The Prosperous Era of Longwan

The improvement of Wei Guangde's rank is naturally a source of joy to friends who are familiar with him.

The officialdom is like this. A good man has three gangs, and a fence has three stakes. It is the proper way to support each other from the same hometown and the same age. Even if you are still stuck in the same place, if one of your fellow villagers or the same year gets promoted in the future, There is always a need to give him a little tug, otherwise he could be accused of being autistic through gossip.

On the night when Wei Guangde received the order, the Wei family became lively. Many people from the same hometown, same year and colleagues came.

There was a big banquet at his home, and the place of Zhang Juzheng, who was also promoted, was even more lively. His classmates, fellow villagers, and close colleagues gathered there, and his teacher was also there, which was very embarrassing.

Zhang Juzheng was a Jinshi in the 26th year of Jiajing. Many people in his class were already in high positions. In fact, his official career was bumpy, and he started a step slower than many others.

After all, after serving as a Shujishi for three years, he was not as lucky as Wei Guangde. He ended his career as a Shujishi in a few months and began to work in the Ming Dynasty.

After that, he returned to his hometown to recuperate. This stay for several years completely wiped out his first-mover advantage. He was actually on the same starting line as Tao Dalin, Jinda and Wei Guangde, who were new scholars at the time. They were all editors of the Hanlin Academy.

However, he also has his own advantage, that is, he has a good teacher, Xu Jie, the second assistant in the dynasty.

He was assigned an errand as the Prime Minister of the Imperial College. Somehow this time, he was directly assigned to the position of Director of the Imperial College, becoming the first person under Gao Gong, the Northern Supervisor of the Imperial College.

As for the Jinshi of Wei Guangde's class, they were a bit miserable. Speaking of which, their teacher should have been Lu Ben, the second assistant to the cabinet at the time, but this person has now retired due to illness and returned to his hometown.

Moreover, even during the two years he was still in the court, this man often complained of illness, which allowed Xu Jie to smoothly take up the position of second assistant.

In fact, even if Lu Ben did not complain about his illness, his political views actually followed Yan Song's. It was Yan Song who recommended him to join the cabinet. If he was disobedient, how could Yan Song recommend him as his deputy.

Anyway, after a few years from the general examination to the palace examination and then to the appointment, Wei Guangde did not get any benefit from this teacher and gave out a lot of gifts.

Of course, Wei Guangde didn't feel sad about the little money. Without Mr. Lu, he might not be able to pass even if he tried. That was the most terrible thing.

Every three years, there are thousands of candidates from all over the world who are blocked from the imperial examination, and their efforts are in no way worth it to Wei Guangde.

Well, Wei Guangde is actually very grateful to Mr. Lu, and of course, even more so to his room master, Kang Siqian.

After this teacher left the Hanlin Academy, he first went to Shanxi as an inspector, and then was transferred to Shandong as the right chief envoy. Now he has served as the left chief envoy in Sichuan.

However, considering his age, he started late and stepped late. He has no chance to return to the court, at least that is what Wei Guangde thinks.

The two still exchange letters every year. After all, if Kang Siqian hadn't chosen him, he would definitely have failed the exam. This kindness must be remembered.

Now that Mr. Kang's body is no longer good, he plans to retire and return to his hometown after completing his current term.

Well, Wei Guangde couldn't find anyone to rely on from the general examination to the palace examination, which was also sad. He had to rely on himself for everything.

In fact, fellow countryman Yan Song is reliable, but Wei Guangde is worried about getting burned in the future, so he has always maintained an aloof relationship with him. Up to now, he has completely broken up with him and only maintains a superficial harmony.

The promotion of Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng, that is, the small-scale spread in their interpersonal circles, is actually just a drop in the ocean for so many officials in the capital.

Relatively speaking, Zhang Juzheng's influence is much greater than that of Wei Guangde, and more people know about it.

Of course, this also has something to do with the fact that Xu Jie went to drink at Zhang Juzheng's house that night. In any case, he was the second assistant.

As for Wei Guangde, he only received a congratulatory gift from Yan Mansion.

The appointment and dismissal of officials in the capital happens several or even a dozen times a month, so they are quickly forgotten.

New appointment and dismissal documents were constantly being issued, determining the career advancement of thousands of officials in the Ming Dynasty.

Within a few days, Wei Guangde went to the outskirts of the city to see off his colleague Chen Jin.

Chen Jin was the number one scholar in the 32nd year of Jiajing. He was supposed to have a bright future, but because he failed in the task of conferring a title to the king, he lost everything. He was sent abroad before, but he just returned to the capital and became the supervisor of Shangbao. Less than half a year later, Cheng was sent to the Imperial Academy in Nanjing to serve as Si Ye.

In fact, it is obvious that because of his last mistake, he has been completely excluded from the ranks of Beijing officials, and he may never return to the court in the future.

At the very least, Wei Guangde knew that this man was not as capable as Xu Jie and could return to the court after being demoted.

When Wei Guangde first entered the Hanlin Academy, this senior took good care of him, so Wei Guangde also came to see him off as a colleague.

When Cao Dazhang, Wei Guangde and others presented Chen Jin with practice wine, Chen Jin saw the strong Wei Guangde and said with envy: "If only he had a good physique, ugh."

Then he took the wine glass and drank it in one gulp. When he put down the wine glass, he did not forget to say to his friend who was seeing him off: "If there are people in the family who are studying, they should be allowed to keep fit. Not to mention the imperial examination, they will become a Jinshi and have an official status. Even if you don’t have a good physique, it’s not bad. I’ve learned from the past.”

As everyone saw them off, Chen Jin got on the carriage. Then the coachman waved his whip and the carriage drove away. Chen Jin did not lift the curtain to wave goodbye to them.

Wei Guangde's vacation ended soon, and he returned to the Hanlin Academy and continued to be a capital official.

However, Wei Guangde was a little conflicted at this time, because he was considering whether to find an opportunity to seek overseas release.

During this trip south, Wei Guangde also saw the luxurious and luxurious life of Jiangnan officialdom. To be honest, he was very envious.

Of course he can also be a capital official. Even in the current capital, his official position is not mentioned.

On July 28, the 39th year of Jiajing, Zhang Huan, the censor of Nanjing's grain storage capital, saw that the government was deteriorating, the Central Plains was in urgent need of conquest, corrupt officials were rampant, floods and droughts continued for years, and the people were desperate, so he wrote a summary of eight events in the Central Plains.

There is a strong army in the camp, but the divisions nearby are stirring up trouble. They do not rush towards the provincial capital, but look down on other counties.

The two handsome men are all proud of their abilities, singing enthusiastically and generously, hoping to use them.

After repairing the city for three times, I captured the robbers and obtained the records of various cities and towns recorded by them. I knew that the protection of the Central Plains was not to be solved once and for all.

Observe the dangerous passes on the four sides, such as the intersection between Henan and Shandong Zhili. The mountains are arrayed far and near, with natural fortifications and countless caves for hiding troops.

At five o'clock, it is the duty of patrolling and guarding patrols to see off and greet people. As for the prohibition and guarding, the sun is sparse, and thieves breed.

Six good officials are selected. If you want to clean up the Central Plains, you must first clean up the officials.

Qiyou supported the vassal and made it a royal vassal.

8. Discuss the Yellow River. If the Yellow River breaks through the river, great construction will be done. The purpose of the discussion is to avoid the construction of construction and the gathering of people, which may lead to chaos.

This memorial by Zhang Huan, the censor of the capital, caused a small shock when it was sent to the capital, because his memorial directly stated that bandits of all sizes appeared in the Central Plains. They gathered in the mountains and forests and committed evil, among which the most There is a demon causing trouble.

The rise of the demon party began decades ago.

The demon people use deceit to deceive the ignorant people, and the ignorant people benefit from the blessings and interests, and the demon people drive away the miscellaneous and adulterous things. People's hearts are tricked, and the demon's words are carried out. The fool seeks blessings, the wise avoid misfortunes, the rich spend their families to support themselves, and the poor He considers himself a slave, but there is no one who does not plot against him.

Over the past few years, the people have been destitute and exhausted their wealth, and there is no safe household in the town, and there is no happy family in the town. Therefore, evil talk has become prevalent, and people from different parties have responded to each other's calls when they meet each other.

When Wei Guangde traveled north, he heard people talk about the serious banditry along the way, but he didn't expect that there were still people trying to make profits from it.

What is a demon?

Wei Guangde knew without asking that even if he was not a White Lotus cultist, he was still the same as them.

In Wei Guangde's view, Zhang Huan's memorial was somewhat exaggerated, but it still made sense. The seemingly peaceful Ming Dynasty was actually full of crises.

However, while the court in the capital was still clamoring about Zhang Huan's memorial, an urgent memorial from Fujian was rushed to the General Affairs Department.

Fujian Mutiny.

When he heard about the trouble in Fujian, Wei Guangde felt his head buzzing.

Last month, he told Emperor Jiajing that although the people in Jiangnan were suffering terribly due to Hu Zongxian's increase in taxes and that they were at the end of their rope, they should be able to survive for another one or two years.

If a civil uprising broke out in Fujian in just a month, it would be a big deal. This was because his job had gone awry, and the Emperor Jiajing's whip would probably fall on him.

After Lu Bu told Wei Guangde the news in detail, he felt relieved. It was not a civil uprising, but a mutiny.

In fact, when he saw Zhang Huan's memorial, Wei Guangde had a hunch that perhaps he had overestimated the current serious situation in various places.

In fact, during the process of his men reporting back, bandits gathered in many places in Fujian alone.

It's just that these bandits are all Ming people, and they usually don't do much robbing of homes and houses, and they were killed because the Japanese pirates harassed them and couldn't bear the government's taxes, so the Fujian government didn't go all out to suppress them. After all, at this time, they regarded them as the number one enemy. The enemy is still Japanese pirates.

Regarding these, Wei Guangde forgot to mention them when he met Emperor Jiajing, and only mentioned a paragraph in his report.

As for the Fujian Mutiny this time, Wei Guangde didn't think anything about it after learning the details. It was just a bastard thing done by veteran veterans, and there were plenty of people to deal with it.

At the beginning, Fujian recruited the remaining members of the Fujian and Guangdong Guards to fight against the Japanese. However, many of the recruits committed suicide and were rewarded every day. It was difficult for some officials to satisfy their desires.

On the sixth day of August in the thirty-ninth year of Jiajing, more than 300 soldiers from Fujian revolted and set out from Sha County and Jiangle County to capture Taining County. The officers and soldiers were killed while guarding the royal site. The mutiny team then marched into Guangchang and Le'an, Jiangxi Province. , then run to Yongfeng.

The memorial was written by Zheng Benli, the censor of Fujian Province, impeaching Wang Zhaoyuan, the chief official of the rebel army, and other local officials for dereliction of duty.

This time the court's response was much faster. As the cabinet vote was to be submitted to the Supervisor of Ceremonies, Emperor Jiajing quickly approved and "gifted the royal address to the capital commander. The salary will be punished and arrested."

Wei Guangde was naturally not worried about the encirclement and suppression of mutinous soldiers in the Fujian and Jiangxi provinces. How much trouble could just a few hundred people cause?

Apart from anything else, it would be great fun if they ran to Jiujiang Mansion. Even his eldest brother's gang could destroy this group of soldiers.

They were just wearing the uniforms of officers and soldiers, and they caught the government off guard at first. If the government really wanted to take action, it wouldn't be a matter of minutes to destroy them.

But at this time, Wei Guangde was sitting in his study, holding a letter from Datong in his hand.

The letter was written by Yu Dayou, who had been sent to the past. He already knew about Lu Bing. The imperial edict written by Emperor Jiajing would naturally be included in the imperial newspaper and published nationwide.

Regarding the death of his old friend, Yu Dayou, who did not know the details, naturally wrote the letter to inquire about the cause.

According to the Di newspaper, Lu Bingnai persisted in working even though he was ill, until he collapsed at work due to exhaustion, and the medicine was ineffective.

Well, for ordinary people, they naturally believed it, but Yu Dayou, who knew the details of his old friend, would not agree with this statement.

After thinking about it, Wei Guangde decided to write a letter to Yu Dayou about the news he heard, so as to prevent him from getting upset. Maybe he really thought it was his own affairs that had dragged down his brother, and he was sure that Yan Song and his gang were being raped. It would be great fun to quietly return to the capital to take revenge on those who were killed.

But regarding the other thing requested in the letter, Wei Guangde frowned a little.

Yu Dayou stated in his letter that he had a good life after arriving in Datong. The governor of Datong was his immediate boss Li Wenjin, who welcomed his arrival very much.

However, Yu Dayou's letter was naturally not an announcement of good news.

During these days in Datong, he carefully understood the fighting process between the Datong frontier army and the Mongolian Tatars, and deeply felt the disadvantage of the Ming army infantry against the Tatar cavalry, so he proposed the idea of ​​rebuilding the Datong military vehicle camp.

Wei Guangde had already seen military chariots during the Battle of Baoan Prefecture. There was a chariot camp in the Xuanfu army, which was equipment built by Zeng Xian when he wanted to regain the Hetao area.

According to Yu Dayou's idea, the chariot battalion can fight independently, instead of being attached to the infantry as it is now, it is just a protective wall guarding the two wings of the infantry phalanx.

As for the reason why Yu Dayou proposed this idea, it was naturally because he practiced it personally in Datong.

Li Wenjin, the governor of Datong, really valued Yu Dayou. After Yu Dayou pointed out the shortcomings of infantry against the Tatar cavalry, he allocated a sum of money to Yu Dayou to develop new equipment. Yu Dayou lived up to his expectations and actually produced results.

He summed up many years of battlefield experience and created a weapon called a wheelbarrow.

Use single logs as wheels and use human power to push and pull. No matter whether it is a mountain ditch or a rugged slope, you can move up, down, left, right, or retreat freely. There are spears and bows inside the cart, which can hit forts and shoot from long distances. There is a barrier in front of the cart to make the enemy more vulnerable. Square shots were ineffective and it was a unique combat weapon at the time.

This type of one-wheeled chariot was built in batches by Yu Dayou, and was used in border towns to deal with Tatar cavalry. The effect was surprisingly effective. The Tatars were helpless against this weapon used by the Ming army.

In Yu Dayou's imagination, the Datong army established seven battalions of military vehicles, with the following structure: one vehicle and forty soldiers forming a team; thirteen teams combined into a small battalion; ten small battalions combined into a large battalion.

Li Wenjin wanted to write a letter about this, but Yu Dayou, who had been in prison once, was much more cautious than before. He first wrote to Wei Guangde, asking him to help test the reaction of the court.