"Yeah." Zhao Jin smiled embarrassedly: "Uncle, don't worry, we will definitely unite on this matter."

"What opportunity?" Mr. Zhao asked vaguely while happily eating sesame sauce and lamb tail oil. The lamb tail with rich gelatin melted in the mouth, and the aroma of oil spread layer by layer on the tip of the tongue. The happiness that rushed to his head made him feel like running naked in the sunset.

"What else?" Zhao Hao said slowly, "The highlight of this imperial court election is not the nomination of the ministers of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War."

"What is that?" Mr. Zhao asked with his eyes wide open.

"Think about it..." Young Master Zhao said in a gentle and persuasive manner.

"Oh, I remember now." Master Zhao picked up a handkerchief and wiped the sesame paste from the corner of his mouth. He slapped his forehead and said, "I heard that General Chen has also submitted his resignation. Is the highlight the nomination of the Left Censor-in-Chief?!"

Seeing the three of them rolling their eyes, Master Zhao covered his mouth with his left hand and said, "No? Do you think we need to recommend a Grand Secretary?"

"Isn't this nonsense? The only thing more important than the heavenly official is the Grand Secretary!!" The old man wanted to hit him with chopsticks. How could he have given birth to such a fool? What's more hateful is that this fool actually wants to go to heaven.

"Really? I've never heard of it." Mr. Zhao smiled awkwardly and quickly handed the old man a piece of mutton tail oil with chopsticks and said, "Dad, you can eat this without tiring your teeth."

"Let's talk business, you just eat!" Zhao Liben opened his mouth angrily, and Zhao Shouzheng put the meat into his mouth accurately. Well, it smells delicious.

"Food is the most important thing for the people. Food is the most important thing in the world." Zhao Shouzheng said with a smile: "Who can be nominated to the cabinet? It's just a topic of conversation during the meal. It has nothing to do with us anyway."

"How do you know it has nothing to do with you?" Zhao Liben sneered and took a sip from the wine cup.

"Of course I know. It is important for people to know themselves." Zhao Shouzheng said as if it was a matter of course: "The court is like this bubbling copper pot, the Grand Secretary is the sheep tail oil, and the nine ministers are the mutton and tripe. Someone like me is, at best, a side dish."

As he said this, he picked up a piece of Chinese cabbage and said, "When will Chinese cabbage no longer be the main dish?"

"Uncle, you are biased. You are the top scholar and have been promoted to the right vice minister of the Ministry of Rites in ten years. How can you be considered a side dish?" Zhao Jin shook his head decisively.

"Let's take a step back and say that it's cabbage, so what? This hot pot is all about authenticity, and first of all, the flavor has to be authentic... The copper pot only recognizes mutton, and beef cannot be mixed in, let alone fish or shrimp. But wouldn't it be too greasy if it were all mutton? There has to be a side dish to relieve the greasiness - cabbage has the most peaceful nature, with a slightly sweet taste. Not only will it not change the taste of the whole pot of soup, it will also provide the most loyal support for the original flavor of the mutton. Therefore, among all vegetables, cabbage is not as good as cabbage, and it is the only one that is qualified to be put into the pot early."

"As expected of someone who used to be in charge of the imperial kitchen, you know a lot." Zhao Shouzheng gave a thumbs up in admiration.

Zhao Hao and Zhao Liben also liked the post, but the content of their likes was completely different from that of Zhao Erye.

Zhao Jin compared the cabinet to a hot pot. Only mutton can go into the pot, and only officials from the Hanlin Academy can enter the cabinet. Officials who have never been Hanlin have no chance to enter the cabinet even if they become governors or ministers. So when selecting the Grand Secretary, isn't the most important thing to pay attention to the word "correct"?

As for the cabbage, it is even more exquisite, which just corresponds to the role of Mr. Zhao to Mr. Zhang.

Zhao Liben couldn't help but smile and said, "My nephew has a deep understanding of the officialdom."

"Son, son, why does everyone use hot pot as an analogy? Does your grandfather think what I said doesn't have any flavor?" Zhao Shouzheng asked his son in a low voice.

"Because Dad, you are still at the stage of seeing mountains as mountains, while my brother has reached the stage of seeing mountains as mountains again." Zhao Hao replied with a smile: "Although you can only see mountains, you are at the first level, while he is at the third level."

"It's getting more and more mysterious..." Zhao Shouzheng laughed, "According to what my nephew said, could the title of Grand Secretary really fall to my father?"

"Not bad." Zhao Hao nodded.

"It has to be my second uncle." Zhao Jin also nodded.

"Hmph, you're just lucky." Zhao Liben curled his lips.

"No way? Are you serious?" Zhao Shouzheng opened his mouth wide, feeling his heartbeat speed up. He grabbed Zhao Jin's hand and said, "Nephew, they always joke with me, but you are a serious person. Tell your uncle what's going on."

"Uncle, you really don't mind your own business." Zhao Jin said with a wry smile, "Now that the Queen Mother and the Emperor have both given in, the chancellor's plan to win the love is likely to fail. Now that Elder Lu is no longer in charge, the cabinet is empty after the chancellor left. If we don't fill the cabinet quickly, how can the country continue to function?"

"Well, that makes sense." Zhao Shouzheng nodded and said, "But isn't it based on seniority to enter the cabinet? There are at least twenty people ahead of me, right?"

"Nonsense, when Prime Minister Zhang was appointed Prime Minister, there were 20 or 30 people in line ahead of him. Wasn't he pushed into the cabinet by Lord Xu?" Zhao Liben pouted and said, "Oh, yes, he entered the cabinet as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. Who dares to say that you are not qualified? Isn't that a slap in Prime Minister Zhang's face?"

"Mr. Zhang is Mr. Zhang. I am me. How can we be compared?" Zhao Shouzheng waved his hands modestly.

"Of course not!" Zhao Liben said bluntly: "You and your in-laws are like a dragon and a pig, or a blind sparrow meeting a golden eagle!"

"Dad, it seems that in your eyes I am just a pig and a blind sparrow." Zhao Shouzheng said depressedly.

"Why not?" Zhao Liben looked at him and said, "But fools have good fortunes. This fool is lucky. If you were a real dragon, you wouldn't have the chance to join the cabinet. If you were an eagle, you wouldn't be able to rise to the top this time!"

"What Uncle meant," Zhao Jin hurriedly explained to Zhao Shouzheng, "is that after this battle for love, the rift between Zhang Xianggong and the officials has already appeared. If he doesn't make thorough arrangements, can he return home with peace of mind?"

"Yes." Zhao Liben nodded and said, "Now the seven elders are in opposition again. Apart from Gao Xinzheng, Xu Huating, Li Xinghua, Zhao Dazhou, Yin Licheng, and Chen Nanchong are all highly respected and have many supporters. It is hard to say whether they will take the opportunity to make a comeback. If any of these people come back, it will be a great constraint on him, making him very uncomfortable."

"So my father-in-law must have filled the cabinet before he left, so that they would not have a chance to come out." Zhao Hao also added: "This time, there is an 80% chance that three or four university scholars will be promoted at once."

"So many places." Zhao Shouzheng swallowed.

"And Second Uncle has a huge advantage, so his chances of winning this time are extremely high," Zhao Jin agreed.

"Yes, father, this is a golden opportunity that only comes once in a lifetime!" Zhao Hao bewitched his father, saying, "If you don't take what God has given you, you will be punished. If you miss this opportunity, you will never get it again. If you miss it this time, you may have to wait another ten or eight years. Who knows what will happen by then?"

"What advantages do I have?" Zhao Shouzheng's voice began to fade, and it was obvious that he was not drunk.

"Too many." Zhao Jin smiled and said, "First of all, you are Mr. Zhang's relative. We will prosper together and suffer together. You are the most reliable."

"The most important thing is that you have no ambition, are easy to control, have no stance, are slow-witted, and cannot rebel against him." Zhao Liben also praised: "You are simply the best candidate to occupy the pit and be a puppet!"

"Dad, didn't you teach me the six-word mantra - be slow in speech and kind in heart?" Zhao Shouzheng pointed his index finger at me in grievance.

"Really?" Zhao Liben laughed and said, "You are too stupid to come up with such a helpless solution."

"Uncle, you are judging people with an old eye. Second Uncle has made a lot of progress over the years." Zhao Jin quickly tried to smooth things over for Zhao Shouzheng, "Although you and my brother are here, there are also a few gentlemen who are giving advice. He may have secured this position, and he has left such a good reputation as an official. This is definitely a testament to his hard work."

"Hey, Mr. Qingteng said that I can do nothing but be an official." Zhao Shouzheng couldn't help but say proudly, "And I found that the higher the official position, the easier it is to be an official. When I was in the county, it was so exhausting. Now I'm in the ministry, I drink a cup of tea and smoke a bag of cigarettes, and spend half a day reading a copy of the imperial edict. I have nothing to do all day."

"Indeed. The higher the official rank, the more empty talk he tends to engage in. Otherwise, how did the six ministers made of clay and the three cabinet ministers made of paper come about?" Zhao Jin said in agreement.

"So, I can still be competent as a paper minister." Zhao Shouzheng finally gained confidence, but before he could be happy for long, he said with a bitter face: "But the minister must be recommended by the court. Although the relatives can be specially selected, if the number of votes is too small, they will always be ridiculed in the future."

"That's right, we have to rely on our own strength to get into the top three!" Zhao Liben said, slamming the table.

"With more than a hundred people voting, how can I be ranked in the top three?" Zhao Shouzheng was overwhelmed.

"Everything depends on human effort." Zhao Hao smiled and counted on his fingers: "The Ministry of Personnel has seven votes, the Ministry of Revenue has twenty-six votes, the Ministry of Rites has seven votes, the Ministry of War has ten votes, the Ministry of Justice has sixteen votes, the Ministry of Works has eleven votes, the Dali Temple has five votes, the Censorate has sixteen votes, the Tongzhengsi has six votes, and the six department heads have six votes, a total of one hundred and ten votes."

"Among them, we have 57 votes." Zhao Liben said in a low voice.

"So many?" Zhao Shouzheng was shocked.

"What do you think your father and your son are busy doing all day?" Zhao Liben snorted proudly, "Officials from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Zhili and Shandong will definitely vote for you."

"But in order to avoid getting too attached, we will control it to around 40 votes, so that others will have nothing to say." Zhao Hao said.

"Based on past experience, we need three-quarters of the votes to be safe." Zhao Jin continued, "That means we still need to get more than 40 votes."

“More than forty votes…” Zhao Shouzheng took a breath.

"Don't worry, father. Even if we do nothing, you will still get enough votes." Zhao Hao encouraged him:

"My father is very popular and gets along well with all factions. He is also a well-known philanthropist. After a big dispute, people are inevitably panicked and everyone is worried about being liquidated. Having an elder who can bridge the gap between the parties and save everyone from panic is something that all parties would like."

"Besides, we won't do nothing." Zhao Liben said proudly: "We have plenty of bargaining chips in our hands. It won't be difficult to get forty or fifty votes for you."

"But Second Uncle has to do his best." Zhao Jin added: "No matter what, it's you who is going to join the cabinet, so your performance is the most important!"

ps. Keep writing...