Chapter 59

The next day, before the early morning court session, as usual, after the hour of Yin had passed, Zhao Junchen arrived at the Meridian Gate in a sedan chair. There, the Crown Prince's faction and the Chief Cabinet Minister Zhou Shangjing had already been waiting for a long time. As for the other senior ministers, they still waited for the bell to ring before appearing.

However, unlike before, after Zhao Junchen got out of the sedan chair, his aura and popularity were much greater than in recent days.

In fact, since returning to the capital, Zhao Junchen had changed from his previous aloof and domineering demeanor, greeting the officials in the court with a smile and making every effort to form alliances. His intention to widely gather supporters was evident to anyone. Through the case of the autumn examination fraud in the three provinces, Zhao Junchen also demonstrated his ability to protect his allies and his strong influence before Emperor Deqing.

Faced with such a Zhao Junchen, many officials in the court who were looking for a patron or were not valued in their factions were naturally moved.

However, at that time, the outcome of the bet between Zhao Junchen and the Crown Prince Zhu Heyu was still uncertain. If Zhao Junchen ultimately lost the bet and was guilty of deceiving the emperor, his future would be ruined, and he would not be able to protect his allies or form his own faction.

Therefore, although many officials in the court were inclined to support Zhao Junchen, they were restrained by the bet and did not take action, but only observed and considered.

But with the end of the auction for the soap supply at the Ministry of Revenue, everyone knew that Zhao Junchen would surely win the bet!

At this moment, if they did not show their stance, when would they do it?

In fact, as soon as the auction at the Ministry of Revenue ended yesterday, many officials in the court either sent name cards or personally visited Zhao Junchen's residence. For a time, the front of Zhao's residence was bustling with carriages and people, extremely noisy.

And at today's early morning court session, with Zhao Junchen's appearance, it became even more lively. Many officials had been waiting for a long time. After Zhao Junchen got out of the sedan chair, they all gathered around him, heads swarming, shoulders brushing, and a rough count showed that there were no fewer than twenty to thirty people, all greeting, inquiring about his well-being, and showing goodwill to Zhao Junchen.

Looking at the group of officials in front of him, although their positions and power were not great, if he could select some to take under his wing, it would be a good start for Zhao Junchen and would increase his prestige and status in the hearts of the officials. Therefore, Zhao Junchen also returned their greetings with clasped hands, showing great courtesy.

"Lord Zhao, I sent a name card to your residence yesterday. I wonder if you have seen it?"

"Lord Zhao, I intend to hold a banquet at the Lin Yuan Pavilion today. I wonder if Lord Zhao would honor us with your presence?"

"Lord Zhao, I wish you a successful promotion to the position of Minister of Revenue!"

Amidst the noise, Zhao Junchen pressed his hands down, and the officials all quieted down, looking at him with anticipation.

Zhao Junchen smiled and said, "If I am fortunate enough to be promoted to the Minister of Revenue today, I will certainly hold a banquet to thank all of you for your strong support these days. Yes, it will be at the Tianhai Tower in the western part of the city at the hour of You this afternoon. I won't send out invitations, but any colleague who can honor us with their presence this afternoon will be my friend."

Hearing Zhao Junchen say this, the officials all agreed.

Suddenly, someone snorted, "Lord Zhao is quite confident. Does Lord Zhao really think he has won the bet?"

Zhao Junchen turned his head and saw that the Left Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Bao Wenjie, was standing not far away, looking coldly at Zhao Junchen and the others.

Seeing that it was Bao Wenjie speaking, the officials gathered around Zhao Junchen all instinctively fell silent.

Bao Wenjie held a third-rank position, had real power, and was a close confidant of the Crown Prince. Although these people were inclined to support Zhao Junchen, the matter was not yet settled, and it was not worth offending Bao Wenjie for nothing.

Zhao Junchen smiled slightly, clasped his hands to Bao Wenjie, and was about to say something when someone interjected, "Oh? Now that His Majesty has issued an edict to allocate 200,000 taels of silver from the internal treasury's soap profits to the Ministry of Revenue every year, the matter is settled, and Lord Zhao has already won the bet. What? Does His Highness the Crown Prince intend to renege on the agreement?"

As he spoke, Zhan Shanchang and Tong Huan appeared together, and the one who spoke was clearly Zhan Shanchang, who had long been at odds with Bao Wenjie.

If it weren't for Bao Wenjie's report, Zhan Shanchang wouldn't have been in such a difficult position in recent days. Moreover, the two had been vying for power in the Ministry of Rites for years, and had accumulated many grudges.

Seeing that it was Zhan Shanchang speaking, a look of disdain flashed in Bao Wenjie's eyes, and he snorted, "A petty person's success, how long can it last?"

As he spoke, Bao Wenjie clasped his hands to Zhao Junchen and said, "Lord Zhao, the outcome of this bet is not yet certain. We will see in the court."

Without waiting for Zhan Shanchang to respond, Bao Wenjie turned and walked towards the position where the Crown Prince's faction was gathered, leaving Zhan Shanchang with a green face from anger.

Zhao Junchen did not say much more, but looked in the direction of the Crown Prince's faction.

Clearly, the Crown Prince's faction had already learned about Zhao Junchen's use of soap profits. They all had serious expressions, but there was no sign of disappointment, indicating that they had their own countermeasures.

Zhao Junchen was not worried about this. In this matter, he had deliberately left some loopholes, which the Crown Prince's faction had clearly noticed. However, Zhao Junchen did not care; these loopholes were for Emperor Deqing to see. The Crown Prince's faction thought they had a plan, but they were actually being used by Zhao Junchen.

As his gaze swept across, Zhao Junchen saw Chief Cabinet Minister Zhou Shangjing, who, as usual, was surrounded by his disciples and was looking at Zhao Junchen with a scrutinizing eye.

After their eyes met, both Zhao Junchen and Zhou Shangjing nodded politely to each other.

Zhao Junchen had no doubt that Zhou Shangjing knew about Emperor Deqing's arrangements yesterday, but the emperor's actions did not affect Zhou Shangjing in the slightest. His usual calm demeanor made Zhao Junchen unable to fathom his depth.

On the other side, due to Bao Wenjie's appearance, the officials gathered around Zhao Junchen all felt somewhat awkward. Seeing Zhan Shanchang and Tong Huan walking towards Zhao Junchen, they all tactfully took their leave.

After only Zhan Shanchang and Tong Huan remained by his side, Zhao Junchen led them towards the Meridian Gate, and as they walked, he instructed, "I will hold a banquet tonight. You two should also come, and you are responsible for screening the officials who want to join my faction."

Hearing Zhao Junchen say this, Zhan Shanchang and Tong Huan both nodded in understanding.

Although Zhao Junchen was eager to gather allies, he did not want to gather a group of spies sent by other factions. Of those people earlier, how many truly wanted to join him? Zhao Junchen was not sure.

Moreover, many officials, although they wanted to join Zhao Junchen, had their own problems. Some were too incompetent, some had short-sighted views, and some could not get along with others. Zhao Junchen did not want to take them all in without discrimination.

Just as Zhao Junchen was giving instructions, the bell at the Meridian Gate rang, and as the gate slowly opened, the three cabinet ministers, Wen Guanliang, Huang Yourong, and Shen Changmao, as usual, got out of their sedan chairs on time, and the early morning court session began.

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ps: Tomorrow there will be five updates to make up for the debt from Qixi, and then I will start to burst. Finally, I have some free time. The early mornings and late nights of the past few days were really unbearable (#^_^#)

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