The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Wei Guangde promised Zhang Juzheng that he would not interfere with his operation of amnesty for the world, so that the Xu family could also take this opportunity to obtain pardon. Zhang Juzheng felt relieved and a big stone in his heart was relieved.

The next conversation was about the memorials that Wei Guangde had dealt with in the past two days.

"Yesterday, Wang Chonggu, the Governor-General of Xuan Dynasty, reported to King Yi that I should ask for four things: 1. Please give me the king's seal. 2. Please send tribute envoys to the capital. 3. Please give me an iron pot. 4. Please reward me and all my relatives. "

Wei Guangde said.

Zhang Juzheng nodded, "Although the contract has been signed, the royal seal has not been awarded.

Now that I have asked you to give it to me, let me give it to you. "

Wei Guangde smiled and said, "I have already asked the Ministry of Rites and said that I have prepared the gold and silver seal of King Shunyi. We will see who can be sent as an angel when the time comes."

"Who is the suitable candidate for Shan Loan?"

Zhang Juzheng asked casually.

Generally speaking, officials who undertake such conferred tasks will be promoted to a higher level after completing their errands and returning to Beijing. It is really a shortcut to promotion.

Chen Jin originally wanted to participate in the conferment ceremony of a county king, but he fell ill and resigned from his post midway. He was allowed to be promoted to an official position in Huizhou, and the official position in Taichang Temple reserved for him ended up with Wei Guangde.

Wei Guangde understood Zhang Juzheng's thoughts and gave himself a benefit, so he smiled and said: "Then let Jiang Zhi, the young minister of Taichang Temple, go. I heard that he likes fortifications. When he comes back, let him work with Zhu Shangshu."

Hearing Wei Guangde's words, Zhang Juzheng smiled and nodded.

The Ministry of Industry has been controlled by Jiangxi people since the Yan Song period. It seems that Wei Guangde also regards the Ministry of Industry as a private area for Jiangxi people.

Jiang Zhi is the minister of the Ministry of Industry who is preparing to succeed Zhu Heng.

Zhang Juzheng was no stranger to Jiang Zhi. Speaking of which, he was in the same year as him and was a Jinshi in the 26th year of Jiajing.

"After Yang Bo takes charge of the official department, I plan to let him be responsible for conducting a capital inspection."

Zhang Juzheng said suddenly.

When Gao Gong returned to the court to take charge of the civil service, he completed the personnel adjustments under his command through the Jingcha, which also helped Gao Gong control the entire court.

Zhang Juzheng proposed Beijing inspection at this time, and Wei Guangde had to take it seriously.

Perhaps knowing that it would cause Wei Guangde uneasiness, Zhang Juzheng went on to say: "The list of personnel adjustments will be approved by the cabinet and will never be decided without authorization."

This was a gesture of goodwill to Wei Guangde, indicating that he did not want to follow Gao Gong's approach and take control of the court.

"How does the Minister of Civil Affairs adjust?"

Wei Guangde did not fully accept Zhang Juzheng's overtures, but suddenly spoke.

"Except for Zhang Siwei, all can be adjusted."

Zhang Juzheng replied without hesitation.

"Zhang Siwei"

Wei Guangde nodded, knowing that Yang Bo must be the help he needs to control the staff. After all, they are all Shanxi fellows.

Zhang Juzheng's words actually meant that the Minister of Civil Affairs could arrange for the person of Wei Guangde's liking, which could be regarded as a safety guarantee for Wei Guangde.

Wei Guangde still remembered that he thought he had someone in the Ministry of Personnel, but in the end he lost control of the Ministry of Personnel.

Speaking of which, the people he arranged in the Ministry of Personnel had low official positions and were not strong enough to withstand the pressure of Gao Gong.

So this time, Wei Guangde set his target at the level of Liubu Minister.

Although I don't have a suitable official who can serve as a minister, it is still possible to serve as a minister.

And being a minister is the only way to become a minister.

After the experience of the assistant minister, it is not difficult to control one.

It's just that they could think about it this way, but Wei Guangde had to consider other situations, so he said: "I remember that in the first year of Longqing, he was ordered to inspect the officials in the capital. In the second year, he went on a pilgrimage to inspect the foreign officials. In the third year, he followed the regulations and inspected the officials in the capital. After four years as an official, he inspected Yanguan, and in five years he went to Hajj to inspect foreign officials.

Five examinations have been conducted in six years, and the Beijing inspection will be conducted again this year. Will the government and the public have any objections? "

"In the fourth and fifth years of Longqing, Gao Gong used the imperial censorship to eliminate dissidents. He placed his own people in both the government and the public, as well as in the six ministries and five temples, thus gaining huge influence in the court.

If we don't carry out Beijing inspections as soon as possible and let these party members continue to stay in the court, it's hard to say what will happen in the future. "

Zhang Juzheng heard Wei Guangde's worry and said immediately.

He has naturally considered these things, and he has experienced them firsthand, so how could he not have thought of them.

But, even so, he still had to do it.

If Gao Gong's gang members cannot be eliminated, there is no telling whether they will collude with Gao Gong again and cause some trouble.

The impact at that time would be much greater than a Beijing inspection.

Zhang Juzheng was unwilling to take risks.

In fact, just two days ago, he had already discussed with Yang Bo the decision to launch another inspection in Beijing.

Regardless of whether Yang Bo is still the Minister of War, once Wei Guangde nods here, the cabinet will immediately submit a report on the personnel changes in the palace in the form of a cabinet meeting.

After Yang Bo was transferred to the official department, the first thing he did was to organize a Beijing inspection to eliminate high-gong party members.

During this special period, the palace should understand their good intentions and not stop them.

Besides, even if there are opinions in the palace or different opinions among the court officials, as long as Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde in the cabinet support it, and with Yang Bo's influence, the matter can be pushed forward.

The two of them talked about other things afterwards, and finally finished all the things that needed to be dealt with in the near future.

"After Lu Tiaoyang moved to the cabinet, he still had to take charge of the affairs of the Ministry of Rites. At least he was responsible for the funeral rites of Emperor Daxing. Even if Lu Shusheng was willing to go to Beijing to serve as the Minister of Rites, before he took over the affairs of the Ministry of Rites, his main The responsibility lies with the Ministry of Rites, followed by the cabinet."

Wei Guangde said again.

After all, taking care of Emperor Longqing's funeral is now the focus of the court, and it requires full cooperation from the cabinet and the Ministry of Rites to complete this matter.

"This is natural. Even if the palace agrees to Lu Tiaoyang's entry into the cabinet, at the beginning of his joining the cabinet, cabinet affairs are not his responsibility for the time being. The funeral ceremony of the late emperor is his main responsibility."

Zhang Juzheng nodded and said.

"Recently, I heard rumors from the government and the public that before the late Emperor's great success, he did not ask Feng Bao to take care of his life. I wonder what is going on?"

Wei Guangde asked again.

After talking about the government affairs, Wei Guangde naturally wanted to ask in detail what arrangements were made by Emperor Longqing before his death, so that he would not be kept in the dark in the end.

When Wei Guangde met Empress Chen and Concubine Li before, he didn't feel comfortable asking about this matter.

Feng Bao, Wei Guangde has not seen him in the past two days, so he is not sure about Feng Bao's attitude towards him now.

It is important to first find out whether Feng Bao is a cunning edict. If so, Wei Guangde will have to reconsider his relationship with him.

Such a person can capsize at any time, all it takes is an edict from the palace.

"The appointment of Gao Gong, me, Gao Yi and Feng Bao as Ministers of Guan Ming was what the late emperor said in front of Empress Chen on the day before his death. There is absolutely no lie."

Zhang Juzheng did not use any text traps, and clearly informed Wei Guangde of the scene when Emperor Longqing said these words.

"Queen Chen is here too."

Wei Guangde nodded slightly, and then he felt relieved in his heart.

No wonder I heard that hundreds of officials in the imperial court had written an edict to impeach Feng Bao for cunning, but the palace never said anything.

Obviously, Queen Chen knew the details because she was present at the time.

The officials obviously didn't know this, and just made their own assumptions. They believed that in the hundred years since the Ming Dynasty was founded, there had never been a precedent for a eunuch to care about his life. Even if Emperor Longqing was ill and confused, he could not make such a decree.

In fact, Empress Chen had a say in Emperor Longqing's mental state at that time.

Therefore, Zhang Juzheng narrated the scene where the emperor summoned their three cabinet ministers the day before his death, so that Wei Guangde could easily judge the actual situation.

Wei Guangde naturally knew from the scene described by Zhang Juzheng that it was the embodiment of Emperor Longqing's true will.

Unlike those ministers, he had any contempt for eunuchs, thinking that they could not succeed, or that if the eunuchs succeeded, it would be a great disaster for the country and the people.

"Shandai must have heard the noise from those people. I was not in the capital at that time, otherwise I would not have allowed anyone to use this as an excuse."

Zhang Juzheng said.

Wei Guangde knew that when there was a commotion in the capital, Zhang Juzheng happened to go to Tianshou Mountain to inspect the emperor's mausoleum project in those two days. Perhaps this was also due to Gao Gong's plan.

Even if Zhang Juzheng is not in the capital and cannot come out to explain the matter, he and Gao Yi will stay out of the matter and the palace will naturally not bother to come out with any excuse to confuse the public.

After Gao Gong was deposed and expelled, no one in the court sent memorials in the past two days, but everyone was still discussing it privately.

Although Zhang Juzheng made it clear on the day he dismissed Gao Gong, the seeds of doubt had been sown, and naturally he would not convince everyone.

"People's words are scary. I have met a few old friends in the past two days, and they more or less have doubts in their hearts."

Wei Guangde smiled bitterly and said, "Well, Eunuch Feng's position is somewhat embarrassing."

"Eunuch Feng is only in charge of the Supervisor of Ceremonies and is responsible for approving celebrities. He cannot interfere in the government affairs."

Zhang Juzheng said.

The two talked for a while, and then Wei Guangde returned to his duty room and started working. Zhang Juzheng also started handling government affairs in the duty room.

However, because he was recovering from a serious illness, he naturally did not handle as many memorials as Wei Guangde, only less than half of the usual number. However, this also meant that the Ming Dynasty cabinet was back on track.

In the next two days, Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng paid attention to the Ministry of Rites' funeral of Emperor Longqing and discussed the distribution of official positions. After everything was properly allocated, the first assistant Zhang Juzheng and the second assistant Wei Guangde submitted a request to the palace to add cabinet ministers and new ministers to the Ministry of Rites. , memorials on the candidates for the Ministry of Official Affairs.

Before submitting this memorial, Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde had to face an unexpected resistance, and that was Feng Bao.

When Lu Shusheng was working as a clerk in the Nanjing Imperial College, Feng Bao asked for help to give several students who were related to him in the Imperial College an above-average grade in the exam, so that Feng Bao could arrange places for them to serve as tutors.

However, Lu Shusheng was an upright person and was naturally unwilling to do such a thing, so he sternly refused.

Such a result naturally made Feng Bao feel that he had lost face and had a very bad impression of Lu Shusheng.

In the past, Lu Shusheng didn't want to come to the capital to serve as an official, so he didn't bother to pay attention to it. But when he learned about Zhang Juzheng's recommendation in the cabinet, and Wei Guangde also agreed to let Lu Shusheng be the Minister of Rites, Feng Bao couldn't do it.

This meeting was Wei Guangde's first meeting with Feng Bao after returning to the capital. At first, everyone was actually very enthusiastic.

In fact, after Gao Gong was dismissed, Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao did not continue to have contact because they avoided suspicion. This time it was a serious matter, so Feng Bao was invited from the ceremonial supervisor to discuss the matter together.

"The Zajia said that someone else would nod and agree without saying a word, but this Lu Shusheng definitely can't do it."

Feng Baodao and Ma Jindao were sitting in the check-in room. No matter how Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde tried to persuade him, he just kept shaking his head.

"Eunuch Feng, the Minister of Rites is related to the funeral ceremony of the Daxing Emperor. It has an important position. Among the hundreds of officials in the government and the public, there is really no suitable official with enough reputation to take up the post."

Zhang Juzheng didn't know that Feng Bao and Lu Shusheng had a rift, so he didn't expect such a violent reaction.

But facing Feng Bao, both he and Wei Guangde were a bit too defensive to forcefully coerce him.

"There are so many officials in the imperial court, is there no one who can be in charge of the Ministry of Etiquette? I can't see that."

Feng Bao sneered.

Of course, he knew that these so-called candidates must be acceptable to both Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde. As for the other unsuitable candidates, it was not that there was no one, but that a certain party in the cabinet did not want him to serve, so they did not appear on the list.

"Actually, I have another idea here, a way that won't hurt everyone's harmony."

Feng Bao suddenly stopped smiling and said to Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng.

Perhaps he felt that his previous sneer might offend them at the same time, so he suggested: "The Minister of Rites will not join the cabinet for the time being, and Lu Tiaoyang will still be responsible for the affairs of the Ministry of Rites.

When will Shuda and Shandai find a suitable candidate, and when will we let Lu Tiaoyang join the cabinet? What do the two cabinet elders think? "

At this moment, Feng Bao thought that he was also a minister who cared about life, so he could sit on an equal footing with Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde in government affairs and directly discuss personnel arrangements.

Well, before the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War were secretly divided between two people, Feng Bao felt a little uncomfortable in his heart, so in his eyes, it was natural that he should recommend the Minister of Rites.

But for a while, he couldn't think of any other candidates. In any case, Feng Bao was an internal minister, and the officials he came into contact with were generally of low grade. Only under the banner of Yudi Laochen, Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde could still go as far as him. Let’s talk and laugh together.

Just because you don't have the right person, doesn't mean you can't wait for the price.

As long as the matter is put aside for now, he will let people contact those officials who are qualified to serve as the Minister of Rites. Whoever is willing to join him will be recommended by him to be the Minister of Rites.

It seems more fair and reasonable for the three ministers who take care of life to have one minister each.

Wei Guangde saw that Feng Baolian had said that he would not allow Lu Tiaoyang to join the cabinet for the time being, and knew that there would be no results today, so he smiled and said: "Since Eunuch Feng doesn't think Lu Shusheng is a suitable candidate, let's think about it later and check for omissions." .”

Although Zhang Juzheng was angry, he couldn't break up with Feng Bao. After all, he, the foreign minister, often asked Feng Bao for help. The two of them had established a trace of trust by joining forces to kill Gao Gong. He didn't want to break the relationship between them easily. relationship between.

"Then let's think about it again."

Zhang Juzheng also followed Wei Guangde's words.

After sending Feng Bao away, Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng returned to the first assistant's duty room.

"Our internal minister is a bit reluctant to be lonely."

Wei Guangde said directly.

"In this matter, we must join forces to cut off Feng Bao's claws extending outward."

Zhang Juzheng nodded and replied.