Chapter 1794: Calculating against each other; you succeed, I fail, you loser!

After the funeral ended, the Hou Fu closed its doors.

During the period of intense mourning, all social interactions were declined.

Local officials and military officers who had finally made the trip to the capital, hoping to use the Hou Fu's connections to get promoted and get rich, only received a reply to return in two months after submitting their name cards.

In two months?

In two months, I'm afraid the day lilies would have already wilted.

Some decided to wait two months, some turned around to look for other paths, and some were riding a donkey to find a horse...

Of course, there were also those who concluded that the Hou Fu would fall from then on.

Even if Chen Guanfu could successfully return to office in three years, he would certainly not have the same status as he did today.

Situations where people leave and tea goes cold in officialdom were everywhere.

As for the Marquis of Pingjiang in the Northwest, there had been no wars in recent years, and many people had not thought of him. Even if they did, they thought of an old man with his neck already buried in the yellow earth, wondering how many more years he could toss about.

With the passing of the Hou Fu's old lady, the Marquis of Pingjiang was certainly not far from death. By then, when the autumn accounts were settled, whether the Hou Fu would still exist would be a question.

Chen Guanfu watched the wind and rain outside with a cold eye.

"This is also good! At least I can see clearly who is sincere and who is fake!"

Immediately following, he mocked, "The Hou Fu has stood in the imperial court for hundreds of years and has never relied on any single person. Yet the world has never seen this point clearly. A bunch of idiots!"

"Heir, calm your anger. Taking advantage of the mourning period, it is just the right time to make some plans. We can add some manpower to the Northwest..."

The wind and rain of the Hou Fu and the imperial court could not blow to Chen Guanlou here.

When he was patrolling the Grade-A prison, the top scholar Yuan Sikai took the opportunity to mock him, "The Hou Fu looks like it's about to collapse. I wonder what plans Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen has?"

Chen Guanlou raised an eyebrow and retorted with cold mockery, "If Master Yuan only has this much insight, it is truly disappointing. Chen Guanfu is merely observing a mourning period, and you conclude that the Hou Fu is about to collapse. The evidence is insufficient, and the conclusion is very rash. Is this how you wrote your policy essays? With this level, you can become a top scholar?"

Yuan Sikai did not get angry and analyzed patiently, "Why must Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen be stubborn! You know the Emperor's temperament, and so do I. We can both imagine what the Emperor wants to do. Guess, in three years, will Chen Guanfu have the chance to return to office, and after returning, will he be able to resume his original position?

Moreover, the bigger problem is still to come. Minister Xie's parents are also getting on in years. Once there is a mishap, Minister Xie will certainly have to observe a mourning period. I bet the Emperor will not force him to stay. In this way, the Political Affairs Hall alliance will officially disintegrate, and the Emperor will win a complete victory. May I ask, what will you use to win?"

Chen Guanlou lowered his head and smiled, laughing at the other party's stupidity.

"Master Yuan can imagine the scene after Minister Xie observes mourning, but why don't you think about what the foundation of the Hou Fu's standing in the imperial court is? A leaf blinds the eyes!"

Yuan Sikai's expression sank, very unconvinced, "The Marquis of Pingjiang is old and doesn't have many years left to live. Once he is gone, the Hou Fu will lose its military power. I want to see what the Hou Fu will use to stand then."

"Then you just wait and see slowly! See if the Hou Fu can continue to stand."

Chen Guanlou had confidence in the Hou Fu, yet the royalist faction had already begun to sing songs of victory. Chen Guanfu had observed mourning and rolled out of the imperial court; was Xie Changling's mourning period and rolling out of the imperial court far behind?

Some even came up with bad ideas, going to poison Xie Changling's parents, killing one by one. Forcing Xie Changling to observe mourning ahead of time.

Of course, such idiots, once such stupid words were spoken, were sternly scolded by others.

"Officialdom has the rules of officialdom. Whoever dares to mess around and break the rules, I will definitely execute without mercy!"

Such vicious means must be strangled in the cradle; this precedent must never be set. Today, if one dares to poison Xie Changling's parents, tomorrow someone will dare to harm their own parents!

It was not strange for officials to have such vicious thoughts, but officials who could speak these words out loud completely lost their chance for promotion from then on, being thrown into the dark room at this moment, never to turn over for a lifetime.

Xie Changling was well aware of the movements in the imperial court. Many people were hoping for his father and mother to die, taking the opportunity to drive him out of the Political Affairs Hall and uproot his party, turning the court into the world of the royalist faction.

Xie Changling pondered that, taking advantage of Chen Guanfu's mourning period, the Political Affairs Hall had to move. Moving one person was not enough; at least two people had to move.

He looked at his student Tan Zhang, who was too young and had shallow qualifications, so he simply sent him out to gain experience.

Tan Zhang readily agreed; he also wanted to go to the local area to gain experience and test his own depth.

Xie Changling's student was to be sent out as an official; with a single greeting, the Ministry of Personnel sent over several options for him to choose from. Opportunities that other candidate officials longed for in vain were even disdained by him.

Comparing people to people makes one angry!

In March, Tan Zhang was sent out.

On the side of the Political Affairs Hall, the candidate to replace Chen Guanfu's position finally had a result after long arguments and several rounds of voting. It was Xie Changling's staunch supporter.

The moment Emperor Yuanding saw the result, he was so angry that he smashed a teacup in front of the ministers, his face as black as ink. He immediately announced the end of the morning court, leaving only Zhao Jichong by his side to discuss matters.

Once everyone had left, Emperor Yuanding could no longer control his violent temper, cursing angrily, "Did you see Xie Changling's arrogant attitude just now? Ah? Minister Zhao, what face do you have to see me? You swore to me that you would definitely win this time and that your people would definitely be able to rise to the top. And the result? After working for so long, I followed you and spent effort, only to end up as a clown. At this moment, I don't know how they are mocking me. Mocking me for overestimating my capabilities, mocking you, Zhao Jichong, for being an idiot. I went through all that trouble, only to be watched as a play. Zhao Jichong, you deserve to die!"

Thump!

Zhao Jichong knelt down directly to plead guilty, "This minister deserves to die ten thousand times."

"You already deserve to die!"

In a fit of rage, Emperor Yuanding picked up an inkstone and smashed it at the other party's head.

Liu Shun was scared to death, fearing that Minister Zhao might suffer a mishap.

At the critical moment, he was quick-witted and hugged Emperor Yuanding's leg, "Your Majesty, calm your anger! Your Majesty, you must not!"

Because of this hug, Emperor Yuanding's aim was off, and Zhao Jichong escaped a disaster. The inkstone brushed past his ear and fell to the side, shattering.

If that had hit solidly, even if he didn't die, his head would have blossomed.

In a fit of rage, Emperor Yuanding kicked Liu Shun away.

Liu Shun rolled three times, following Zhao Jichong to kneel on the ground and plead guilty.

Emperor Yuanding had a violent temper, and his anger did not subside, but instead became even more intense.

"You tell me, what should we do now? You told me to endure, endure, endure; I have endured for too long. Zhao Jichong, you are a loser! I fell for your trick back then and believed your flowery words. Several years have passed, and the Political Affairs Hall is still dominated by Xie Changling alone. It's infuriating! Zhao Jichong, what use do I have for you?"

Zhao Jichong felt wronged. He had planned everything, and the candidate this time was also carefully selected, qualified in terms of seniority, knowledge, and reputation. But during the recommendation period, a mistake occurred. He went to a brothel to drink flower wine, argued with someone, was beaten out of the brothel, and became a laughingstock in the capital, becoming material for the censors to impeach.

With such a scandal, and at a critical time, he was naturally removed from the list of candidates. The remaining candidates were all just running along, naturally unable to compete with Xie Changling's people.

"Your Majesty! All of this was calculated by Minister Xie. Our people were calculated by him!"

"He calculates, and you calculate too. Why did his calculation succeed, and with such clumsy means? Your calculations are all sets of sets, and the result? Loser!" ===== CHAPTER 1795 =====