The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Guo Xiyan was dismissed from his post, which naturally disappointed him who was focused on his official career.

He had hoped that Yan Song, the chief minister of Yan, who was also from Jiangxi, could help deliver a message to the Ministry of Personnel, but what greeted him was even greater disappointment. The Yan Mansion did not agree.

How to return to the court, this is what he is most concerned about at the moment. Although he is still an official, he has no power. How can he re-arrange his position without relying on the powerful.

In Beijing, there are so many officials waiting to be appointed. Everyone has no choice but to find ways to cultivate connections, send money and gifts, so as to get an appointment document from the Ministry of Personnel. But he has just been dismissed, and at least the normal procedures are followed. It will also take a few years.

It's just that Guo Xiyan's family is not rich. Even the money collected through the tax-free land privileges is only enough for him to live a decent life in the capital. As for the salary of a Beijing official, one banquet is not enough, so how can he save it? Gifts of money.

As for the wealth brought by power, well, what could the official position of Zuo Zhongyun of Zuo Chunfang in Zhan Shifu bring in the Jiajing Dynasty?

How many years has it been since the prince died?

Thinking of this, his body, which had been unable to lie down on the chair, suddenly sat up straight. He thought of a way that might change his life.

Do you want to use scaremongering to achieve great success?

At this time, the solution that came to Guo Xiyan's mind was naturally to suggest establishing a reserve.

Regardless of whether he can be adopted by Emperor Jiajing in the end, for him it will be a sense of presence in front of the future new emperor.

Yan Song supported King Jing, which was no secret in the official circles of the capital.

Among the sons of Emperor Jiajing, the eldest son Zhu Zaiji was established as the crown prince, but he died two months after he was born.

In the eighteenth year of Jiajing, the second son Zhu Zaihe succeeded him as the crown prince at the age of four. In the twenty-eighth year of Jiajing, the crown prince Zhu Zaihe went out to study. He only met Emperor Jiajing once and died soon after.

Now the remaining third son Zhu Zaihe was named King Yu, and the fourth son Zhu Zaizhen was named King Jing.

According to the feudal etiquette, the third son, King Yu Zhu Zaihe, should be established as the crown prince, but Emperor Jiajing delayed his appointment.

It is said that the reason is that the two previous crown princes died young and died early, so they did not want to succeed them. Tao Zhongwen once secretly said that the two dragons cannot meet each other. The emperor is a dragon and the crown prince is the future dragon, so not only cannot he be canonized, And father and son cannot meet.

Of course, there are also rumors that King Yu's biological mother fell out of favor, and that King Jing was born to his beloved concubine Lu, so the delay in appointing King Yu as the crown prince was related to this.

The battle for the palace is so secret that it’s hard to tell.

Although King Jing received more rewards than King Yu every year because of Lu's favor, it seemed that Emperor Jiajing liked King Jing more than King Yu, but Guo Xiyan still felt that King Yu had a higher chance of ascending to the throne, and King Jing If he is still the one whom Yan Song supports, then he cannot support him even more.

Because the Yan family was unwilling to help him speak, Guo Xiyan also hated Yan Song at this time. Therefore, when he thought of admonishing and establishing a heir apparent, he naturally supported King Yu and at the same time used the fight for the heir apparent to avenge Yan Song.

Thinking of this, Guo Xiyan finally couldn't suppress the desire for power in his heart. He laid out the rice paper and pressed the paperweight, poured some water into the inkstone, then gently rolled up the sleeve of his right hand with his left hand, placing his index finger on the top of the ink, and his thumb. Place the ink stick between both sides of the ink stick with your middle finger and put it into the inkstone, press it hard and turn it gently to grind.

My hands kept moving, and my mind began to make plans.

After the ink was finished, Guo Xiyan took his favorite wolf hair from the pen mountain and started writing on rice paper.

"I have read the imperial edict respectfully in previous years. Those who want to establish an emperor and establish a crown prince will pass on the road to the throne. It is difficult to establish a crown prince. If the emperor sincerely wants to establish a crown prince, there are important ministers who can give advice. If it is still not done, it is better to be safe for the crown prince." May Chen Zhong live for a long time. I think that if I obey, both sides will have great honor for the ministers. If I don't obey, I will be punished by death and I will be greatly afraid. However, every year, the stars change, earthquakes occur, and the palace disasters are all caused by heaven's benevolence. Everyone, there is a false intention in the court, and there may be someone who is willing to die as a plan for the emperor."

The matter was serious, and Guo Xiyan knew that this memorial would definitely cause an uproar.

In the past few years in the capital, he naturally knew that some of the courtiers wanted to petition Emperor Jiajing to establish a heir several times, but in the end there was no follow-up. Although he didn't know why, he vaguely heard that it seemed that Prince Yu's Mansion was secretly preventing this. thing.

Therefore, Guo Xiyan was not in a hurry to submit the memorial. Instead, he stayed at home and revised it several times, still feeling dissatisfied.

While he was melancholy at home, the Criminal Department of the capital, Dali Temple and the Metropolitan Procuratorate finally jointly submitted the case file to the Emperor Jiajing on the case of Yu Dayou, the former Zhejiang commander-in-chief.

The memorial first denied the accusation that Yu Dayou secretly colluded with Japanese pirates, but he was responsible for improper command for the Japanese pirates' breakout in Cengang. It recommended that Yu Dayou be dismissed and deprived of his hereditary privileges.

The memorial was sent to the Supervisor of Ceremonies through the cabinet, and then transferred to Xiyuan. At this time, Emperor Jiajing's attention had been diverted to the intensifying Japanese rebellion in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian. He was naturally very dissatisfied when he saw the outcome of the trial of Yu Dayou's case.

Looking at Gao Zhong below who was waiting for approval, Emperor Jiajing thought for a moment and said: "The Japanese invasion has not been eliminated so far. How can it be explained by improper command and the exile of Datong."

Hearing Emperor Jiajing's words, Gao Zhong hurriedly nodded in agreement, and then added the words "send Yu Dayou to Datong to be exiled to the army" in his approval. Afterwards, the memorial will be sent to the cabinet and handed over to the Ministry of Punishment for the final verdict.

Lu Bing heard the news a little later. Although it was not perfect, his old friend could finally get out of prison.

Exiling the army to Datong was actually not much of a punishment. Perhaps Emperor Jiajing was not willing to let a general who had commanded thousands of troops live among the people and send him to a border town, which was naturally the best outcome.

After some calculations in my mind, it seemed that the current governor of Datong was called Li Wenjin, so I immediately asked someone to find information about Li Wenjin and look at it carefully.

After reading these materials, he planned to give them to Yu Dayou to take a look at. After all, he would be going there soon. Getting to know Shangguan more would be beneficial to his future life in Datong.

Li Wenjin, courtesy name Xianzhi, nicknamed Tongye, was a native of Ba County, Chongqing Prefecture, Sichuan Province. He was a Jinshi in the 14th year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty.

This Li Wenjin can barely be regarded as a second-generation official. His ancestors were just low-ranking officials like Yi Cheng, while his father Li Bang was an official to the rank of Fengzhi doctor and a member of the Ministry of household affairs. Now he is the Du Cha On the right side of the courtyard, he was the censor of Qiandu and the governor of Datong.

Soon, Lu Bing's brows widened.

At first, Lu Bing was worried that Li Wenjin was not familiar with Yu Dayou, so he might not reuse Yu Dayou.

Lu Bing naturally knew Yu Dayou's abilities, otherwise he wouldn't have helped him so much.

In the officialdom, forming good relationships will sometimes bring unexpected benefits.

When the Japanese pirates wreaked havoc in Zhejiang and Fujian, because Ding Zhan, the deputy envoy of Haidao, was dismissed by the imperial court, the imperial court ordered Li Wenjin to replace Ding Zhan and go to suppress the Japanese pirates.

Therefore, Li Wenjin and Yu Dayou, who was the counselor of the various prefectures in Ningbo and Taizhou at the time, jointly formulated a careful plan to resist the enemy, led the army to defeat the Japanese pirates at sea, burned more than 50 Japanese ships, and won a beautiful victory.

Seeing this, Lu Bing was overjoyed. Li Wenjin and Yu Dayou had interacted before. It seemed that Yu Dayou had gone to Datong and would be reused soon. When the time comes, he would be rewarded for his meritorious service and it would be a matter of time before he was reinstated.

I thought about giving Li Wenjin’s information to Yu Dayou before, but it seems that I don’t need it now.

If Yu Dayou gets to know Li Wenjin more deeply through Jin Yiwei's information, it would be better if he tells something he shouldn't know and doesn't add any unnecessary extravagance.

Thinking of this, Lu Bing asked his subordinates to re-seal Li Wenjin's information and go straight to Yu Dayou's cell.

Now that Yu Dayou's matter has been completely settled, he can only send a memorial to the Ministry of Officials to pronounce the verdict. Even if the dust has settled, it is time to talk to Yu Dayou about his future.

"Is it approved by the palace?"

Lu Bing walked into the cell, and Yu Dayou was still lying on the couch, covered with a thick quilt.

Perhaps it was judged by the sound of footsteps. Anyway, before Lu Bing entered the cell, he heard Yu Dayou's question.

"approved."

Lu Bing entered the room, sat down on the chair next to Yu Dayou, and then continued: "But it's different from what you want."

"Huh? Do you still want to punish me?"

Yu Dayou opened his eyes and looked at Lu Bing next to him, with a slightly surprised expression on his face.

"Your Majesty must still be angry. After all, the Cengang Japanese pirates did escape from the enemy, so don't even think about disarming yourself and returning home."

Lu Bing smiled.

"Okay, whether I go back to Fujian or Zhejiang, I just obey the emperor's orders."

Yu Dayou shook his head slightly, and then a smile appeared on his lips.

In fact, apart from leading troops to fight, Yu Dayou really doesn't know how to do anything anymore.

After being imprisoned this time, Yu Dayou gave up his plan to continue to be an official and thought about returning to his hometown in Fujian, leading a group of apprentices, and passing on his skills.

At that time, the young Yu Dayou studied the art of war with Zhao Benxue and the stick technique with Li Liangqin, the founder of Zhangergun. Speaking of which, in order to take the imperial examination, he also became a disciple of the famous Yi scholars Wang Xuan and Lin Fu, and the famous Neo-Confucianist Cai With Qing's guidance, he was one of the few generals of the Ming army who was both civil and military.

Therefore, for Yu Dayou, if he can't become an official, he should go back to his hometown and become a teacher with a missionary background. Under his disciples, he can learn both civil and military skills, and there will be many students who want to join private schools.

Although Yu Dayou did not get the honor of being a scholar, he was still a scholar. He passed the boy examination and the academy examination at the age of fifteen. He was a scholar in one fell swoop and was regarded as a "child prodigy" at that time.

However, for Yu Dayou, it was still a bit regretful that he could not realize his ambition.

Learn martial arts and sell goods to the emperor's family.

This is what most people think in this era, and Yu Dayou is no exception. What's more, since Yu Dayou can remember his childhood, he has known that his family eats imperial food, and they have been eating imperial food for generations.

"You can't go back to the south. I'll send you to Datong."

Lu Bing said.

"Datong? Fighting the Tartars?"

Yu Dayou suddenly sat up and looked at Lu Bingdao with bright eyes.

"Yes, but you were deposed and your family's hereditary position was also stripped away. You used to be a soldier."

Lu Bing continued.

"Just be a soldier, I've never been a soldier before."

Yu Dayou directly succeeded his father's official position at that time. Soon after he participated in the military examination, he was promoted to the position of guarding Qianhu Station. He had never been a soldier.

"By the way, who has the final say in Datong now?"

Although he didn't care, Yu Dayou still asked him about the topic he was concerned about. He didn't know who his superior was. He was not a qualified soldier.

"Haha. Li Wenjin."

Lu Bing was too lazy to tell the truth and directly told the governor of Datong.

"Li Wenjin"

Yu Dayou frowned slightly when he heard the name, as if he was remembering something, but he was not sure, so he asked: "Is it Master Li Wenjin who served as deputy envoy of the sea route in Zhejiang?"

"It seems that you have a deep impression on him. He has been around the Metropolitan Procuratorate for several years, and you still remember him."

Lu Bing's words actually confirmed Yu Dayou's guess.

"Snapped."

Yu Dayou clapped his big hands together and let out crisp applause. Then he grinned and said, "If it were that sir, life would be much easier for me, Lao Yu."

"Really? He is now the governor of Datong. You are a martial artist. Do people still remember you?"

Lu Bing said amusedly.

"That gentleman is good. When I was fighting under his tent, he didn't interfere with my formation of troops. He was better than Hu Zongxian's officials who knew little about everything. They had to point fingers at everything. That was also done by me, Lao Yu. The most satisfying battle was to wipe out all the Japanese pirates."

Yu Dayou seemed to remember the situation at that time, and said with a blush on his face, "Don't think of me as a soldier, Mr. Li will definitely recognize me when he gets to Datong. Even if he really forgets, I can just pay him a visit."

For an official like Yu Dayou, who was at the rank of commander-in-chief, even if he was deposed, there would be documents about him in Li Wenjin's official case, so Yu Dayou believed that Li Wenjin would not be unaware of his arrival.

"We don't have much time. The memorial will be sent back to the cabinet tomorrow. It is estimated that the Ministry of Punishment will close the case in the next few days and you will be escorted there."

Lu Bing was very happy to know that this brother would be released from the prison soon, "It's just a pity that Guangde made a great contribution this time, but you won't be able to see him."

"When he comes back, find a chance to say thank you to him."

Yu Dayou said to Lu Bing.

Being able to go out was undoubtedly due to Wei Guangde's planning in Hangzhou. Otherwise, Lu Bing really couldn't find enough conditions to negotiate with the Yan family, and Yu Dayou wouldn't have been able to go out so easily.

Although it was Lu Bing who had the final say on the prison sentence, he could make Yu Dayou live a good life in prison, but he did not dare to let him out.

Three days later, the Ministry of Punishment once again sent an official letter mentioning the person. Lu Bing did not stop him. According to the previous rules, he sent a captain in Jinyi to escort Yu Dayou to the Ministry of Punishment for questioning.

As expected, the case will not be heard in court this time. After all, the cases have been closed, and Yu Dayou will be sentenced directly.

Just like what Lu Bing said, he was dismissed from his official position, and the hereditary privileges were distributed to Datong.

Two days later, just as Lu Bing was seeing Yu Dayou off from the capital, the two were saying goodbye in the west of the city. Suddenly, a captain in Jinyi came quickly on horseback from a distance.

The visitor reined in the reins more than ten steps in front of Lu Bing, quickly jumped off the horse and ran to Lu Bing's side, whispering a few words in his ear, and then Lu Bing's expression changed.

Yu Dayou knew that something might have happened in the capital, otherwise Lu Bing's face would not have become so bad.

"Shisuke, let's just say goodbye."

Lu Bing waved his hand to indicate that he understood, and then said to Yu Dayou.

"But something happens, if so."

Yu Dayou said hurriedly.

"It doesn't matter, you can go to Datong and I will take care of the matters in the capital. It would be best if you leave the capital as soon as possible."

Lu Bing shook his head and said, clasping his hands into fists.