¡¡‘û¡¡¡ No need for Ouyang Bo to remind him, Huo Zhengyuan also knew that his staff and accompanying bodyguards just encountered an unnecessary disaster. But watching these confidants who had been following him for many years die unexpectedly in just two or three days still made Huo Zhengyuan furious. This feeling of anger was so intense that it obviously overwhelmed the instinctive fear in his heart. At the same time, Huo Zhengyuan also wanted to use this incident as an excuse to once again put pressure on Qian Lai, the Nanjing boss of "United Shipping Company", and force "United Shipping Company" to fully support him. As the Nanjing shopkeeper of the "United Shipping Company", Qian Lai himself is also a wealthy businessman in Nanzhili, and behind the scenes is the Nanjing eunuch Xicheng. After the establishment of "United Shipping Company", Qian Lai quickly understood the general trend and immediately chose to actively respond and openly join the company. Therefore, Zhao Junchen reciprocated the favor and made him fully responsible for all commercial activities of "United Shipping Company" in Nanjing. Since then, Qian Lai's business activities have become increasingly smooth. In just less than two years, his net worth has increased by 30 to 50%. It can be said that Qian Lai is a smart man with both vision and decision-making. But this time, Qian Lai has been hesitant. Even in the face of repeated pressure from Huo Zhengyuan, he still has not made a decision. After a moment of silence, Qian Lai smiled bitterly and said: "Master Huo, I have always been loyal to Zhao Gechen, and of course I am willing to support all your actions in South Zhili. However, there are some things that I really cannot make the decision! Don't look at me. He is the Nanjing boss of "United Shipping Company", but "United Shipping Company" is jointly established by hundreds of wealthy businessmen. Some small things are just that, but if big things happen, all shareholders must work together. Decision-making matters I will tell you a harsh truth. If Zhao Gechen shows up in person, then anything can be said. With Zhao Gechen's reputation and influence, the vast majority of shareholders would not dare to question his decision, and you Huo Daxue Although the scholar is Zhao Gechen's spokesperson, he is not Zhao Gechen himself after all. Now he wants the United Shipping Company to take huge risks and do unethical things. How can I dare to agree so easily? " Seeing Huo Zhengyuan's expression becoming increasingly unhappy, the money came again. He quickly added: "Master Huo, you also know that my official backer is Nanjing's eunuch Xi Cheng. All my business in Nanjing also relies on the strong support of eunuch Xi, and this plan of yours It is obviously detrimental to Eunuch Huangzhuang, but I never thought of reporting the news to Eunuch Xi. This alone is enough to prove my sincerity. Mainly because your plan is really risky! If it is too big, it will make the "United Shipping Company" and the wealthy gentry and the eunuchs of the Imperial Palace become enemies at the same time If your plan is slightly less risky, I will never dare to shirk it!" Seeing that Qian Lai did not give in to him! Despite the intimidation and pressure, Huo Zhengyuan's face remained stern, but he also quietly changed his negotiation skills. He no longer just blindly applied pressure and intimidation, but began to reason with money and analyze the pros and cons. "These remarks made by Mr. Qian seem to make some sense, but in fact they are all ridiculous! You said that when "United Shipping" encounters major events, it requires joint decision-making by all shareholders. Then let me ask you, in "United Shipping" 'Among the many shareholders, who have the greatest influence? They are Lin Yunpu, Dai Fengfu, and Bai Mingyu, right? The situation in Nanjing has been extremely complicated in the past two or three months, but why are they so completely Don't you plan to come to Nanjing to take charge of the overall situation? Or even ignore the changes in the situation in Nanjing?" After hearing this, Qian Lai's expression changed, and he had roughly guessed what Huo Zhengyuan meant. After Huo Zhengyuan snorted coldly, he asked and answered: "It's very simple! It's because the situation in Nanjing is too complicated. All forces in the temple are involved in it, and Lin Yunpu, Dai Fengfu, and Bai Mingyu have different backgrounds. , their thoughts and positions are also completely different. Dai Fengfu obviously wants to support Zhou Shoufu, while Bai Mingyu supports the seventh prince, and Lin Yunpu is relatively neutral Under such circumstances, they are restraining each other, and no one can dominate the situation. We have unanimously agreed, so we will simply stop interfering in the situation in Nanjing and let you, Mr. Qian, take the initiative! If the final result is beneficial to "United Shipping Company", then you, Mr. Qian, will have made a meritorious service. If the final result is not good for "United Shipping Company", Then your shopkeeper Qian will also take the blame!" Having said this, Huo Zhengyuan stared at Qian Lai coldly and said in a serious voice: "So, shopkeeper Qian's statement that he can't make the decision is just an excuse. Under the current situation, on the contrary, it is When you have the greatest autonomy! At this time, Mr. Qian, you only need to consider one thing.?, that is what you should do to be most beneficial to the United Shipping Company! In my opinion, the answer is very simple, that is, it is most beneficial to the United Shipping Company to maintain close cooperation with the "Zhao Party"! If the "Zhao Party" wins in the end, your "United Shipping Company" will also benefit. If the "Zhao Party" does not win in the end, but as long as Zhao Gechen is still in power in the temple, your "United Shipping Company" will still be as stable as a mountain! It can be said to be a sure profit without loss! Shopkeeper Qian, you should also understand this, but you are still unable to decide, just because you dare not offend your official backer, the Nanjing garrison eunuch Xicheng! right? " "This, this" Huo Zhengyuan directly revealed his thoughts. Qian Lai immediately knew how he should respond, and couldn't help but be speechless. Huo Zhengyuan sneered and then said: "As the shopkeeper Qian said, you are in Nanjing All business in the capital relies on the strong support of Nanjing's eunuch Xi Cheng. If you lose Xicheng's protection or even arouse Xicheng's hostility, you will no longer have a foothold in Nanjing So you I don¡¯t dare to offend Xicheng at all! After all, Xi Chengnai is the eunuch guarding Nanjing, and his power is enough to compete with the Six Ministries of Nanjing! But I can tell you clearly that Xicheng will lose power soon! Not only will I no longer be able to protect you, I will even no longer be able to suppress you! If nothing else happens, the position of Nanjing¡¯s eunuch guard will soon be reduced to a useless position and revoked by His Majesty¡¯s decree! " After Qian Lai heard this, his expression changed drastically, and he quickly asked: "Will the Nanjing garrison eunuch soon become a useless person? Or even cancel it completely? This, how is this possible? " The smile on Huo Zhengyuan's face became colder, and he explained: "In the past, the reason why the Nanjing garrison eunuch had great power was mainly to check and balance the Nanjing Six Ministries. If the Nanjing Six Ministries lost their power, then the existence of the Nanjing garrison eunuch would be particularly annoying. ! Shopkeeper Qian, you also know that all the chaos in the Six Ministries in Nanjing during this period of time is all due to the planning of the Imperial Central Committee, but what you don¡¯t know is that the reason why the Imperial Central Committee deliberately allowed Nanjing Six Ministries to breed chaos , not only want to beat and punish the Nanjing Sixth Department, but also want to take the opportunity to take back all the authority of the Nanjing Sixth Department! And now, as all walks of life in South Zhili have jointly impeached the Six Ministries of Nanjing to the Imperial Court, the Imperial Court Central Committee will soon issue a decree to take back all power from the Six Ministries of Nanjing! As the saying goes, the rabbit died and the dog was cooked, and the bridge was burned by crossing the river When the six departments of Nanjing lost their authority, the Nanjing guarding eunuchs would naturally lose their authority at the same time. This is a matter of course, and it was also one of the agreements reached by His Majesty and several cabinet ministers! "The fact that the imperial court wants to take back power from the Six Ministries of Nanjing is still top secret. Before Emperor Deqing officially promulgated the relevant decree, Huo Zhengyuan should not have leaked the relevant information to anyone. But at this time, in order to persuade Qian to support However, Huo Zhengyuan no longer cares about keeping secrets. After a pause, Huo Zhengyuan asked: "So, Mr. Qian, who do you think should be your new backer when the Nanjing garrison eunuch loses his power? " The answer is very simple. Qian Lai's best choice is to switch to Zhao Junchen and become the white glove of the "Zhao Party". With the relationship of "United Shipping Company", it is not easy for him to switch to Zhao Junchen. It¡¯s difficult. But if Qian Lai is still unwilling to cooperate with Huo Zhengyuan¡¯s plan and destroy the layout of the "Zhao Party" in southern Zhili, then it will not be easy for him to switch to Zhao Junchen, at least Huo Zhengyuan. This core member of the "Zhao Party" will definitely oppose it with all his strength. Qian Lai is a smart man. He quickly figured this out. So, after his expression changed for a long time, Qian Lai finally made up his mind and said through gritted teeth. "Since Academician Huo has already said this, he has not hesitated to leak the secrets of the imperial court to me. If I still resist, it would be too disrespectful! " Afterwards, Qian Lai took a deep breath and promised loudly: "I will risk my life and fully support the follow-up plan of Academician Huo! Starting from tomorrow, the 'United Shipping Company' will follow the instructions of Academician Huo Da, and declare to the outside world that the conflict between the wealthy gentry and the eunuchs of Huangzhuang has seriously affected the normal order of all parties. Then they will lead the merchants to strike and organize river workers. Go on strike and call on students to go on strike to urge His Highness the Seventh Prince and Zhou Shoufu to resolve the matter immediately! " Hearing Qian Lai's response, Huo Zhengyuan finally nodded with satisfaction. At the same time, Ouyang Bo, Qian Bodao, and Guo Min had just met Huo Zhengyuan, and they were still unclear about Huo Zhengyuan's thoughts and specific plans. After hearing this, they Their expressions changed drastically! Merchants went on strike, river workers went on strike, students went on strike When these series of things are combined, the situation in Nanjing will quickly get out of control, affectingThe country has become nothing more than a popular uprising! And once this happens, the seventh prince Zhu Hejian and the chief assistant Zhou Shangjing will have no way out! If they cannot quickly calm down the conflict between the wealthy Jin gentry and the eunuchs of Huangzhuang, their reputation in the government and the public will be seriously damaged! ‘û However, the seventh prince Zhu Hejian will definitely support the Huangzhuang eunuchs, and the first assistant Zhou Shangjing¡¯s position of supporting the Jin gentry wealthy family cannot be shaken. Therefore, if the two of them want to quickly calm down the conflict between the Huangzhuang eunuchs and the Jin gentry wealthy family, they can only Criticizing the other side with all your strength and completely overpowering the other side will further intensify the conflicts between the two sides. At the same time, if the "United Shipping Company" does such a thing, it will definitely be pushed to the forefront, arousing the common hostility of the seventh prince Zhu Hejian and the chief minister Zhou Shangjing, so it is no wonder that Qian Lai has been hesitant and late just now. It's too late to make up my mind. At this time, although Qian Lai had decided to fully support Huo Zhengyuan's plan, his worries were still undiminished. He couldn't help but add: "However, if I suffer retaliation from all parties afterwards, then you, the great scholar Huo, must Come forward to support me in time." Huo Zhengyuan promised firmly: "Don't worry, I will come forward to support you in time! Moreover, Mr. Qian, don't underestimate yourself, you are the Nanjing leader of the United Shipping Company. Shopkeeper, whether it is His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince or Chief Minister Zhou, they do not dare to make things difficult for you at will. Not only because the "United Shipping Company" is supported by Zhao Gechen, but also because since the establishment of the "United Shipping Company", it has become the main center of the imperial court! One of the tax sources, if they dare to use the "United Shipping Company", the court's tax revenue will be directly reduced by at least 10% The court's expenses are getting bigger and bigger. Except for Zhao Gechen, no one can make up for this hole, and no one can afford it. Such responsibility! " * After discussing some details with Huo Zhengyuan, Qian Lai quickly left. Why cooperate with Huo Zhengyuan's follow-up plan? Qian Lai still has many things to prepare. After Qian Lai left, Huo Zhengyuan finally explained his real plan in detail to the three Zhao family aides. Huo Zhengyuan's personality has changed significantly, and his attitude has become tougher. He is not as easy to talk to as before. However, Ouyang Bo, Qian Bodao, and Guo Min all came from the Zhao family and also represent Zhao Junchen, so Huo Zhengyuan must try his best to win their understanding and support. "You don't have to worry about the United Shipping Company making things big, leading merchants to go on strike, organizing river workers' strikes, and calling on students to strike classes These things are just the introduction. As long as my plan goes well, it will soon lead to a series of even bigger troubles. , completely diverting the attention of all parties! In fact, I have prepared two knives, ready to hand them to the Seventh Prince and Zhou Shoufu respectively, and let them use these two knives to stab each other's bodies! It's too sharp. Once used, it will hurt others and yourself. I'm worried that the two of them can't make up their minds, so I drove the "United Shipping Company" to deliberately make the matter worse, leaving them with no choice but to use what I handed them. These two knives stabbed each other's bodies until they were dripping with blood Then, when both of them were injured, we could reap the benefits! Our 'Zhao Party' has two main tasks in South Zhili. The first is We cannot allow the Seventh Prince to successfully secure the throne. The second is to seize the opportunity to seize control of several important yamen in Nanjing's officialdom, such as the Nanjing Inspectorate and the Nanjing Imperial College, etc. The former will make us enemies of the Seventh Prince, and the latter will make us enemies. We are enemies of Zhou Shoufu, so this conflict will break out sooner or later. There is no need to worry about the hostility between the Seventh Prince and Zhou Shangjing" After hearing this, Ouyang Bo couldn't help but ask: "But I don't know, what you have prepared, Master Huo, What do the two 'knives' mean?" Huo Zhengyuan sneered: "The knife I am going to hand to the Seventh Prince is called 'Thoroughly Investigate Jin Gentry's Concealed Land Property'; and the knife I am going to hand to Zhou Shangjing is called ' Fabricating the imperial edict' The Seventh Prince sent me a famous invitation, inviting me to go to Zhanyuan for a banquet this evening, and I plan to use the opportunity of this dinner to hand these two knives to them! " ¡