To put it bluntly, these two people, in a sense, are already the holders of a relative "supreme power", and the opposition of the supreme power will inevitably cause disputes, and then form opposition and division.

Especially under the secret cabinet decision-making system, if you want to get things done, you have to recruit people, which further intensifies the confrontation.

It can only be said that this situation has existed since the two men took office five years ago, and would intensify whenever Emperor Zhao went out. However, the two of them were Emperor Zhao's confidants and had no problem obeying him, so the situation would gradually calm down once Emperor Zhao came back.

But wasn't it that Emperor Zhao was away for a particularly long time this time? Wasn't it that an emergency occurred within two days of Emperor Zhao's return, and the Northern Expedition was launched ahead of schedule?

The result was that the so-called party struggles between the Shuimu Party had no time to be resolved and were overwhelmed by many military and national affairs. Then, as more things happened, the confrontation between the two parties became even more serious.

In a sense, Zhao Ding held a banquet today because he was really happy about the recovery of his hometown, so he invited two good friends to reminisce about the past, but it also had some meaning that he was in a mess with Zhang Jun and wanted to make a gentleman's agreement to stop fighting privately and work together for state affairs.

However, looking at Zhang Deyuan's cautious look, it seems difficult to fulfill this gentleman's agreement.

"Three hundred Japanese samurai have arrived in Jinan..."

"Three hundred men are useless on the battlefield. Their use lies in calming people's hearts and diplomacy. Let them come to the capital and show their faces in front of the Goryeo envoys, and then quickly go to Hedong to serve as ceremonial guards."

"There's nothing much to say about this."

"The river transportation in Shanzhou is inconvenient, so some people suggested that the supplies should be transported to Guanzhong by land and transferred from Puzhou."

"You can try, but if so, should we appoint an additional deputy transport envoy? Or should we let Minister Liu take on the role?"

"Isn't this... the Ministry of Industry's responsibility? Mingzhong..."

"Brother Yuan Zhen called me?" Hu Yin, who was chewing a duck leg of 'Jianyan Royal Duck', looked up in surprise and asked seriously. "I thought the two brothers had forgotten about me..."

Zhao Ding and Zhang Jun were both embarrassed, but they quickly put their hands together and sat up straight.

While Zhao Ding felt ashamed, he looked at the half-eaten dishes on the table, gritted his teeth, and acted like a hero:

"Deyuan, Mingzhong, today I am really happy that I can finally die and be buried in my hometown, and I remembered what we said when we were hiding in the Imperial College during the Jingkang period, so I called you here to drink a glass of wine and talk about the past... How about this, from now on, don't talk about state affairs or political strategies, just talk about old friendships, talk about romance and literature, and leave all official business to tomorrow, how about that?"

Zhang Jun immediately agreed with a smile, and even rolled up his sleeves and recited a poem on the spot to cover up the atmosphere. It is said that he did this when he visited Lu Haowen to ask about Prime Minister Lu a few days ago and took the opportunity to pay a visit to the newly built ancestral hall in Prime Minister Lu's home, and then he wrote this poem in response to the situation.

So-called:

"The three ministers have been in power for many years, and the mountains and rivers and trees have also gained glory.

"The ruler of a time has great power and influence, and his name will be remembered for eternity."

These three prime ministers, of course, refer to the three unprecedented ministers of the Lu family who were in charge of important military and national affairs, but the term is also used here in a joking sense, because among the three present, only Hu Yin has not yet become prime minister.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Hu Yin just shook his head and said, "Brother Deyuan is good at Confucianism, and is not bad at Buddhism. He has also studied the original literature quite well recently, but he is really lacking in poetry and romance. Like me, he is too vulgar and cannot be accepted by the upper class."

Zhang Jun was bored for the moment, but Hu Mingzhong had also said "the same as my foolish brother", so it was not easy to scold him.

"What do you think of my brother's poetry and romantic works?" Zhao Ding asked quickly.

"As far as romance is concerned, among the three of us, Brother Yuan Zhen has achieved the most." Hu Yin looked at him proudly and spoke calmly. "However, this is not because Brother Yuan Zhen is talented, but because Brother Yuan Zhen has never been a writer. His literary works are all sincere and heartfelt...and romance, once they are sincere and heartfelt, are better than countless other things in the world."

Besides, how could Zhao and Zhang not know that Hu Mingzhong was a serious character? When he said this, he really believed it, so Zhao Ding immediately smiled slightly, twirled his beard complacently, and felt satisfied in his heart, but Zhang Jun was very anxious for a moment and wanted to say something... He still wanted to prove that his "Manifesto" was not bad.

But at this moment, Hu Yin ignored Zhao and Zhang's attitudes and imitated Zhang Jun. He directly picked up the duck leg, knocked on the wine glass, and chanted a poem with his mouth that was particularly shiny under the candlelight:

"The withered toad and the withered willows accompany my sorrow, I drink and sing sad songs by the Bian River in autumn.

I shed tears for both life and death, and I have no desire for fame, wealth or honor.

Killing chickens for millet reminds me of the previous agreement, asking for a house and land makes me feel ashamed of my original plan.

I bid farewell to the spring breeze, and live a long and leisurely life. "

After reciting the poem, Hu Yin held the duck leg and shook his head at the two people who had already changed color:

"Brother Yuanzhen, you said that today we are only talking about old friendship and romance, but if we are talking about our old friendship and romance, is there anything more appropriate than this poem? Ten years ago, the three of us hid together in the Imperial College and escaped together. We agreed by the Bian River outside the city that Brother Yuanzhen would go south because he had many children, Brother Deyuan would go north, and I would go east along the Bian River alone. We split into three groups to gather information and find the emperor, in case we ran into any accidents and were caught by others... But why didn't you feel like writing poetry before I left first, but you wrote this poem when I left and said goodbye to the north and south? Why is this poem "Farewell to Zhang Deyuan" instead of "Presented to Hu Mingzhong"?"

Zhang Jun stood there in a daze for a moment. Zhao Ding forced a smile and was about to speak, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he didn't know how to respond for a moment, and instead seemed a little stupid.

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