The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Xu Jie didn't even exert any force, but those in the capital officials who wanted to speculate had already taken action and began to impeach Tu Zemin and Gao Gong.

But no one was surprised. Even during the Jiajing Dynasty, when this happened, all the officials behaved like this. Even if they were beaten by the royal stick for it, everyone was still happy with it.

The opposition from the officials below became more severe, but Xu Jie was not in a hurry. He was always on the side of the general trend, but he was just trying to show off. After all, he was the chief assistant.

Not long after, the six ministers and the Zuodu censor of the Duchayuan came to the cabinet one after another, and each of them brought many memorials from the ministry officials and asked them to bring them.

As the Minister of Rites, Gao Yi still had to sit upright on this matter, and he was an official in Zhejiang, so as soon as he put the memorial on the desk, he complained to Xu Jie: "Master Chief Minister, this painting It is the governor's right to petition for a maritime ban, but you are always the chief minister of the cabinet, why can't you stick to the ancestral system and just deny it, let's see."

As he spoke, he pointed to the pile of memorials and said: "These are the memorials from my Ministry of Rites. They are all against the sea ban. Is it worth making such a big fuss?"

"Zixiang, please sit down first. Fujian affairs still need to be considered in the long term. Fujian is not richer than Zhejiang. In recent years, most of the Japanese pirates have come from Fujian. Governor Tu also came up with this strategy for the sake of the imperial court. Regardless of whether it is right or wrong, it is What he thinks is possible."

Xu Jie replied with a smile.

"I think he just wants to disrupt the court. Look, there are so many objections in just one day. If you don't ask your Majesty to reject Governor Tu's proposal as soon as possible, I'm afraid the trouble below will get worse and it will be difficult to control. .”

Gaoyi said.

"Gao Shangshu, Governor Tu's suggestion is also to eliminate the Japanese pirates along the coast. How can you say that you want to mess up the court?"

Gao Gong couldn't stand it. Gao Yi's tone when he came in was full of guns and sticks, targeting him everywhere. If he could bear this tone, Gao Gong would no longer be Gao Gong.

"As for why you are so opposed, everyone is understanding. Do you have to let me speak out?"

Of course Gao Gong had heard about the pirates along the coast. In fact, the first ones to cause trouble were the maritime merchants from Zhejiang. If he hadn't seduced them, how could they have caused such a big trouble in the Jiajing Dynasty.

In the past, everyone was concerned about the friendship between colleagues and did not talk about it in the court, but if Gao Yi was messing around, Gao Gong didn't mind making the matter known to the world.

What's more, if it weren't for the shameless things of the Xie Qian family, there would have been a tragedy of Japanese pirates annihilating the family, which would have made Emperor Sejong angry and severely banned the sea.

Gao Yi was speechless for a moment when he heard Gao Gong's threatening words.

This matter is not a battle of loyalty. Last night, some fellow Zhejiang people came to his house, hoping that he would express his firm opposition to Fujian's policy of opening up the sea in the court.

Why, because only by banning the sea can their maritime merchants make huge profits.

If a place opens up to the sea, merchants will flock there to do business, and the Zhejiang maritime merchants will have a difficult time.

I have no choice but to go across provinces to Fujian to do business.

If you are unfamiliar with the place, you will need to reorganize your relationship with the officialdom when you go to Fujian, and you may not know how much money you will need to spend.

As for Gao Gong's threatening words, if they were really spoken out in the court, it would be troublesome for those businessmen from Zhejiang to stay in the Ming Dynasty, let alone go to Fujian.

"Huh, I'm just talking about the matter. I'm afraid that if something doesn't shake off, just because of Tu Zemin's memorial, today all the officials from the Ministry of Rites came to my room to ask how the Yamen of the Ministry of Rites should work."

"If that's the case, then sit down and talk quietly. Don't come in with a gun and a stick."

Guo Pu also spoke at this time.

Although the Six Ministers are not afraid of cabinet ministers, it is still a bit overwhelming to face two of them at once. The key is that the old god Xu Jie is sitting there and has no intention of helping, and Gao Yi does not intend to fight with Gao Gong here. , Guo Pu argued that it would be better to wait until everyone arrived.

Not long after, Xu Jie's desk was filled with memorials.

Fortunately, everyone had simply classified these before coming, and separated those for support and opposition. However, the opinions of the court officials were also reflected at once. The disparity ratio of 9:1 made Gao Gong and others look even worse. .

"I invite you all to come to the cabinet today just for the sake of what happened yesterday. I can't say enough. I can only talk about the cabinet's requirements. Everyone's yamen must be managed well and official duties cannot be delayed. Otherwise, everyone will lose face during the inspection in Beijing this year."

Xu Jie said calmly.

"Official affairs of the imperial court cannot be delayed. The Ministry of Civil Affairs will pay attention to the situation of each government office during this period."

Yang Bo was a smart man and answered immediately, echoing Xu Jie's words.

Nodding, Xu Jie continued: "Ignore the other yamen for now. As long as the Six Ministries and the Metropolitan Procuratorate are not in chaos, the court can run smoothly. This is also the purpose of inviting you here today.

Discussions are allowed, but cliques and cliques are not allowed, and officials are prohibited from collaborating in private to cause trouble. "

Yang Boneng has always been a high-ranking official from the Jiajing Dynasty to the Longqing Dynasty, so he naturally has a good ability to adapt to the wind.

Gao Gong had spoken for him before and rebuked Ke Dao. In addition, he had a relationship with Prince Yu, so he and Gao Gong had been very close for a while.

However, after he discovered some shortcomings of Gao Gong, he finally gave up Gao Gong decisively and chose to support Xu Jie.

After all, Shanxi officials still need his boss to protect them from wind and rain.

Here, I have to say that Yang Bo's way of doing things is really nothing to say.

When Yan Song was in power, he could sit with Yan Shifan and have a drink, and they could chat without any taboos. During this period, his relationship with Xu Jie and others was also handled very well.

After the fall of the Yan family, he extended an olive branch to Prince Yu's palace at the right time and showed his goodwill to Prince Yu by satisfying the requests of Wei Guangde and others.

Exquisite on all sides, nothing more than that.

The key point is that as an official of the Liubu Hall, he already plays an important role in the court, but his secret favoring of his fellow villagers was successfully hidden from most of the courtiers until he was discovered by the sharp-eyed Ke Dao, which almost caused a major accident.

But even so, there are still people in the government who are willing to help him excuse himself and suppress the officials of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Assessing the situation and knowing who to turn to in order to obtain the greatest benefits is a very good foresight.

"Lord Wang."

At this time, Xu Jie turned to look at Wang Ting and said: "You have to do your best to take care of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Not only do you want them not to cause trouble, but you also need to mobilize the censor to detect illegal activities such as collusion and conspiracy among hundreds of officials. .”

Tang officials can evaluate their subordinates' ability to perform tasks. The sword of the Ministry of Personnel can affect the promotion of officials, but the one that is really most lethal to officials is the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

As long as the censor can be stabilized, other yamen officials will not dare to make mistakes.

If anyone does not act according to the rules, a letter of impeachment from the censor can make him miserable, or even end his career.

Xu Jie was not afraid that Emperor Longqing would delay the matter, which would only accumulate resentment in the hearts of the officials. At that time, with a little incitement, the crater would erupt against the high arch.

In fact, what he fears most now is that the emperor rejects Tu Zemin's memorial, then all the backup plans he prepared will be ineffective.

He is not afraid of Gao Gong's retreat. As long as he expresses Tu Zemin's political opinions from time to time and is beneficial to the government, Gao Gong's character will choose to stick to his own opinion and even understand his opposition to this matter as the chief minister.

"If you have any flaws, you might as well think more about whether Governor Tu's opinions are effective in dealing with the Japanese invasion. Compared with the use of troops from the north and the south, it will be difficult for the Ministry of Household Affairs to support them."

"What Mr. Chief Assistant said is absolutely true, I am at the Ministry of Household Affairs."

When talking about the imperial finances, Gao Yao, the Minister of Household Affairs, also took over Xu Jie's words and expressed his bitterness.

When Emperor Longqing ascended the throne, in addition to granting amnesty to the whole world, he also issued large-scale rewards and organized the funeral of the late emperor. As much money as the internal treasury could provide, the remaining gaps were filled with money from the Ministry of Revenue.

The current Ministry of Household Affairs can really run away from mice.

After all, if these rituals were downgraded because of money, the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty would still blame him, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, not to mention the suffering of the Ministry of Revenue.

I really gritted my teeth and had to get the job done. The little money I had managed to accumulate in the past two years was all gone, and I had to borrow a sum of money from Chang Yingku to get the job done.

If Tu Zemin's suggestion is really effective, the military in the south can save at least hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, allowing Nanjing to be transferred to the capital, and Chang Yingku's loan can also be repaid.

He really didn't dare to withhold the money sent to Jiubian now, for fear of mutiny again.

When something like this happened at the beginning of the new emperor's accession to the throne, although the Ministry of War would take responsibility, the Ministry of Household Affairs could not make things right.

Wei Guangde was on duty at the Ministry of Civil Affairs when he heard the call and went to Yang Bo's duty.

"Master Yang, Master Zhao. I received an urgent message from Huguang before I came, so I had to delay it."

Wei Guangde arrived late because he had a document in his hand that needed to be read. When he came in, Zhao Zhenji, the left minister, was already waiting for him in the room.

"It doesn't matter."

Yang Bo waved his hand and said, "I called you two here today because of the Fujian incident. Today I am going to the cabinet."

Yang Bo told the chief assistant Xu Jie what he meant, and asked them to pay attention to controlling the officials in each department.

"Sir, this would be fine if they were in the Yamen, but after leaving the Yamen, how can we control where they are going?"

Zhao Zhenji frowned and said.

"It's really hard to do at this time, but just talk to the doctor and chief below and understand their movements. If someone really wants to cause trouble, as long as you know the news beforehand, you can freely detain them in the yamen."

Yang Bo chuckled.

Wei Guangde understood Yang Bo's plan and the thoughts of the officials below. If there were really bad signs, he would just find an excuse to let them work overtime in the yamen.

If you dare to disobey orders, there are ways to deal with them.

Wei Guangde also heard about the situation outside today from people in the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The General Affairs Department has been busy since it opened in the morning. It is said that many officials are queuing up to submit memorials.

Opposition to the revision of the ancestral system is the general trend. Fortunately, King Yu did not directly agree to it before. Otherwise, the Sixth Section and the Cabinet will directly refute the imperial edict. By then, the emperor will have no place to show his face, and his trust in himself will also be lost. That's the end.

While I was feeling happy, I also thought about the two letters that should be sent out today. One was sent to Fujian, asking Tu Zemin to continue to discuss the issue of Shukaihai and list the actual situation in Fujian.

The publication of such a memorial will help Beijing officials know the situation in Fujian. Even if they oppose it for the sake of opposition, they can at least understand that Tu Zemin's request to open the sea is justified.

Wei Guangde didn't dare to guarantee that he could protect Tu Zemin for the rest of his life.

Let Beijing officials know the poverty situation of the people in Fujian and let them know that there is little land in Fujian and many people can only live by handicrafts. The domestic market of the Ming Dynasty cannot meet their supply and there is an urgent need to expand overseas markets.

Although these sub-officials may not understand the economy or the role of the export-oriented economy, they know that if the people want to survive, they can only open the sea ban and sell things to overseas businessmen, so that they can live and work in peace and contentment.

Letting the people live and work in peace and contentment is exactly the principle pursued by officials in this era.

As the saying goes, if an official does not make decisions for the people, it is better to go home and sell sweet potatoes. It doesn't matter how they become an official, but on the surface this is their purpose of being an official.

As for the other letter, it was naturally addressed to Tan Lun of Guangdong. Wei Guangde was not sure whether his first letter had impressed him, so he sent him another letter to urge him to see if he could promote the matter.

Over in Zhejiang, he had too much contact with the Japanese pirates, and he had lost interest in contacting them.

In the following time, Wei Guangde continued to summon the doctors and directors of the Jixun Department and the Examination Department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, talk to them, understand what they were thinking, and keep a small notebook of those who held more radical ideas. These are all things that need to be closely followed. concerned.

As for the Literary Selection Department and the Seal Inspection Department, those are the departments that Zhao Zhenji is responsible for and have nothing to do with him.

In the Ming Dynasty, although the Ministry of Rites was noble and closest to the cabinet, in terms of ranking among the six ministries, the Ministry of Personnel was definitely the largest because it directly controlled the affairs of officials all over the world, so no one would dare to offend the officials of the Ministry of Personnel.

Among the four departments of the Ministry of Personnel, the Literary Selection Department and the Examination Department have the greatest power.

The full name of the Wenxuan Department is the Wenxuan and Qingli Department, which is in charge of the vacancies and grades of all central and local civil officials, as well as the selection, promotion, and replacement of officials.

Therefore, the Literary and Selection Department is responsible for selecting officials. When there is a shortage of people in central places, the Literary and Selection Department begins to select people. This was quite easy in ancient times, especially in dynasties with mature bureaucracy. Whoever served anywhere was basically him. Having the final say, it can be ranked first.

This most important job was always in charge of the left servant of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Wei Guangde, the right servant, could only drool greedily but could do nothing.

Even though Zhao Zhenji was an official who had just returned to the court, Wei Guangde could not easily interfere in the affairs of the Wenxuan Department.

It is worth mentioning that Zhao Zhenji is also a fellow countryman of Chen Yiqin. He was dismissed from office in the 40th year of Jiajing for offending Yan Song, and was recalled to the Long Qing Dynasty. This naturally has the influence of Xu Jie's overturning the case and Chen Yiqin's secret contribution, otherwise it would be difficult for him to return. Just sit in this position.

Although the Merit Examination Department managed by Wei Guangde is not as influential as the Literature and Selection Department, it is not insignificant.

The Civil Service Department of the Qing Dynasty is responsible for evaluating the performance of officials, and is in charge of promotion, demotion and dismissal of officials. For reasons given by internal and external officials, the first exam will be taken in three years, and then again in six years. It will also lead to the nine-year comprehensive exam, and the petition will be reviewed based on their competence and normal performance. , If someone is dismissed for being incompetent, he will be dismissed without exceeding the second grade, and if he is demoted without exceeding the third grade, he will be dismissed and it will be a crime.

Although he cannot select officials, he can still hold the title of official. If he is given an evaluation of "incompetence", the official will be finished.

Sitting in this position, Wei Guangde will certainly not accomplish anything. In fact, he has now begun to screen and identify Xu Jie's disciples, especially those who are hiding.

As for the purpose, it is naturally to prepare to counter Xu Jie when necessary, and to attack anyone involved in the preliminary examination, re-examination or even the general examination.