The rise of the poor

Chapter 2329 Conspiracy

Inside the carriage, Zhao Wenhua asked Zhu Pingan, "Zihou, haven't you resolved your feud with Chen Hong yet? I think he did a lot of things to stir up trouble today."

Hu Zongxian nodded in agreement, “Indeed, at the banquet, I saw him doing everything he could to make Lord Zhu hate Lord Zhao.”

Chen Hong thought he was subtly stirring up hatred, but in the eyes of high-level people like Zhao Wenha and Hu Zongxian, it was downright clumsy.

"Hehe, my feud with Chen Hong is nothing more than a classic case of 'the younger brother beats up the older one,' a cliché plot. It's normal that I can't resolve this grudge right away," Zhu Pingan said with a slight smile, seemingly unconcerned.

“It doesn’t matter if we can’t solve it.” Zhao Wenhua narrowed his eyes and said slowly, “Chen Hong is ambitious, vengeful, and ruthless, but he lacks ability and skill. Judging from his actions against Zihou, his vision is also poor, and he lacks foresight. He can be used, but he is not worth conspiring with. In my opinion, he may gain power for a while, but his power will soon collapse, and he will definitely not have a good end.”

Upon hearing this, Zhu Ping'an began to look at Zhao Wenhua with new respect. Zhao Wenhua was quite adept at judging people. Historically, Chen Hong had only briefly reached the pinnacle of eunuch power, but he quickly fell from grace and did not have a good end.

Having offended Feng Bao and Prince Yu, it's no wonder he met a bad end.

"Lord Zhao, what is the relationship between Eunuch Chen and our faction? I feel that although he is very respectful to you, he is not close enough. He even tries to use you to make trouble for Lord Zhu."

Hu Zongxian asked Zhao Wenhua, expressing his doubts.

Zhao Wenhua chuckled, tapping his fingers lightly on the armrest, and said disdainfully, "My godfather, Grand Secretary Yan, is on good terms with Huang Jin, the Grand Eunuch of the Inner Court, and they are allies. Huang Jin holds a high position and wields great power in the Inner Court, while Chen Hong's position is below Huang Jin's. His relationship with Huang Jin is very delicate; he submits yet is not truly convinced, unwilling to be subordinate to Huang Jin, and naturally, there will be some underhanded dealings and discord. Since my godfather is Huang Jin's ally, Chen Hong, wanting to establish his own power base, will naturally not choose my godfather as an ally. I heard he's on good terms with Gao Gong of the Prince Yu's Mansion. He wants to curry favor with the emperor, haha, but his judgment is poor. I wonder if he's currying favor with the emperor or with disaster!"

He really did follow the dragon.

Zhu Pingan stroked his chin. Chen Hong had indeed made the right bet. When Prince Yu ascended the throne, Gao Gong rose to become the Grand Secretary. Gao Gong also promoted Chen Hong to the position of the most powerful person in the inner court. The two of them, one the most powerful person in the outer court and the other the most powerful person in the inner court, enjoyed immense prestige for a time. However, Chen Hong lacked the ability and fell from his position not long after.

"I see." Hu Zongxian nodded slowly, then commented, "This Chen Hong is very ambitious. By befriending Gao Gong, he's betting on Prince Yu's ascension to the throne. Heh, at a time when His Majesty is full of vigor and ambition, when the situation is unclear, and when Prince Jing has the advantage over Prince Yu, he's betting on Prince Yu ahead of time. Either he has extraordinary foresight, or he's a gambler with great ambition but little patience! Judging from his tricks with Lord Zhu, he doesn't have any extraordinary foresight. It's clear he's an extremely ambitious but impatient gambler!"

Zhao Wenhua patted Zhu Ping'an on the shoulder and said reassuringly, "You don't need to worry about Chen Hong, Zihou. He'll be back in a day or two at most. As long as I'm in Jiangnan, Chen Hong won't be able to cause any trouble. As for him returning to the capital, you don't need to worry about him spreading rumors. Eunuch Huang of the inner court thinks highly of you, the Emperor favors you, and you also have the authority to submit secret memorials. I doubt he would dare to speak ill of you in front of the Emperor."

"Thank you, Master Zhao," Zhu Ping'an said, bowing with his hands clasped in gratitude.

Upon arriving at Zhao Wenhua's residence, Zhu Pingan, Zhao Wenhua, and Hu Zongxian disembarked from their carriage. Zhao Wenhua's steward then came to report that the newly appointed governor, Yang Yi, had sent Zhao Wenhua a box of century-old ginseng and had also invited a renowned physician, who was already waiting at the residence.

Uh, Yang Yi is really good at flattering people. Even though he already knew that Zhao Wenhua was faking his illness, he still blindfolded himself and not only sent the miracle doctor he mentioned at the banquet to Zhao Wenhua for a consultation, but also sent a whole box of century-old ginseng. Not just one ginseng root, but the whole box.

Zhu Pingan couldn't help but feel a deep sense of admiration for Yang Yi. "You're so good at licking, you could warm up even the rocks in the icehouse!" But unfortunately, Zhao Wenhua's heart was harder than stone and colder than ice.

“That guy surnamed Yang is really meddlesome. I’ve already told him, it’s unnecessary. You can find a reason to ask him to leave.”

Zhao Wenhua frowned and instructed the steward to find any excuse to ask the doctor Yang Yi had invited to leave.

Zhu Pingan and Hu Zongxian were pulled into the study by Zhao Wenhua to brainstorm ideas on how to oust Yang Yi.

"Yang Yi is nothing to fear. His abilities are not even as good as Zhou Chong's. We can deal with Yang Yi the same way we deal with Zhou Chong. That will be enough. We will not cooperate with his plans, and we will cause him trouble so that he cannot make any achievements. Finally, we will impeach him on the grounds that he failed to suppress the Japanese pirates."

Hu Zongxian thought that he could use the same tactics he used against Zhou Chong to deal with Yang Yi: if Yang Yi didn't cooperate, he would cause trouble, and finally, on the grounds that Yang Yi was not good at suppressing Japanese pirates, he would impeach him and send him away in a one-stop service.

Zhao Wenhua nodded and asked Zhu Pingan, "Zihou, what about you?"

“Commander Zhao, I think that after impeaching Zhang Jing and Zhou Chong, you shouldn’t do anything too restrictive to avoid giving others cause for criticism. Yang Yi is competent in domestic affairs, but he is not good at military strategy. You only need to focus on your own duties as commander and urge him to suppress the Japanese pirates. Yang Yi is not good at military strategy. If you rush to suppress the Japanese pirates, he will inevitably make mistakes in the chaos. If you don’t suppress the Japanese pirates, the suppression will be ineffective. In any case, he is not suitable for the position of governor-general,” Zhu Ping’an said slowly.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wenhua closed his eyes and began to ponder.

While it was indeed prestigious to impeach two governors, Zhang Jing and Zhou Chong, in succession, it also inevitably left a bad impression of being aggressive, domineering, and troublesome. This was a situation he had to consider.

Furthermore, whether it was Zhang Jing, Zhou Chong, or Yang Yi, the Governor-General of Jiangnan was chosen by the Emperor.

By impeaching two governors in succession, he had, to some extent, tarnished the Emperor's reputation.

If I cause trouble for Yang Yi, even if I impeach Yang Yi, if someone finds something to use against me and it reaches the Emperor's ears, not only will I likely not be appointed as the next governor, but I may also be transferred away from Jiangnan to avoid affecting the overall situation of suppressing the Japanese pirates.

Currently, suppressing the Japanese pirates is the top priority in Jiangnan. The reason why His Majesty has changed governors one after another is ultimately because they have failed to suppress the Japanese pirates effectively! If I am in Jiangnan and it is detrimental to the overall situation of suppressing the Japanese pirates, it would be perfectly normal for His Majesty to transfer me away.

"Master Zhao might as well wait until Yang Yi deploys his strategy for suppressing the Japanese pirates tomorrow, and then decide on a response based on that strategy."

Zhu Pingan suggested.

"That's good. It won't make a difference if we wait a day or two. Let's see what strategy Yang Yi comes up with tomorrow."

Zhao Wenhua nodded. (End of Chapter)