The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Hearing Gao Gong say that he was going to visit Wu Peng, Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng below thought that he had accepted their opinions and targeted the vacancies in the official department.

But then, Gao Gong's words broke their guess.

"The palace still needs someone who can speak for the palace in the position of minister. I am betting on both sides."

Gao Gong turned to look at Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng, and then said: "The main goal is still to get the position of Minister of Rites, but I will also go to Wu Peng. If there is no hope of the position of the Ministry of Rites, I will settle for the second best and strive for the position of the Ministry of Officials."

Wei Guangde felt that Gao Gong might have been confused by the smoothness of his official career in the past two years, and thought that Emperor Jiajing was really planning to increase the power of Prince Yu's Palace in the short term.

But this time, he didn't stop him, even though he thought Gao Gong's idea was inappropriate.

At the very least, having watched many palace battle dramas of later generations, especially the battle for the throne of the Nine Dragons in the Kangxi Dynasty, Wei Guangde knew that as the emperor, he would never support Prince Yu's palace before his deadline, but perhaps he would pave some way. But they will never be allowed to take power while they are still in good health.

But thinking about some of the information he had seen and heard before, Wei Guangde somewhat understood why Gao Gong had this idea.

In the 17th year of Jiajing, after the death of Emperor Jiajing's biological mother, the Empress Dowager Jiang, after long thought, Emperor Jiajing decided to bury his biological mother and Zhu Youqi together in Xianling Mausoleum. Due to water seepage in the underground palace of Xianling Mausoleum, Emperor Jiajing decided to go to the underground palace in person, driven by his filial piety.

Emperor Jiajing was going on a tour to the south, so he naturally had to arrange matters of all sizes in the capital. At this time, Emperor Jiajing's choice was a bit unexpected.

He issued a decree and appointed the four-year-old prince Zhu Zaiheng as the prince's supervisor.

Of course, such a supervisory state was in name only, and the actual power in the DPRK was still in the hands of important ministers in the DPRK and the emperor who was on tour in the south.

These are the records that Wei Guangde saw in the Hanlin Academy, but now, Wei Guangde has heard someone put this matter into another version, that is, Emperor Jiajing was devoted to cultivating immortals, so he arranged for the prince to supervise the country so that he could devote himself to Put yourself into practice.

Wei Guangde didn't even bother to refute this, but they were the ones who could think of it.

If you say this, you are either taking it for granted out of ignorance, or you have ulterior motives.

Although Wei Guangde was not sure whether Gao Gong had some ideas, perhaps because Emperor Jiajing was absent from the court for a long time and was rumored to be often with the alchemists in Xiyuan, he took it for granted that the emperor neglected government affairs and devoted himself to cultivating immortality, or that Emperor Jiajing had no regard for the secular world. Power is seen very lightly.

However, according to Wei Guangde's observation, if Emperor Jiajing really wanted to delegate power to King Yu, he would never personally review the memorials every day.

Thinking of the many memorials sent by the inner court in the past and recently, which contained Emperor Jiajing's instructions, Wei Guangde judged that Emperor Jiajing had never planned to let go of power.

After that, Gao Gong didn't stay in Prince Yu's Mansion for long before he left.

After sending Gao Gong away, King Yu said hello to Yin Shizhen and Wei Guangde, and then hurried back to the inner courtyard of the palace.

"Your Highness has been a little strange these past few days. In the past, he would stay here for a while even if there was no class. These two days, he only came when there was class, and hurried back to the inner courtyard after class."

Wei Guangde looked at King Yu's back and whispered to Zhang Juzheng beside him.

In addition to giving lessons to Prince Yu, Yin Shizhen now also has to manage some trivial matters in the palace. That is to say, Wei Guangde and Zhang Ju, who have just joined the palace recently, have less business to do. They will inevitably get together to chat and pass the time when they have nothing to do.

"I heard from Eunuch Li that the palace has recently hired a new group of maids. You also know His Highness's preferences, so that's it."

Zhang Juzheng replied calmly.

"That's right. Then you have to find an opportunity to persuade me. Excessive indulgence is not a good thing."

Wei Guangde frowned and said.

Although it seems natural that the prince likes women, as an official of the prince's palace, he still has to say some things to Prince Yu, at least to fulfill his duties.

"Forget it, Mr. Yin has told His Highness before, but His Highness agreed happily, but do you think it has any effect?"

Zhang Juzheng replied with a smile at this time, "Our Highness is like this. He admits mistakes faster than anyone else, but it is difficult for him to really change.

What's more, Master Yin also has the same thoughts as you, and wants to tell His Highness, because this is our responsibility, but we don't force it. After all, Your Highness has no children yet, and it will be when His Highness has a son and a half. It’s time for us to take it seriously. "

Having said this, Zhang Juzheng looked at Wei Guangde again and said jokingly: "Shandai, you have been in and out of the palace recently, and you are not in good spirits during the day. Let me think about it, you don't know how."

Wei Guangde suddenly felt a little feverish on his face. He and Xu Jianglan had been married for several years and still had no children.

I received a letter from Jiujiang some time ago. My sister-in-law is pregnant again. This is her second child. Naturally, I am writing this letter to ask him about the news.

Therefore, Wei Guangde has also worked more during this period. The most important thing is that Wei Guangde has a different concept from people of this era. In this era, everyone works at night, but he does not have this concept. I felt a little worse mentally afterwards.

He knew it was inappropriate to do this, but Wei Guangde could only work hard at home, otherwise it would be difficult to write a letter home next time.

Today, Wei Guangde was in Prince Yu's Mansion until he had gone to San Yamen before leaving the palace. Because he had a banquet with his colleagues, he naturally could not go home right away.

However, at the banquet, Wei Guangde unexpectedly heard the news. In front of the official office, Li Donghua was informed by the Li Ke that he had once again impeached Wu Shan.

After hearing Wu Shan hand over the notebook this morning, Wei Guangde had guessed whether Li Ke would submit the report in time this time to avoid being fined innocently like last time.

"Master Li acted more decisively this time."

Wei Guangde smiled and said to the person who told the news. His words made everyone laugh.

The fact that Li Donghua was fined had already been spread in the court. Everyone knew that Wu Shan was punished because he hated the emperor. For Li Donghua, it seemed like an unwarranted disaster.

However, after laughing, Wei Guangde also realized that Gao Gong's plan this time was probably going to fail.

Most people in the DPRK thought that the punishment after the last impeachment should be over. No one expected that Wu Shantou Tie would continue to remonstrate at this time, and Li Ke also responded extremely quickly this time to impeach.

Obviously, the impeachment process this time is much faster than before, and it also indicates that if Emperor Jiajing really plans to replace him, Wu Shan's resignation will be very close.

Gao Gong still wants to seize two positions, is it too late?

The departure or retention of officials of Wu Shan's level is generally not sudden. It is often brewing for a long time. There is no situation where the emperor makes a sudden decision and immediately issues an edict.

The officials in the capital discussed Wu Shan privately, and Wu Shan, who returned to the mansion, naturally found out about it through his disciples.

Wu Shan seemed to have expected such a result and did not show any surprise.

After all the disciples left, Wu Shan returned to the backyard. Mrs. Wu already knew the content of the conversation in the outer courtyard from the servants, and she was somewhat concerned about Wu Shan.

"Haha, there's nothing to worry about."

Regarding his wife's worries, Wu Shan was very calm, "I just take this opportunity to rest at home for a few days. If His Majesty really convicts me, it will only require me to become an official. There will never be any other punishment."

Wu Shan chose to remonstrate here, so naturally he did a lot of mindless work. He also considered possible punishments.

The most serious situation is that he has to return home by himself, that is, lose his official position, and the next best thing is to be sent to Nanjing, far away from the emperor, out of sight and out of mind.

This may also be the wisdom of these direct ministers.

If the emperor makes a mistake, as the Minister of Rites, he must point it out. This is his responsibility.

If we let him go, future history books would not only say that the emperor was stupid, but also that the then Minister of Rites was a sycophant who only cared about his own future and did not follow the rules of etiquette.

Wu Shan also made the decision after repeated calculations, that is, to keep his reputation and not suffer unbearable punishment.

Can Emperor Jiajing just ignore it if he wants to spend the evening?

Emperor Jiajing, who was in Yongshou Palace in Xiyuan, was also very conflicted at this time. When he saw that Wu Shan was ignorant and wrote a memorial saying that he should not write anything for the Spring Prayer Ceremony to be enshrined in the Great Guangming Hall, Emperor Jiajing was really worried. Want to punish Wu Shan.

Thank God for His blessings. What if I just write a brochure?

The Great Guangming Hall is located in the Xiyuan. It is the royal viewing pavilion. What does it have to do with you, the minister of the court?

However, anger is anger, and he has the same view as Wei Guangde, Wu Shan and others. He also knows that if he really punishes Wu Shan for this, it will be recorded in his "Record" in the future, which will not look good.

No matter how he was dismissed, it was not good. Emperor Jiajing could only consider waiting and seeing. Anyway, he would not continue to promote Wu Shan. If he was promoted to the cabinet, he would be looking for trouble every day.

The emperors of the Ming Dynasty, except for the founding ones, were relatively lenient towards civil servants.

Even though Emperor Jiajing originally killed Xia Yan, he actually did it out of anger and confusion. However, as the emperor, he did not want to show his regretful side.

However, since then, he has been very cautious about punishing important officials in the court.

As for the death of Li Mo, the former Minister of Civil Affairs, as far as he knew, it was an accident. Li Mo died of illness in prison.

However, in the afternoon, Li Donghua's memorial to impeach Wu Shan was delivered to him, and Emperor Jiajing was a little shaken.

In the morning, I was still thinking about whether to let it go and wait for some time to find Wu Shan's fault before dealing with it. Now someone handed me a knife, but the reason was not sufficient and it was not enough to punish Wu Shan.

Suddenly, Emperor Jiajing thought of the memorial written by Wu Peng, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, a month ago, saying that the position of Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Personnel was vacant. He also thought that if Wu Shan was disposed of, two important official positions would be vacant.

Emperor Jiajing's impression of Wu Peng was not very good either. It was said outside that Wu Peng was in the Ministry of Personnel, but the Ministry of Personnel obeyed Yan Shifan for all promotions of officials and did not dare to act independently. Wu Shan, the Minister of Rites, impeached him many times. Wu Peng.

The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Officials.

Emperor Jiajing ignored Gao Zhong and others who were still waiting for him to make a decision, but fell into deep thought.

Faster than Wei Guangde imagined, Emperor Jiajing was already reconsidering the new court structure.

The administration of the Ming Dynasty was mainly carried out through the six ministries, so the appointment of officials of the six ministries was very important, even more important than filling the cabinet ministers.

Emperor Jiajing also knew a little about Wu Peng's actions, but he reluctantly allowed him to stay in office only to ensure the dignity of Yan Song's cabinet. In fact, it was also to ensure the smooth execution of government affairs.

Ouyang Bijin, Minister of Industry and Industry, also resigned many times, and it seemed that the cabinet also needed to be replaced.

After thinking for a long time, and after Gao Zhong and others waited impatiently for a long time, Emperor Jiajing finally made his decision.

"Find out Wu Peng's last memorial."

Emperor Jiajing told Huang Jin that at that time he had kept the memorial in the center without giving any instructions.

The memorial was left in Yongshou Palace, and Huang Jin was naturally responsible for its safekeeping.

Huang Jin took the order and soon took Wu Peng's memorial and handed it over to Emperor Jiajing.

He opened it and took a look, and found that it was the memorial written by the Ministry of Personnel, Zuo Shilang Que, requesting him to make a recommendation. He handed it to Gao Zhong in front of him and said: "Draw up the edict, Zuo Shilang Que, the Ministry of Personnel, does not need to recommend it. Yuan Wei changed the Ministry of Personnel." Zuo Shilang."

After saying that, he turned to Huang Jin and told Huang Jin: "Li Donghua's impeachment memorial remains intact."

"yes."

Huang Jin agreed, picked up the memorial on the imperial desk and stepped aside, while Gao Zhong returned to his seat with Wu Peng's memorial and quickly wrote down Emperor Jiajing's instructions.

Although they didn't know what the emperor was thinking before, Huang Jin and Gao Zhong both felt sensitively that there might be a big change in the Ming Dynasty.

"How is Zhou Yan's health?"

Before the chamberlain below could continue reading the memorial at the end, Emperor Jiajing seemed to have just remembered it and asked again.

Huang Jin, who had just retreated, took another half step forward and replied: "I'm afraid Zhou Yushi's body may not be able to survive. The imperial doctor said."

"say what?"

Unhappy with Huang Jin's hesitant appearance, Emperor Jiajing asked.

"I can't move for up to three months. If I return home to recuperate at this time, I'm afraid I won't be able to leave Beizhili."

Huang Jin replied hurriedly.

Zhou Yan, the censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, was from Jishui, Jiangxi. He resigned several times last year due to poor health. However, at that time, Emperor Jiajing had not yet considered a major change in the six ministries and nine ministers, so he did not approve it. Similarly, the cabinet Cabinet minister Lu Ben and Minister of Industry Ouyang Bijin.

Since the end of last year, Zhou Yan has been unable to manage due to illness. Unexpectedly, just two months after the turn of the year, Zhou Yan's condition has reached this stage.

"I'm old, it's time to change."

Emperor Jiajing whispered something casually, and then opened his mouth, but in the end he did not say anything. He just waved his hand towards Gao Zhong, indicating that they should continue reading the memorial.

Li Donghua's memorial was retained by Emperor Jiajing. In just a few days, the emperor's attitude towards Wu Shan changed 180 degrees. Although Wu Shan was not punished for Li Donghua's memorial, everyone with a discerning eye knew it. What happens next.

What surprised the officials even more was that Yuan Wei was transferred from the Ministry of Rites to the Ministry of Personnel, and was directly promoted to Zuo Shilang.

Yuan Wei moved from the Hanlin Academy and Zhan Shifu to the Ministry of Rites last year. He was ordered to stay in the Ministry of Rites after only one month in charge. The Hanlin Academy was taken over by Li Chunfang, who held the title of right minister of the Ministry of Rites.

After careful planning, Yuan Wei, who had only stayed in the Ministry of Rites for a month, moved to the Ministry of Personnel. His speed in joining the cabinet can be said to have created history. There is no official who can be promoted faster than him.

Although Yuan Wei has not yet entered the cabinet, his official career is the standard Hanlin path to the cabinet, and others cannot do anything wrong.