Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World

Unfortunately, Jiang Zhao was destined to be at the core of the Korean faction, and Shen Hezhen's grandfather was the leader of the faction, so the two were destined to have no chance of marriage.

Trying to please everyone is destined to have a bad ending. The factional strife between Niu and Li ruined a generation of great poets. How could Jiang Zhao dare to repeat the same mistake?

Li Shangyin's tragic fate has already provided the best answer.

The Hai family boasted five members who passed the imperial examinations, making them a family of scholars and officials of high rank for generations. However, their rule was that husbands were not allowed to take concubines, and they could only do so if their husbands were forty years old and childless.

From Jiang Zhao's perspective, the Hai clan rules were not entirely unacceptable.

Unfortunately, he could not marry Hai Chaoyun.

Hai Xirui is Hai Chaoyun's aunt; they are very close relatives, not even beyond the fifth degree of mourning.

Sheng Hualan, you're good!

The Sheng family is connected to the Wang family, but Grand Tutor Wang is a separate lineage.

Grand Tutor Wang's rise to power was due to Han Zhang's feat of "dismissing four prime ministers with a single memorial to the throne."

The cabinet had only six chairs, and at that time, four people were suddenly missing. The emperor hurriedly selected capable ministers to enter the cabinet, regardless of whether the person came from one of the six long-standing factions.

Grand Tutor Wang thus rose to power.

Unfortunately, Grand Tutor Wang failed to seize the opportunity. Even during his lifetime, the Wang faction's influence was not significant, and its presence remained relatively low.

To this day, Grand Tutor Wang has been dead for more than a decade, his former students and officials are no longer competent, and the Wang faction has long since disappeared.

Even his son-in-law, Sheng Hong, despite relying on some of the political influence of Grand Tutor Wang, did not consider himself a member of the Wang family.

The Sheng family is almost entirely without factions, so you can marry into it!

Therefore, Jiang Zhao specially wrote a letter to his mother, hoping that by setting restrictions on his marriage requirements, his mother would choose Sheng Hualan as his wife.

After all, having finally arrived at the story of "The Story of Minglan," it would be a pity not to marry Sheng Hualan.

Of course, if it really doesn't work out, then it doesn't matter.

A wife who is good-natured, beautiful, and has excellent manners is definitely not bad. It doesn't matter who you marry.

Now, nearly two years later, a letter regarding the marriage arrived, and Jiang Zhao knew that the matter was almost certain to be settled.

Within a few breaths, Jiang Zhao had a plan in mind.

He looked at the page and asked, "Where is the teacher?"

"I reckon they're playing chess in the back room," Hesheng replied.

Jiang Zhao nodded slightly and walked towards the back hall.

Chapter 11 Returning Home!

Zhoujin Hall, Weiting Pavilion.

A stone table, two stone benches, a chessboard, and a pot of tea.

Han Zhang sat alone, holding a black piece for a long time without making a move.

Jiang Zhao approached, refilled the tea, and asked with a puzzled look, "Ruan Ji's chess game?"

Ruan Ji, one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove during the Three Kingdoms period, was famous throughout the world for his Go skills.

Many scholars, when they felt like it, would study the remaining chess manuals and try to play against each other.

"Not bad." Han Zhang nodded and casually placed his piece.

Jiang Zhao sipped his tea, gazing at the chessboard, and couldn't help but exclaim, "Excellent game, excellent strategy!"

"Black abandons the three-star formation at the center and instead invades the heart of White's territory. On the surface, it appears to be an isolated advance, but in reality, it has almost completely locked down the vital points in the southeast corner. Using half of the territory as bait, it bets that the player with White will greedily capture a piece."

In recent years, Jiang Zhao has played many games with his mentor Han Zhang, and his skill level is not low. He saw through the essence of this move by the black pieces at a glance.

"What was the outcome?" Han Zhang asked again.

Jiang Zhao pondered for a moment, then pointed to a ko fight in the northwest corner: "If White dares to make this move, Black can easily kill the large dragon by abandoning the five-space chain. If White holds back..."

Jiang Zhao gulped down his tea and pointed to the southeast corner: "This 'flying town' move has long been a trap, and the white pieces have no way to retreat."

"Taking a step back to advance, abandoning something to gain something, cutting off all escape routes, shows the immense courage of burning one's boats," Jiang Zhao praised.

"Hahaha!"

Han Zhang smiled as he held his teacup, his eyes filled with satisfaction as he looked at his disciple.

Perhaps Jiang Zhao himself did not realize some changes. After five years of observing politics, he had developed a refined and scholarly temperament. His words were without hesitation, his actions were full of confidence and decisiveness, and he also exuded an air of authority.

Such demeanor and bearing are beyond the reach of those who have not yet become officials. Even when they reach the halls of power, they can still act with propriety and composure.

To put it bluntly, just based on that kind of aura alone, one is enough to inspire awe and make people look at one with more respect.

Even more so, even if others don't know who you are, you can simply use your face to get them to give you face.

There's no other reason than that such a temperament cannot be faked; family background, inner qualities, and experience are all indispensable.

Han Zhang nodded slightly.

Everything needs successors, and the same applies to officialdom.

When you achieve great success, you will naturally enjoy immense glory, but one day you will have to step down from that position, right?

Sometimes, getting to the top isn't necessarily a sign of true ability; the real master is the one who can gracefully step down from the top!

The saying "when people leave, the tea cools" is not just an empty phrase. If you expect the tea to stay warm even after people leave, you must teach the younger generation how to cook firewood and warm tea when you have firewood!

Furthermore, this junior must also be capable of warming the tea.

Now that he has a disciple with exceptional talent, he feels much more at ease.

"Teacher, my mother sent a letter with her." Jiang Zhao said, handing over the letter.

Han Zhang glanced at it briefly and said knowingly, "Is Zhao'er intending to go to Huainan to find a suitable marriage partner?"

Jiang Zhao nodded and shared his plan: "It's already early October. If I set off for Huainan immediately, I can arrive in half a month. Then, I can spend some time looking for a suitable match, and enter the capital in early December to acclimatize to the city and review my studies. This way, I can wait for the imperial examinations in early February. This way, I won't delay the marriage or the examinations. If the marriage goes smoothly, we can get married after the examinations, saving us a lot of trouble."

After the New Year comes the triennial imperial examination, and Jiang Zhao intends to give it a try.

"Very well then." Han Zhang smiled, stroking his beard, and waved his hand: "Next year, you and I, master and disciple, will meet again in Bianjing."

Jiang Zhao nodded, knowing that his teacher was referring to his further promotion.

Han Zhang's claim of illness and return to his hometown was not as simple as it seemed on the surface; in reality, it was a test of the emperor's heart.

At the time, the new policies led to the demotion of several senior ministers, while also giving rise to several victors.

The original balance between radicals and conservatives was thus broken.

Fortunately, due to the rise of Grand Chancellor Fu Bi, the balance was gradually restored.

Eleven years have passed since then, and those cabinet members who were hastily appointed have all retired and returned to their hometowns, while the party leaders of several factions have all changed.

The current six cabinet chairs belong to Fu Bi, Wen Yanbo, Shen Boyuan, Wang Qinruo, Pang Ji, and Liu Hang.

Fu Bi needs no further explanation; he has served as the Grand Secretary for five years.

Wen Yanbo was a member of Fan Zhongyan's faction and had always advocated reform.

Shen Boyuan was a conservative, and his granddaughter, Shen Shi, would marry the young master Qi Heng as his second wife.

Wang Qinruo was also a conservative. He was a favorite minister of the emperor and almost never advised the emperor to adopt sons of the imperial clan. He was promoted very quickly.

Pang Ji was also a conservative. He not only came from the orthodox civil service faction, but was also a fellow townsman of the Empress. His career was smooth and he rose to prominence unexpectedly.

Liu Hang was still a conservative, but relatively speaking, his existence was somewhat special.

The reason is simple: Liu Hang and Wang Qinruo belong to the same faction.

Moreover, this person is relatively senior, having risen through the ranks as a vice minister during the New Policies period. He is also the only one among the six Grand Secretaries who rose to power by opposing the New Policies.

It is relatively rare, but not uncommon, for a faction to have two Grand Secretaries. Some powerful prime ministers would often recommend a Grand Secretary from their own faction to work together.

Sometimes, if the emperor wanted to suppress the Grand Chancellor, he would allow a certain faction to have two Grand Secretaries, so that they could compete with the Grand Chancellor for the right to speak.

However, Liu Hang was a different person to Han Zhang.

Back then, when Han Zhang was demoted, he was the one who jumped the gun the most.

Last time, Han Zhang claimed to be ill and returned to his hometown, precisely to test the emperor's will.

If the emperor intended to check and balance the Grand Chancellor Fu Bi, he did not necessarily have to choose Liu Hang's faction.

The emperor's deliberate promotion of Liu Hang and Wang Qinruo to counter Fu Bi implies that he tacitly approved of Liu Hang's continued attacks on former officials of the Qingli era. Liu Hang is unlikely to be promoted again, and his career will likely come to an end. It would be wise for him to return to his hometown to retire early.

Conversely, if the matter of Liu Hang and Wang Qinruo being two Grand Secretaries was purely accidental, then even if he was recuperating from illness, the Emperor would still promote him.

This is an attitude!

As expected, the government made its stance clear.

Not long after Han Zhang fell ill, the Emperor specially drafted an edict to inquire about his condition and hoped that Han Zhang would come to the capital to formally assume the post of Minister of Rites.

As it turned out, Liu Hang and Wang Qinruo's entry into the cabinet together was merely a result of past political issues.

The Han faction, whose leader Han Zhang should have been in the capital, left a vacancy in the cabinet because someone from the Han faction had not yet taken office. Meanwhile, Wang Qinruo from the Liu Hang faction, who should have taken office after Liu Hang retired, was promoted ahead of schedule due to favoritism and filled the cabinet position.

Wang Qinruo was the successor in his lineage!

Otherwise, the Emperor would not have appointed Han Zhang as Minister of Rites.

It should be noted that among the six ministries in the country, the Ministry of Personnel is in charge of personnel matters and has the highest prestige, but if it comes to entering the cabinet, the Ministry of Rites still has priority.

Han Zhang worked tirelessly, traveling back and forth, to stabilize the country; his efforts were truly commendable.

Since the Emperor appointed him to head the Ministry of Rites, it was clear that he intended to promote him again.

Of course, behind every cabinet chair is a group of people working themselves to the bone to support it; even the emperor cannot dismiss a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet without a reason.

If Liu Hang still refuses to retire and return to his hometown on his own initiative when Han Zhang enters the capital, then it is destined that the two sides will have to fight!

Jiang Zhao stayed for a while, then got up to take his leave.

Chapter 12: Arranging a Marriage by Inserting a Hairpin!

Yangzhou, Tongpanfu, Mucangzhai.

This is the courtyard where the only daughter of Marquis Yongyi, the old lady of the Sheng family, lives.

Inside the hall, Old Madam Sheng held a bowl of ginseng tea, her face kind and gentle. Below her sat a young girl in her prime, her hands gently resting on her lap.

Sheng Hualan, the eldest daughter of the Sheng family!

At this moment, she seemed somewhat awkward in her demeanor.

Finally, she mustered her courage and said, "Grandmother, it is said that the famous Young Master Jiang has set off from Xiangzhou, intending to return home to consider marriage prospects?"

Originally, marriage was arranged by parents, and women should remain reserved and not ask too many questions.

Ultimately, it's a matter of life and death, so who can remain calm and ignore it?

It is often said that a woman's marriage is a new beginning, and this is no exaggeration. No matter how bitter or smooth a woman's life may have been as a young girl, marriage can change everything.

If you meet the right person and experience hardship, your life will be smooth and carefree; if you meet the wrong person and experience smooth sailing, your life will turn into hardship.

Both types of conversions are commonplace.

Now that she is about to face a life-changing event, how could Sheng Hualan not care?

The girl looked at her grandmother, her face flushed with shyness, but she did not bow her head.

"Your mother told you that?" Old Mrs. Sheng put down her teacup.

"Mm." Sheng Hualan nodded.

She naturally paid close attention to this matter.

Old Madam Sheng pondered for a moment, then took the girl's hand and said, "When it comes to marriage, it's naturally best to be well-matched in terms of social standing. This way, both husband and wife will have confidence, and neither of them will have to be subservient. However, you are the eldest daughter of the main wife and the first child of the Sheng family to be involved in marriage. According to the marriage customs of our dynasty, the first child involved in marriage should ideally be placed in a higher social class."

Sheng Hualan nodded, letting outsiders know that she, as the older sister, had married into a higher social class, which would undoubtedly give her younger siblings more options for marriage in the future.

Otherwise, outsiders would see that if the eldest daughter cannot marry into a high-ranking family, it would mean that the family's children are not outstanding, and the marriage prospects of the younger siblings would be significantly narrowed.

"Originally, your father intended to marry the second son of the Earl of Zhongqin's family. The Earl of Zhongqin's family has been in decline for a long time, and the Sheng family, being a respectable family, could barely be considered a match for him," said Old Madam Sheng. "However, ever since Madam Hai mentioned Jiang Dalang's matter, your father, to show his sincerity, has already rejected the Earl's family."

"A nine-year-old scholar, a fifteen-year-old graduate, and the eldest son of the Jiang family of Huaizuo, with the blood of the Hai family of Jiangning in his veins." Old Madam Sheng sighed, "Just in terms of background and talent, he is already first-rate. If we really compare, the Sheng family is far from being able to reach his level."

"What's more, he also has a teacher who is a second-rank official." Even Old Madam Sheng couldn't help but sigh, "Such a person is one of a kind, even if you look at the whole world."