Chapter 125
The smile on his face slowly receded a bit, and the Emperor Zhengde solemnly said to Zhou Chen, "Brother Zhou and I have life-saving grace, why bother between you and me? You are so polite!"
"Your Majesty, you must distinguish between monarchs and ministers. The courtesy must not be abandoned!"
Zhou Chen bowed again, not dare to say: "Please also Your Majesty Calling the minister's name directly, the name of Brother Zhou, the minister really dare not be."
Looking at Zhou Chen deeply, Emperor Zhengde suddenly smiled, and his voice said cheerfully:" I haven't seen you in a few years, you are still polite with me."
Immediately, the Emperor Zhengde turned his head and looked towards Cao Zhengchun on the other side, and said with a smile: "What are you doing in a daze?! Don’t hurry up to see Master Zhou?”
For Emperor Zhengde’s instructions, Cao Zhengchun naturally did not dare to neglect the slightest. He hurriedly moved a chair to Zhou Chen’s side. , And then respectfully went to wait for Emperor Zhengde.
After Zhou Chen thanked him for his favor, he cautiously sat on the chair, and the emotions in his heart were calmed a lot.
Don't worry about what it means for Emperor Zhengde to call Zhou Chen back to Beijing, but with the current attitude of Emperor Zhengde, it shouldn't be anything harmful to Zhou Chen.
After all, it is not who can be given a seat by the emperor when he meets the emperor. This obviously represents the importance of Emperor Zhengde to Zhou Chen.
After seeing Zhou Chen seated, Emperor Zhengde sighed and sighed as he watched him. "To be honest, to this day, I think the decision of the Imperial Father buried you. The talent.
I want you to dignified a Third Placer. In the future, it is most likely to be able to enter the cabinet. As a result, the Imperial Father took you to the frontier and gave you a Bright Gown Guard. Isn’t this delaying your future?”
Emperor Zhengde’s words that seemed to be embarrassing for Zhou Chen, but instantly made Zhou Chen’s heart tight .
If it was placed a few years ago, when Emperor Zhengde was still the boy who was born out of nature, Zhou Chen might not believe that he was really making injustices for himself.
However, a few years have passed, and he has even become the Helmsman of the dignified Great Ming Empire. Zhou Chen can't believe that his mind is still as pure and simple as it was a few years ago.
Don’t say anything else, in the past few years, Emperor Hongzhi was impossible not to cultivate the temperament and methods of his only heir.
Therefore, Zhou Chen guessed in his mind that the emperor Zhengde's words that seemed to be grieving for himself at the moment were probably testing his attitude.
Immediately, after Zhou Chen deliberated carefully in his heart, he just replied: "Your Majesty is serious!
Being able to serve Your Majesty, for the Ming Dynasty Sharing worries, this is the duty of the minister, why should the minister bury it!"
Speaking of this, Zhou Chen was slightly paused, and with gratitude behind him, he continued to speak: "And the first emperor The minister is not bad.
In just a few years, the emperor promoted the minister from a white body to the current Grade 4 prefect, and also served as the commander of the Bright Gown Guard.
The minister deeply feels that the emperor’s grace is mighty, and he will definitely be the first emperor, and die for Your Majesty striving to the utmost!"
Regardless of the true or false expression of gratitude on Zhou Chen's face, he will After hearing his words, Emperor Zhengde was very satisfied.
Lightly nodded, Emperor Zhengde smiled and said: "Imperial Father told me that your loyalty is worthy of promotion and reuse."
Speaking of which However, Emperor Zhengde’s words couldn’t help but change. He continued to say with dignity: “But the Imperial Father is the Imperial Father. Although I understand his Senior’s approach, I also have my own choices.
Now I will give you a chance to change. You can choose between the civilian and military officials again.
Choose the former and I will let you return to Guangyang Mansion. Continue to serve as your Grade 4 prefect. In the future, you will become a chief official or enter the cabinet. It all depends on your own talents.
Choose the latter, and I will treat you All the ranks, ranks, and official positions of the civil servants are exempted. You can safely mention that I am in charge of the Bright Gown Guard, the son of the emperor, just like what the Imperial Father had prepared before his death.
But I chose. If this is the way, you will have to do a good job against the imperial court officials."
Hearing the words of Emperor Zhengde in his ears, Zhou Chen couldn't help being silent.
Emperor Zhengde seems to have given Zhou Chen two roads to choose, but in fact there is only one road that can work.
If he chooses to concentrate on the path of civil servants, Zhou Chen can guarantee that he will lose a lot of points in the heart of Emperor Zhengde.
After all, let Zhou Chen take the route of Bright Gown Guard, but Emperor Hongzhi had already planned it before his death, in order to leave a handle for Emperor Zhengde after he succeeded. An official's blade.
Don’t look at Emperor Zhengde’s disapproval of Emperor Hongzhi’s arrangements for Zhou Chen, but for the temperament that Emperor Zhengde has always been filial, if Zhou Chen chose to go against the wishes of Emperor Hongzhi, he would Zhou Chen's trust and hope will naturally be greatly attenuated by this.
Another point is that Zhou Chen had already offended the Shanxi merchants’ umbrella among the civil officials a few years ago because of the affairs of the Fantian family of Shanxi merchants.
Now that Zhou Chen is able to be at ease, apart from being favored by the two emperors Hongzhi and Zhengde, the power of the Bright Gown Guard in his hands also played an extremely important role.
If Zhou Chen really gave up the power of Bright Gown Guard and went to the civil service wholeheartedly.
He didn't have any backer in the Imperial court, and coupled with the loss of the trust of Emperor Zhengde, he might sooner or later be swallowed by the umbrella behind those Shanxi merchants.
Relatively speaking, the way to concentrate on Bright Gown Guard is completely different.
Even the Bright Gown Guard is destined to stand on the opposite side of the civil and military officials in the Imperial court, which will put Zhou Chen in an almost isolated situation above the Ming Dynasty.
But this is not a problem for Zhou Chen at all. After all, his goal is always to control power and to gather luck.
As for the personal connections among the government and the opposition, this is simply something dispensable for Zhou Chen.
And this way of being in charge of Bright Gown Guard is just in line with the goal of Zhou Chen until now.
Bright Gown Guard, as the pro-army of the emperor, all its power comes from being the Imperial Emperor.
As long as the emperor’s trust can be obtained and the emperor’s faith is the criterion, then the status of Bright Gown Guard will never be shaken by any slightest.
After weighing the pros and cons of these two roads, Zhou Chen's choice is naturally self-evident.