The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Xu Jie promised not to mention candidates to participate in the competition for the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue. Naturally, he was betting that Emperor Jiajing would not continue to delegate power to Yan Song, and it was not entirely because of the huge disparity in power between himself and Yan Song.

However, now that Yan Song has raised his conditions, Xu Jie must also raise his own requirements in exchange. This can also make Yan Song feel more at ease. However, the incident happened suddenly and he really couldn't think of the right conditions for a while.

Wei Guangde, who was in Nanjing, naturally didn't know what was happening in the capital.

He has been very proud of himself in the past few days. Perhaps because of Xu Pengju's reputation, the first contribution to suppressing the rebellion was placed on his head in the memorial.

But think about it, when the Zhenwu camp rebels rushed out of the small school ground, he was the one who persuaded them to go back. This gave Nanjing's senior officials a chance to breathe, and sent troops to surround the small school ground and let Zhenwu The rebel soldiers of the battalion did not bring trouble to the entire city of Nanjing.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde suddenly felt that his first victory in suppressing the rebellion seemed to be a matter of course.

The memorial came up, and Wei Guangde couldn't just leave now. Even though the epidemic in Jiangbei had disappeared, and no new patients were found for many days, this terrible plague finally ended after two months of raging in southern Zhili. .

In the past few days, due to the successful re-control of Zhenwu Camp, the situation in Nanjing city has been stable, and officials have returned to their previous drunken and luxurious life. Wei Guangde is also in Nanjing, where banquets continue every day.

His entourage was also enjoying themselves playing on the Qinhuai River. Of course, this was only for those with money.

For students from poor families who rely on salaries to support their families, the Qinhuai River is not a place they can go to at will.

Of course, since he followed Wei Guangde here, Wei Guangde would not treat them harshly. He went to the next floor of the largest brothel in the Qinhuai River and invited his entourage. Only officials with high grades could only be invited. For the lower-level officials, they could only Just find a restaurant outside the inn to eat and drink and that's it.

In the following days, because he was the person who had the most dealings with the rebels, he also participated in the entire process of judging the case. During this period, he naturally had to meet with Weng Pu, the Minister of Punishment.

Weng Pu is much older now than he was a few years ago, and he no longer has the spirit of riding a horse to patrol the border towns. Even though the comfortable life in Nanjing can support people, it cannot stop the ravages of time.

"I'm getting old. I plan to submit a memorial request to become an official at the end of the year."

When I met Weng Pu and asked him about his life in Nanjing, Weng Pu shook his head and said, "I have been away from home for so many years. It's time to go back and have a look while I can still move around."

"Time makes people grow old, and mountains and rivers remember children's travels."

Wei Guangde casually chanted, this is just Wei Guangde's feeling when he heard Weng Pu lament that time is gone and the years are hard to come back.

"I have approved what you have discussed. It would be best to be kind like this. It is not easy for the soldiers. They all have families to support. But these days, alas."

Weng Pu did not continue to say anything else and brought the topic back to business.

The punishment for the leader of the Zhenwu camp rebels was devised by Wei Guangde after discussion with Li Sui and others, and was also agreed by He Shou, Xu Pengju and others. After all, they did not make a big deal out of the matter, and they did not intend to hold on to it. Don't let it go, lest trouble happen again.

Those who died unexpectedly were naturally the leaders of the trouble, and the others who took the lead were assigned.

Although those who reported to Beijing were talking about Jibian, they actually only left southern Zhili and were in Jiangxi and other places. They were not sent to Jiubian or Yunnan and Guizhou, so the soldiers in the rebel army also recognized them. .

Everything in the city of Nanjing just calmed down. Military pay and compensation were paid out, and the soldiers had no reason to continue to cause trouble after receiving the benefits.

"I asked you to stay quietly in the capital, but I didn't expect you to be so unlucky. Every time something happens, the emperor will think of you, and trouble will inevitably happen when you go there. The matter at Zhenwuying was handled very well this time. Well, I guess you will be promoted again this time when you return to the capital."

Weng Pu looked at Wei Guangde and continued.

At the beginning, Weng Pu had told Wei Guangde that it would be best to live a quiet life in the capital in the past few years, hiding his edge. As for when to show his edge, that would be after the reserve position was decided.

Wei Guangde understood that because he and Yan Song were fellow villagers, Weng Pu was afraid that he would be too involved with Yan Song.

If King Jing comes to power, it will be easier for him, but in Weng Pu's opinion, there is a high probability that King Yu will still be king.

In any case, King Yu occupies a long character. Even if he is only one month older than King Jing, he still has an inherent advantage in inheriting the throne.

As for why Weng Pu treated him like this, Wei Guangde certainly knew that there was no one above Weng Pu and there was no way to advance in the capital, so sooner or later he would be sent to Nanjing to complete his level improvement and then wait to become an official. .

Naturally, Weng Pu would not just wait so willingly. He was at the end of his life, but there were still clan members who needed to be taken care of.

Wei Guangde showed a certain sense of responsibility in the Battle of Baoan Prefecture and took action decisively when he saw a fighter plane. In Weng Pu's view, this person has abilities and with the help of the Holy Family, he will most likely be in a high position in the future.

Help him now, and he will support his juniors in the future. It is a perfect deal.

But after all, he was young and easy to be impulsive. In addition, Weng Pu had already foreseen that as Emperor Jiajing got older, the overt and covert fights between the two kings for the throne would only increase but never decrease.

The battle for the reserve position is most dangerous and unpredictable. If you are not careful, you will lose everything.

Weng Pu hoped that Wei Guangde could stay in the Hanlin Academy and not participate in it. He did not want to take the merit of his support. If he had the ability, anyone who came to power would be reused.

Even now, what Weng Pu will talk to Wei Guangde next is the battle between the two kings in the capital.

"You see, I'm like this, and the one from Xiyuan won't be much better after thinking about it. If you think what you said at the beginning is right, you'd better find a way to let it go and avoid that place of right and wrong.

Although he may never go back to the court again, whether it is level improvement or real power, it cannot be compared to the court.

If you stay in the capital, you will be involved sooner or later. It's okay if you stand on the right side, but if you stand on the wrong side, it will be difficult to turn back. "

Weng Pu still said to Wei Guangde in a serious tone. He was really worried that Wei Guangde would be involved with King Jing because of Yan Song, and his future would be ruined.

In fact, Weng Pu has prepared several young people like Wei Guangde, but as of now, Wei Guangde seems to be the best among them both in terms of his official career and his own ability.

In three years, the prefect of Qing Dynasty has received one hundred thousand snowflakes of silver. It is naturally the best way to make money go abroad, not to mention that the officials in the capital will be promoted to a higher level if they go abroad.

This time Wei Guangde played a huge role in the Nanjing Zhenwu Camp Mutiny. After returning to the court, he should be rewarded. It is normal to be promoted to the sixth grade. But if he is seeking to be released to the outside world, it is not difficult to become a prefect of a certain middle-level prefecture. Son, the grade can also be upgraded to fifth grade.

With this idea, Weng Pu felt that the best choice was to persuade Wei Guangde to actively seek external employment after returning to the capital. In fact, he agreed with Zhang Ke and others. Wei Guangde was a practical talent, and his chances of joining the cabinet were slim. Among the six departments, There is his place.

That is why the cabinet ministers of the Jiajing Dynasty took such an unconventional path. Most of them came from rough backgrounds and few came from the Hanlin Academy. Even Xu Jie was demoted to a local government and had to go around a lot before he finally returned to the court.

In Weng Pu's view, if Wei Guangde went to the local area and made some achievements, coupled with his previous contributions to the court, he would seek to return to the court at that time. He would be able to take root in the six ministries even if he could not enter the cabinet. More importantly, he would avoid the imperial court. The climax of the battle for position.

Wei Guangde understood what Weng Pu meant, but he had already taken the initiative to get involved, but not many people knew about it.

Wei Guangde was hesitating whether to talk to Weng Pu about this.

Although Weng Pu didn't say it explicitly, Wei Guangde also guessed that he was worried about getting on King Jing's boat. Otherwise, under normal circumstances, Weng Pu would not have said this if he knew that he supported King Yu.

In fact, most of the officials at this time supported King Yu from the bottom of their hearts, but most of them did not say it. They just watched from the sidelines and acted wisely to protect themselves.

Perhaps no one except the genius Yan Shifan dared to guess what Emperor Jiajing was thinking.

Although an official like Weng Pu supports King Yu in his heart, if you ask him to speak for King Yu in the court and go against Yan Song, he will never do it. Even if he can only wait to become an official, he will not choose to go against the current court official. The powerful are fighting against each other.

When officials in the Ming Dynasty retired, they had two choices. One was to become an official, who could enjoy the benefits given by the court to retired officials, and receive a posthumous title after death. The other was to be dismissed from office, or even deprived of official status, that is, without fame and fame, and become an ordinary person.

Weng Pu didn't want to lose his own welfare for the sake of the Tao in his heart. It was better for others to do such things as offending the powerful.

Wei Guangde thought for a moment and finally said, "Master Weng, I actually have a good relationship with Master Gao Gonggao."

In the end, Wei Guangde had no intention of hiding it from Weng Pu. In fact, he had contacts with Gao Gong. Even the officials in the capital who were a little knowledgeable knew it, so he only had to write "Yu Wang Party" on his face. .

Of course, these things were only gradually exposed after Weng Pu went south. It is normal for Weng Pu to be unclear about them.

"Um"

When Weng Pu heard Wei Guangde's words, he was slightly surprised at first, but then fell silent.

After a long while, Weng Pu sighed: "You didn't mean what I said to you in Yanqing Prefecture."

When Wei Guangde returned to the capital from Baoan Prefecture, he met Weng Pu in Yanqing. Weng Pu had talked to him alone because he was worried that a new scholar like him would jump out to support King Yu, which would ruin his future.

When he heard Wei Guangde's words today, he thought that although Wei Guangde seemed submissive at the time, he obviously didn't listen and finally jumped into the quagmire.

"Actually, I had contact with Mr. Gao before I went on tour."

Wei Guangde understood the meaning of Weng Pu's words and hurriedly explained.

"That's it."

Weng Pu nodded slightly. This is especially true for new Jinshi. They don't understand the officialdom and just rely on their so-called passion to do things and do what they think is right.

At that time, Wei Guangde was still in the Hanlin Academy, and he took advantage of the relationship between the Hanlin Academy and Gao Gong to communicate with him. This was not surprising, as Gao Gong was still a bachelor at the Hanlin Academy.

"If that's the case, then just treat what I said before as if I didn't say it, and just assist King Yu with all your strength."

"Yes, Mr. Xie taught me."

Wei Guangde said hurriedly, but after he finished speaking, his thoughts suddenly changed.

It has been more than two or three years since Weng Pu left the capital. Although he is still in the officialdom, he is already an outsider to the court in Beijing. Perhaps at this time, he can still look at everything in Beijing calmly. .

Having said this today, should I ask him his opinion on the current struggle between the two kings in the capital?

When you are in a situation, many times what you think is a calm thinking actually brings subjective bias. Only people who have no interests or losses can objectively analyze and see the essence of the problem.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde suddenly clasped his fists and said to Weng Pu: "Sir, what do you think of the current situation in Beijing? As you said, the two kings are brothers and sisters on the surface, but the fighting in private is already very fierce.

In the court, because of Mr. Yan Ge, the officials of King Jing's family were able to obtain better positions, and they also suppressed the people of Prince Yu's family. Even Mr. Gao, who seemed to be promoted, could only be sent Go and teach at the Imperial College.

I wonder if there is a good way to balance the power of the two kings? "

Hearing Wei Guangde's question, Weng Pu stared at him for a while before gently shaking his head.

"Actually, these are just appearances. The greater the support that person gets, the more disadvantageous it is to him. If the whole court is full of his supporters, then you should be secretly enjoying yourself."

Weng Pu did not answer Wei Guangde's question about whether he had a good method, but said something seemingly irrelevant.

Seeing the confusion in Wei Guangde's eyes, Weng Pu continued: "Now this world still belongs to the emperor."

Hearing this, Wei Guangde's eyes lit up, "Sir, what do you mean, play hard to get? If you want to make it perish, make it crazy first?"

"no."

Weng Pu said firmly, "Old Yan Ge will not allow him to do this."

Hearing Weng Pu say that it was not what he understood, Wei Guangde frowned slightly and thought carefully again.

"The current situation is actually a good thing for you. King Yu is suppressed everywhere, which is also a training for him. I don't think it is necessarily bad.

That year, Prince Yu's palace routine and annual gifts were withheld by the Ministry of Household Affairs. We all know this. Do you think the emperor doesn't know about it?

It's ridiculous that Yan Shifan is known as a genius, but he still shows off his talent afterwards, and the prince wants to give him money, haha."

Wei Guangde now understood the meaning of Weng Pu's words. Just keep the current situation. Prince Yu's Mansion is suppressed by Prince Jing's Mansion in every aspect. Just stay in the capital and wait for the situation to change.

“Among the four forces in the capital, the most difficult to control and the one most likely to fall to King Yu is Qingliu.

In addition, the remaining ones are Prince Yu's Mansion and Prince Jing's Mansion. Their spokespersons in the court are Mr. Xu Ge and Mr. Yan Ge. However, there is another force that does not seem to be strong, but it can be fought for. "

Weng Pu then said: "Lu Bing, if you can, find someone to contact you. If you can get goodwill, then the candidate in the emperor's heart will be revealed."

Hearing Weng Pu's unexpected mention of Lu Bing, Wei Guangde was slightly stunned.

"Based on Lu Bing's relationship with the emperor, he may know more than anyone else."

Weng Pu just glanced at Wei Guangde and stopped talking.