The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Wei Guangde believed that Ge Shouli was incompetent for his position as the Minister of Household Affairs in the imperial court. After the news of the suspension of the "one whip method" came out, officials within the Ministry of Household Affairs were very dissatisfied, especially the doctors and chief officials of the Qing Li Department in several Jiangnan provinces.

It turned out that Xu Yangzheng and Liu Ziqiang deceived their subordinates about the last memorial without consulting Ge Shouli in advance, but naturally they would not admit that it was their fault after the incident.

In their mouths, it was Ge Shangshu's capriciousness that deceived them and made them the victims, causing the officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs to lose face in court.

The "One Whip Method" is widely supported at the central level, but there is great resistance at the local level, and many local officials are reluctant to implement it. In the past, they were subject to dual pressure from above and below, and were squeezed in the middle. It is difficult to handle.

Now, the imperial court has stopped the "one whip method", and they no longer have to worry about pressure from the capital.

The implementation of this policy has reduced the government's tax revenue, especially the tax revenue, and many of them have turned into physical goods and labor that are difficult to realize.

There was less money, and there were fewer places where officials from the Ministry of Revenue could work together, so naturally there were complaints.

Xu Jie was dissatisfied with Gao Gong last time, but this time he finally found an opportunity. With Xu Jie's secret support, a storm that overcame the superiors was staged in the household department.

"Ji Fu, are you serious about this?"

Liu Ziqiang looked at Xu Yangzheng and asked.

"Although Mr. Xu Ge has no famous quotes, I can still understand the meaning behind his words. As long as we take action, even if Lord Shangshu goes to the cabinet to complain, he will find a way to suppress the matter."

Xu Yangzheng said with a proud face: "Also this time Ge Shangshu asked for a strike on the tax law, and he had a dispute with Mr. Xu Ge's student Zhang Ge. You know it, right?"

"Yeah, I understand."

Liu Ziqiang nodded and smiled. It was obvious that Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng couldn't stand Ge Shouli, so they hoped they could squeeze him away.

After all, Ge Shouli was the minister. As cabinet ministers, they could speak to the emperor, but they could not make personnel adjustments to the court on the emperor's behalf.

As long as the emperor did something to Ge Shouli unintentionally, Xu Jie would naturally be unable to do anything to him.

But as long as he contacted all the people in the household department to isolate and exclude him and make him completely lose control of the household department, Ge Shouli should have known and left early if he wanted to be promoted to the director. Otherwise, if the people below deliberately caused something to happen, he would have to take the blame. .

"Then what are we going to do?"

Liu Ziqiang figured it out, but he didn't know what Xu Yangzheng had in mind, how to isolate Ge Shouli and make him lose control of the yamen.

"From now on, the important documents in the yamen will be suppressed and not handed over to him. When we take turns to hand print, we will hand them out with seals, and just pick some trivial documents and deal with them.

As time goes by, that old boy Ge Shouli will understand. "

Xu Yangzheng said in a low voice.

"Then you and I are the officials of the Qing Dynasty."

"Let's each restrain our subordinates. There are some things that we need to keep secret."

"That's it."

The two people had a tacit understanding cultivated by working together for many years, and they quickly reached an agreement, and then they each summoned their subordinates in the duty room.

Ge Shouli, on the other hand, was not aware of the disturbance brewing against him in the Yamen.

In any case, Ge Shouli was a new arrival to the Ministry of Household Affairs officials and was very unfamiliar with this place.

He has been a local official all year round, and later served as the Minister of Rites in Nanjing. His relationship with the capital was relatively weak, so naturally he could not place people in the Ministry of Households quickly.

But it was Lao Jianghu after all. After passing the official documents in a few days, Ge Shouli soon discovered something was wrong.

The Ministry of Household Affairs is in charge of the world's money and food, so it is impossible for there to be no important official documents all day long. However, in the past few days, I have not seen any documents requesting the allocation of money and food, which is really wrong.

He felt something was wrong, but he couldn't skip the assistant minister and go directly to more than a dozen officials to inquire. He could only observe in secret and ask the scribes around him to inquire about the situation.

The entire household department, that is, the scribes were brought by him, so he could feel at ease.

In just two days, Ge Shouli found out that the people in the Hubu Yamen had great opinions on him, and behind the scenes, they were all fabricating his rights and wrongs indiscriminately.

Although he gritted his teeth, Shangshu Ge did not immediately fall out, but began to think about countermeasures.

He is not an idiot, and he also understands that he did not sign the memorial to denounce Gao Gong in the Ministry of Revenue, which made the officials of the Ministry of Revenue a little embarrassed and alienated him and his subordinates.

But he had no choice. When he first arrived, he was still in the capital, at the feet of the emperor. He was not familiar with Gao Gong, so naturally he didn't know whether the impeachment charges were true or false.

Gao Gong is the emperor's master. When choosing between the first assistant and the emperor's master, he would rather be a coward than take sides easily.

As for calling for the withdrawal of the "one-whip method", he did not propose it under pressure from nobles, but made a decision based on the actual situation.

In the north and south of the empire, land annexation in the north is fierce. If the "one whip law" is enforced, the local gentry will try their best to sabotage it. They will pass on the increased taxes and servitude regardless of the lives of the people, and they will even start riots.

Because of the implementation of this law, countless families in Shandong alone were forced to leave their homes and become refugees. He was also aware of several small riots.

He is completely dedicated to serving the public good. At least he feels that the "One Whip Method" should be suspended until a suitable method is found.

I just didn't expect that the subordinates in the household department would hate him for this.

Xu Yangzheng and Liu Ziqiang must be replaced.

Ge Shouli made up his mind that these two people were the black sheep in the Yamen. Only by taking them down could the Yamen regain control.

Ge Shouli believed that he was fair in dealing with matters after entering Beijing and would not offend those high-ranking officials. At least the disputes between him and Zhang Juzheng in the cabinet were discussed on a case-by-case basis and there was no ill feeling between them.

After half a month of observation, he understood what was going on in the household department, and he was convinced that it was Xu Yangzheng and Liu Ziqiang who were causing trouble.

On the two days of the month when the minister is on holiday, the large seal of the Ministry of household affairs will be printed by the left and right ministers in turn. It is at this time that a large number of official documents from the Ministry of household affairs will be stamped and issued.

Without making any move, Ge Shouli wrote a petition and planned to submit it to the cabinet.

This time he was not targeting Xu Yangzheng and Liu Ziqiang, but he was going to target the most active people in the Qing Officials Department below.

Directly targeting officials at the rank of Vice Minister can easily escalate the situation and make it known to everyone in the court.

In his opinion, making a report to the cabinet and asking for approval to replace the following doctors and principals was a shock to the lower officials in the government office, telling the lower-level officials in the yamen that he was the minister, and it was enough not to think about being overt and underhanded with him.

After that, he would try to find a way to transfer Xu Yangzheng and Liu Ziqiang, so that he could control the Yamen.

The adjustment of these officials below the fifth rank does not need to be approved by the emperor, but is handled by the cabinet and the Ministry of Personnel.

After writing the paperwork, Ge Shouli went directly to the cabinet and met with Xu Jie, the chief minister.

Xu Jie knew that the household department was a hard job, so he didn't plan to take action against this yamen. It would be too troublesome to install his own people.

Originally, he had no prejudice against Ge Shouli, but he was unwilling to support him at the critical moment.

Although he knew that he would do the same thing if he put himself in someone else's shoes, but if he didn't put himself in someone else's shoes, he would see that something was wrong with Ge Shouli.

What's more, he privately heard Zhang Juzheng complain twice that Ge Shouli was conservative and not qualified for big things.

Since Zhang Juzheng didn't like him, Xu Jie naturally wanted to change him, no matter who he was.

"Yu Li, this is the Yamen."

Xu Jie had a wry smile on his face and waved Ge Shouli's official document in his hand.

"Mr. Ge, the Hubu Yamen is too high. I came from Nanjing. The people below probably think that I have never seen the world and am no better than them, the officials in the capital."

Ge Shouli's requirements were not high. He was just a fifth-grade doctor and a few sixth-grade principals. He was a mid- to low-level official in the Ministry of Household Affairs.

In fact, in similar situations, ministers of various ministries will do this after taking office. They will transfer some people and place some people in order to facilitate their control.

Ge Shouli had no experience in managing the household department, so he delayed it a little longer. He first straightened out the household department and then realized that it was out of control, so he hurriedly made up for it.

"Well, it's time to beat them. You don't need to give me the list. Just go to the Ministry of Personnel and ask Wei Yue to handle it."

Xu Jie remained calm, signed the official document and handed it back to Ge Shouli, saying: "Yu Li, of course the cabinet has no objection to this matter. You can just discuss it with the staff."

"Thank you, Mr. Ge."

It seemed that Ge Shouli had achieved the goal of the cabinet, so he stood up and left for the Ministry of Personnel.

But he didn't know that when he turned around, a sneer appeared on Xu Jie's lips.

Ge Shouli thought he was doing things smoothly, but he had no idea that others had already arranged everything.

"Ge Shangshu, please sit down and drink tea. What kind of wind brings you to me?"

Wei Guangde was on duty, and Ge Shouli found this place as soon as he came out from Yang Bo's place, and handed over the documents signed by Xu Jie and Yang Bo.

Wei Guangde happily took the document from Ge Shouli and looked at it and was stunned.

There is something wrong with this document. Logically speaking, it should be handled by the Cabinet and transferred to the Ministry of Personnel. How can it be a document from the Ministry of Revenue, with just two additional signatures?

"Yang Shangshu said that the people being replaced are officials. The merit examination department has their records of passing exams over the years, and they can arrange other errands for them based on their performance appraisals."

Ge Shouli was holding tea and looking at Wei Guangde with a smile.

I don't think there is anything wrong with this move. It is normal for the minister to replace a few of his own people when he takes office.

"Okay, I'll arrange for someone to check it out in the next few days. I'll let you know after making arrangements."

Wei Guangde was suspicious, but he still respectfully agreed.

After Ge Shouli left the duty room, Wei Guangde walked to the desk and sat down, took out a piece of paper, picked up a pen and started writing on it.

At this moment, Lu Bu quickly walked in from outside the door, bowed in front of the desk and said, "Sir, Mr. Chen Ge has arrived with a note."

"Um?"

Wei Guangde put down his pen and was about to write him a note asking about the situation when Chen Yiqin's note arrived.

Looking at the unfinished note in front of me, I knew it was probably useless.

He took the letter from Lu Bu, opened it, and read the contents.

Chen Yiqin has never known anything about Ge Shouli, and there are no secrets in the cabinet unless it is not done in the cabinet.

He crumpled the note in front of him into a ball and threw it aside. He took out another note and quickly wrote down a few names, then handed it to Lu Bu and ordered: "Go and find out where these people are from."

In the afternoon, after Wei Guangde left the office, he went directly to Chen Yiqin's house without even returning home.

"Brother Yifu, what do you mean by asking your little brother to drag Ge Shangshu with him? The cabinet is not going to give him face?"

In the study, Wei Guangde asked in a low voice after seeing Chen Yiqin.

"The cabinet hasn't even written a document. Don't you understand what it means?"

Chen Yiqin smiled and said, "Sit down and talk."

"What do Xu Jie and Yang Bo mean? Why are they trying to fool Ge Shouli? They want to make things difficult for me. Aren't they afraid that I will take care of the matter and leave them in vain?"

Wei Guangde said.

"How else would the news reach me? Xu Shoufu had figured it all out."

Chen Yiqin put away his smile and said solemnly.

"Don't say this was a conspiracy between you and the two of them."

Wei Guangde noticed something was wrong, looked at Chen Yiqin and said seriously.

"If my guess is correct about this matter, it should be Xu Jie who Yang Bo is looking for."

Chen Yiqin looked at Wei Guangde and whispered.

"Appreciate further details."

Wei Guangde was very curious as to how these cabinet bosses could conspire and discuss fighting for power in the court.

"You should know how Guo Qian, the Minister of War, came to be."

Chen Yiqin asked with a smile. Seeing Wei Guangde nodding, he continued: "After Yang Bo was transferred from the Ministry of War to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, he always hoped that his fellow countryman Huo Yi would take over the Ministry of War. However, His Majesty chose Guo Qian in the cabinet discussion list. .”

Wei Guangde knew clearly that Emperor Longqing made this choice to express his dissatisfaction with Yang Bo and show his attitude towards them stabbing Gao Gong in the back.

"I have always felt that the measures taken by the Ministry of War in Shanxi were inappropriate, but you also said that there was no good solution, so I suspected that this matter might be arranged by Yang Bo secretly. He wanted to make some mistakes in Shanxi and let Guo Qian resign."

Chen Yiqin said leisurely, his tone a little low.

"What does that have to do with Tobe?"

Wei Guangde knew what Chen Yiqin meant. Yang Bo wanted to use a defeat to drag Guo Gan down. Although it was very cruel, it was also a test.

Everything can only wait for the outcome of the war.

If Guo Gan handled it properly and won the battle, Yang Bo would naturally have no other choice.

"It's no secret that Yang Bo wants to push Huo Yi. Xu Jie's support is very important."

"Xu Jie looks like the position of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue?"

Wei Guangde said with some disbelief.

"I don't know, but Ge Shangshu didn't come to the cabinet this afternoon."

Chen Yiqin just replied.

"Yang Shangshu didn't tell him that the official document was wrong."

Wei Guangde replied calmly, lowering his head and thinking quickly, and Wei Guangde roughly understood what was going on.

Xu Jie hated Ge Shouli and did not want him to continue serving as minister. Yang Bo wanted Xu Jie's support and hoped to help his fellow villagers fight for the Ministry of War. The two hit it off.

At first, Wei Guangde still couldn't figure out what was Chen Yiqin's involvement in this matter?

Suddenly, a name suddenly appeared in Wei Guangde's mind.

Raising his head, Wei Guangde looked at Chen Yiqin and asked a little uncertainly: "Ma Sen?"

Chen Yiqin nodded, "I recommended Ma Sen to Mr. Xu Ge. Mr. Xu Ge also believed that in addition to the usual affairs of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Fujian affairs are also very important.

As a Fujianese, Ma Shilang had many advantages, especially the fact that he supported the policy of opening up the sea a long time ago. "

"What is Xu Jie trying to do?"

It seems reasonable, but Wei Guangde is still a little confused.

It seems that both Yang Bo and Chen Yiqin benefited from such an operation, but what did he gain?

"What else do you think our chief assistant needs?"

Chen Yiqin chuckled and said, "As long as he is happy."