As soon as it was time for rest, Zhang Zhifa put down the memorial in his hand, left the official office and went home.

This was an unprecedented situation. All cabinet ministers knew that Zhang Zhifa acted in accordance with the rules of the previous cabinet minister Wen Tiren. No matter what, the day's affairs had to be completed. It was a common situation to go home after dark.

When Zhang Zhifa left the official office, he left without saying hello to the many cabinet ministers who were handling government affairs.

After Zhang Zhifa left, many cabinet ministers also left the official office and went home. Everyone saw what happened in the side hall today with their own eyes. According to their analysis, Zhang Zhifa was probably about to retire.

When the sedan stopped at the door of the mansion, Zhang Zhifa did not get off the sedan immediately. It was not until the housekeeper reminded him softly that Zhang Zhifa came to his senses.

Being an official and becoming the chief minister of the cabinet can be said to have reached the pinnacle. One person is less than ten thousand people. Those who are still working hard and looking forward to promotion will not fully understand the truth of being in a high position. The chief minister of the cabinet is struggling every day.

To deal with the emperor, you need to deal with too many government affairs. If the government affairs handled are not in line with the emperor's wishes, it means that you may lose your job at any time, or even be held accountable and thrown into prison.

Among them, there are still six subjects that are being watched by Shizhong and the Supervisory Yushi of the Supervisory Council. These people are so courageous that they dare to say anything, even if they are facing the emperor, they don’t care, let alone the chief minister of the cabinet. You must know that these people are

They hope to achieve the goal of becoming famous through impeachment. They don't care about the imperial staff and are proud of being beaten.

Zhang Zhifa witnessed all this with his own eyes. From the first year of Chongzhen to the eleventh year of Chongzhen, the cabinet ministers changed like a revolving lantern, and the six ministers changed even faster. There were power struggles, deliberate impeachments, and even more questions from the emperor.

With a long sigh, Zhang Zhifa spoke to the housekeeper beside him.

"Come to the study in a minute and tell everyone in the mansion that they are not allowed to disturb you without my permission."

"Yes, sir, if an official comes to visit, how should I respond?"

"Don't worry, I don't think anyone will come to visit you."

The housekeeper's face turned pale instantly. He looked at Zhang Zhifa and his body trembled slightly.

The housekeeper was Zhang Zhifa's absolute confidant, and he immediately understood the meaning of Zhang Zhifa's words.

...

When the housekeeper entered the study with a tea tray, Zhang Zhifa was deep in thought.

The housekeeper was afraid of disturbing Zhang Zhifa, so he tiptoed forward.

"Butler, sit down, I have something to say to you, please give me some advice..."

"Yes, sir, this is the West Lake Longjing brewed specially for you..."

Zhang Zhifa nodded, watched the butler put the teacup in front of him, walked downstairs and sat down carefully.

"Butler, you have been with me for more than forty years, right?"

"Sir, I have been by your side for forty-three years."

"Yes, time flies so fast. It has been more than forty years in the blink of an eye. When you followed me, you were still a little book boy. After so many years, I have not been able to help you find an official position. Think about it.

I feel quite guilty..."

"Master, don't say that. I am willing to stay with you."

The prime minister's porter is a seventh-grade official, not to mention a housekeeper. In fact, the housekeeper's life has been very good these years.

Zhang Zhifa looked at the housekeeper and sighed.

"Old, you and I are both old. I am sixty-five and you are sixty. We are both in our sixties. As the old saying goes, at sixty, the ears are attuned and the sound penetrates the heart. There is nothing to disobey. Once you know it, you will not think about it.

And Deye, you are already in this grade, why are you still running?"

The housekeeper had never seen Zhang Zhifa speak like this. In the past, his master was always high-spirited. Even if he was tired at the official office, he would always pay attention to his image when he returned home. No matter which official came to visit, he would always be in high spirits when he came out.

There must be a reason for Zhang Zhifa to speak like this. As for the sixty-five-year-old who became the chief minister of the cabinet, it cannot be said that he is very senior. The former chief minister of the cabinet, Wen Tiren, was the same age as Zhang Zhifa and served as the chief minister of the cabinet for six years.

No one said that I was older.

The butler will not speak at will. His main responsibility is to listen. The master needs someone to talk to, otherwise all the words and things will be kept in his heart, and no one can stand it after a long time.

"Butler, do you think I should take the initiative to become a professional..."

The housekeeper's face turned pale, and he looked at Zhang Zhifa and spoke hastily.

"Master, don't think like that..."

Zhang Zhifa waved to the housekeeper, looking particularly haggard.

"The emperor is too impatient. I know what the emperor is thinking. Many of the things that the emperor is worried about are reasonable. However, the emperor has never thought that the Ming Dynasty has encountered too many things, including successive famines, refugees everywhere, rogue bandits and chaos.

After the Jin Dynasty, the Tartars were eyeing him, but there was no money in the treasury and could not do anything. Under such circumstances, the court needs stability..."

"Liaodong, Dengzhou, Laizhou, this Wu Zongrui is really unpredictable. He could obviously do it more cleverly, but he is unwilling to do it and puts on an indifferent attitude. Doesn't this make the Ming court even more dangerous...

.”

"Zhang Pu and Wu Weiye, are they really thinking about the emperor and the court? Do you think I don't know how to restore society? Huh, in the final analysis, it's not for power..."

"Yang Sichang is quite good. He is loyal to the emperor, but unfortunately he is not broad-minded. In order to prove that he is right, he tried his best to help Xiong Wencan. Don't you know that this is counterproductive..."

Zhang Zhifa seemed to be talking to the housekeeper, or muttering to himself.

The housekeeper would never speak, but he understood the meaning. His master had become the chief minister of the cabinet, and many officials came to visit. From their few words, the housekeeper knew a lot of things. Wu Zongrui, the governor of Jiliao, the cabinet minister, the Ministry of War

The names of Shangshu Yang Sichang, left minister of the Ministry of War Hong Chengchou, governor of the five provinces Xiong Wencan and others appeared many times. Even Zhang Pu and Wu Weiye, as well as the Fushe, were known to the housekeeper.

Connecting all these factors together, there must be something going on here.

"The emperor no longer trusts me, and allowing me to continue to be the chief minister of the cabinet is nothing more than saving face for me and asking me to take the initiative to resign. Since the emperor has already suspected Wu Zongrui, he will always pay attention to it. If I always speak for Wu Zongrui

, I may offend the emperor one day, and I'm afraid I won't end well, but if I don't say anything, and the day comes when I can't handle it anymore, my guilt will be even greater."

"I'm afraid that the emperor suspects that I have an unusual relationship with Wu Zongrui. Anyway, don't think so much. The emperor can't understand my loyalty, so you should know better..."

Zhang Zhifa said this and looked at the housekeeper again.

The butler finally spoke.

"Master, you can have a good talk with the Emperor. I thought the Emperor would definitely believe you."

Zhang Zhifa had a wry smile on his face.

"Don't talk about the emperor, even Yang Sichang, I'm afraid they all suspect that the relationship between me and Wu Zongrui is unusual. When Mr. Wen Tiren became an official, he had a certain relationship with Wu Zongrui. Now I finally understand. Wen Tiren wanted to prove his

It is his innocence that made me pay attention to Wu Zongrui. He wanted to let the emperor understand that Wu Zongrui is indeed the mainstay of our Ming Dynasty."

"Perhaps Lord Wen Tiren, who has been shrewd all his life, really misjudged the wrong person this time."

The butler's body trembled and he spoke hesitantly.

"Sir, are you saying that Ji Liao Governor Wu Zongrui wants to rebel..."

There was no expression on Zhang Zhifa's face, his eyes were normal and he didn't know where he was looking.

"Perhaps, Wu Zongrui has an extraordinary mind and extraordinary ambition. With his personal ability, he can make Dengzhou and Laizhou rich, and he can even solve all the problems of the Denglai New Army with his personal ability.

There is nothing that cannot be done with military pay, food and fodder. Even the Guan Ning cavalry back then could only confront the Hou Jin Tatars and did not dare to hope to defeat the Hou Jin Tatars. The Denglai New Army under Wu Zongrui did.

Here we are, it’s not easy..."

"All my suggestions are for the emperor and the Ming court, but the emperor just doesn't understand what Zhang Pu and Wu Weiye understand. It's a pity that Yang Sichang can't understand the reason either. Wu Zongrui must be restricted slowly, and he must not

We need to pull out the fuel from under the cauldron, otherwise Wu Zongrui will rebel, and the Ming Dynasty will really be unable to sustain itself."

"Steward, I can no longer stay in the court. The emperor doesn't understand what I mean, and many of the adults in the court don't understand it either. Maybe they understand, but they don't want to say it. Who doesn't want to be the chief minister of the cabinet?

Since they all want this position, let them do it."

"I will recommend Yang Sichang as the chief minister of the cabinet. I hope to have a good talk with Yang Sichang."

"Master Wen, you are still so powerful. Even if you leave office, you still let me take the blame. If you had had a good talk with me, we wouldn't have been in this situation..."

After Zhang Zhifa finished speaking, the housekeeper suddenly spoke.

"Master, I don't know about the affairs of the court, so I don't dare to talk nonsense. However, I feel that if the master is really not prepared, then he should go home early and ignore the affairs of the court. I know the trouble.

Mouth out..."

Zhang Zhi was stunned for a moment, stood up, walked to the housekeeper, and pressed the housekeeper's shoulders hard.

"Well said, well said. If it weren't for your reminder, I would have done something wrong. When Mr. Wen Tiren left office, he almost didn't say anything to me. It's not that he didn't have anything to say, but that he couldn't.

.”

Once the decision was made, Zhang Zhifa's mood improved significantly.

"Butler, go tell the concierge that no matter who comes to visit, they say that I am not feeling well and have rested. Tell everyone in the mansion not to disturb me."

The butler left the study.

Zhang Zhifa walked to the desk, pondered for a while, and began to sharpen his ink.
Chapter completed!