Ming Dynasty: pacifying the rebellion and defending the border, dominating the world

Chapter 349 A more suitable candidate

Zhu Jinzhen sat on the dragon throne, closed his eyes, and fell into deep thought.

They did not respond immediately.

After a long while, he opened his eyes and looked at Cao Zhengchun, who was kneeling on the ground, with a mocking smile on his lips: "Cao Zhengchun, I have heard that you are arrogant and domineering in the court, framing loyal officials and using any means necessary?"

Cao Zhengchun's body trembled violently.

He quickly pondered the meaning behind Zhu Jinzhen's question.

Soon, Cao Zhengchun gritted his teeth, kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, although this old servant has acted arrogantly, I am also Your Majesty's most loyal dog. If I were not ordered to do so, I would never bite indiscriminately. Please see this clearly, Your Majesty."

These words were the result of Cao Zhengchun's careful consideration.

Cao Zhengchun was well aware that he had a bad reputation in the court.

There was no foolish idea of ​​concealment or sophistry.

He only subtly revealed that Cao Zhengchun was arrogant and domineering, capable of framing loyal officials and resorting to any means necessary. But all of this was predicated on orders from his master.

As the head of the Eastern Depot, he was nothing more than a loyal dog under the emperor's command.

Zhu Jinzhen was extremely satisfied with this answer:
"I intend for you to continue to lead the Eastern Depot and serve me."

"And you need to give me a reason to believe that I can use you."

Cao Zhengchun was not the best candidate to be the head of the Eastern Depot.

However, Zhu Jinzhen thought long and hard but still couldn't find a suitable candidate to oversee the Eastern Depot.

Since he inherited the throne, he has been focusing his attention on the army. He has eunuch confidants in the palace, but for the time being, there is no one with the ability to take charge of the huge Eastern Depot.

Originally, Zhu Jinzhen intended to recall Cao Shaoqing and have him succeed as the head of the Eastern Depot.

Unexpectedly, the secret guards sent word that Cao Zhengchun was not dead.

This made Zhu Jinzhen change his mind.

As for loyalty, Zhu Jinzhen didn't care at all.

If Cao Zhengchun harbors disloyal intentions, just kill him and replace him with someone else.

Cao Zhengchun pondered for a long time but could not think of any reason to convince Zhu Jinzhen of his loyalty. He could only prostrate himself on the ground and kowtow, saying, "This servant will always be Your Majesty's loyal dog."

"Ah!"

"interesting."

A hint of surprise flashed deep in Zhu Jinzhen's eyes.

Cao Zhengchun's martial arts were completely destroyed, and coupled with his emotional agitation just now, all sorts of chaotic thoughts were exposed to Zhu Jinzhen's eyes. Although he could not know everything what the other party was thinking, he could still get a general idea.

"A desperate gamble, regardless of the cost?"

The thought flashed through Zhu Jinzhen's mind, but he didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

To survive and return to the top.

Not to mention that Cao Zhengchun had been accustomed to being humble and subservient since he entered the palace at a young age, even if it were anyone else, they would have made the same choice as Cao Zhengchun.

Those who are willing to die generously are ultimately a minority.

Zhu Jinzhen nodded calmly and said, "Someone come here."

"His Majesty!"

Several figures appeared behind Cao Zhengchun like ghosts.

The newcomers were none other than the Xuanjia Secret Guards.

And they are not ordinary secret guards, but top-tier guards.

Zhu Jinzhen waved his hand, and an appointment edict bearing the imperial seal floated lightly in front of Cao Zhengchun: "From now on, Cao Zhengchun, you are still the supervisor of the Eastern Depot."

"I hope you will remember what I said today."

"Take him down and help him recover his strength."

Cao Zhengchun is ruined. His vital energy has been almost completely drained by Zhu Wushi's energy-absorbing technique. There is a way to recover, but it will take a long time.

Zhu Jinzhen didn't have the patience to wait.

He has a better way.

As long as Cao Zhengchun enters the Martial Arts Refinement Furnace once to help repair his body, his crippled martial arts skills can be restored to their peak. "Yes!"

Several guards immediately bowed and accepted the order.

"This servant, Cao Zhengchun, kowtows to express my deepest gratitude to His Majesty the Emperor." Cao Zhengchun excitedly held the imperial edict in her hands as if it were a precious treasure, and kowtowed several times again.

"Go down."

"Tomorrow, I want to see a chief eunuch of the Eastern Depot standing before me."

"At the same time, keep a close eye on all the ceremonial procedures for my enthronement ceremony. If anything goes wrong..."

“This servant will bring my head,” Cao Zhengchun immediately replied, bowing.

"Ah."

Zhu Jinzhen nodded, and with a wave of his hand, the secret guards behind Cao Zhengchun decisively struck, knocking Cao Zhengchun unconscious. One of the secret guards stepped forward, grabbed Cao Zhengchun by the back of his collar, and slipped into the already opened doorway.

"Your Majesty intends to use Cao Zhengchun?"

Upon hearing the sound, Zhu Jinzhen looked towards the figure gracefully approaching under the moonlight outside the Qianqing Palace.

The person who arrived was none other than Changsun Wangqing.

"Does Forgetfulness find this inappropriate?"

"I don't think there's anything wrong with it." Changsun Wangqing gently shook her head. She wouldn't question any of Zhu Jinzhen's decisions, even if they were wrong. In her eyes, the only thing wrong was the result, not Zhu Jinzhen.

I asked this question out of curiosity.

"I have many capable people around me, but after much thought, very few are suitable for the position of Director of the Eastern Depot. They are either too inexperienced or lack vision, knowledge, and skills."

As Zhu Jinzhen spoke, he couldn't help but shake his head, slightly regretful, and said, "Actually, there is a candidate who is more suitable than Cao Zhengchun."

Changsun Wangqing and Zhu Jinzhen had spent a lot of time together and had a tacit understanding. He immediately guessed who Zhu Jinzhen was referring to: "Your Highness means, the eunuch Zheng He?"

"Ah."

Zhu Jinzhen smiled and nodded, "With Zheng He's abilities, if he were to be the director of the Eastern Depot again, I believe he could do a hundred or a thousand times better than Cao Zhengchun. However, he is ultimately a man of the old era, and he only wants to stay with the Ming Dynasty royal family until his death."

"It won't be easy to get him to come out of retirement."

"I'm too lazy to think of anything else, so I'll just let Cao Zhengchun try it out first."

"Leaving aside his character and loyalty, as the human heart is the most unpredictable, Cao Zhengchun can be considered one of the best among the directors of the Eastern Depot after Wang Zhen in terms of ability."

"Let him try first. If it doesn't work, there's always Yue Buqun as a substitute."

Upon hearing this, Changsun Wangqing smiled and said, "Just like Wang Zhi and Yu Huatian of the Western Depot?"

Although Wang Zhi is still the current head of the Western Depot.

However, Yu Huatian had already risen rapidly after being favored by Zhu Jinzhen. Keeping Wang Zhi around was just to pave the way for Yu Huatian, to let him teach Yu Huatian for a period of time and familiarize him with what the head of the Western Depot needed to do.

In retrospect, Cao Zhengchun's role was not much different from that of Wang Zhi.

“Wang Qing guessed correctly.” Zhu Jinzhen did indeed have this idea. If Cao Zhengchun was useful, then it would be fine for him to continue serving as the head of the Eastern Depot. If he was not useful, or had ulterior motives, Zhu Jinzhen could replace him with his own people at any time.

Left and right are merely pawns that can be discarded at any time, so Zhu Jinzhen naturally doesn't need to think too much about them.

"Your Highness, the intelligence files from the Dragon Guard Manor have been submitted."

"The intelligence gathered by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the joint secret guards of the Eastern and Western Depots has been compiled and organized."

As Changsun Wangqing spoke, he placed a compiled intelligence report on the dragon desk in front of Zhu Jinzhen.

"From the Cabinet side, the Secret Guard reports that some ministers seem to be preparing a joint memorial regarding the execution of the Grand Secretary, the Second Grand Secretary, and other Grand Secretaries, asking whether new Grand Secretaries should be selected as soon as possible to help His Highness handle state affairs?"

"Ok?"

Zhu Jinzhen looked up in surprise, a cold smile appearing on his face: "They are indeed impatient. The cabinet positions are not even truly vacant yet, and they are already eager to get started."

"The cabinet has reached the pinnacle of power, holding the power of life and death."

"It's understandable that they might be tempted."

"But it was indeed a bit too hasty."

Changsun Wangqing also had some reservations about this. Before the storm of the cabinet's rebellion had subsided, tigers, leopards, wolves and jackals in the court had already set their sights on the cabinet, and were even eager to tear it apart.

That eagerness makes it hard to like someone.

(End of this chapter)