The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Although it was a bit awkward to meet him, he naturally wanted to meet him since he was here.

Speaking of which, the people who came this time were still the ones with the best scores in this exam. Those who ranked high naturally had a great chance of promotion.

In fact, Wei Guangde had already discovered when he was filling out the list that he had some vague impressions of these people.

The only regret is the slight embarrassment.

Looking through the posts in his hand, there were Zhao Zhigao, Wang Jiaping, Hu Laigong, Yu Shenxing and others. Based on the current opportunity, Wei Guangde roughly understood what they meant by looking for him.

Put Yu Shenxing's post at the top, and then give it to Zhang Ji, "Reply to their posts, and arrange two or three people a day."

"yes."

Zhang Ji took it and said yes.

Among these disciples, Wei Guangde found Yu Shenxing a little more pleasing to his eye, mainly because he was a few years younger than him.

The twenty-three-year-old Jinshi was ranked so high that it would not be an exaggeration to call him a genius.

Wei Guangde knew what they wanted and knew he could do it, which was to enter the Hanlin Academy and be selected as a good scholar.

Of course, Zhao Zhigao didn't need it. He should just deliberately get closer to him, hoping to help him in his future career.

This is normal, Wei Guangde doesn't think there is anything wrong.

Why do cabinet ministers need to participate in the general examination and be the chief examiner? Isn't it just to give them full wings?

In the Hanlin Academy, although Wei Guangde is no longer in charge of the affairs of the Hanlin Academy, the Ministry of Rites is already in charge of the Hanlin Academy. In addition, other major officials have become bachelors in the Hanlin Academy, and Tao Dalin has also become an attendant.

Of course, they were not promoted as quickly as Wei Guangde, but they worked steadily and moved up step by step according to normal promotions. Now they are the main force in the Hanlin Academy's errands.

In this selection, if nothing unexpected happens, they will be the chief and deputy examiners at that time.

Say hello and help take care of you, it's not a difficult thing.

In the next few days, Wei Guangde met his disciples after returning from the Yamen. Naturally, Wei Guangde did not agree to all of them who wanted to enter the Hanlin Academy.

For those who are knowledgeable, he will only acquiesce, but will never nod in agreement. For those who are not knowledgeable enough and have unreasonable thoughts, he will first give advice. If they don't listen, he will just deal with it.

Without self-awareness, accepting such a disciple would only bring trouble to him, so he was unwilling to recruit him under his command.

After a busy period of official duties at the beginning of the year, the errands of the Ministry of Rites were free, and Wei Guangde was quietly hanging out in the yamen. On this day, he was urgently summoned to the cabinet for discussion by the secretary of the cabinet in the duty room.

After asking Zhongshu, he didn't know the details, so Wei Guangde had to clear his desk and hurried out.

In front of the gate of the Ministry of Etiquette, Gaoyi came out first and was already standing in front of the sedan. The bearer had already lifted the sedan and rolled up the curtain. Hearing the footsteps behind him, Gaoyi turned around and glanced at Wei Guangde.

"Master Gao."

Wei Guangde hurriedly bowed and saluted.

"Shaloan, let's go together?"

Gao Yi said with a smile.

Wei Guangde smiled and shook his head. Although he could ride in a sedan, he was used to riding in a carriage, and he couldn't change this habit for a while.

While talking, the carriage has arrived.

"Then I'll take the first step."

Gao Yi smiled and got into the sedan chair, and then the bearer lifted up the sedan chair and walked quickly towards the imperial city.

Wei Guangde stood in front of the gate. After the carriage stopped, the driver got out and put down the horse stool. Then he stepped on the stool and got on the carriage.

After the coachman put away the horse stool, he climbed back into the driver's seat and drove behind the sedan.

Now Wei Guangde is already a high official in the imperial court wearing a scarlet robe. If he continues to climb on the carriage in the original way, it will be a bit embarrassing in official uniform.

In fact, horse stools have been used for getting in and out of carriages for many years.

It's not that he can't get up, it's that he has to put on this air.

When they arrived at the cabinet, the two of them were quickly introduced into Xu Jie's duty room. All the ministers in the cabinet had already arrived.

"Zixiang, Shandai, take a look at this will."

Hearing that it was an edict, Wei Guangde knew that it was Emperor Longqing who had not yet known it, but the cabinet had different opinions, so everything was suppressed for the time being.

Moreover, judging from the news of the blockade, it is definitely a very bad request.

Gao Yi took a yellow scroll from Xu Jie's hand, looked down at it twice and frowned, then handed it to Wei Guangde next to him.

"Shan Loan, you should also take a look."

Wei Guangde took it and looked at it. Emperor Longqing wanted to draft 300 women.

Draft girls, normally this is not a big deal, but the problem with this decree lies in the timing.

The Ministry of Rites and the Supervisor of Rites also received a piece of news from Nanjing last month. Zhang Jinchao, the envoy of the Nanjing Dyeing and Weaving Bureau, claimed that he had been ordered to go to Zhili, Huguang, and other places to select beautiful girls. The news spread, causing a huge turmoil throughout Jiangnan. .

In Huguang, Nanzhili and other places, all families with girls of the right age have become disloyal, and they have tried every means to marry off their daughters. It is not an exaggeration to say that all bachelors will be exhausted in one day.

In those two months, as the news spread, families with girls went around looking for families with men to marry, fearing that the court would suspend the marriage and choose their daughters away.

When the news reached Huzhou Prefecture, the entire Huzhou immediately fell into a "battle for the groom" against time.

All families, as long as they have girls over 11 or 2 years old and under 20 years old, will bravely join in this battle. "If you don't have enough time to choose a mate, you will be sent to the east and welcomed to the west. The streets and markets are one after another, and the situation is like robbing."

For fear of being banned by the government, most marriages are completed in the dark. Every family with a daughter is afraid that the daughter will still be waiting in the boudoir at dawn. I don’t know how many parents will be upset by the crowing of a cock.

Tian Yiheng once described the situation in a place after the rumors of the draft spread: "There are singing, laughing and crying, and there is a lot of noise!"

And all bachelors, regardless of whether they are handsome, strong, sick, or scumbag, "regardless of age, age, beauty, evil, rich or poor," will be cleared as soon as they are "shipped out."

Even if it is a remote village in a valley, a home of scholars, poets and etiquette, no matter how indifferent or abiding by etiquette they usually are, no one can remain calm at this time. "It is a great blessing to meet someone when you go out."

There is a nursery rhyme circulating from time to time: "On the first day of the first lunar month, there will be chaos, and the young and old daughters will marry their husbands."

Someone happened to inadvertently add fuel to the already chaotic situation. At that time, a general arrived in Beiguan, Huzhou to take office. According to the rules, three cannons were fired in Beiguan as both an announcement and a welcome. Unexpectedly, the people all over the city heard the cannons loudly. Wow, it was said that "the eunuch from the imperial court has arrived", and immediately those families whose daughters had not yet been married off began to flee in all directions, fearing that they would not be able to escape.

With such a chaos, the local government naturally passed the news to Nanjing for questioning. After all, they did not receive any documents for the palace draft.

Nanjing officials also waited for some time and asked around before they learned the news.

Nanjing had not received any imperial edict or documents, so it was natural that it was doubtful.

Because the source of the news was an envoy from the Nanjing Dyeing and Weaving Bureau, they did not know whether the eunuch was acting in accordance with the order.

Although it was not in accordance with the rules, it was the emperor's order after all. Then he wrote a document and sent it to the capital to inquire about the Ministry of Rites and the Supervisor of Rites.

Obviously, this was actually an action by the imperial emissary Zhang Jinchao to rob good women and blatantly blackmail the people in the name of a draft, because the imperial court never gave Nanjing such an order.

It is completely different from the movies and TV dramas of later generations. How could the daughter of a good family be willing to send someone to the palace to be a slave? Even if there is an unexpected opportunity, the kind-hearted people are not far away from gambling with their daughter's happiness. Such a slim chance.

In fact, from ancient times to the present, the so-called draft girls have essentially used this name to openly plunder ordinary women among the people.

Later generations of TV made people think that the emperor was the object of many women's competition, because gaining the emperor's favor also meant gaining power and money. This is pure nonsense.

Although there may be such families with speculative purposes, they are definitely very rare exceptions.

Why are the people so afraid of the palace draft? When a woman enters the Ming Palace, it is equivalent to being deprived of her lifelong freedom. In order to keep the secrets of the palace, most women have no choice but to wait to die in the palace.

Because the regulations enacted by the emperors of the Ming Dynasty strictly prohibited people outside the palace from delivering letters or items to the maids, any violation of the prohibition would be punishable by death.

Ye Luo returns to his roots. After getting old, the palace maids must be able to leave the palace. In order to prevent the palace people from leaking the forbidden things, the elderly palace maids are imprisoned in the "Ni Yi Bureau" and are still not allowed to leave the palace.

The Hongzhi Dynasty once released a group of elderly court ladies. How grateful the people were!

When a woman enters the palace, if she is not a concubine with some status in the palace, it means that she will never be able to see her relatives again in this life, and it will even be difficult to convey news.

Just imagine, after "matching", no matter how unhappy the marriage is, you can still meet a few times, which is better than being sent to the palace to live and die.

Moreover, after entering the palace, the treatment of palace ladies in the Ming Dynasty was extremely low, and they were left to fend for themselves without medical treatment.

This is the main reason why people refuse to send girls into the palace, and another thing that makes people frightened is the many folk rumors about Emperor Longqing's father, Emperor Jiajing.

Although the Renyin Palace Incident was a secret in the palace, in fact, it had already spread among the people after it happened because it involved the emperor.

A group of palace maids secretly conspired to do such a big thing as assassinating the king and killing the king. There are various versions circulated among the people, but most of them are obscene.

Regarding this palace coup, the inner court was also secretive and unwilling to disclose the truth. In fact, there were many unspeakable things in it, which further fueled the suspicion among the people.

Although the emperor has changed, who knows what will happen to her daughter after she enters the palace?

"The last time a girl was drafted, was it in the 42nd or 43rd year of Jiajing?"

Wei Guangde asked.

He still has some memories, after all, it was only four or five years ago.

"The decree was issued in forty-two years, and the draft was drafted in forty-three years."

Gao Yi said that at that time, he was already in the Ministry of Rites. Although he was not responsible for this matter, he could select people for the palace. The Ministry of Rites was directly involved, although the final decision-making power was in the inner court.

In the Ming Dynasty, the female talent show in the palace usually took place once every three to five years. Each time, hundreds to thousands of people were selected according to needs.

There are actually many types of draft girls. Sometimes they are just ordinary court ladies, and sometimes they are chosen for marriage.

Who asked Zhu Yuanzhang to set the tone that the wives of princes, princes and other royal descendants should be found among the people, so as to avoid the opportunity for relatives to get rich.

"Calculating the time, this decree is not inappropriate. It is just that the Nanjing incident happened. It is really inappropriate to issue this decree at this time."

Wei Guangde said in embarrassment.

"We are also worried about this. We have just sent a reply to Nanjing and asked them to refute the rumors. But if we are to draft a girl for the palace at this time, alas."

Xu Jie said in a dilemma.

"Mr. Xu Ge, I'm afraid I can only ask you to come into the palace and explain this matter to His Majesty."

Wei Guangde glanced at Chen Yiqin next to him, and seeing that he was also looking embarrassed, he continued: "The matter of the talent show girls can be delayed a little.

First, let the Nanjing Judicial Division arrest and behead Zhang Zhang before entering the court as soon as possible, sentence his accomplices severely, and give him a standard punishment.

If this edict is issued before the end of the year, it will be enough time to start the selection in February next year.

After all, even if the decree is issued now, the draft will have to be postponed until February next year. "

The Ming Dynasty also had rules for selecting maids in the palace. In the early Ming Dynasty, the selection was held in the first month, and later in February.

It's already April, and even if a decree is issued, the women who were selected for the local primary election will only be transferred to the palace in February next year.

"That's very good. Let's calm down the trouble caused by Zhang Jinchao in Jiangnan first, and then take care of it slowly."

Zhang Juzheng immediately spoke in agreement.

Wei Guangde's procrastination technique is excellent. As long as it can be delayed, Emperor Longqing himself may forget about it by the end of the year, and it is not impossible to delay it for another year.

"Master Chief Assistant, Shan Loan is a good idea. When Your Majesty explained this matter before, I only thought about the current situation in Jiangnan and forgot to use this matter as an excuse.

His Majesty attaches great importance to reputation, so based on these words, we should ask His Majesty to agree. "

Chen Yiqin also spoke at the right time.

When Wei Guangde spoke, his expression changed from gloomy to clear.

He had brought this order from the palace. At that time, he just felt that the timing was not right, but His Majesty wanted to draft a girl, and it had not been a few years since the palace had a new recruit, so he could not find any reason to refuse.

Now Wei Guangde's words have become a good reason.

"Well, with this reasoning, it will be easier to talk to His Majesty."

Xu Jie only thought for a moment and agreed with Wei Guangde's words.

In fact, they just fell into inertial thinking. In fact, if the emperor wants to draft women, as long as they don't select them every year, the ministers really can't find a reason to refuse.

Youdao is the Son of Heaven. In the whole world, there is no one who is not the king's land, no one is on the shore of the land, and no one is the king's minister. He is also said to be rich in the world, sitting on the wealth and glory of the world.

With such an identity, what’s wrong with choosing a few beauties?

It was just that the timing was not right, so several of their cabinet ministers sat together to discuss, but for a long time they still did not come up with a charter.

Disturbing the people, disturbing the people too much.

With Wei Guangde's idea, Xu Jie happily went to the palace to renew the decree.

Because it not only satisfies the emperor's needs, but does not intensify the conflicts in Jiangnan, and there is room for maneuver in the middle, it is really a great good.

Things were over here. Several ministers went back to their respective rooms to work. Wei Guangde and Gao Yi said something and went straight to Chen Yiqin's room.

"As for Eunuch Li, let's just leave it as it is. If he doesn't change his attitude, we can't help him."

In Chen Yiqin's duty room, he said this to Wei Guangde.

"Two days ago, Eunuch Huang's nephew came to my house to look for me. You should go there too."

Wei Guangde rubbed his eyebrows and said.

"You have to think about this matter carefully. Eunuch Huang helped me a lot and waited a lot. We can't let his family continue like this."

Chen Yiqin also nodded in agreement.

"I have an idea. How about I try it with Teng Xiang?"

Wei Guangde spoke, so Wei Guangde briefly said that Teng Xiang was a disciple of Huang Jin.

This was news revealed by Chen Ju, otherwise Wei Guangde would not have thought that the two of them had this connection.