things. I wonder what reason Liu Gelao has to impeach him and prevent him from participating in government affairs?"

"Uh……"

Liu Ji pondered for a moment, then stiffened his neck and said, "It's because he is a relative of the emperor and he didn't come from a formal imperial examination."

Wynn smiled and asked, "So the only objection is his background, and there is no other reason, right?"

Liu Ji said, "Isn't it enough that he is a relative of the emperor? Before he married his daughter, he was just a scholar, and he couldn't even be an official... When will it be his turn as a layman to comment on the affairs of the court?"

Huai En smiled and said, "My family is highly regarded by His Majesty. Before we helped several generations of kings, we were also born as common people."

"I didn't say that to you, Eunuch Huai. You are from a legitimate family... Well, the eunuchs in the palace's Imperial Household Department basically come from the Inner Academy, and there are a set of rules to follow."

Liu Ji forced an explanation, “But Zhang Laizhan is very different from you. He...he..." Liu Ji couldn't tell exactly what was different.

Huai En saw Liu Ji's incompetence and said with a smile: "I have told Your Majesty many times that my energy is limited and I need to find a place to rest. Just like Zhang Guozhang, I can only put aside the affairs of state for the time being... In the future, I will rely on you, Elder Liu, to assist Your Majesty and take care of the affairs of state."

"Really? Okay, okay."

Liu Ji was just feeling overjoyed that he was about to take power, but suddenly realized that he was overjoyed at the wrong time, and quickly changed his words, "That's not what I meant. I feel very sorry for Eunuch Huai's illness. It's a huge loss for the court to lose a capable official like you."

Huai En thought, they are both compliments, but why do the words give people such a big difference in feeling when they come from you and Zhang's uncle?
It seems that I can't rely on you in the future. I still need to interact more with people like Xu Pu. At least he can get things done, and you...

It’s only because Your Majesty exiled Wan’an and was embarrassed to replace the entire cabinet at once that he kept you in the court... I guess it won’t last too long.

I am really blinded by greed and come here to talk to you about something.

Waste of effort.

……

……

Huai En walked around and went back to report to the emperor.

In the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Youtang still coughs occasionally.

Since he had not yet fully recovered from his illness, he did not want to delay for a moment and began to review memorials to the emperor. It seemed that diligence and love for the people were engraved in his bones.

At least young people are full of energy. They don’t feel tired from doing this. Instead, tormenting themselves makes them feel that life is fulfilling.

"...There are still many people in the court who have some reservations about Li Zisheng's order. The defense of Piantou Pass is extremely important. Some people think that envoys should be sent to the foreign countries to reprimand them and make them abide by the rules of a minister."

Wynn said.

Zhu Youtang looked up and asked, "Will the Tatars listen?"

Huai En said, "I don't know. But the people in the court have too much prejudice against Li Zisheng and think that he is not qualified to take on the important task of the governor of Shanxi. If this leads to the Tatars invading the border in large numbers and breaking through the border, causing great suffering, it may damage your majesty's reputation."

"Is it that serious?"

Zhu Youtang asked with a frown.

Huai En looked a little embarrassed: "Although civil officials who are Jinshi graduates often have the chronic disease of procrastination and conservatism in border management, at least they will not be as reckless as Li Zisheng.

"I am only worried that if I give Li Zisheng the power to rule an area, he will go even further and organize troops to fight the Tatars outside the Great Wall, which may give people a reason to criticize him on moral grounds."

"Ah."

Zhu Youtang said, "Hearing what Huai Daban said, it seems to make some sense. Li Zisheng did act rashly the last time he deployed troops outside the Great Wall. But didn't others criticize him for not pursuing the victory and choosing to retreat back to the Great Wall? So should he advance or retreat? What is the right way to do it?"

Huai En was stunned for a moment.

Come to think of it, it seems to be right. It seems that whatever Li Zisheng does is wrong. So what is the right thing to do?
Zhu Youtang continued, "I don't think Li Zisheng would do anything to achieve his goal. Wasn't it based on his father-in-law's reminder of the timing and direction of the Tatars' attack that he arranged the ambush outside the pass? Without these as a basis, I don't think he would dare to easily transfer troops out of the pass, right?"

Huai En said: "Your Majesty, should we issue an order to him to make it a principle to defend the city and not to covet military merits and give the Tatars an opportunity to take advantage of it?"

"Isn't this inappropriate?" Zhu Youtang denied Huai En's proposal. "Until now, it is still unknown whether the Tatars will go south and what impact they will have on the surrounding areas of Piantou Pass... If the capital issues an order on this, will it restrict the border soldiers?"

"Ah."

Wynn nodded.

At this moment, he already felt that the little emperor in front of him was no longer so naive and simple.

Not only does he have his own ideas, but he also has the courage to express them and refute the opinions of this important assistant minister. This is truly commendable.

(End of this chapter)