Zhang Jun was stunned for a moment, then panicked, and Zhao Ding was also a little at a loss for a moment.

There was no other reason. Both of them knew that Hu Mingzhong was not a person who would fight for power, nor was he a timid person. On the contrary, he was a serious person who regarded the Northern Expedition as everything. If he said so, then nine out of ten times he really thought so, and he might even really try to do so.

Zhang Jun was flustered for a moment, but he didn't know how to explain. Zhao Ding, on the other hand, slowed down a little and then tried to persuade him seriously: "Mingzhong... things are not calculated that way. Deyuan has been in the key position for a long time. If he makes a rash move, it will cause suspicion inside and outside. By then, this matter alone will shake the court and affect the front line."

"Yes, Brother Deyuan is in a high position and has established his own rules. If he falters, it will be detrimental to the country." Hu Yin continued to answer seriously. "But if that's the case, Brother Deyuan should respect himself. Why do you keep saying if it's this way, then it's fine, if it's that way, then it's fine?"

"Mingzhong." Zhao Ding already regretted interrupting Hu Yin from eating fish. "Isn't this a private banquet today? The three of us are having a private conversation. I have some private thoughts to share here so that I can act like a prime minister in Chongwenyuan."

Zhang Jun nodded quickly.

"If that's the case, why did I hear from the clerks below, before the official manifesto came and was published in the official gazette, that Brother Deyuan publicly lamented in Chongwenyuan that it was a pity that the manifesto he wrote was not used, which allowed Fan Sanzhao to become famous... Is this what a prime minister should do?" Hu Mingzhong continued to ask questions seriously.

Zhao Ding finally fell silent, but Zhang Jun was already sweating profusely.

To be honest, if it was someone else, even if Zhao Ding said these words himself, Zhang Deyuan would immediately flip the table and leave. But no one else would question him like this, right?

It was this little brother who he had known for more than ten years who could make such a sarcastic remonstrance to him at a rare private dinner today where only three people were reminiscing about the past!

That's right, Zhang Deyuan was certain that Hu Mingzhong was doing it on purpose. He was just taking the opportunity to express his dissatisfaction. The little brother who could only lower his head to eat the ginger and fermented black beans that day now got the chance, and his mouth was full of fangs when he opened it.

But the problem is, even if that's the case, so what? Hu Yin is a person who usually acts low-key and has no omissions at all... You can't break off your friendship with him just because he gave you a few words of advice at a private banquet, and then let people impeach him for being unfilial, right?

It is not possible to impeach Hu Mingzhong for being unfilial. The last person who impeached him for being unfilial secretly, now there is only one left, "Everything has a beginning".

And doesn't this prove that you are a selfish person who doesn't care about the overall situation and is unfit to be a prime minister?

Even Zhang Jun didn't dare to walk away in anger... because he was truly afraid that if he left today, Hu Mingzhong would actually send a memorial directly to the emperor tomorrow!

Who is afraid of whom?

Or who has Minister Hu ever been afraid of? Do you really think he is a vegetarian?

In the blink of an eye, most of the fish is gone, and you are still a vegetarian?

Zhang Jun had no choice but to stand up after a long time of catching his breath. He bowed respectfully and said, "Thank you for your reminder, Mingzhong. I did lose my dignity as a prime minister."

After saying this, they raised their glasses to each other again to cover up the mistake.

Hu Yin nodded and stood up to drink with him without any hesitation, which was considered as accepting the glass of wine. But before sitting down, he took the initiative to pick up the wine pot and filled the other party with a glass of Lanqiao Fengyue. His posture was impeccable.

So the three of them put the matter aside and started feasting and chatting again.

However, although the three of them were reminiscing about the past, Hu Yin just lowered his head to eat. He ate most of the fish and threw it away, and then dealt with a whole bowl of ginger and fermented black beans... At the same time, Zhao Ding and Zhang Jun were the ministers of the East and West Palaces. No matter what they talked about, they could not help but turn the topic to military and national affairs. Once they talked about military and national affairs, they had to consider their own factions and try to make some faction arguments.

Especially Zhang Jun, because he was very passive in front of the emperor regarding the memorial before, and this time he was a guest at Zhao Ding's house, and was hit hard by Hu Mingzhong, so he was inevitably much more vigilant.

For example, when Zhao Ding mentioned that the transportation of military supplies in Jingdong East Route was not good, it would be better to hand over the transportation of military supplies for both Jingdong and Jingdong Route to Wanqi Yuanzhong in Jingdong East Route. Zhang Jun became alert instinctively, and then immediately suggested that in the face of war, severe punishment should be imposed to serve as a warning to others. He wanted to remove Xiao Han Jinglüe from Jingdong East Route and let Zhao Yuanxian, the Minister of Rites, go to Jingdong East Route.

This was because it was Zhang Deyuan who recommended Xiao Hanjinglüe to take office that day. If there was a war on the front line, and this guy continued to do some unnecessary things in Jingdong unwillingly, it would inevitably make the emperor angry.

Zhao Yuanxian was an old subordinate of Zhao Ding when he was in Lianghuai.

This is a typical defensive strategy.

It can only be said that fortunately Zhang Jun did not go any further and discuss who would fill the position of Minister of Rites, otherwise it would have been too obvious.

Of course, Zhao Ding did not agree to this plan in the end. He still felt that replacing local officials at this time would cause a stir. In addition, he also saw that Zhang Jun was overreacting, so he wanted to shelve it.

After this incident, the matter of Eastern Mongolia was also discussed... Shaanxi and Ningxia recently jointly reported that they had received news from the grassland. There were constant stream of Jurchen envoys from Eastern Mongolia. In addition, Hebula Borjigin had never given a reply before. It was not known whether he was really bribed, or was raising the price, or was just waiting and watching. Therefore, the court had to quickly appoint a heavyweight envoy to go there.

Zhao and Zhang couldn't help but have some arguments about the selection of the envoy.

To be fair, the dispute between these two people may not be a party dispute, or even a situation where personal interests outweigh public interests... because they can all consider national affairs, and Emperor Zhao's decisions have never failed.

However, Emperor Zhao was not a superman who could make decisions on everything, especially since he was often away from the capital. Lu Haowen was a man who was increasingly careful about his reputation and usually did not get involved in these matters. This led to the fact that the power in the hands of Zhao and Zhang was unprecedentedly concentrated and powerful, but there was no suppression from a higher level.

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